There was no need for Orochimaru to continue.
Hiruzen Sarutobi already knew who Orochimaru was about to reincarnate next. The First Hokage had already been revived by him; there was no way the Second Hokage would be spared.
"Ninjutsu: Impure World Reincarnation Technique!"
Orochimaru glanced at Hiruzen and, under the protection of Kushina Uzumaki and Hashirama Senju, summoned the last two coffins himself. He had sacrificed Kidomaru, Tayuya, and the others in exchange for four incredibly powerful ninja. Aside from one who was just an extra, the rest were strong enough to turn the tide of the battle.
After the last two coffins opened, two figures appeared before Hiruzen.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
"This is trouble..."
Hiruzen's heart sank. Even a bystander could see the power of the lineup beside Orochimaru. It was more than enough to tie down all the ninja of Konoha.
The acknowledged God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.
The strongest Water Style user and master of Godspeed, Tobirama Senju.
The last sealing-ninjutsu expert from the Hidden Eddy Village, Kushina Uzumaki.
And the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, who built the Sand Village's economy by refining gold dust. Perhaps he would be the easiest to deal with?
All in all, Konoha was facing the greatest crisis since its founding, and it was all because he had been soft-hearted and let Orochimaru go.
"Are you regretting it, Sensei?"
Orochimaru's eyes were particularly sinister. Backed by four powerful reincarnated ninja, he already had the upper hand. With a look of mock regret, he asked, "Are you regretting not supporting me to become the Fourth Hokage, or are you regretting letting me leave?"
"I regret not killing you with my own hands!"
Hiruzen's face was filled with anger. He bit his finger hard, formed a hand seal, and slapped it on the ground. "Summoning Technique! Monkey King Enma!"
Confident that everything was under his control, Orochimaru didn't stop him. He felt only a flicker of emotion for his teacher's old age. Even if Hiruzen summoned Monkey King Enma, it would be no help to the current situation.
Orochimaru brought his hands together. The armored Tobirama Senju stood by his side. The Second Hokage was more than enough to deal with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
A white-haired young man leaped up and knelt on one knee. "Lord Orochimaru, there might be a problem with the One-Tail..."
"It doesn't matter." Orochimaru looked down at the field.
The battle between the golden fox and the One-Tailed Shukaku was over. The Nine-Tails' true form had appeared for a moment, causing quite a commotion in Konoha. Now, Shukaku had collapsed to the ground, its combat power clearly depleted. Only a small Naruto Uzumaki stood beside it, doing something unknown.
"The Sand Village's One-Tail was just to stall for time," Orochimaru said, turning to look at Hashirama and the others. "Kimimaro, you stay here and help me block other enemies. As for that little brat below, I'll send someone to deal with him."
Under his control, Hashirama Senju, Rasa, and Kushina Uzumaki leaped down to suppress any Konoha ninja who might try to attack the stands. Hashirama and Kushina's other task was to restrain the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki.
Only Tobirama Senju remained by Orochimaru's side.
The battlefield on the stands was left for the teacher and his students—Tobirama, Hiruzen, and Orochimaru—to resolve. Orochimaru's confidence was soaring, and he didn't want anyone else to interfere. For this reason, he had specifically ordered Kimimaro Kaguya to guard the vicinity.
Besides having Kimimaro block attackers, there was another purpose: after killing Hiruzen, Orochimaru planned to use Kimimaro, who didn't have much time left, as a sacrifice to reincarnate Hiruzen.
He was the Professor of ninjutsu, after all. If Orochimaru could obtain Hiruzen's reincarnated body, it would be a huge help. Those enemies lurking in the shadows... the black robes with red clouds hidden in the ninja world... Akatsuki, the organization Orochimaru once belonged to. Whether it was to investigate Akatsuki's secrets or to deal with its members, he needed a sufficient number of powerful reincarnated ninja.
On the other side, Raidō Namiashi led a team of ANBU and charged up the stands. As a guard to two Hokage, Raidō was steadfast in his duty. "Lord Hokage, please retreat quickly! Leave this to us!"
"No, you all fall back!" After summoning Monkey King Enma, Hiruzen had it transform into a vajra staff, which he gripped tightly. He waved to stop the charging ANBU. "This is not a battle you can interfere in. Go and support the other areas!"
What he had to face was Orochimaru and Tobirama Senju. The people below had to face the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
Raidō wouldn't give up. "Lord Hokage! If we just wait a little longer, the ANBU battalion will arrive for support..."
"There will be no support." Hiruzen sighed and looked at the ruined arena. "The ANBU don't just listen to the Hokage's orders. Now we can only hope..."
At that moment, he finally realized his mistake. The Third Hokage deeply hated himself for being soft-hearted with Orochimaru and Danzo, which had led to today's disaster.
According to Jiraiya's report, Danzo and Orochimaru were colluding. That one-eyed old man could also command a part of the ANBU. He would definitely not send support to the arena and might even prevent others from coming to help.
Now, he could only fight to the death.
Hiruzen looked at Naruto in the arena and sighed softly. At least Konoha still had hope.
Inside the arena, his Sage Mode chakra depleted, the giant golden demon fox body faded. Naruto's figure was revealed again, standing next to the One-Tail.
In the sealing space, the Nine-Tails was lying down, cursing Shukaku with disdain. "Idiot, how dare you appear before me!"
"Bastard! How dare you treat the great Shukaku like this! When my chakra recovers, I'll definitely tear you to shreds!" Having been beaten down by the golden fox, Shukaku's aura was still weak. It was powerless to fight back and could only stubbornly curse the Nine-Tails, venting its anger and helplessness.
"You talk too much," Naruto muttered, frowning. "Kurama, when you absorb the One-Tail's chakra, you'll leave it alive, right?"
"That's right." The Nine-Tails looked playfully at the One-Tail on the ground. They had planned this long ago: Naruto would use the Sealing Art: Devour jutsu to directly extract the One-Tail's chakra.
As for the One-Tail itself, of course, its life would be spared. But after losing most of its chakra, it would probably only be the size of a teapot. And at that time, couldn't Kurama play with it however he wanted?
"Naruto, let's start quickly!" Kurama sounded quite impatient.
This fellow Shukaku wasn't strong but always liked to provoke him. Now that Kurama had such an opportunity, he certainly wouldn't let it go. In the memories of the future, after the Nine-Tails lost its chakra and became small, it must have been bullied a lot by this jerk Shukaku, right?
"How malicious, Kurama." Naruto smiled helplessly, then extended his palm and pressed it onto Shukaku's body. His face gradually became solemn. "Sealing Art: Devour!"
Swoosh!
But before Naruto's jutsu could activate, a chain whipped out and struck him, sending him flying.
Naruto fell to the side. He didn't counterattack. He just stared at the enemy with a dazed look. The person standing on Shukaku had vibrant, fire-red hair.
Naruto didn't feel the pain in his body. A warm smile appeared on his face, and tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. "Honestly... I really thought I'd never see you again..."
-----
Bonus:
Kurama: First, let's go beat up Shukaku. He bullied me!
Shukaku: Who bullied who? Don't you have any self-awareness?
Kurama: If he doesn't bully me now, he'll bully me in the future!
Shukaku: You bullied me when I was younger, and now you say I bullied you. Kurama, doesn't your heart ache?
Kurama: It doesn't hurt. It feels great.
Shukaku: ...