"You are under the constraint of my Reanimation Jutsu; your movements are restricted."
"If you want to go to the battlefield, finish speaking first," Orochimaru said indifferently.
"We can talk later! Madara has been resurrected! Can't you distinguish between what's urgent and what's not?!" Hiruzen roared at Orochimaru.
"I take my cues from Sasuke. If he isn't satisfied with your answers, I might just control you all to destroy Konoha entirely."
"Even at a critical moment like this…"
"Ugh! This detestable jutsu!" Hiruzen muttered, consumed by impotent rage.
At that moment, Tobirama spoke up calmly, "Orochimaru, you've misunderstood a few things."
"The precision of this Reanimation is far higher than the last time, a detail you completely overlooked."
"This time, we have been reincarnated with power that is remarkably close to our original strength."
Suddenly, the wall behind them violently burst open as a dense network of fractures webbed across its surface.
"Your Reanimation cannot bind me at all!"
"After all, I am the one who invented this jutsu! Anija, things have come to a point where there is no other choice!"
"I am going to act!"
The very next second, Tobirama felt his entire body seize up, rendered completely unable to move.
"Sarutobi, the shinobi you trained certainly has a few tricks up his sleeve," Hashirama chuckled.
"To receive praise from the God of Shinobi is my honor," Orochimaru sneered softly. However, cold sweat began to bead on his forehead; Hashirama was simply impossible to control, and he possessed the power to wipe them all out at any given moment.
"He integrated my cells into your body to strengthen the binding force," Hashirama told Tobirama with a smile.
"Tobirama, your senses have grown a bit dull."
Tobirama could only sigh helplessly. He cast a grave glare toward Orochimaru, then scrutinized his own body; sure enough, his frame was almost entirely saturated with Hashirama's cells.
Hashirama turned his gaze back to Orochimaru, speaking softly, "Now then..."
"Orochimaru, you don't need to worry. I should still resolve the knot in this child's heart first."
"Though I have no inkling what kind of choice this Uchiha boy will make after hearing my words..."
"If we continue to ignore him, he will inevitably become the next Madara."
"If that happens, even ending the war and securing victory will be utterly meaningless!"
Tobirama pouted in disapproval but kept his eyes fixed on Hashirama.
"Do as you wish, Anija."
Following that, Hashirama relayed the truth of the past to everyone, the founding of Konoha, and the long-standing blood feud between the Uchiha and the Senju.
He explained how, in their final battle, he had relied on a Wood Clone to deceive Madara, allowing him to finally strike him down.
As his tale drew to a close, Hashirama lowered his head in shame: "Though I am unclear on how the current Madara managed to resurrect..."
"The reality is that I murdered my friend for the sake of the village."
"Yes... the village. Initially, the village Madara and I desired to establish was a place that could connect clan to clan."
"It was the linchpin to build order out of chaos and maintain it."
"It was once meant to be a sanctuary to protect children, avoid senseless conflict, and realize true peace. Yet, later on, it still managed to breed the exact darkness your brother Itachi bore, and the exact agony your sister Kanon endured."
"What Madara said might have been correct. He may have foreseen that the current state of affairs would come to pass."
"The shinobi who brought about this outcome was me..."
"And the only shinobi who tacitly permitted all of this to happen was also me."
"I once said that a shinobi is one who endures and dissents to achieve their goals."
"But different goals will forge vastly different shinobi, just like Madara and me."
Sasuke stared at Hashirama, murmuring the words under his breath:
"A shinobi is one who endures to achieve a goal... to me, that goal was building the village."
Hashirama nodded, continuing, "But Madara seems to have found something else. Although Orochimaru just stated that Madara's resurrection is an attempt to eradicate all shinobi from this world, I am still ignorant of the exact details."
Sasuke spoke to Hashirama in a quiet tone, "The Infinite Tsukuyomi. Regardless of whether they are villages, shinobi, nations, or civilians..."
"He and Kanon intend to trap everything within a genjutsu, manipulating them at their absolute whim."
"This will turn everything my brother, Madara's younger brother, and all of you wished to protect into absolute nothingness."
"Which means my brother... without ever speaking of your will, silently inherited it."
"My brother endured far more than you ever did, and he died carrying his pride as a shinobi of Konoha."
"Yet, the shinobi who understood you best turned out to be an Uchiha. How utterly ironic," Sasuke sneered, mocking Hashirama.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama, spoke softly as well, "It wasn't just your brother. Among my subordinates, there was a man very similar to your brother named Kagami Uchiha."
"Second Hokage, didn't you utterly despise the Uchiha?" Sasuke countered.
"That wasn't the case. No matter the clan, if they posed a potential threat to the village, I would keep a watchful eye on them. It was nothing more than that."
"The Uchiha of that era did indeed require an extra measure of vigilance in that regard."
"But precisely because the Uchiha clan loves so deeply, there were quite a few, like your brother and Kagami, who were willing to look past the limitations of their clan and pour their heart and soul into the village."
"My brother believed the meaning of the village was to erase the boundaries between clans."
"However, the reality is that accomplishing such a feat is no simple task."
"The naivety of my brother Hashirama, and the danger of Madara..."
"Maneuvering between those two extremes while protecting and consolidating the village was my duty as the Second Hokage."
The Third Hokage lowered his eyes, his gaze landing on Sasuke. "Kagami's descendant was Shisui, who was once a close friend of your brother Itachi."
"Many people, myself included, inherited the First Hokage's Will of Fire."
"Only, perhaps I was more naive than any other shinobi. I failed to properly carry forward the governance policies of the Second Hokage."
"That is why Danzo was forced to shoulder the darkness of the village."
Hearing this, Sasuke's face contorted into an even darker expression. "Because you enabled Danzo, Kanon was forced to endure so much suffering."
"Third Hokage, if you weren't already dead, I would absolutely slaughter you today."
"Your inaction and Danzo's oppression are the exact reasons Kanon defected from the village. From the time she was six years old until now, she has known nothing but pain."
"Even if you weren't the mastermind, you were corrupted. Your hesitation led to your enablement of Danzo; you absolutely cannot escape accountability."
"Kanon has already executed Danzo. If you hadn't died early, you would have been next," Sasuke said coldly.
The Third Hokage lowered his head, an expression of profound helplessness overtaking his features. "It seems that as Hokage, I accomplished absolutely nothing..."
"I watched Kanon grow up from the moment she was born. When you siblings were born, I went to offer my regards to Fugaku..."
"I suppose it's far too late to offer an apology to you now..."
"For things to end up this way, the responsibility lies entirely with me..."
Minato offered words of comfort to the Third Hokage, "No, this wasn't Lord Third's fault. You gave everything for the village and fulfilled your duties perfectly."
"During the Nine-Tails' attack on the village, I died."
"You had me succeed you as Hokage and held such high expectations for me, yet I let you down..."
Orochimaru watched Minato lower his head in self-reproach, commenting indifferently, "To choose you, he even cast me aside. Everyone felt it was a massive shame."
"Orochimaru-sama, are you feeling a bit resentful?" Suigetsu asked.
"In front of Lord Third, yes, a little," Orochimaru nodded.
"If I were still alive, perhaps I could have assisted in handling the Uchiha coup d'état project," Minato said self-critically to Sasuke, while also harboring a sense of guilt toward Kanon and Naruto.
If he hadn't met an untimely demise, he should have been able to handle these matters properly. He could have provided Naruto and Kanon with a beautiful childhood, while making outstanding contributions to the village. But it was all too late now.
"Alright, Sasuke, what do you plan to do? Will you destroy the village, or..." Orochimaru inquired.
Sasuke closed his eyes. At this moment, he finally understood. The successive generations of Hokage and Itachi had protected the village at all costs.
They did it so that Sasuke, Kanon, and children just like them wouldn't have to experience the agonizing wounds of war that they had suffered through.
They used their own flames to burn away the darkness, leaving behind a luminous world for future generations.
When Sasuke opened his eyes, his entire being had undergone a profound sublimation. He was no longer fixated on the common, vulgar emotion of petty revenge.
Standing on the shoulders of Itachi and Hashirama, what Sasuke saw was the history of the shinobi and the entire ninja world.
He could not allow Kanon to tear this ninja world apart. He was going to execute his very own "revolution!"
Sasuke looked at the four Hokage and Orochimaru assembled before him, stating with absolute resolve, "I cannot allow this village... and Itachi... to fade away for nothing."
"Kanon... I will be the one to stop her."
Orochimaru stared at Sasuke, asking softly, "And if Kanon refuses to turn back?"
The corners of Sasuke's eyes trembled, but within his heart, the grand, towering silhouettes of Itachi and Hashirama flashed through his mind.
"Then I will personally... sever this last remaining bond of blood."