There is an old saying: Never celebrate too early.
And once again, it proved true.
Orochimaru was ready to sever his final bond with Konoha when Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his palm against the wooden bindings holding him down.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!"
"Come forth—Monkey King Enma!"
A burst of white smoke tore through the arena. Out stepped Enma, Hiruzen's lifelong comrade, towering and broad-shouldered, his body hard as diamond.
Orochimaru's face soured. "Tch. What a nuisance."
Enma's gaze immediately locked on him, sharp and unflinching.
"Orochimaru."
His voice was heavy with disdain. Then he turned back to Hiruzen, bound and struggling.
"Pitiful, Sarutobi. This is the price of your weakness. I told you long ago this student would bring ruin if you spared him."
Hiruzen had ignored the warnings. He had shown mercy when Orochimaru's human experiments were revealed. He had chosen hesitation over execution.
Yesterday's mercy had become today's sin.
But now, in this dire hour, Hiruzen's voice carried no hesitation.
"This time… I'll end him."
"Too late for that," Enma muttered. Still, when Hiruzen called on him to transform, the Monkey King obeyed.
With a crack, Enma became the Adamantine Staff.
One sweeping strike shattered the branches binding Hiruzen.
"Good!"
Free at last, the Third Hokage spun the staff with practiced ease. His body blurred with the Body Flicker Technique, and he lunged directly for Orochimaru.
"Interesting," Orochimaru hissed, drawing the Kusanagi blade from his throat. Teacher and student clashed once more, steel against adamantine.
But even for Orochimaru, the combined might of Hiruzen and Enma proved difficult to handle.
The reanimated Hashirama, Tobirama, and Xuanyue pressed in at his command, surrounding the old Hokage.
Hiruzen's eyes hardened. He forced his body through the storm of strikes, slapping explosive tags onto each of the three Edo Tensei shinobi.
The detonations thundered through the barrier. Smoke cleared—revealing their bodies already knitting back together, paper scraps fluttering as their wounds healed in an instant.
Hiruzen exhaled, weary yet resolute. This can't go on. As long as their souls remain bound by Edo Tensei, destruction means nothing. There's only one way.
His fingers clasped together, his gaze steeled. The Fourth's forbidden jutsu. It's time.
Inside the Four Violet Flames barrier, the battle reached its peak. Outside, chaos engulfed Konoha.
Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy stood as bulwarks at the arena, cutting down invading Sand and Sound shinobi, shielding the thousands of unconscious spectators.
Counting enemies like rivals tallying points, Guy shouted, "Eighteen! Nineteen!"
Kakashi exhaled. "Already twenty."
The rivalry burned on even as the village fought for survival. Both knew their real task: if the barrier fell, they would rush in to aid the Third Hokage.
But Kakashi's Sharingan had already glimpsed the truth inside, and unease gnawed at him.
"Lord Third is too old for this. His enemies aren't only Orochimaru… they're the First and Second Hokage. And that third man… whoever he is, to stand beside them, he's no one to take lightly."
Back within the barrier, Hiruzen's resolve crystallized.
He had watched in horror as Orochimaru revealed the grotesque technique of Living Corpse Reincarnation—proof his former pupil had abandoned humanity long ago. That had settled it. The decision was made.
"Orochimaru," Hiruzen's voice thundered, "I'll bury you here, and atone for my sins."
Orochimaru only laughed, reshaping his stolen face with a mockery of a smile.
"You're far too late, sensei. Konoha's fall is inevitable."
Hiruzen's reply was silence. He formed the hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Three duplicates burst into existence around him.
The watching ANBU gasped. "Why use clones? That'll only drain his chakra faster!"
Orochimaru smirked. "See? My teacher is senile. He's in such a hurry to die, he's hastening his own end."
But two observers understood what this meant.
Enma—his voice cracking with sorrow.
And Yui Xuanyue—his sealed consciousness silent, but his awareness keen.
"Sarutobi… you…" Enma whispered, his staff form trembling. He knew exactly what technique required this preparation.
The hand seals flowed. Rat—Boar—Tiger—Dog—Dragon—Monkey—Ram—Horse—Snake.
Hiruzen's palms pressed together.
Behind him, unseen by all but the caster, the spectral form of the Shinigami loomed.
Orochimaru sneered. "Whatever you're planning, it's too late. You've lost. Konoha is finished!"
"Genjutsu: Darkness Illusion!" Tobirama struck, and Hiruzen's world was drowned in black.
Hashirama's fists. Xuanyue's strikes. A storm of blows rained down. Hiruzen staggered beneath the onslaught, pain searing through his aged body.
Yet through it all, he clung to the fire burning in his heart.
The Will of Fire. The legacy of Hashirama. Tobirama. And Minato.
At his final moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice rang with conviction.
"I am the man who inherited the First and Second Hokage's will. I am the Third Hokage of Konoha! Orochimaru, no matter how you covet this village, I—and those who come after me—will be the pillars that protect it. Always."
His eyes lifted as if meeting the gaze of another. Isn't that right… Fourth Hokage?
With that, he formed the final seal. Tiger.
"Orochimaru!" His voice roared like thunder.
"Now you will witness a secret jutsu of Konoha that you've never seen before."
"Sealing Technique—Reaper Death Seal!"
(End of Chapter)