"That's the situation," Mufasa said, waving his hand dismissively. "Anyway, your granddaughter Tsunade was getting ganged up on by four Raikages. Don't know if she's dead or not."
Mufasa was, of course, spouting absolute nonsense to stir the pot.
But hearing that his precious grand-niece was being brutalized by a gang of ancient lightning thugs ignited a fierce rage—not just in the infamously hot-tempered Tobirama, but even in the usually gentle God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.
"Damn them all," Tobirama growled, his red eyes flashing. "Let's go."
The Senju brothers stormed toward the gates of Konoha. Hiruzen and Minato naturally flanked them. Mufasa trailed behind at a leisurely pace, ready for a show.
Near the shattered gates, the Cloud vanguard spotted five figures approaching. Seeing the Konoha insignias on their armor, a Cloud captain stepped forward, shouting confidently. "Konoha Shinobi! Drop your weapons! We guarantee your safety! Our villages have agreed to a ceasefire!"
Tobirama scoffed. Drop my weapons? I am the weapon. "Get out of my way."
His hands blurred through a series of seals. Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu! Out of thin air, a massive, roaring tidal wave materialized, sweeping the entire Cloud vanguard away into the forest.
The colossal surge of chakra instantly alerted the heavy hitters. In a flash of lightning, the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Raikages rushed to the frontline.
Thus, the Four Hokages officially faced off against the Four Raikages.
"You guys were reincarnated too?!" the First Raikage asked, his jaw dropping.
Tobirama rolled his eyes. "I invented the damn technique! If you meatheads can use it, why couldn't I?" He pointed a threatening finger at the towering men. "So, you're the four bastards who ganged up on Tsunade?"
"Tobirama, stop spouting nonsense!" the First Raikage barked back. "We didn't even breach the village! How could we have beaten up Tsunade?!"
From the back of the group, Mufasa chuckled. "Ah, my bad. I build really high-quality walls. Must have kept them out."
Tobirama shot Mufasa a withering glare before turning back to the Raikage. "I don't care if you laid a hand on her or not. You attacked Konoha. That is a fact."
The First Raikage crossed his massive arms, sparks flying from his shoulders. "So what if we did?"
"Then I'm going to teach you a lesson."
The three undead Raikages cracked their knuckles, eager for a brawl. Since they were immortal Edo Tensei zombies, who cared about taking damage? Let the heavens fall!
The Fourth Raikage, however, was sweating bullets.
"Uh... Grandpa? Dad? Uncle?" A muttered nervously. "I'm still alive. Won't I be at a massive disadvantage here?"
Four against four meant he would be matched up against the Yellow Flash. If Minato decided to use a suicide attack, A would be permanently dead, while Minato would just regenerate!
The Third Raikage smacked his son upside the head. "Where is your pride, boy?! So what if you die? You'll just be reincarnated later! A man afraid of death is no Raikage!"
A's face twitched violently. That's easy for you to say when you're already dead! The Raikages flared their lightning chakra. The Hokages readied their stances.
Standing in the back, Mufasa was practically vibrating with excitement. Four Hokages against Four Raikages? Are we going to see a Thousand-Armed Wood Buddha wrestling a Lightning Avatar? This is going to be epic. Mufasa opened his system inventory and pulled out a lawn chair, a bag of sunflower seeds, and an ice-cold beer. He sat down, ready for the cinematic event of the century.
Unfortunately, his dream was instantly shattered.
"Wait," Hashirama Senju commanded, holding up a hand to stop his brother. The First Hokage stepped forward, his aura instantly calming the battlefield. "Fellow Kage. Let us not be hasty."
"What do you want, Hashirama?" the First Raikage demanded.
Hashirama pointed toward the distant tree line, where terrified Cloud grunts were still trying to recover from the water blast. "If we go all out here, we will lose control. Your men will be obliterated in the crossfire. Is that truly what you want?"
The three undead Raikages fell silent. It was a fair point. Wiping out their own descendants wasn't exactly a victory.
"You make sense," the First Raikage conceded. "What's your proposal?"
"Make way for us," Hashirama said calmly. "We need to enter the village and figure out what is actually happening."
The four Raikages conferred for a moment before nodding.
"Fine. We won't stop you," the First Raikage said. "We have already reached an agreement with the new Hokage, Danzo Shimura. Hostilities have ceased."
"Our only condition for this truce," he added, "was that Konoha abolishes all the heretical, unnatural technology obtained from Sunagakure and returns to the true, orthodox path of the shinobi."
Hokage Danzo Shimura?! When did that happen?! Hashirama and Hiruzen exchanged bewildered looks, before Hashirama slowly turned to look at Mufasa, who was casually cracking sunflower seeds. You tricky brat. You left a lot out of your story.
"We'll find out the truth once we're inside," Hashirama said diplomatically.
"We will pull back thirty miles and await the outcome," the First Raikage declared.
Meanwhile, inside the Hokage Building conference room.
Danzo Shimura, dressed in the pristine, tailor-made Hokage robes he had secretly kept ironed for decades, sat triumphantly at the head desk. Finally. I am a man who has become Hokage.
The room was packed with Konoha's clan heads and high-ranking officials. Danzo stood up, ready to issue his first royal decrees. His first order of business? Expel all Suna merchants and default on his massive debts to Mufasa. Now is the perfect time to not repay that money.
Clearing his throat, Danzo launched into a grand, sweeping monologue, dripping with theatrical sorrow.
"Of the legendary Sannin, two must be exiled! Of the Anbu commanders, three must be purged! Look at them! Supposedly the pillars of Konoha, yet they are rotten to the core! It breaks my heart!" Danzo placed a trembling hand over his chest. "Our ancestors entrusted this village to us, and look at what it has become! I am ashamed to face the heavens!"
He pointed an accusatory finger at the clan heads. "And you! Standing there trying to look dignified! Are your hands clean? Which of you hasn't traded in Suna's technological garbage? I urge you to find your conscience! Stop your lazy reliance on machines!"
Danzo began to pace the room. "I used to think the Akatsuki was our greatest enemy, so I plotted their downfall. I thought the Nine-Tails was the threat, so I supported its sealing. I thought the Uchiha were the cancer, so I had them excised! But now I see the truth. Konoha's greatest threat isn't outside; it's right here in this building! If we follow Sunagakure's industrialized path, we lose our souls! The Daimyo will abandon us, and we will starve!"
He gestured to his Root guards, who unveiled a massive wooden plaque above his desk: THE TRUE PATH OF SHINOBI.
"Look at those words! Burn them into your minds! From now on, this building will be renamed the True Path Citadel!"
Danzo sneered, his ambition swelling. "We must unite to defeat Suna and its heretic Kazekage, Mufasa! The other three Great Nations have already agreed. Through a conference call—yes, Suna's phones are somewhat useful, I'll admit—we have formed a Grand Allied Shinobi Force! As long as I am Hokage, we will crush the Sand!"
The clan heads looked at each other in sheer horror. A world war against Mufasa?! Are you insane?! But with Tsunade gone—currently drowning her sorrows in a tavern—no one dared to speak up against the newly crowned dictator.
"Do you all support this campaign?!" Danzo demanded.
"Support..." they muttered weakly.
Danzo beamed. He took a bowl of premium sake from his guard. Today is a momentous day. I must toast.
"I offer this bowl of wine to my predecessors," Danzo declared, his voice ringing with absolute arrogance. "To my teachers, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju. To my rival, Hiruzen Sarutobi. To Fugaku, Orochimaru, and even that bastard Mufasa! They shaped me. They forced me to become the savior of this world. Now that they are gone, I stand alone at the pinnacle."
Danzo raised the bowl to the ceiling. "I do not wish them peace in death. I only wish... that I could see them one last time, in the next life!"
The heavy oak doors of the office suddenly swung open.
Five men walked in.
The entire room froze. Danzo stood completely paralyzed, the bowl of sake hovering near his lips.
Tobirama crossed his arms, staring at Danzo's ridiculous outfit. "What is this idiot babbling about?"
Hashirama smiled brightly, slapping his brother's shoulder. "Don't be mean, Tobirama! Danzo was just saying how much he missed us! He wants a reunion!"
Hiruzen wiped a genuine tear from his eye. "I knew I misjudged you, Danzo. You still care."
Mufasa pushed past the emotional Hokages, looking around the stunned room. "Yeah, yeah, touching. Anyway, where's Tsunade? Danzo, did you kill her yet?"
_______________________________
Word count: 1507
Comment below on what you think so far.
If anyone of you is interested in reading some advanced chapters, you can check out my p@ tr*on.
p@tr*on.co m/Rai_jin
Thanks for reading guys!