At such a tense moment, Sasuke suddenly shut his eyes.
It startled both groups, but thankfully, none of them lost sight of their purpose.
Jiraiya glanced around and continued, "Kaguya otsutsuki—she truly existed. The events in that movie actually happened. That woman is now controlling Tsunade, controlling your Konoha."
The Konoha shinobi exchanged uneasy glances.
Hearing this, Yugao scoffed and retorted coolly, "Master Jiraiya, what exactly are you trying to say now?"
"The past may repeat itself. Don't let yourselves be deceived again. I don't want to end up fighting against you one day either."
The Konoha shinobi remained silent.
Nothing out of the ordinary had happened in Konoha, so naturally, they refused to believe Jiraiya's empty accusations.
Slightly annoyed, Yugao sighed but also felt relieved.
She'd expected Jiraiya to reveal something shocking, but in the end, it wasn't anything special.
"Master Jiraiya, on what grounds do you claim there's something wrong with the Hokage? Look at yourself! You know perfectly well who Orochimaru is—he uses living humans for his experiments!"
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"If you truly cared about the future you speak of, you should've killed him already. Who knows how many more people have died because of him during the time you've been associating with him?"
Orochimaru smirked knowingly.
"It seems like we won't be able to leave here safely without taking some action."
Saying this, Orochimaru swiftly formed seals.
[Summoning Jutsu!]
Three coffins rose from the ground, from which emerged several figures familiar to those present. A certain yellow-clad figure appeared unexpectedly as well.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, A - Fourth Raikage.
Minato Namikaze, who had originally been contacting other ninja village leaders outside, was pulled back by Orochimaru.
Another familiar figure emerged—Obito Uchiha.
As for those jinchuriki, Orochimaru wasn't yet willing to use them as expendable tools before completing his plans.
Since Obito had once appeared in Konoha before, the Konoha ninja were somewhat familiar with him.
Hiruzen, A - Fourth Raikage, and Minato opened their eyes simultaneously, glancing around.
Obito Uchiha was directly controlled by Orochimaru himself.
The moment she saw Obito, Izumi's expression immediately became serious.
"That guy again..."
Orochimaru chuckled while Obito opened his eyes as well, staring coldly at Izumi with his crimson Mangekyo Sharingan.
Izumi's eyes flared with sharp pain under Obito's piercing Mangekyo glare.
"Has this guy become even more powerful in death than he was in life?"
"Hey, you!"
After briefly surveying the scene, A - Fourth Raikage bellowed out, activating chakra and lightning around his entire body as he charged toward Might Guy.
[Eight Gates!]
Might Guy didn't dare to slack off. He opened the first five of the Eight Gates, causing his strength to surge, then rushed forward to meet A - Fourth Raikage.
The two taijutsu experts engaged in battle.
Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze and Hiruzen Sarutobi found themselves facing off against Konoha ninja.
"Third Hokage, Fourth Hokage..."
"Don't hesitate. They're no longer comrades of Konoha, but our enemies now. Fight immediately."
Yugao said coldly as she drew her long blade and charged toward Minato Namikaze.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was a typical ninjutsu-type ninja—someone who could be countered.
But the Yellow Flash was different—he could appear beside anyone at any time for a surprise attack, making it hard for ordinary people to keep up with his movements.
Therefore, she decided to take on Minato Namikaze himself.
Glancing sideways, Yugao noticed that aside from herself, Izumi Uchiha, Might Guy, and Anko, the other twenty ninja were actually struggling against Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya, which made her somewhat frustrated.
She hadn't expected Orochimaru to resort to such a cheap strategy of overwhelming numbers.
...
"Another Impure World Reincarnation... Just how long can one person be summoned anyway?" Hiroki watched the fight from a distance while White Zetsu stood beside him.
"I don't know," White Zetsu answered, shaking his head, thinking he was being addressed directly.
"With Hiruzen here too, perhaps the Sarutobi Clan and Asuma are secretly guiding them?" Hiroki murmured thoughtfully.
"Not yet confirmed," White Zetsu responded again.
...
[Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall]
A high wall suddenly rose, blocking the incoming attacks from various jutsu techniques. Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya stood atop the earthen barrier.
"Have none of you wondered why we've allied ourselves with Orochimaru?" Keeping his hand seals formed, Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted from above.
"Everyone, listen up! These reincarnated ones cannot die, but if we get hurt by them, we will bleed, suffer injuries—even die." Yugao's voice rang out across the battlefield.
At her words, the hearts of the Konoha ninja tensed, and they became even more cautious instinctively.
"Jiraiya, there's really no need..." Hiruzen Sarutobi whispered softly, letting his words drift into Jiraiya's ears.
Instantly, Jiraiya understood exactly what he meant.
There's no point in sparing their lives; there's absolutely no way to change them.
...
"My dear Mitarashi, little tricks like that won't work on me."
Orochimaru spat out the Sword of Kusanagi and sliced through the swarm of snakes attacking him, taunting with a smirk.
Meanwhile, his control over Obito had loosened.
Izumi Uchiha, who had been locked in an eye-power struggle with Obito, instantly sensed this shift. Covering her eyes, she activated her Eye Jutsu.
"Itachi, I hope I can hold out until that day..."
At this moment, her vision blurred slightly once again. Meanwhile, only Obito's illusion remained in place, while his real body had been thrown by her into the Void Space.
"What happened?" Orochimaru froze instantly—the connection with Obito had truly severed.
Seeing the shock on his face, Izumi Uchiha let out a long sigh of relief, her face forming a faint smile.
"Where's Obito?" Minato Namikaze turned his head to ask.
"Fourth, stay focused during battle!"
"Yugao said softly.
"You as well," Minato replied calmly.
...
"Is that Izumi's jutsu? Has Obito been eliminated already?" Hiroki mused, seeing Obito's motionless figure.
But it wasn't necessarily over—since he had been summoned through the Impure World Reincarnation, his body could regenerate at any time. If he could break free from Orochimaru's control, he might even return to the real world on his own.
The thought alone gave Hiroki a headache.
That Impure World Reincarnation jutsu was truly headache-inducing.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
Looking at it from another angle, these reincarnated beings could be viewed entirely as nourishment.
He could fully utilize his ability to consume their chakra and mental energy.
"Who should I try first?" he considered.
"White Zetsu, go bring Izumi back before she really goes blind."
"But I can't use Earth Release in that area," White Zetsu replied.
"Just go," Hiroki simply said.
White Zetsu casually sprinted in that direction.
Its figure drew attention from many, except for Yugao and Izumi, who stayed cool and unbothered.
"It's White Zetsu," Orochimaru said with interest, smiling.
"Sasuke, it's your turn," Izumi said, slowly walking toward Sasuke.
Suddenly, Sasuke opened his eyes, his gaze cold and emotionless.
Izumi paused. "Just three tomoe? You actually think that's enough to threaten me?"
"And how much longer will your eyes hold up? Does the strength of the simple tomoe truly fall short of the Mangekyou's power?" Sasuke sneered.
"Naive," Izumi scoffed, his eyes locking onto Sasuke's, the oppressive power of his Mangekyou overwhelming Sasuke's gaze.
Sasuke's entire body froze.
"Come. Now."
At those words, Sasuke seemed about to move when Naruto quickly grabbed him. "Orochimaru, weren't you saying you'd take us away?"
A flash of yellow light appeared, and Minato Namikaze stood beside Naruto.
"It's you again, the Fourth," Izumi said coldly.
Yugao also frowned slightly.
People with space-time abilities were a pain to track.
By now, White Zetsu had arrived nearby. Yugao spoke, "Don't block him."
Though confused, the Konoha ninja immediately cleared a path.
"You've all seen it, right? These are the modified people we saw in that film—they're proof that everything we saw in the film is real!" Jiraiya shouted again.
"If this is true, then who did this to these people lying on the ground? Master Jiraiya, since you've been here all along, why did you choose to ignore it?"
Yugao pointed at the grotesque experimental bodies scattered on the ground—clearly altered through some terrifying process.
She hated dragging this out, but she had no choice—it was necessary to prevent Konoha's ninja from wavering.
Jiraiya opened his mouth, but found himself unable to reply.
Without another word, Yugao appeared beside Izumi.
"Izumi, let's go back—your eyes need rest," White Zetsu also approached Izumi and said.
"No. I must bring him back." Izumi shook her head, determination clear in her eyes.
"This isn't my idea."
Saying that, White Zetsu merged with her, enclosing her entirely within itself.
Understanding what he meant, Izumi offered no resistance.
She looked like she was wrapped in some kind of white protective film, almost like wearing a white cloak with a mask over her face.
"White Zetsu—so you could actually do something like this," Orochimaru muttered in amazement.
Sasuke was still under the influence of Izumi's Mangekyo Sharingan and hadn't yet regained consciousness. Naruto was extremely anxious, channeling chakra into Sasuke while shaking his body frantically and shouting, "Sasuke!"
Suddenly, a portion of space twisted violently into a vortex.
Everyone froze for a moment.
Hiroki, who was heading in that direction, came to an abrupt stop and muttered under his breath, "Just as I figured."
"It's the effect of Obito Uchiha's Spatial Ninjutsu," Kaguya spoke up at this point.
"Obito Uchiha," Izumi said cautiously, watching the newly appeared man warily.
"Orochimaru, thank you," Obito laughed loudly, though his expression looked grim.
Though he had appeared here unscathed, his body had actually been destroyed and restored countless times.
"Oh? Are you really satisfied just staying alive like this?" Orochimaru sneered mockingly and tried once again to control Obito.
Outside the battlefield—
"It's decided then—you, Obito. Who else has abilities so ridiculous?"
[Spirit Transformation Technique]
His consciousness left his physical form. Hiroki's body stood motionless on the spot as Kaguya took over its control.
Obito Uchiha's gaze swept coldly over the group. To him, this current body was a disgrace, but the state of seemingly infinite chakra allowed him to act freely.
Moreover, Obito suspected that once Orochimaru died, he would regain his freedom.
"All of you... just die, one by one."
A sinister expression surfaced on his face.
Minato and Izumi braced themselves at the same time, ready for anything.
At that moment, Obito furrowed his brows. He sensed something had entered his body.
Forced to focus inward, part of his consciousness sank into his spiritual realm.
"You?!"
"I should be more than enough to deal with you," Hiroki said confidently.
Before Obito could respond, he felt a sudden surge of power from Hiroki.
In this place, Obito, as the original host, felt powerless—as though he were an outsider invading someone else's domain.
This brat wasn't even an Uchiha like himself, nor a member of the Yamanaka clan. So young—and yet his spiritual power was this strong? Obito fumed inwardly.
Back in reality, Minato and Izumi exchanged glances with others present.
They had all been expecting some kind of jutsu from Obito before countering it. But unexpectedly, Obito made no move at all.
Obito Uchiha stood utterly motionless for what felt like a long time.
Suddenly, his entire body seemed to lose all support and visibly began to disintegrate.
The others watched in shock as Obito's body crumbled into nothing but debris scattered on the ground.
"Did Obito release himself from Impure World Reincarnation?" Minato asked aloud.
This scene reminded him involuntarily of the moment when he himself had broken free from the reincarnation technique.
Could it really have been done through his own will?
"...It's possible," Orochimaru mused after a pause.
"At worst, I can just reincarnate again," Orochimaru mused. "Obito Uchiha's abilities really are quite exceptional."
"Orochimaru-senpai, please take them away."
Minato stood protectively in front of Izumi and Yugao as he spoke.
Orochimaru shrugged and grabbed Naruto and Sasuke before turning to leave.
As Izumi attempted to move toward them, Minato instantly teleported and struck her with a Rasengan. The white substance covering Izumi's body twisted momentarily, but she emerged completely unharmed.
[Hazy Moon!]
Several sword-wielding afterimages appeared behind her as Yugao charged at Orochimaru.
[Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes!]
Orochimaru opened his mouth wide and spat out countless snakes.
These serpents, which normally slithered aimlessly across the ground, now seemed almost intelligent. They entwined together, forming a writhing wall of snakes that blocked Yugao's attack.
The long snakes were sliced apart, their bodies splitting in two and scattering across the battlefield.
Almost immediately afterward, Minato Namikaze appeared like a guardian stepping into battle, standing protectively in front of Yugao.
Yugao suddenly changed direction with her long blade, piercing straight through his body. Minato Namikaze remained expressionless, allowing himself to be impaled.
He body-replaced backward while hurling a Flying Thunder God Kunai forward, then began forming hand seals.
[Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!]
One became two, two became four—the ninja tools appearing before Yugao multiplied rapidly. Visually, they all looked exactly the same as the Flying Thunder God Kunai. Blended together, it was impossible to distinguish which one truly bore the Flying Thunder God marking.
The sound of "ding ding ding" echoed continuously as Yugao swung her long sword, deflecting most of the incoming projectiles.
Nine-Tails' chakra surged around her as the Rasengan in her palm flared crimson red.
Fixing her gaze firmly on that kunai, Minato had already prepared for a decisive killing strike.
[Swoosh!] The Flying Thunder God activated. That familiar sensation returned—like colliding into a wall. Minato turned his eyes toward a certain direction, and sure enough, Izumi was staring at him coldly.
"Sigh," Minato exhaled softly, glancing toward where Orochimaru and the others had been moments ago. They had vanished into thin air.
"Our objective has already been achieved," he felt slightly comforted.
Not far away, Hiroki—who had been frozen in place—became somewhat livelier. He gave a lazy yawn and murmured, "Who's next then?"
Obito Uchiha would never appear in this world again. On a spiritual level, he was completely dead.
His soul—or rather, his consciousness and spirit form—had been entirely consumed by Hiroki.
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