Chapter 199: Reaper Death Seal? So What?
Inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, the battle between Orochimaru and Hiruzen had already reached a fever pitch.
After his snake-style ninjutsu and Wind Style ninjutsu proved utterly ineffective against Hiruzen, Orochimaru immediately performed a summoning on the ground, calling forth three coffins!
"Impure World Reincarnation!"
As a cloud of black smoke billowed out, three figures slowly emerged!
Hiruzen's face instantly turned pale, his eyes revealing shock and gravity.
Because the figures appearing before him were none other than Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and the Third Kazekage, with whom he had crossed paths before.
"Lord Hashirama, Lord Tobirama..." Hiruzen murmured to himself, his heart a mix of complex emotions.
Before the three could even reminisce, Orochimaru plunged kunai with paper talismans into the back of the two former Hokage's necks. The two legendary Hokage's eyes immediately became hollow and devoid of life.
Hashirama Senju slowly raised his hands. With a surge of Wood Style, he didn't even need to form hand seals, simply clasping his hands together and saying in a low voice, "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
In that instant, the ground trembled violently. Countless thick trees burst from the earth like ancient beasts awakening from deep slumber, growing frenziedly towards Hiruzen.
The branches of these trees twisted like vipers, destroying everything in their path.
Seeing this, Hiruzen swiftly summoned his animal familiar, Monkey King Enma.
"Enma, lend me your strength!" With a flash of light, Monkey King Enma appeared on the battlefield, wielding his Adamantine Staff, looking imposing and majestic.
"Leave it to me, Third!" Monkey King Enma roared, brandishing the Adamantine Staff like a bolt of golden Lightning, cleaving through the approaching trees one by one. Wood chips flew, filling the air.
However, just as Hiruzen and Monkey King Enma were fending off the Wood Style attack, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, also launched an assault!
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!" He rapidly formed hand seals, and a massive torrent of water erupted from his mouth, instantly transforming into a roaring water dragon that charged toward Hiruzen.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. He controlled Monkey King Enma to block the Water Dragon Bullet's impact with the Adamantine Staff while simultaneously forming his own hand seals and shouting, "Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!" A thick earthen wall rose from the ground, colliding with the Water Dragon Bullet.
With a tremendous "BOOM," the massive impact kicked up a sky-full of dust, engulfing the entire battlefield.
At this moment, the Third Kazekage also made his move.
With a wave of his hands, countless grains of iron sand surged forth like a tide, instantly forming sharp spikes that shot towards Hiruzen from all directions!
Relying on his years of combat experience and agile movements, Hiruzen continuously dodged amidst the iron sand assault.
His figure flickered like a phantom, each evasion perfectly timed.
But he knew in his heart that if this continued, he would eventually be worn down.
"This can't go on!"
Hiruzen and Monkey King Enma exchanged a look. Understanding his master's intent, Monkey King Enma instantly transformed into the Adamantine Staff and fell into Hiruzen's hand.
Wielding the staff, Hiruzen charged toward the Third Kazekage like a golden meteor.
The Third Kazekage rapidly formed hand seals, controlling the iron sand to form a solid defensive barrier, tightly protecting himself within.
Hiruzen arrived before the barrier, let out a great shout, and swung the Adamantine Staff, smashing it heavily against the iron sand wall.
With a loud "BANG," the powerful force caused the iron sand barrier to tremble violently, sending countless fragments of iron sand flying.
However, just as Hiruzen was fiercely battling the Third Kazekage, the First and Second Hokage attacked once more.
After several rounds of entanglement, Hiruzen was already at the end of his rope.
The title of "Strongest Hokage" that had been bestowed upon him now felt somewhat ironic. Orochimaru's current Impure World Reincarnation was incapable of unleashing the full power of the resurrected warriors.
Even a tenth of Hashirama's strength was enough to put Hiruzen in a sorry state, let alone with the others providing assistance.
Orochimaru stood with his arms crossed, silently watching the four Kage in their chaotic battle, his snake-like tongue flicking restlessly.
He had waited for this moment for a long time.
After Minato's death, when Hiruzen once again took the stage as Hokage, the seeds of hatred had already been sown.
"Could it be... that Konoha... is to be destroyed today?" Hiruzen's heart churned with unwillingness. He thought of Konoha's prosperous image, the villagers' laughter, and his own vow to protect Konoha.
"No!" Hiruzen gritted his teeth until blood seeped from his gums. An aura of absolute resolve burst forth from him in an instant.
He rapidly formed hand seals, chanting an incantation, his voice low and solemn.
"Boar - Dog - Bird!"
"Monkey - Ram!"
"Reaper Death Seal!" Hiruzen roared, and the very sky and earth seemed to change color!
A massive black fissure appeared out of thin air, from which a gigantic, ferocious-looking Death God slowly emerged.
The Death God exuded a chilling aura, and with every step it took, the ground trembled.
A withered arm extended from Hiruzen's abdomen, its target aimed squarely at the Third Kazekage.
Sensing the danger, the Third Kazekage tried to manipulate his iron sand to resist, but before this power from hell, the iron sand was as fragile as an ant.
The Death God's large hand directly grabbed the Third Kazekage's shoulder. The Kazekage struggled in terror, letting out wretched cries.
A blue light, his soul, was pulled from the Third Kazekage's body!
As his soul was slowly extracted, the Third Kazekage's body gradually turned to scorched earth and finally disintegrated. His soul was fed into the Death God's mouth, swallowed in an instant, vanishing without a trace.
Seeing this, Orochimaru's expression changed drastically, a flash of horror crossing his eyes.
He had never imagined that his own teacher would be so resolute, willing to pay any price to activate this terrifying forbidden jutsu.
He didn't dare hesitate any longer. His figure flickered rapidly, attempting to escape the terrifying Death God.
In the instant Orochimaru fled, a flicker of clarity returned to the eyes of Tobirama Senju and Hashirama Senju. It seemed that under the immense impact of the Death God's arrival, they had temporarily broken free from some of Orochimaru's control and regained a bit of their self-awareness.
Tobirama Senju looked at Hiruzen, the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight, gratified smile. His voice, though faint, was clearly audible: "Well done, Monkey!"
Hashirama Senju also nodded slightly, his eyes full of praise. "Worthy of being our successor. You've got guts!"
However, after that brief moment of clarity, they were still unable to completely escape the control of the Impure World Reincarnation.
Tobirama Senju was the first to attack. The power of Water Style gathered in his hand, forming a fierce water jet that shot toward Hiruzen!
Unable to dodge in time, Hiruzen's arm was cut by a deep gash from which fresh blood gushed out, but he successfully grabbed Tobirama Senju's arm! He dragged the Second Hokage's soul into the Death God's abdomen.
Hashirama Senju hastily warned, "Little monkey, be careful!"
A giant wooden stake shot towards Hiruzen. Hiruzen resisted with all his might, but against such immense power, he was still sent flying.
With a "pfft," he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, falling heavily to the ground.
Before he could recover, Hashirama Senju once again activated his Wood Style.
"Wood Style: Wood Stake Impaling Technique!" Countless sharp wooden spikes erupted from the ground, shooting toward Hiruzen like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
Although Hiruzen did his best to dodge, several wooden spikes still pierced his body. One of them struck his leg directly, rendering half of it useless.
"Cough, cough..." Hiruzen coughed in pain, his body trembling uncontrollably.
But his eyes were filled with determination. He knew that as long as he drew breath, he absolutely could not let Orochimaru succeed.
Hashirama Senju looked at the fallen Hiruzen with a trace of pity in his eyes, but his body was not his own to control. He once again brandished the power of Wood Style, sending Hiruzen's nearby Monkey King Enma flying as well.
Just as Hashirama was about to launch the next wave of attacks, Hiruzen endured the excruciating pain and once again mobilized his dwindling Chakra, controlling the Death God's arm.
Understanding his intent, the Death God fiercely reached out and grabbed Hashirama Senju.
A trace of relief flashed in Hashirama's eyes. As his soul was devoured, Hashirama Senju's body slowly dissipated.
At this moment, only Orochimaru and the barely breathing Hiruzen were left on the battlefield.
Orochimaru gazed at the scene before him, a mix of emotions swirling within him, while Hiruzen stared deadly at Orochimaru, an unyielding flame burning in his eyes...
Gasping for breath, Hiruzen looked at the surrounding village, now a sea of fire, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"What have you done..."
Orochimaru offered no explanation, backing away step by step, while Hiruzen advanced step by step.
Just then, Hiruzen's peripheral vision caught sight of several bolts of lightning radiating from outside the Four Violet Flames Formation, and he frowned instantly.
He had never seen such lightning from any of Konoha's shinobi.
Was this yet another unknown enemy?
Unknown?
Actually, he was quite famous.
On the rooftops, several jonin, including Might Guy, faced the revitalized Akatsuki member, Kakuzu, as if confronting a formidable foe.
Kakuzu was nearly driven mad at this point! Although he didn't know who had fed him two hearts while he was unconscious and released his sealing jutsu, he was determined to wreak havoc in Konoha before he'd be satisfied!
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
Just as all the shinobi on the scene were drawn to Kakuzu, a black shadow teleported to the eastern side of the Four Violet Flames Formation.
*Tap, tap, tap.*
Uchiha Ren tapped on the outer shell of the Four Violet Flames Formation. Although one couldn't see inside from the outside, those inside could clearly see who was outside.
The Sound Ninja responsible for the eastern position, Tayuya, yelled loudly, "What are you doing!?"
A smile hung on the corner of Uchiha Ren's mouth. "Of course I'm here to help Orochimaru. Open up for me! Otherwise, Orochimaru is about to be sealed by the Reaper Death Seal!"
Tayuya turned her head to look at the battlefield and saw that, just as Uchiha Ren had said, Orochimaru had been forced into a desperate situation.
The massive Four Violet Flames Formation was breached from the inside, creating an opening. The space rippled for a moment, but the ANBU's attention was completely fixated on Kakuzu, so no one noticed this scene.
Or rather, any ANBU who might have observed this angle had already been dealt with by Uchiha Ren.
Entering the Four Violet Flames Formation, Uchiha Ren gazed at the renowned scene in the distance.
It wasn't much different from the situation during the Chunin Exams. The only difference was that the current Hiruzen wasn't quite as old yet, he didn't have the Kusanagi sword impaling him, and he had cornered Orochimaru.
Following this trajectory, Orochimaru would soon be dragged into the Death God's abdomen by Hiruzen.
"Orochimaru!"
Hiruzen's roar echoed within the Four Violet Flames Formation. "I taught you with my own hands, and today, I will seal you with my own hands!"
"Reaper Death Seal!!!"
Hiruzen's and the Death God's hands stretched forward. But just as they were about to touch Orochimaru, a spatial ripple appeared, as if his fingers had touched a layer of hard, transparent plastic wrap. Hiruzen's fingers could not advance even half a Cun!
At that moment, a voice slowly announced the name of the technique.
"Miwa Myojin's Sacred Net Barrier!"
(end of chapter)