"This… this is the Fourth Hokage of Konoha?" Naruto stared, dumbfounded.
Although he had once idolized the Fourth Hokage, ever since switching to the new potion system, he had rarely practiced ninjutsu. Yet this scene shook him to his core.
At this level of power… can they even be considered ninja?!
Naruto's doubt ran deep. Neither the Kage nor the Sannin seemed to be on the same level as these two.
Sasuke's gaze was a bit bitter. She stared at Kabuto, whose glasses had slipped down his nose, and slowly asked, "Before you summoned them… did you know they were this strong?"
"Uh…" Kabuto struggled to straighten his broken glasses, a bitter expression on his face. "I had only heard Lord Orochimaru mention it, but… I didn't expect it to be like this."
Two of them—one Fire Release attack almost covered half of Konoha, while a Wind Release flattened a whole mountaintop!
This—this could even be called a ninja?
And what about the lower-ranking ninjas in the academy, or the Chunin and Jonin? What were they even for?
Suddenly, Naruto seemed hesitant to speak, his mouth twitching. "I just want to know… if the Fourth Hokage, Uchiha Sogetsu, was so powerful, how exactly did he die back then?"
Fifth Hokage Tsunade rubbed her forehead. "No one knows the full truth. But at the time, it was Danzo. He secretly joined forces with the Aurora Order to assassinate the Fourth Hokage."
"The Aurora Order? They, by themselves?"
Sasuke's suspicion deepened.
If it were before, she wouldn't have doubted it, but now… a single move could flatten a mountain. Could the Aurora Order really be that strong?
"Don't underestimate the Aurora Order," Jiraiya said slowly. "Back then, they had three Great Saints. Each of them was extremely powerful. I suspect it was one of the Saints who acted… that's how they were able to assassinate the Fourth Hokage without a sound."
As the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade naturally couldn't allow Uchiha Sogetsu and Uchiha Madara to keep fighting like this!
Otherwise, with the strength of just these two, there wouldn't even be a need for a Fourth Ninja War—they could erase Konoha from the map entirely!
"No… we must control them!"
Tsunade gave the first order. "We can't let this continue!"
The seal patterns of the Yin Mark spread across her face, entering a state of creation and regeneration.
She knew that with her own strength alone, stopping the two of them would be nearly impossible. Her gaze shifted to the others.
"Jiraiya, Sasuke, Naruto… if we don't stop them, all of Konoha will be destroyed!"
"Give me five minutes!"
Jiraiya understood the severity of the situation and immediately summoned the two sages of Mount Myoboku. "Please, lend me your strength!"
The newly summoned Sages, Fukasaku and Shima, seemed to have been in the middle of a meal. Shima held a wooden bowl and scowled. "Little Jiraiya… next time, can you not summon us at noon?"
"Alright, calm down, kid's mom…"
Fukasaku comforted her from the side. "Little Jiraiya must be in serious trouble, otherwise he wouldn't have summoned us."
"So, who is the enemy this time?"
Shima's tone was impatient. "Hurry up and finish this. There's a pot of soup waiting at home."
"I'm truly sorry, both of you, sages."
Jiraiya apologized with guilt, then stepped aside, pointing to the ruins where two figures faced each other. "This time… the enemies are them."
Fukasaku glanced and suddenly stiffened. "Little Jiraiya… am I seeing things? That person… looks a lot like Uchiha Madara."
"You are not mistaken."
Jiraiya's face was bitter. "Those two… one is Uchiha Madara, the other is the previous Hokage. If they start fighting here, the entire Hidden Leaf might be destroyed."
Shima's eyelids twitched as she saw the two Susanoo clashing. "Little Jiraiya… are you sure our old bones can stop them?"
What Mount Myōboku Sage?
If they got involved in that battle between two gods, they'd probably be turned into dried toads in minutes.
But Jiraiya sighed helplessly. "Sages, I have no choice but to rely on you. I can't just send Gamabunta, can I?"
Gamabunta, resting on Mount Myoboku, sneezed for no reason and felt a chill run through his body.
Fukasaku and Shima remained silent. With Gamabunta's size, he'd probably die even more miserably, maybe ground into toad meat paste.
At this point, even if they didn't want to fight, they had no choice but to face it head-on.
Jiraiya activated Sage Mode. The two toad sages fused, then looked at Tsunade. "Please cover us!"
"All right!"
Tsunade, relying on her fast regeneration, dashed forward, positioning herself directly between the two Susanoo.
"Hah!"
She summoned all her strength and swung a fist.
Uchiha Madara's Susanoo blade shattered under her punch, making him raise an eyebrow.
"Oh… Hashirama's granddaughter? Under other circumstances, I might have played with you. But now… the adults are fighting. Kids, stay out of this!"
Kids?!
The Fifth Hokage of Hidden Leaf, being called a kid?
Tsunade bristled with anger, but before she could react, the Susanoo's massive hand swung, carrying a violent gust. It hit her like swatting a fly and sent her flying hundreds of meters away.
Watching Tsunade streak across the sky like a shooting star, Jiraiya was worried but had no time to dwell on it.
With Sage Mode enhancing his strength, he smashed the Susanoo blade of Uchiha Sogetsu with a massive Rasengan and shouted urgently, "Stop, Sogetsu! Don't forget… you are the Fourth Hokage of Hidden Leaf. If this continues—"
"Shut up!"
Uchiha Sogetsu's expression was cold as he slapped Jiraiya away.
In just a few seconds, two of the Sannin, Jiraiya and Tsunade, streaked across the sky like meteors before crashing hundreds of meters away.
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance. "Is it our turn now?"
After several rounds of close combat, Uchiha Madara realized he couldn't overpower Sogetsu. A wide smile spread across his face.
"Good, good, as expected from the one I trained. Now let's see how you plan to handle this next move!"
Suddenly, the blue Susanoo behind him sprouted four more arms and three faces.
Six hands formed seals simultaneously, and a surging wave of chakra spread over hundreds of kilometers. Uchiha Madara laughed as he looked up at the sky. "Take this, Tengai Shinsei!"
In an instant, dark clouds blanketed the sky.
Naruto and Sasuke looked up in shock. What they saw was a massive meteor, dozens of kilometers in diameter!
No—more accurately, it wasn't just one. There were three of them!
The three meteors' coverage was enough to engulf the entire Hidden Leaf Village. Once they fell, no one would survive—except for the reanimated shinobi.
"No—!!!"
Tsunade stared at the three meteors, completely overwhelmed with despair.
She regretted summoning these two powerful forces. If she hadn't agreed, how could Konoha ever face total destruction?
Kabuto was dumbfounded as well. Following Orochimaru's orders, he had summoned these two ninjas, hoping to change the tide of battle.
But he never expected this.
The battle had changed, yes, but… the direction it had taken seemed entirely wrong.
Unbeknownst to them, the hidden White Zetsu was watching nearby, barely able to contain his laughter.
"Perfect, absolutely perfect!"
*******
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