"A gift?"
"What gift?"
Seeing the curiosity in everyone's eyes, Orochimaru raised his hand and slammed it onto the ground.
"Edo Tensei!"
The prepared sacrifices were swallowed by the earth, and three ninjas clad in armor from the Warring States period appeared before everyone.
"Edo Tensei?"
"Why isn't it the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique?"
"Did the plan… go wrong?"
Uchiha Madara lowered his head, staring at his own hands as he muttered to himself.
According to his plan, his revival should have been through the Rinnegan's Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique. So why had it turned into Edo Tensei instead?
But after only a brief moment of hesitation, Madara stopped dwelling on it.
Listening to the noisy chatter around him, he frowned and raised his head.
Just as he was about to scold them, he was startled by a large face suddenly right in front of him.
"What the hell!!!"
Seeing that face almost pressed against his, Madara instinctively stepped back several paces, shocked.
"Hashirama?"
"Madara!"
Hashirama ran over enthusiastically and slapped him hard on the shoulder.
"It's been a long time since we last met!"
Watching this scene, Tobirama stood to the side with his arms crossed, letting out a cold snort.
"You two were also revived with Edo Tensei?"
Madara pushed Hashirama aside and froze for a moment.
This place…
didn't seem like a battlefield at all.
It looked more like… a ceremony?
"Hashirama, do you know what exactly is going—"
Madara turned around to ask, only to find Hashirama crouching on the ground, drawing circles.
"You pushed me away the moment we met… how disappointing."
Black lines appeared on Madara's forehead as he snorted.
"Hashirama, you really haven't changed at all."
Hashirama immediately replied, "Of course! Though I don't know if you're still the same—unable to pee if someone's standing behind you—"
"Hashirama, shut up!"
"Hahahahaha…"
Watching the two chat as if no one else existed, Tobirama frowned.
"Brother, focus on the serious matter first!"
"This is the serious matter…" Hashirama muttered quietly before finally shifting his attention away from Madara.
Tobirama glanced at Madara and asked coldly, "Madara, what did you mean when you said the plan went wrong?"
Madara replied impatiently, "What difference would it make if you knew? Right now you're nothing more than an Edo Tensei body. With your strength, you can't do anything."
Seeing Tobirama clench his teeth, Hashirama quickly spoke up.
"Madara, I'd like to know what you meant too."
Hearing this, Madara crossed his arms and explained, "Fine. There's no harm in telling you."
"After our battle at the Valley of the End, I used the Sharingan's forbidden technique—Izanagi—to rewrite the outcome of my death."
"After that, I lingered on, awakened the Rinnegan, and learned of the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"Uchiha Yuzuru was the successor I chose. In my plan, he was supposed to use the Rinnegan I left behind to revive me with the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique."
"I originally thought that even if he had no choice but to revive me using Edo Tensei, it would be because he needed my strength in battle."
"But judging by the current situation… it seems completely different from what I expected."
Hashirama and Tobirama exchanged a glance.
Hashirama smiled. "So that's what you meant."
"Madara, Yuzuru already told us about all of this."
Madara froze. "He told you? When?"
"When Konoha was destroyed," Hashirama suddenly exclaimed as realization struck him. "I get it! Yuzuru must have already unified the ninja world!"
Tobirama stroked his chin and nodded.
"From what we're seeing, that seems very likely."
"Last time, he said that once he unified the ninja world, he would summon us again with Edo Tensei."
Hearing their conversation, Madara's brows furrowed tightly.
Why would the successor he chose have an agreement with Hashirama and Tobirama?
And why did someone as stubborn as Hashirama seem to support Uchiha Yuzuru?
Where were Black Zetsu and White Zetsu?
Too many questions flooded his mind. Madara vaguely felt that things had completely slipped out of his control.
At that moment, Orochimaru slowly stepped forward.
"Your guesses are correct. The ninja world has already been unified. Today is Yuzuru-kun's inauguration ceremony."
"So it really is like that."
Hashirama took a sharp breath.
That kid… he actually did it!
"Alright, it's about time. If you have any questions, save them until after the coronation ceremony."
As Orochimaru finished speaking, colorful smoke began to rise around the square, followed by bursts of celebratory cannons echoing through the sky.
Everyone looked up excitedly, only to see a massive fortress, as large as an island, slowly descending from the heavens.
It blotted out the sky, exuding an overwhelming presence.
"Look! That's Lord Yuzuru's Everlasting Imperial Palace, right?"
"It can actually fly in the sky? That's insane!"
"Only a palace like that could match Lord Yuzuru's status!"
Exclamations erupted everywhere.
After all, for most people, the appearance of the Everlasting Imperial Palace was simply too shocking.
"That kid…"
A faint smile appeared on the Third Raikage's face.
As expected of his sworn brother—this entrance was truly impressive.
A, Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi, and the younger generation all stared in awe, swallowing hard.
This was just… way too cool.
Under the gaze of countless people, Uchiha Yuzuru appeared out of thin air atop the high platform.
"The ninja world is unified—thus it is named the Divine Nation!"
"Crowned as king—thus he is titled Emperor!"
Orochimaru's voice echoed in everyone's ears before he shouted loudly, "Bow!"
In an instant, everyone stood up and respectfully knelt down in unison.
The Hokage, Raikage, Tsuchikage, Kazekage, and Mizukage all stepped forward, knelt before Uchiha Yuzuru, and raised their Kage hats high above their heads as symbols of authority.
Uchiha Yuzuru nodded calmly and spoke in a deep voice.
"The Divine Nation is established. Order is unified. True peace begins today!"
His words echoed across the square several times before the crowd erupted in a unified roar.
"Long live the Divine Nation! Long live Lord Yuzuru!"
"Long live the Divine Nation! Long live Lord Yuzuru!"
"Long live the Divine Nation! Long live Lord Yuzuru!"
"…"
Looking at the scene of countless people kneeling and cheering before him, a faint smile appeared on Yuzuru's face.
To sweep across the world and unify all under heaven—
the ultimate dream of every man…
he had achieved it.