"Kiyosuke-kun, are you finally ready to turn your blade against your own teacher?"
Orochimaru's eyes lit up with a twisted gleam as he spoke.
What the hell are you so excited about?
He spread his arms wide, almost fanatically, and declared,
"Yes, that's it! Even though it's a bit late, abandon those meaningless emotions in your heart. Become an unrestrained wind—abandon everything, and you'll surpass all others. Kiyosuke-kun, once you break free from your shackles, you'll even surpass the First Hokage!"
Kiyosuke was his strongest student—stronger even than himself. Yet he was being held back by worthless emotions. He could've become far more powerful, but he remained stagnant. Orochimaru had always been waiting—for Kiyosuke to cast aside those emotions and become a wild, merciless wind, sweeping away and destroying the windmill.
"You want me to stop being human? That's never going to happen."
Facing Orochimaru's words, Kiyosuke shook his head with a smile.
"Humans are different from animals because we have emotions. That's what makes us special. Even the summoning beasts can't truly understand human feelings. Sometimes they're ruled more by instinct than any reasoning. To abandon my emotions and become a cold-blooded snake? That's not who I am."
Their golden serpent-like eyes locked.
Kiyosuke continued,
"You couldn't let go of your bond with the Third either, could you? You just took it to an extreme. You couldn't stand seeing the man who taught you ninjutsu grow old and wither away, dying like a normal old man… so you gave him a more dignified end."
Orochimaru never truly had feelings for Konoha. Revenge wasn't something he particularly cared about. And yet, he acted.
Most likely, it was for Hiruzen Sarutobi. He wanted the man who had once been a hero in his youth to die as a hero, rather than withering away in old age. That kind of death wouldn't suit his revered teacher.
Better that the "unfilial disciple" ended his life personally.
Human thought was just that complex. And because of that, they were different from animals.
"How dull. I only want to destroy Konoha, now a pitifully weak village."
Orochimaru gave a cold sneer.
"I've already completed that jutsu. I've become the ultimate lifeform."
"The last guy who called himself the 'ultimate lifeform' ended up completely brain-dead."
Kiyosuke dug a finger into his ear casually as he replied.
"So that's it, huh? Couldn't stand to see Sarutobi turn into an old man,"
Hashirama said as his body finished reforming. He nodded solemnly, showing no sign of being under control.
"Hmm, your thinking's a little strange, but I guess it still shows some lingering attachment to Sarutobi, huh? You there—Orochimaru, how about stopping the Edo Tensei? Let's sit down and have a nice talk instead?"
"Big Brother, don't be so naïve. Sarutobi's student has made up his mind to destroy Konoha."
Tobirama stepped out of the sea of flames, still shaken by the destructive power Kiyosuke had just displayed.
The sheer scale of it was comparable to his big brother's.
He didn't quite understand how a teacher like Orochimaru could've raised such a loyal Konoha shinobi. Maybe it was the Will of Fire? Looks like Hiruzen had taught him something worthwhile too.
"Yeah, you three have a really complicated relationship,"
Hashirama added.
Kiyosuke replied,
"It only gets more complicated with you two added in. You're both Hiruzen-sama's teachers. I'm the lowest in the pecking order here."
His lineage:
Teachers' grandmasters: The Senju brothers.
Teacher's master: Sarutobi Hiruzen.
His own master: Orochimaru.
Out of everyone present, Kiyosuke ranked the lowest in seniority.
"Ahahaha, don't sweat the little things like that!"
Hashirama laughed heartily.
"Watch out,"
Tobirama warned.
"My body's out of control again. This time it's… Water Style: Severing Wave!"
A thread-thin stream of water shot from Tobirama's mouth, cutting cleanly through the rooftop like a razor-sharp blade.
Faced with a technique that could slice through the God Tree itself, Kiyosuke didn't hesitate—he dodged immediately.
That reaction told Tobirama something.
"Immune to physical attacks… but not to water? A body made of flame—similar to the Hōzuki clan."
Even under enemy control, Tobirama's ninja instincts compelled him to observe and analyze. He was silently gathering intel on his opponent.
And now, he had a rough idea of this young man's capabilities.
"In that case…"
Kiyosuke's eyes narrowed.
Tobirama's ability was a natural counter to his own, so he decisively disengaged from both Hashirama and Tobirama.
He snatched up a nearby Amegakure shinobi and pressed a mask over the man's face.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
A cold, terrifying chakra enveloped the Amegakure shinobi, drawing a scream of agony from deep within.
"What is that?"
Orochimaru stared at the mask, a sinking feeling growing in his gut.
And in the perception of the two Senju brothers, a hazy figure began to appear behind the Rain ninja—one radiating a terrifying chakra: icy, eerie, and deeply unsettling.
The shinobi's arms spread wide against his will.
A spectral Shinigami opened its mouth behind him, reached out with a withered hand, and retrieved the kunai clenched in its teeth. Then, without hesitation, it slashed open the man's own stomach.
A moment later, his belly split wide open, blood and organs spilling out in a gruesome torrent.
From within the Shinigami's belly, a soul came flying out.
"At last,"
Kiyosuke said coldly as he sensed the spirit.
He picked up the mask and stored it away, then grabbed another Otogakure ninja, knocked them out, and threw them to the ground.
Orochimaru's expression darkened—he knew exactly what Kiyosuke was about to do.
"Stop him! Quickly!" he shouted.
"Damn it, I'm being controlled again! Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Tobirama cursed as he launched his attack. Hashirama followed up with a blast of Wood Style.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
A clone appeared and swept its arm, releasing a wall of fire that incinerated both the wooden attack and the water dragon.
And in that moment, Kiyosuke began casting a forbidden technique.
"Edo Tensei!"
The soul that had just escaped from the Shinigami's belly—Minato's—was drawn into the body of the unconscious ninja. Dust swirled around the figure as the transformation began, until finally...
Namikaze Minato stood before them, his form fully restored.
"That's… Sensei Minato?!"
Kakashi, still locked in battle, froze in shock.
Nearby, Naruto had just regained consciousness.
The moment he saw the man with golden hair, dressed in the Hokage's cloak, his body went rigid.
Inside him, Kurama stirred violently—its instincts reacting to the reappearance of its other half.
"That's…"
"The Fourth Hokage—Namikaze Minato!"
Orochimaru's gaze turned ice-cold. Things were spiraling out of control fast.
He was already regretting ever teaching Kiyosuke the Edo Tensei, and he never expected Kiyosuke would find a way to undo the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
"Namikaze Minato,"
Kiyosuke called softly.
"Open your eyes. I'm Asa—cough cough, I'm Asakawa Kiyosuke."
He awakened Minato without using any control tags and did his best to restore most of Minato's strength from when he was alive—so the two of them could now fight side by side.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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