"Yo, Sasuke—how's the *Chidori (One Thousand Birds)* practice going?" Kakashi had just stepped outside when he ran into Sasuke. "Relax—it's almost there," Sasuke said. Kakashi nodded. "The Chūnin Exam finals are coming up. Be careful—I might not be able to watch you, Naruto, and Sakura at the same time. Looks like this exam won't be simple."
Sasuke had questions but held them back, only nodding. "I'll keep an eye on Naruto and Sakura."
With that, Kakashi flickered over to Zabuza's side. Zabuza flinched. "Could you stop popping out of nowhere? So? We going this early?"
Kakashi nodded. "About time. Where we're going isn't easy to enter. Fewer people now—easier to get in." He and Zabuza arrived at the Chūnin Exam arena.
The arena was circular, walled in by fifty-meter ramparts; above them were spectator stands, and beside the stands rose a tall, tiled-roof tower. Today the Kazekage and Hokage would watch from there. "We're going up," Kakashi said. *Fwish, fwish*—two figures alighted on the rooftop. Zabuza frowned. "Don't tell me we're just gonna wait up here."
"Of course not. Standing here would be dumb. In a minute I'll use *Doton (Earth Release)* to conceal us both. Then it's our show."
Not long after Kakashi arrived, the dignitaries took their seats. With the Kazekage and Hokage present, matches heated up—until Sasuke faced Gaara.
Their fight reached a fever pitch. Gaara sealed himself inside a sand sphere, his "absolute defense." Sasuke's outside assaults only hurt himself. Suddenly, under every eye, Sasuke retreated a short distance, crouched, flashed through hand signs, and lightning swelled in his right hand with a shrill chorus—"chii, chii, chii…" He sprinted for the sphere. The Sandaime blinked. "That's Kakashi's technique…"
"*Chidori (One Thousand Birds)*!" Sasuke's arm drove into Gaara's sand shell—the so-called absolute defense—piercing it. The crowd gaped; the Sand shinobi were stunned.
Outside Konoha's walls, a dozen Sand shinobi summoned a gigantic serpent to strike the village. On the stands, the Kazekage turned and smirked at the Hokage.
The Hokage had already noticed the serpent. He faced the Kazekage. "Kazekage-dono—what is the meaning of this?"
The "Kazekage" sneered. "Sensei Sarutobi, have you grown dull with age?"
The Sandaime stiffened. "You're not the Kazekage. You are—"
Before he could finish, the Kazekage body-flickered behind him, a kunai at his throat. "We meet again, sensei!"
With a rip, the "face" peeled away—long hair, ashen skin, serpentine pupils.
"As I thought—Orochimaru." The Sandaime didn't flinch. He tore free, his Hokage robes shedding to reveal battle armor beneath, and his fingers flew. "*Doton: Doryū Taiga (Earth Flow River)!*"
The rooftop beneath Orochimaru liquefied into mud, dragging him down. "*Katon: Karyū Endan (Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!*" Earth and fire roared together. Orochimaru shrieked, swallowed by the torrent.
The Sandaime's face was stone. "End your ridiculous performance, Orochimaru."
"Hee-hee." Orochimaru burst from the tiles elsewhere. "Sensei, is that all? I've even mastered a little body-switching." He shifted into a woman's body—clearly a stolen vessel through *Fushi Tensei (Living Corpse Reincarnation)*—then waved, returning to his own visage.
"Hokage-sama—!" Two masked shinobi rushed him—"khh—" only to be blasted aside by four figures: Orochimaru's handpicked elites. One had twin heads front and back, one bore eight arms, another was a flute-wielding girl, and the last a hulking brute. In matching garb, they leapt to the roof's corners.
*Boom, boom!* A four-sided, translucent purple barrier shot up—the *Four Violet Flames Formation*. Two ANBU leapt to break through but were rebuffed; the four wardens even set smaller triangular barriers around themselves. The ANBU could only wait for the barrier team, worried the elderly Sandaime couldn't last. Down in the arena, Gaara had collapsed and was hauled off by his comrades; the "ANBU" in the stands revealed themselves as Sound spies. A green-clad, bowl-cut whirlwind—Konoha's proud Blue Beast, Maito Gai—was already battering Sound-nin. Following Kakashi's subtle signal, Sasuke didn't rush off; he regrouped with Naruto, Sakura, and others to fight inside the village.
On the roof, Orochimaru chuckled. "Hee-hee, sensei, I learned a fun technique. Try not to be too shocked."
He clapped his hands. "*Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation)!!*" *Boom, boom…* Three coffins surged up through the tiles. The Sandaime reacted at once. "*Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)!*"
"Zabuza—go." With a hand sign from Kakashi, Zabuza began weaving his own. The last seal snapped into place. "*Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique).*" Fog boiled up inside the barrier, thickening by the breath.
"Stay hidden," Kakashi murmured. "Make him split his focus when you can." Zabuza snorted. "Relax. I'm not eager to die."
One coffin was knocked askew by the shuriken storm, but two completed their rise, lids engraved "First" and "Second." The Sandaime's heart sank—then his vision blurred. "Mist? Orochimaru? No… a third party?" Orochimaru hesitated as well. "Mist? Sarutobi? Ah—!" His pupils contracted as he looked down at the hand thrust clean through his heart, lightning shrieking from the palm.
He turned his head. A masked face stared back—one blood-red eye spinning. "You… Hatake Kakashi!!" Orochimaru's body slumped. Kakashi didn't pause; he sprang to the Sandaime's side. The old Hokage stared wide-eyed. "Kakashi, how—"
"I happened to find the Kazekage's corpse at the border," Kakashi said evenly. "So I came early." The Sandaime nodded once. Seeing Kakashi's strike land, Zabuza bled the fog away; against a sensor of Orochimaru's caliber, the mist wouldn't last long anyway.
As the haze thinned, the body on the floor writhed. From the punctured husk, a whole, smiling Orochimaru oozed free. "Kakashi… I didn't expect you here as well."
Kakashi's brow creased. Even forewarned, it was jarring to face him head-on. *So this is his "immortality"… or rather, monstrous regeneration.*
*Clack, clack.* The two completed coffins dropped their lids. The Sandaime trembled. "Shodai Hokage… Nidaime Hokage…"
Orochimaru smirked. "One more opponent changes nothing. These two are enough. By the way, their bodies can't be killed, and their chakra won't run dry."
The Sandaime's faith had become his foe. Kakashi didn't soothe him; he eyed Orochimaru instead. "Their strength isn't what it was, is it? If they were at full power, even you wouldn't dare summon them so lightly."
Orochimaru's grin twitched. "Noticed with that fine eye of yours? They're enough for you. Now—" He formed a seal, and the dead aura sloughed from the First and Second. Their eyes opened.
"Little Saru, you've grown old. Hm? That youngster summoned us? Impressive," murmured the First.
"Honored ones!" the Sandaime breathed, voice shaking. Orochimaru chuckled. "Save the reunion."
Their wills vanished; the bodies moved. *Thud—* The Second's emotionless fist smashed into the Sandaime's face. The First followed up. They ignored Kakashi entirely. The Sandaime fought free of his hesitation—*for the village.* He steeled himself, even if it meant striking at his predecessors.
The Second flashed a seal. "*Suiton: Suishōha (Water Shockwave)!*" *Ro-oar!* Even on a rooftop, his water release was overwhelming, a flood-beast lunging for the Sandaime. The old Hokage clenched his teeth. "*Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Flow Wall)!*"
A massive rampart erupted through tile and timber. The Sandaime scrambled up, evading the surge. The First stamped a seal. "*Mokuton: Jukai Kōtan (Deep Forest Emergence)!*" Trees exploded from the roof, trunks twining; even the earth wall sprouted with wood. In moments the entire barrier was a forest. Vines whipped at the Sandaime; he retreated, but the growth was relentless. He was soon cocooned in a lattice of roots. Beside Orochimaru, the Second raised a ring of water—the *Suiten Heki (Water Formation Wall)*—forcing Kakashi to break off.
Kakashi lunged anyway. Orochimaru vomited forth the *Kusanagi no Tsurugi (Grasscutter Sword).* Kakashi drew the crimson blade. "*Ingetsuzan (Drinking Moon Slash)!*" The blade sang, tearing space; blood-tinged crescents screamed toward Orochimaru. *Clang, clang, clang—* Orochimaru parried, sweat beading on his brow. His free hand snapped out. "*Senei Jashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)!*" A rain of vipers shot for Kakashi—"chiiiii—" and were erased under raw lightning as Kakashi's left hand crackled. *Clang—* Kusanagi flew from Orochimaru's grip. "Tch—" Kakashi's next thrust lanced cleanly through his heart again.
The body wriggled, then sloughed like a shed skin. Orochimaru crawled free once more. Kakashi grimaced. *At this rate I'll run dry, even with my deeper reserves.*
On the other side, the Sandaime had made his choice. For the village, even disrespect to the two great ones would be borne. The Second pressed—water roared; the First's forest thickened, branches forming a living cage. A spherical water barrier bloomed near Orochimaru, hemming Kakashi back for the moment.
And the battle truly began—
//Check out my Patreon for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[[email protected]/Razeil0810](http://[email protected]/Razeil0810)