A burst of white smoke billowed outward, and a white, human-shaped ape wearing a Konoha forehead protector appeared on the battlefield.
Enma glanced at Hiruzen, his deep, gravelly voice rumbling from his chest.
"It's rare to see you in such a miserable state, Hiruzen… looks like you've run into serious trouble."
Jiraiya rushed over at that moment.
"Sensei! Thank goodness—you're alive!"
But what greeted him was Hiruzen's furious roar:
"You idiot! I finally managed to seize an opening—why didn't you run? Why did you come back!?"
"I can't just watch my teacher die for my sake," Jiraiya said firmly.
"Orochimaru and Tsunade already risked their lives for me."
"And in your condition, Sensei, you absolutely could've escaped alone."
"I won't let my teacher die because of me."
Before he could finish, several kunai came whistling toward them—only to be shattered mid-air by a single punch from Enma.
"How touching," Enma muttered. "But this is hardly the time for a tearful reunion."
"And whoever threw that kunai… I'm remembering that face."
Hanzō's voice cut through the chaos.
"So? Have you finished preparing to die here?"
Even as he spoke, Suna and Ame shinobi tightened their encirclement, sealing off all escape routes around Hiruzen's group.
Surrounded by thousands of enemy ninja, Hiruzen showed not a hint of fear. He stepped beside Enma and spoke calmly to Jiraiya and the others behind him:
"Listen carefully. I'm going to carve out a path for you. You must survive and rendezvous with the incoming reinforcements. Report everything you saw here—and the extent of Hanzō's power."
"Jiraiya, I'm assigning you an S-rank mission—personally, as the Hokage."
"Get every one of your comrades back to Konoha alive."
"This order cannot be refused. And it cannot be allowed to fail."
Jiraiya froze, emotions surging within him in a tangled storm.
"…Understood. I'll stake my life to bring them home."
He raised his head, looking at Hiruzen's back.
"Stay safe, Sensei."
And for the first time, Hiruzen turned around, offering Jiraiya a warm, gentle smile.
"Ah. I'm counting on you."
But Hanzō cut in sharply:
"I'm still standing right here. Discussing your plans in front of the enemy—is that really appropriate?"
Truthfully, Hanzō was panicking on the inside.
I was just talking tough… don't tell me you're actually planning to throw your life away charging at me, old man…
Because he knew Enma's strength: elite jōnin-class. And once Enma transformed into the Adamantine Staff, Hiruzen's combat ability increased by at least 20%.
And Hanzō's greatest fear?
The Reaper Death Seal.
Oh hell no.
Reaper Death Seal is an Uzumaki clan secret technique. Minato learned it from Uzumaki Kushina. Kushina would never have taught Hiruzen… but Hiruzen still used it later on Orochimaru.
Meaning—someone else taught him.
And in this era, the only Uzumaki in Konoha is the First Hokage's wife, Uzumaki Mito—whose life is nearly at its end. She doesn't even have the strength to stand, let alone teach jutsu.
So Hiruzen must have already learned the Reaper Death Seal long ago.
If he gets desperate and uses it on me, what then? Am I supposed to party inside the Shinigami's belly with him??
Yes, Hanzō could kill Hiruzen—easily. His scythe was laced with the greatest salamander poison; even a scratch meant certain death. With his unmatched Body Flicker, he could slice Hiruzen apart in an instant.
But someone who can trade their life for yours is always the most dangerous.
I reincarnated into this world less than a month ago—I'm not dying this soon! Absolutely fucking not!
Thank god I already set things up. Looks like he hasn't noticed…
Besides, even if I don't lift a finger, thousands of Suna and Ame shinobi can wear Hiruzen down through sheer numbers.
But… that means sacrificing a lot of men.
So Hanzō shouted toward the Suna side:
"Oi! Chiyo! How long do you plan on watching? Waiting for me and the Hokage to kill each other so you can land the final blow?"
"Ridiculous," Chiyo snarled as she finally emerged from the crowd. "I was hit by a coward's hidden weapon and had to treat the wound."
Earlier, the lightning-infused kunai that pierced her arm numbed it entirely, making her unable to manipulate her puppets. In other words—she'd lost her combat ability temporarily. Only after hurried medical ninjutsu did she stop the bleeding and regain minimal chakra flow.
Hanzō took one look at her arm and understood.
If she fights like that, all her arm's chakra pathways will be destroyed forever… at least she'll have a reason to turn it into a puppet limb.
"Damn Konoha shinobi, sneaking an attack on me… ALL UNITS—ADVANCE!!"
At her command, countless Suna shinobi surged forward.
A storm of kunai, wind blades, and water bullets rained down.
"HIRUZEN!" Enma roared.
"ROOOOOAR!"
Soundwaves rippled outward—visible to the naked eye—deflecting every incoming projectile.
Hiruzen was already moving, his hands forming seals in a blur.
"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
But unlike the common version where one slams both hands onto the ground, Hiruzen spat a torrent of mud from his mouth—
which instantly grew into titanic stone slabs, raising both him, Enma, Jiraiya, and the others dozens of meters into the air.
"No wonder he's the Third Hokage… even the wall Konoha built earlier wasn't this tall."
"Advance!"
Chiyo's shout echoed as more Suna shinobi raced up the falling stones.
"Earth Style: Bedrock Breaker!"
The outer stone layer of the Earth Flow Wall suddenly crumbled, collapsing into countless boulders that plummeted downward. Many attackers were crushed instantly, yet more continued leaping upward on tumbling debris.
Hiruzen shouted:
"Jiraiya! Leave when the opportunity comes!"
"…I know!"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A loud boom—then another giant toad materialized atop the stone wall, similar in size to Gamabunta. This one carried a shield plate on its back.
Hanzō narrowed his eyes.
Gamaken, huh? Mount Myōboku truly is incredible. Even after gravely injuring their kin, they have more summons of this level… Gamaken, Gamahiro, Gamabunta… and there's still some others. I wonder how many more there are.
Jiraiya and the survivors hopped onto Gamaken's head.
"Gamaken! Take us out of the battlefield from above!"
Gamaken nodded.
"I am clumsy… but I will try! Hold on tight!"
With a mighty leap, a cyclone kicked up around them. In an instant, they were flying dozens of meters into the air.
"Don't let them escape!"
Countless kunai were thrown up—none came close.
Hanzō clicked his tongue.
"My Earth Style could catch up… but I can't use it right now."
He shouted an order:
"AFTER THEM! Jiraiya's still injured—his Summoning Jutsu won't last long!"
Ame shinobi immediately dashed after the retreating toad.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Hiruzen and Enma were engulfed in constant combat.
Hundreds of Suna shinobi attacked relentlessly—Hiruzen knocked them away one strike at a time, but hundreds more replaced them.
So this is how the Third Raikage died, Hanzō thought.
But unlike the Raikage's steel body, Hiruzen's can't endure this forever.
This is the advantage of a great nation—sheer numbers. Even if Amegakure empties its coffers, we can barely muster three thousand shinobi. We have to make every death count. Suna can afford to drown an enemy in corpses. We cannot.
Hanzō glanced back at Chiyo's forces.
"All right… I should contribute too. Otherwise Suna will complain that I let them take all the risk."
"Chiyo! Pull your forces back!"
Hanzō removed his mask and clapped his hands together.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"
A razor-thin stream of water shot from his mouth—slicing through the Mud Wall like it was paper. The entire upper half sheared off at a slanted angle, collapsing into fragments mid-air.
Hiruzen staggered as the stone beneath him fell apart—forced to leap into the air, instantly becoming a helpless target. One cannot move freely in mid-air.
"Enma!"
Enma, standing on a fragment of stone, understood immediately. He flung out his arms in a great "bird-wing" pose.
"TRANSFORM!"
A puff of smoke—and the Adamantine Staff shot toward Hiruzen.
Surrounded by hundreds of kunai and shuriken, Hiruzen caught the staff in mid-air and began spinning it rapidly.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Metal clashed against metal as every projectile was deflected, and Hiruzen landed safely to the ground—only to be immediately surrounded again.
But Hiruzen didn't hesitate—he thrust the staff forward.
The thin staff extended instantly, becoming a one-meter-thick, over ten-meter-long titan of a pole. With a single sweeping motion, he sent dozens of shinobi flying, clearing a massive fan-shaped area in front of him.
Watching this, Hanzō remembered the scene from the future—Hiruzen striking the Nine-Tails so hard that it was blown out of Konoha Village and into the distant forest.
Truly… no Kage can ever be underestimated.
We can wear him down. But attacking the Land of Fire after this will be impossible.
I already killed Ōnoki… now if I kill the Hokage too…
He imagined the retaliation of two great nations.
Iwagakure—Amegakure might survive that.
Especially if he dropped another "nuke" on them.
But if the Land of Fire joined in…
A small nation like Ame could never withstand the combined wrath.
Should I make another tens of thousands of tags and wipe out Iwa completely first?
"…No. Too many variables. Someone else will swoop in and steal the credit—and I'll get stabbed in the back."
Hanzō narrowed his eyes.
Still… it's about time I entered the fight myself.