The situation was bizarre and impossible to fathom.
"Wasn't our Konoha going to join the war?"
Minato was somewhat puzzled. Normally, in a Shinobi World war of this scale, Konoha, as the largest village, could never remain uninvolved.
"We were going to get dragged into it, too, but thanks to a wager, Konoha miraculously managed to stay out of it!"
At the mention of the wager, Hashirama briefly recounted how Konoha's Taijutsu fanatic, Might Guy, had challenged the Mizukage.
"What?! Guy-sensei actually challenged the Mizukage? Don't tell me he opened the legendary Gate of Death, the Eighth Gate?"
Hashirama nodded gravely.
"He did. The magnificence of that kick was simply timeless."
"But even then... he still couldn't defeat that Mizukage?"
At this point, Minato sucked in a sharp breath, his footsteps coming to a halt.
Was that young man who had casually resurrected him really that terrifyingly powerful?
Even Guy-sensei with the Gate of Death, the Eighth Gate, open had been unable to defeat him. This went completely beyond a shinobi's common understanding!
His strength had probably already reached the level of the legendary Sage of Six Paths, hadn't it?
"It seems the Sixth Mizukage is already the undisputed strongest person in the Shinobi World! In that case, why would the Three Great Shinobi Villages still dare to court death by provoking Kirigakure?"
"Because of the Tailed Beasts!"
Hashirama smiled helplessly.
"The Tailed Beasts?"
Minato was even more confused.
"What about them?"
"Except for our Konoha's Nine-Tails, all the remaining Tailed Beasts have already fallen into Kirigakure's hands!"
"What?!"
This time, Minato froze completely, as though struck by a thunderbolt.
Apart from the Nine-Tails, Kirigakure alone had taken possession of all eight other Tailed Beasts?
This was a shocking development that could overturn the entire Shinobi World's balance of power!