What was that?
Orochimaru's pupils shrank slightly. He had never seen this kind of hand sign sequence before.
Could this old man be hiding some kind of trump card?
But even after the signs were done, nothing obvious happened.
Orochimaru glanced around. Besides the thick mist everywhere, there didn't seem to be anything unusual.
Hozuki Mangetsu and Hatake Satoru were probably far away now, separated by all the trees.
A strange, heavy silence filled the air around them.
"Stop pretending."
But Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't fazed by Orochimaru's words. He just raised his eyes slightly and looked behind him.
A ghostly figure began to form behind him. Its skin was dark red, its sharp teeth holding a short blade between them.
In the middle of the ghost's body floated a faint blue human-shaped figure.
From Orochimaru's reaction, it was clear—he couldn't see the Death God behind Sarutobi.
So it's true: only the person who casts the jutsu can see it.
"Orochimaru, from this moment on, I'll show you a secret jutsu even you don't know."
"Sealing Technique: Reaper Death Seal."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked firmly at Orochimaru.
The ghostly Death God floating behind him turned its eyes.
Then, the hand holding the red prayer beads suddenly swung upward. The beads wrapped around the Death God's hand.
Dark seal-like patterns spread from the Death God's palm and quickly covered its entire arm.
The movement was a bit slow, but at least it was working.
There was still time.
Orochimaru may have strayed from the right path, but he was once a genius after all.
There were very few jutsu he didn't know—so if this one gave Sarutobi so much confidence, it definitely wasn't anything simple.
Better not drag this out with the old man. Time to finish this quickly.
Orochimaru grabbed his Kusanagi Sword and charged straight toward the real Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The two shadow clones didn't help the real body, instead going after the First and Second Hokage.
"Come, Enma."
The staff standing nearby flew into Sarutobi's hand as he called.
He blocked Orochimaru's slash with it and countered with a swing of his own.
Orochimaru's sword skills weren't anything special. After a few quick exchanges, Sarutobi smacked the Kusanagi Sword away with one strong hit.
"Tch."
Still this strong, even at the end of his life?
Orochimaru jumped back and landed on a nearby tree branch.
He had just steadied himself and barely stood up—when the staff shot toward him again.
A furry monkey hand even stretched out from the staff, lunging right at him.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru shot out his arm, aiming at the monkey hand flying toward him.
Dozens of snakes sprang out, hissing as they launched forward, wrapping around the monkey hand.
They managed to stop the staff in its tracks right in front of him.
The monkey hand, tangled in snakes, was still struggling to reach him.
Orochimaru gave a cold smirk, then raised his eyes and mocked Sarutobi.
"But no mat—"
Before he could finish, Orochimaru took a punch to the jaw.
Sarutobi grabbed both of Orochimaru's shoulders, locking him in place.
Orochimaru clenched his teeth and looked to the side.
Sarutobi's two shadow clones were clinging to the First and Second Hokage.
To call it a fight would be generous—they were basically just holding on while getting hit.
Sarutobi glared hard at Orochimaru and suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"It's over."
The Death God's hand reached out from Sarutobi's back, pierced through his chest, and into all three of their bodies.
A faint blue soul began to be slowly pulled out.
The strange, unfamiliar feeling instantly made Orochimaru panic—he had no idea how to stop this jutsu.
There was no way he was going to die here—!
*Whoosh!*
*Whoosh!*
Two sharp sounds of wind slicing through the air rang out. A golden flash blurred past and landed steadily beside Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword and Namikaze Minato's kunai pierced straight through Hiruzen's body.
Warm blood burst out instantly. Hiruzen turned his head in shock to see Minato suddenly appear behind him.
Too fast—or rather, the timing was just too perfect.
The Shinigami's hand instantly let go of everyone's soul, returning them to where they originally belonged.
As Hiruzen looked up slightly, he saw Hatake Satoru standing on a tree branch, smiling.
Satoru seemed to realize something too. He dipped his head a little and gave Hiruzen a small wave.
"Bye~"
Hiruzen understood right away.
So, this kid really *did* remember what happened with Hatake Sakumo.
Even though Kakashi had always shown loyalty to Konoha—both in Anbu and as a jonin leader—
Hatake Satoru, on the other hand, always avoided responsibility. Turns out it wasn't because he didn't want to trouble others—it was because he had a problem with the village itself.
After that night, for all these years, Satoru had stayed quiet and hidden as much of himself as he could.
"Didn't think you'd grow this strong…"
"If I had known, I should've sealed you away earlier."
Hiruzen's voice was laced with bitterness, and blood kept dripping from the corner of his mouth.
With the caster badly injured, he no longer had the strength to keep Reaper Death Seal going.
Despite all his planning, he hadn't accounted for the power Satoru was hiding—and his perfect timing.
Everything had been in Satoru's control from the start.
"If you noticed it, then that's my mistake."
"You're not the only one who can kill someone by using someone else's hand."
Satoru crouched down casually on the tree, resting his face in his palm, wearing a mocking smile.
Because of you, Hatake Sakumo was left to die by suicide, and Kakashi was brainwashed into living only for the village.
People who gave everything to the village—what did they get? Orders from above to take their own lives.
What could be more ridiculous than that?
"…Sigh."
Hiruzen let out a deep breath. He never expected that one kid would end up causing such a disaster.
He looked at the pale, red-faced Shinigami with worry in his eyes. The Reaper was already slowly devouring his soul.
Now that the Reaper Death Seal had failed, there was no way left to deal with the people brought back by Edo Tensei.
Even if Satoru could hold his own against the Fourth Hokage, completely destroying reanimated bodies was nearly impossible.
Orochimaru would definitely use this chance to crush Konoha.
"Foolish child…"
Hiruzen sighed again, glancing at Satoru one last time.
But no matter what happened to Konoha from now on, it would no longer be something he could witness.
Soon, Hiruzen watched as the Shinigami swallowed the last bit of his soul.
His body fell to the ground.
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