"Whoosh, whoosh—" two sounds followed.
Shimoku and Orochimaru also jumped into the battlefield one after another, landing beside [Deva Path] Pain.
Just at this critical moment—right when he was about to pull it off—
these two schemers suddenly showed up.
Pain could probably guess without even thinking that Shimoku and the others were here to reap what they didn't sow.
His expression naturally darkened as he coldly and sharply shot:
"You really wanna make an enemy outta me?"
"We're just here to offer a helping hand! After all, we are allies, aren't we?"
Shimoku chuckled happily, unafraid.
"You've watched the show long enough. It's too much to enter the stage only now!"
[Deva Path] Pain snapped back harshly, already prepared to turn hostile.
He'd already given everything for this war.
Absolutely, he wouldn't hand over the Nine-Tails at this final moment…
No matter who it was!
"Calm down, don't get so worked up!"
"People haven't been wiped out yet—it's too early to divide the spoils."
"Let's talk about splitting them after we actually have them…"
"How about that?"
Shimoku pointed toward the Konoha shinobi below, actively suggesting.
The Nine-Tails isn't even ours yet!
And you want to start fighting among ourselves first?
He wasn't that stupid!
Besides, judging from the current situation, they were clearly the villains right now.
If they started infighting first, there was a high chance that righteous "Konoha" would make a comeback.
That would truly be embarrassing!
Upon hearing this, [Deva Path] Pain only hesitated briefly before agreeing immediately.
After all, today's battle had shocked Konoha far too much.
Not until every Konoha ninja lay defeated would he find peace—neither eating nor sleeping in comfort!
Soon, both sides reached a silent understanding.
First eliminate the remaining Konoha shinobi, capture the Nine-Tails alive, and only then deal with internal conflicts...
...
"Sarutobi-sensei..."
Jiraiya knelt on the ground, his voice choked, eyes quickly reddening.
His deep sorrow was unmistakable.
At the same time, witnessing Sarutobi's death,
even Tsunade, who usually disliked the old man, felt her heart tighten, tears welling up in her eyes.
Even her lifelong fear of blood seemed to ease a little.
Likewise,
the injured Konoha shinobi behind them all wept bitterly, feeling immense sadness at the Third Hokage's sacrifice.
Regardless of the merits or flaws during the Third's reign,
at least now, he died for the village—and deserved respect.
Yet just at this moment,
a familiar voice abruptly snapped everyone back to reality.
"What are you crying for?! The battle isn't over yet!"
Everyone turned sharply in the direction of the voice.
It turned out to be Sarutobi's clone on the left, holding Enma's staff, shouting loudly.
"You... old man, is that really you?"
"What are you surprised about? I set a seal on this clone—I can barely hang in a bit longer. But it won't last long before it disperses..."
"Now isn't the time for mourning."
"Those enemies out there won't give you a second's peace!"
Everyone froze in shock.
Looking up,
they saw Shimoku and Orochimaru landing beside Pain.
Everyone's breath caught, their scalps prickling.
After all, just one Pain — the Deva Path — had already overwhelmed them terribly.
Now two more powerful enemies appeared!
Who could possibly handle this?
...
When Orochimaru showed up, Jiraiya immediately felt a surge of anger and was about to lash out in fury.
Yet he suddenly recalled that if not for Orochimaru's earlier warning, Konoha Village might have already been destroyed.
In a way, they actually owed him gratitude.
But seeing him stand alongside their enemies now still made Jiraiya feel like something stuck in his throat — deeply unpleasant.
"Old man, we're already unable to fight anymore!"
Jiraiya glanced back at the group behind him.
Almost every Konoha ninja lay sprawled on the ground, too weak to put up a real fight.
As for the Genin and Chunin at the perimeter... they offered little hope as well.
Konoha had truly exhausted all its choices.
And rumour had it that Pain wasn't even a real person — just a corpse puppet.
They'd fought so hard for so long without ever laying a hand on the enemy's true body.
Was there still any chance of turning things around?
"Never give up!"
"The leaves of Konoha haven't withered yet. As long as the village remains, its flame will never go out!"
"Now isn't the time to surrender!"
Shouted Sarutobi's clone encouragingly.
"Didn't expect even using the [Dead Demon Consuming Seal] wouldn't be enough to defeat them!"
"Fortunately, I kept one last trick up my sleeve… just in case."
"It seems I'll have to use that technique after all!"
The Clone expressed frustration over the main body's poor performance, only managing to take down Juzo Biwa.
But there was no time to dwell on how only Biwa Juzo had been taken down now.
One formidable opponent alone — the Deva Path Pain — combined with the mysterious Orochimaru and an unpredictable Uchiha youngster.
Together, they posed a catastrophic threat even to Konoha at full strength.
Let alone in its current state.
They simply couldn't match such power.
Therefore, he had no choice but to resort to that move.
Even if it meant desecrating the previous Hokage!
"What?! What exactly are you planning, old man?!" Jiraiya asked in shock.
"As for me... I'm sorry, former Hokage…"
In the next moment,
Sarutobi's clone unfurled a prepared scroll he'd already readied.
He summoned the ritual medium, sacrificial offerings, and cursed seals through Summoning Technique,
Then quickly formed hand seals, activating the forbidden jutsu:
[Impure World Reincarnation Technique]!
...
Ever since the great battle with Iwagakure Village, where he lost half his left arm,
Sarutobi had deeply realized his own frailty and helplessness.
After struggling with himself repeatedly,
He sent Kakashi into the Forbidden Archive to retrieve several Kinjutsu Scrolls.
One of these was precisely the [Impure World Reincarnation].
That was why he'd temporarily transferred the Hokage position to Jiraiya a month ago —
To avoid direct blame from the Daimyo while secretly maintaining control of the village.
It also gave him the time to thoroughly master this forbidden jutsu.
Of course, Sarutobi had always firmly opposed such a jutsu — one that defiled the dead.
Unfortunately, circumstances forced his hand.
He had no choice but to prepare several backup plans...
That was why just now, he created a clone before performing the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
It was all for this one contingency.
If even the Dead Demon Consuming Seal couldn't take down the enemy leader, then there would be no choice but to unleash this cursed forbidden jutsu!
...
"Wait... could it be... the Impure Reincarnation?"
"Is he really going to summon the First and Second Hokage?"
"Damn it! So *that* old fox Sarutobi was hiding this trick all along?!!"
As chaos erupted below just as—
Shimoku's face darkened instantly.
Without hesitation, he launched an immediate attack, trying to stop Sarutobi's clone from completing his jutsu.
There was no way he'd stand around like some idiot,
watching helplessly while the enemy pulled off their final ace.
In a flash,
a torrent of crimson chakra howled outward,
instantly condensing into a monstrous Susano'o hand over ten meters long, crashing violently downward toward Sarutobi and his group.
This single strike carried unimaginable power!
Never mind a pack of doddering old fossils—
even a fully charged Jiraiya might not survive that hit!
The raw might of Shimoku's real body was something his clones could never hope to rival!
KABOOM!
The giant hand struck. The earth shook, rocks shattered, soil exploded.
Half of Konoha trembled at the impact.
Several Jonin who couldn't flee in time or lacked the strength to escape were flattened into paste—killed instantly.
And right at the center, Sarutobi's clone was blasted into nothingness,
his attempt at the Impure Reincarnation Technique shattered mid-cast.
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