"Orochimaru," Hiruzen spoke coldly, stepping onto the rooftop in his black combat gear, "when you defected from the village, I told you—if we ever meet again, it would be a battle to the death."
He had originally been rushing to support Fugaku after hearing the chaos in the village. Though he had always held reservations toward the Uchiha, Konoha was his home—something he would never abandon.
Orochimaru smiled darkly, drawing the Kusanagi Sword and letting his tongue slither across the blade.
"Sarutobi-sensei... there's no need to worry about Fugaku. Today is the last time I'll come to see you."
Hiruzen's heart ached. For all Orochimaru had become, there had been a time when he was Hiruzen's greatest pride. A prodigy. The most promising of the Sannin.
"Orochimaru... what brought you to this point? How did Konoha wrong you so deeply?"
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with resentment. "Still pretending, sensei? You really don't know?"
His voice was laced with venom now.
"I never cared for the Hokage title... but the rot within Konoha disgusts me. Did you truly believe it was I who experimented on the villagers?"
He narrowed his eyes, voice sharp.
"You knew Danzo was behind it. I took the fall. Because he's your companion. And someone had to be the scapegoat. As long as your reputation remained intact... that was enough, wasn't it?"
Sarutobi's silence was answer enough.
"You've fallen, sensei," Orochimaru said quietly. "You're no different from the schemers you once condemned."
Hiruzen's eyes darkened. "Enough talk. Orochimaru, this will be your final lesson!"
"Ninjutsu: Tile Shuriken!"
The rooftop tiles flew up like a flock of steel birds, spinning toward Orochimaru.
"Naive," Orochimaru hissed, weaving past the storm of shuriken.
"Shadow Snake Hand!"
His tongue transformed into a massive serpent and lunged for Hiruzen's throat—only to clamp onto a mud clone that crumbled on contact.
"Earth Style: River of Mud!"
Sarutobi emerged behind him, sending Orochimaru sliding into a depression of earth.
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb!"
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Mud turned to fire as Sarutobi unleashed a barrage of earthen dragon heads mixed with flames—raining down like a meteor storm.
Smoke filled the air.
But Hiruzen didn't relax.
"That won't fool me, Orochimaru."
As expected, the smirking snake slithered free from the flames, unscathed.
"Then let's stop pretending," Orochimaru grinned.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Dozens of shuriken appeared in midair, multiplying into hundreds.
"You still remember the technique that made you famous, sensei?" he mocked. "But how will you handle... this?"
"Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation!"
"No—damn it!" Hiruzen's eyes widened. "He's using Edo Tensei to shield himself?! That seal... it's the real thing!"
Two wooden coffins erupted from the ground, each marked with kanji: 初 ("First") and 二 ("Second"). The lids dropped open.
From within stepped Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama—the First and Second Hokage.
Hiruzen's face fell. "You... dared to desecrate their souls?!"
Orochimaru shrugged. "If you must blame someone, blame Nidaime-sama. He invented the technique."
The two former Hokage launched forward in eerie unison.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!" Hiruzen countered, spewing searing fire that engulfed both enemies in an inferno.
But as the smoke cleared, they stood unharmed.
"Water Style: Water Wall!" The Second had extinguished the flames with ease.
"Even in death, you're terrifying," Hiruzen muttered. "Using Water Style like that... without a water source…"
"Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!" Tobirama sent a towering surge of water hurtling forward.
Hiruzen formed a wall of earth just in time, diverting the flood.
But Hashirama was already on him.
A fist struck Hiruzen's face, knocking him back. As he staggered, Tobirama aimed again.
"Not good!"
Hiruzen leapt backward, scrambling up a cliff face like a monkey—but Water Colliding Wave slashed through the stone, shattering it.
As he fell, Hashirama's trees erupted to bind him.
"Summoning Jutsu! Enma, help me!"
A cloud of smoke burst beside him as the Monkey King appeared, using brute force to tear through the sea of trees and pull Hiruzen free.
"Hiruzen!" Enma shouted. "Why is your student trying to kill you?! And those... weren't they long dead?!"
"There's no time," Hiruzen replied breathlessly. "Orochimaru resurrected them using Edo Tensei. His target is me."
"Call for help then!"
"I can't! Fugaku and the others are holding back the Raikage and Tsuchikage. And Orochimaru's men have cast a barrier—it can't be breached."
A dark laugh rang out.
"So you understand the situation, sensei?"
Orochimaru descended gracefully from above.
"It's over. This is your last breath."
Suddenly—a voice cut through the air.
"I don't think so."
Orochimaru's eyes widened. He spun around—scales bristling in alarm.
Someone had slipped through the barrier. Unnoticed.
Three figures stood behind him—two men and one woman.
The man in front spoke with quiet command. "Release the First and Second Hokage."
Orochimaru's lips twisted. "You think—"
But he didn't finish.
The man's eyes changed. Mangekyō Sharingan.
Orochimaru's mind went blank.
The seals forming at his fingertips activated involuntarily, and the chakra threads snapped. The control over the First and Second vanished.
At the same moment, Hiruzen and Enma broke free from the trees, catching their breath.
Hiruzen's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Lord Xiuyu..."
That face—unchanged since the founding of the village.
Uchiha Xiuyu.
An ancient, hidden figure. Vanished from the world for decades.
And yet he stood there—unchanged, unaged, and just as powerful.
"Oho... so the little monkey still remembers me," Xiuyu said with a faint smirk. "It's been a long time, Hiruzen."
--------------------------
"No, Lord Xiuyu is right. As expected, Lord Mito, Lady Chisato, and Lady Asaoka... you're still as radiant as ever," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with deep reverence. He bowed respectfully to the four figures before him. Whether in terms of age, strength, or seniority, Hiruzen was a junior among juniors.
"I never imagined I'd meet the legendary Ninja God, Uchiha Xiuyu. Should I be honored... or terrified?" Orochimaru had finally regained consciousness—though it was clear Xiuyu had willingly released his Mangekyō control.
"Long time no see, Hashirama. And... Tobirama," Xiuyu greeted casually.
"Xiuyu? That's great! You died too?" Hashirama beamed as if he were welcoming an old friend to a reunion.
"Brother, you idiot," Tobirama scolded. "Look again—we're the dead ones. This is Impure World Reincarnation!"
Hashirama glanced down at his hands and body. "Ohhh... that explains why I feel so weak."
"And what's going on? Is Konoha safe?" he asked, blinking.
"Heh... First Hokage-sama," Orochimaru chimed in with venom, "Konoha is currently under siege. Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure are all attacking."
"Monkey, how many generations of Hokage have passed since me?" Tobirama turned toward Hiruzen.
"The current ruler is Uchiha Fugaku. He's the Fifth Hokage," Hiruzen answered.
"What about you? Why are you fighting on the front lines like this?"
"The Fourth died sealing the Nine-Tails. Fugaku took over soon after. Right now, he's engaged on the battlefield while I'm dealing with my wayward student—Orochimaru, who resurrected you both."
Hiruzen quickly summarized the crisis. With control of the First and Second released, things had stabilized—at least temporarily. But the reappearance of Uchiha Xiuyu introduced an entirely different level of unpredictability.
"Wait... people die from sealing the Nine-Tails?" Hashirama asked, confused. Even Orochimaru couldn't help but glance at him—was the First Hokage truly this scatterbrained?
"You died too early, Hashirama," Xiuyu quipped. "You're barely better off than the Fourth."
Hashirama visibly deflated, shoulders slumping.
"Alright, Xiuyu. Konoha's in critical danger. Are you going to act or just keep chatting?" Tobirama cut in, ever the pragmatist.
"Hey, are you ignoring me now?" Orochimaru snapped, his usual pride faltering after being so thoroughly disregarded.
"What are you barking about?" Xiuyu's eyes narrowed.
The next instant, an overwhelming wave of chakra burst forth. Orochimaru was crushed flat against the ground, his limbs pinned by sheer pressure alone.
"Ugh... I can't move..." he gasped, sweat beading on his face. In that moment, he began to understand why the world once called Xiuyu the "God of the Ninja World."
This is true power... far beyond what I imagined.
Yet Orochimaru's pride refused to die quietly.
"You're called the God of Ninja, First Hokage... yet your strength seems no better than Sarutobi-sensei's. Why is that?"
"You brat!" Tobirama snapped. "Did you use street trash as sacrifices for the jutsu? With that quality, how dare you judge my brother's power?"
No one could tell if he was more furious about being used as a puppet or that Orochimaru dared mock Hashirama.
"Tobirama, let it go," Hashirama waved his hand. "Let's help the current Hokage."
"You're being careless, Brother! Uchiha Xiuyu is already here—what are you even worried about?"
"Oh, right! Xiuyu, what about Madara? He's not dead too, is he?"
Xiuyu smirked. So even in death, you're still obsessed with that man, huh?
"Madara and Izuna are alive and well. They're off playing around on an alien planet. They're having so much fun they don't even want to come home."
"Huh? So Tobirama and I are the only ones who died?" Hashirama looked genuinely disappointed.
He'd accepted his own death long ago—but learning that everyone else lived somehow made it feel worse.
"So much time has passed... but Xiuyu, how are you still alive?" Tobirama asked, narrowing his eyes.
He'd long theorized that Xiuyu had used some variation of the Uzumaki's vitality-enhancing sealing techniques. But what he sensed now—this boundless chakra, this overwhelming life force—was not something any ordinary jutsu could grant.
"Oh, Hashirama... your brother finally caught on. Why have I lived so long?"
Xiuyu snapped his fingers.
Mito and Chisato stepped forward—and unleashed their chakra.
Twin auras soared into the sky, each as powerful as Hashirama's in his prime.
"Turns out, Mito and Chisato are monsters too!" Hashirama said cheerfully, completely unfazed. After all, he'd never really understood his own absurd strength either.
Xiuyu had surpassed him ages ago. Hashirama had even died during a clash with the Ōtsutsuki—injured at his peak.
"Enough chatter!" Tobirama snapped. "Konoha is on the brink. Can we focus?"
He sealed off Orochimaru's movement, turning him into a lifeless snake. But Orochimaru didn't panic.
Xiuyu was clearly the one in charge now. And if he didn't particularly like Sarutobi-sensei... Orochimaru might yet survive.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, chaos had erupted.
The One-Tailed Beast rampaged indiscriminately—friend and foe alike caught in its wake. The Tsuchikage and Raikage were in direct combat with Konoha's elite forces.
"Surrender, Fugaku!" Raikage barked. "Our troops are surrounding your village as we speak. Konoha is finished!"
Despite his harsh tone, even Raikage didn't want an all-out war. The cost would be devastating for both sides.
Ohnoki, on the other hand, seemed oddly relaxed. He casually exchanged jutsu with Shisui, but the effort behind his attacks was minimal.
Anyone watching closely would realize—Ohnoki wasn't truly fighting.
He was stalling.
Waiting.
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