Among the four, only Madara had been beaten by Takeshiki. The others had at most seen him from afar. In fact, Minato had only heard legends.
Facing such a person, their hearts were naturally extremely apprehensive, especially since they knew that Edo Tensei would have no effect against such a god. But they pressed forward fearlessly, whether to buy time for Takemi or for this world.
They would stop at nothing!
"..."
However, this scene left Takemi's God Tree Clone dumbfounded, and likewise, it also left Takemi, who was floating in the sky, dumbfounded.
'No, I've really become the big villain?!'
He had always known that his identity as Takeshiki was following the path of a complete and utter super villain. But now, three Hokage had come over, along with Madara, who was strongly supported by Hashirama and almost became the First Hokage.
What is this supposed to be?
Takemi felt like laughing and crying, but at this moment, the four had already surrounded him.
"Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki..."
Tobirama spoke with a grave expression.
Minato sighed softly, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we can't let you continue."
Hashirama spoke in a deep voice, "This world cannot be left to your whims."
Madara even shouted in a low voice, "A legendary god? Always wearing a mask and hiding. This time, I will definitely tear off your mask and get a good look at your face."
"..."
Takemi looked at them somewhat speechlessly. If he really let them tear it off, they'd probably be scared to death. Of course, if they could actually do it, it wouldn't matter, as he had many preparations.
And Tobirama's plan wasn't bad. Besides, doing so might even help Kaguya.
So...
"Since you are so confident, I'll give you a chance."
Takeshiki slowly descended from the sky. He looked at the four in front of him calmly and spoke softly, "Just a friendly reminder, no matter how hard an ant tries..."
"It cannot defeat an elephant."
"Big brother, the situation has become even more complicated. Are we still going to wait?"
In the dimensional space, Hamura watched as the great battle below changed once again, and he couldn't help but ask with some concern.
He knew some of his elder brother's plans, which were, without a doubt, to wait for the new Indra and Asura reincarnations to fall into a life-or-death situation. Then he could meet with them and hand over the power he had always preserved. This would allow them to be reborn, give them time to understand everything, and then save everything.
But now...
The entire Ninja World War was already in disarray, the Ōtsutsuki's Karma began to decompress, and Ten-Tails was roaring hoarsely.
If he didn't act now, when would he?
"Let's wait a little longer. Asura needs to reconcile with the Tailed Beasts."
Hagoromo's face was still somewhat numb. He didn't seem to have fully recovered from the previous blow, but he still spoke earnestly.
"The previous Asura took a different path. Now is the time to set things right, and Takemi, that child, will be fine."
"..."
Hamura naturally knew Takemi was fine, he was the strongest Ōtsutsuki he knew. However, that was in a one-on-one situation. Now, three Ōtsutsuki were about to rise from their coffins.
Could Takemi really take on three of them?
"Could it be..."
Suddenly, Hamura had a strange thought. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Hagoromo suspiciously.
'Does big brother want the world to feel the might of the Ten-Tails and the power of the Ōtsutsuki, so that people understand the good intentions behind everything he has done?'
As this thought emerged, Hamura immediately felt it made some sense.
After all, Hagoromo's reputation seemed to be a bit poor right now. Using this war to make the world acknowledge all of this seemed like a good choice?
"Big brother..."
Thinking of this, Hamura couldn't help but whisper, which made Hagoromo look at him in confusion.
"?"
"While the method is good and the effect will be good, isn't it too cold and too cruel?"
"..."
Hagoromo had no idea what his younger brother was thinking again, but he didn't care anymore. Anyway, he was already 'inhumane' now, and nothing he said would do any good.
'Perhaps appearing a little later will change the situation.'
Hagoromo mused, while on the other side of the battlefield, Jiraiya had finally made contact with Mount Myōboku. Fukasaku and Shima stood on his shoulders, both with extremely grave expressions.
"The situation looks incredibly complicated, especially with Takeshiki's arrival, and Obito and Nagato, they..."
"I never expected things to escalate to this point. Nagato, he... sigh."
Jiraiya looked distressed. Although he knew his disciple had gone astray, his feelings were as complex as Minato's.
"Don't overthink it. Didn't Takeshiki say that a strong will might be able to resist being corrupted by the Ōtsutsuki?"
Tsunade spoke up to comfort him from the side, but her face remained very solemn.
"Also, Grandpa and the others went after Takeshiki, and that kid Takemi also went to find Obito and the others. Perhaps they have a plan?"
"No matter what plan, we must do something. This is the Great Toad Sage's command."
Fukasaku and Shima exchanged glances, then spoke in low voices.
"The Great Toad Sage is preparing to come personally. We must be ready."
"The Great Toad Sage is coming personally?"
Jiraiya was startled to hear this, and even Tsunade beside him was somewhat speechless.
She had heard of that Great Toad Sage, but she had never expected him to choose to act at this time.
"Also, these Edo Tensei cannot be wasted."
Fukasaku glanced at the Edo Tensei who were temporarily without a target, and he spoke in a low voice.
"We must utilize them. Not just them, the ninja army cannot remain so lost either."
"That's right."
Shima looked at the fierce ancient beast in the distance, and sighed.
"Even if we can't deal with the Ōtsutsuki, we can still try to seal the Ten-Tails."
"I understand." Jiraiya nodded.
Tsunade sighed.
This battle had clearly exceeded expectations, but they were fighting for their world. No matter what, they had to give it their all.
...
"Hey, how are you doing, anyway?"
While Jiraiya and Tsunade were acting, Sasuke, uncharacteristically, stayed put. It wasn't that he didn't want to move around. It was just that Naruto's situation seemed a bit off right now.
Sasuke frowned. He really wanted to leave Naruto and participate in this battle of the century. But he found that he couldn't just abandon Naruto, especially since he noticed Naruto seemed to be undergoing some kind of transformation.
"Has the Nine-Tails Chakra changed?"
Sasuke pondered for a moment, finally letting out a sigh.
"Hurry up. Don't waste my time."
The entire battlefield had new dynamics, and at the center of the battlefield, Takemi, who had transformed into an Ōtsutsuki, remained relatively calm.
Looking at the four Edo Tensei in front of him, he gently shook his head.
"Come at me all at once, otherwise, you might not get another chance."
Takeshiki's words were somewhat understated, but within that understatement lay a strange arrogance.
This attitude displeased Madara, but he knew his limits. After exchanging a glance with Hashirama beside him, a strange understanding bloomed between them. Without needing to communicate, Hashirama moved instantly. Madara followed closely, his Chakra surging wildly within him.
"Let's go."
Tobirama felt a bit annoyed seeing his elder brother and Madara act with such synergy, but he suppressed his feelings and spoke to Minato.
In the next instant, the two of them also rapidly charged towards Takemi from the flanks. Their speed was so incredibly great that in the blink of an eye, they had arrived in front of Takeshiki, one after the other. Moreover, their positioning was extremely precise, having silently surrounded Takeshiki.
"That's somewhat interesting, but what's the point?" Takeshiki raised an eyebrow.