The crowd around felt completely dazed and confused.
"He's an ordinary man? Then what does that make us—useless trash?"
"Leader? They're from what organization?"
"If just standing next to him is considered an insult to the great one, just how overwhelmingly powerful must he be?"
Tsunade also noticed Mizuki's address of Seiki and couldn't help but feel puzzled inwardly, "Leader? Considering Seiki's abilities, it's quite possible he became Hokage in that other world—but even out of consideration for my feelings, shouldn't he still be called Hokage?"
Just as everyone was astonished, a door suddenly emerged from the ruins.
The door swung open and released countless souls.
"What is this?"
Everyone was startled by this sudden change, thinking the Akatsuki members were attacking again!
These souls flew back into their original bodies, and then—
"Didn't I already die? Is this Yomi?" Choza opened his eyes in confusion.
As he sat there bewildered, Choji came crashing down on him, "Great! Father, you're alive again!"
"Looks like my journey isn't over yet!" Kakashi sat up, recalling how he'd seen his father on the path to Yomi, and felt a wave of relief.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura rushed over.
While comforting the two, Kakashi glanced around, "The battle seems to be over. What exactly happened? Naruto, did you defeat Pain?"
"I only contributed a tiny bit!" Naruto shyly scratched his nose, "It was mainly Seiki-Aniki and Mizuki-senpai. It was Seiki-Aniki who brought everyone back to life!"
"Seiki-Aniki?" Kakashi asked in surprise, "You mean that senior of mine in the Parallel World you mentioned before?"
"Yep! Yep!" Both nodded vigorously.
Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I'd really like to meet this senior!"
"How did I come back to life?" Aoda straightened up, shaking his big head in confusion.
However, upon seeing someone's terrifying face, its confusion instantly turned into terror, and it fled back to Ryuchi Cave without hesitation.
More and more of the dead were returning to life, leaving the Konoha shinobi completely incredulous.
"What's going on here?"
"Why has everyone come back to life?"
Concerned that people might be getting their hopes up for nothing, Tsunade hadn't shared the potential revival news with many people. Now that she saw everyone truly revived, she shouted loudly, "It's Seiki... It's that Leader-sama who brought you back!"
Hearing this, everyone began cheering loudly.
"Long live the Leader!"
"This great one must be a god descended from heaven to save us!"
Hearing the praise and admiration around him, Mizuki nodded with satisfaction, "I'll help you out a bit too."
[Wood Release: Property Development Technique!]
Instantly, large rows of houses appeared on the ruins.
Yamato, who had been ready to show off his skills, widened his eyes in shock—someone just did his thing before him?
Amidst all this joy and laughter, someone hiding underground wore a grim expression.
"Fools! The Akatsuki leader is also a useless fool!"
Torune Aburame hesitated and asked, "Danzo-sama, what should we do next?"
Danzo frowned. From the current situation, the summoned toad he had killed had most likely already revived and escaped back to Mount Myoboku.
That meant his actions would soon be exposed.
Although he didn't believe there was anything wrong with killing a toad for Konoha's future, he knew those foolish people who failed to understand him wouldn't see it that way.
"In other words, I must act first and seize the initiative!" he muttered grimly. "The problem is... those two..."
Danzo's expression grew heavier. Having roamed the shinobi world for many years, he had never even heard of these two individuals before.
Moreover, their power was unbelievable—one more powerful than the other!
"Perhaps it's time to let this eye show its worth!" Danzo muttered, his hand brushing over the bandages covering his right eye—the "gift" left behind by Shisui.
On the small hill where Nagato lay:
The paper-made tree gradually "withered," its paper leaves fluttering down and covering Nagato's corpse.
"I'm taking Nagato with me!" Konan declared firmly, though inside, she felt uneasy.
The opponent had even known of the [Gedo: Saibaiman], clearly possessing knowledge about the Rinnegan. Would he really allow her to take Nagato's body away?
"Take him then. I have no interest in desecrating the dead!" Seiki said indifferently. He was planning to set a trap anyway. Using the Rinnegan to lure out Obito and Black Zetsu would save him the trouble of tracking them down one by one.
Konan remained silent for a moment before murmuring, "Thank you."
Although it was he who had forced Nagato to his death, she harbored little hatred. Perhaps, as Nagato had said, it wasn't truly him who killed Jiraiya, but the world itself—and in the same way, it was this despairing ninja world that had killed Nagato.
"While I have no interest in his Rinnegan, that doesn't mean others won't," Seiki added before turning away. "Handle yourself wisely."
Konan's pupils slightly contracted as her mind whispered, "That man claiming to be Madara Uchiha?"
Meanwhile, the White Zetsu clone watching from afar transmitted the report back.
"Longinus has lost!" Black Zetsu said to Obito, who sat on a stone seat nearby.
"Was he defeated by the Nine-Tails jinchuriki?" Obito asked.
In his view, the only person from Konoha capable of defeating Longinus would be the unpredictable Uzumaki Naruto!
But surprisingly, Black Zetsu shook his head. "Nagato was defeated by two completely unknown ninja!"
"Completely unknown?" Obito expressed surprise, then chuckled. "Those who defeated Nagato remain unknown? Interesting."
Compared to Obito's calmness, Black Zetsu's heart was far from peaceful.
That man had actually consumed the power of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!
Even if he defeated Longinus, Black Zetsu wouldn't have been particularly shocked—but this absorption of the statue's power was unacceptable.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's power held extremely high priority—others could defeat it or evade it, but no one should be able to absorb it!
This meant that man's life form might actually rank higher than the Demonic Statue itself!
Adding to that, the man had seemingly appeared out of nowhere—without a trace before this.
Moreover, they appeared as a duo—clearly divided into primary and secondary roles.
This made it impossible for him not to think in a certain direction – those two might be members of the Otsutsuki clan, the very people even the Great Mother feared!
Thinking about this possibility, Black Zetsu felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest.
Why would members of the clan show up at this moment?
Had the time finally come?
From what the Great Mother left in his memories, she noted that the Otsutsuki clan would harvest the God Tree every so often.
Thinking about this, the timing actually seemed to match up!
At this thought, Black Zetsu could only see a future without a glimmer of light or hope.
Obito had no idea what he was thinking, and casually ordered, "Black Zetsu, go test those two's true strength!"
"Cough cough..."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Black Zetsu bit back the curse words that almost slipped out and replied carefully, "I think we don't need to get involved directly. Knowing Danzo's style, he might help us get the answers we need!"
Obito nodded thoughtfully, "That does seem like the case. So what do we do now..."
"Quickly recover the Rinnegan!" Black Zetsu interrupted, "No matter what happens with the enemy, we should stick to our original plan!"
With a sweep of his hand, Obito declared, "Once we get the Rinnegan, all these petty schemes and trifling troubles won't even matter!"
Looking at Obito's bold and confident demeanor, Black Zetsu felt deeply uneasy inside.
But if the enemies were truly from the Otsutsuki clan, what use would the Rinnegan even be?
"We need to awaken the Great Mother—fast!"
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
Want to read the subsequent content in advance?
Please follow my Patreon:patreon/Tansnovel
Tans Novel - The Fastest-Updating Naruto Fanfiction Account
Read 100+ chapters in advance, with at least 3 new chapters updated every day! More free chapters! 20+ Naruto fanfictions!
Just three steps:
1. Download and open the "Patreon" app
2. Search for "Tans Novel"
3. Click on the collection and enjoy to your heart's content
<><><><><><><><>