The Third Hokage's expression darkened the moment he heard Orochimaru's taunting words.
As expected, Orochimaru raised his hand and pressed it to the ground.
Suddenly—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three wooden coffins emerged from the earth.
Without hesitation, the Third Hokage hurled a kunai while rapidly forming hand seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
In an instant, the single shuriken multiplied midair, forming a dense storm of spinning blades.
But Orochimaru was prepared.
His hands flashed through a sequence of seals.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful gust of wind roared across the battlefield, knocking the incoming kunai to the ground.
The sharp sound of metal dissipating filled the air as the shadow clones of the shuriken vanished upon impact.
The next moment—
The wooden coffins trembled.
Then, the lids of two coffins fell open.
Two familiar figures stepped forward.
The Third Hokage's pupils shrank as he recognized them.
"No… This is unforgivable!" He glared at Orochimaru. "You dare defile the dead?!"
But Orochimaru merely smirked, spreading his arms theatrically.
"Sarutobi-sensei, take a good look. For your final performance, I've prepared worthy opponents."
At that moment, he frowned slightly.
[The Fourth Hokage's resurrection… failed?]
The figures in the open coffins suddenly opened their eyes.
A heavy aura filled the air as the First and Second Hokage stood before him once more.
The Third Hokage tensed. He could feel their chakra—strong, but nowhere near their full power.
"So… the Reanimation Jutsu can't bring them back at their peak strength?"
He let out a quiet breath of relief.
If Orochimaru had managed to restore them to their prime, there would be no point in resisting—he would already be dead.
But now… he still had a chance.
Then—
A massive surge of chakra erupted from the stadium.
The Third Hokage turned sharply.
Shukaku was preparing to fire a Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Damn it!"
In this situation, even his survival was uncertain—let alone protecting the innocent civilians of Konoha.
But then—
Boom!
Shukaku's massive body suddenly slammed into the ground once more.
The Third Hokage's gaze locked onto a small figure standing atop the fallen beast.
"That girl…?"
"Do you still have time to be distracted, sensei?"
Shhhhhh—
Out of nowhere, countless vines shot out, instantly wrapping around the Third Hokage's body.
Pain surged through his limbs as the vines constricted him.
But he gritted his teeth, fighting through the agony.
Then, he bit down on his thumb and slammed his hand into the air.
"Enma! Come forth!"
Boom!
A tall, white-haired ape materialized, standing upright like a human.
The moment he arrived, he swiftly tore through the vines, freeing the Third Hokage.
"Hiruzen! What's going on?!"
The Third Hokage's expression remained cold.
"There's no time to explain. Transform—now!"
Without hesitation, Enma shifted, morphing into a golden staff.
The Third Hokage gripped it tightly, his eyes locked onto his approaching enemies—
The First Hokage, stepping forward.
The Second Hokage, forming hand seals.
And Orochimaru, lurking behind them, ready to strike.
"Tch… looks like this old man's luck has run out today."
The Second Hokage completed his jutsu—
"Water Style…!"
The First Hokage followed—
"Wood Style…!"
The battle was about to reach its climax.
As the battle between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru intensified, Sakiya continued taunting Shukaku.
"ROOOAAAR!!!"
Shukaku let out a furious bellow.
It had never felt this humiliated before.
"What's your name again? Hah! Just a little pet, and yet you dare act so arrogantly before my 'Eye of Death'?"
Shukaku trembled with rage and locked eyes with Sakiya.
She stood confidently in place, a small five-meter-wide magic circle glowing beneath her feet.
Framing her hands like a scope, she peered through her fingers, as if aiming at the massive tanuki in front of her.
"With my Eye of Death, I'll bring you down right here!"
That was the last straw.
Shukaku's chakra erupted violently, its rage boiling over. No more playing around.
It took aim at Sakiya and unleashed a powerful Air Bullet straight at her.
"You're finished!"
But what Shukaku failed to notice was the smirk creeping onto Sakiya's lips.
"Perfect. Just what I wanted!"
In that instant, the battlefield shifted.
It was as if space itself folded—the entire scene twisted, warped, and flipped.
Shukaku's massive attack veered off course.
Its Air Bullet wasn't heading toward Sakiya anymore.
It was barreling straight toward the Four Purple Flame Formation.
At that exact moment—
Kakashi had just arrived outside the barrier, preparing to assist the Third Hokage.
He should have been there sooner, but along the way, he had encountered people in danger and couldn't ignore them.
The delays had cost him precious time.
Now, just as he reached the Four Purple Flame Formation—
A massive attack was coming right at him.
Kakashi was momentarily stunned.
Faced with such a large-scale attack, he made a split-second decision—ducking behind the Four Purple Flame Formation for cover.
The battle between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru raged on, but both combatants immediately took notice of the incoming attack.
Orochimaru cursed under his breath. "Those Sand shinobi fools!"
But there was nothing he could do to stop it now.
The Sound Four, who were maintaining the barrier, saw the monstrous blast approaching and instinctively gulped.
"Brace yourselves!" Jirobo gritted his teeth.
But some things aren't so easy to withstand.
The barrier, fueled by their combined strength, was nowhere near strong enough to endure Shukaku's furious Air Bullet attack.
The powerful gust struck the Four Purple Flame Formation head-on.
BOOM!
The outer walls of the barrier twisted violently.
For three seconds, it buckled under the pressure—then, in a single flash—
The entire formation shattered!
RUMBLE!
The explosion rocked the entire stadium.
Gasps erupted from the scattered audience.
"It's the Third Hokage!"
"Is Lord Hokage alright?!"
The dust and smoke from the blast slowly began to clear, revealing the battlefield.
Orochimaru stood with the reanimated First and Second Hokages on one side.
On the other, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kakashi stood firm.
The two groups locked eyes.
Despite the chaos, none of them appeared to have suffered any major injuries.
The Air Bullet had already lost most of its power by the time it broke through the barrier, and shinobi of their caliber weren't fazed by a mere shockwave.
But the Sound Four—
They were sprawled across the ground, utterly drained.
They couldn't even maintain the barrier anymore.
Just as they tried to recover, another roar echoed through the stadium.
They knew what that meant.
Shukaku.
The crazed monster rampaged across the arena, but its attacks—
Something was off.
Instead of targeting its enemies, it was violently smashing the ground beneath it in frustration.
Occasionally, Sakiya would appear out of nowhere, teasing it mercilessly.
"Tide of Death!"
A sudden splash of water drenched Shukaku's head.
The beast howled in fury, slamming the ground harder.
"Death Club!"
A giant club suddenly smacked it right in its beady eyes.
Shukaku staggered, clutching its face. Its roars grew even more erratic.
It flailed wildly, tearing through the stadium, sending debris flying everywhere—
But it was still getting nowhere.
"Death Stare!"
"WOOHOOO!!!" Shukaku howled in frustration.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Death Click!"
"OHHH!!!"
RUMBLE!!!
"Big Death! BIG DEATH! ULTIMATE DEATH!!"
Sakiya, with an absolutely shameless grin, slapped several explosive tags directly onto Shukaku's face.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
One after another, the explosions went off.
Shukaku screamed in pure agony.
This was a literal slap to the face.
This… this was bullying!
The massive beast curled up, clutching its face.
It wanted to cry.
It was starting to question its own existence.
"Humans… are terrifying."
Shukaku's massive form suddenly shrank.
And in just a few moments—
Gaara collapsed onto the ground, unconscious.
At that exact moment, the fighters throughout the battlefield paused, witnessing the impossible.
Everyone's gaze shifted toward the center of the arena.
And every single person—friend or foe—stood there, dumbfounded.
__________
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