"Hokage-sama, do you intend to fight me? To be honest, you would indeed yield a considerable amount of unlocking points. Yet, after dedicating your life to Konoha, I find it difficult to kill you outright."
Kenya's lips curved into a faint smile as he sensed the fighting spirit burning within Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Consider it suicide, then. I'll ensure you don't suffer too much. Though you've made many misguided choices, rest assured—under Tsunade's leadership and mine, Konoha will once again thrive. The era of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama will be reborn… and even surpassed."
"Keep your delusions for your dreams!"
Hiruzen tore off the Hokage robe draped over his shoulders, revealing the armored vest beneath. His hands flew into seals.
"Fire Style · Fire Dragon Flame Bomb!"
Chakra swelled inside him like a rising tide. The dragon of fire erupted from his lungs, a torrent of heat and destruction consuming everything before him.
Kenya chuckled softly. "So stubborn, old man… how pathetic."
"Hehe, if you won't deal the finishing blow, shall I, Kenya-kun?" Orochimaru grinned wickedly from the side.
Kenya gave no reply. Instead, Kyōka Suigetsu gleamed in his grip. With a single sideways slash, the fire dragon split into twenty-four fragments. A crushing wave of spiritual pressure followed, reducing the flames to nothingness in seconds.
Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock. Has his power truly reached this level?!
Kenya sneered. "If my opponent were Shisui with his Kotoamatsukami, perhaps I'd feel pressure. His illusion surpasses even my Kyōka Suigetsu. But… how did he die back then? I seem to have forgotten."
Blue veins throbbed across Hiruzen's forehead as he bit down on his finger. He knew this battle demanded the resolve to sacrifice everything.
The seals formed swiftly.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "That jutsu…! He's summoning the Monkey King! Be cautious!"
But Kenya only smiled, unmoved, waiting for the summoning to complete.
With a thunderous bang, white smoke billowed outward. From it emerged the great Monkey King, Enma.
"Hiruzen, who is our opponent this time?" Enma's voice was deep and gravelly.
"The traitor Orochimaru… and Uchiha Kenya, who seeks to take the village!" Hiruzen answered gravely.
Enma frowned, his eyes narrowing at the two figures across from them. "Orochimaru… and an Uchiha. Hiruzen, your luck runs dry this time."
"Transform, Enma!" Hiruzen commanded, clasping his hands together. "Into the adamantine staff!"
"Understood!"
Enma's form twisted and elongated, becoming a massive, indestructible staff in Hiruzen's grasp.
Kenya's smile widened. "Do you know, Hokage-sama, I was confident I could defeat you two years ago. But to capture the village without flaw, I chose to wait. And through the elders of Konoha, I've learned something important—without a shining political image, ruling long-term becomes… troublesome."
"Silence!!!"
Hiruzen roared, swinging the adamantine staff with enough force to shatter steel.
But Kenya raised Kyōka Suigetsu, meeting the blow effortlessly. His feet did not shift an inch.
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed. "Even Enma's strength can't move him…?"
Kenya lifted his left hand, his voice low and calm.
"Hadō #90 · Black Coffin."
The ground beneath Hiruzen cracked as black shadows surged upward, enveloping him in a massive obsidian prism.
Shhhk—shhhk—shhhk!
Countless blades of darkness carved within the coffin, the cutting sounds unrelenting.
Then, with a violent burst, the Black Coffin shattered into fragments of shadow. Hiruzen's battered body fell from the air, blood painting his once-proud form.
"What terrifying power…" Orochimaru's golden eyes burned with obsession.
Hiruzen coughed blood but struggled back to his feet, his eyes still sharp.
Kenya's gaze hardened for the first time. "Still alive? Even though I skipped the full incantation and my control isn't perfect, the Black Coffin still contained one-third of its true might. And yet… you endure."
"Konoha… will never… fall into the hands of someone like you!" Hiruzen roared, forcing his broken body to move.
Kenya's voice was laced with disdain. "I can't tell if you fight for Konoha… or simply for your own power. Either way, I care little."
"The power of the village is meaningless," Orochimaru said coldly. Then, casting a sidelong glance at Kenya, he asked, "Shall I finish him, Kenya-kun?"
Kenya said nothing, his eyes fixed on the old Hokage.
At that moment, Enma reverted to his original form, collapsing from the Black Coffin's wounds.
And then, the system's voice echoed in Kenya's mind:
[Current Template Character: Aizen Sōsuke — Unlock Rate: 40.00%]
[Congratulations. Template "Shinigami · Aizen Sōsuke" fully unlocked. Evolution Item Obtained · Hōgyoku.]
[New Unlock Progress Opened · Hōgyoku Lord · Aizen Sōsuke — Unlock Rate: 40.00%]
A glowing orb, semi-transparent and silver, about the size of a marble, drifted from within Kenya's chest.
[Hōgyoku has detected host lineage: Incomplete Indra Lineage · Trace of Six Paths Lineage.]
[Possessed Ability · Sharingan: Full Three-Tomoe State (due to incomplete lineage, cannot directly evolve to Rinnegan).]
[Evolution Requirement: Soul of Indra.]
[To complete Indra Lineage: Absorb the Soul of Indra (Hōgyoku-compatible).]
[To complete Six Paths Lineage: Full Indra Soul or evolve absorbed Indra Soul into Full Form (Hōgyoku-compatible).]