Without question—
the Fourth Raikage, A, ultimately chose to submit to the legendary shinobi, Uchiha Madara.
There was no helping it.
Konoha's Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, had pushed Kumogakure too far.
If Konoha hadn't dealt such devastating blows to Kumogakure—causing the village to decline day by day—A would never have made such an extreme choice.
"Good."
The masked man, Uchiha Obito, nodded with clear satisfaction.
"Fourth Raikage, you should be glad you made the wise decision."
After saying that, even Obito felt a little surprised.
In his mind, the Fourth Raikage was still the leader of Kumogakure. He had expected at least some resistance.
But once A learned Madara's identity—
he surrendered almost immediately.
Even Obito felt the situation was somewhat unreal.
"Very well."
Madara's lips curved slightly upward as he spoke in a tone that allowed no refusal.
"Since you've chosen to submit, then you must accept my orders."
"Understood."
The Fourth Raikage nodded without hesitation.
There was nothing more to say.
Since he had already made his choice, he could only walk this road to the end.
As long as Konoha could be made to repay its debts in blood—
he would accept any price.
"Listen carefully."
The next moment, Madara dropped a shocking demand.
"I want the corpses of the First, Second, and Third Raikage."
"What?!"
Boom!
The words instantly stunned A.
He had imagined many possibilities—
but he had never imagined Madara would ask for the bodies of Kumogakure's previous Raikage.
This was practically a deliberate humiliation.
"Uchiha Madara, are you playing with me?!"
"If you want the bodies of the First, Second, and Third Raikage, you'll have to step over my corpse first!"
"Even if I submit to you, I will never do something so disgraceful—betraying my ancestors and desecrating my predecessors!"
A roared three times in succession, his face twisted with fury.
Because of his overwhelming anger, lightning chakra surged around his body again, as if he might fight to the death at any moment.
"Calm down."
Madara seemed to have expected this reaction.
He showed no anger at all and spoke casually.
"If you offer up the corpses of the First, Second, and Third Raikage, I will use an improved version of Edo Tensei."
"I will resurrect them."
"…What?"
The Fourth Raikage froze.
"You're saying… you want to revive the First, Second, and Third Raikage?"
"Correct."
Madara replied calmly.
"This time, I intend to start a war that will sweep across the entire shinobi world."
"…I see."
A stared at Madara and Obito deeply.
After hesitating for a moment, he nodded slowly, shock filling his eyes.
He was not a fool.
Once he heard Madara's plan to resurrect the former Raikage—
he immediately understood.
This situation was far more complicated than he had imagined.
Clearly—
Madara was an extremely ruthless figure.
And when he imagined the First, Second, and Third Raikage returning to life—
A even felt a faint excitement rising in his heart.
As for the accusation of desecrating ancestral graves?
That concern vanished instantly.
Once again, reality proved that people changed their minds very quickly.
"Konoha… just wait."
The Fourth Raikage gritted his teeth.
"Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren… this time I will show no mercy."
"Prepare the corpses."
Seeing the Raikage's expression, Obito could easily guess what he was thinking.
He spoke calmly.
"Next, we should pay a visit to Iwagakure and have a chat with Ōnoki."
"…Understood."
A's eyes lit up as he seemed to realize something.
"Let's go."
Madara gave the command coldly.
"Yes, Madara-sama."
Whoosh—
Space twisted into a spiral.
Right before the Fourth Raikage's eyes, Obito and Madara vanished from the office.
"Haa…"
Watching Madara leave, A finally let out a long breath of relief and collapsed onto the ground.
If one looked carefully—
his back was already soaked with sweat.
Even someone like the Fourth Raikage had felt tremendous pressure facing the legendary Uchiha Madara.
Meanwhile—
in the central district of Iwagakure, inside the Tsuchikage's office—
"Sigh…"
The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, floated above his desk while reading the latest intelligence report.
He let out a heavy sigh.
"Konoha is becoming more and more dominant…"
"And the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, grows more and more unstoppable."
Because of that—
Iwagakure's activities across the shinobi world had been severely restricted.
Its prestige had also begun to decline.
Iwagakure was slowly losing its standing among the great powers.
Thinking about it made Ōnoki feel as if his heart were bleeding.
There was nothing he could do.
"Tsuchikage-sama, what should we do?"
"Konoha has already absorbed Takigakure."
"They've also captured the Two-Tails and Seven-Tails jinchūriki."
"What exactly is the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, planning?"
Inside the office, Kurotsuchi, Kitsuchi, Akatsuchi, and other high-ranking Iwagakure shinobi all wore grim expressions.
A few of them were already beginning to feel discouraged.
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