The expressions of everyone present turned ugly.

Clearly.

They were all intimidated by Uchiha Jin's rhetoric; facing this unsolvable situation, they even felt a sense of despondency.

The gap in strength was simply too vast!

These 'Kage' who usually seemed so powerful could only feel despair in the face of a powerhouse of this level.

Though they found Uchiha Jin's information sources strange, they didn't ask much. After all, Uchiha Jin was the current Hokage, and things like the Rinnegan were considered Uchiha top secrets; from any perspective, he had no need to explain to them.

This was a privilege brought by power. Otherwise, if an ordinary Ninja had spoken, they wouldn't have believed the claims in the first place, and even if they did, they would have interrogated the specific source of information.

But facing Uchiha Jin, the Hokage, they didn't dare to show any insolence.

"Alright, everyone!"

"When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up, and right now, I, Uchiha Jin, am that tall one."

"I will naturally plan and prepare for such matters; there's no need for you to worry about them. Of course, even if you did worry, it would be meaningless."

"Just do your own jobs and increase your strength as much as possible."

"Oh, and one more thing!"

"You all likely know about the Rinnegan's resurrection ability. So, perform as best as you can from now on. If you perform well, I won't mind resurrecting you when the time comes."

"As for now, let's end this topic."

"Since Senju Hashirama has trapped Deva Path Pain, I'll go have a little chat with Nagato's side."

"A visitor is a guest, after all!"

Uchiha Jin's eyes narrowed slightly.

With a few simple words, he stabilized the crowd, then dangled a carrot in front of them before preparing to go chat with Nagato.

Indeed!

Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar!

As Uchiha Jin departed, the people present instinctively glanced at each other, all seeing the stirrings of excitement in each other's eyes.

That was—resurrection!

If it were in these Edo Tensei bodies, they naturally wouldn't want to stay in this world for a single day longer. After all, being trapped in these shells was miserable; they had no sense of touch, no sense of smell, and couldn't even feel the sound of air flowing.

Their willingness to remain in the mortal world now was, on one hand, due to unfinished regrets, and on the other, out of consideration for the complex situation of the Ninja World, wanting to do one last bit for their Village.

But what about now?

There was actually a chance for a true resurrection? Under these circumstances, how could they not be moved?

Senju Tobirama naturally wanted to return to the mortal world to truly complete his dream of unification from years ago, and even restore the Senju Clan to its former glory, or perhaps resume research on those Forbidden Jutsu that hadn't been successfully developed back then...

Minato Namikaze, even more so!

He and Kushina had already missed Naruto's childhood. Although they could seemingly stay by Naruto's side in Edo Tensei bodies now, the effect wasn't actually very good because the couple couldn't appear in public; many things were separated by a veil...

Now that there was a chance for a real resurrection, he naturally didn't want to give it up easily!

After all, if he and Kushina could be resurrected and stay by Uzumaki Naruto's side forever, the mere thought of such a life made Minato Namikaze's heart race with excitement.

Work hard!

He had to work hard!

Not only for his own resurrection but he had to double his efforts to include Kushina's share as well!

Sakumo Hatake felt the same.

While he felt that living or dying didn't matter much, the problem was that with Konoha's gradual expansion in the future, Kakashi would inevitably be drawn into various battles and even internal struggles.

As someone who had lived through the era of Hiruzen Sarutobi, he knew very well the cruelty of internal struggles; one could even say they were more troublesome and bloodier than external enemies...

It was called—killing without drawing blood!

Could Kakashi handle it?

Perhaps sending him out on missions was fine, but how would he rally his own faction, or compete and struggle against rival factions?

No!

Kakashi couldn't do it!

Before, there was no choice, but now that resurrection was possible, Sakumo Hatake naturally wouldn't back down!

He had to secure a spot for resurrection; only then could he help Kakashi in the future.

As for whether Uchiha Jin could awaken the Rinnegan? No one was actually worried about that, as Uchiha Jin was the most formidable Uchiha they had ever seen.

Besides!

Even if Uchiha Jin couldn't awaken the Rinnegan, Nagato had the Rinnegan on him!

And given Uchiha Jin's planning and calculating abilities, they had absolute confidence in him; at the very least, he could definitely seize the Rinnegan from Nagato's hands!

And it was precisely because of this.

The gazes of everyone present naturally began to turn sharp.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Just as Uchiha Jin was conversing, the hidden Nagato also fell into a state of conflict.

His expression was extremely complex, and his face began to turn distorted.

"Nagato? What's wrong?"

"Is that Senju Hashirama really that powerful? If so, let's retreat for now!"

"A temporary victory or defeat means nothing. We can gather the entire Akatsuki Organization next time and come back to settle the score with these Konoha fellows."

Konan furrowed her brows slightly and couldn't help but speak up to persuade him.

She was very clever!

Although Nagato hadn't explained the specific combat process to her at all, and she wasn't a sensory Ninja and didn't know the specific situation at the center of the battle, she knew Nagato all too well.

Just by seeing Nagato's ugly expression, she instantly understood that in the exchange with Senju Hashirama, Nagato must have been at an absolute disadvantage; otherwise, with Nagato's pride, he wouldn't show such an expression.

She didn't care about victory or defeat at all, and in truth, she didn't even care about the Akatsuki Organization's so-called goals.

Therefore.

Sensing that things were going poorly, her first thought was to evacuate!

After all, what she valued most in her heart was Nagato's safety; besides Yahiko, he was the friend she cared about most.

However, unfortunately.

It would have been better if Konan hadn't mentioned it; once she did, Nagato instantly exploded!

He was far too proud!

Thus, his face instantly became even more distorted, and he spoke with an air of arrogance.

"No, I cannot retreat!"

"I am a god, how can I retreat?"

"That damn Senju Hashirama truly deserves the title of God of Shinobi."

"But, humph!"

"I will prove to everyone that I am the god in the truest sense!"

Ha!

After saying this, Nagato immediately let out a short shout, squeezing his body's Chakra to the absolute limit.

And on the other side.

Accompanying Nagato's frantic squeezing of his body, Deva Path Pain on the battlefield, upon receiving the transmitted Chakra, immediately slammed his right hand fiercely onto the ground beneath his feet.

'Summoning: Gedo Statue!'

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com