Chapter 281: Conservative and Radicals

"Are you planning to kill us all?"

"Or do you intend to unify the world by force to achieve your goal?"

Ōnoki placed his hand on the table. "I admit you're very strong. You can easily put an end to these wars. Even if we formed a joint alliance, it would still be difficult to stand against you.

"But if you want us to grovel at your feet, I'm not doing that." He looked at the other four Kage. "What about all of you?"

He first turned his gaze to the "Second" Sarutobi Hiruzen. "Is your Konoha just going to throw its lot in with these ninjas from another world?"

It was a sharp question, directly pointing to Konoha's alliance with the people from another dimension.

Senju Tobirama showed no concern. In fact, he was still thinking about his upcoming experiment with the "First" Orochimaru. What a joke—he had two brothers here. Did that mean anything? Yes, it meant that even if Madara showed up, he'd be taken down on the spot.

Two versions of the First Hokage working together, hearts completely in sync… Tobirama couldn't imagine anyone who could stop them.

On a side note, he and Orochimaru shared a certain chemistry: they had similar lines of thought, and they understood each other's research. Usually, he'd waste loads of words explaining things to people, but Orochimaru got it right away—and would even brainstorm with him. Getting to do experiments with someone like that was a real joy. They both pursued knowledge and ninjutsu with the same fervor.

The "Second" Sarutobi Hiruzen remained silent. Early on, he'd formed an alliance because of the pressing war, but then he discovered that these allies were too powerful—and they were also "Konoha." Of course that led to all sorts of uneasy thoughts. He and his three old friends had talked at length before he came to this conference.

They all advised him: whatever you do, don't immediately pick a side. Whether it's these mysterious ninja from another "Konoha" or the rest of the ninja villages, trust is hard to come by right now.

"What's wrong?" Ōnoki asked, seeing no one speak. He frowned. "Are you just going to yield like that? Hand our world over to strangers?"

The Third Mizukage felt that, as the weaker side, staying so confrontational was unwise. Hoping to ease the tension, he said, "No, Lord Tsuchikage, I think maybe their goal isn't to unify the world."

Ironically, despite being the leader who spread the "Bloody Mist" reputation far and wide, he was the first to soften his stance when facing an unprecedentedly powerful enemy.

"You go on clinging to that naive delusion if you want," the Fourth Raikage retorted, rotating his still-aching wrist. "I think Kirigakure needs a new Mizukage."

"What did you say?!"

"You arrogant—!"

The Mizukage's bodyguards drew their weapons. Responding in kind, every bodyguard present (except for those from the main-world Konoha side) brandished their own.

All at once, the atmosphere grew tense, on the verge of violence.

[Sarutobi, you really are letting me down.]

Senju Tobirama sighed inwardly. He already knew that, in the main world, Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't always the greatest Hokage. Seeing this alternate version of Sarutobi be just as helpless was a bit of a disappointment.

He should either stand firmly with his strong other-world allies or clearly side with his own world's ninja villages. How could he avoid choosing a side and try to stall for time? That was far too indecisive.

The "Second" Sarutobi Hiruzen felt unsettled by Lord Tobirama's disappointed look. But in the end, he made his decision. "Everyone," he spoke up at last, "perhaps we should hear from the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade."

"Oh, is it my turn?"

Tsunade pointed at herself, then smiled. "If you're asking what we want—"

"Probably everything." She rose to her feet. She wasn't particularly tall, but her bearing and expression radiated a powerful sense of pressure.

"Do you really think you have any power to refuse us?"

If pure strength alone could conquer the world, why would they be so wary of seeking peace?

Next to her, the "Second" Hashirama looked like he wanted to speak. Just a moment ago, he'd thought the "other-world Tobirama" was too aggressive—yet here was a "mini-Tsunade" talking even more bluntly.

Tobirama caught the "other-world Hashirama's" arm before he could protest, gave Tsunade a look of approval, and said nothing more. He was letting his own Hokage make the decisions.

"So what, you're declaring war?" The Fourth Raikage demanded with a fierce glare.

[This could be bad…]

Ōnoki shut his eyes. He had lived through the era of Uchiha Madara and knew exactly how terrifyingly strong Madara was. If someone could defeat Madara—Senju Hashirama—how frightening must that power be?

He'd tried to corner them into making a statement, hoping the others would come together as one. But the supposedly hardline Mizukage had already backed down, while the young Raikage hammered the final nail in with his challenge.

If it really came down to war against the other-world Konoha, he could only say: there was no chance of victory.

Tsunade didn't even bother to reply directly to the Raikage. She simply gave him a calm look, pressed both hands to the table, and said: "One month."

She uttered the deadline plainly. "One month from now, I'll call another gathering. At that time, I intend to form an alliance—a shinobi alliance."

"Any village that refuses won't exist the day after."

"In the meantime, you can try resisting us… or pushing us back, or killing us."

"Or, you can work together with us."

"That's all. The meeting is over."

…

On the way back…

"You really went the tough route there, Tsunade," Link remarked.

Utakata glanced at the nearby woods and said, "We're being tailed… The chakra feels like it's from Konoha."

He was referring to the second-world Konoha. Most likely members of Root. The moment Tsunade and the "Second" Hashirama parted ways, they clearly had other ideas.

Sasuke's Sharingan started to swirl with tomoe, but Link said, "No need to bother with them." Then he formed hand signs and summoned the Earth Dragon.

"We still need your help with some experiments back home. If they want to follow us, let them. It doesn't matter."

Now that they had all the Tailed Beasts in their custody, it was time to figure out how to extract them without harming the Jinchūriki. Returning them as small children was out of the question—never mind that it would reveal the Reanimation jutsu, it was also just going too far.

Despite how harsh Tobirama and Tsunade might sound, in the end, the main-world Konoha wasn't some terrifying terrorist group. By ninja standards, they were still quite morally upright.

Once they got hold of every Tailed Beast, they planned to see whether the main-world Nagato—who still possessed a Rinnegan—could be used to summon the Gedo Statue, and possibly create a Ten-Tails. Of course, even Senju Hashirama might not manage to become its Jinchūriki. Achieving Six Paths-level power required the unique Bloodline Limit of the Sage's Seals. In the manga, only Obito and Madara—both Uchiha—ever did it.

But even if they couldn't manufacture a Six Paths powerhouse, the Ten-Tails' chakra alone would be more than enough to carve up for use.

[But wait… the Ten-Tails has its own outer shell, so how are we even going to extract physical chakra chunks from it?]

Link suddenly realized a hole in his plan.

~~~

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