Chapter 120: The Third Hokage's Final Struggle, Performing the Impure World Reincarnation!
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in silence all night. A trap. It was obviously a trap, even without thinking too hard about it. Uchiha Akira had driven him from the Hokage position; how could he now kindly invite him to suppress a rebellion? It was nothing more than an excuse to uproot his Sarutobi clan outside Konohagakure. Going meant death. Not going meant disobeying orders, which was also a dead end, and he would be branded a coward. Moreover, the Sarutobi clan would definitely become like the Uchiha Clan before—targeted everywhere by Uchiha Akira.
Uchiha Akira's open scheme was flawless. Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly picked up his pipe, took a deep puff, and the last hint of despondency in his cloudy eyes was replaced by a desperate madness.
He, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was the Third Hokage. He was the one who inherited the will of the First and Second Hokage. Konohagakure was his life's work. He would never allow Konohagakure to fall into the hands of a naturally evil clan like the Uchiha!
He had lost the power struggle, lost the hearts of the people. But he hadn't lost everything yet. As the Professor of Ninjutsu, he remembered almost all the Ninjutsu in the Village since its establishment, including those classified as forbidden techniques.
"Asuma," Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice regained its usual steadiness. "You, immediately take a portion of the clan members and leave the Village." Asuma was stunned.
"This is an order," Sarutobi Hiruzen said without a hint of doubt. "The Sarutobi clan's flame must not be extinguished." He stood up, his hunched back seeming to straighten a bit. "As for me..." A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
"I will let that brat know that the Will of Fire will not be extinguished! He wants me to leave the Village? Very well, I was just worried that some things would be difficult to do in the Village. He wants to see the end of my Sarutobi clan? Then I'll drag him down to hell with me!"
That night, at an abandoned secret base in Konohagakure, once one of Orochimaru's human experimentation sites, Sarutobi Hiruzen stood in the center of a massive Ninjutsu formation. Before him lay 5 scrolls.
Some were things Hiruzen Sarutobi had secretly preserved from Orochimaru's remnants and Konohagakure's secret archives. Another, Danzō's, was newly collected. He had originally thought these things would never need to be used.
"I'm sorry, my teachers, and… old friend," Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands began to form hand signs rapidly. "For Konohagakure, I can only ask you all to fight for the Village one more time! Forbidden Technique: Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei)!
Boom!
Five coffins, adorned with Ninjutsu formations, slowly rose from the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The coffin lids opened 1 by 1. Five figures slowly emerged from them, their bodies covered in dust, their eyes hollow. The dust peeled away, revealing their faces from when they were alive.
"This is… the Pure Land?" A man in red Sengoku armor with long hair looked at his hands in confusion. It was the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
"No, Big Brother!" Beside him, a silver-haired man with 3 red marks on his face, his eyes instantly sharpened.
"It's Edo Tensei! We've been summoned by some scoundrel using the Ninjutsu I developed! Monkey?" Senju Tobirama immediately saw Hiruzen Sarutobi in the center of the formation, his brows tightly furrowed.
"Was it you? What happened? Do you need to use this Ninjutsu?"
At the same time, Danzō Shimura also regained his senses. After seeing the situation around him, he immediately rushed to Hiruzen Sarutobi's side, his face filled with grief and urgency.
"Hiruzen! You finally decided to use this Ninjutsu!" He pointed to his body and angrily accused the First and Second Hokage: "Hokage-sama! Konohagakure… Konohagakure has been usurped by an Uchiha traitor! I, Danzō Shimura, was ambushed and killed by that scoundrel Uchiha Akira to protect the Village! My Root, everything I built to protect Konohagakure's dark side, has been destroyed by him!"
Danzō was smart, hiding the fact that his arm was covered in transplanted Sharingan. "Uchiha?" Senju Tobirama's face instantly darkened. "I knew it! This evil clan would become a menace sooner or later! Big Brother! You shouldn't have been so merciful to them back then!" He glared at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Monkey! Explain clearly! What's the situation now? Who is the Hokage? How could the Uchiha possibly usurp the position!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, a pained expression on his face. "Teacher, what Danzō said… is true." He exaggeratedly recounted how Uchiha Akira rose, how he forced him to step down, how he massacred the Daimyō's residence, installed a puppet, and finally became the Fifth Hokage. In his description, Akira became an ambitious, cruel, and ruthless tyrant who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
"Bastard!" Senju Tobirama exploded in rage. "The Uchiha Clan is indeed inherently evil! Did you abolish all the policies I left to deal with them, Monkey! Big Brother! Did you hear that! This is the Uchiha you trusted!"
Senju Hashirama frowned deeply, his face filled with disbelief. "This… how could this be… Akira? I haven't heard that name… Madara, he…"
"First Hokage-sama!" Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted him. "Now Konohagakure is in peril! That Uchiha Akira has already ordered me to lead the Sarutobi clan to the capital to suppress a rebellion, but in reality, he wants to wipe us all out! I have no choice but to ask for your help!"
His gaze turned to the Uchiha Clan member who had remained silent—Uchiha Kagami. "Kagami, do you see? This is the Uchiha of today; they have betrayed the Will of Fire you upheld, becoming obsessed only with power and authority! They even stole the Hokage position!"
Uchiha Kagami looked at his hands, then at the enraged Senju Tobirama and the grief-stricken Hiruzen Sarutobi, his eyes filled with confusion and pain. "This… impossible…"
Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha, simply stood quietly to the side, his expression complex.
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that his Impure World Reincarnation was far from as proficient as Orochimaru's. The summoned dead could only exert at most 60% of their strength from when they were alive. But that was enough.
The First Hokage, the Second Hokage, the White Fang of Konoha, plus Danzō and Uchiha Kagami. Such a lineup was enough to sweep the Shinobi World. It was enough to tie down Uchiha Akira!
As long as they could create an opportunity… an opportunity for him to use the Reaper Death Seal! He would use his life to take Uchiha Akira with him!
"Hiruzen, what's your plan?" Senju Tobirama calmed down, and as a master tactician, he immediately got into character.
"Uchiha Akira is currently in the capital, with only 30 Uchiha shinobi by his side," a sharp glint flashed in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. "We don't need to fight back in Konohagakure! I will gather all the clans loyal to the Will of Fire! The combined strength of the Sarutobi, Shimura, and the remaining forces loyal to Koharu Utatane amounts to 5,000 elites! We will set up an inescapable net in the Howling Valley in the northern Land of Fire! No matter how strong Uchiha Akira is, can he stand against 5 legendary shinobi and 5,000 elites?!"
"Good!" Senju Tobirama nodded heavily. "Let's do it! This time, we must completely eradicate the Uchiha, this cancerous tumor!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had secretly informed Jiraiya. As soon as he and Uchiha Akira died together, Jiraiya would immediately return to Konohagakure to take charge of the situation. Konohagakure would return to normal. It definitely would.
The next day, at the Konohagakure entrance, Sarutobi Hiruzen, dressed in battle attire, set off with 300 Sarutobi clan shinobi following him, a formidable procession. Ostensibly, there were 300 people.
But in secret, a massive force of 5,000, composed of the remaining Sarutobi, Shimura, and Utatane factions, had secretly slipped out of Konohagakure through various channels, converging on Howling Valley.
They carried vast quantities of explosive tags and shinobi tools, a war reserve sufficient to level the valley. Sarutobi Hiruzen looked back, taking 1 last look at the Hokage Rock. His gaze fell upon the statue of himself. Goodbye, Konohagakure.
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