The moment that uncomfortable feeling of being held down and having your soul dragged vanished, Orochimaru quickly took two steps back to put some distance between himself and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The Fourth Hokage, still crouched with a kunai in the ground, didn't react at all.
Hiruzen's two shadow clones vanished the moment his real body died.
The First and Second Hokage, who had almost regained their senses due to their souls being partially pulled out, immediately went back to their controlled state.
Hatake Satoru and Hiruzen had only exchanged a few words—Orochimaru hadn't expected things to turn out like this, and now he'd been handed a surprise twist.
His golden snake-like pupils narrowed slightly as he looked at Hatake Satoru.
Should he try to turn this kid to his side… or just kill him?
Hatake Satoru stepping in like that had thrown off Orochimaru's whole plan. He was forced to make some quick adjustments.
He glanced from side to side, as if weighing his options, and seemed to come to a decision.
With Hiruzen dead and Orochimaru deep in thought, everything fell into a brief silence.
But only for a few seconds—Hozuki Mangetsu's voice suddenly broke through it.
"Sensei… huh?!"
Mangetsu saw Hatake Satoru and, holding his giant blade, called out and rushed over.
But instead, he ran right into Orochimaru's group of four—and saw Hiruzen's body already on the ground, dead.
Now everyone's eyes were focused on the unexpected arrival of Mangetsu. He blinked in confusion.
"…Did I interrupt something?"
He looked uncertainly between Orochimaru and Hatake Satoru.
"Of course not."
Hatake Satoru smiled with a playful look, then spread his feet slightly, leaning forward like he was ready to move at any moment.
"Perfect timing. Who knows, maybe I'll end up taking over Kirigakure too."
Orochimaru let out a creepy, low laugh, pulling the Kusanagi Sword from Hiruzen's body and gripping it tightly.
Even if Mangetsu showing up was unexpected, if Orochimaru could take down Konohagakure and grab Kirigakure as a bonus, he'd be more than happy.
The three former Hokage charged straight at Hatake Satoru.
Orochimaru, holding the Kusanagi Sword, rushed straight at Mangetsu.
"Don't lose to him."
Hatake Satoru casually patted Mangetsu on the head, then vanished from midair.
Mangetsu nodded seriously in response.
Even if Satoru hadn't told him, he was planning to go all out against Orochimaru anyway.
Satoru's voice suddenly came from right next to the three Hokage. The Fourth Hokage instantly threw a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal at him.
Even though the Fourth didn't have much awareness anymore, after fighting Satoru for so long earlier, he had more or less figured out how he moved.
As the kunai flew past him, Hatake Satoru instinctively shifted slightly to dodge it.
Then came a rustling sound—around them, the already thick vegetation started growing again.
Vines shot out from the trees like snakes, twisting wildly as they reached for Satoru's arms and legs.
The Second Hokage quickly formed hand signs, sending slicing waves of water straight at Satoru, who was being attacked from all sides.
The Fourth Hokage instantly teleported to Satoru, a spinning Rasengan already formed in his hand.
"Whoa~! This many people just for me?"
"Three Hokage against one guy—that's kind of overkill, don't you think?"
Even as he was being surrounded, Hatake Satoru still sounded cheerful.
The vines wrapping around him were completely blocked by his Limitless Technique. They kept growing, but their approach slowed to a crawl.
The blue glow from the Rasengan lit up Satoru's face.
Then he reached out toward the Fourth Hokage. A pale blue energy shot out and grabbed the Fourth, yanking him straight toward Satoru.
The Rasengan slammed down hard, crashing into the vines wrapping around them, while at the same time, razor-sharp waves of water sliced the Fourth Hokage into several pieces in an instant.
Hatake Satoru flashed behind the First Hokage, grabbed his shoulder, and landed a punch right into his back.
Using the momentum, he pushed off the First Hokage's shoulder and jumped upward, kicking the Second Hokage's arm as he tried to attack from the side.
The Fourth Hokage's body was already starting to pull itself back together, but he still lunged forward, kunai in hand, aiming straight for Satoru's exposed side.
····················
"So slow. That's not gonna cut it."
Hatake Satoru disappeared from between the two Hokage and reappeared floating right above the Fourth Hokage.
In a blink, both fists came down hard.
His fists were covered in the Limitless technique, and to the three Hokage, that force felt like an unstoppable blow from above.
*Crack crack crack*—a loud snapping sound rang out as thick branches shattered under the impact.
The three were knocked from the trees and smashed down onto the rooftops below.
Hozuki Mangetsu and Orochimaru both felt the tremor ripple through the ground—something heavy had landed. Mangetsu instinctively turned to where Satoru was standing.
"So full of energy. Must be nice being young."
... .. ...
Orochimaru dashed forward with the Kusanagi Sword in hand, going straight for the distracted Mangetsu.
"——!"
Hatake Satoru appeared in a flash, one hand grabbing the stunned Mangetsu, the other raised to block the Kusanagi Sword.
The sword's tip stopped just centimeters from Satoru's chest—as if frozen in place. No matter how hard Orochimaru tried, it wouldn't move an inch.
The moment Orochimaru realized who it was, he quickly backed off.
"I told you to stay focused, didn't I~"
Satoru let go of Mangetsu and casually said to him,
"Ah… sorry, it was just really loud over there."
Mangetsu stared wide-eyed in shock. Just a moment ago, the three Hokage were chasing after him and Sarutobi Hiruzen nonstop.
And Hatake Satoru still had the time and focus to come help him!?
The shattered Hokage bodies reappeared at Orochimaru's side, slowly piecing themselves back together.
No matter how strong Hatake Satoru was, as long as Edo Tensei wasn't stopped, he'd eventually get worn down.
A cold smile appeared on Orochimaru's face.
"These revived bodies will just keep regenerating. No matter what you do, in the end, you'll be worn out and die."
"Pfft."
Satoru couldn't help but smirk, letting out a short, mocking laugh.
Hatake Satoru raised his hand and reached for the blindfold that had been covering his eyes the whole time.
The black cloth shifted, opening just a small gap.
"Is it really that amazing?"
"Let me see it for myself."
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