Konohagakure.

At this moment, a grand assembly was being held in the wide plaza.

"The situation is roughly as follows…"

Senju Tobirama swept his gaze over the people before him, then spoke slowly.

"…In order to pass Kazuki's test, to complete the challenge of unity, my plan is to establish this kind of technique."

He laid out, openly and directly, the concept of the grand formation before everyone.

Most of the shinobi attending this council were leaders from the other hidden villages, as well as the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, and the intelligent summoning-beast leaders from the Three Great Sage Regions.

There was nothing here worth concealing…

The Allied Shinobi Forces believed they were preparing to fight against Kazuki, but in truth, it was against Ōtsutsuki Myōshiki.

But to a shinobi about to step onto the battlefield—was there really any difference?

The essence was the same: a foe so powerful that only by fusing everyone's strength through a special technique did they stand any chance of victory.

"Unity, huh? A genius is one step ahead; two steps ahead, and people like us can't even comprehend it…"

Ōnoki sighed, then nodded.

"I fully support this plan… To be honest, ever since we learned the information about the Sage of Six Paths and the Ōtsutsuki clan, I've been thinking about similar techniques myself. For building a defense force in the shinobi world strong enough to resist the Ōtsutsuki, this holds tremendous meaning."

Within the Allied Shinobi Forces, the sharpest mind—and the one who had fought Kazuki and lived—Ōnoki, was faintly serving as the weather vane for the shinobi from outside Konoha.

His stance influenced the other villages' shinobi to a considerable degree.

Senju Tobirama gave a slight nod, signaling Ōnoki to continue speaking.

"It's not just about giving Kazuki an answer… It's obvious that the Ōtsutsuki clan has a very high chance of returning to the shinobi world. And when facing such enemies, we so-called Kage and jōnin are no different from genin in the damage we can inflict—no different from ordinary people who cannot use ninjutsu at all."

Ōnoki's expression grew solemn as he continued: "So what, as members of the shinobi world, do we do? When faced with such formidable foes, do we just give up? Do we resign ourselves to being protected, praying that someone like Kazuki can defeat the enemy?"

Ōnoki swept his gaze around the assembly, staring at the shinobi lost in thought, then said in a deep voice: "Forgive my bluntness, but if shinobi can't even take part in battle, then we're less than worthless…"

"But limited as we are by talent, some things can't be overcome just by effort!" Ōnoki suddenly raised his voice: "However… we can unite! Quantity leads to qualitative change. When our chakra and our ninjutsu converge as one, we are no longer fragile and powerless individuals—we become a single, formidable whole!"

"In the past, within the shinobi world, our hatred was born of wars. But compared to the invasion of the Ōtsutsuki, those were nothing more than internal struggles. These damned aliens intend to wipe out our entire world!"

Ōnoki spoke with gravity: "Everyone… Hanzo, the Third Raikage, and I—once we were defeated by Kazuki and spared. If he had wanted to kill us, no one could have stopped him then!"

"Some might say Kazuki held back for the sake of reputation. But don't forget who the young Kazuki grew up alongside! Such hollow fame—he would never care about that."

As Ōnoki finished speaking, all the shinobi present simultaneously turned their gaze toward Senju Tobirama. One after another, they revealed faint looks of recognition, nodding lightly.

Tobirama's face darkened, though he said nothing.

He had long since grown accustomed to such misunderstandings! Though even he did not believe that Kazuki—the boy who had grown up sparring and learning alongside him—would ever let an enemy live just for the sake of reputation.

'Hmph, if this brat Ōnoki knows the right way to play things, then I don't mind him using me as an example!' Tobirama thought to himself.

But when he noticed the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura both nodding knowingly, Tobirama's face turned even darker.

You two old geezers—why are you nodding?!

"So why did Kazuki let us go? Why did he, at that moment, tell us—the ones he had defeated—that we had to continue training hard…?"

Ōnoki drew in a deep breath.

"At first, I thought he was just like Uchiha Madara, simply wanting to find a strong opponent to enjoy the thrill of battle."

"But looking back now…"

"Most likely, at that time Kazuki didn't have complete confidence that he could successfully seal Kaguya… So even though we, the invaders of Konoha back then, had already been defeated, out of concern for the future safety of the shinobi world, he chose to leave behind a few capable fighters."

Ōnoki's expression grew complicated.

"All I can say is that we, the old shinobi still trapped in the era of one country, one village, can no longer keep up with Kazuki's way of thinking…"

At this moment, the Third Raikage also spoke up.

"What the short one just said—I've thought about too… To be honest, it's a ridiculous thing, makes me feel like a clown, and leaves me helpless."

"If Kazuki needed to kill some shinobi, it was because he feared that the outside villages were too strong. We, who were fixated on attacking Konoha, might start another war and break the seal he placed on Kaguya…"

"But if Kazuki killed too many shinobi, then if he failed to seal Kaguya, the shinobi world he had leveled would be left without even a shred of resistance."

"In his eyes, perhaps we were nothing more than a group of unruly children… needing punishment, but not too harshly."

The Third Raikage gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

He was a Kage of a village—yet in Kazuki's eyes, nothing more than a misbehaving child.

"That's right…"

As the last of the "Three Ninja Who Survived," Hanzo added his final words: "In my view, all Kazuki wanted was to use his overwhelming power to make the chains of hatred within this chaotic shinobi world naturally dissolve through a grand act of cooperation."

"Would he really wish to bring ruin to the shinobi world? No. He wouldn't… He was merciful enough that he didn't even want shinobi to fall into despair. He even gave us the so-called migration to another dimension as a retreat, rather than simply destroying this world."

Hanzo spoke softly: "Everyone, I support this technique… Whether it's to prove to Kazuki that shinobi are not a hopeless people, or to resist the Ōtsutsuki who may one day come, we must gather our full strength and complete this technique together!"

Senju Tobirama was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected this meeting to go so smoothly…

For a fleeting moment, he even had the illusion that when Kazuki had spared the lives of Hanzo and the other two back then, he had already foreseen this very scene.

"Since no one has any objections, I truly thank you all for joining in…"

Standing at the front, Senju Tobirama spoke slowly: "The First, Second, and Third Great Shinobi Wars—all of them were internal conflicts fought upon this planet of ours…"

"But this Fourth War is different. This is the shinobi world united together, facing an invasion from beyond the skies, a trial in which we ask Kazuki to witness our resolve!"

"This will be a battle unprecedented in history, one of true historical significance! I hope that from here on we can work with one heart, in the best condition, and complete it as swiftly as possible!"

The shinobi all nodded in agreement, affirming Tobirama's words.

"The leaders of each village will stay behind. Everyone else is free to leave. I still need to explain how you should speak to your shinobi about this trial…"

With a wave of his hand, Senju Tobirama signaled the meeting's end.

Ōnoki, the Third Raikage, the Third Kazekage, Kisame, and Kaguya Jinzaburo stepped forward, gathering near Tobirama.

As for the leaders of the Three Sage Regions, the Sage of Six Paths, and Ōtsutsuki Hamura—Tobirama acted as if he hadn't even seen them, not bothering to ask for their opinions.

"Brother, what do you think?"

Hamura's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.

"The shinobi world… perhaps it truly has changed."

The Sage of Six Paths gave a slight nod, then exchanged a glance with the Great Toad Sage. His voice resonated directly within the sage's mind.

"Gamamaru, summon the other two great sages of the Sage Regions. Join Hamura and me in our research."

The Great Toad Sage, who so often feigned sleep, this time nodded repeatedly. His squinting toad eyes shone with keen clarity.

"Understood!"

And it wasn't only shinobi and sages holding councils at this moment…

The tailed beasts too, led by the Nine-Tails, were convening a gathering of their own.

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