I've Already Confronted the Five Kage, and the System Just Arrived!

The cavern was lively with action.

Under the effects of the Flying Thunder God Technique, Minato darted around unpredictably, attempting to distract the Akatsuki members and create an opening to escape their encirclement.

However, he overlooked one critical fact—the enemies he faced were unlike any he had encountered before.

Everyone present had power rivaling, or even surpassing, the Five Kage. His tactics, while ingenious, were losing their effectiveness as time passed, leaving him in an increasingly precarious situation.

Hagoromo Gensou glanced briefly at the scene before turning his attention back to the Gedo Statue.

His version of Edo Tensei was incomplete. Now that Minato had regained his consciousness, Gensou could no longer fully control him.

Even so, with the sheer strength of his allies, Minato's fate was sealed.

Disregarding the skirmish, Gensou formed a series of hand seals. The Gedo Statue's mouth opened wide, and Gaara's body slowly floated upward as the massive chakra of the One-Tail began to leak out.

The tailed beast extraction proceeded methodically, without haste.

Fifteen minutes later, Minato, despite his relentless efforts, finally succumbed to exhaustion.

In a decisive move, Sasori's puppet captured him. The puppet's abdomen opened, revealing a gaping maw that swallowed Minato whole, trapping him within its metallic confines.

Clank! Clank!

Sharp steel spikes emerged from within the puppet, piercing Minato's body and sealing his chakra pathways, rendering him unable to perform the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"It's over," Sasori stated indifferently, controlling his puppet with chakra threads.

"Impressive as always, Sasori!" Deidara exclaimed, giving a thumbs-up.

Sasori glanced at Deidara, unsure if it was genuine praise or sarcasm, given their past interactions.

Sasuke sheathed his blade, his gaze lingering on the immobilized Minato.

Blonde hair, blue eyes.

Naruto's father.

Naruto's heritage wasn't a secret among Konoha's higher-ups, nor was it to Gensou. Sasuke, too, had learned about Naruto's lineage long before Naruto himself.

It was this knowledge that deepened Sasuke's resentment toward Konoha.

The son of the Fourth Hokage, a hero who saved the village, had been treated with hatred and abuse, seen by the villagers as nothing more than the Nine-Tails itself.

What is there to cherish about such a village?

Sasuke glanced up at Gensou, who remained on the Gedo Statue's fingers with his eyes closed, seemingly indifferent to the events around him.

Sasuke hesitated, contemplating whether to voice his thoughts now.

Suddenly, a bright light emanated from Sasori's puppet.

Everyone turned to see Minato's soul separating from his reanimated body, ascending toward the afterlife.

As his soul departed, Minato looked toward the Gedo Statue, which was still extracting the One-Tail's chakra. Finally, he cast a glance at Gensou.

"The shinobi world... is in grave danger," Minato murmured, his voice filled with concern before vanishing back into the afterlife.

Sasori withdrew his puppet, revealing that Minato's reanimated body had transformed into a lifeless corpse.

"It's over already? Just like that?" Hidan complained, visibly dissatisfied.

"What do you expect? Kill him again?" Kakuzu retorted before flashing back to his position on the Gedo Statue, resuming the extraction process.

The others stretched briefly before returning to their designated spots.

Sasuke glanced at Gensou one last time but decided to postpone his questions, joining the others instead.

The extraction continued seamlessly.

Meanwhile, in Konoha, Jiraiya stood before Orochimaru, who had been resurrected through his contingency plan.

The sight of his former comrade stirred complex emotions in Jiraiya.

After a moment of silence, Jiraiya finally spoke. "It's been a long time, Orochimaru. I never thought we'd meet again in Konoha."

"Fate is unpredictable. No one can foresee what comes next," Orochimaru replied, casting a glance at the daimyo's son, who was unconscious but otherwise unharmed. With a wry smile, he added, "Just as I never imagined being killed and forced to use my last resort to return."

Jiraiya's expression hardened. "So it was Hagoromo Gensou who killed you?"

Orochimaru licked his lips with his long tongue, his golden eyes gleaming. "It seems Konoha knows quite a bit."

"Konoha knows more than you think," Jiraiya said sternly. "Orochimaru, the shinobi world needs your power now—that's why we brought you back. If you cooperate..."

He trailed off, his tone becoming even more serious.

"Orochimaru, this is your last chance. I hope you understand."

Orochimaru's golden eyes reflected Jiraiya's aged face. Smiling faintly, he spread his hands.

"Of course, of course. Haven't I already returned to Konoha willingly?" Orochimaru said, his raspy voice tinged with mockery. "Using Edo Tensei to deal with Hagoromo Gensou—isn't that the plan? I'm more than willing to assist."

Understanding why Gensou had killed him, Orochimaru knew that unless Gensou was eliminated, he would be killed again and again until he was utterly destroyed.

Realizing his own limitations, Orochimaru had come to Konoha seeking an alliance.

Jiraiya scrutinized Orochimaru.

"Let's hope you keep your word."

With that, Jiraiya gestured, and the surrounding ANBU lowered their guard.

In his current state, resurrected through a fragment of his soul, Orochimaru was significantly weakened. Even without Jiraiya's intervention, the ANBU could easily subdue him.

This was why Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Konoha's leadership felt confident about collaborating with him.

Seeing the agreement solidified, Orochimaru said, "Using Edo Tensei to counter Hagoromo Gensou will require numerous rare DNA samples. Most of the ones I had have likely been taken by Gensou. The rest is up to you."

Jiraiya nodded. "Tsunade will handle the selections."

"Tsunade..." Orochimaru mused, chuckling lightly. "The sight of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Hokage together—what an interesting scene that will be."

To fight Gensou, it was inevitable that they would reanimate the most powerful shinobi, including the Hokage.

The thought of Tsunade reuniting with her relatives, the First and Second Hokage, brought a twisted sense of amusement to Orochimaru.

"A dream team, perhaps?"

Jiraiya hadn't considered this until Orochimaru mentioned it, and the thought struck him deeply.

"The living and the dead, together once more—turning the impossible into reality. Edo Tensei..."

(End of Chapter)

[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! For Only $5!!][[email protected]/zaelum]

[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]

[Thank You For Your Support!]