On the roof, Orochimaru held a kunai against Hiruzen, his eyes gradually becoming moist.
"Are you crying from joy? Or... is there some sadness in killing your teacher?" Looking at Orochimaru's eyes, Hiruzen smiled and lightly mocked.
"No." Hearing Hiruzen, Orochimaru said flatly, pressing the kunai closer.
Thud!
With Hiruzen's surprised gaze, blood droplets continuously fell onto the roof.
"Ha, feeling drowsy since earlier. Finally awake now." As the kunai pierced his own palm, Orochimaru yawned and said flatly.
"I knew it would be like this." Hearing Orochimaru, Hiruzen said, having anticipated it.
Then, Orochimaru released Hiruzen, slowly creating some distance.
"I know you're not a man who acts out of hatred. You have neither purpose nor motive." Looking at Orochimaru, who had let him go, Hiruzen said flatly.
"That's right. There is a purpose, though. If I must say... seeing things move is interesting. Things that don't move are boring, right?"
"It's like a windmill that doesn't move. Sometimes it might look nice depending on the mood, but basically, it's not worth watching. Now, I want to use the wind of destroying Konoha to set the windmill in motion." Orochimaru spoke with implication.
"You haven't changed at all." Hiruzen also smiled faintly.
"Fighting you again..." Orochimaru looked at Hiruzen with a hint of excitement.
"This barrier can only be broken from the inside. As long as Hokage-sama can defeat one of those four, we can go in and assist." The helpless Anbu outside looked at the Four Violet Flames Formation.
"Hey, it's about to start." Kidomaru looked at the other three.
"Let's set up a barrier on the inside too." Sakon and Ukon said directly.
"Oh." Tayuya and Jirobo responded flatly, then the four began moving.
Soon, another special barrier appeared behind them, protecting them.
"It seems leaving won't be simple." Noticing this, Hiruzen said leisurely.
"Hypocrite. For you, having those burdens come in would only hinder your fight." Hearing Hiruzen, Orochimaru mocked flatly.
Hearing Orochimaru, Hiruzen smiled without speaking, clearly agreeing. This was their final duel, and they needed a resolution...
"Ninja Art: Tile Shuriken!" Soon, Hiruzen initiated the attack. With his hand seals, Chakra surged. Some roof tiles floated up, swiftly flying toward Orochimaru.
"Too naive. Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Seeing the incoming tiles, Orochimaru dodged at the last moment, unleashing his Jutsu, Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.
His tongue transformed into a poisonous snake, directly biting the neck of Hiruzen, who was still forming seals. Bitten, Hiruzen painfully tried to pry open the snake head.
"Attacks of this level... I really don't want to grow old, sensei." Seeing the power of Hiruzen's Jutsu, Orochimaru mocked flatly.
Then, Orochimaru, rapidly approaching Hiruzen, was stunned. The Hiruzen bitten by Hidden Shadow Snake Hands turned into a pile of mud, slowly melting away.
"Substitution Technique!" Noticing this, Orochimaru quickly landed back on the roof, remaining alert.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!" The next moment, Hiruzen appeared behind Orochimaru. The solid roof where Orochimaru stood instantly turned into a mudslide, causing Orochimaru to slide down uncontrollably.
"Is this all?" Though the Earth Flow River destabilized Orochimaru, he quickly regained balance and formed hand seals.
"Don't even think about it! Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!" Seeing Orochimaru preparing to counterattack, Hiruzen was one step ahead.
The ordinary mudslide instantly formed a dragon head beside Hiruzen. Inside the dragon head, earth turned into cannonballs, rapidly firing toward Orochimaru.
"Fire Dragon Bullet!" But that wasn't all. He swiftly spewed fire, igniting the earth cannonballs into fireballs, engulfing Orochimaru.
"Combining Earth and Fire Release... As expected of Hokage-sama!" Anbu outside, seeing Hiruzen's combination technique, said with emotion.
"Argh!" Inside, Orochimaru finally couldn't hold back a scream. When everything calmed, his figure had vanished.
"Stop these boring performances, Orochimaru." Though knowing his attack's power was not to be underestimated, facing his prized student, Hiruzen naturally wouldn't believe Orochimaru was so easily dealt with.
"As expected of sensei. Truly impressive." Soon, Orochimaru's figure slowly emerged from the roof.
"However, I'm also being underestimated. Did you think such-level Ninjutsu could kill me?" Orochimaru looked displeased at Hiruzen.
"You're still as unlikable as ever." Hearing Orochimaru, Hiruzen frowned.
"Don't say that. Isn't it said the more troublesome students are the cuter, sensei?" Hearing Hiruzen, Orochimaru said flatly.
In the audience area, Kabuto, seeing Naruto and the others leave, frowned. He considered having subordinates pursue and incidentally rescue Sasuke, but seeing the rapidly falling Otogakure's Ninjas, he frowned.
Honestly, compared to the original work, Takeru's three-person addition added too much pressure. And Sasuke was still very important.
So, even under pressure, Kabuto hesitated, then dispatched four Otogakure's Ninja to track Naruto's group.
"Those brats... just a few Genin. It shouldn't matter much." An Otogakure's Ninja looked at Kabuto, puzzled. The situation here was barely holding, and dispersing combat strength might make them not last long.
Of course, aside from some Otogakure's Ninja losing combat ability or dying, some Chunin or Special Jonin in the audience area also lost fighting capability.
Ritsu, having continuously taken down four or five mid-to-high-level Ninja, was somewhat out of breath now.
After all, her strength was much weaker compared to Ui and others, maybe similar to Izumo and Kotetsu.
"Too naive. Underestimating them will make you stumble." Seeing their completely indifferent expressions, Kabuto frowned.
Then, the four Otogakure's Ninjas exchanged glances, preparing to charge out of the arena.
"What a hassle. Wouldn't it be better to stay put quietly?" Looking at the four Otogakure's Ninjas preparing to leave, Takeru lightly shook his head.
"Multiple Gray Ice Giant Horns!" Then, Takeru looked at the Otogakure's Ninja preparing to jump away.
The Demon's Extract within him surged. Instantly, starting from Takeru's feet, a giant ice pillar rapidly shot out, splitting into four in mid-air, skewering the four Otogakure's Ninja preparing to jump away...
Seeing Takeru suddenly take action, Kabuto's expression grew more somber, becoming more wary of Takeru. He realized Takeru hadn't been serious earlier, just slacking off.
But if more people left, it might anger Takeru. If Takeru went all out now, Kabuto wasn't sure what would happen. He didn't know Takeru's concerns, but staying calm seemed better.
"Ui, Ritsu, stay here for now. I'll check over there." Scanning the remaining Otogakure's Ninja proficiency in the arena, Takeru told Ui and Ritsu, then leaped to where Orochimaru and Hiruzen were fighting.
The Anbu, seeing Takeru's arrival, remained alert. Orochimaru inside also noticed Takeru, frowning tightly.
Naturally, Hiruzen noticed Orochimaru's unusual behavior and curiously glanced at Takeru, wondering why Orochimaru seemed to mind him.
Takeru gave them a faint look, then drew Twilight Moon, thrusting it into the barrier.
Upon contacting the barrier, special flames began burning Twilight Moon. However, Takeru noticed these flames couldn't destroy Twilight Moon, which had already been reforged seven times. Still, it wasn't completely ineffective, and it seemed to require some time.