One day earlier, Konohagakure.
Inside the Hokage's office, the representatives of the Three Great Sacred Lands had finally gathered.
Over the past month, the three of them had fully grasped the power bestowed upon them. Jiraiya, in particular, had truly come to understand the immense strength of the Great Toad Sage.
With each passing moment, as he refined and integrated this power, his strength skyrocketed at an astonishing pace.
Even now, he had no clear grasp of his own limits—and this was after absorbing only half of the Great Toad Sage's power.
There was no helping it. This kind of crude, forceful inheritance naturally resulted in a tremendous loss of power.
It was nothing like how Kaguya had split her power between her two sons or how the Sage of Six Paths had passed his power to Indra and Asura. In those cases, their bloodline served as a conduit, ensuring minimal loss and allowing for rapid inheritance.
Jiraiya clenched his fist and declared confidently, "Since we're ready, let's head to Amegakure and set fate back on the right track!"
Tsunade nodded. While her inherited power was nowhere near as overwhelming as Jiraiya's, the sages of the Three Great Sacred Lands were all at the level of the Sage of Six Paths. Even a fraction of their strength was beyond imagination.
With that, Tsunade also felt a surge of confidence. "Let's move out!"
However, a voice of dissent came from the bespectacled 'nobody' in the room—Kabuto Yakushi.
"Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama, I believe it would be reckless to proceed like this."
Jiraiya turned to him, frowning slightly. He was never one to dismiss advice outright.
"What do you mean?"
Kabuto offered a polite smile and began, "I know that both of you are renowned as two of the Legendary Sannin, and now, with the power of the sages, your strength has undoubtedly reached an unimaginable level."
Then, he changed his tone. "However, if even the sages themselves treated this enemy so seriously—and the Great Toad Sage even sacrificed his life—then doesn't it seem unwise for us to rush in unprepared?"
Jiraiya and Tsunade exchanged glances, their expressions turning solemn. They nodded in agreement.
Indeed, while they had grown stronger, the enemy's true strength remained unknown. Charging in blindly would indeed be reckless.
"But... we don't have many other options," Jiraiya admitted.
At their level, conventional traps, tools, and even an army of shinobi would be utterly useless. None of those could impact a battle at their scale.
Only Kage-level combatants would be relevant, but at this point, the ninja world had none left.
A month ago, Kumogakure had been wiped out by Akatsuki. Kirigakure had pledged allegiance to Amegakure long before that. Sunagakure had ceased to exist, and Iwagakure's stance remained ambiguous.
The era of warring nations was over. The unification of the ninja world under Akatsuki was now a visible trend. The only real opposition left was Konohagakure.
A faint smirk appeared at the corner of Kabuto's lips. "The living world may have no allies left—but the world of the dead is full of them."
Jiraiya and Tsunade's eyes widened in shock. "You…"
Kabuto adjusted his glasses with a single finger. "It seems you've already figured it out."
"That's right. Edo Tensei."
"But that jutsu is only known by Orochimaru, and he's been mingling with Akatsuki for quite some time now," Tsunade pointed out.
Kabuto's smirk deepened. "Perhaps neither of you paid much attention to a 'nobody' like me, so allow me to reintroduce myself."
"I was once a subordinate of Orochimaru-sama. And as for Edo Tensei… I know it too."
Jiraiya studied the round-faced, bespectacled young man before him. He vaguely remembered Kabuto as a seemingly kind and unassuming Genin who had long been involved in medical work at the hospital.
But now, he had been exposed as Orochimaru's spy.
Tsunade, however, was more focused on another concern. "Who exactly are you proposing to summon?"
Kabuto's expression remained calm despite the pressure in her voice.
"Tsunade-sama, you already know the answer—why ask?"
"Of course, if you believe it's unnecessary, just forget I said anything."
"However," he added, "I think you should carefully consider this. If this operation fails, and the sages' prophecy holds true, the ninja world will be doomed."
Jiraiya turned to Tsunade, who looked visibly displeased. With a loud crash, she slammed her fist onto the desk, shattering it into splinters.
"Why are you looking at me?! I hate the thought of violating my grandfather's rest, but if it's for the sake of the ninja world, we have no choice," she growled.
Kabuto chuckled as he turned away. "Then follow me."
"To summon past Hokage at their full strength, the sacrifices can't be just anyone."
"I was fortunate enough to make use of some of Orochimaru-sama's leftover resources and barely managed to prepare five suitable offerings."
Led by Kabuto, the three arrived at a hidden base deep within the Land of Fire.
Jiraiya, still curious, asked, "You mentioned Orochimaru's 'leftover resources.' Did something happen to him?"
Still walking ahead, Kabuto shook his head. "I don't know. When I emerged from Ryūchi Cave after receiving the White Snake Sage's inheritance, Orochimaru-sama had already disappeared."
"I dared not investigate too closely. If he truly joined Akatsuki, getting caught prematurely would have been disastrous for me."
As they delved deeper into the base, the surroundings grew darker. The torches that once illuminated the walls had long since been extinguished.
Not that it mattered. To shinobi of their caliber, a little darkness was meaningless.
"We're here."
Kabuto stopped before a sealed underground chamber.
The three stepped inside. Kabuto calmly lit the candles mounted on the walls, then strode to the center of the room.
Before him lay five experimental subjects, their bodies radiating immense chakra. Under Kabuto's accelerated cultivation, they had reached pseudo-Kage-level strength—only sacrifices of this caliber could summon the past Hokage at their full power.
Kabuto's hands formed a series of seals. "Edo Tensei!"
With agonized screams, the five bodies were enveloped in paper-like wrappings, their forms gradually shifting into new figures.
Kabuto sighed. "What a pity. I only had time to prepare five sacrifices and collect so many cells."
"If I had more, I could have summoned every powerful ninja in history. Then we would be unstoppable."
At that moment, a stern voice rang out.
"Young man, forbidden jutsu must not be abused!"
The speaker was a tall man clad in blue armor, his face solemn as he stared directly at Kabuto.
Kabuto smirked and adjusted his glasses. "Coming from you, that's rather unconvincing."
"Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (241 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)