The roar of the crowd had not yet faded from Naruto's victory over Neji when the air shifted. Cheers died down, replaced by murmurs that rippled through the great stadium like a warning breeze before a storm. On the high platform reserved for dignitaries, the Kazekage leaned close to Hiruzen Sarutobi, his words carried not on breath but on venom.
"It is time, Hokage-sama."
The staff of Enma moved before the blade did. Steel rang against ironwood as Hiruzen parried the sudden thrust, his body already leaping back. Gasps rose from the nearest jonin guards. The Kazekage's veil slipped from his face, and a predator's smile revealed itself.
Orochimaru.
Hiruzen's heart clenched, not from fear but from the bitter ache of betrayal renewed. His former student, standing brazenly at the heart of Konoha's pride, his eyes glittering with the thrill of treachery.
"Why?" Hiruzen rasped, though the answer had always been the same.
"Because this village is weak," Orochimaru hissed, lunging forward again. "And weakness deserves to be culled."
Purple flame erupted around them. Four Sound shinobi appeared at the corners of the roof, forming hand seals in unison. The Four Purple Flame Formation snapped into place, a dome of blazing violet that sealed the rooftop from the world below. The Hokage and his traitorous student were caged together in fire and steel.
The crowd below erupted into chaos. Civilians screamed as kunai and explosive tags burst among them. Sand shinobi shed their disguises and attacked from within the ranks of spectators. Sound-nin poured through breaches in the outer walls. Smoke, fire, and panic bloomed all at once.
And then, calm.
A blindfolded man stepped into the storm, his white hair catching the light, his smile unbothered. Kunai meant for fleeing children froze midair. Shuriken slowed to a crawl, then dropped with harmless clinks against stone. He raised one finger, as though shaming the entire battlefield for daring to throw blades at innocents.
"Now, now," Gojo Satoru said cheerfully. "Don't ruin the show before the finale."
Civilians stared, wide-eyed, before recognition bloomed. Whispers spread faster than fire.
It's him. The blindfolded man. The one from the night of the Nine-Tails.
Eclipse Order. They came.
He's protecting us… again.
Above, Orochimaru's golden eyes cut downward, narrowing. A smirk twisted his lips. "So the Eclipse Order bares its fangs openly at last. How convenient… or how foolish."
Hiruzen did not miss the glance. Even as Enma lengthened in his hands and the battle began in earnest, his mind churned. Gojo's presence was no coincidence. Eclipse Order was not hiding anymore. They were in Konoha, not as shadows, but as shields.
If the villagers survive today because of them, who will they look to tomorrow? To their Hokage… or to the men in masks who call themselves order?
The staff swung. The Kusanagi answered. Sparks flew as old teacher and lost pupil clashed with fury that had simmered for decades.
Down in the alleys, shadows moved with purpose. Ren Uchiha walked among merchants and panicked civilians as though he belonged there. Cloaked men fanned out around him, disciplined where others flailed. Their orders were simple, and each carried them out with the precision of a blade already drawn.
"Secure the trade quarter," Ren said, voice calm but cutting through the din. "Stop the looters. Protect the civilians. Kill only the enemy shinobi. Make them see order."
"Yes, Boss," Zabuza muttered, though his eyes flicked toward the hunched figure at Ren's side.
Escanor waited quietly.
Ren's eyes softened for the barest moment before the Sharingan spun again, three tomoe sharpening the world into lines of clarity. "Escanor, you'll have your stage soon," he said.
Steel clashed above. Fire burst below. And the Eclipse Order moved not as raiders, but as guardians. Where other mercenaries would have taken advantage of the chaos, Ren's men cut down Sound shinobi, shielded fleeing families, and restored quiet to streets that should have drowned in panic.
Whispers began there too.
The strangers are protecting us.
They're fighting the invaders… not us.
Eclipse Order… they're here to save Konoha.
Ren heard those whispers as he slit a Sound-nin's throat and caught the man before he could fall onto a fleeing woman. He eased the body to the ground, eyes never leaving the road ahead. Every act of discipline is a seed. When the dust clears, Konoha will not call us invaders. They will call us necessary.
Above, Orochimaru pressed harder, blade darting with snake-like speed. Hiruzen parried, his arms trembling with strain, lungs burning with age. Each strike carried not just steel but memory—the boy who had once sought approval, the man who now sought ruin.
"You've grown soft," Orochimaru sneered. "Clinging to a village that will die regardless of your sacrifice."
"And you've grown blind," Hiruzen countered, forcing him back with a sweep of Enma's staff. "Unable to see the strength that comes from unity."
But his heart whispered another truth. Unity itself was fracturing. Eclipse Order was carving its place into Konoha's story, and if he fell today, who would hold the reins tomorrow?
From the stands, Gojo dispatched a squad of Sand-nin with casual grace. He leaned against a shattered wall, hands in his pockets, Infinity humming around him like an invisible barrier. "Honestly," he said aloud, though none of the shinobi around him dared answer, "if this is Konoha's invasion defense plan, they really should be embarrassed."
He winked at a child peering from under the benches. "Don't worry, kid. You've got the strongest babysitter in the world."
The child believed him instantly. Civilians huddled closer behind him, drawing courage from his calm. And all the while, Orochimaru watched from above, fury simmering at the realization that Gojo was stealing the invasion's narrative.
"This isn't your village," Orochimaru spat between strikes.
"No," Hiruzen panted. "But it may not be yours either."
The Hokage's staff crashed down. The sannin's blade hissed up. And the battle became a storm that shook the very rooftop, fire and shadow mirroring the chaos in the streets below.
In the alleys, Ren moved with the certainty of someone who had already seen this play once before. His mind replayed Earth's canon, every death, every scream, every victory. But now the stage was different. He was here. Gojo was here. Escanor waited for noon. The Order was no rumor.
He pressed his palm against a wall, cursed energy humming faintly under his skin.