Alright, alright…
Is the Land of Rain shirking responsibility like this?
Tsunade clenched her fist, unable to argue because, at the root of the issue, this was all Danzo's fault.
"At this point, we shouldn't be shirking responsibility."
As the Hokage of Konoha, Tsunade had to deal with the problems left behind by Shimura Danzo. After all, these issues were nothing compared to the trouble brought by Akihara Kagura.
"Now, we must first address the crisis of Akihara Kagura."
Tsunade tightened her fist and solemnly began to give orders: "First, we need to gather our forces and seal the previous Hokages..."
"Based on my understanding of Akihara Kagura..."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and pondered, "He might already have a way for the four Hokages to escape from Konoha..."
This was a lesson Orochimaru had learned long ago.
Akihara Kagura always had a follow-up plan before executing any scheme, never giving them time to react.
"And about Naruto..."
Jiraiya reminded Tsunade.
"And about Sasuke..."
Orochimaru also reminded Tsunade.
"I know, I know..."
Tsunade waved her hand impatiently, feeling a bit annoyed with her two old friends. Did they think she was unaware?
But what could she do even if she knew? Both Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke had already fallen into Akihara Kagura's trap. She could only send the Anbu to search for them to prevent them from going missing.
"I think..."
Hanzo of the Salamander looked at Tsunade and proactively suggested, "This crisis might be beyond the power of Konoha alone to solve..."
"Does Lord Hanzo have any suggestions?"
Tsunade frowned.
"Summon all the ninjas in the ninja world."
Hanzo of the Salamander looked at Tsunade and suggested, "At least be prepared for the worst. This is a crisis that could destroy the entire ninja world. Relying solely on Konoha's power may not be enough to stop the dangerous man named Akihara Kagura..."
"I understand."
Tsunade had to admit that Hanzo had a point.
Akihara Kagura had never lost, whether his opponent was a person or an entire village.
Hanzo of the Salamander continued, "Perhaps this might seem disrespectful to Konoha, but the only hope of resolving this crisis lies in gathering enough people and combining their strengths..."
"I support Lord Hanzo's idea."
Nagato strongly supported Hanzo, recalling the principle once mentioned by his old friend Yahiko: "A single straw is easily broken, but a bundle of straws..."
"...is still easily broken."
Konan had to remind Nagato.
This was a metaphor Yahiko once used to gather stray ninjas, intending to demonstrate the strength of unity, but during his speech, the straws broke easily. It was a lousy yet memorable speech.
This straw example...
Gave Konan a bad feeling.
The first group of Akatsuki members, who had gathered like straws, had almost been wiped out, leaving only her and Nagato. Would the ninjas gathered this time be able to defeat Akihara Kagura?
"Having more strength is never a bad thing."
Hanzo of the Salamander shook his head and said, "I will go around the ninja world, dragging this old body of mine, to persuade others to unite and solve this crisis, to avoid being defeated one by one..."
"As far as I know..."
Hanzo of the Salamander looked at Tsunade and the others, saying in a deep voice, "So far, no major ninja village in the ninja world has ever won against Akihara Kagura..."
"Yes..."
Tsunade had to admit this.
Although Konoha had never faced the crisis of the village being destroyed, Akihara Kagura had once saved Konoha single-handedly. It was also possible for him to destroy Konoha single-handedly.
"Then I leave it to you, Lord Hanzo."
Tsunade had to thank Hanzo of the Salamander for his goodwill.
"This is also a selfish idea of mine."
Hanzo of the Salamander waved his hand and said, "On the way here, they also discussed letting Nagato revive the war weapons, but every power comes with a price..."
"If it doesn't require Nagato to pay a heavy price, at least it could leave a qualified successor for Rain Village..."
"Lord Hanzo!"
Nagato stopped Hanzo of the Salamander and had to speak a truth to this respected elder: "My life is nearing its end. If it comes to a critical point, I am prepared to sacrifice myself..."
"..."
Tsunade glanced at the emaciated Nagato.
To be honest, based on her years of medical experience, it would be surprising if Nagato lived for another month or two; it was impossible for him to last much longer.
"..."
Hanzo of the Salamander hesitated for a moment, perhaps a bit surprised. His body trembled slightly, and he slowly nodded.
"I understand."
After Hanzō spoke, he continued in his deep voice, "Nagato, death is not the end of life. If your journey is coming to an end, then do your best to leave your story in the ninja world!"
"Let the ninjas of Rain Village, and everyone in this ninja world, remember that there was a man named Nagato who sacrificed himself for the survival of the ninja world. His will shall remain forever."
"Yes."
Nagato's hand clenched tightly.
"I still need to go and contact the other ninja villages."
Hanzo of the Salamander gazed at Nagato and continued softly, "The survival of the ninja world does not depend on the strength of one person. I once thought I could shoulder the peace of the Land of Rain alone, but ultimately, I brought greater disaster to it..."
"Even if we once called ourselves gods, we are ultimately mere mortals. The greatness of mortals lies in uniting all their strengths. This is also the will that Yahiko left behind, and one that I deeply agreed with back then..."
After Hanzō finished speaking, he turned back and instructed the remaining Rain Village ninjas in Konoha, "After I leave, you will follow Nagato's orders in everything."
"Lord Hanzō."
Tsunade stopped Hanzo of the Salamander, who was about to leave, and instructed in a serious tone, "After we resolve Konoha's internal issues, I want to use Rain Village to convene a Five Kage Summit, inviting the leaders of the other great ninja villages to attend..."
Rain Village...
It's indeed a suitable place.
Because Rain Village is located in the center of the ninja world, it is convenient for all the major countries to reach, except for the Mist Village overseas.
"And..."
Tsunade added in a solemn tone, "If necessary, Lord Hanzō can use the name of the Hokage to invite others. Konoha will support Lord Hanzō's actions!"
"Alright."
Hanzo of the Salamander nodded and readily agreed.
After this ninja demigod finished speaking, he left Konoha. At least he had gained Konoha's approval to gather everyone in the ninja world to solve this crisis together.
"This man once stood like a mountain in the ninja world."
Tsunade sighed as she watched Hanzō's departing figure, "Jiraiya, Orochimaru, I always thought we had already caught up to him, at least in terms of spirit..."
During the Second ninja World War...
The Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha had felt powerless against Hanzō's might.
As they gradually grew stronger, the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha's perspectives widened, and they thought they had equaled Hanzō. But now Tsunade suddenly realized that the gap between her and this ninja demigod was not just in power.
"Should I also go seek reinforcements?"
Jiraiya proposed his idea.
"I can go dig up some graves in the village."
Orochimaru also offered his suggestion.
"Shut up!"
Tsunade turned around, swinging her fist, smashing the hospital table.
What was wrong with these two old friends? Jiraiya was one thing, but Orochimaru wanted to take this opportunity to dig up graves!
"Um..."
Nagato looked at the annoyed Tsunade, unsure if he should speak.
"What is it?"
Tsunade's expression softened. While she could lose her temper with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, she needed to maintain a friendly demeanor with others. "Is there anything else we should be aware of?"
"Could you ask Konoha to contact Sasori of the Red Sand?"
Nagato looked at Tsunade and spoke up, "Members of the Akatsuki organization have grudges with Akihara Kagura, especially Sasori, whose combat strength is considerable..."
"!!!"
Orochimaru's brow furrowed as he suddenly remembered something and asked in a deep voice, "Has Sasori had private interactions with Akihara Kagura..."
"Have they?"
Nagato looked at Orochimaru in surprise.
"Sasori, that guy…"
Orochimaru recalled how Sasori of the Red Sand once threw him down the steps of the Akatsuki base and muttered, "It's very likely someone from Akihara Kagura's group."
Moreover…
Sasori and Yakushi Kabuto had once conspired to torture him together. These two were under Akihara Kagura's orders, aiming for the Edo Tensei technique in his hands. Kabuto had mentioned this before.
"!!!"
Nagato's eyes widened in shock. Sasori was one of the most trusted members of the Akatsuki for him and Konan, even saving them once. How could such a person be a spy for Akihara Kagura?
"I suffered a lot because of that guy back then..."
Orochimaru smirked, a strange smile appearing on his face.
"I just remembered, Kabuto is still in the village..."
Tsunade immediately thought of something and said in a serious tone, "Yesterday, he reported to me about the Konoha Hospital. That guy must be one of Akihara Kagura's men!"
Feeling like she had finally caught a loophole of Akihara Kagura, Tsunade quickly instructed the Anbu around her, "Send people to the Konoha Orphanage to detain Kabuto and have the interrogation team extract all information about Akihara Kagura from him!"
"He might have already fled by now..."
Orochimaru shook his head, not holding out much hope, and chuckled, "Over the years, with Akihara Kagura's support, Kabuto has amassed a considerable number of powerful reanimated ninja, almost enough to form an army. Among them, there are at least three to four Kage-level combatants. It won't be easy to capture him..."
"Wait, let me think..."
Tsunade rubbed her temples again and continued, "So, capturing Kabuto will require a significant number of people..."
Now…
Tsunade realized a more serious problem. They needed to seal the four previous Hokages, which required mobilizing a large portion of Konoha's high-level combat forces, possibly even all the Jounin-level fighters, to avoid any mishaps. At the same time, they needed to capture Kabuto, who had three to four Kage-level figures under his control, also requiring high-level forces...
Konoha's combat strength seemed somewhat insufficient...
Tsunade's face turned extremely grim. Since she became the Fifth Hokage, she had never considered that Konoha's combat power would be inadequate.
Historically, Konoha's strongest combat unit was the Root. Members of the Root were all Dual Kekkei Genkai ninjas with the Sharingan and Wood Release, each one being an elite Jounin-level fighter.
In addition, there was Akihara Kagura, the village's strongest combatant, who could single-handedly take down a major nation's ninja village, relieving Tsunade of any worries about insufficient combat power.
However…
In the situation where Root and Akihara Kagura might become enemies…
Konoha's combat strength suddenly showed a large gap. Tsunade never imagined that one day she would face such a dilemma. When had she ever fought such a difficult battle?
Moreover…
Adding insult to injury.
Just as Tsunade was calculating whom to send to capture Kabuto and who to help seal the four previous Hokages...
"Wait, someone is coming!"
Nagato's strong sensing ability quickly detected a terrifying chakra approaching Konoha: "A powerful chakra is heading towards Konoha!"
"Akihara Kagura!"
Everyone present believed that the approaching individual might be Akihara Kagura.
"No…"
"It's not Akihara Kagura…"
Nagato shook his head, his body trembling slightly with unease: "This person's chakra is strange, feeling both unfamiliar and somewhat familiar…"
"Everyone, stay alert!"
Tsunade could only shout out loudly! Konoha had not yet resolved its internal issues, and now an external threat had appeared! All the Anbu quickly spread the word, and the defense units immediately went on alert, with piercing alarm sounds echoing throughout the village!
"He's here!"
Nagato suddenly looked in one direction! The direction Nagato was looking at was the Hokage Rock of Konoha. Regardless of where you were in Konoha, you could see the Hokage Rock, as it was the village's sacred ground.
A figure in red armor ignored Konoha's barrier, descending from the sky and landing directly on the Hokage Rock, looking down arrogantly at the view of Konoha!
"Hmph…"
"Konoha…"
~~~
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— Ending + Extra Chapters!
Read upto Chapter 348: End! + Extra Chapters of Sasuke's Rebirth where the world Akihara Kagura is not around. Thank you!