Chapter 621: Third Raikage – Has Konoha Mastered a Forbidden Jutsu That Controls Life and Death?

With the White Zetsu forces eliminated, Black Zetsu remained hidden in the shadows, observing everything in silence.

To him, whether the White Zetsu were wiped out or not was of little consequence.

His objective had already been achieved—now, it was just a matter of whether the Hidden Cloud Village would cooperate, just as the Hidden Stone Village had, by unintentionally revealing the location of the Rinnegan.

The Rinnegan wasn't inside the Hidden Cloud Village. Instead, it had been concealed in a highly secretive location.

One by one, the White Zetsu were rooted out, sending shivers down the spines of the Cloud shinobi.

They had never even imagined that so many enemies could be lurking right beside them.

And these weren't just any enemies—they were infiltrators expertly disguised, nearly impossible to detect.

Had these impostors launched a sneak attack, the Hidden Cloud Village would have been in serious trouble.

With the cleanup complete, Takuya and his group received a warm welcome from the Hidden Cloud Village. The way everyone looked at Kushina was beyond enthusiastic, making her feel incredibly uneasy.

Now that the aid mission was settled, it was time to get down to business.

"Minato, go bring them in."

Tobirama had everything planned out in advance—Takuya and the others would first enter the Hidden Cloud Village to assist in eliminating the infiltrators, while Hashirama and Tobirama remained outside the village, waiting.

Once everything was handled, Minato would go fetch them.

Had it not been for the risk of causing misunderstandings, Takuya would have simply had Tobirama bring Hashirama in directly.

Minato vanished from the Raikage's office.

Watching this, the high-ranking officials of the Hidden Cloud Village couldn't help but be envious.

The Flying Thunder God Technique wasn't something their village could master.

Konoha would never share such an invaluable technique, and even if they did, the learning requirements were absurdly high.

No matter how much the Hidden Cloud shinobi craved the technique, they could only watch in frustration.

As they admired the Flying Thunder God, they couldn't help but speculate—just who exactly had Konoha sent? Why all the secrecy? Why not just enter openly?

It wasn't like the Hidden Cloud Village was planning an ambush.

Even if they wanted to, now was definitely not the time.

Outside the Hidden Cloud Village, in a concealed mountain cave, Hashirama and Tobirama waited patiently. A flicker of light flashed through the cave as Minato suddenly appeared.

"First Hokage-sama, Second Hokage-sama, the infiltrators within the village have been completely dealt with. Takuya has requested that I bring both of you into the Hidden Cloud Village."

"You've got a solid grasp of the Flying Thunder God Technique, kid."

Tobirama, who always wore a stoic expression, was genuinely impressed with Minato.

After all, Minato had mastered his signature technique to a level that even surpassed his own—it was as if he had turned it into an art form.

"Heh."

Minato chuckled sheepishly, scratching his head.

"I just fiddle around with it when I have free time."

Fiddle around?

If this was what he called fiddling around, what about the countless shinobi who had spent years trying and still couldn't even step past the threshold of the technique?

Clearly, Minato was just being modest.

But what he didn't realize was that the more humble he acted, the more favorably Tobirama viewed him.

Minato then teleported both Hashirama and Tobirama directly to the Raikage's office.

He had left alone and returned with two figures.

And the moment the high-ranking officials of the Hidden Cloud Village laid eyes on the people Minato had brought, their faces instantly changed.

"…..."

Was that… the First Hokage and Second Hokage of Konoha?!

What the hell was going on?!

These two had been dead for ages—why were they suddenly standing here?

Did Konoha somehow master a forbidden jutsu that could bring the dead back to life?

No, something wasn't right.

They weren't exactly… alive.

The presence of the two legendary Hokage sent the Cloud officials into a spiral of speculation.

Had it not been for the cracks covering Hashirama and Tobirama's bodies, resembling shattered porcelain, the Hidden Cloud leaders might have seriously believed Konoha had discovered the secret to true resurrection.

"My apologies if we startled you."

Hashirama smiled warmly, waving to the dumbfounded Cloud shinobi as he explained:

"Tobirama and I weren't brought back to life—we were revived through Edo Tensei, a technique used by Orochimaru. After learning about Madara's schemes, we decided to remain in the world of the living to put an end to his plans. Once that is done, we will return to the Pure Land."

Holy crap.

That had scared the hell out of them.

The Cloud Village higher-ups collectively let out a sigh of relief.

Their biggest fear was that Konoha had actually revived these two legends and kept them in the village permanently—if that were the case, then no other village would stand a chance anymore.

Now, knowing that Hashirama, the God of Shinobi, was only staying temporarily to stop Madara, they could finally relax.

After all, no one could afford to ignore Hashirama's presence.

Compared to him, Tobirama's presence didn't seem as overwhelming.

Sure, Tobirama was an extremely powerful shinobi in his own right, but when measured against his older brother, his strength paled in comparison.

"Everyone," Tobirama spoke up, arms crossed.

"Uchiha Madara is a far greater threat than any of you realize. You have all underestimated him. The reason my brother and I have come to the Hidden Cloud Village is to put an end to his plans."

"But our strength alone is not enough. I propose a Five Kage Summit, and I hope the Hidden Cloud Village will cooperate in arranging this meeting with the other villages."

All eyes turned to the Third Raikage.

After all, he was the one in charge—the final decision rested with him.

The other officials could provide their opinions, but ultimately, the Raikage had the final say.

The Third Raikage, who had been watching Hashirama closely, suddenly asked:

"Does the First Hokage retain the full extent of his power from when he was alive?"

The question caught Hashirama slightly off guard, but he still answered seriously:

"Because I have been revived through Edo Tensei, I don't feel pain, nor do I experience chakra depletion. In essence, my power exceeds what it was in life."

An unstoppable force, immune to pain, with limitless chakra…

In this state, Hashirama was even stronger than at his peak.

Though he already had insane regeneration abilities in life, he still suffered from fatigue, injury, and chakra exhaustion.

But Edo Tensei removed those limitations entirely.

Calling this his strongest form wouldn't be an exaggeration in the slightest.

"I see."

The Third Raikage nodded.

"The Hidden Cloud Village will cooperate."

There was no need for hesitation—when both Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju had shown up personally, what more proof was needed?

A Five Kage Summit was inevitable.

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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01. 

DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING