When the eyes of the three former Kage turned completely black and lifeless, their bodies immediately began moving with mechanical precision, no longer hindered by human emotion or moral restraint.
"HISS!"
Dark lightning chakra surged across the Third Raikage's muscular frame, condensing and solidifying into the legendary Lightning Release Armor that had made him virtually invincible during his lifetime. The crackling energy danced around his form like a living thing, radiating raw destructive power.
The Second Tsuchikage rose directly into the air without any visible means of support, his mastery over Earth Release techniques allowing him to achieve true flight - a feat that few ninja in history had ever accomplished.
Meanwhile, the Second Hokage's hands began forming rapid hand seals with mechanical efficiency, his legendary speed and precision in jutsu execution remaining undiminished even in death.
A ferocious gleam of triumph flashed across Orochimaru's serpentine eyes as he spoke in that characteristic hoarse voice that sent chills down the spines of all who heard it.
"Sarutobi-sensei... no, Third Hokage of Konoha," he declared with malicious satisfaction, "today you will die in this very place!"
As soon as those ominous words left his lips, all three resurrected legends moved simultaneously with coordinated precision that spoke to their incredible combat experience.
Swoosh!
The Third Raikage took the initiative, his form transforming into a streak of dark lightning that tore through the air with such velocity that it seemed to bend space itself around his passage.
"WHOOSH!"
Beside the Second Hokage's position, a massive torrent of water began gathering rapidly, drawn from moisture in the air and underground sources throughout the immediate area.
Recognizing the overwhelming danger of his situation, the Third Hokage immediately began a tactical retreat. He understood all too well that he was now facing three of history's most powerful ninja simultaneously, and even if they couldn't display their absolute peak abilities due to the limitations of their resurrected state, defeat was virtually inevitable in a direct confrontation.
He pushed his considerable speed to its absolute maximum, but even with decades of experience and training, he simply could not match the Third Raikage's Lightning Release Armor enhancement.
Throughout the entire modern ninja world, there were perhaps only a handful of individuals who could claim to be faster than the Third Raikage at full power!
The Third Hokage's hands moved in a blur as he attempted to form defensive seals, but the tactical situation was deteriorating rapidly.
As the Third Raikage closed the distance with frightening speed, the Second Tsuchikage suddenly dove down from his aerial position, effectively cutting off any potential escape routes.
He was completely surrounded with nowhere to run!
Swoosh!
Just as the three legendary figures were gradually tightening their coordinated assault around the Third Hokage, two new combatants suddenly appeared from the village's outer districts, racing toward the battlefield with desperate urgency.
Their movement speed was absolutely extraordinary. Even from the perspective of powerful ninja like Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, they appeared as little more than two streaks of light - one pure black, the other gleaming dark gold.
"Who dares to interfere?" Orochimaru demanded, his attention immediately drawn to these unexpected arrivals.
However, as he analyzed their trajectory and intent, he realized that these newcomers were not attempting to rescue the Third Hokage at all. Instead, they were heading directly toward his own position with obvious hostile intent.
The overwhelming aura of killing intent radiating from both figures caused Orochimaru's pupils to contract with genuine concern for the first time since the battle had begun.
Immediately recognizing the shift in tactical priorities, he mentally commanded both the Third Raikage and Second Tsuchikage to change their attack vectors, temporarily abandoning their assault on the Third Hokage to address these new threats.
"Susanoo!"
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Shisui and Kushina materialized almost simultaneously on the rooftops overlooking the street where the Third Hokage and Orochimaru were engaged in their deadly confrontation.
Brilliant green chakra light erupted around Shisui's form, rapidly transforming into the distinctive skeletal framework of his Susanoo technique. The massive ethereal construct extended two enormous hands, reaching out to simultaneously grab both the Third Raikage and the Second Tsuchikage.
However, Kushina's golden chains proved even faster, streaking ahead of Shisui's Susanoo technique to reach their targets first with lightning-like precision.
"CRACK!"
Rather than attempting to dodge or evade the incoming restraints, the Third Raikage extended his right hand with five fingers spread like spear points, lightning chakra condensing around them as he charged forward with devastating directness.
"BANG!"
The collision between raw lightning power and chakra chains created a tremendous explosion of energy. The adamantine restraints, despite their legendary durability, were actually shattered by the overwhelming electrical force.
The Second Tsuchikage demonstrated remarkable agility for someone of his apparent age, smoothly avoiding the entanglement of the remaining chains through precise aerial maneuvering.
However, at that exact moment, Shisui's follow-up attack arrived with perfect timing.
"ROAR!"
Just as the two Konoha ninja were about to press their assault, the water that had been gathering around the Second Hokage's position suddenly rose into the sky like a massive tornado, displaying the kind of raw elemental power that had made him legendary.
"Water Release: Water Heaven Convergence!"
Within the enormous water dragon construct, countless individual streams immediately transformed into high-pressure projectiles. The sheer number was beyond counting, and with the Third Hokage's position as the focal point, the technique expanded to encompass both Kushina and Shisui in its devastating area of effect.
"Water Release: Multiple Water Formation Wall!"
Just as the Second Hokage's water-based assault was about to engulf all three defenders, another massive torrent of water suddenly emerged from a different direction, rushing in to intercept the attack.
"CRASH!"
The defensive water currents immediately formed dozens of layered barriers between the incoming projectiles and their intended targets, creating an impressive display of coordinated defensive jutsu.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Two extraordinarily powerful water release techniques collided with tremendous force, completely flooding the entire area and sending massive waves crashing in all directions.
Fortunately, this particular district had relatively few civilian residents, and after the chaos caused by Deidara's aerial bombardment, most non-combatants had already evacuated to safer areas.
Otherwise, water-based ninjutsu of this incredible scale would have undoubtedly caused massive civilian casualties.
The sound of gentle dripping filled the air as the immediate aftermath of the jutsu collision began to settle.
When the impact of the competing water techniques finally subsided, dense droplets of moisture began falling like rain from the sky above the flooded battlefield.
"Is everyone unharmed?" Kushina called out through the settling mist, her enhanced sensory abilities immediately expanding to encompass the area and lock onto the positions of all enemy combatants.
The Third Hokage nodded gratefully and glanced to one side as another figure approached their position.
Swoosh!
A handsome young man with distinctive features landed gracefully beside their small group, his arrival perfectly timed to join their defensive formation.
"Nawaki-senpai," Shisui acknowledged with obvious respect and relief.
Throughout all of Konoha, the only ninja capable of executing such extraordinarily powerful water release techniques was indeed Nawaki, the younger brother of the legendary Tsunade.
"Indeed," Nawaki replied with a crisp nod, though his expression immediately became troubled as he studied their opponents. "But who could possibly perform water release ninjutsu of such incredible power?"
His analytical gaze focused intently on the enemy formation, trying to identify the source of the technique that had rivaled his own mastery.
Orochimaru and his resurrected allies remained completely unharmed by the massive water technique collision. The Second Tsuchikage continued to hover in the air with effortless grace, while the Third Raikage stood imposingly amidst the ruins of a building that had been completely destroyed by the competing water jutsu.
Nawaki's expression of focused determination shifted to one of murderous intent as his gaze fell upon Orochimaru and remained fixed there for several long moments.
However, when his eyes finally moved to observe the Second Hokage standing beside the traitorous Sannin, his expression underwent a dramatic transformation of shock and disbelief.
"Second Hokage... Grandpa?!" he gasped, his voice filled with confused anguish.
When Nawaki had been born, his grandfather - the First Hokage - had already passed away, leaving him with only secondhand stories and cherished memories shared by his sister and other family members.
However, whenever anyone spoke of the First Hokage's legendary accomplishments, they inevitably mentioned his closest companion and successor.
Although Nawaki had never met the Second Hokage in person, photographs and portraits of both the First and Second Hokage had always been displayed prominently in the home he shared with Tsunade.
The young man stared at the Second Hokage beside Orochimaru with complete incredulity, struggling to process what his eyes were telling him.
"Haha, so someone can actually counter the Second Hokage's water release techniques," Orochimaru observed with genuine surprise and grudging admiration.
Under his controlling influence, the Second Hokage was unable to access some of his most powerful forbidden techniques and space-time ninjutsu, but his mastery of water-based jutsu remained nearly equivalent to what he had possessed during his lifetime.
"The Second Hokage?" both Shisui and Kushina echoed, staring at their enemies with expressions of horror and growing understanding.
The Third Hokage stepped forward, recognizing the need to quickly brief his allies on their desperate situation.
"Allow me to provide an explanation of our current circumstances," he said grimly.
Using extremely efficient language, he explained the nature of the Impure World Reincarnation technique and how Orochimaru had used it to resurrect three legendary leaders simultaneously.
After hearing this briefing, Kushina, Shisui, and Nawaki all displayed expressions of stern determination mixed with righteous fury.
"Performing such a forbidden technique represents nothing less than blasphemy against the honored dead," Shisui declared, his voice trembling with barely contained rage. "Using previous Hokage to destroy the village they dedicated their lives to protecting is an unforgivable insult to every ninja of Konoha!"
"Indeed," the Third Hokage agreed in a low voice heavy with emotion.
He bit his finger and performed his signature summoning technique with practiced efficiency. The Monkey King Enma transformed into his weapon form - the legendary Ruyi Staff - which the Third Hokage grasped with both hands as he spoke with quiet determination.
"This shameful humiliation brought upon the ninja of Konoha by a traitorous former student must be cleansed by the ninja of Konoha themselves!"
"Yes, sir!" Nawaki, Shisui, and Kushina responded in unison.
Since the three resurrected leaders were now nothing more than unconscious puppets without their original personalities or moral constraints, the defenders felt no psychological burden about engaging them in lethal combat.
The battlefield was about to explode into violence once again.
The tremendous noise caused by the powerful water jutsu collision had been clearly audible throughout the entire village, alerting every ninja within Konoha's boundaries to the scale of the conflict taking place.
Back at the Chunin Exam venue, Minato detected the distinctive chakra signature of the Third Raikage through his advanced sensory abilities. After a brief moment of analysis, he formed accurate conclusions about the developing situation.
Immediately, he raised his eyes to meet the gazes of both the masked man and his black-robed ally, speaking in a voice filled with grim understanding.
"So this is why you finally developed the courage to attack Konoha directly," he observed with cold recognition.
"Orochimaru has actually resorted to using the Impure World Reincarnation technique!"
As these words left his lips, multiple figures began appearing along both sides of the damaged arena walls, suggesting that reinforcements were finally arriving to join the battle on multiple fronts.
Swoosh!
Two figures materialized simultaneously on opposite sides of the damaged arena walls, their arrival marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict.
Uchiha Yoruki's eyes immediately narrowed with focused intensity, the three-tomoe Sharingan in his crimson irises transforming into distinctive flame-like patterns as his Mangekyō activated. His enhanced vision instantly locked onto the masked man standing before Minato with predatory precision.
When Orochimaru had originally defected from the village years ago, Yoruki had personally led the pursuit mission to capture the traitorous Sannin. However, their efforts had been systematically thwarted by this very same masked individual and his mysterious organization!
Even as his attention remained fixed on his primary target, Yoruki couldn't help but glance toward the other figure who had appeared on the arena wall almost simultaneously with his own arrival.
Kakuzu.
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