---
The Four Violet Flames Formation hummed with a menacing, high-pitched frequency. The purple barrier was a wall of absolute death, incinerating anything that touched it. Outside, the Anbu Black Ops watched helplessly, unable to breach the perimeter to aid their leader.
"We have to do something!" an Anbu with a Bear mask shouted, gripping his katana. "Lord Hokage is trapped in there with Orochimaru!"
"It's suicide to touch that barrier," the Captain (Eagle) barked. "We need to find the casters and break their concentration!"
Standing casually next to the frantic Anbu was Alaric. He inspected the purple wall, tapping his chin.
"Nice color," Alaric mused. "But a bit rude to lock the door."
He took a step forward.
"Wait! Don't!" Eagle screamed, reaching out to grab Alaric's coat.
He missed.
Alaric didn't stop. He didn't weave a counter-seal. He didn't use a jutsu to blast a hole in it.
He simply walked.
His body rippled like a mirage. The crimson coat turned intangible, phasing into a ghostly transparency. He stepped through the searing purple flames as if walking through a morning mist. There was no resistance, no burning flesh, just a man strolling through a wall of solid chakra.
He solidified on the other side, adjusting his collar.
"See?" Alaric called back to the Anbu, his voice muffled by the barrier. "Easy."
The Anbu stared, their jaws dropping behind their masks.
"He... he just walked through it?" Bear whispered, his brain short-circuiting.
"Is... is the barrier down?" a rookie Anbu asked hopefully. He reached out a gloved hand to touch the purple surface.
HISSSST.
"GAH!" The rookie yanked his hand back, smoke rising from his scorched fingertips. "IT'S NOT DOWN!"
"How the hell did he do that!?" Eagle shouted, staring at Alaric's back with a mixture of fear and awe. "Who is this guy?"
---
Orochimaru's smirk faltered. He watched Alaric stroll to Hiruzen's side, looking as relaxed as if he were at a tea party.
"You..." Orochimaru hissed, his golden eyes narrowing into slits. He gritted his teeth, a vein pulsing on his forehead. "You really are a persistent nuisance. How did you bypass the barrier? That is high-level barrier ninjutsu!"
"I knocked," Alaric deadpanned.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, despite the grim situation, let out a short, incredulous breath. "Alaric... you continue to defy logic."
"Logic is expensive," Alaric shrugged. "I prefer cheating."
Orochimaru regained his composure, his shoulders relaxing into a confident slouch. He licked his lips, the predatory gleam returning.
"Fine," Orochimaru sneered. "So there are two of you. It matters not. An old man past his prime and a mysterious merchant with a few parlor tricks... you will both die here."
"Parlor tricks?" Alaric raised an eyebrow.
"Let us see if you are worth killing properly," Orochimaru announced.
He moved.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Orochimaru expelled a massive gust of hurricane-force wind mixed with chakra blades. It was enough to level a forest. The attack roared toward Alaric, tearing up the roof tiles.
Hiruzen prepared to counter, weaving signs for Earth Release.
"Don't bother, old man," Alaric said.
He didn't move. He didn't weave a sign. He just stood there, hands in his pockets.
As the wind wall slammed into him, the air in front of Alaric distorted.
WHOOSH.
A wall of crimson fire erupted from thin air. It wasn't a fireball; it was a vertical wave of heat so intense it turned the air blue.
Fire consumes Wind.
The hurricane fed the flames. Orochimaru's attack was instantly devoured, the wind turning into a backlash of scorching hot air that forced the Sannin to shield his face.
"What?" Orochimaru gasped, stepping back. "No hand signs?"
"Again," Alaric challenged.
Orochimaru scowled. Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!
A massive dragon of water materialized from the moisture in the air, snapping its jaws as it lunged at Alaric.
Alaric yawned.
CRACK-BOOM.
The ground beneath the water dragon surged upward. A jagged pillar of Earth rose automatically, intercepting the dragon. The water crashed uselessly against the rock, splashing harmlessly to the sides.
"Lightning," Orochimaru snarled, firing a bolt of electricity from his mouth.
FWOOSH.
A vortex of Wind appeared around Alaric, acting as an insulator, dispersing the lightning into harmless static.
Alaric hadn't taken a single step. He stood in the center of the roof, the elements bending to his will like loyal dogs.
Hiruzen watched, his staff trembling in his hand. He wasn't trembling from fear of Orochimaru, but from the realization of what stood beside him.
'He isn't using jutsu formulas,' Hiruzen analyzed, his mind racing. 'He is manipulating the nature transformation directly. Instantaneous counter-elemental generation without a medium or hand seals. That... that is the realm of the Sage of Six Paths. Or a God.'
"S-Rank..." Hiruzen murmured. "No... this is beyond that. I have never heard of a shinobi with this level of elemental mastery in history."
Orochimaru panted slightly, staring at the unscathed blonde man. His pride was stinging. He was a prodigy. He was a Sannin. And yet, his ninjutsu was being treated like child's play.
"Enough," Orochimaru hissed. He realized that testing Alaric was a waste of chakra. He couldn't beat him with standard elements.
He needed legends.
Orochimaru leaped back, landing on the far side of the roof. He bit his thumb and slammed his hands onto the tiles.
"Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation!"
The roof groaned. Debris cracked and shifted.
Two ominous wooden coffins rose slowly from the floor, dirt and dust cascading off them. On the lids, the kanji for "First" and "Second" were painted in red.
A third coffin began to rise, labeled "Fourth," but Hiruzen, shaking off his shock, threw shuriken to stop it. Though Alaric mentally noted lazily that the third one failed mostly because Minato's soul was in the Reaper's belly, not because of the shuriken.
The lids of the first two coffins clattered to the ground.
Two figures stepped out.
One had long black hair and red armor... the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. The other had white hair and blue armor... the Creator of Jutsu, Tobirama Senju.
Their skin was cracked like dry earth, their eyes black with grey irises.
"Where are we?" Hashirama asked, looking around confusedly.
"Edo Tensei..." Tobirama muttered, looking at his hands. "Someone has used my jutsu against us."
Orochimaru stood behind them, placing talismans into their heads. "Kill them."
Alaric looked at the two legendary Hokage. He felt the resonance of his own body... enhanced by the system with Hashirama's physique... reacting to the original.
He let out a sharp whistle.
"Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju," Alaric grinned, cracking his neck. "Now... this will be interesting."
.
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