Jiraiya roared, "Uchiha Madara, has the god from beyond the heavens not given you any revelation? Your actions are a path of evil in the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths."
Madara snorted, "Hmph! A path of evil!"
"What of gods? What of the Sage of Six Paths?"
"Whoever blocks me, I shall kill! I am the one and only savior of this world!"
A fanatical savior.
The crowd frowned as they looked at the fanatical Madara, who was hell-bent on dragging the entire world into a world of genjutsu.
The Third Hokage said solemnly, "Then let us go to war!"
"Good, the Fourth Great Ninja War begins now! Hokage, go and unite the Ninja World! Form the Shinobi Allied Forces!"
"I will let you know that all power shall tremble before the ultimate power of the Uchiha!"
Madara shouted.
Ryou added, "Ancestor, they haven't even finished the Third Great Ninja War yet. At most, this of ours is just a continuation of the Third Great Ninja War."
From Amegakure's side came the sound of Madara jumping in frustration.
"Why are you interrupting? Why are you interrupting?!"
Then came the sound of Ryou being electrocuted.
Everyone broke into a cold sweat; the relationship between Madara and Ryou didn't seem that harmonious.
Madara then turned his head and smiled darkly, "By the way, I've decided to have Ryou and Tsunade marry tomorrow. You all should come to Amegakure for the wedding feast!"
"Hahaha..."
Madara left amidst loud laughter.
Jiraiya clenched his fists in grief and indignation, immediately turning around to rush to the Land of Rain to rescue Tsunade.
Fukasaku and Minato quickly stopped Jiraiya. Fukasaku said, "Little Jiraiya, what are you doing? How many lives do you have for Uchiha Madara to kill?"
Jiraiya knelt down powerlessly, tears falling from his eyes, "But the woman I love most is in Uchiha Madara's clutches."
"..."
Everyone fell silent.
After Madara left, Kushina finally pulled herself together and grabbed the white cat on the table.
"Uchiha Ryou, I command you now: release Sister Tsunade and send her back immediately, or I will release the Nine-Tails within me."
The Nine-Tails trembled. Kushina, if you want to die, don't take me with you!
Ryou hadn't figured out Madara's meaning yet. Marrying Tsunade was something Ryou had dreamed of.
But it shouldn't be completed under Madara's leadership.
Why did Madara want Tsunade and him to marry so quickly? Was it simply to spite the people of Konoha?
No!
Madara wasn't that vulgar.
Ryou felt that Madara was still plotting against him, making him deepen his bond with Tsunade only to then destroy that bond.
To plunge him into utter despair, so that he would pin all his hopes on the Eye of the Moon Plan.
That's exactly what he did to Obito in the original work.
Since Obito wasn't there, Madara was going to use this scheme on him.
But what could Ryou do?
He had no way to resist Madara.
He could only make himself a bit more of a scoundrel; even if Tsunade died before him, he had to remain unmoved, perhaps turning her into a human puppet to make do.
"Kushina, wash up and wait for me to come and snatch you away!"
Kushina grabbed Ryou fiercely, "You bastard!"
Ryou slowly withdrew the Chakra from his clone, "I'm leaving. This clone can serve as a communication medium for you."
"If you want to launch a sneak attack on Amegakure in the future, please give me a heads-up so I can be prepared."
"Uchiha Ryou!"
Ryou withdrew all his Chakra, and the white cat instantly turned into an ordinary white cat with red eyes.
Fukasaku and Shima stood up.
Fukasaku said to the Third Hokage, "Little Hiruzen, we should leave."
"Sage Fukasaku!"
The Third Hokage stood up to see them off.
Fukasaku and Shima hopped onto Gamabunta's head. Before leaving, Fukasaku said, "Uchiha Madara wants to drag the whole world into a world of genjutsu and become its ruler."
"The Great Master does not agree, and none of the toads of Mount Myōboku will agree."
"After we return, Mount Myōboku will prepare for war."
"Little Hiruzen, you all must hurry as well. No matter how much hatred exists between Konoha and the other Villages, you must set aside your grievances and work together to deal with Uchiha Madara."
The Third Hokage nodded.
Konoha's envoys visited the other four nations, but not a single country responded.
Just as Shikaku had analyzed before, the Five Great Ninja Nations had been killing each other not long ago, and their hands were still stained with the blood of each other's compatriots.
How could they unite just because you said so?
Moreover, they had to verify the truth of Madara's resurrection.
They couldn't just believe whatever Konoha said.
Furthermore, the Five Great Ninja Nations were still in a state of hostility with each other.
Fukasaku reminded the still-silent Jiraiya, "Little Jiraiya, come back with us! Your injuries haven't healed yet."
Jiraiya shook his head, "No, I won't go back."
Fukasaku sighed, "Little Jiraiya, just admit it! Little Tsunade has never liked you; it's been useless no matter how many times you've confessed."
"Maybe she likes being with Little Ryou!"
"..."
Jiraiya fell silent.
Obito looked at Jiraiya's back and suddenly felt as if that back overlapped with his own.
Because Rin... had only ever shown him the concern of a comrade; the one she liked was Kakashi.
Obito peeked at Rin, only to see her blushing as she stole a glance at Kakashi.
At this moment, Obito clutched his chest just like Jiraiya, both wounded by the word 'love'.
Because she doesn't love you, everything you do is wrong.
Shima advised Jiraiya, "Little Jiraiya, forget Tsunade! I'll introduce you to a female toad at Mount Myōboku."
"I don't want to—"
Jiraiya knelt on the ground, devastated.
Fukasaku and Shima didn't understand human emotions. Seeing that they couldn't persuade Jiraiya to return, they simply gave up.
Could Jiraiya really go and crash the wedding under Madara's nose?
After the toads of Mount Myōboku returned, the Third Hokage prepared to convene the Jonin Council.
Kurenai, Asuma, and the others were all Chunin and were not eligible to participate.
In the end, they still gained nothing!
Obito turned to leave, feeling disheartened; it seemed like he was always forgotten by everyone! From beginning to end, he was an expendable existence.
The Third Hokage called out to Obito, "Obito, why are you leaving? Stay and join the meeting!"
Obito turned back in confusion, "But I'm only a Chunin, I'm not eligible to attend the Jonin meeting!"
The Third Hokage then handed a Jonin appointment letter to Obito.
"Obito, you performed great service in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. Now, under the coercion and inducement of Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Ryou, you still uphold the Will of Fire and have not betrayed the spirit of a Konoha Ninja."
"You even found out about Uchiha Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan. No matter what, you are now a qualified Jonin."
Obito stood frozen in place, unable to believe he had been appointed as a Jonin.
Kushina gave Obito a punch, "What are you dazing for? Hurry up and take it."
Obito excitedly accepted the Jonin appointment letter, still unable to believe he had become a Jonin.
Obito's friends were all green with envy, but they were also sincerely happy for him.
Because after holding out for so long under Madara and Ryou while still maintaining his original intentions, not everyone possessed his kind of loyalty.
Especially for an Uchiha who was treated specially by the Village.
The Third Hokage smoked his pipe, his mood improving slightly as he watched Obito's happy expression.
Obito had integrated White Zetsu cells, and his Sharingan had evolved to the three tomoe; he already had the strength of a Jonin.
Furthermore, although the Eye of the Moon Plan was spoken by Ryou,
If Minato hadn't rescued Obito, he wouldn't have said a single word.
In a sense, the Eye of the Moon Plan was information Obito gathered while undercover in Madara's den.
This would provide a firm basis for cooperation for the upcoming Shinobi Allied Forces of the Five Great Nations.
Obito had performed a great service!
The Third Hokage no longer had to worry about the Uchiha causing trouble, because any Uchiha who knew about the Eye of the Moon Plan would surely no longer consider Madara.
No one would follow Madara to create an unrealistic world of illusions.
The Third Hokage was somewhat puzzled as to why a worldly person like Ryou would follow Madara.
Presumably, Madara used some means to control Ryou!
This point was something that could be exploited.