Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 332 Was the Fourth Shinobi World War a Civil War in Konoha?

More and more ninjas were resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique, eventually appearing in droves.

Images of six ninjas appeared from the front lines of the Hidden Mist Ninjas. They were of various heights, builds, and shapes, and they struck very distinctive, or rather, eye-catching, poses.

In short, these six Hidden Mist Ninjas left a very deep impression.

The First Hokage, who had never seen such an outspoken ninja before, was very curious and looked at the Fifth Mizukage, asking, "Little girl from Kirigakure, who are these strange-looking guys?"

Under everyone's gaze, Mei Terumi covered her face in shame: "Ringo Ameyuri, Tentsu Kusano Erito, Kurihara Kushimaru, Murashi Jinpachi, Suigetsu Hozuki, Hozuki Mangetsu, these are the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist Village."

Yes, they were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who claimed to be able to conquer a small country. Their first group appearance was to hunt down the Hokage, but they were defeated by a genin, resulting in four deaths and three defections, and were immediately removed from the list of members.

From that day on, the Hidden Mist ninja's goal in becoming one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist became, instead, to revive that name.

Zabuza Momochi was so audacious that he even wanted to wash away the shame brought by the first generation of Ninja Swordsmen.

Mei Terumi, the Fifth Mizukage, originally thought that winning and losing were commonplace, and that even if she lost, it wouldn't be a disgrace. However, she never expected that the so-called disgrace would actually mean shame.

But as soon as an image was sent from the Konoha ninja army, the front-line command center fell silent instantly.

Most people don't recognize this ninja with his wild, long hair and red armor; they only see his image in the picture and sense his astonishing indifference and disdain.

But those who know this ninja are completely different.

The Third Tsuchikage seemed to be greatly frightened, even staggering back a step, kicking the chair and making a screeching sound.

He recalled that more than 60 years ago, Madara Uchiha, dressed in the same manner, stood at the gate of Iwagakure and arrogantly ordered the First Tsuchikage to attend the first Five Kage Summit.

The original Five Kage were all ruthless characters who had fought their way through blood and fire, and each of them was proud and arrogant.

Before experiencing Madara Uchiha's power firsthand, the First Tsuchikage was unwilling to lower himself to face the First Hokage, and thus a battle ensued between him and Madara.

At that time, Onoki, who had shattered 16 pieces, had not yet been promoted to Jonin. He couldn't understand the battle between the First Tsuchikage and Madara Uchiha at all, and he didn't even have the ability to get close to watch.

He only knew that the battle had not lasted long, but the newly built Iwagakure village was almost half destroyed, and the First Tsuchikage was held in Madara Uchiha's hand, on the verge of death, and was forced to agree to the First Hokage's demands.

That scene left a deep impression on Onoki, and could even be described as a profound psychological trauma.

The damage suddenly erupted when he saw Uchiha Madara, causing Onoki's finger pointing at the image to tremble, and his open mouth to utter no words.

The Third Hokage looked somewhat bewildered, clearly unable to recall the ninja's identity for the moment.

When Madara Uchiha was active in Konoha, he never showed such a hostile attitude and arrogant aura. On the contrary, he always seemed shy and insecure.

When Madara Uchiha returned to Konoha with the Nine-Tails, he was quickly stopped by the First Hokage and fought a great battle in the wilderness hundreds of kilometers away, until that place became the Valley of the End.

In short, the Third Hokage had never seen such a vivid Madara Uchiha before, and his impressions, though not deep enough, couldn't withstand the passage of time, so he couldn't recognize who it was.

When the Second Hokage saw Madara Uchiha, the face that came to mind was Izuna Uchiha, his old rival whom he had personally killed.

Tobirama Senju looked wary and muttered, "As expected of Madara Uchiha, he discovered the problem so quickly. Things are going to get a little tricky from here on out."

The First Hokage's expression was the most complex, containing melancholy, a hint of apprehension, but mostly nostalgia.

"Uchiha Madara." The First Hokage uttered the name he loved most, then firmly declared to everyone, "I will deal with him."

Upon hearing the First Hokage's words, the Fourth Raikage, the Fifth Mizukage, and the Fifth Kazekage realized that it was Uchiha Madara and couldn't help but gasp in shock.

But they immediately breathed a sigh of relief along with the Third Tsuchikage, realizing that the ninja in front of them was the First Hokage, known as the God of Shinobi, whose record of defeating Madara Uchiha multiple times was well-documented.

Sensing the relaxation of the four Kage, the First Hokage reiterated, "This time, I will not let Madara Uchiha continue down the wrong path."

The Second Hokage walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and asked, "Big brother, how are you going to stop him?"

The First Hokage clenched his fist, slightly excited, and said, "Of course, we should beat him up until he can't move!"

"I want revenge for the time he bit me."

The Second Hokage looked at his older brother with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot, but still reminded him, "Uchiha Madara is now also a resurrected dead person using the Impure World Reincarnation technique, possessing an immortal body capable of infinite resurrection and endless chakra."

"Huh?" The First Hokage exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear, I forgot that after being resurrected by the Impure World Reincarnation, one becomes immortal! What, what should we do?"

The Second Hokage said, "It's very simple. The immortality and infinite chakra of the Impure World Reincarnation have their limits. If you break Madara Uchiha's body 100 times, the offerings for summoning him will be completely destroyed."

"If the offering is of such high quality that breaking it 100 times won't work, then break it 200 times, and it will surely return to the Pure Land."

.

Even the First Hokage was dumbfounded: "That's Madara! And you want to break it 100 times? I... I can't do that!"

Tobirama Senju scoffed, "Then let's use the second method: shatter Madara Uchiha's body once, and then seal him with a sealing technique while he's recovering."

Hashirama Senju was overjoyed: "Great, this is a good idea. It will definitely work the first time."

Xia Zuo smiled and handed the Second Hokage a small note from behind, on which was written information about Uchiha Madara breaking the seal with his aura and chakra.

Tobirama Senju glanced at it only once, then his expression changed slightly, and he asked in surprise, "The Rinnegan can also be reproduced by my Impure World Reincarnation Technique?"

The fact that Madara Uchiha could destroy a pre-arranged sealing array with just his aura and chakra means that his power completely surpasses the realm of Kage-level ninjas, which is to say, the so-called Six Paths level.

Madara Uchiha's Six Paths level power was the Rinnegan.

Xia Zuo raised an eyebrow and said, "Your version of the Second Hokage won't work, but Orochimaru's improved Impure World Reincarnation Technique will."

Tobirama Senju frowned, recalling the details of Orochimaru's improvements. After a moment, he exclaimed in surprise, "So that's how it is! I didn't even notice it before!"

"Orochimaru, that kid, is really something."

"But if that's the case, how are we supposed to deal with Uchiha Madara? Even my older brother can't beat him."

Xia Zuo pointed at the four Hokage: "Hokage, you are four immortal Edo Tensei resurrected beings, and you have 30,000 Konoha ninja supporting you. Don't always think about one-on-one battles."

Minato Namikaze asked, "Fifth Hokage, aren't you coming along?"

Xia Zuo shook his head and said, "I won't go. Nagato and Obito Uchiha are still in Akatsuki and haven't shown their faces yet. I have to stay here to guard against them."

Minato Namikaze nodded in agreement: "Nagato is powerful, and Obito's Kamui is unpredictable and difficult to defend against. Indeed, only you can deal with both of them."

Just as the Hokage were discussing the battle without any restraint, the four Kage felt that something was amiss the more they listened.

They gradually left their seats and gathered in a corner of the room without realizing it.

The Fourth Raikage suddenly looked up and surveyed the room, saying in a voice loud enough for all four Kage to hear, "I know what's wrong. There are five Hokage in this room, more than all four of us combined."

"If the whole room is full of Naruto characters, wouldn't we feel uncomfortable?"

The Kazekage, Mizukage, and Tsuchikage were all startled by what they heard, and when they met the Raikage's gaze, they all saw the unease in each other's eyes.

The four Kage felt even more uneasy when they thought about how the frontline command post and the spaceship where it was located all belonged to Konoha Village.

They exchanged a glance, confirming their feelings for each other.

The Third Tsuchikage then said, "Time is of the essence. We must go to the front lines now and seal those senior ninjas who were resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique."

After receiving permission from the Fifth Hokage, Natsume, the four Kage immediately left the front-line command post and traveled to the front lines on sand and stones, respectively.

However, the four shadows did not separate immediately, but instead gathered together to discuss the matter.

The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, spoke first: "The information the five Hokage are providing is astonishing, but the more I listen, the more something seems off."

The Third Tsuchikage sneered, "That just proves you're not stupid; you haven't become the Fifth Hokage's puppet."

The Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, explained earnestly, "Kazekage, you feel something's wrong because there's something wrong with the identity of our enemy."

"Look, the strongest enemy we've encountered right now is Uchiha Madara, a rogue ninja from Konoha, right?"

"The leader of Akatsuki, Nagato, is said to be Jiraiya's disciple, and Obito Uchiha, whom the Fifth Hokage had to be wary of, was the Fourth Hokage's disciple."

The Fourth Raikage's voice was even colder: "And there's the guy who summoned the Edo Tensei ninja and Madara Uchiha for the Akatsuki organization, claiming to be a spy for Sasori of the Red Sand."

"But what kind of spy could learn Orochimaru's improved Impure World Reincarnation technique?"

"You can imagine how strict the vetting process must be for a ninja who has access to Konoha's forbidden techniques. The Fifth Hokage is not the Third Hokage."

The Third Tsuchikage concluded, "Based on the information we have now, the Fourth Shinobi World War, which was started by the Fifth Hokage, was essentially a civil war within Konoha. We were just innocent victims caught in the crossfire."

The Fourth Raikage angrily retorted, "Whether it's the Fifth Hokage or any other Hokage, they're forcing us to risk our lives for Konoha!"

The innocent young Gaara was completely shocked, his worldview and values ​​collapsed at the same time, and he appeared dazed.

The Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage's anger didn't last long, because the Fifth Mizukage said quietly, "So what if the Hokage forces us? Can we resist?"

Earth Shadow and Thunder Shadow were speechless.

Yes, what else can we do but resist or simply side with the Akatsuki?

The Akatsuki organization lost its base in the Land of Rain from the very beginning, and now it is completely blocked in the Land of Iron by the Allied Shinobi Forces led by Konoha, with no room for maneuver.

The battle has only been going on for less than a day, but the Akatsuki organization has already played three cards in the face of the Allied Shinobi Forces' attack: the Sky Shinobi, the White Zetsu, and the Edo Tensei army.

If we include Madara Uchiha, then four trump cards have been revealed.

Despite revealing so many trump cards, they failed to inflict any real damage on the Allied Shinobi Forces.

On the other hand, the Allied Shinobi Forces used Konoha's airship and the Fifth Hokage as their trump cards, which resulted in the defeat of the Sky Shinobi and Deidara, achieving remarkable results.

Even the youngest of the four Kage, the Fifth Kazekage, could see that the Akatsuki organization was not showing signs of decline, but rather a defeat after falling into a completely passive position.

Why did the Fifth Hokage suddenly appear before the Four Kage with all the previous Hokage? He had kept the existence of the previous Hokage completely hidden before.

Of course, it was because after assessing the situation, he was certain that the four Kage could see that Konoha had turned its advantage into a winning position, and they would absolutely not dare to betray the Allied Shinobi Forces.

It's worth noting that before this, Konoha Village had used a "lavish spending" approach to demonstrate the power of money to the ninjas of the four major villages, greatly easing the hostility of the lower-ranking ninjas.

Even the most hated Kirigakure ninjas could smile at the Konoha ninjas distributing supplies and equipment.

Although the hatred has not been extinguished, the lower levels no longer harbor any sentiment against Konoha Village. The only thing that can make the four great ninja villages turn against each other is the orders of the four Kage.

Now that possibility no longer exists, the Fifth Hokage can naturally relax and bring out more trump cards that might disgust or frighten the other four Kage.

Once he understood everything, the Third Tsuchikage's mood wasn't so bad anymore.

He slowly exhaled: "I've figured it out. The Fifth Hokage is dealing with us this way because it's a necessary measure to integrate the Allied Shinobi Forces and prevent any unexpected events."

"From the perspective of the Allied Shinobi Forces, what he did was absolutely right."

The Fourth Raikage also said, "Looking back now, the Fifth Hokage's firm rejection of my suggestion and refusal to let any small ninja villages join was the right decision."

"There are too many small ninja villages, and the leaders of each village have different organizational abilities and authority, which can easily lead to uncontrollable variables."

"And the most frightening thing on the battlefield is uncertainty."

"The Fifth Hokage spent so much effort and time dealing with the four of us; he simply didn't have the energy to deal with any more small ninja villages."

The Fifth Mizukage pouted and said, "What you said makes a lot of sense, but as the one who was tricked, I still feel very uncomfortable."

The Fourth Raikage and the Third Tsuchikage both smiled wryly and said, "We're the same. Understanding something in your heart and feeling comfortable about it are two completely different things."

The Fifth Kazekage asked, "What do we do next?"

The Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Mizukage all said in unison, "Obey the Fifth Hokage's orders, strive to win this war, and then—"

'

After a long silence, when it was time to part ways, the Tsuchikage said dejectedly, "————Let's see how things go then."

""

The four shadows looked at each other in silence, and then went their separate ways.

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