But just then, Yuichi's voice rang out.
Orochimaru suddenly turned to look at the four Sound shinobi.
Their faces were pale and bloodless, lips faintly purple.
They hadn't expected to last only this long—how could it be possible?
"Master Orochimaru, we can't hold on anymore… This guy's a monster. He's been hammering at the Four Purple Flame Formation nonstop with that strange technique…"
Tayuya's voice was weak, as if she no longer had the strength to speak.
She couldn't even keep track of Yuichi anymore—after all, she had already launched multiple counterattacks to maintain the barrier. The constant drain of chakra left her no time to count Yuichi's strikes.
She only knew one thing:
Yuichi hadn't stopped since the moment he began.
Rasengan after Rasengan, each one powerful enough on its own, hurled out as though he had chakra to waste.
A barrage fueled by sheer overwhelming force.
"Master Orochimaru…"
Tayuya called again, but Orochimaru was no longer paying attention to them. His sharp gaze was locked on Yuichi, eyes gleaming with killing intent.
If the Four Purple Flames were shattered and Konoha shinobi broke through, it wouldn't matter that he wasn't afraid of them. Their interference would make it impossible to kill Sarutobi Hiruzen.
BOOM!
A sudden burst of chakra erupted, dazzling white light blinding everyone for a moment.
And then—
CRACK!
The sound of the Four Purple Flame Formation breaking echoed out.
The deafening roar of Yuichi's Giant Rasengan still spun in the air.
The shattered barrier dissolved into fragments, scattering into the wind.
Yuichi lifted his gaze.
First Hokage. Second Hokage.
At last—the moment he had been waiting for.
"Quickly! Protect the Third Hokage!"
Before Yuichi could move, Anbu operatives poured in through the broken barrier.
Yuichi, who had destroyed it, was completely ignored.
"All Konoha shinobi, protect Lord Third!"
More Anbu shouted to the shinobi still evacuating civilians outside.
The order was absolute—protecting the Hokage was the highest priority.
Almost immediately, hundreds of Konoha ninja rushed toward the rooftop.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, already pressed back by the First Hokage, barely had time to evade the assault.
Orochimaru glanced from the crumbling barrier to the flood of Konoha shinobi. His voice cut coldly through the chaos:
"Second Hokage—stop them."
Senju Tobirama, who had been striking at the Third, immediately spun around and charged toward the incoming Konoha forces.
His speed was blinding. In an instant, he crashed into the first wave of Anbu.
But with only taijutsu, Tobirama cut them down within moments.
The sheer force of it made even the veteran Jōnin behind them shudder.
So this is the power of the Second Hokage… even Anbu are nothing before him.
Seven or eight shinobi had entered the barrier. Three Anbu were felled almost instantly, leaving only the Jōnin to surround him.
But Tobirama's fists and kicks shattered them in seconds.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of crushing bones echoed as bodies were flung off the tiled roof, their faces frozen in disbelief.
They were Jōnin—elite shinobi, leagues above ordinary Chūnin. Yet in front of the Second Hokage, they collapsed like paper houses.
Simply powerless.
The sight turned the expressions of the remaining Anbu and Jōnin grim.
The others, who had just leapt onto the rooftop, froze.
Rushing forward now was nothing but suicide.
The opponent was the Second Hokage. He couldn't be beaten.
"Don't come in! Leave this battle to—"
Sarutobi's warning was cut short as the First Hokage struck him, sending his body crashing into the earthen wall, dust and debris exploding outward.
Kurenai Yuhi gripped her kunai tightly, staring at the figure standing before them—Senju Tobirama, the Second Hokage.
As an elite Jōnin of Konoha, she could feel the crushing pressure radiating from him.
Only now, with the barrier gone, did she truly sense the gap—the vast, terrifying gulf between herself and the legendary Hokage of old.
Meanwhile, the four Sound shinobi stood pale and trembling by Orochimaru's side, unable to meet his gaze.
"You disappoint me," Orochimaru hissed. "Now go. Block Konoha's shinobi. Don't let anyone interfere with my battle."
Kidōmaru was the first to respond. "Master Orochimaru, rest assured—we won't let anyone disturb you. We'll hold them all off."
His bloodshot eyes glared with feral determination.
"They'd better."
Orochimaru's tone was flat as he advanced toward Sarutobi.
On the rooftop, already fifty or sixty Konoha shinobi had gathered. In only a few more seconds, more would flood in. The news of the Third Hokage's peril would spread quickly, and Orochimaru knew his time was running out.
"Second Hokage…? What do we do?"
"If we fight him, we'll just die! We can't win against him!"
"But we can't just stand here while the Third Hokage struggles!"
"Even if he's the Second Hokage, I'll still try! The Third must not fall here!"
The shinobi's voices rose in desperate argument.
But Tobirama did not wait.
To him, Orochimaru's command was absolute: block them all.
And for Tobirama, "block" simply meant annihilation.
Clap!
His hands came together. Chakra surged.
"Water Style…"
"No! He's going to use ninjutsu! Scatter, or we'll all be—"
Too late.
"Water Dragon Bullet!"
A massive surge of water exploded upward, rising into the sky.
From it, a ferocious dragon of roaring water took shape, glaring down at the Konoha shinobi.