Orochimaru turned his head—and saw a vast sea of fire surging toward him, made even more terrifying by the momentum of the wind and waves.
The sudden blaze caught everyone off guard.
All four giant snakes were instantly consumed by the flames. Countless Mist shinobi in the vicinity were also swallowed up, incinerated on the spot.
Only the sharpest Jonin, seasoned by years of combat and honed instinct, managed to react in time and escape the wave of fire.
Of Orochimaru's group, only a dozen shinobi survived and made it to the Konoha reinforcements.
"Shinnosuke, I'm leaving the battlefield to you."
Orochimaru's words were brief. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and dashed toward the origin of the attack.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at his eldest son, then at the assembled Konoha shinobi.
"Shinnosuke, I leave this in your hands."
He patted his son's shoulder, and his once-cloudy eyes sharpened—keen as an eagle's.
He then followed Orochimaru without hesitation.
Master and student ran side by side.
They said nothing—but both could feel that same fire reigniting in their hearts.
Whoosh—whoosh!
They came to a stop before two figures in black cloaks patterned with red clouds.
Akatsuki.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. That familiar outfit—and those faces.
His blood surged with anticipation.
"Kakuzu. I didn't expect to see you among the Akatsuki."
His gaze shifted to the other man.
"And Hidan..."
Though Kakuzu hadn't yet joined Akatsuki when Orochimaru left, the two had done plenty of business in the black market. Kakuzu had always supplied fresh and exotic corpses—ideal for Orochimaru's experiments.
As for Hidan, Orochimaru had once tried to extract samples of his flesh for research, but the Akatsuki's leader, Pain, forbade internal conflict between members. That had ruined Orochimaru's plans.
But now... fate had offered a second chance.
Kakuzu and Hidan leapt down from a branch, landing heavily.
Kakuzu shrugged off his cloak, tying it around his waist. The four masks on his back writhed unnaturally, struggling against the dense black threads that stitched them in place.
From Kakuzu's torso, four black, thread-bound monsters emerged. Each bore a different mask and vaguely humanoid form. They lined up beside their host.
"Orochimaru. Our past dealings were mutually beneficial."
"But this time, my employer is the Mizukage."
"If you can survive—maybe we'll do business again."
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
The creature with the dark-blue mask opened its mouth, releasing a high-speed lightning lance aimed at Orochimaru and Hiruzen.
A flash of blinding blue surged through the trees.
Orochimaru opened his mouth—and a violent gust erupted outward.
The hurricane twisted into a horizontal tornado, tearing through the air and deflecting the lightning.
It blew straight toward the masked creature.
Just before it hit, the creature's body split apart around the center, opening a hole to allow the wind jutsu to pass harmlessly through.
Hidan, meanwhile, saw the battle had begun. Laughing wildly, he hefted his blood-red, triple-bladed scythe and lunged at Hiruzen.
"Kakuzu! Don't you dare steal this one from me!"
"Hey, old man! Come embrace the arms of Jashin-sama!"
"Ahahaha!"
Though Hiruzen was old, his reflexes were honed through decades of war. He immediately leapt backward.
The massive scythe cleaved into the dirt where he had just stood.
Hidan yanked the rope attached to its end, trying to pull it free.
Hiruzen responded by summoning his trusted staff.
"Cough—Enma!"
With a swirl, the staff transformed midair, enlarging and striking like a hammer straight at Hidan's face.
Hidan bent backward at an impossible angle, his spine arching unnaturally to avoid the blow.
But then—
Crack!
A loud snap echoed from his waist.
Hiruzen frowned. What the hell is this guy? He'd rather break his own back than dodge properly?
The staff morphed again—this time fully reverting to the Monkey King, Enma.
Enma lunged forward and grabbed Hidan's upper body in a powerful hold.
Using raw momentum, he spun in midair—two full revolutions—and slammed Hidan headfirst into the earth.
BOOM!
The ground cratered. Dirt exploded outward in all directions, leaving a gaping impact pit.
Enma leapt back to Hiruzen's side, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
"Ugh. What a nasty guy. He reeks of blood."
Hiruzen gave a small smile.
"Thanks for the help, Enma."
"Still, that's one enemy down."
But Orochimaru called out, still engaged in his own battle—poisonous snakes spilling from his sleeves and mouth, tangling with one of Kakuzu's masked beasts.
"Sarutobi-sensei! That guy's immortal. Don't let your guard down."
Hiruzen turned—just in time to see something horrifying.
Hidan, whose body had been bent backwards beyond natural limits, straightened up like a corpse on strings.
Then, he planted his palms on the ground—and pulled his head out of the soil like a root vegetable.
With a flip, he stood upright, neck twisted grotesquely.
He grabbed his skull, cracked it into place with an audible pop, and flicked his now-bloody hair back over his shoulders.
Hidan dragged his fingers up from his chin to his scalp, smearing blood through his hair and slicking it back.
His formerly white-gray hair now gleamed—deep crimson from soaked blood.
He raised his scythe again, licking its blade with his tongue, eyes locked on Hiruzen.
"Old man... that hurt."
Then, with wild laughter, he spun his weapon in front of him like a madman.
And then—he began spinning.
Like a bladed tornado, he shot forward, charging Hiruzen with murder in his eyes.
"Ahahahaha!"
The triple-bladed scythe became a crimson whirlwind, barreling toward the Third Hokage.
Enma quickly transformed back into the Vajra Staff and flew into Hiruzen's hands.
"Hmph. Think you can keep up with my hands after all these decades?"
With that, Hiruzen began to spin the staff at blinding speed.
It blurred through the air, forming afterimages all around him.
From a distance, the overlapping trails of the staff resembled a solid sphere—protecting him from every angle.
Hidan's spinning top of death collided with Hiruzen's vortex of strikes.
Clang!
Crash!
Crack!
Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding—!!
Orochimaru glanced sideways, watching sparks fly in every direction as Hiruzen held his ground with sheer speed and skill.
A flicker of respect crossed his lips.
"Sarutobi-sensei... you're still this strong, even at your age."
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Bonus Chapter at 150 Power Stone
Second Bonus Chapter - 300 Power Stones
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