"Do you really think I am still the same person I was before, someone you can dispose of at will?"
A faint smile appeared on Orochimaru's cold face. He raised his hand slightly.
In an instant, nearly a hundred coffins rose from the ground beside him, packed tightly together.
Bang!
With a crisp, resounding crack, all the coffins slammed onto the ground simultaneously, exposing the corpses inside.
Everyone on the Konoha side was stunned.
Because they recognized the identities of those corpses.
Almost all of them were powerful ninja who had left their marks on the world over the past few decades.
Each had an exceptionally high reputation and formidable strength.
There were shinobi from the Hidden Rain Village, Hidden Cloud Village, Hidden Sand Village, Konoha itself, and even from other villages.
Though the identities varied, one thing was absolutely clear:
All these corpses had possessed incredibly strong powers when alive.
What was even more shocking was that these corpses—who should have long since decayed to dry bones—were now eerily lifelike.
There was hardly any difference from their living forms.
Then, in the next moment, every single one of them opened their eyes simultaneously.
Step by step, they climbed out of the coffins and faced Uchiha Haru and the Hidden Leaf Village shinobi standing behind him.
Haru's expression remained calm, a slight smile playing on his lips.
As a time traveler, of course he understood what jutsu Orochimaru was experimenting with: Impure World Reincarnation.
He had witnessed Orochimaru use this technique to resurrect the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, on the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
Later, after the Chunin Exams concluded, Haru had even taken Orochimaru to resurrect Tsunade, his younger brother Nawaki Senju, and his lover Dan Katō.
This had resolved Tsunade's long-standing worries.
That had been the third time Orochimaru had used the technique.
But this time felt very different to Haru.
Each resurrected ninja seemed to radiate an extremely potent power.
Logically, the revived bodies created through Impure World Reincarnation shouldn't be like this.
Ordinary corpses should not be able to sustain the strength these formidable men possessed.
Could it be that Orochimaru had found a solution?
The current Impure World Reincarnation technique might be a perfected, complete version—far beyond the incomplete forms previously known.
If that were true, then the masked man must be the one who helped Orochimaru refine the technique.
Otherwise, how could Orochimaru be so bold as to openly defy Haru?
Nearly a hundred powerful shinobi stood before them, most at or near Kage-level strength.
A gathering of such force was unquestionably formidable.
Their power even surpassed their original lives, making them far more difficult to deal with.
The revived bodies possessed two main traits: unlimited chakra and limitless regeneration.
Facing such Impure World Reincarnation shinobi, only two approaches generally existed.
The first was for the caster themselves to remove the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
But this was clearly impossible here.
Orochimaru was obviously an enemy; he would never voluntarily revoke his own ninjutsu.
The second option was sealing.
Though the reincarnated shinobi could not be truly killed, they could be sealed—rendered immobile and unable to harm anyone.
This was the best practical solution against them.
Once a war erupted, nearly a hundred Kage-level strongmen could not be stopped by one person alone.
The people of Konoha undoubtedly felt the heavy pressure of these revived powerhouses.
Thus, sealing techniques were critical.
For Konoha's ninja, sealing was the best choice.
In fact, Haru had always known that besides sealing and forcible removal, there was another way to break Impure World Reincarnation.
That was to use overwhelming destructive power.
For example, in the original Naruto story, Ten-Tails Jinchūriki Obito Uchiha, Uchiha Madara, and later Kaguya Ōtsutsuki all possessed the ability to directly shatter Impure World Reincarnation.
Their immense strength could slow the technique's regeneration and ultimately destroy the revived bodies.
In other words, if your power was strong enough, you could kill even those resurrected by Impure World Reincarnation.
Haru had tried this himself when he was still at Kage level.
He had wielded the golden power of the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack combined with the golden power of the Lord of Elements.
This had partially disrupted the self-healing ability of Impure World Reincarnation.
But it was still nowhere near the strength of Uchiha Obito or Uchiha Madara, both of whom had reached Six Paths Sage-level power—and certainly no match for Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Now, after so many years, his strength was no longer the same.
No one could force him to unleash the devastating Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack—a ninjutsu capable of tearing apart heaven and earth—except by his own will.
Seeing these reincarnated ninjas again, Haru felt a surge of eagerness.
He wanted to test how far his current abilities had come.
The masked man, Orochimaru, and the Akatsuki members all fixed their gaze on Uchiha Haru.
After noticing the faint, confident smile on Haru's lips and the militant fanaticism gleaming in his eyes, their brows all furrowed slightly.
Uchiha Haru's performance made them uneasy.
Could it be that thousands of ordinary ninjas were no match for Uchiha Haru, and even nearly a hundred Kage-level or near-Kage-level powerhouses could do nothing against him?
This cast a shadow of doubt over their next moves.
But as the saying goes, it's better to lose the battle than the war.
Yet, before taking any real action, no one was willing to admit defeat or show any weakness on the spot.
"Uchiha Haru, you will eventually learn the true strength of these Impure World Reincarnations — but not today!" the masked man warned.
"Just wait. Konoha, Kirigakure, and even you alone cannot escape!"
"No one will stop me from creating that world!"
The masked man's voice was calm yet filled with authority — the very image he had cultivated over the years.
Uchiha Haru looked at the assembled fighters before him and smiled provocatively. "You can try now."
"There will be such a day," the masked man replied coldly, "but it is not now."
As he spoke, a transparent vortex suddenly appeared in the void, sucking in all the Akatsuki members beside him, and the hollowing process began to vanish.
"Trying to run?" Haru sneered.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, he appeared instantly in front of the Akatsuki members who hadn't yet fully turned into hollows.
After showing off before Uchiha Haru, they couldn't retreat without paying a price. If you dare to come, you must be prepared to face the consequences.
The masked man's heart skipped a beat.
He had witnessed Uchiha Haru's incredible speed.
If Haru was moving at full throttle, he would likely be caught.
Before the Akatsuki members could complete their hollowing transformation, Haru had already interrupted them.
Just as he had once done when hiding inside the Kamui Dimension alongside Nagato and Pain's bodies.
The masked man hastened his hollowing transformation, accelerating the process.
But it was too late — too slow compared to Haru's speed.
The Akatsuki members hadn't fully hollowed out, and Haru had already materialized before them, slapping fiercely forward.
Faced with this strike, the masked man recalled the humiliation of being hit by Uchiha Haru the last time.
He knew he could not afford even the slightest disadvantage in front of so many witnesses.
Otherwise, his subordinates would doubt his authority.
He was not the real Uchiha Madara, so maintaining his persona mattered greatly.
He could not afford to lose.
When Haru's palm came down hard, the masked man didn't flinch and met the attack head-on.
Though he wished to dodge, he was forced into a direct clash.
Bang!
What should have been a simple confrontation between two opponents unleashed a tremendous shockwave.
A violent gust blew up, gray smoke filled the air, and flying sand and stones tumbled across the battlefield.
Everyone's eyes locked onto the scene.
After the explosion, Uchiha Haru and the masked man prepared to continue their battle.
The masked man maintained his hollow form without interruption until he completely vanished into the void.
Everyone from Konoha was stunned.
They had witnessed firsthand the terrifying strength of Uchiha Haru.
He had fought thousands of ninja coalition forces alone, faced three renowned Kage-level powerhouses simultaneously, and slain them with ease.
Such strength would be legendary for generations.
Yet now, there was someone in the Akatsuki organization who could match Uchiha Haru blow for blow.
Who was this masked man?
Everyone wondered.
Only Kakashi, staring intently at the masked figure, seemed momentarily lost in thought.
But given the urgency of the war and the critical situation, he forced himself to focus.
Now, they had to decide their next move.
The Allied Shinobi Forces had been utterly annihilated.
Now, they faced the Akatsuki organization and its army of Impure World Reincarnation warriors.
Compared to the Allied Forces they had battled before, this enemy was far stronger.
Although the Allied Shinobi Forces had many ordinary ninjas, there had been only three true Kage-level powerhouses: the Third Tsuchikage Ohnoki, Granny Chiyo, and the Fourth Raikage.
Now, the Akatsuki alone boasted more than three ninjas at or above the Kage level.
Not to mention the nearly a hundred Kage-level warriors resurrected through the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
What were they to do?
In the past, they had relied on Uchiha Haru.
But now, this mysterious masked man was clearly not an opponent to be underestimated.
Earlier, that group of revived warriors had already demonstrated strength equal to Uchiha Haru himself.
The battlefield had shifted into a terrifying new phase.
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