"Stop! Stop hitting me!" A desperate roar tore through the space.
"Teacher, I know I was wrong!" The man lay on the ground, pleading bitterly, his voice filled with regret.
Amidst the agonizing cries, a figure was being beaten by a group of people. He rolled and struggled on the ground, howling in pain, completely defenseless. Uchiha Madara, who had just stepped into the Gathering Space, couldn't help but frown at the sight—the person being beaten was wearing the God Robe, symbolizing the authority of the Hokage, while those attacking him were also clad in the same robes.
Madara immediately recognized Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama among the attackers. As he pondered what was happening, Aoki's voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Welcome to the Chat Group."
Facing the bewildered Uchiha Madara, Aoki briefly explained the origins of the Chat Group, clarifying that the Hokage here came from different parallel worlds, and Madara was no exception.
Madara quickly processed the information, but his gaze remained fixed on the beaten Sarutobi Hiruzen. He asked, "Then what's going on with this guy? Why are Hashirama and Tobirama teaming up to beat him?"
Aoki glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose face was bruised and swollen, and calmly replied, "This old man is the Third Hokage. To put it bluntly, he's done plenty of despicable things!"
Before Aoki could finish, Senju Hashirama, who was chasing after Sarutobi Hiruzen, suddenly caught sight of Madara. His eyes instantly lit up, and he shouted loudly, "Madara! It's this old man! Seventy years from now, he'll wipe out your entire clan!"
"What?!" Hearing Hashirama's words, Uchiha Madara's icy expression instantly twisted with shock. He had always trusted Hashirama's words implicitly.
Aoki added another remark, completely igniting Madara's fury: "Not only that, but the Senju Clan will also be completely eradicated under his rule. It's this old man who single-handedly brought down Konoha, which was once capable of taking on the four great Hidden Villages alone."
Uchiha Madara's anger had already reached its peak, and Aoki's words poured fuel on the fire, causing him to erupt completely. How could he tolerate this? This Konoha was something he and Hashirama had built with their own hands, and it had been destroyed by this man! Madara couldn't help but suspect that this person was a spy sent by another Hidden Village.
"Hashirama!"
"Madara!"
Seeing Uchiha Madara join the fray, Aoki quickly signaled the others to step back. The Group Chat Space was not a place for reckless fighting. As Hashirama and Madara prepared to face off, the entire space suddenly began to expand.
"Run!"
"Stop beating this old monkey, get out of the way!"
"Clear the area!"
Feeling the terrifying pressure emanating from the two powerful figures, Senju Tobirama, who had been kicking and punching Sarutobi Hiruzen, quickly grabbed Minato and Obito and retreated to the side. Only after hearing Tobirama's warning did the two notice that Hashirama and Madara were already preparing to unleash their ultimate techniques. They immediately followed Tobirama to a safe area.
"Huh?" Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly felt the beating stop. He slowly raised his head, and what met his eyes was a towering Susanoo that blotted out the sky. Inside the Susanoo, Uchiha Madara stared down at him with an icy gaze.
With a roar that shook the heavens and earth, Hashirama and Madara launched a joint attack on Sarutobi Hiruzen. The colossal blade of Susanoo came crashing down, while the fists of True Several Thousand Hands rained from the sky like a storm.
Boom!
The moment the two ultimate techniques collided, the entire Group Chat Space trembled violently. Sarutobi Hiruzen was instantly engulfed in the terrifying assault. Watching this scene, Aoki and the others felt a twinge of pity—the old man didn't even have a chance to scream. Fortunately, the Group Chat Space had rules prohibiting members from killing each other.
The instant the attack ended, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been beaten beyond recognition, was instantly restored by the power of the Group Chat Space. Yet he remained disheveled and disoriented, slumped on the ground, staring blankly at the devastation left in the wake of the assault.
This self-proclaimed strongest Hokage in history, who had joined the Chat Group less than an hour ago, had already tasted the bitterness of being despised. He could clearly sense that no one here welcomed him.
Even though everyone ignored him, they eventually gathered around the conference table. Senju Hashirama naturally moved close to Madara, explaining everything about the Chat Group in detail, even voluntarily activating his Sharingan to show it off.
"Look, Madara! This is the Sharingan I exchanged from the Chat Group!" Hashirama exclaimed excitedly. "And I feel like I'll soon be able to awaken eyes just like yours!"
As Hashirama finished speaking, Madara Uchiha stared in shock at the Sharingan in his eyes, filled with disbelief. He never imagined that the Sharingan, which only the Uchiha Clan could awaken, would appear on Hashirama.
At the same time, Madara Uchiha was also astonished by the miraculous abilities of the Chat Group, his curiosity growing stronger. If even the Sharingan could be freely granted, what other, even more powerful forces might be hidden within this Chat Group?
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been ignored by everyone, overheard Hashirama and Madara's conversation. A gleam flashed in his eyes, and he instantly perked up. Seizing the moment while no one was paying attention to him, he quietly slipped into a chair in the corner. As for being beaten up by the past Hokage, he didn't dwell on it at all, simply accepting it as deserved retribution.
"Alright, I think everyone has a good understanding now," Aoki's voice rang out, capturing everyone's attention. "Shall we begin?"
At Aoki's words, everyone immediately straightened up. Senju Hashirama and Madara Uchiha looked at him in surprise—they never expected this seemingly very young person to be the group leader, Aoki.
"Should we activate the World Ranking?" Aoki asked, looking around at everyone.
"Activate it!" everyone responded in unison, their voices deafening.
With Aoki's command, the Fourth Hokage Gathering officially commenced. Everyone stared eagerly at the Light Screen, curious about how the rankings might have changed after half a year of development.
The World Ranking List began to refresh, first displaying the nine participating worlds:
The World of First Hokage Senju Hashirama
The World of Parallel First Hokage Madara Uchiha
The World of Second Hokage Senju Tobirama
The World of Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen
The World of Fourth Hokage Aoki
The World of Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze
The World of Fifth Hokage Tsunade
The World of Path of the Ninja Tsunade
The World of Infinite Tsukuyomi Hokage Uchiha Obito
A prompt appeared in the group chat space: "The rewards for this ranking are directly linked to the comprehensive national power of each world. To obtain richer rewards, one must strive to enhance the strength of their own world."
Compared to the previous gathering, two new members had joined the chat group this time, bringing the total to nine. They were now just one step away from activating the Myriad Worlds Function, which required ten members.
Everyone's gaze was fixed intently on the light screen at the center of the conference table, anxiously awaiting the ranking results. Over the past six months, each of them had done their utmost to develop their own world, and now was the moment to see the fruits of their labor.
Soon, a line of text appeared on the light screen. After reading it, Aoki's lips curled into a faint smile.
Seeing the disappointment on the faces of Senju Hashirama and the others, Aoki chuckled apologetically, "Sorry, but I've taken first place again!"
The announcement clearly showed that Aoki had once again topped the list, securing first place in this world ranking.
Senju Hashirama and the others had already anticipated this outcome. Aoki had claimed first place twice in a row, and the rewards he received far surpassed everyone else's. Moreover, his strategies and governance methods were unique and unparalleled. From the very beginning, no one had believed they could surpass him. Since surpassing him was impossible, everyone's focus shifted to the second-place position.
"I can't believe you took first place again!" Senju Hashirama exclaimed, his tone filled with envy. "Tell us, what good things did you exchange for this time?"
"Show us how you've developed Konoha over the past six months!" Senju Tobirama added.
Listening to Hashirama and Tobirama, Aoki nodded with a smile and then chose to display his world's national power on the light screen. A grand national power display was about to begin.
As the countdown on the light screen slowly reached zero, everyone watched with curiosity. Minato and Obito quietly took out paper and pens, ready to jot down Aoki's development methods to replicate them later. Madara Uchiha, who had just joined the chat group, was also filled with curiosity. He wanted to see just how far Konoha had developed under Aoki's leadership.
Finally, Aoki's figure appeared on the light screen, signaling the official beginning of a new chapter in the Hokage Chat Group.