Besides being decisive, Sakumo also had another commendable trait: he just acted.
After seeing off Sasuke and Boruto from the future, Takeshi learned from others that Sakumo had convened a remote meeting of the Five Kage, reaching a conclusion regarding the Daimyō Office's collusion with the Akatsuki Organization.
Takeshi didn't know how the Kage reached consensus through letters. In any case, even Ōnoki, who held great respect for the Daimyō Office, received Sakumo's letter and marched toward the Daimyō Office with a small unit, brimming with authority.
Why did Ōnoki rebel?
And Pakura, weren't you my planted spy next to the Daimyō of the Wind Country? Why did you follow Uncle Sakumo to take action against the Daimyō without contacting me?
Pakura had her reasons. You've been gone for almost a year. Besides you and Hikari, the only person I could reach was that brat Obito. What else could I do?
Perhaps Pakura was disgusted by the appearance of the Wind Country Daimyō. In any case, unable to reach Takeshi, she decided to follow Sakumo's lead.
After all, the orders from the Daimyō Office were to have Sunagakure closely follow Konoha's actions, so she was still obeying the Daimyō's command.
For a time, the Daimyōs of the Five Great Nations all received inquiries from their respective Hidden Villages.
Except for the Fire Country Daimyō, the others angrily tore up the letters in their hands.
"How outrageous!"
The Wind Country Daimyō's reaction was especially intense.
He trusted Konoha so much that he was willing to offend Sunagakure on his own territory. But in the end? They all betrayed his trust!
"Immediately mobilize the troops! Destroy them all before Sunagakure acts! Destroy them all!"
The Wind Country Daimyō was now ruled by anger, and the folding fan in his hand showed signs of damage from continuous vigorous swings.
The situation in the Earth Country was similar.
The Earth Country Daimyō had always trusted Ōnoki and tried to meet his requests whenever possible.
This was why Ōnoki could assemble a force of tens of thousands during the Third Great Ninja War.
But his most trusted Tsuchikage had actually written to ask if there were Akatsuki members inciting strife between them.
He even spoke of the village wanting to act independently from the country, a truly rebellious notion.
If it weren't for his annual commissions and military funding, Iwa would have been wiped out by Konoha long ago, do you understand?!
"Immediately cut off Iwagakure's military funding, mobilize the army, block them at the passes, and tell Ōnoki that I am furious. Unless he writes to apologize, I will not see him!"
Economic control had always been a Daimyō's method to manage ninja. During the Warring States period, if a ninja showed even a hint of disrespect, the Daimyō would support their rivals, erasing the clan from history.
From ninja conflicts to village rivalries, these upper-level tactics had never changed—and they worked every time.
But this time, the ninjas used facts to prove these proud lords wrong.
The soldiers the Earth Country Daimyō stationed to defend the passes were easily subdued by Ōnoki's elite forces.
By the time the Daimyō received news of Ōnoki again, it was a report that he had already arrived at the city gates.
Compared to other Daimyōs, the Fire Country Daimyō felt the most aggrieved.
After reading Sakumo's letter, Imagawa Shigeaki turned to his two advisors behind him.
Koharu and Homura, advisors ostensibly expelled from Konoha, were actually henchmen sent by Danzo.
All governmental affairs had to go through them. Only with their approval could the Daimyō sign and seal documents.
Now Sakumo accused him of colluding with the Akatsuki. For Imagawa Shigeaki, with no real power, it was pure fabrication, sly deception, baseless imagination, and outright lies...
However, Imagawa Shigeaki could remain Daimyō thanks to his endurance and forbearance.
"Advisors, what do you think..."
Full of grievance, Imagawa Shigeaki pitifully handed over Sakumo's letter.
"Do not worry, Your Excellency. We see your loyalty. I will write to the Fourth Hokage to tell him of your dedication to Konoha." Homura's series of outrageous statements nearly broke Shigeaki's composure.
...
"Edo Tensei!"
In the laboratory, as Orochimaru completed the hand seals, soil began to spread over the three White Zetsu.
Sakumo's face was cold as he observed the scene in the lab. Beside him, Sarutobi Hiruzen, with some worry, unconsciously repeated the motion of opening and clenching his right hand.
Behind them, Danzo's one eye narrowed, his hand gripping his staff tightly, knuckles turning white.
The Fifth Hokage had explicitly forbidden Orochimaru from researching the Edo Tensei technique, but Orochimaru was not someone to give up easily.
Since the Fifth Hokage's approach wouldn't work, he went to persuade the Fourth.
After discussions among the Third, Fourth, Danzo, and others, and considering the current situation, the Fourth Hokage agreed to Orochimaru's request to use Edo Tensei to gather intelligence.
This time, they summoned the legendary three.
With the completion of Edo Tensei, the figures of Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, and Uchiha Madara appeared before everyone.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes welled up with tears at seeing his mentor's face. He didn't expect, at his age, to see his teacher once more.
Standing behind Hiruko, Danzo also looked somewhat moved.
Compared to the First and Second Hokage, whose appearances did not differ much from their photos, Uchiha Madara's current form made people curious.
At this moment, Uchiha Madara appeared as an elderly man in his sixties, wrapped in tattered cloth, his hair completely gray. The moment this form appeared, Orochimaru immediately confirmed several of his suspicions.
"Those two, Setsuna and Yōwan… they finally succeeded?"
Uchiha Madara slowly opened his eyes and looked at his own hands.
Then he was horrified to discover several cracks across both of his hands.
"No… this is… the Edo Tensei?"
Uchiha Madara looked panicked.
He didn't understand — he should have been revived using the Rinne Tensei, yet what he received now was an Edo Tensei body.
Did something go wrong with the plan?
"Is that… you, Madara?"
Madara's muttering caught Hashirama's attention. Having just regained his senses, he stared at the old man not far away in disbelief.
That magnetic voice… unmistakable. It was definitely Madara.
"Hashirama?"
Hearing Hashirama's voice, Madara also turned his head, an involuntary flicker of joy appearing on his face.
But that joy vanished instantly the moment he saw Tobirama standing beside Hashirama.
"Hmph." Madara snorted coldly and turned his head away again.
"Hmph." Tobirama also snorted coldly, gritting his teeth. "As expected, Madara. You didn't die at the Valley of the End — you ran off somewhere to plan some scheme, you wicked old Uchiha ghost, I—"
After that earth-shaking battle at the Valley of the End, Uchiha Madara died, and Tobirama had been itching to dissect his corpse for study.
But Hashirama refused to allow it. Instead, he ordered Madara's corpse to be preserved with strict protection and forbade Tobirama from investigating the matter.
After Hashirama died, when Tobirama took over as Hokage, he secretly began searching for Madara's body. It took a long time before he finally found the location where Hashirama had stored it.
When Tobirama opened the secret chamber full of anticipation, the empty stone coffin struck him like a hammer.
Madara's corpse was gone.
And he couldn't announce it.
After all, if word got out, everyone would suspect Tobirama — claiming he had leaked the information so he could pretend to catch the "thief" himself.
Tobirama had been furious, and had nearly stormed off with a blade to kill a few radical Uchiha, especially Izuna.
"Hmph. Just as expected, Tobirama. In the end, you still couldn't resist investigating my corpse, right?" Uchiha Madara sneered, exposing Tobirama's despicable act.
"Tobirama, didn't I tell you, you must not—"
"Shut up, big brother!"
"…Oh." Hashirama fell silent.
While they were in the middle of this discussion, Sakumo entered the laboratory with Hiruzen and Danzo.
Danzo held a culture dish in his hand — inside it lay the ever-scheming Black Zetsu.
"You are…"
The sudden appearance of the three instantly drew everyone's attention. Hashirama stared at the old face of Sarutobi Hiruzen, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
"First Hokage-sama, Second Hokage-sama, it's me, Hiruzen." Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped forward, his previously hunched back suddenly straightening with pride.
"Monkey… you've gotten old." Tobirama froze for a moment before recognizing his disciple.
"Yes. A very long time has passed since you two passed away…" Sarutobi Hiruzen briefly explained the current situation of the ninja world.
Hearing Hiruzen's explanation, Hashirama and Tobirama showed little emotional fluctuation. The only one unable to hold it together was Madara off to the side.
"Are you messing with me, brat?"
Hearing that Yōwan and Setsuna had died one after another, and that Black Zetsu wasn't his will but Kaguya's, the seemingly frail body of Uchiha Madara suddenly erupted with a powerful aura.
"Please remain silent." Before Hiruzen could react, Sakumo's blade was already resting against Madara's neck.
"Such speed… even Tobirama in his prime didn't wield a blade this masterfully." Madara narrowed his eyes at the blade inches away.
Immediately after, both of his arms fell to the ground.
"This swordsmanship… from the Hatake clan?" Tobirama was unhappy that Madara compared him unfavorably, but he also recognized Sakumo's technique.
"This is Fourth Hokage Hatake Sakumo, Second Hokage-sama," Hiruzen introduced.
Hearing he was the Fourth Hokage, Hashirama showed a hint of delight.
Tobirama also nodded in satisfaction.
"Voluntarily stepping down to pass on the position? Monkey, well done. Seeing your aged body, I thought you'd become one of those power-hungry types."