A's drastic change in behavior before and after left everyone present stunned. For a moment, all eyes were fixed on him, unsure of what to say.
After venting his anger, A finally took note of the surroundings. Recalling how he had been controlled and brought to the Five Kage Summit—and how Hoshiyomi had helped him break free from the genjutsu—A managed to suppress his fury for the time being.
Though hot-tempered, he was someone who clearly distinguished between gratitude and resentment. Regardless of their differing positions, Hoshiyomi had helped him dispel the illusion, and that was a debt he owed. Without hesitation, he stood up and bowed to Gekko Hoshiyomi.
"Konoha's Silver Moon, you helped me break that damn genjutsu. I owe you a debt. From now on, if there's anything you need and I can do it, I won't refuse."
Hearing this, Hashirama grinned broadly and said: "That's the spirit! In that case, why don't you join the Allied Shinobi Forces?"
Hoshiyomi looked at A, nodded, and said:
"Just as the First Hokage said—if you want to repay the favor, then join the Allied Shinobi Forces and face Uchiha Madara together."
To Hoshiyomi's surprise, A suddenly became agitated upon hearing this:
"Gekko Hoshiyomi, do you think I, A, am the kind of man who chickens out? Uchiha Madara controlled me for that long—no matter what, I'm settling that score with him. Even if you hadn't said anything, I would've joined the Allied Shinobi Forces and beaten him down myself.
"And you tell me this counts as repaying the favor? That's clearly looking down on me!"
Hearing A say this, Hoshiyomi couldn't help but feel amused—and at the same time, he gained a higher opinion of him. The Fourth Raikage might have inherited his father's ambition, but he had also inherited the Third Raikage's straightforward and honorable character. Since they weren't enemies, Hoshiyomi found this kind of temperament quite admirable.
Just as the atmosphere of the Five Kage Summit began to warm again because of the Fourth Raikage's words, a terrifying repulsive force suddenly came crashing down from above the hall.
The ceiling collapsed in huge chunks, and at the same time, a figure descended calmly from the hole he had blasted open, landing from above as if strolling through the air:
"I didn't expect Kumogakure to produce such an interesting little brat. You're not bad.
"Just based on what you said today, when we meet on the battlefield in the future, I'll spare your life."
At that moment, a white head suddenly poked out of the rubble, speaking with some dissatisfaction:
"Madara-sama, is that really okay? He just said he definitely wouldn't let us off, you know."
Their comedic back-and-forth earned no laughter whatsoever.
Everyone present was staring at them with deadly intensity—they hadn't misheard.
They had clearly heard that pale-faced guy address the man in the air as Madara-sama.
Even if others might doubt their ears, Ōnoki would not mistake him.
That face—this man right before them—was the one who had nearly shattered his dream of becoming a shinobi. Even if it turned to ashes, Ōnoki would never forget it.
This man... had truly been revived!
The four Kage exchanged glances, sharing a single thought: since Uchiha Madara had delivered himself to their doorstep, they absolutely could not let him leave alive today.
With that thought, the four village Kage erupted into action simultaneously. Though there had been no discussion at all, their coordination was astonishingly precise.
"Earth Release: Ultra-Added-Weight Rock Technique!"
"Sand Binding Coffin!"
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
"Guillotine Drop!"
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
If it were any ordinary Kage-level opponent facing such a devastating ninjutsu combo, it would have been an instant game over.
But the Madara before them… was no ordinary man.
Even without the Rinnegan, such attacks would have been nothing more than child's play to him—let alone now that he had regained his own Rinnegan.
Facing the combined ninjutsu unleashed by the four Kage, Madara merely raised his left hand casually.
The Preta Path's ninjutsu absorption ability activated. Every single technique the four Kage had launched—without exception—was rendered completely ineffective before Madara.
Even Dust Release, which was said to reduce all things in the world to their most basic particles, was absorbed by Madara without the slightest trouble.
Seeing this, everyone present was left dumbfounded. They had expected Madara to be strong, but they never imagined he could be strong to such a ridiculous degree.
Their signature techniques couldn't even knock a single hair off his head—how were they supposed to fight this?
After absorbing all their ninjutsu, Madara wore an expression that practically said "Is that all?", standing there with his guard wide open as he looked down on everyone present.
"So eager to rush to your deaths? I'm in a good mood today—don't ruin it."
Though everyone's faces were filled with frustration, no one dared make another move. Facing someone who could directly absorb ninjutsu, what were ninjas even supposed to do?
Just as the four Kage were beginning to feel dispirited, Hashirama suddenly spoke up:
"Madara, what exactly do you want by suddenly appearing here today?"
"Oh? It's Hashirama. A pity this place is a bit small; even if I fought you, I wouldn't be able to go all out. Forget it, let's postpone the first post-resurrection battle for now."
Madara turned to look at Hashirama and smiled.
"I was thinking that notifying the Five Great Nations one by one about the Fourth Great Ninja War would be rather troublesome. But since I happened to hear that you'd all gathered here, I won't need to go through the trouble.
"Announcing it all at once here makes things much easier.
"As for the second matter—Hashirama, you know me. I've never liked scheming and trickery, so I've decided to tell you directly what kind of forces we'll be fielding in this war."
At that point, Madara glanced at Tobi. Receiving the signal, Tobi spoke up:
"In this war, besides Madara-sama himself, we also have one hundred thousand White Zetsu, as well as resurrected legendary figures from previous generations—just like the Senju Hashirama standing before you.
"As for the exact number, I didn't bother counting. And who exactly they are? You can just go back to your villages and see which famous corpses are missing—heeheehee."
After hearing Tobi's words, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically. Facing a monstrously powerful Madara alone was already overwhelming enough, and now they were being told there would also be one hundred thousand White Zetsu and resurrected predecessors from every village.
How were they supposed to fight this? Would surrendering for a half-loss be an option?
Madara was clearly very satisfied with the looks on the Five Kage's faces. He nodded, then rose back into the air.
"You still have twenty days to think it over. If any of you feel that fighting is hopeless and decide to surrender, I might just spare your lives.
"Take my advice—peacefully accept the Eye of the Moon Plan. Isn't achieving eternal life in that ideal world a truly wonderful thing?"
With that, Madara no longer spared the Five Kage another glance. He flew away arrogantly, while Tobi let out a strange laugh and followed him underground, leaving the Five Kage standing there with bitter smiles.
What else was there to say?
At this point, the Allied Shinobi Forces would have to be formed—whether they wanted to or not!
...
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