The forest gradually fell quiet again after the brief clash.
Sasuke moved silently through the forest, one hand gripping Gaara by the collar as if he weighed nothing at all.
Not a trace of strain showed on his expression, and his steps were light enough that he barely made a sound against the branches.
Then he stopped.
His head tilted slightly to the side.
"…You were never good at hiding," Sasuke said flatly.
"Come out."
For a moment, the forest remained silent.
Then...
A shadow dropped from the branches above.
Thud.
Naruto landed on the ground in front of him, crouched low. Leaves scattered around his sandals as he slowly straightened up.
His blue eyes were unusually serious.
They moved first to Sasuke.
Then to the unconscious Gaara hanging from his hand.
Naruto's expression twisted slightly.
"Sasuke… what are you doing here?"
He pointed at Gaara.
"And why are you carrying that guy around? Put him down."
Sasuke looked at him calmly. There was no surprise in his eyes, but irritation still surfaced.
"…Why are you butting into my business?" Sasuke asked coldly.
"This guy is your enemy too."
"He came here to destroy Konoha."
Naruto didn't answer immediately.
His gaze slowly drifted back to Gaara.
The unconscious boy looked small now, covered in blood and sand.
Something in Naruto's expression softened.
"…I don't know," Naruto said quietly.
Sasuke frowned.
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before continuing.
"But when I saw him earlier… I felt something."
He looked at Gaara again.
"A really lonely feeling."
His voice became firmer.
"Like… he's been alone his whole life."
Sasuke stared at him with a calm face, but inwardly, he was already starting to wonder if Naruto had lost his mind.
Naruto clenched his fists.
"I don't think he's just some monster."
"…I think he can still be saved."
For a moment, the forest went silent again.
Sasuke slowly licked his dry lips, already feeling irritated.
Then he looked at Naruto the way someone might look at a particularly stupid animal.
The expression was so blunt it almost hurt.
"…Are you a retard?" Sasuke asked at last.
Naruto's face instantly twitched. "The hell did you just say?!"
Sasuke let out a quiet sigh, as if suddenly very tired.
Then he released his grip.
Thud.
Gaara dropped to the ground like a sack of sand.
Naruto's eyes lit up at once.
"See?!" he said, a grin already starting to form. "I knew you'd—"
He never got to finish.
Sasuke blurred.
Naruto's eyes widened, his thoughts halting at a single realization.
Too fast—
Boom!
A brutal punch slammed into Naruto's face so hard his body twisted sideways in midair before being launched off the branch like trash.
There was a sharp crack.
Several teeth flew from Naruto's mouth along with a spray of blood.
His body smashed through one thick branch, then another, before finally crashing into the forest floor below with a heavy, ugly impact.
Silence.
Sasuke slowly lowered his fist.
His expression hadn't changed at all.
"Annoying," he said.
Below, Naruto coughed violently, one hand clutching his mouth as blood dripped between his fingers.
His head rang.
His vision blurred for a second before snapping back into focus.
Then the pain hit.
"Gah—! You bastard!" Naruto shouted, though the words came out half-garbled because of the missing teeth.
He staggered to his feet, glaring upward with watery eyes. "What the hell was that for?!"
Sasuke looked down at him, completely unmoved.
"You were pissing me off."
Naruto nearly choked.
"That's not a reason to punch someone!"
"It was enough for me."
Naruto's eye twitched so hard it looked painful.
"You psycho!"
Sasuke didn't even bother responding to that.
Instead, he looked at Naruto the way someone might look at a loud dog they were debating whether to kick again.
"You talk too much," he said. "'He was lonely.' Do you even hear yourself?"
Naruto wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, face twisted in anger.
"You don't get it!"
"No," Sasuke replied. "You don't."
His eyes shifted toward the unconscious Gaara.
"That thing was trying to tear everyone apart five minutes ago. And you're standing there making a sad face because he feels lonely?"
Naruto grit his teeth.
"Yes!"
Sasuke's expression became even colder.
"Then you're even more retarded than I thought."
Naruto's fists clenched.
"Shut up!"
"Ohh? Did I hit a nerve?" Sasuke said coldly. "Well, it doesn't matter. Since you've decided to stand in my way, Naruto…"
Chirp. Chirp. Chirp. Crackle—
Lightning gathered violently in Sasuke's hand as Chidori burst to life.
He had no time to waste.
He would end this in one blow.
Naruto's eyes widened as he felt the terrifying power packed into that technique.
He exhaled slowly, staring at Sasuke, and for the first time, he could tell without a doubt—
Sasuke wasn't joking.
"Sasuke…" Naruto said, voice low.
"I won't let you keep walking down that path."
Blue chakra spiraled into his palm.
"Rasengan!"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"You're saying something incomprehensible again, Naruto."
"Chidori!"
Boom!
The clash of Naruto and Sasuke's jutsu echoed through the silent forest, and for a moment, it seemed like no one was there to witness it.
But behind a nearby tree, hiding his presence so well that neither of them noticed, someone watched and recorded the entire scene with amusement flickering in his eyes.
--
On the other side, Hiruzen was breathing heavily as he finally managed to deal with the reanimated Hokage while still fighting Orochimaru.
Even so, a strange sense of pride rose in his chest.
To face both the First Hokage and the Second Hokage at the same time and still come out on top…
Very few shinobi in history could have done such a thing.
"Lord Third is incredible! He actually defeated the First and Second Hokage!"
"As expected of the Third Hokage! He really is the strongest Hokage in history."
"The Professor really is amazing!"
The shinobi and ANBU nearby, who had witnessed the battle with their own eyes, could no longer hold back their excitement.
Their voices rang out one after another, filled with relief and admiration for the Hokage who still stood firm before them.
Even Hiruzen allowed himself a faint smile.
Then his gaze shifted toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru remained standing there calmly, as if none of this had shaken him in the slightest. A cold glint flickered within his serpent-like eyes, and that unsettling composure made Hiruzen slightly nervous.
The cheers around him slowly faded.
Hiruzen's breathing was still heavy. Sweat rolled down his wrinkled face as he stood there, the weight of the battle pressing down on his old body.
But his eyes had already changed.
The brief moment of pride disappeared, replaced by something far more serious.
Orochimaru noticed it immediately.
The former student tilted his head slightly, the faint smile on his lips widening.
"…Sensei," Orochimaru said softly, his voice calm and almost amused. "You look like you've already made up your mind."
Hiruzen raised his hands without answering.
His fingers moved slowly but firmly through a series of hand seals.
Snake.
Boar.
Ram.
The moment Orochimaru saw the sequence, the smile on his face froze.
His pupils narrowed sharply.
"…That jutsu…"
"So he really…"
For the first time since the battle began, genuine alarm flashed across Orochimaru's eyes—though he concealed it almost instantly.
Hiruzen's voice came out low and steady, unaware of that fleeting change.
"This is the only way left."
The final hand seal was completed.
"Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"
The wind suddenly stopped.
The entire battlefield seemed to freeze for an instant.
Then something appeared behind Hiruzen.
At first, it was only a faint shadow.
Then the shape became clearer.
A massive, terrifying figure slowly emerged from the air itself.
The Shinigami.
Its skin was pale and corpse-like. Long white hair flowed behind its head, and its eyes were hollow and merciless.
It wore a tattered kimono and held a ritual blade between its teeth.
In one hand, it grasped a string of prayer beads.
In the other—
A long, curved soul-cutting blade.
But none of the shinobi present could see it.
Only the one who invoked the jutsu…
And the one who would be sealed…
Could witness the god of death standing there.
Orochimaru's expression finally changed completely.
"…Sensei," he said slowly, his voice no longer amused.
"You're planning to die with me?"
Hiruzen did not answer immediately.
His eyes remained fixed on Orochimaru.
There was regret in them.
Sadness too.
But above all else, there was unshakable resolve.
"You were once the pride of Konoha," Hiruzen said quietly.
"My student."
The Shinigami's massive arm moved.
A ghostly hand extended forward, mirroring Hiruzen's own.
"And that's exactly why…"
Hiruzen reached toward Orochimaru.
"…I must stop you here."
Orochimaru's face twisted.
"Sensei—!"
But it was already too late.
The hand of the Shinigami plunged forward.
Straight into Orochimaru's chest.
Just when Hiruzen let out a quiet breath, thinking he had won, he noticed the change in Orochimaru's face.
The dread that had filled his expression was gone.
In its place was a mocking smile.
"This is bad…"
A sharp sense of danger surged through Hiruzen's chest, but before he could react, the atmosphere suddenly changed.
"Leader… if you keep watching, I'm really going to die here," Orochimaru said calmly.
The moment those words fell, the entire scene went quiet.
A chill ran down everyone's spine.
Swish—
Space twisted in the middle of the Four Violet Flames Formation, forming a spiraling vortex.
Then a figure stepped out from it.
A black cloak embroidered with red clouds.
An orange mask covering his face.
He appeared right between Orochimaru and the Shinigami, as if entering that sealed battlefield meant nothing to him.
Then, in a calm voice, he spoke.
"Devouring Coffin."
--------------------------------------
Support me at patreon.com/Arthorain and read upto 50 Advanced Chapters and R-18 Content!
--------------------------------------
Update schedule: 7 chapters/week
Every 300 power stones = 1 Extra Chapter
By voting with [power stones], you can easily get double the number of chapters.