The Sage of the Six Paths' attack was dangerous, but it was not as irresistible as Aoba had imagined.
In reality, the opponent's schemes, execution, and the power he could wield all fell far below Aoba's expectations.
Originally, Aoba believed that if the Sage made a move, it would be overwhelming, a force so immense that even the full might of Konoha would struggle to withstand it.
However, in reality, the Sage merely used Hashirama to infiltrate Konoha, attempting to destroy Aoba's efforts from within.
This proved one thing: the Sage was genuinely wary of Aoba's actions. At the same time, it also meant that he was no longer able to exert too much power.
While this realization made Aoba breathe a sigh of relief, it also made him more vigilant than ever.
Even at this critical juncture, the Sage refused to take direct action, which could only mean that his own plans had also reached a crucial moment.
Aoba knew that his time was running out.
Konoha held an extremely rare high-level meeting.
This time, not only were Tsunade, Shikaku, Kakashi, and other key Konoha leaders present, but the Third and Fourth Hokage also made their first official appearance in a Konoha gathering as part of the village's hidden forces.
The Second Hokage had recovered, but since he had once been invaded by the Sage of the Six Paths' chakra, he remained under confinement.
Additionally, Aoba's students. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura had all become Konoha's elite jonin and were participating in the meeting.
Also present were those whom Aoba had personally promoted, such as Shirakumo Hayate, Asuma, Kurenai, and representatives of Konoha's major clans.
Nearly all of Konoha's elite jonin were in attendance.
Apart from Konoha's personnel, there were also some unfamiliar faces at the meeting.
One of them was Konan, and the stranger beside her was Nagato.
After awakening, Nagato, with Konan's support, had gradually overcome his psychological scars.
With the use of White Zetsu and Hashirama's cells, Konoha's medical team repaired Nagato's damaged body and even provided him with a new pair of eyes.
Now, possessing the combined traits of the Uzumaki, Senju, and White Zetsu, Nagato's physical potential was nothing short of terrifying.
Without the consumption from the Rinnegan, Nagato had lost his absolute suppression power, but his overall combat ability had hardly declined.
After all, he was Jiraiya's direct disciple, the leader of Amegakure, and the former head of the Akatsuki. His access to ninjutsu resources was on par with any Kage-level figure.
Once he regained his sense of self, he was undoubtedly a Kage-level powerhouse.
Additionally, Mei Terumi and Kisame, who were nominally seeking political asylum in Konoha, were also present. Though they were still officially Mist shinobi, everyone knew that even if Kirigakure summoned them back, they would never return.
Most of the Mist ninja, under Konoha's arrangements, had already established various bonds in the village. The comforts of Konoha's life made it nearly impossible for them to abandon it.
Furthermore, Gaara attended the meeting as the representative of Sunagakure.
Along with Hidan, Kakuzu, and other former Akatsuki members now working under Konoha, this gathering had more than twenty Kage-level fighters.
The assembled individuals in this meeting room could easily flatten all five great ninja villages, not just one, but all of them combined.
There were also two particularly notable individuals at the meeting. One was Toneri Otsutsuki, who, under Kotoamatsukami's control, had become Aoba's hidden trump card.
The other was a completely unfamiliar face to most of Konoha's leaders except for Sasuke, who had been staring at him with a complex expression.
That person was Itachi Uchiha.
Aoba was never going to let Uchiha Itachi off the hook, not just for his crimes but also because of his inherent abilities.
Looking at the entirety of Naruto, Itachi's ninja talent was undeniably among the best, even in the final battle.
With mastery in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, he was a well-rounded warrior. If not for his frail body and his extreme devotion to Sasuke, he could have gone much further.
To prepare for the possible direct assault from the Sage of the Six Paths, Aoba had long arranged for Itachi to receive a brand-new body.
Though he had lost his Sharingan, his new, more powerful body had restored 70–80% of his former combat ability.
The only significant downside was that his genjutsu would never reach its former heights.
Until now, many knew about Aoba's various preparations, but very few knew everything.
This meeting was meant to reveal all the hidden truths.
Aoba wanted everyone to understand the true nature of their enemy and why they had to oppose the Sage of the Six Paths.
In theory, Aoba could have made this information public much earlier, but it wasn't that simple.
The most critical reason to resist the Sage was this: if he successfully seized complete control over chakra, the entire ninja world would become his playground.
Every bit of chakra would be under his surveillance and even his direct control.
If he wished, he could observe the actions of anyone in the ninja world at any time.
But it went even further. Through chakra, he could exert control over life, death, and even souls, there would be no escape.
He had already taken control of the Pure Land, meaning there was no longer a natural cycle of life and death in the ninja world.
At that point, every living being's actions, words, and very existence would be dictated by his will.
Logically speaking, such an entity should be fought against and overthrown at all costs.
But that was not the reality of the ninja world.
In the real world, people would naturally resist such tyranny. But the ninja world was an extremely ignorant and backward place, filled with uninformed and foolish people.
For them, the existence of an all-powerful god was not unacceptable.
In fact, many would welcome the arrival of such a god to rule over the ninja world.
After all, they had never had control over their own lives, so they didn't want anyone else to have it either.
For years, Aoba had dedicated himself to scientific research and education in Konoha. The most crucial aspect of education was ideological awakening.
But this was a painstakingly difficult, long, and arduous process.
Even now, there had been some progress, but spreading it across the entire ninja world was still a distant dream.
But there was no more time.
Aoba had no choice but to take the next best step: gathering the strongest individuals he could influence and revealing everything to them.
The more powerful a person was, the more unwilling they would be to accept being reduced to someone else's puppet. These individuals were the easiest to persuade.
By making this information public, Aoba was cutting off all avenues of retreat.
This was it.
The final battle had begun.
If you would like to read more...
The novel has be completed (Chp. 362) on the patreon -> SaintXI