On the rooftop of the Chunin Exams venue, a fierce battle was in full swing.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi faced his renegade disciple Orochimaru alone, along with the First and Second Hokage, who had been summoned by Edo Tensei and were under his control.
The battle was intense, with the clash of Chakra and explosions echoing continuously.
Beyond the sturdy purple barrier—the Four Violet Flames Formation—several masked Konoha Anbu members could only watch as the Third Hokage struggled, their fists clenched, their eyes beneath their masks filled with anxiety and helplessness.
The Otogakure Four, who were maintaining the barrier—Sakon and Ukon, Tayuya, Jirobo, and Kidōmaru—had even cast an additional small barrier around themselves, making it difficult for the Anbu to even approach and interfere with their jutsu.
"...That person, that must be the First Hokage."
A low voice suddenly sounded beside the Anbu.
Their hearts startled, they sharply turned their heads, only to see a tall figure, clad in a wide black robe that completely concealed his body, standing silently to the side, having appeared unnoticed.
"Who are you?!"
The Konoha Anbu instantly entered a state of high alert, their Kunai drawn, their gazes fixed on the unknown intruder.
However, the black-robed man seemed to completely ignore the Anbu's questions and hostility.
His gaze was fixed on the life-and-death battle within the barrier, "No matter what kind of hero or strong man he was in life, no matter how powerful he was... in the end, he still couldn't escape the fate of having his life taken by time.
How pathetic..."
"Even after death, his soul finds no peace, summoned back from the Pure Land by such a despicable person, to be wantonly toyed with and controlled."
As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand, removing his hood and the disguise on his face, revealing his true appearance—a face mostly covered by a mask, and a pair of inhuman, green glowing eyes.
Kakuzu's gaze swept indifferently over the vigilant Anbu, "I didn't expect that in just a few decades, Konoha Ninja would have degenerated to this extent.
You can't even handle a barrier set up by a few brats?"
"Bastard! What did you say?!" A young and hot-headed Anbu member, hearing this, was consumed by rage and couldn't help but step forward, shouting sharply.
"Calm down!" The Anbu captain in charge pulled back his impulsive subordinate.
He noticed that the mysterious green-eyed man's gaze had, from beginning to end, been more focused on the Otogakure Four maintaining the barrier, rather than on them, the Konoha Ninja.
"...Sir, what exactly is your objective?"
"End the war."
The moment Kakuzu's words fell, the figure beneath the tall black robe blurred!
He instantly appeared behind Kidōmaru, one of the Otogakure Four.
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
His arm had already hardened during the charge, striking directly at the small barrier protecting Kidōmaru!
"Hmph, fool!" The other Otogakure members, seeing this, sneered with disdain on their faces.
He actually thought he could break a barrier with taijutsu?
However.
"Bang—!!"
A crisp sound, like shattering glass!
The small barrier, in front of Kakuzu's hardened fist, was actually blasted open with a huge gap!
"What?!"
Kidōmaru's sneer instantly turned to horror.
He didn't even have time to react before he was struck hard in the back by the terrifying, undiminished force, spitting blood and flying backward, crashing heavily into a distant wall.
Almost simultaneously, the huge Four Violet Flames Formation covering the entire rooftop, having lost a core caster, immediately became unstable and thin!
"Damn it! Hold it steady!" Sakon and Ukon cried out in alarm.
The faces of the other three Otogakure members changed dramatically, and they immediately frantically channeled Chakra within their bodies, attempting to forcibly stabilize the collapsing barrier.
But they knew in their hearts that with one person missing, the barrier's collapse was only a matter of time.
"Use that method!" Sakon and Ukon decided decisively.
The three of them simultaneously formed hand signs.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three Shadow Clones instantly appeared, taking the place of their originals and continuing to supply Chakra to the barrier.
Meanwhile, the originals of the three Otogakure members turned with murderous intent, their gazes fixed on the black-robed man who had disrupted their plan—they had to deal with this troublemaker first!
All of this was Kakuzu's self-assigned mission objective: to break the barrier imprisoning the Hokage.
Although he appeared a bit late.
This brief delay was not due to laziness.
It was because when he arrived at the battlefield, and his gaze pierced through the flickering purple barrier, seeing the familiar figure in the red dōmaru within—that was the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama—Kakuzu's entire soul felt as if it had frozen.
Immediately after, from the Anbu's anxious conversation, he learned that this was Orochimaru using a forbidden jutsu to temporarily "resurrect" and control the dead for battle.
At that moment, the decades-old shadow buried deep in his heart was completely reawakened like a nightmare.
That god-like power, that despair-inducing gap... immense fear gripped him, almost exhausting all his courage to suppress the instinct to turn and flee.
If the First Hokage had truly been resurrected, who else in this world, besides the unfathomable leader, could contend with that man?
No, even the leader, who could crush him, could he truly stand against the god of shinobi?
However, when he forced himself to calmly observe and see the "First Hokage's" battle within the barrier... he was too weak.
It was indeed Wood Release, but compared to the power that overshadowed the sky and created forests decades ago, the Wood Release before him was like a firefly to the bright moon, merely a semblance of its former self.
Did he have half the strength of the First Hokage in his prime?
No, probably not even a tenth... Kakuzu concluded.
Sure enough, this kind of forbidden jutsu that desecrated the dead had significant limitations.
The so-called First Hokage was now nothing more than a soulless combat puppet.
For some reason, watching the former god of shinobi now reduced to a controlled puppet, a silent rage began to burn in Kakuzu's heart.
"Hey! Are you okay?!"
Sakon and Ukon quickly rushed to Kidōmaru's side, pulling him from the rubble.
Jirobo and Tayuya, as if facing a formidable enemy, stared intently at the mysterious, powerful foe who had suddenly appeared, broken the barrier with a single blow, and severely wounded Kidōmaru.
Kakuzu looked down at the flames on his fist, then simply and expressionlessly shook his arm, dislodging the now useless burning earth shell.
"As expected, you're all just a bunch of insignificant brats."
His green pupils swept over the four vigilant figures, his tone carrying a chilling killing intent, "You're not even on the underground bounty list, completely worthless.
However... I'll take your hearts."
Feeling Kakuzu's cold attitude, as if they were nothing, Tayuya gritted her teeth and yelled, "Tch... stop talking to yourself!
You bastard of the [Akatsuki]!"
They had clearly recognized Kakuzu's identity.
As core members of this attack, they had long been prepared to confront the mysterious organization [Akatsuki].
However, Kakuzu's fearsome reputation, compared to that of the leader "Menma," who put all major nations on alert, still brought a slightly lesser sense of pressure.
"...Stop wasting time with him, everyone, let's finish this quickly."
Jirobo took a fighting stance, "Our Shadow Clone's Chakra is limited; they can't maintain the barrier for too long."
Kakuzu, however, seemed not to heed their urgent conversation.
His gaze shifted slightly, looking towards the direction from which huge explosions and Chakra fluctuations were coming from afar in Konoha Village.
That scale of commotion... it doesn't seem like something that kid Deidara could cause.
He mused, could it be the leader?
Is he fighting someone?
Pulling his thoughts back to the present, Kakuzu refocused his gaze on the Otogakure Four, "You are merely unseasoned brats.
The gap in practical combat experience, you shall experience with your lives."
As he spoke, a chilling transformation occurred: four masked monsters, each with a different form and emitting Chakra fluctuations, slowly emerged from the seams of the stitching on his back.
Looking at the four masked monsters, the Otogakure Four's expressions grew even more solemn.
They understood that this enemy before them truly possessed the strength to fight one against four!
"No choice left... use that!" Sakon and Ukon roared.
The four no longer hesitated, simultaneously beginning to activate the power of the cursed seal within their bodies; black runes began to spread across their skin, and their Chakra became increasingly sinister and violent... However, at this critical moment, with tensions high and battle about to erupt—
"Roar!!!!!!!!"
An earth-shattering roar suddenly came from the central area of Konoha Village!
Accompanied by a loud bang, a huge cloud of dust rose into the sky like a mushroom cloud!
Both opposing sides were involuntarily drawn to this sudden development, and they all looked towards the distance.
In the center of Konoha Village, a colossal entity tore through the smoke, revealing its mountain-like body—it was the One-Tails Shukaku, which should have been lured away!
But its scarlet eyes, now displaying the Sharingan pattern, indicated that it had been controlled.
The fully controlled One-Tails, here, made its defiant appearance!
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