The negotiations had wrapped up relatively smoothly. Before leaving, Hyuga Gakuya took a moment to connect with Hinata and her sister, reinforcing their emotional bond and making sure everything was still on track.
With that done, Gakuya found himself with very little left on his agenda—now all that remained was to wait for the Eye of the Moon Plan to unfold.
He had some time to kill, and since he was still in Konoha, he figured it was the perfect opportunity to pay a visit to the Mask Storage Hall and retrieve the Shinigami Mask. It never hurt to have a few more pieces on the board.
Konoha had only managed to uncover the technique for using the Reaper Death Seal, but not how to undo it. That meant the area wasn't even guarded. Gakuya slipped in without issue and retrieved the mask that held the souls of the four Hokage.
Once that was done, he returned to the Hidden Sound Village.
"Kabuto, bring out Orochimaru and release the souls of the four Hokage," Gakuya ordered after finding him.
"Understood. Summoning Jutsu." Kabuto slapped his palm to the ground, and with a puff of smoke, a pale-white coffin bearing Orochimaru's symbol appeared before them.
Orochimaru stepped out stiffly, took the mask from Gakuya's hand, and placed it on his face. With a spin, he turned around and began the ritual to undo the Reaper Death Seal. Moments later, the flames of the four Hokage's souls lit up the underground chamber.
Without delay, Gakuya summoned four White Zetsu clones.
"Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation Jutsu!"
Sheets of paper enveloped the clones. When the swirling mass settled, the four reanimated Hokage stood before them once again.
Gakuya was still using the identity of Chiba Mokushū, so he wasn't concerned about Hiruzen Sarutobi recognizing him.
For Hashirama Senju, this was the third time his eternal rest had been disturbed. Even the most patient man would've had enough by now. He immediately sensed what was happening and exploded with chakra.
"You've gone too far!"
Hashirama's chakra surged as he tried to break free from Gakuya's control.
Tobirama caught on just as quickly. This time he had access to at least half his power, and he too began struggling against the binding force of the jutsu.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, seeing the reanimated Orochimaru, put the pieces together right away. So Orochimaru had been their pawn all along. These two—Gakuya and Kabuto—were the ones truly behind the Konoha Crush.
He joined the other two in resisting the jutsu.
Minato, on the other hand, had no idea what was happening. But seeing the three Hokage resisting, he instinctively followed suit. The chakra he'd embedded in Naruto didn't allow him to receive updates, so his last memory was still from the night of the Nine-Tails' attack.
The sheer pressure of their combined chakra cracked the stone walls around them.
"No need to be so hasty," Gakuya said with a chuckle. With a single hand sign, he suppressed all four Hokage in an instant.
Kabuto's face broke into a cold sweat. If he had been the one performing the jutsu, there was no way he could have held them down so easily.
Hashirama's voice was stern. "Why do you keep disturbing the dead? What is it that you truly want?"
"For war. And for peace. For the shinobi world—and for myself," Gakuya replied cryptically.
"Hmph! So destroying Konoha is your idea of creating peace?" Tobirama snapped.
Gakuya shook his head lightly. "War is only a means to an end. My goal is peace, and I won't stop until I achieve it. The shinobi world will finally know true peace—under my rule."
He grinned, clearly enjoying the moment. Everything was more entertaining with an audience.
"Maybe you all have no idea what's been going on in the world. Allow me to catch you up—and explain what we're about to do."
His eyes turned into the crimson triple-tomoe of the Sharingan. In an instant, the four reanimated Hokage were pulled into a genjutsu.
"Let's start with the formation of the Shinobi Federation."
...
The scene changed, showing the Hokage the process of the Shinobi Federation's rise, guided step by step by Gakuya.
By the time the vision ended, all four wore grim expressions. They had seen the joy on the faces of the Federation's people—alongside the hatred aimed at the Great Nations.
They now understood what Gakuya was aiming for: a total military unification of the shinobi world. The Federation had only existed for a single week, and already it had defeated both the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning.
Given a few more years, it wasn't hard to imagine the Federation conquering the entire world.
"Tell me, do you still think your 'one village, one nation' system truly brought peace?"
"Hashirama-senpai, the world you tried to save only led to more chaos and endless wars."
"But this… this will end with me. I will steer the shinobi world back on course—and usher in true peace."
The four looked shaken. Being brought back from the dead only to hear that everything they had believed in had been wrong… it wasn't easy to swallow.
Tobirama, ever the skeptic, spotted a flaw.
"You're the head of the Federation. You control everything. But what happens when you die? Can you guarantee your successor will be as capable as you?"
Gakuya gave a dismissive smirk. He had no such concerns.
"I'll return power to the people once the world is unified. I'll remain as a god behind the scenes, stepping in only when necessary. If the Federation strays from the path, I'll correct it."
Tobirama pressed on. "You can't live forever. One day you'll die."
"Why not?" Gakuya replied calmly. "Eternal life is hardly an obstacle for me."
Hashirama sighed deeply. "Maybe… maybe you're right."
There was nothing left for him to argue. The peace he once thought attainable had clearly failed. And maybe—just maybe—this new path could work.
At the very least, Gakuya's actions so far had benefited the shinobi world. For the first time, smaller nations had a force that would defend them from the tyranny of the big powers.
...
"Off-topic, but Lord Third... your reputation lately hasn't been so great," Gakuya said suddenly, a smile playing on his lips.
...
"People have dug up quite a few skeletons in your closet," he continued. "Selling out the location of the Fourth Hokage's wife during childbirth… conspiring with Uchiha Obito to frame Minato Namikaze…"
"And under your leadership, the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga clans were all wiped out. You used your power to elevate the Sarutobi clan while crushing others. The list of crimes is endless."
"Our beloved Third Hokage… is quickly becoming Konoha's biggest disgrace."
Sarutobi felt the weight of three sets of eyes turn toward him.
"No… that can't be… Who's the Hokage now? It must be Danzo! That bastard's trying to frame me!"
Kabuto couldn't resist joining in. He was enjoying Sarutobi's desperation.
"No, it's the granddaughter of the First Hokage. Your own student—Lady Tsunade."
"What!?" The four of them were stunned.
Hashirama could already picture Tsunade using Konoha's treasury to pay off her gambling debts.
Minato frowned.
"Wait, that can't be right. Uchiha Obito was kind-hearted. He was my student—and he died saving a comrade. How could he have attacked Konoha?"
Tobirama cut in sharply.
"Fourth, you've been deceived. The Uchiha are born treacherous. That's their nature."
Gakuya calmly laid out all the intelligence on Obito and, for good measure, showed Minato a vision of Naruto's childhood.
When Minato saw the suffering his son had endured, Gakuya let out a long sigh.
"So this is how the child of a hero is treated. You really got what you deserved, Lord Third."
"Minato, please, let me explain," Hiruzen said, his face pale. "My intent was to protect Naruto by hiding his identity. Danzo was the one spreading lies."
Even Tobirama couldn't hold back anymore. "So you just let it happen? Said nothing? Let those lies spread?"
Seeing Hiruzen fall silent, Tobirama scowled.
"The worst mistake I ever made was passing the title of Hokage to you."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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