"So this is the true strength of the First and Second Hokage? That's terrifying. The Third Hokage can barely fight back."
"No, that's not their true strength. Orochimaru is just getting better at controlling them. At first their movements were stiff, but now they're getting smoother and smoother."
"What's going on? Isn't the Third Hokage known as the Professor of Ninjutsu? Why isn't he counterattacking? Why is he being beaten so badly?"
"You don't understand. He's facing two Hokage-level opponents plus Orochimaru controlling them through Impure World Reincarnation. Holding on this long is already an incredible feat."
Many Konoha shinobi felt their worldview shatter as they watched the Third Hokage's battered, miserable state inside the barrier.
To them, the First and Second Hokage were just faces carved into the Hokage Rock—legends that never felt real.
But the Third Hokage was different.
From the moment they were born until they became jonin, he had always stood at the front, guiding Konoha, protecting it. Entire generations had grown up under his shadow.
Whether they admired him or criticized him, Sarutobi Hiruzen was an irreplaceable symbol in their lives.
Now, that symbol was collapsing before their eyes.
He was still fighting at a Kage level—but his opponents were simply too strong. Forced entirely on the defensive, he could do little more than endure.
The sight was painful.
"Honestly… if I were in the Third Hokage's position, I wouldn't be doing any better," someone muttered.
"Two Hokage-level enemies and Orochimaru lurking behind them—that pressure is unimaginable."
Onoki, A, Rasa, and Yagura all felt chills as they watched.
In that moment, Orochimaru became the most terrifying enemy imaginable in their minds.
And Impure World Reincarnation… that technique lodged itself deep into their thoughts.
Too strange. Too horrifying.
It could drag the souls of the dead back from the Pure Land and even let them wield part of their former power.
If there were no limits, Orochimaru could summon dozens of Kage-level warriors. Who in the ninja world could stop him then?
Their gazes shifted to Naruto, who was watching calmly, his expression unchanged.
"Maybe… only that monster isn't afraid of Impure World Reincarnation."
High atop the earthen wall, Sarutobi Hiruzen was shaken.
When he had been dragged underwater earlier, he truly thought he was about to die.
Facing Senju Tobirama in water—Tobirama, famed for water-based combat—Sarutobi had no confidence at all.
Thankfully, Tobirama's reincarnated body still lagged slightly, giving Sarutobi a chance to escape.
He climbed out desperately, determined never to fight Tobirama in water again.
Once was more than enough.
Terrifying.
The next instant, Sarutobi's face changed as he instinctively turned.
A thin stream of water pierced the air and punched straight through the thick earthen wall.
Chi—chi!
Two more razor-thin jets followed, slicing the wall apart like tofu.
Boom!
The wall collapsed, crumbling like a landslide.
The water covering the rooftop rapidly receded as the chakra sustaining it ran out.
Sarutobi barely avoided being buried and landed back on the roof.
Then his pupils shrank.
His entire body went cold.
The tiles ahead shattered as a small green sprout burst from the ground. In an instant, it expanded explosively, transforming into a towering tree.
"No—this is the First Hokage's signature technique… Wood Style!"
Sarutobi's face went pale as his hands flew into seals.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Senju Hashirama clasped his hands together and shouted.
All across the rooftop, trees erupted from the ground. In the blink of an eye, a dense forest swallowed the area.
Roots lashed out from every direction.
Sarutobi fled through the forest in utter desperation, dodging branches and vines—but it was useless.
Shhh!
The branches wrapped around him instantly, binding him tight like a bundled package.
"To turn chakra into life itself and raise a forest in an instant… incredible," a Konoha shinobi muttered.
"So this is the Wood Style that calmed the Warring States Era and founded Konoha."
Onoki snorted dismissively.
"You brats are really ignorant. This Senju Hashirama is just a fake. The real one was far more terrifying than you can imagine."
Of everyone present, only Onoki had personally witnessed the ancient battlefield left behind by the clash between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara at the Valley of the End—a battlefield ripped apart on a scale far beyond this small rooftop forest.
Outside the barrier, Jiraiya clenched his fists, chakra surging violently.
He couldn't watch any longer.
Tsunade's expression was ice-cold, her gaze locked not on the Third Hokage—but on Orochimaru.
"You little brat—open the barrier!"
Jiraiya glared at Kidomaru, who was cowering in a corner. His killing intent was overwhelming.
Kidomaru trembled uncontrollably, barely able to maintain the hand signs.
Jiraiya was on the same level as Orochimaru himself.
Kidomaru's arrogance vanished completely. Facing true power, only fear remained.
"I—I can't," Kidomaru said weakly.
"Orochimaru-sama ordered us not to."
Orochimaru's shadow still terrified him more than Jiraiya's fury.
"Naruto—"
Unable to intimidate Kidomaru, Jiraiya turned to Naruto, desperation clear in his eyes.
With enough time, Jiraiya could break the Four Purple Flame Formation by force. After all, it was maintained by only four young ninjas.
But that time didn't exist.
In that time, Orochimaru could kill Sarutobi Hiruzen countless times over.
Only Naruto could shatter the formation instantly.
Naruto hesitated briefly, then slowly extended his hand toward the barrier.
All eyes turned to that hand—even Orochimaru paused and looked over.
Zzzz!
The moment Naruto touched it, purple flames surged toward him, trying to incinerate his arm.
Naruto flicked his hand lightly.
The flames vanished.
A hand-shaped hollow appeared in the barrier—no flames at all.
Naruto moved his hand again.
Cracks spread from the hollow in every direction, as if the Four Purple Flame Formation were about to shatter like glass.
Everyone was stunned.
The Four Purple Flame Formation was infamous—even Kage-level fighters needed time and full power to break it.
Yet Naruto pierced it as casually as poking paper.
Naruto then withdrew his hand and stepped back.
"Thank you, Naruto."
Jiraiya instantly understood. As long as he struck that weak point, the barrier would fall.
Dense chakra gathered in his hands, forming a blinding sphere of energy.
"Ultra Big Ball Rasengan—!"
Jiraiya poured in even more chakra, swelling the Rasengan to an enormous size, its pressure suffocating.
"Old man, I'm coming to save you!"
He was just about to slam it into the opening—
"Jiraiya, stop!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen shouted from within the barrier.
His voice was loud and resolute.
"As I said, this is a battle between me and Orochimaru. No one is allowed to interfere. Jiraiya—if you still see me as your teacher, don't do it. I'm begging you."
Begging.
Jiraiya froze.
The Rasengan shrank unconsciously… and vanished.
The Sound Four hastily reinforced the barrier, sealing the gap.
The Four Purple Flame Formation became whole again—unbreakable.
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