Compared to the surprised Konoha ninjas, Emiya Shirou's expression shifted dramatically when he heard the news. The deathly stillness in his eyes vanished, replaced by a look of genuine shock that Danzo Shimura had managed to seize the Rinnegan.
"What exactly happened?!" Emiya Shirou stared intently at Black Zetsu, his voice grave. "Weren't Nagato and Konan already escaping? With their strength..."
"It was Uchiha Obito who betrayed us!" Black Zetsu interrupted, quickly explaining. "When Nagato and Konan were leaving, Orochimaru, Obito, and Danzo ambushed Nagato together. They used a forbidden jutsu that Madara once used to seize one of Nagato's Rinnegan!"
Fearing his words lacked urgency, and knowing how much Emiya Shirou valued those he considered comrades, Black Zetsu quickly added, "Right now, Nagato is being surrounded by Obito and Orochimaru. He's in critical danger."
"I understand..." Emiya Shirou's face grew grim.
To Black Zetsu, at least, it was obvious Shirou was furious—especially since Danzo had attacked Nagato, someone he had personally vouched for. Worse, he had stolen the Rinnegan, an eye crucial to the Eye of the Moon Plan.
At the same time, all the Konoha ninja present had a similar reaction.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes instantly filled with anger. He had been prepared to sacrifice his life to eliminate the threat of Emiya Shirou, only to learn that his old friend Danzo had teamed up with two of Konoha's most dangerous S-rank rogue ninjas. In his heart, he was already cursing Danzo from head to toe.
"Obito?" Minato Namikaze was clearly confused. "Obito is still alive?"
"Minato," Jiraiya began, "the Nine-Tails attack twelve years ago was orchestrated by a masked Uchiha Obito."
He revealed the truth, but his focus quickly shifted to Orochimaru, his brow furrowed as he tried to piece together his old teammate's plan.
That damn Orochimaru. He had caused all this chaos by resurrecting the former Hokage—was it all just a diversion to keep Emiya Shirou busy while he stole the Rinnegan from Nagato? It was one disaster after another.
While the Konoha ninja debated, Black Zetsu continued to persuade Emiya Shirou, seemingly sensing his thoughts and eagerly pushing him further.
"Emiya," it began, "I know you've always wanted this era's story to be resolved by this era's ninjas... but we're out of options. Only you can handle this now."
All this time, Emiya Shirou had refused to use Nagato's Rinnegan to resurrect himself. He had always maintained that Nagato was a comrade working to change the future of the ninja world.
If anyone were to use the Rinnegan's power of resurrection, he preferred Nagato use it for Madara Uchiha, so that someone he respected could complete the Eye of the Moon Plan in person.
But now, that thinking had to change. He had to punish Danzo, use him to complete his own resurrection, and deliver a powerful blow to this world.
Black Zetsu watched with growing anticipation as Emiya Shirou slowly clenched his fist. It knew the man was changing his mind. He would absolutely want to take revenge on Danzo for stealing the Rinnegan. Let Danzo be destroyed by the very power he sought to control, a lesson that not all power was his for the taking.
"Emiya..." Black Zetsu called his name softly.
In that moment, it felt their thoughts were perfectly aligned. Black Zetsu knew what Emiya Shirou was about to do, because it was the only answer that could turn this situation around.
And Emiya Shirou never disappointed.
"..."
He silently raised his finger.
The moment he did, Black Zetsu's anticipation turned to delight. It knew what was coming.
Although Emiya Shirou had never wanted to be resurrected, preferring to act as a guide, only by truly returning could he quickly deal with these Hokage, reclaim the Rinnegan, and save Nagato and Konan.
"Brother, be careful!" Tobirama noticed Shirou's movement and urgently warned Hashirama to reinforce the seals.
But the warning had the opposite effect.
Hashirama hadn't relaxed his guard, but hearing his brother's shout, he instinctively turned to look at him. In that split second, he witnessed the worst possible outcome.
As Tobirama shouted, the curse mark on his body began to spread, forcing his hands to form seals against his will.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"
Tobirama spat a high-pressure jet of water that sliced through the torii gates of the Gate of the Great God like a razor.
"Tobirama!" Hashirama cried out in shock.
"I'm being controlled by the curse mark..." Tobirama's face was tense as the mark spread across his entire body, leaving him only able to force out the words. "Hiruzen..."
"Second Lord!" Hiruzen immediately understood. He began to form the hand seals for the Reaper Death Seal, determined to end Emiya Shirou as quickly as possible.
But his body instantly froze. The curse mark spread rapidly across him as well, leaving him unable to move, forced to watch as his hands refused to come together.
"The curse mark..." Jiraiya's expression changed. He remembered Shirou placing these marks on Hiruzen and the others, though he had never used this trap before, not even when sealed.
Why now? What was he planning? Jiraiya simply couldn't figure it out.
But Tobirama realized the answer in an instant. His mind pieced all the clues together into one terrifying conclusion. He had just learned the Rinnegan could resurrect the dead. He knew Danzo had been marked with the same curse. Combining those facts with the terrifying nature of Emiya Shirou's soul...
"He wants to... resurrect himself!" Tobirama shouted, telling everyone what he'd realized. "He's using the curse mark to control Danzo and bring himself back to life!"
Then, he called out the most urgent warning of all.
"Find Danzo, now!"
Tobirama couldn't imagine what would happen once Emiya Shirou was truly resurrected. Would they even have a chance to stop a man who was practically a god in the ancient era?
But it was already too late.
As Black Zetsu watched eagerly, as Tobirama stared in horror, and while the Konoha ninjas remained stunned, a blinding white light erupted from Emiya Shirou. The radiance was so pure and overwhelming that it seemed to erase the world around them, leaving only a searing white void.
"This is bad!" Hashirama knew something terrible was happening. His hand lit up with chakra as he swung a punch at Shirou. He had to be faster, had to stop whatever was about to happen.
But it was no use.
The light around Emiya Shirou faded. When it disappeared, the once-reanimated body was now fully restored to life, his powerful chakra rapidly returning.
In that instant, all the power he possessed in ancient times poured back into him. The force he had always suppressed was finally unleashed, unrestrained in this new age.
A terrifying pressure immediately swept over Konoha, knocking countless ninja off their feet. The gigantic trees in the village forests shook violently in the spiritual storm.
"What is happening..." Kakashi, who had just been thinking about chasing Obito, was nearly blown off his feet before Might Guy grabbed him.
"This..." Might Guy dug his feet into the ground, shielding a group of genin as sweat dripped down his face. "This chakra... Is this really something a human can possess?"
Kurenai Yuhi clung to her student, her body trembling with fear. "I've never felt such terrifying chakra!"
Not even during the Nine-Tails' invasion... the Kyuubi's chakra couldn't compare to this.
"What on earth... is happening?!"
Every ninja in Konoha had the same question, desperately looking for something to hold onto to avoid being sent flying by the pressure.
At the center of it all, Emiya Shirou stood with his head slightly lowered. He calmly outstretched his hand and easily caught a heavy punch from Hashirama.
No—he didn't just catch it. He neutralized it effortlessly.
Emiya Shirou could feel the powerful vitality in his body, the rush of blood in his veins, his soul finally anchored to his body once more.
"..."
A heavy feeling settled over Hashirama. Standing at the epicenter of the resurrection, the First Hokage could sense the terrifying chakra more directly than anyone. This chakra... even at his own peak, he had to admit he was nowhere close.
Emiya Shirou slowly lifted his head to look at Hashirama. The Rinnegan in his eyes broke apart like scraps of paper, leaving empty, frightening hollows. But Shirou didn't seem to care about losing his sight.
This man, who had ended his own era a thousand years ago, had just drawn a new beginning for himself.