Mastermind of the Akatsuki

After the Reanimation Jutsu was performed, countless paper tags flew out from the void, enveloping the White Zetsu clone. In an instant, they rapidly transformed into the forms of the First Hokage, Second Hokage, and Fourth Hokage, their chakra aura growing increasingly terrifying.

Seeing this, the Third Hokage and Jiraiya showed extremely complicated expressions.

They had long known that the Scroll of Sealing contained the Reanimation Jutsu, but due to the taboo against reviving the dead, they had never used this forbidden technique.

Even during the most dangerous times, like the Third Great Ninja War or the Nine-Tails' Rampage, they never considered using this jutsu.

Yet today, they tacitly allowed, and even helped, Orochimaru perform the Reanimation Jutsu.

After a few breaths, the First and Second Hokage were the first to open their eyes. The Second Hokage coldly said, "Big brother, once again some ninja has reanimated us. This time, I have no intention of continuing to endure."

The First Hokage gently shook his head and replied, "Tobirama, I understand your thoughts, but the dead should not interfere too much in the world of the living. I do not agree with you trying to break free from the control of the Reanimation Jutsu."

"You're being too soft! You'll regret this someday."

As he spoke, Tobirama suddenly sensed something was wrong and furrowed his brow, "The ninja who summoned us was Orochimaru, but wait... why is that monkey standing next to Orochimaru?"

Hearing this, the First Hokage was also startled and looked towards Orochimaru and the others, puzzled, "Monkey, Orochimaru, have you two reconciled? Weren't you still fighting to the death last time?"

"That's a long story..." The Third Hokage's face turned awkward, unsure how to explain to the First and Second Hokage.

At that moment, the Fourth Hokage, who had also awakened, asked with confusion, "Third Hokage and Orochimaru-sama have always had a good relationship, haven't they? But I'm supposed to be dead, how am I suddenly revived? Jiraiya-sensei, why are you here too?"

Jiraiya fell silent, unwilling to reveal to his student that he was a prisoner.

The First and Second Hokage then turned to the Fourth Hokage and asked, "Who are you?"

The Fourth Hokage pointed to his flak jacket and said, "Greetings, First and Second. I am the Fourth Hokage of the village, who died in an accident."

"The Fourth, huh?"

The First Hokage asked with interest, "How is the village now? And why did you die before the monkey?"

"I died during the sealing of the Nine-Tails," the Fourth patiently explained, then seemed to remember something and asked the Third Hokage, "Third Lord, I have been dead so many years now. Have you discovered the culprit behind the Nine-Tails' Night? Was the attacking ninja really Madara Uchiha?"

Madara Uchiha?

Hearing that name, the First and Second Hokage's expressions immediately turned serious. They frowned, "Madara is supposed to be dead? Could it be he was reanimated as well?"

"Well..." The Third Hokage hesitated, knowing his information was limited.

At this moment, Orochimaru approached the First and Second Hokage and said, "The ninja behind the Nine-Tails' Night was one of Madara's subordinates. However, Madara did indeed declare war on the entire ninja world a few days ago. Madara's goal is to collect all the tailed beasts in the world and launch the Infinite Tsukuyomi, a genjutsu that would plunge all humanity into eternal sleep.

Though I originally had some disagreements with the Third Hokage, faced with this common enemy Madara, I chose to cooperate and summoned you from the Pure Land."

"Infinite Tsukuyomi?!"

The First Hokage laughed a few times before saying, "That's exactly the kind of thing Madara would do, still trying to change the entire shinobi world through his own power."

"Big brother?"

The Second Hokage scolded with frustration, "Do you know what you're saying? Madara is our greatest enemy, and now he's come back to threaten the entire ninja world again! And you're defending him?"

"What do you want to do then?" The First Hokage looked at the Second.

"Of course, we will find Madara and stop his scheme! I know you don't want to intervene in the ninja world, but Madara is the one who broke the rules first!"

The First Hokage shook his head and said, "I'm not planning to stop you, but do you know Madara's whereabouts? The ninja who summoned us haven't given us permission. Do you really think you can leave at will?"

The Second Hokage snorted coldly and said, "Big brother, we have about eighty percent of our original power now. They can't control us that easily. If we want to leave, we leave."

No sooner had he spoken than Orochimaru grew alert and strengthened his control over the Second Hokage.

Shisui activated his chakra and revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan, casting a powerful genjutsu on the Second Hokage.

Due to the combined effect of the genjutsu and the curse seal, the Second Hokage was unable to break free from the Edo Tensei's control.

Upon seeing the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Second Hokage calmed down and stared at Shisui Uchiha, "Madara has declared war on the entire ninja world. Why is there still a Mangekyō Sharingan Uchiha here?"

Shisui looked directly into the Second Hokage's eyes and said, "Just because some follow Madara doesn't mean all Uchiha do. Your attitude towards Madara is a bit extreme."

The Second Hokage crossed his arms and stared at Shisui, "You're quite the brash kid. Who was your ancestor?"

Shisui did not back down, "My grandfather was Kagami Uchiha. Second Hokage, you should remember him."

"Kagami Uchiha?"

The Second Hokage's expression softened, "So you are his descendant... no wonder you didn't become one of Madara's pawns."

The Second Hokage was naturally familiar with Kagami Uchiha.

Though Kagami was not his disciple, he was one of the carefully selected subordinates. Back then, he wanted to support the Hokage faction within the Uchiha clan by changing Kagami's influence.

From the results, it is evident that his plan was successful.

Although Kagami may have died of old age, his descendants inherited the Will of Fire and chose to stand with the Hokage against Madara.

Seeming to notice the Second Hokage's thoughts, Shisui sneered, "Second Hokage, you probably think my grandfather held great power in Konoha, thus leading the Uchiha down a different path?"

"Isn't that so?" The Second Hokage retorted.

Shisui laughed coldly and said, "My grandfather died thirty years ago. He was not killed by an enemy but by his comrade Danzo Shimura. In recent decades, the Uchiha clan has been continuously suppressed by the Hokage faction."

"Kagami Uchiha was killed by Danzo?"

The Second Hokage was incredulous, then glanced at the Third Hokage. Seeing the bitter smile on the Third's face, he fell into a brief silence. It seemed what Shisui Uchiha said was true, Danzo had indeed acted against Kagami Uchiha!

Back then, he had sensed Danzo's heavy and secretive nature and thought him unfit to be Hokage. Yet after missing the position, Danzo had taken such a ruthless step. No matter how much he hated the Uchiha, he should never have harmed Kagami.

Kagami was his key piece in dealing with the Uchiha. He could not afford any trouble there.

At that moment, the Second Hokage grew puzzled again. He looked at Shisui and the Third Hokage, wondering, if the Uchiha had been suppressed for so long, why was Shisui here now?

Still, he did not ask outright. Gathering intelligence slowly was necessary; acting rashly would risk alerting the enemy.

After some contemplation, the First Hokage said, "By the way, Sarutobi, where did Tsunade go? Could it be she disagrees with the Edo Tensei of me and Tobirama, and hasn't learned of this yet?"

"That's not it," Orochimaru replied. "Tsunade went to attend the Five Kage Summit. She's currently near the Land of Iron. If nothing unexpected happens, she will face Madara Uchiha in battle within these few days."

"The Five Kage Summit?" The First Hokage was quite puzzled. "Sarutobi is here, so why would Tsunade attend the summit? Is she already the Fifth Hokage of the village?"

Orochimaru nodded, "Tsunade is indeed the current Hokage, but she doesn't know what's happening here and would certainly never approve of the Edo Tensei technique."

"I see… that was my oversight." The First Hokage apologized lightly, "But since Madara has acted, I don't mind engaging him properly. I want to persuade him to reconsider. The Infinite Tsukuyomi plan is far too extreme for the ninja world."

"Big brother, you needn't apologize. Your only mistake was acting too late against Madara Uchiha!"

The Second Hokage could not stand the First's weakness and glanced at the Third Hokage and Orochimaru, then said, "Madara's target is the Nine-Tails. You should know its location, right? Let's go protect the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki and foil Madara's scheme."

"Well…" The Third Hokage and Orochimaru exchanged uneasy looks. How could they possibly know where the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki was?

Jiraiya hesitated and said, "I am the ninja who protects the Jinchuriki. Unless something unexpected happened, I think all the Jinchuriki, including the Nine-Tails', are lost to us."

"What!?" Hearing this, the First and others widened their eyes. Orochimaru and Shisui seemed to realize something and sighed softly.

Seeing the atmosphere turn somber, Jiraiya added, "But it's not all bad. Although all the Jinchuriki have lost control, Madara's revival of the Ten-Tails will not be easy. There are still shinobi in the world who can stand against Madara."

"Shinobi who can stand against Madara Uchiha?" The First Hokage's interest piqued. Though not a battle maniac like Madara, he longed for a worthy opponent. Being unbeatable was too lonely for him.

The Second Hokage frowned and asked, "If such shinobi exist, why haven't you sought their help to stop Madara?"

Jiraiya hesitated before replying, "Because that person is currently the leader of the Shinobi Allied Forces and is both an ally and rival of Madara. The only difference between them is that he wants to use the alliance to dominate the ninja world, while Madara wants to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi."

"…"

Upon hearing this, the First and Second Hokage fell silent.

If facing one Madara was difficult, facing two was much worse, and the whole ninja world might not be enough.

No wonder even Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, despite their past grievances, temporarily set them aside to face the ninja world's survival crisis.

The Fourth Hokage was curious about the Allied Forces' leader and asked, "Third Hokage, Orochimaru, who is the leader of the Shinobi Allied Forces? Do we know him?"

Jiraiya fell silent for a moment and said, "Minato. The leader is our friend, plus Yahiko and Nagato's comrade, Byakuya. That guy is currently the strongest shinobi in the world."

"Byakuya is the strongest shinobi?" The Fourth Hokage's expression changed. It was hard to associate Byakuya with the strongest in the ninja world.

The First and Second Hokage found the name somewhat familiar and asked, "Byakuya? Isn't that the ninja who fought both me and Tobirama? Is he cooperating with Madara?"

Jiraiya nodded bitterly, "Yes, I didn't expect him to team up with Madara. He even tried to capture the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki by attacking me."

The Fourth Hokage thought for a moment and asked, "Jiraiya-sensei, if Byakuya is the strongest, how did you escape from him?"

Jiraiya's face darkened, "He banished me into a spatial vortex. I was gravely injured and near death but not actually dead."

"I see…" The Fourth Hokage nodded.

After a long silence, the Second Hokage slowly spoke, "Stop this mental exhaustion. I've thought of a way to deal with Madara and Byakuya. Big Brother can handle Madara, while for Byakuya, we must rely on ourselves."

Everyone looked at the Second Hokage.

He cleared his throat and continued, "From what you described, Byakuya is strong but not on Big Brother's level. This gives us a chance. We can use our numbers to defeat Byakuya."

Jiraiya said, "Numerically, we don't have the advantage. Byakuya has the support of Amegakure and Akatsuki, forces rivaling even Konoha."

The Second Hokage snorted coldly, "I know they're strong, but don't we have Edo Tensei? If we have enough revived powerful shinobi, I can even overwhelm Big Brother."

The First Hokage coughed lightly to remind the Second.

The Second Hokage knew he was pushing it but pretended not to care and added, "Anyway, the urgent task is to take stock of the forces we can summon. I'll handle deployment and command!"