The pressure from Konoha was immense.
Even the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, believed that Iwagakure might not withstand Konoha's assault, let alone the officials of the Land of Earth. Of course, there were still some naive young Stone ninjas who believed their village was the strongest in the world, but those people were not seated in this meeting.
In the end, the fate of Stone Village and the Land of Earth had to be decided in this conference room.
"Have you all thought it through?"
Onoki scanned the room, watching as the officials silently lowered their heads one by one. The old man finally couldn't help but slam the table in frustration. "I'm already seventy-six years old! Can't any of you offer a single reasonable suggestion?"
"..."
The heads of Stone's high council and the Land of Earth's officials bowed even lower, not daring to meet Onoki's gaze. No one wanted to bear the responsibility for a wrong decision.
The daimyo of the Land of Earth dully recited a proverb, "An elder in the house is a treasure. Lord Tsuchikage should just decide on his own..."
"..."
Hearing this, Onoki felt like his head was about to explode. What kind of responsibility-dodging nonsense was that?
Onoki furiously pounded the table with his small fists. "Now is the time for us to pool our wisdom! If our decision has any error, the destruction of the Land of Earth will be upon us!"
Seeing that this group couldn't offer any opinions and didn't even want to make a choice, the Third Tsuchikage had no choice but to decide himself.
"Then we will meet the enemy at our nation's gate!"
Onoki slammed his fist on the table again and commanded coldly, "Send one hundred ninja squads to scout the coast and the southern border for intelligence! Send fifty ANBU squads as reconnaissance into the Land of Rain to investigate and eliminate Konoha's scout teams!"
"Immediately assemble ten thousand ninjas. One part will be stationed on the eastern border near the Land of Waterfalls, and the other part will enter the Land of Rain directly to confront Konoha's army!"
"The rest of the ninjas in the village will act as a reserve force, ready to support all fronts at any time! The Land of Earth will immediately enter a state of emergency. All supplies will be prioritized for the ninja forces, and all departments must ensure their logistics are handled!"
After speaking, Onoki added in a deep voice, "Also, immediately send someone to find Roshi and bring him back. Have him and Han go into battle. Tell Roshi that we have reached a critical moment for the survival of the Stone Village!"
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage!"
The officials and the high council did not hesitate, each beginning to act according to Onoki's orders.
Before Konoha unified the Mist and Sand villages, Iwagakure had the largest number of ninjas in the world. The existence of tens of thousands of ninjas made the village like a hedgehog that no one dared to provoke. Except for Madara Uchiha, who had once single-handedly invaded Iwagakure, no other ninja village had ever breached the Land of Earth.
The rapid assembly of over ten thousand ninjas gave Onoki immense confidence, reminding him of the teachings of the First and Second Tsuchikage: the Will of Stone will never be crushed.
Unless they encountered Madara Uchiha...
As it happened, Onoki soon received a letter from Konoha, which included their declaration of war against the Akatsuki.
"As long as the Akatsuki's mastermind, Madara Uchiha, is not captured, Konoha will never stop its sanctions against any organization entangled with them..."
Onoki's mood suddenly became complicated. He didn't quite believe Madara was still alive, but he felt a little flicker of glee in his heart. What if that guy really was alive? And what if he was now on the opposite side of Konoha, not Iwagakure?
Onoki was not against cooperating with a former enemy. An idea grew like a weed in his heart. If I could contact Madara Uchiha as an ally...
That man, once like a god—if he could be an ally in this upcoming war, Iwagakure's chances of winning would at least double. Even if not as an ally, his presence alone could bring about major changes to the war.
Unfortunately, Onoki did not know that the Madara Uchiha he hoped would change the war had just launched his first attack on Konoha.
-----
As one of Konoha's founders, Madara Uchiha almost didn't recognize the prosperous village anymore. Only the Hokage office still had that same old ugly look.
Outside Konoha Village, Madara did not bother to sneak in. He stood openly on the outer wall, coldly looking down at the group of tense Konoha ninjas. "Hey. Go call out the brat who is Konoha's Fifth Hokage. And bring the Fifth Kazekage before me!"
"This guy is..."
"Madara Uchiha..."
The two Konoha ninjas guarding the gate looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock. They had received news of Madara's revival but didn't expect him to attack Konoha so soon.
"Don't even think about resisting my will..."
The Sharingan in Madara's eyes spun slightly. The two gate guards turned with dazed expressions and began walking toward the Hokage's office.
Madara did not hide his invasion. Soon, Konoha ninjas discovered his presence and took the initiative to attack.
"Madara Uchiha, this is no longer your era! Surrender now!"
"Quick, call the Hokage!"
"Quick, call Lord Sasuke!"
"Quick, call Lord Kakashi!"
"Quick, call Lady Tsunade!"
"Quick, call..."
The current Konoha was indeed full of talent. When facing an external enemy, they had more than a few reinforcements to call upon.
"Honestly..."
Madara flicked his hand, snatched a sword from a Konoha ninja, and kicked him away. He looked down at the enemies on the ground and sneered, "I originally wanted to see if this village had any special changes. I didn't expect that after several decades, the people here are still so foolish."
Just as Madara leaped down, sword in hand and ready for a slaughter, a kunai blocked his path.
A golden flash.
A blond ninja in a white coat held a kunai and stood before Madara. "If you want to invade Konoha, you've come at a bad time."
"Oh?"
A glint flashed in Madara's eyes. The sword in his hand forcefully pushed his opponent back, his expression finally changing slightly. "Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Revived through the Impure World Reincarnation?"
This Flying Thunder God kid isn't easy to deal with, Madara thought.
Just then, two more figures flashed out from behind Minato. The other two Flying Thunder God users of Konoha were second only to him in support speed.
The appearance of one of the youths made Madara's expression change drastically. A trace of nostalgia flashed across his face. "This kid... he looks so much like Izuna."
Sasuke Uchiha looked at Madara with displeasure. "Another figure from the old era? What a pain..."
"If you find it troublesome, then step aside."
Tobirama Senju stepped out from behind Minato, gripping his Sword of the Thunder God. His gaze was fixed solemnly on the enemy. "Just as I thought. You've been revived... Madara Uchiha."
"..."
Hearing Tobirama's words, Madara's gaze shifted. The moment he saw him, the veins on his face popped. "Hmph. Tobirama Senju, still with that same stupid look. Since even you've been revived, where's Hashirama?"
-----
Bonus:
Madara: So many familiar faces in Konoha...
Black Zetsu: Don't be careless.
Madara: I feel like I can crush them!
Black Zetsu: Don't be careless.
Madara: I'll settle old scores today!
Black Zetsu: Don't be careless.
Madara: Are you a broken record?!
Black Zetsu: I'm trying to warn you, you moron! Tobirama is just a grunt in Konoha now, why are you getting so worked up?