Just as Yamato's heart was filled with despair and anger, and he was about to try forcefully attacking the barrier again despite everything,
Swish!
A white figure, carrying a powerful wind, landed heavily on the roof tiles beside him like a meteor, kicking up a cloud of dust!
The newcomer stood tall, wearing a red haori, his white hedgehog-like long hair streaming behind him, an 'Oil' forehead protector on his brow. His face lacked its usual playfulness, replaced by unprecedented gravity and solemnity.
It was Jiraiya, who had rushed over in haste!
"Jiraiya-sama!" Yamato, recognizing the newcomer, felt his nerves, stretched to the breaking point, relax slightly, as if finding a pillar of support. He hurried forward, his voice carrying respect and urgency.
"You've finally arrived!"
After landing, Jiraiya's gaze merely swept over Yamato before his eyes locked firmly onto the purple barrier ahead, and the shadowy, fiercely raging battle within the vast sea of trees inside the barrier!
"What's the situation? Where's the old man?!" Jiraiya's voice was low, carrying barely suppressed anger and worry.
Yamato reported rapidly: "Orochimaru disguised himself as the Land of Rice Fields' Daimyo. He approached Third Hokage-sama when the match began, suddenly attacked, subdued Raido and Genma with a sneak attack, used a kunai to take Third Hokage-sama hostage, and retreated to the roof. He then had four Otogakure's Ninja deploy the Four Violet Flames Formation!"
"The barrier corps isn't here. We can't break through in a short time! Moreover... Orochimaru... he used the forbidden technique, Edo Tensei, to summon... the deceased bodies of the First Hokage and Second Hokage-sama! Third Hokage-sama is inside the barrier, alone, fighting against them!"
Although he had already suspected it, hearing from Yamato's own mouth that the attacker in this incident was indeed Orochimaru, Jiraiya still felt a surge of rage rush to his head, his eyes nearly splitting!
'Sneaking in disguised, taking the old man hostage, defiling the souls of the former Hokages, surrounding and killing the teacher who had taught him...'
'Orochimaru!'
'You traitorous, insane bastard!!!'
"Orochimaru—!!!"
Jiraiya could no longer contain the raging fury in his chest. He let out a roar of anger and grief to the heavens!
Furious Chakra erupted uncontrollably from his body, shattering the tiles beneath his feet into pieces!
Not long after his roar faded,
Boom—!!!
A figure, like a tattered ragdoll, was viciously slammed against the inner wall of the Four Violet Flames Formation by a tremendous force!
The purple barrier flames shuddered violently, emitting an ear-piercing sizzle!
It was Sarutobi Hiruzen!
His appearance at this moment was pitiful beyond words, drenched in blood.
That black combat uniform was already tattered, stained beyond recognition by blood and dust.
The most shocking sight was his left shoulder. A ghastly wound, deep enough to show bone, had almost severed his entire left shoulder blade. Blood gushed like a spring, dyeing most of his body red, even dripping down the shaft of the Adamantine Staff.
His face was as pale as paper, blood constantly seeping from the corners of his mouth, his vitality at its lowest ebb… clearly at the end of his rope.
The one who had sent him flying was a variant of the Water Severing Wave released by Tobirama… more concentrated in power, faster, with stronger penetration. It had struck precisely the moment Hiruzen was exhausted from dealing with Hashirama's Wood Release strangulation!
Hiruzen's body fell from the inner wall of the barrier. Against the backdrop of the purple flames, scattered droplets of blood traced a tragically beautiful arc through the air, finally landing with a 'thud' on the ground inside the barrier, close to where Jiraiya, Yamato, and the others were positioned… only a few meters from the barrier's edge.
"Old man!!!" Jiraiya threw himself against the barrier's edge, his fists slamming viciously against the barrier wall burning with purple flames!
Crackle—!!
The purple flames instantly entangled his fists. The terrifying high temperature seared his skin, producing the smell of burning flesh and an acrid odor!
But Jiraiya seemed to feel no pain. His eyes bloodshot, he stared fixedly at Hiruzen lying on the ground inside the barrier, then suddenly looked up at the three figures slowly emerging from the dense Wood Release forest behind.
At the forefront was the thin, youthful-faced 'young Orochimaru', whose eyes were cold and evil. The corner of his mouth held a pleased, cruel smile, his long tongue extended, licking his lips, as if he had just finished enjoying a feast.
Behind him, on either side, the Edo Tensei-ed Hashirama and Tobirama stood silently, like the most loyal guards.
Hashirama's face bore a complex, indescribable grief, while Tobirama remained calm, though his sharp gaze paused slightly when it swept over Jiraiya outside the barrier, as if scrutinizing something.
Seeing Orochimaru in his 'youthful' form, Jiraiya's pupils suddenly contracted!
'That face...'
'Although more youthful, the facial contours, the cold temperament, and those distinctive snake eyes...'
'No mistake!'
'This was Orochimaru from over thirty years ago, when we had just become disciples of the old man, still holding innocent youths!'
'He... had he actually succeeded?!'
'Using that forbidden Living Corpse Reincarnation technique to seize some youth?'
'This madman!'
'He's indeed a bastard who stops at nothing in his pursuit of power and immortality!'
"Orochimaru! You damn bastard!!" Jiraiya ignored the burning pain on his fists and roared at the barrier: "Let the old man out! If you've got guts, come at me! Let me settle this with you!!"
Facing Jiraiya's roar, Orochimaru merely chuckled softly, his golden snake eyes full of mockery: "Jiraiya, you're still so naive, so... noisy."
"This is a matter between teacher and student. It's better if you just watch quietly. Besides..." He paused, his gaze falling on Hiruzen, who was struggling to get up, his tone carrying a condescending pity.
"This outcome is for the best, as far as Sensei is concerned."
Just then, Hiruzen, who had fallen, used the Adamantine Staff to prop himself up, wobbling, with extreme difficulty, and stood up again.
With every exertion, more blood gushed from the wound on his shoulder. His body trembled violently, as if he might collapse again at any moment.
But in the end, he stood straight.
He slowly turned his head and looked at Jiraiya outside the barrier, whose eyes were bloodshot and filled with anxiety.
When he saw the undisguised concern, anger, and determination to die for him in Jiraiya's eyes, Hiruzen's vision, blurred from excessive blood loss, seemed to clear for a moment. A faint warmth seemed to be injected into the heavy despair in his heart.
'Good... it's good that you've come, Jiraiya...' Hiruzen said silently in his heart.
He knew that this body of his, at the end of its strength... would likely not leave this barrier alive today.
But at least, in his final moments, Konoha had someone worthy of entrustment present.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the taste of blood rising in his throat, and spoke to Jiraiya outside the barrier, enunciating each word as clearly as he could:
"Jiraiya! Listen to me!"
His voice was not loud, carrying the final authority of the Hokage, penetrating the barrier and clearly reaching the ears of Jiraiya and all the surrounding Konoha's Anbu.
"If I... die here..." Hiruzen paused, his gaze firmly fixed on Jiraiya.
"You will be the Fifth Hokage of Konoha Village!"
"What?!" Jiraiya's entire body shook violently, as if struck by lightning!
He shook his head frantically, his voice hoarse as he shouted: "Old man! What nonsense are you talking?! You're not going to die! I'll find a way to break this damn barrier right now! Hold on! Wait for me..."
"Let me finish!" Hiruzen sharply interrupted him. Agitation aggravated his injuries, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood, but his eyes grew even sharper, like the last flicker of a dying flame.
"This is an order from the Third Hokage!"
"And... as your teacher, my final instruction to you, and to Konoha!"
He looked at Jiraiya's expression of disbelief and refusal, feeling both gratified and bittersweet.
He knew Jiraiya had an unrestrained nature, disliked constraints, and had never taken the position of Hokage to heart.
But at this moment, with Konoha teetering, facing internal and external troubles, who else could be entrusted, was trustworthy, and had enough prestige and strength to stabilize the situation, besides Jiraiya?
Tsunade's whereabouts were unknown, and Danzo... he dared not think.
Kakashi, Asuma, and the others were, after all, still too young.
"Konoha... cannot fall into chaos. Someone needs to step up, stabilize the situation, and lead everyone... out of this predicament." Hiruzen's voice was tired, but his will to entrust was unwavering.
"Jiraiya, you are my most trusted disciple. This burden is heavy, but you... must shoulder it. For Konoha, and also for... Naruto."
Mentioning 'Naruto', Hiruzen's gaze seemed to flicker for a moment, an extremely complex emotion passing through it.
He no longer looked at Jiraiya's struggling, pained face, as if he had made a certain resolve. He suddenly turned his head, his gaze like lightning, shooting towards the leisurely Orochimaru opposite, who seemed to be enjoying this 'deathbed entrustment' drama.
His voice suddenly rose, carrying a resolve to risk everything and seek a final answer:
"Orochimaru! Tell me! Let me, this old man, die with a clear understanding!"
He stared intently at Orochimaru's youthful face and golden snake eyes, asking the shocking question that had been gnawing at him like a venomous snake for days:
"Is the Land of Stars' Shura..."
"Minato?!!"
As soon as he said this, it was like pouring a ladle of ice water into a boiling oil cauldron!
Inside and outside the barrier, instant dead silence!
The grief, anger, and struggle on Jiraiya's face instantly froze, turning into a blank blankness, then replaced by a tsunami of shock!
He suddenly widened his eyes, his mouth unconsciously opening, as if he had heard the world's most absurd joke!
'Minato?'
'My most prized student.'
'The hero who died twelve years ago protecting the village and sealing the Nine-Tails?'
'Is Shura?'
'That mysterious, powerful, cold, [Child of Darkness] who single-handedly built the Land of Stars, annexed the Land of Wind, and now covets Konoha?'
'How is that possible?!'
'Wasn't Minato long dead?!'
'I had watched Minato and Kushina's coffins buried with my own eyes!'
'And three years ago, I had gone to the Land of Stars and met Shura, even engaging in a debate of ideals!'
'Had that just been a disguise?'
Suddenly, a scene flashed through Jiraiya's mind like lightning.
It was after the meeting before the Chunin Exams began. He had come to see Hiruzen, who had suddenly called him and said, "Let's take a walk."
They went to Konoha's public cemetery, stood before the memorial stone for a long time, and finally, in front of the joint grave of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and Uzumaki Kushina, Hiruzen had lingered especially long.
At that time, Hiruzen's expression was somewhat unusual. He looked at the tombstone with complex eyes, murmuring something like, 'What would you do if you discovered that Shura was your closest friend, your family?'
Jiraiya had been unsettled at the time, concerned about the possible attack from Urashiki and Naruto, and had his suspicions. But when Hiruzen said it was just a hypothesis, he hadn't thought deeper.
'Looking back now...'
'Had the old man already obtained some intelligence back then?'
And Yamato nearby, his breathing also stopped for an instant, his face beneath the mask full of disbelief.
The several elite Anbu behind him looked at each other, equally shocked and feeling the absurdity.
'Shura was... the Fourth Hokage, who had been dead for years?'
Hiruzen propped himself up with the Adamantine Staff, blood flowing down the shaft, dripping to the ground with a soft 'drip, drip,' exceptionally clear in the dead silence.
This intelligence was from a secret letter brought by Akatsuchi.
Onoki claimed in the secret letter that Minato was Shura!
This information was too earth-shattering... Hiruzen had initially completely disbelieved it.
But considering that the first appearance of Shura was three years after the Nine-Tails Attack, and that Shura knew Konoha inside and out, having infiltrated many times without being detected by the barrier...
The trajectory of the Land of Stars' rise over these years, Shura's hatred and revenge against Kumogakure, his acceptance of the Uchiha, Kumogakure's accusation that Shura was the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki...
If Minato were Shura, many things would make sense.
Today, at the end of his life, he had to get a definite answer from Orochimaru, who had cooperated with the Land of Stars!
No matter how absurd that answer might be.
Inside the barrier, Hashirama and Tobirama also turned slightly, looking at Orochimaru.
Hashirama's face showed simple surprise and doubt, while Tobirama slightly frowned.
Under the focused gazes of everyone, Orochimaru's reaction was beyond everyone's expectations.
He was momentarily stunned, as if he had heard an extremely amusing joke. Then his shoulders began to tremble slightly, and a strange 'kuku' sound came from his throat.
The sound grew louder and louder, eventually evolving into uncontrollable, pleased, and even slightly manic laughter!
"Ha... hahahaha... hahahahaha!!!"
Orochimaru threw his head back and laughed, his laughter echoing within the barrier, sharp and piercing, sending chills down the spine.
He laughed so hard he rocked back and forth, even crying with laughter, clutching his stomach with his pale hand.
He laughed for a full several minutes before slowly stopping, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes. A strong trace of amusement still lingered on his face as he looked at Hiruzen, his eyes full of amusement and surprise at 'how you could think that'.
"Sensei, oh Sensei..." Orochimaru shook his head, his tone carrying exaggerated surprise.
"Should I praise you for being so perceptive? To be able to connect this far... truly unexpected."
He paused, his golden vertical pupils glimmering, as if weighing his words on how to deliver the maximum 'surprise' and 'blow' to this soon-to-die teacher before him.
"Although I don't know where you obtained such absurd and unfounded information... and you're still preoccupied with it at the end of your life..." Orochimaru's voice was slow, like a snake's tongue flickering.
"However, since you've sincerely asked…"
He stepped forward two paces, closing the distance to Hiruzen, his face taking on a strange expression, as if sharing a secret, and said, word by word:
"Then, as your once most prized disciple, I will take pity and tell you."
"Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina..."
He deliberately dragged out the tone, enjoying the instantly stretched-to-the-breaking-point nerves and held breaths of Hiruzen, Jiraiya outside the barrier, and the others.
"They died twelve years ago, on that night."
Hearing this, the light in Hiruzen's eyes dimmed, and Jiraiya inexplicably felt a momentary relief. But then, Orochimaru's next words dragged them into an even deeper abyss of ice and fog!
"But—"
Orochimaru's voice suddenly became strange and ethereal, carrying a kind of excitement.
"They also... indeed came back to life."
"Right there, in the Land of Stars."
'In... the Land of Stars?!'
These words from Orochimaru instantly stirred up towering waves in the hearts of Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Yamato, and all the Konoha's Ninja who heard them, planting countless terrifying and chaotic conjectures!
'The Fourth Hokage... really hadn't died?'
'He really was Shura?'
Hiruzen felt a whirl of dizziness. His already near-collapsing body and spirit could no longer support him. He staggered backward.
"Old man!" Jiraiya's eyes nearly split. He frantically pounded the barrier again!
Orochimaru, looking at Hiruzen, who had only one last breath left, revealed a satisfied smile.
He slowly raised his hand, formed a seal, preparing to give his teacher a final dignity.
"Alright, the reminiscing and Q&A time is over, Sensei. Your final lesson should also con—"
Before Orochimaru could finish, a mocking voice suddenly sounded above the barrier.
"Yo~ Pretty lively here, isn't it?"
Orochimaru, who was forming the seal, paused abruptly. Jiraiya, Yamato, and others outside the barrier also looked up, startled by this succession of surprises.
There, above the sea of trees inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, two white figures floated in mid-air. One was bald, wearing a white feather robe, with the Roman numeral IV tattooed below his left eye, elegant with a gentlemanly demeanor.
The other had pale skin and a short, light blue, high ponytail. He wore white clothes, a red light fishing basket at his waist, a red light fishing rod slung over his shoulder, and his white eyes looked down mockingly at Orochimaru and the others below.
Otsutsuki Urashiki... and, Jigen!