However, in reality, Nara Shikaku was also putting on this expression.
After the Second Hokage and others were resurrected, before the meeting began, several high-ranking officials of Konoha approached Nara Shikaku and Nara Shikahira to discuss countermeasures.
The specifics have already been discussed. Part of this meeting was to inform the important figures in Konoha and give them instructions on what to do next. Another part was to reassure the troops while informing them of the situation. In other words, this meeting had a certain degree of theatrical nature.
"Since the most troublesome enemy Uchiha Madara, can be stopped, the situation is much easier to resolve. Also, Second, in your estimation, if the First Hokage were to be resurrected and possess half of his former strength, how many combat forces would we need to deploy to stop him?"
"If it's my eldest brother who's close to his peak strength, then apart from experts of the same level, I really can't think of any way to stop him. But if it's just my eldest brother who's half as strong, then the Second Hokage Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages joining forces might give us a two or three chance of winning."
Tobirama Senju pretended to ponder and then spoke.
"That should be similar to the level when Madara attacked Konoha before. With more than half of the village's high-level combatants gathered, they should be able to stop him. If that's the case, the two most outstanding combatants in the area can be dealt with, and the others shouldn't be too difficult to handle with the village's strength."
Nara Shikaku said that, the others immediately showed a sense of relief.
As long as we can handle it, apart from enemies of the level of the First Hokage and Madara, we can overwhelm even the Five Kage- level powerhouses with sheer numbers.
The Third Raikage is the best proof of this.
Tobirama Senju looked at the room full of Konoha Ninja, a faint sense of satisfaction in his eyes.
According to the Fourth Hokage's introduction, Tobirama Senju also learned that Konoha currently has more than ten Kage Level shinobi. Among the younger generation, Kakashi, Might Guy, Shiranui Genma, Sarutobi Asuma, and others have begun to show remarkable strength and are expected to reach this level within the next ten years.
It seems that the monkey did quite well in the early and middle stages, and the Fourth Hokage's abilities are even superior to the monkey's. By balancing the various forces, he resolved the hidden dangers within the village and avoided the situation of decline after reaching its peak.
Furthermore, the position of the future Fifth Hokage is already destined to be held by the young Uchiha who can rival Madara, ensuring the strength of the Fourth Hokage's lineage and political stability within the village. Based on the current situation, Konoha's overall strength should rise to another level in another ten or twenty years.
As Tobirama Senju listened to Konan and Meikyo, Meikyō head of Konoha's intelligence, introduce the various members of Akatsuki Organization, he looked at the Konoha members in the room and thought to himself.
To be honest, he had considered that Konoha might become weak in the future, or perhaps even more prosperous than during his and the First Hokage's time, but the scene before him still made this man, who had been sleeping in the Pure Land for decades, feel somewhat emotional.
Perhaps it is true, as Uchiha Meikyō said, that this is no longer the era of old-timers like them.
However, Tobirama Senju still hoped that he could take Uchiha Madara with him when he returned to the Pure Land.
Ideally, Madara should be permanently sealed away and thrown into the sea, so that someone might resurrect him using the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu someday.
Thinking about this, Tobirama Senju became somewhat annoyed.
If it weren't for Uchiha Madara, given the village's current situation, if it developed for another ten years or so, even without Uchiha Meikyō, it would be enough to suppress the entire Ninja World.
It can be said that, apart from having some reservations about the Uchiha Tobirama Senju becoming too powerful and the high probability that the future Fifth Hokage will be an Uchiha, Tobirama Senju is quite satisfied with the current situation in Konoha.
"This is Sasori of the Red Sand. I'm sure you all in Konoha are familiar with his parents and grandmother. It was White Fang who killed his parents on the battlefield. Later, he poisoned the Third Kazekage, defected from Sunagakure, and was guided into the Akatsuki Organization by me. He is skilled at creating Human Puppet and can preserve the puppets' abilities from their lifetime, including their Kekkei Genkai. The Third Kazekage is now Human Puppet in his hands."
In the conference room, Konan pointed to the picture of a scorpion on the wall and said.
Besides Sasori, Qiang also posted photos of a series of Rogue Ninja, including Uchiha Madara, Kisame Hoshigaki, Momochi Zabuza Bhiruho, Hiruko, and Hidan.
"Even excluding Madara, the Akatsuki Organization is strong enough to rival any large ninja village. Now, the situation in the Ninja World, which has finally been stable for a few years, is about to undergo another dramatic change."
The Third Hokage's brows were furrowed so deeply that the wrinkles on his face could trap a mosquito.
"The Akatsuki Organization has a significant number of Kirigakure Rogue Ninja Kirigakure. We could consider communicating with Akatsuki Organization Kirigakure. We could even advocate for a Five Kage Summit to discuss the impact of Madara's appearance on the Ninja World. The other major ninja villages certainly wouldn't want such a troublemaker to infringe on their interests."
After examining it for a while, Nara Shikaku made a suggestion.
"The Five Kage Summit may not be able to be held."
Nara Shikahira suddenly interrupted his son.
The elderly man with gray hair retired because of his advanced age and lack of energy, and also because Nara Shikaku has now grown into a qualified strategist.
However, the latter is only in his twenties now, and in terms of experience and judgment of the situation, he is still somewhat lacking compared to you, the Nara Elder.
"If the Ninja World were still in a state of mutual checks and balances among the Five Great Ninja Villages, who would share the interests of the Ninja World, then the Five Kage Summit would definitely be held successfully in order to protect their own interests. But things are different now."
"The last time at the border of the Land of Fire, the battle between Advisor Meikyō and Uchiha Madara directly changed the terrain of that area. Other ninja villages would definitely send people to investigate, and they would inevitably make an estimate of the lower limit of Advisor Meikyō's strength. In addition, the village now has more than ten combatants who can rival the Kage, which is enough for one village to contend with the entire Ninja World."
"If there is Fourth Shinobi World War, the final result will inevitably be that the other four villages join forces to resist Konoha, either pushing Konoha back to its previous state or even destroying it, or Konoha defeats the other four villages and once again changes the course of Ninja World history."
"Right now, they will most likely stand by and watch Madara's appearance, or even be happy to see it happen. They will see someone come out to stop Konoha's development and try to maintain the stalemate as much as possible. They will help whichever side is weaker. Unless Madara does something that endangers the survival of their village, they will not get involved too early."
Nara Shikahira adjusted his reading glasses and concluded.
"What Lu Ping said is indeed the most likely scenario, Fourth Hokage, I suggest..."
"Boom!"
A sudden loud noise interrupted Tobirama Senju's words.
"Something terrible has happened! The Fourth Hokage! And all the other high-ranking officials!"
Hizashi Hyuga, his Byakugan wide open, rushed in from outside the door.
"Uchiha Madara... is here!"
Several kilometers away from Konoha.
"It's a pity it's a branch family, otherwise I could have created a Human Puppet with Byakugan."
Sasori looked at the Hyuga Branch Family ninja in front of him, who had automatically destroyed his Byakugan before dying because of the Caged Bird, and a hint of regret showed in his indifferent expression.
"Hey, not bad, there's another Uchiha with Futatsudomoe. Speaking of which, this should be a Konoha Military Police Force patrol squad, right? It's amazing that the Uchiha can coexist with the Hyūga Clan in the same squad. It seems that quite a few things have changed since I left the village."
Bhiruho and gouged out the Sharingan of a dead Uchiha, placing it in a container as he spoke.
"What is this? The Byakugan ninja just spoke a few words to this thing after seeing us. Is it some kind of ninja tool that can quickly transmit information?"
Uchiha Madara looked at the large walkie-talkie he had pried from the Byakugan ninja with some curiosity.
This old-fashioned man from the Sengoku Period had never actually seen this thing before.
"Lord Madara, that's a ninja tool called a walkie-talkie that Uchiha Meikyō and Orochimaru introduced a few years ago. It seems to be something that can quickly transmit information from several kilometers away, or even further away. The principle seems to be some kind of electromagnetic wave. I don't understand whether it's Lightning Style or Magnet Release or something."
Black Zetsu walked to Madara's side and began to speak in a hoarse voice.
"Like Tobirama, he enjoys tinkering with these strange and unusual things."
Uchiha Madara and commented.
"What?! So the people of Konoha already know we're coming? I was thinking of charging in and wreaking havoc!"
Hidan, carrying his scythe, said with a displeased expression.
"It's alright. With Lord Madara taking action, the final outcome should be the same!"
Bhiruho spread his hands nonchalantly and said.
"They're here!"
Scorpion suddenly turned his head and looked into the distance, saying.
Bhiruho quickly merged with a White Zetsu, sank into the ground, and prepared to slip away to a distant place.
He needs a safe environment to perform the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.
"Ban! Surrender!"
A Flying Thunder God Kunai was planted in the ground, and Tobirama Senju's figure flashed in front of Uchiha Madara.
At the same time appeared two ninjas, Meikyō and Minato, whose speed was no less than that of Tobirama Senju.
Then came Dan Katō, the Third Hokage, and others.
"So even you've come out, Tobirama. It seems you really are trying to Impure World Reincarnation using the Hashirama Reincarnation technique, just as I predicted. Unfortunately, I anticipated this move long ago."
"Don't be so smug, Ban, I'll do it myself right now."
You're not qualified!
Uchiha Madara interrupted with a cold laugh.
"In this world, there is only one and a half people who are worthy of being my opponent. One is Hashirama, and the other half is... Uchiha Meikyō. This time, I will show you my full power!"
Uchiha Madara laughed wildly as he looked at Meikyō.
"Our last encounter isn't over yet. This time, how do you plan to respond to my first move?"
Uchiha Madara spoke, he looked up at the sky.
There, an enormous meteorite, carrying a terrifying power capable of annihilating everything, fell from the sky.
"Ah, I just saw an even bigger meteorite a while ago."
Meikyō stomped heavily on his foot, shattering the ground around him. A sonic boom echoed around him, and he vanished from his spot in an instant.
The next second, a golden Susanoo, hundreds of meters tall with wings on its back, appeared in the sky. It cleaved the meteorite in two with its two swords, and countless golden Tomoe blasted the meteorite apart.
"Perfect Susanoo? How did he awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Uchiha Madara somewhat puzzled, but then his emotions turned to excitement.
"Excellent! It's only satisfying to defeat an enemy like this!"
Pale blue Chakra condensed around Uchiha Madara, transforming into a two-faced Susanoo that was no smaller than Meikyō. It drew its sword and blocked Meikyō's descending sword.
"Is this... Uchiha Madara's power at his peak? How did my grandfather defeat such a terrifying enemy back then, and how can we now defeat him, who could reappear at any moment?"
Tsunade exclaimed in amazement as she watched the two enormous creatures locked in fierce combat in mid-air.
"Konoha Ninja, come with me and take care of these guys first!"
Tobirama Senju's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he looked at Hidan and the others.
"I've been wanting to make a big splash for a long time!"
Hidan charged forward in a frenzy, but was blocked by Shiranui Genma's sword.
"According to intelligence, the enemy is immortal and is Taijutsu -type ninja. Yamato, use Wood Release to restrain him. Ebisu, you and I will try to seal him!"
The others also found their opponents, but the Konoha side was the one that ganged up on their opponents.
Among those who approached Sasori were Kakashi, Tsunade, and Guy—three powerful individuals whose abilities could counter puppeteers.
"Wood Release: Wood Style: Forest Creation!"
Suddenly, countless trees surged forth, overwhelming the people of Konoha and forcing them back.
"This level of Wood Release... it's the eldest brother's!"
Tobirama Senju's gaze turned serious, as if sensing something, and he looked in a certain direction.
There, a tall, imposing man in red armor stood atop a thick tree trunk.
The First Hokage!
Behind him were the Third Kazekage Impure World Reincarnation, the Mizukage of each generation, and numerous White Zetsu.
Kirigakure controlled even the Fourth Mizukage, making it incredibly easy for him to dig up the graves of past Mizukage.
"Now, it's hard to say who will win and who will lose."
In a dark jungle ten kilometers away, Bhiruho, clad in White Zetsu cloak, silently spoke, his hands Hand Seals.
Behind him were a series of open coffin lids.
"It's really hard to say who will win between us, Madara."
Within the towering Susanoo, Meikyō spoke as he fought Uchiha Madara.
Although both are Susanoo, Meikyō could sense that the power of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan was actually suppressed by Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan.
In reality, it was only through Senjutsu, advanced application of Two-Color Haki, and combat abilities at the level of Great Swordsman that he was qualified to go toe-to-toe with Madara.
"Very good! Uchiha Meikyō! You have successfully pleased me! The feeling you give me is no less than that of Hashirama!"
Uchiha Madara stood atop Susanoo, Flame Fan in one hand and a scythe in the other, his arrogant face filled with excitement.
"Um, sorry, but... I don't like men."
Listening to Uchiha Madara's terrible lines, Meikyō couldn't help but cover his forehead.
"I take back what I said at the beginning. Hashirama is my lifelong rival, and you, Uchiha Meikyō, are also qualified to be my rival. So, you'd better not die from this next move."
Within Susanoo, Uchiha Madara carried the Flame Fan and scythe on his back and formed a hand seal with both hands.
"Limbo: Border Jail: Border Prison!"
Four clones, almost imperceptible by normal means of perception, separated from Madara and attacked Meikyō.
"This is..."
Meikyō suddenly turned his head and manipulated Susanoo, using Sun Wheel Mirror to block several attacks from Limbo Clone.
"Um?"
Uchiha Madara frowned slightly.
"Was it a Sensory Ninjutsu that could predict attacks and determine that it was about to be attacked from this direction, or did it detect the Limbo Clone using Senjutsu's sensory abilities? But if it could detect it..."
Uchiha Madara reached out and pressed down, sending his four Limbo Clone down to find the others, while he once again manipulated Susanoo to attack Meikyō.
Since the opponent can detect the Limbo Clone and possesses some unknown Space-Time Ninjutsu, it would be difficult to defeat Meikyō even with the addition of the Limbo Clone.
Madara simply continued to manipulate Susanoo and Meikyō to maintain the stalemate, allowing Limbo Clone down and expand their gains.
As Meikyō watched this scene, she silently conveyed the information she knew to the others through Yamanaka Inoichi's mental connection.
"Watch out! Madara's clone is coming!"
Minato Namikaze, with his Toad -like eyes wide open, swiftly threw out a Flying Thunder God Kunai, using Flying Thunder God to save Kakashi from being attacked by Limbo Clone.
Limbo Clone are a type of Dojutsu of Uchiha Madara Rinnegan. They can be understood as Shadow Clone that are almost undetectable and will not disappear when attacked. Even if they are killed, they will not disappear but will transfer to the original body to recover and can come out again after a period of time.
If the main body is injured, Madara can use one of his clones to take the damage in his place.
In other words, if you want to kill or seal Madara, you have to seal or kill Madara's four Limbo Clone first. Moreover, these clones can reappear after a period of time after being killed, and you have to kill them all before the cooldown ends. This means you have to kill Madara five times in a short period of time.
In the original timeline, even Sasuke, who possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, could not detect Limbo Clone. It was only after the Sage of Six Paths gave him a Rinnegan, that he was able to see Madara's Limbo Clone with his equally powerful eye.
Naruto, on the other hand, relied on the powerful sensory abilities granted by Sage Mode to barely detect the existence of Madara's Limbo Clone, and then created a bunch of Shadow Clone to entangle Madara's Limbo Clone.
He could only hold them off, because Madara's Limbo Clone were really strong, and even Naruto's Shadow Clone couldn't do much damage to Madara's Limbo Clone.
Against Naruto and Sasuke, who are both at the Six Paths level, Madara's Limbo Clone, apart from being used as substitutes by Madara once when they were almost hit by Naruto Sasuke's Six Paths Power, did not seem to achieve much.
However, even though Madara was not the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki at the time, and the strength of his Limbo Clone clones did not increase accordingly, he still put considerable pressure on the people of Konoha.
Fortunately, Konoha still has someone who can use Sage Mode and can barely sense Madara's location.
"Immortal Technique: Hidden Needle!"
Jiraiya also entered Sage Mode with the help of two sages from Mount Myōboku, and only managed to hold off one of Madara's Limbo Clone with a desperate effort.
"Yosh! We've successfully transferred that invisible guy to the Kamui Space!"
Uchiha Obito excitedly clenched his fist.
He had just worked with Orochimaru, using himself as bait, to successfully teleport a Limbo Clone into the Kamui Space.
As for why Orochimaru was able to see through Madara's Limbo Clone, it was naturally because after years of research, he finally made a breakthrough in Sage Mode.
"Hehe, Obito, well done."
Orochimaru licked his lips, and surprisingly, no signs of Sage Mode transformation appeared on his body.
The most perfect and suitable Sage Mode for humans was developed by Orochimaru at some point.
Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Minato Namikaze, each with one clone, barely managed to entangle Madara's Limbo Clone with the help of the others.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Amidst a deafening roar, several enormous figures surrounded the Wood Human Technique controlled by Hashirama Senju.
While this Wood Human Technique figure wasn't as large Perfect Susanoo of Meikyō and Madara, it was still more than twice the size of a Tailed Beast.
"Lin! Are you alright?!"
Uchiha Obito rushed to Nohara Rin's side in her Tailed Beast Transformation and enveloped the Three-Tails with his Susanoo.
At this time, after several years of training, Nohara Rin was able to borrow most of the Three-Tails' power.
"I'm fine, Obito. I don't know why, but when we were dealing with the First Hokage, the usually lazy Isōbu became very cooperative."
This is naturally because the First Hokage beat up the Three-Tails when he was collecting the Tailed Beast.
On the other side, Uchiha Fugaku and Torifu Akimichi launched their combination technique again, covering the latter, who had activated the Super Multi-Size Technique, with their Susanoo.
Tsunade was standing inside Uchiha Fugaku's Susanoo at that moment, releasing the Yin Seal to supply Torifu Akimichi to Chakra.
Meanwhile, in the remaining two directions, Might and his son opened the Eight Gates Formation to the seventh Gate of Wonder, using their powerful physical bodies to challenge the First Hokage's Wood Release.
"Hey, Yamato, why is it that both of you use Wood Release? Yours is a little different from the First Hokage's."
Kakashi, who was fighting Hidan, sensed this scene and couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark to Yamato.
"Ah, that's normal, isn't it? It's like the Sharingan. Can an ordinary Sharingan compare to Lord Meikyō's Sharingan?"
Yamato used Wood Release: Wood Wall to block the Second Mizukage's water cannon, replying speechlessly.
"Don't get distracted during the battle!"
Dan Katō hovered in mid-air, using his telekinesis to suppress the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand while reprimanding him.
"You actually managed to entangle my Limbo Clone? I didn't expect that among the ninjas of your generation, besides you, the others are quite capable."
Within the blue Susanoo, Uchiha Madara on his hand and spoke with great interest.
"There are many things you haven't thought of yet."
Among the golden Susanoo, Meikyō also stubbornly insisted.
Information about Madara's Limbo: Border Jail seems scarce. Aside from a single page in the official guidebook, online sources appear to be largely based on speculation. The only certainty is that Sasuke can see it with his Rinnegan, and Naruto can sense it, but it's unclear whether this is limited to Six Paths Mode or Sage Mode, and there's no other Sage Mode user to corroborate this. Therefore, I feel either interpretation is acceptable, but for the sake of smoother plot developments, I've adopted the second one.
Furthermore, considering that Madara was already Six Paths level Ten-Tails Jinchuriki when he used Limbo: Border Jail in the original work, only Naruto and Sasuke, who also possess Six Paths Power, could cause damage. However, Madara here did not steal the First Hokage's Senjutsu, nor did he become the Ten-Tails, so his strength is naturally not that overpowered. He is probably like the Otsutsuki in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, who can use the power of the Rinnegan to become immune to Chakra- based Ninjutsu, but Senjutsu and sufficiently strong physical attacks can still damage him.
As for the claim that the Limbo Clone possess almost the same strength as the original, if these things could also use Ninjutsu, and could unleash five Storm Release: Laser Circus and five Perfect Susanoo, even if Naruto Sasuke were twice as strong, they probably wouldn't stand a chance. This wasn't shown in the original work, so their attack methods are probably the same as in the anime.