— — — — — — —
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Kaito looked at the First Hokage with some surprise. "You have a good idea?"
"Let's revive Izuna!"
Hashirama looked at Kaito seriously as he spoke.
"Huh?"
Kaito raised an eyebrow at this suggestion. "That's actually a really good idea!"
"Considering how much Uchiha Madara cared about Uchiha Izuna, bringing him back could definitely make Madara view me in a much more favorable light!"
"But the key is a full resurrection!"
"However, if I don't form a contract with him, I don't really want to bring Izuna back completely!"
"After all, I can't show favoritism, right?"
"Same with Tobirama, I'm not planning to revive him since he hasn't signed a contract with me yet!"
Rules must be followed.
He wasn't about to suck up to Uchiha Madara.
"No need for a full resurrection! Bringing him back with Edo Tensei first would be good enough!"
"After that, once Tobirama is fully revived, Madara will naturally figure out what to do and how to treat you, won't he? He's not an idiot!"
"Besides, didn't you say that Tobirama has been warming up to you quite quickly lately? It won't be long before he meets the contract requirements, right? Heh!"
Hashirama grinned mischievously.
At this moment, he didn't seem naïve at all.
"That actually works!"
Kaito nodded in agreement, but then he raised a critical issue: "The only problem now is that I don't have any of Uchiha Izuna's DNA, like a cell sample, to use as a catalyst for the Edo Tensei. Do you or Tobirama have anything?"
"Or should we just ask Uchiha Madara to provide it?"
He distinctly remembered that Madara had personally taken care of Izuna's remains.
"Leave that to me! Tobirama and I don't have anything, but Madara knows exactly where to get it—after all, he was the one who took care of Izuna's body back then!"
"I'm sure, for the sake of fully reviving Izuna, he'll agree to this!"
Hashirama confidently took charge of the situation.
With himself as a living example of resurrection, he was certain Madara would know what choice to make.
"Alright, then get to it!"
Kaito nodded. "If possible, I'd actually like to form a contract with Uchiha Madara as soon as possible and help him break through to the Six Paths level!"
"In the Ninja World, he's actually the closest to reaching that level!"
"If we're willing to gather some Nine-Tails chakra and create a Ten-Tails, then make him its Jinchūriki, even if it's not a perfect Ten-Tails, he might be able to leap straight to the Six Paths level!"
"Besides, there isn't just one Divine Tree in the ninja world right now—Otsutsuki Isshiki isn't completely dead yet, and he still has a malnourished Divine Tree of his own."
"Oh?"
Hashirama's eyes lit up. "Wait, you've already found Isshiki and his Divine Tree?"
"That's right!"
Kaito smiled and nodded. "Over the past few years, I've had the Three Clans gradually map out the ninja world, and it hasn't been for nothing."
"Through observing the Kara organization's activities and using my own spiritual sensing, I've successfully located Isshiki and his Divine Tree!"
"If I weren't worried about my own strength being insufficient, I would've acted already!"
He was actually waiting for his ocular abilities to fully develop.
He had a strong feeling that his eyes would play a crucial role in completely preventing Isshiki from escaping.
"That's amazing!"
Hashirama was delighted. "Then once Madara signs the contract and is fully revived, if we're confident enough, we can go after Isshiki and take his Divine Tree for Madara."
"If that really allows Madara to break through to the Six Paths level, then—"
"The ninja world won't need to worry about the Sage of Six Paths anymore!"
"We'll be able to act more boldly and aggressively, won't we?"
"Pretty much!"
Kaito nodded. "Although the Sage of Six Paths has been lurking for so many years, and his strength is likely much greater than it was a thousand years ago, he probably hasn't surpassed the Six Paths level yet."
"Otherwise, he would've noticed our movements long ago."
"So as long as we also reach the Six Paths level, even if he's stronger, the gap won't be too overwhelming—we should be able to fight him on equal footing!"
And for now, that was enough for Kaito.
As long as a Six Paths-level Madara could hold off the Sage of Six Paths for a few years when the latter eventually took action against them, he would have enough time to grow stronger and become completely fearless of the Sage.
"Yes! I think so too."
Hashirama nodded in agreement. "Then there's no time to waste—I'll head back to the ninja world now and convince Madara to retrieve Izuna's DNA, whether it's a cell sample or just some hair."
"You can use Edo Tensei to bring Izuna back temporarily."
"Got it!"
Kaito had no objections. "Things on this side are settled for now, so I'll just leave a shadow clone here."
He turned to Koshiro and Sakumo Hatake. "Sensei, Senior Sakumo, I'll be leaving the pirate crew in your hands for now. Let me know when we reach the Capital of Water, Water 7."
"No problem!"
Koshiro smiled and nodded, then curiously asked, 'Are you interested in Water Seven because of Tom, his shipbuilding skills? Or is it because of the Pluton blueprints?
Other than those reasons, Koshiro couldn't think of why Kaito would be particularly interested in that place.
"Both, actually!"
Kaito smirked. "Tom was able to create the Sea Train—he's an absolute genius in mechanical engineering, far beyond just shipbuilding!"
"There's no way I'd let someone like him die at the hands of the World Government!"
"Besides, even his two apprentices are quite impressive in their own right."
"As for the Pluton blueprints, of course I want them!"
"Not because I care about Pluton itself—I already know where the real one is, in Wano."
"But the blueprints contain a lot of lost technology, which would be immensely useful for our development. There's no way I'm letting them slip away!"
"Besides, don't you think the Sea Train is a fantastic invention, Sensei?"
"Whether it's used in the Ninja World to connect the Land of Water's islands with the mainland and boost trade, or if we claim a large territory in the New World—or even the entire Pirate World—it would be an excellent mode of transportation!"
"That thing is a revolutionary invention—pure black, top-tier technology."
"That's true!" Koshiro nodded in understanding. "Don't worry! I'll contact you as soon as we reach Water Seven!"
"Alright! Then Hashirama and I will get going!" Kaito nodded. He left a shadow clone behind, just like Hashirama, and both of their real bodies teleported back to the Ninja World.
— — —
Then, Hashirama dragged Kaito straight to a construction site, where they found Uchiha Madara hard at work.
"What are you two doing here?" Madara frowned when he saw them.
Once, he had been a figure of unmatched prestige. Now, he was reduced to doing manual labor for Konoha, an absolute humiliation!
If not for the countless seals and restrictions placed on him, combined with his incomplete resurrection using inferior materials that severely weakened him, he would have escaped long ago.
It was beyond humiliating. Yet, he had no way to resist.
Seeing Hashirama fully revived only made him feel worse.
He could already foresee that Tobirama, that bastard, would likely be fully revived in the near future too.
Of course, he knew Kaito had conditions for full resurrection. Without meeting them, he wouldn't make a move.
That much was clear since even Tobirama had yet to be truly revived.
As for what the conditions were? Based on Hashirama constantly trying to talk him into liking Kaito, Madara could tell it had something to do with his attitude towards that kid.
How Kaito determined someone's favorability toward him, or what the baseline was, Madara wasn't sure.
He admitted that Kaito's recent actions had been impressive, even to him. But making him submit? That was impossible.
"Haha! Madara, don't be like that!" Hashirama laughed, trying to smooth things over. "We actually came to talk to you about something very important—something that involves resurrecting Izuna and you! Are you sure you don't want to hear it?"
Madara's expression immediately darkened. "Reviving Izuna and me? That little brat Kaito would actually agree to that?"
Hashirama turned to Kaito.
Kaito shrugged. "It comes with conditions. If you don't meet them and don't make a contract with me, then forget about it."
"On the other hand, if both you and Izuna meet my requirements and make a contract with me..."
"Not only can I revive Izuna, but I could even bring you back in your prime."
"The choice is entirely yours!"
"And as for whether I can fully revive you—Hashirama is proof enough. You already know the answer, so I won't waste words!"
"Think it over! I look forward to the day you meet the requirements!" "Oh, by the way, Tobirama is already close to meeting my conditions. In a few months, he'll likely qualify!"
"At that time, I'll fully revive him too!"
After saying this, Kaito grinned at Madara.
As expected, Madara's expression grew even darker.
He could ignore everything else, but he refused to let Tobirama be fully revived before him.
Besides, the chance to revive Izuna and return to his prime was an enormous temptation.
"You're serious? If I make a contract with you, you'll bring me back at my peak?"
"Are you sure you even know what my peak state is?"
"If you really resurrect me at my strongest, most of your methods to control me will probably fail. At that point, none of you will be able to stop me."
Madara crossed his arms and looked at Kaito with a mix of seriousness and arrogance.
His past defeat was due to carelessness and being far from his prime.
Otherwise, even ten Kaitos and ten Uchihas wouldn't have been enough to take him down.
.
.
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