At Konoha's barrier, Hikaru looked helplessly at the report in his hand.
Beside him, Nara Shikaku and Saya kept sneaking glances at Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama from time to time.
Such a major incident at Konoha's barrier had naturally attracted a great deal of attention.
However, with Hikaru blocking the area, ordinary people could not enter. Some people, however, clearly did not fall within the range of those being stopped.
For example, Uchiha Saya, his personal secretary.
And Nara Shikaku, Minister of Administration.
Their reason for coming was simple. They wanted to use their positions to understand the current situation.
If everything was fine, then naturally there would be no issue. If things were bad, they would fire a signal flare immediately.
After all, the Hokage had personally moved out. Konoha could not possibly have no defensive measures in place.
The shinobi within Konoha had already begun gathering. The moment their signal went out, those shinobi would arrive to support them immediately.
Running to a great nation's shinobi village to cause trouble was not something ordinary people dared to do, because the consequences would be unimaginable.
However, when they quickly arrived at Hikaru's side, both of them were stopped by Kakashi.
At this moment, Kakashi was wearing a mask, but the eyes revealed through that mask looked especially strange.
That strangeness did not attract their attention.
When they looked past him toward Hikaru, both of them froze on the spot.
Because within their line of sight, two figures dressed in red and blue appeared before them.
Their condition looked somewhat strange. There were odd cracks across their bodies.
Besides that, their eyes were also different from normal people's eyes. Their sclera were not the usual white, but black.
However, none of these strange details mattered as much as one fact.
Both Nara Shikaku and Saya had already recognized their identities!
These two looked exactly like the two former Hokage carved into the Hokage Rock.
But weren't these two long dead?
Why were they here?
Had they risen from the grave, or had Hikaru used some kind of technique to revive them?
No matter which possibility it was, the revival of these two was a major matter for Konoha.
At this moment, Shikaku and Saya were truly stunned.
They had only come to check whether there was a problem, yet they had run straight into something like this.
Fortunately, Hikaru noticed them and allowed them to come over.
Actually, compared to the two of them, there was someone even more shocked.
That person was Nagato.
When Nagato heard Hikaru's words, his expression changed instantly, because he felt Hikaru was playing with him.
However, at Hikaru's signal, Hashirama and Tobirama removed their disguises one after another. The moment they did, Nagato also froze in place.
Nagato was not from Konoha, so he was naturally not familiar with the First and Second Hokage.
Unfortunately for him, he had the Rinnegan.
He had already noticed earlier that something about the two of them was not right.
Now, he could fully confirm it.
These two were not living people at all!
Through his Rinnegan, he could see that the essence of their bodies did not belong to them.
However, because of a special kind of chakra, they had taken on this appearance.
Hikaru did not deliberately keep Nagato in suspense. He directly explained who these two were.
Only at that moment did Nagato realize that Hikaru was not joking.
He truly could bring the dead back.
Even if this revival was technically false, what if Nagato used the Rinne Rebirth Technique on someone in this state?
Nagato could not be certain whether his idea was correct, but he was truly moved.
He wanted to see Yahiko.
He wanted to see this friend who had gone through life and death with him, only to depart too early.
"Bring out his corpse. I need material. Kakashi, Tobirama-senpai, take Kakashi to the prison. I need a death-row prisoner."
Hikaru was already very familiar with Edo Tensei.
And because Kakashi had experienced Hikaru reviving his father, he was also fairly familiar with this process.
With Tobirama's help, Kakashi soon brought over a death-row prisoner.
This prisoner was also a spy, and a woman at that. Tobirama had deliberately chosen her.
After all, he also knew Edo Tensei. He would never choose a good sacrifice for someone who might become an enemy.
He would never do anything that strengthened a potential enemy.
Hikaru clearly did not care what kind of sacrifice it was.
To him, male or female made no difference.
However, Nagato looked somewhat awkward.
Especially because his Rinnegan allowed him to see the essence of the revived body. That made him feel even more uncomfortable.
Even so, he did not dare say anything.
After all, the person who controlled this technique was Hikaru.
If it were someone else, he might try to seize the technique by force.
But Hikaru had once beaten him so thoroughly that he doubted his own life, and he had made it look effortless.
If he attacked someone like that, his ending could be predicted.
Especially since this time, to show sincerity, he had come to meet Hikaru with his real body.
Although this allowed him to display greater combat strength, it also meant that if he failed, he would truly die.
He had begun to doubt his beliefs, and he genuinely intended to change something.
If he died now, it would be far too regrettable and far too unworthy.
As Hikaru quickly completed the hand seals, the female death-row prisoner immediately let out a series of miserable screams.
The screams did not last long.
She was completely wrapped in Edo paper, and finally transformed into Yahiko's appearance.
Soon, Yahiko awakened.
He looked around blankly, and finally his gaze locked onto Nagato.
Nagato was already so emotional that he could barely control himself.
Before Yahiko had fully recovered his senses, Nagato had already rushed to his side and pulled him into a tight embrace.
Seeing this brotherly reunion, Hikaru was willing to give them some time.
Therefore, he turned his gaze toward Nara Shikaku and Saya.
Before he could say anything, Shikaku spoke first.
"Hokage-sama, we know what should and should not be said.
"And the reason we came here this time is because there is something relatively important that requires your handling."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shikaku gave Saya a look.
Saya handed a document to Hikaru.
Hikaru looked at the report in confusion. But after only two glances, he felt a headache coming on.
This report was none other than the deployment plan for Hikaru's strategy toward the surrounding small nations.
He truly had not expected his plan to progress so quickly.
According to the report, the Land of Hot Water had basically already been thoroughly investigated.
As long as Hikaru wished, he could begin his plan at any time…
…
"What is it? Why do you look so troubled?"
Hashirama glanced at Yahiko and Nagato, who were quietly speaking not far away.
Then he turned and looked at Hikaru's helpless expression, unable to stop himself from asking curiously.
Although Hikaru was holding the report, Hashirama did not lean over to read it.
Tobirama was also curious.
But compared to Hikaru's troubled expression, he was more focused on Nagato.
After all, from Nagato, he could sense his elder brother's power, as well as a power that felt extremely familiar, yet he could not say where he had encountered it.
A man who possessed two such powers and also had something like the Rinnegan was dangerous to the extreme.
Even Tobirama felt this man might have something wrong with his head.
But no matter what, even if a fool possessed terrifying power, that still deserved close attention.
Besides, this man seemed to harbor some hostility toward Konoha.
"Instead of looking at those reports, you should think more about how to solve the trouble in front of us."
Tobirama snorted coldly. Folding his arms, he said indifferently,
"This fellow is not easy to handle. Hikaru, what do you plan to do?"
"Don't worry. He won't be able to stir up much trouble."
Hikaru raised his head slightly and looked at Yahiko and Nagato in the distance. Then he chuckled.
"And if I'm not wrong, this boy may no longer be our enemy after today."
"No longer our enemy?"
Tobirama looked at Hikaru seriously before nodding.
"You are the Hokage. I trust your judgment. But can you explain this boy's situation?"
Tobirama's words immediately made Hashirama turn his head as well.
Kakashi, Shikaku, and Saya also did the same.
Facing someone who had come to Konoha alone, drawn the Hokage himself out, and even received the Second Hokage's attention, they could not help being curious.
Hikaru nodded casually.
Although this involved his dealings with Orochimaru, these matters would eventually become known anyway.
There was no issue telling them ahead of time.
In any case, the First and Second already knew about these troublesome matters.
"No problem. There are some things you can know."
Hikaru spoke directly.
He explained everything from his first encounter with them alongside Kakashi, to his contact with Orochimaru, and then his battle with Nagato.
However, he still concealed many details.
For example, Uchiha Madara, Black Zetsu, Obito, and the like.
He could not say everything at once. After all, on the surface, he had not had much contact with the Akatsuki.
Besides, the ANBU did not possess much intelligence about the Akatsuki.
Hikaru used Root to cover for himself.
Sometimes, Hikaru found that Danzō's Root was truly useful as a scapegoat.
"That is roughly what happened."
Hikaru soon finished summarizing everything.
After all, these events were not overly complicated.
"It was because of my contact with Kakuzu that I remembered them.
"After Root was taken over by me, I discovered that Danzō had actually had contact with them as well."
At this point, Hikaru paused slightly and pointed toward Yahiko, whom he had revived.
"That person was essentially killed because of Danzō.
"And according to Root's intelligence, Hanzō has been missing for a long time.
"With this man named Nagato's strength, I suspect Hanzō may already be dead.
"In other words, the Land of Rain is actually being controlled by him."
"I did not expect so much history behind this."
After listening, Hashirama sighed softly.
Then he turned and looked at Tobirama unhappily.
"The disciple you trained really knows how to create trouble."
"Hmph. He should be thankful he died early."
Tobirama was also extremely displeased. He snorted coldly and said nothing more.
But inwardly, he became even more dissatisfied with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
What sort of role was Danzō?
That man was merely someone who served the Hokage.
The one who could truly make decisions was Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage.
For something like this to happen, either Sarutobi Hiruzen gave the order, meaning he bore the main responsibility.
Or Sarutobi Hiruzen failed to control his subordinate, allowing such a thing to happen. In that case, he still bore the main responsibility.
One could say that at this moment, Hashirama was truly disappointed in Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Forget it. No need to dwell on those old matters."
Hikaru did not want to keep clinging to things that had already passed.
He handed the report directly to Hashirama and Tobirama.
"Take a look at this report. I did not expect things to develop so quickly."
"Is that appropriate?"
Hashirama smiled as he said this, but he accepted the report without any hesitation.
Tobirama also leaned over to look.
After only a short while, he roughly understood the situation.
Clearly, in his eyes, this was a good thing.
He had already known about the plan, so he naturally understood Hikaru's thinking.
Now that the opportunity was before them, what to do next was something Hikaru needed to consider.
"What are your plans?"
After thinking for a moment, Tobirama asked curiously.
"I assume you will not let this opportunity pass?"
"Of course not. If I fail to grasp this opportunity, it would be far too wasteful."
Hikaru nodded without hesitation, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Didn't Nagato ask me how we would bring peace to the shinobi world?
"Isn't this an opportunity delivered right to our doorstep?"
"You mean?"
Hashirama raised an eyebrow and asked with some doubt.
"Is that suitable? If he causes destruction…"
"Then I will go to the Land of Rain and send him to hell!"
Hikaru did not hesitate in the slightest. He gave the matter a murderous conclusion.
Hikaru had never been softhearted.
If someone truly provoked him, he would not mind letting his enemies learn the consequences.
Moreover, Hikaru knew very well what Nagato's weakness was.
Worst case, he could capture Konan, summon Yahiko with Edo Tensei, and make Nagato stand still while Yahiko stabbed him to death.
There was no difficulty in doing such a thing, and Hikaru would not feel troubled about it.
Turning his head, Hikaru looked toward Nagato and Yahiko, who were still talking.
He did not eavesdrop, because there was no need.
Seeing Yahiko's ugly expression and Nagato's guilty look, Hikaru already knew.
The Akatsuki was truly about to change…
…
"Sigh. Since things have already reached this point, there is not much more to say."
On an open space not far from Hikaru and the others, Yahiko sighed helplessly.
Nagato had told Yahiko everything that happened after his death in great detail.
Hearing all of it, Yahiko felt both heartache and helplessness.
What pained him was Nagato's experience.
Although Yahiko had deliberately died by Nagato's hand in order to save Konan, he knew very well what kind of damage his actions would inflict on Nagato.
His heart was full of guilt.
But he also knew that given the situation back then, he had no other choice.
As for his helplessness, the reason was simple.
After his death, Nagato had indeed changed.
He understood Nagato far too well.
He understood this brother who had grown up with him far too well.
Nagato's heart had never been especially strong. After suffering such a devastating blow, he would likely make terrifying choices.
And now, it seemed that was exactly what had happened.
Fortunately, Nagato still had the possibility of changing.
"I'm sorry, Yahiko."
Nagato's face was full of guilt. He lowered his head slightly, his voice extremely heavy.
"I turned Akatsuki into what it is now. I failed your trust. I…"
"All right. I said this matter ends here."
Yahiko interrupted Nagato's self-blame and heavily patted his shoulder.
"Everything is not too late yet. There is still a chance to make up for it.
"And I have to admit, perhaps my own views were indeed too one-sided.
"That Fifth Hokage is right. Back then, we acted purely on passion and never considered deeper things."
Having died once, Yahiko now looked back on everything from that time and could only sigh.
Jiraiya-sensei's ideals were very beautiful.
The problem was that they were too beautiful.
Some people and some things could not truly be solved by communication alone.
If they could, then he and Hanzō would not have both ended up where they did.
They had never carefully considered issues of interest.
Or perhaps Jiraiya had never taught them about such things.
Nagato had just relayed Hikaru's earlier words.
As a smart person, Yahiko naturally thought of many things and considered many things.
Although this had more or less shaken his beliefs, Yahiko, as the true founder of Akatsuki, was not fragile.
If there were mistakes, correct them.
If there were problems, find the key to those problems.
He now knew where the problem with the original Akatsuki had been.
Similarly, he also understood that the current Akatsuki was even more terribly wrong.
All he could say was that the person who had deceived Nagato truly had evil intentions.
"Yahiko, you think you were wrong back then too?"
Nagato frowned, but very quickly, he sighed.
"Perhaps. That Fifth Hokage was also extremely dismissive of Jiraiya-sensei's views earlier."
"Because we never truly stood at a higher level to view everything in the shinobi world."
Yahiko once again patted Nagato's shoulder. This time, he smiled.
"Do your best. Now you have awakened, and you have also recognized where the problems lie.
"I believe you can lead Akatsuki down a different path. A truly correct path.
"And take good care of Konan."
"Yahiko, you…"
Nagato opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
Unfortunately, Yahiko interrupted him with a smile.
"Let's go. We should meet that Fifth Hokage properly. We still need to thank him, don't we?"
With that, Yahiko walked directly toward Hikaru.
Nagato hesitated.
He felt Yahiko had already guessed his thoughts, which was why he had acted this way.
His thought was simple.
Since Hikaru could summon even the First and Second Hokage, who had been dead for who knew how long, and keep them by his side, Nagato had also developed an idea.
Could he keep Yahiko like this as well?
Although this was not true revival, it would still let him talk to Yahiko properly.
And if possible, he was willing to use the Rinne Rebirth Technique on Yahiko!
However, obtaining that technique would probably come at a great price.
But to Nagato, the price did not matter.
Yahiko was far too important to him and Konan.
"Hokage-sama, thank you."
Yahiko brought Nagato to Hikaru's side, then bowed slightly to Hikaru.
"Thank you for helping Nagato recognize his problems. And thank you for allowing me to meet him again.
"Thank you."
"You are Jiraiya's disciple. Although I do not like him, he is still a Konoha shinobi, and he once made outstanding contributions to Konoha."
Hikaru raised his head slightly and spoke calmly.
However, his words were not polite at all. Hearing them, both Tobirama and Nara Shikaku raised their eyebrows.
Once made outstanding contributions?
Hokage-sama, are you truly planning to remove Jiraiya's shinobi registration?
However, none of them spoke. They only looked calmly at Hikaru.
"This…"
Yahiko also heard something different in Hikaru's words and looked somewhat embarrassed.
Nagato, on the other hand, did not hear the problem. Like Yahiko, he remained bowing to Hikaru.
"All right. I know you have many questions."
Hikaru did not give Yahiko a chance to speak. He interrupted directly.
"Let us make a deal.
"Do you not want to see how I intend to bring peace to the shinobi world?
"My movements will not be too fast, but they also will not be too slow.
"Now, there is an opportunity before you.
"However, as Konoha shinobi, we do not want to act personally.
"We will handle negotiations. You will handle the action.
"At the same time, I will give you an opportunity to learn.
"What do you say?"
"This…"
Yahiko's expression became troubled.
He could tell this Fifth Hokage was excessively forceful.
He could also tell that the Fifth Hokage's gaze was on him, not Nagato.
Nagato had said before that this Hokage knew some of their intelligence.
And this Hokage had also killed Danzō.
Clearly, this Hokage was directly treating him as the leader of Akatsuki.
Yahiko smiled bitterly, but he also knew he could not overthink things now.
After thinking briefly, he said,
"We can. But there is one matter where Hokage-sama needs to help us."
"Speak," Hikaru said directly.
"There is a cursed seal inside Nagato's body. He cannot resolve it himself."
Yahiko lowered his head and quickly explained the situation.
"I hope Hokage-sama can help him resolve this issue. If you do, we will do everything in our power to help Hokage-sama.
"Except war."
"I do not need you to start a war. You are not worthy of that."
Hikaru chuckled lightly before continuing.
"I admit you are strong, but that is all.
"I accept your condition. You are smarter than him. I will not release your Edo Tensei for the time being, and I will not control you either.
"Think carefully about how to handle the situation in the Land of Rain. We also need to make preparations on our side.
"So, happy cooperation?"
"Happy cooperation."
Yahiko raised his head slightly and said with incomparable seriousness,
"Hokage-sama…"
…
Yahiko's words did not surprise Hikaru much.
Or rather, Hikaru had truly guessed correctly.
Hikaru had never believed Black Zetsu would hand over things Nagato should not have received without conditions.
Even if he was forced to do so, he would definitely leave enough insurance behind to ensure the plan did not go wrong.
From beginning to end, Black Zetsu had only one goal: to free his mother sealed within the moon.
Uchiha Madara was an important part of his plan.
And Nagato was the key to reviving Uchiha Madara.
But Nagato had been beaten by Hikaru until he lost confidence, and his body had also been hollowed out by the Rinnegan.
That kind of Nagato was useless. He could not collect the power of the tailed beasts, and whether he would even live until the day he revived Uchiha Madara was uncertain.
Therefore, helping Nagato was inevitable.
And guarding against Nagato was equally inevitable.
Nagato's body contained a large amount of White Zetsu flesh. It was perfectly normal for there to be problems with that flesh.
Moreover, Uchiha Madara had also tampered with the Rinnegan and Obito's heart. If Black Zetsu did something to the White Zetsu flesh, it would be perfectly normal.
With this answer, Hikaru knew what he needed to do.
Nagato's cursed seal had to be studied thoroughly.
That way, not only could Nagato truly break free from Black Zetsu's control, but Hikaru could also see whether he could control Nagato himself!
Hikaru had never been a good person.
Similarly, Tobirama had never been a good person either.
Hikaru did not even need to say his thoughts aloud. Tobirama had already begun preparing.
Hikaru handed this matter to Tobirama. After all, what Hikaru needed was Tobirama's research ability.
It only took Tobirama one day to find the cursed seal and begin researching it.
"The cursed seal inside this boy is somewhat troublesome. It falls within the domain of Yin-Yang Release."
Tobirama himself knew Yin Release, and he had also read the Ōtsutsuki books on the moon, so he naturally recognized these things.
"The method is very advanced. Handling it will be troublesome, but that does not mean it cannot be studied."
"Then I will leave this matter to you."
Hikaru nodded and smiled.
"Tobirama-senpai, this is your specialty. Let me see your performance."
"Rest assured. I will break this cursed seal."
At this point, Tobirama raised his head proudly.
"Not only will I break it, I will also master it. If we can control that boy, it will be a good thing for Konoha."
"I do not know, but I will not oppose it either."
Hearing this, Hikaru's face filled with a smile.
Having this Hokage helping from the side was simply too comfortable.
Tobirama was the kind of person who understood how to maximize benefits, and he did not care what others thought so long as he obtained those benefits.
This kind of person was far too compatible with Hikaru.
Their cooperation could be called perfect.
"However, you should not have revived that orange-haired brat. That boy has a brain."
As Tobirama packed up the experimental materials, he spoke quietly.
"Reviving him makes it inconvenient for you to control things."
"But if I did not revive him, it would be inconvenient for me to gain trust."
Hikaru said casually, then waved his hand lightly.
"I will handle that matter. I will leave the other side to you."
After saying this, Hikaru left the laboratory beneath the Hokage Building.
This place had been personally selected by Tobirama.
Hikaru naturally had no objections. He had even specially arranged for all members of the ANBU Research Division to come here.
Nagato had already left Konoha with Yahiko.
They naturally needed to return and properly deal with the issues caused by their absence.
After all, Black Zetsu and Obito would not feel reassured about Nagato.
And Obito also possessed space-time abilities.
If things were not handled well and they were caught off guard while Konoha had not yet cracked the cursed seal, Nagato's fate would be unimaginable.
Making all necessary preparations was extremely important.
It was also good for everyone.
Hikaru walked into the Hokage's Office, nodding in return to the shinobi he passed along the way.
Soon, he entered the office.
What he did not expect was that Nara Shikaku and Saya were both there.
Hashirama was also smiling as he spoke with Saya.
"What are you talking about?"
Hikaru casually closed the door and asked curiously.
What he did not expect was that the moment he spoke, Saya's face turned slightly red, making him feel somewhat strange.
Hashirama did not think too much. He said directly,
"Of course, I was asking how she feels about you. You are already adults. It is time to have children.
"I can make decisions regarding you and her. Even if Madara were here, it would be the same!"
"…"
Hearing Hashirama's words, Hikaru could not help rolling his eyes, while Saya's face grew even redder.
Uchiha Madara would definitely not object.
That man probably wished the current Uchiha would all die. Why would he object?
Besides, the old man was long dead. Hashirama could say whatever he wanted.
Too lazy to bother with Hashirama, Hikaru looked toward Nara Shikaku, who had kept his head lowered and pretended not to exist.
"Minister Shikaku, how are the preparations I asked for?"
"Hokage-sama, I came today precisely to speak about this matter."
Hearing Hikaru's words, Shikaku immediately raised his head and took out a document.
"This is the result of our discussions. In addition, the cooperating forces have already assembled at the border."
"I see."
Hikaru nodded.
This time was a deterrence operation.
Although the troops would not truly act, the necessary posture still had to be shown.
After carefully looking over the report, Hikaru frowned slightly.
"This time, you intend to go personally?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Nara Shikaku nodded. His expression was extremely serious.
"Although this is only a small matter, it is also Konoha's first operation of this kind.
"We must treat it with utmost caution. Therefore, it is best for me to appear personally this time.
"I ask Hokage-sama to approve it…"
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