Within the Four Violet Flames Formation, Hiruzen Sarutobi poured every last ounce of strength into the Reaper Death Seal, aiming to seal both Hashirama and Tobirama Senju once and for all.
He lunged toward Kabuto, determined to take down the mastermind behind Konoha's crisis, even if it meant dying together. But Kabuto, ever the schemer, had anticipated this and stayed far out of reach, instructing Orochimaru to keep Hiruzen occupied.
Hiruzen had no choice. If he delayed any longer, the time on the Death Seal would run out—and with it, his only chance.
So he redirected the Shinigami's grasp toward Orochimaru. What Hiruzen didn't expect… was that Orochimaru's soul didn't resist at all. It was effortlessly drawn out—both of his arms' souls were pulled from his body.
But they weren't normal. A faint green hue clung to them.
Suddenly, Orochimaru's lifeless eyes regained focus, no longer resembling a puppet.
"Hehehe… Sensei. Who would've thought… you'd be the one to save me," Orochimaru grinned as he swung the Kusanagi Blade, slicing clean through the Shinigami's arm and severing the soul of his own limbs.
Yet in that final moment, using the soul just withdrawn from himself, Orochimaru also managed to inject Hyuga Gakuya's mental sphere into it—breaking free of Gakuya's control once and for all.
"No!" Kabuto cried out in alarm, immediately forming hand signs to activate the cursed seal hidden within Orochimaru's body.
Orochimaru turned his pained gaze toward Kabuto, his voice venomous.
"If I ever get the chance… I'll take everything from you."
Then he collapsed to the ground, silent and unmoving.
Kabuto let out a long breath of relief. Luckily, he'd implanted a cursed seal in advance. With it, he could claim Orochimaru's life at any moment.
Both Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi had fallen, seemingly dead. To an outsider, it looked like a double suicide. Kabuto quickly stepped forward, retrieved Orochimaru's body, and carved a piece of flesh from Hiruzen's corpse.
If he took the entire body, Konoha would stop at nothing to hunt him down—if only for the village's pride. But just a sample? That would suffice for future use of the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
"Retreat!"
The Sound Four immediately released the Four Violet Flames Formation and began withdrawing from Konoha.
Their mission was complete. What came next… would be the showdown between Hyuga Gakuya and the Hidden Leaf.
...
Elsewhere outside Konoha
Naruto, in his Six-Tails form, was now covered in hardened bones. Unbelievably, he could go head-to-head with a fully formed One-Tail—even though he only had half of the Nine-Tails within him.
"Damn fox brat! Air Bullet!" Shukaku roared, slapping his belly and launching a massive blast of compressed air straight at Naruto.
Naruto took the full hit and staggered, but it only made him angrier. A seventh tail began to emerge from his back. The red cloak of chakra surrounding him grew massive, bones reinforcing it like armor. With one swipe, he sent Shukaku toppling.
Under such overwhelming pressure, Shukaku gradually lost control and was forced back into Gaara's body. Gaara jolted awake from the pain and immediately suppressed the One-Tail's chakra.
But Naruto… was now in full Seven-Tails form, completely overtaken by the Nine-Tails' will, unleashing destruction on everything around him.
At last, Yamato arrived.
He popped a chakra suppressant pill into his mouth, then formed a series of hand seals.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
In an instant, towering trees surged from the ground beneath Naruto's feet, wrapping tightly around his massive form. They latched on, drinking in the Nine-Tails' chakra, temporarily restraining him.
But Yamato was struggling.
Then—two hands pressed gently to his back. A flood of pure, vibrant chakra flowed into his body.
Yamato turned, stunned. "Lady Tsunade!"
"Your Wood Style lacks the vitality of the Sage's body. Let me make up for that. Pour everything into suppressing the Nine-Tails."
Black markings of the Strength of a Hundred Seal unfurled across Tsunade's face as she transferred her stored chakra into Yamato.
"Understood!" Yamato's eyes gleamed with renewed resolve.
...
Hyuga Gakuya stood atop the battlefield, gazing toward the restrained Nine-Tails. He turned, locking eyes with Jiraiya, who had entered Sage Mode.
"You really think you alone can defeat me?"
"No. But I can stall you," Jiraiya said, kicking off his wooden sandals. His limbs had already begun to take on toad-like features, and two small figures sat perched on his shoulders—Fukasaku and Shima.
"Little Jiraiya, why'd you summon us all of a sudden? Weren't you always saying Sage Mode scared off the ladies?" Fukasaku asked.
"The situation's too serious now," Jiraiya nodded toward Gakuya. "Our enemy's learned Sage Mode too."
Shima's expression shifted. "This… this is Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode. I can't believe someone actually mastered it. Looks like we're in for one hell of a fight."
Gakuya's hands blurred through a string of signs. His eyes cold, his voice sharp.
"The three great Sage realms counter one another. And you think you can stop me? What a joke."
With a shout, he slammed his palm to the ground. A wave of sonic energy exploded outward, shattering the earth where it struck.
"Watch out, Jiraiya!" both toad sages cried in unison.
"Got it!" Jiraiya leapt high into the air, narrowly dodging the attack.
Fukasaku called out.
"On it!"
"Sage Art: Frog Call!"
The two toads opened their mouths and let out a thunderous, disorienting croak.
But Gakuya didn't flinch. He charged straight through it—completely unaffected.
He'd already shut off his hearing.
Jiraiya landed on a crumbling wall and shouted, "Wind and oil—now!"
"Sage Art: Goemon!"
Together, Jiraiya and the two toads launched their attack—Fukasaku blowing wind, Shima spitting oil, Jiraiya igniting it all with fire. A wall of searing flames surged forward like a rampaging dragon.
Gakuya smacked his hand on the ground. "Earth Style: Multiple Earth Walls!"
Instantly, four massive stone barriers rose up, completely shielding him from the oncoming fire-oil inferno.
...
But the moment the flames died down—Jiraiya came crashing from the sky, wielding a Sage Art stone sword. He looked like a wrathful god descending from the heavens.
Gakuya's lips curled into a sly smirk.
He melted into the ground below, vanishing without a trace.
Jiraiya's sword struck only stone, erupting a cloud of dust. Gakuya was nowhere to be seen—only a deep crater remained.
Suddenly, the stone walls around Jiraiya began closing in with a life of their own.
Reacting fast, Shima fired a jet of water from her mouth, slicing through the encroaching stone.
From below, Gakuya emerged behind Jiraiya, hand reaching for his neck.
But Jiraiya reacted like he had eyes on his back. He swung his stone sword in a vicious arc, forcing Gakuya to retreat underground.
Gakuya reappeared in the distance, hands forming seals once more. From the earth, a forest of stone spikes burst forth, racing toward Jiraiya.
Jiraiya had no choice but to sprint for his life, dodging as best he could.
Gakuya opened his mouth, emitting a haunting, melodic wail.
At the sound, Jiraiya's eyes glazed over. In his mind, he lay peacefully in Tsunade's lap, her generous bosom cradling his head.
"Damn it! Jiraiya's caught in a genjutsu!" Fukasaku fired another jet of water to destroy the stone spikes closing in.
"Cancel it with your genjutsu!" he shouted.
"Got it! Frog Call!"
The harsh croak rang out again, snapping Jiraiya back to his senses.
"We need to close the distance—we can't let him keep dragging this out!" Jiraiya barked.
"Understood!" Fukasaku extended his tongue and lashed it around one of the stone spikes near Gakuya, slingshotting Jiraiya toward him.
Jiraiya's hands spun, forming a Rasengan—massive, towering over him.
He charged straight at Gakuya, Sage Art Rasengan in hand, ready to strike.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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