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You can now get early access to Chapter 95 of Re: Naruto Uzumaki on my Patreon. You can also read up to Chapter 25 of Naruto: Satoru Senju.
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Hiruzen summoned his personal summon, the Monkey King Enma, with whom he had a contract, to assist him in his battle against Orochimaru.
Upon being summoned, Enma took on his staff form and fell into Hiruzen's hands.
Transformed into a weapon, the Monkey King Enma possessed exceptional offensive abilities.
His hardness rivaled that of diamond, making him practically unbreakable.
Moreover, he had the ability to alter his length and thickness at will, adapting to the needs of combat.
Hiruzen couldn't help a fleeting smile. If Naruto had been there, he would no doubt have made a joke about that, he thought, imagining the blond-haired youth with that mischievous expression of his.
"Any man would kill to have that ability…" he heard him say in his mind, waggling his eyebrows shamelessly in a suggestive manner.
Hiruzen wondered why, in what might be his final moments, he was remembering Naruto of all people.
Was it guilt? Regret for everything he had made him endure in the name of the village?
Yes… Hiruzen knew that was it. But even if he had another chance, he wouldn't change a thing.
Because he had done it all for the good of the village. For the future of his people.
With Enma in his hands, Hiruzen shook his head, dispelling those thoughts that threatened to cloud his focus, and launched into the attack.
The Monkey King Enma, in his staff form, met Orochimaru's legendary sword, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi.
CLANG!
The clang echoed loudly within the barrier as sparks burst from the point of impact. Both fighters growled, driven by years of hatred, betrayal, and resentment.
"You still have good reflexes, Sarutobi-sensei," Orochimaru murmured in his usual venomous tone, full of mockery, pushing the edge of his Kusanagi forward with both hands. "For your age, I mean…"
"And you, a poisonous tongue," growled Hiruzen, digging his heels into the ground as he resisted the pressure.
The Monkey King Enma, in his staff form, groaned under the tension of the impact, but held firm.
A burst of chakra lit the air between them, raising a dense cloud of dust that engulfed the battlefield.
CLANG! CLANG!
Orochimaru moved with grace, trying to break through his former master's defense.
But Hiruzen, with firm footing and a determined gaze, spun his staff with precision, intercepting every slash.
"How much longer can you keep this up, old man?" whispered Orochimaru, with that crooked smile Hiruzen so despised.
"Long enough to drag you to hell with me, if necessary," he responded in a grave voice, laden with determination.
And with a full spin of his staff, he channeled all his strength into a single movement.
Orochimaru, caught off guard by the sudden change in the rhythm of the fight, had no choice but to leap nimbly backward.
The Kusanagi sword flew from his hands, spinning through the air before embedding itself deeply into the ground, just a few meters away.
Seizing the opening, Hiruzen made his staff extend forward with a sharp whistle, straight toward Orochimaru.
From the extended tip of the staff, a muscular arm emerged—the arm of the Monkey King Enma, ready to strike.
A single touch was enough. The Shinigami was waiting, invisible, ready to fulfill his part of the contract.
One touch, and it would all be over for Orochimaru.
But the Sannin, agilely, twisted his body and narrowly dodged the attack.
Nevertheless, Hiruzen had already closed the distance. With a roar choked by exhaustion, he lunged at his former student and grabbed his arms with both hands.
"It's over, Orochimaru…" Hiruzen murmured, his gaze not filled with hatred, but with deep sorrow.
Then, the Shinigami's hand pierced Orochimaru's chest.
But at the same time, Orochimaru, with a twisted smile, made his Kusanagi sword rise from the ground, responding to his will.
The Monkey King Enma tried to intercept it, but he wasn't fast enough.
The blade stabbed violently into Hiruzen's chest, from behind.
However, it was already too late for Orochimaru. The contract had been sealed. The Shinigami had fulfilled his part.
"I was going to die anyway…" Hiruzen muttered, with bitter serenity, staring at his former student.
The Monkey King Enma closed his eyes in sorrow. He knew this was the end for his old friend.
And in that moment, Orochimaru saw it.
With half his soul already extracted, he was finally able to perceive the presence of the Shinigami. The Death God's gaze paralyzed him.
For someone who had spent his life fleeing death, obsessed with immortality, this was the worst of his nightmares made real.
But although Hiruzen wanted to seal Orochimaru's soul completely, his body couldn't go on.
He didn't have the strength to seal all of Orochimaru's soul.
The battle had drained him. He had lost too much blood. And the Kusanagi sword was still embedded in him, being mercilessly pushed by Orochimaru, who desperately sought to kill him before being sealed.
"Looks like I don't have enough strength… to take all of your soul…" Hiruzen spat, splattering his enemy's face with a mouthful of blood. Even so, he smiled. "But your ambition ends here!"
"This is the perfect punishment for someone like you, obsessed with learning all the world's jutsu!"
"I'll keep them all!"
And though he couldn't completely seal Orochimaru's soul, the Shinigami managed to cut away an essential part of it.
Orochimaru let out a blood-curdling scream. His arms, once full of power, went numb. They lost color. They lost life. They turned completely black.
Despair overwhelmed him as he felt the strength in his arms vanish.
Orochimaru stopped feeling his arms, as if they had ceased to exist.
Hiruzen, in his final moments, smiled with pride and pain.
"Now you won't be able to use your arms… And that means you won't be able to form seals."
"YOU CAN NO LONGER USE NINJUTSU!"
"AND WITH THAT, THE DESTRUCTION OF KONOHA IS NULLIFIED!"
Though he didn't know it, the destruction had already been averted long ago.
The Giant Snakes had been annihilated by a single individual.
The Sand and Sound Ninjas had retreated, defeated.
Orochimaru, trembling with rage and pain, looked at him with hatred.
"DAMN OLD MAN, GIVE ME BACK MY ARMS!" he roared.
But Hiruzen no longer heard him.
"I'll see you in the Pure World… Orochimaru…" he murmured, his voice barely audible.
His eyes began to close, slowly.
And in his last breath, he did not hear his enemy's furious screams.
He only saw, with nostalgia, the young face of Orochimaru, smiling at him in his student days.
And with that image in his mind, Hiruzen smiled.
He embraced death without fear, for he knew his loved ones were waiting for him with open arms.
He couldn't wait to be welcomed.