Naruto: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 308: Allied Forces Headquarters, Debate Among the Kage

The Allied Shinobi Forces' headquarters was bustling with activity as the war raged on. No one believed that Hagoromo Gengetsu could break through their defenses so quickly, so they were deep in heated discussion.

When the news arrived that Hagoromo Gengetsu had come alone, the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, was surprised and remarked, "One against ten thousand? Isn't Hagoromo Gengetsu being too arrogant?"

Beside her, the First Mizukage, Byakuren, remained calm and said, "He's always been like that."

The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, was equally unsurprised by Hagoromo Gengetsu's solo challenge. After all, there was a precedent standing right there.

Onoki glanced at the tall, bearded figure of the Third Raikage among the Raikage's forces.

The Third Raikage had once held off ten thousand Iwa-nin for three days and nights before dying of exhaustion—a feat that had shocked Onoki at the time.

Given Hagoromo Gengetsu's strength, facing the Allied Forces head-on wasn't surprising.

However, Onoki was more concerned about another issue at the moment.

He turned to Inoichi Yamanaka and asked, "What about the Akatsuki members? The Hagoromo and Uchiha ninja? And the hundreds of reanimated individuals that followed Hagoromo Gengetsu? Why haven't they shown up yet?"

After a brief moment of communication, Inoichi replied, "The Sensory Division reports that there's no sign of any enemy other than Hagoromo Gengetsu."

Upon hearing this, the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, stroked his chin and mused, "Are they hiding for now? Is Hagoromo Gengetsu planning to take on the Allied Forces alone?"

Mū's old rival, the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki, twirled his mustache with a smile, "Why not? That would be just like him."

"If he really does that, his strength will be significantly depleted by the time he reaches us," the Third Raikage finally spoke up, breaking his silence.

Shinobi were not lambs to the slaughter.

Even if Hagoromo Gengetsu could break through wave after wave of ten thousand strong, his stamina, energy, and chakra would be heavily consumed.

By the time he faced them, who were waiting in reserve, his chances of victory would be slim.

Knowing what kind of person Hagoromo Gengetsu was, and with his own experience in fighting against overwhelming odds, the Third Raikage doubted the enemy would act so recklessly.

"Isn't it possible that Hagoromo Gengetsu is stronger than we think?" Gengetsu Hōzuki suggested lazily.

The Third Raikage glanced at Gengetsu Hōzuki but chose not to engage in a pointless argument.

"In war, the enemy you cannot see is often the most dangerous," the First Tsuchikage, Ishikawa, brought the discussion back on track, "especially when the reanimated individuals we've never seen before are involved."

Hearing this, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, first looked at the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, then shifted his gaze to the corner where Orochimaru stood, and coldly asked, "Why does Hagoromo Gengetsu know the Reanimation Jutsu? Could it be that you, Orochimaru, taught it to him?"

Orochimaru looked up at his "old friend," shrugged innocently, and explained, "Fourth Kazekage, I'm not that foolish—especially not to arm the person who killed me."

Rasa's eyes grew cold.

He recalled the information he had gathered during this time about how Orochimaru had backstabbed and killed him, then ordered the Konoha Destruction Plan under the guise of the Kazekage. He was about to say something more when the First Kazekage, Reto, interrupted, "Enough! There's no point in discussing this now. We all know Hagoromo Gengetsu's talent; perhaps he developed the Reanimation Jutsu himself."

As the First Kazekage, Reto held a high position in Sunagakure.

Since he had spoken, Rasa had no choice but to back down.

Reto continued, "The real question now is how powerful those reanimated individuals are. If they are as strong as we are..."

He didn't finish, but everyone understood his implication.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, habitually puffed on his pipe, though it was flavorless. After a few puffs, he spoke reassuringly, "The reanimated individuals on our side outnumber those with Hagoromo Gengetsu, and they include the strongest figures from the history of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. We've already summoned all the famous figures from history. There's no way Hagoromo Gengetsu could summon another batch as strong as ours."

This statement received nods of agreement from several people.

While there were strong figures outside the Five Great Shinobi Villages, both in number and quality, they were far fewer.

No one was worried about them.

But before anyone could relax, Tobirama Senju, who had remained silent, suddenly surveyed the group and slowly said, "You've all thought about the strong shinobi from the villages, but have you considered the strong ones from before the villages?"

"Before the villages? The Hagoromo Clan?"

"It's been so many years; the Hagoromo Clan's territory has been destroyed. Could he even find the DNA samples of their strong members?"

"Even if he summons past members of the Hagoromo Clan, could they really be stronger than us?"

Hearing Tobirama's words, everyone's expressions changed as they began discussing the possibilities, each adding their own thoughts.

"Um..."

Suddenly, a somewhat hesitant voice broke through the chatter. Everyone immediately fell silent and instinctively turned toward the speaker.

Hashirama Senju had been daydreaming up until then.

He was more of a fighter than a thinker.

In the past, he had left matters like these to Tobirama, and now, he let the others handle them as well.

He had intended to continue waiting, but after hearing the latest discussion, something came to mind, and he couldn't resist raising his hand to speak.

Hashirama was unaware that, although he had been daydreaming, no one present had ever stopped paying attention to him.

The moment he spoke, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over.

Such was his prestige.

No words were needed; everything was conveyed in silence.

Suddenly the center of attention, Hashirama felt a bit uncomfortable.

He scratched his head and quickly said, "Um... I remember Madara once told me that the Hagoromo Clan has a tradition of secret burials."

The Hagoromo Clan had been long-time allies of the Uchiha Clan. Though Hagoromo Gengetsu and Uchiha Madara had an average relationship, Madara had still heard some information about the clan.

After the founding of Konoha, Hashirama, as Madara's close friend, had heard this piece of news in casual conversation.

No one questioned the accuracy of Hashirama's information.

Soon, a new round of discussions began, building on what he had said.

Shikaku Nara, the head of the Strategy Division, quickly wore a grave expression as he said, "It looks like we'll need to revise our personnel allocation."

"Indeed, revisions are necessary!" The Fourth Raikage, A, stepped forward and said, "But not because of the reanimated enemies. Let them hide if they want! Our focus should be on Hagoromo Gengetsu alone!"

The Fourth Raikage slammed his hand down on the map, pointing directly at Hagoromo Gengetsu's current location, and declared decisively, "There's no need to overthink it. Since Hagoromo Gengetsu has appeared, we should concentrate all our forces, including everyone here, and overwhelm him with sheer numbers if we have to!"

"As long as Hagoromo Gengetsu is dead, we win!!"

"No!" Onoki immediately stood up to object. "Hagoromo Gengetsu showing up so openly—who's to say it's not a trap? If we all go after him and leave the Divine Tree's site unguarded, what if something happens there?"

The Allied Forces headquarters was set up at the site of the Divine Tree.

The Great Toad Sage had only seen a fragment of the future.

No one knew exactly how Hagoromo Gengetsu planned to bring about a great disaster in the world or how the so-called progenitor of chakra would descend.

But one thing was certain: the Divine Tree's site was crucial.

This was why Onoki believed that A's plan was too extreme.

A large portion of Hagoromo Gengetsu's forces had yet to act.

The more they rushed to go all-in, the lower their chances of victory.

"As long as we kill Hagoromo Gengetsu, all problems will be solved!" The Fourth Raikage A remained adamant.

The room was split, with some siding with A and others with Onoki.

As the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, Tsunade was seriously considering which plan to follow when suddenly...

Inoichi Yamanaka, who had just received new information, couldn't help but remove his helmet, his face filled with surprise and gravity as he reported to Tsunade:

"Latest intel! The first interception unit has suffered heavy casualties and has withdrawn from the battle!"

"So soon?!!"

Everyone's expressions instantly changed.