Chapter 84: Severing the Head of a Snake

Receiving the visual information from his clone, the real Wu stopped beating Shukaku, craned his brow, and then flew up to the hazy purple barrier to check things directly. There, he found a trio of Shinobi, two of which he recognized as the Anbu Commander and Captain. As for the third...

Shifting his attention away from the group, Wu's expression morphed into a look of fiery-eyed envy as he saw Hiruzen fighting what appeared to be the First and Second Hokages.

"Damn...if I had known the founders had come out to play, I wouldn't have gone to deal with the One-Tail personally..."

Dropping down next to the trio of spectatoring Shinobi, Wu asked, "Why are the three of you just sitting out here? You don't think three Jonin could be helpful with repelling the enemy from the village...?"

While the other two were slightly surprised by Wu's appearance, the Jonin Commander, Sarutobi Akihiro, was his usual unflappable self as he turned to reply, "Wu-ku—I mean, Senju-sama. Have you already finished with the Shukaku...?"

As one of the few people who had been apprised of Wu's involvement in the 'counter-invasion' strategy, Akihiro couldn't help casting a glance in the direction of the arena grounds. He didn't doubt Wu's strength, but the power of Tailed Beasts was mythical, and for a good reason.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Wu replied, "You know I hate it when people answer my questions with questions of their own..."

"Ah..."

Rubbing the back of his head, Konohamaru's father replied, "Yeah, sorry about that. As for why we're here...uh..."

Though he wanted to say there were planning to provide backup to the Third Hokage, Akihiro knew the barrier likely wouldn't drop until the fight had concluded. By then, the Hokage would either be victorious or dead, leaving them to fend off the reanimated Kage or chase down Orochimaru.

Instead of waiting for the man's excuse, Wu had him explain the situation while observing the battle within the barrier. He was a little surprised to learn that the redheaded woman that had thrashed both Orochimaru and his clone was Naruto's mother, but he was far more 'disappointed' by how weak the reanimated First and Second were. Hashirama was regarded as the most powerful Shinobi in history, a man whose might and compassion had single-handedly brought an end to the Warring States Era. It was said that his power was so great that, whenever he battled seriously, the maps of the Shinobi World would need to be redrawn.

Seeing Hiruzen contend against both the First and Second on his own, Wu concluded they 'had' to be weaker than their original selves. Because if he was in the old man's position, he couldn't imagine the duo posing even a minor threat.

After hearing what Akihiro had to say, Wu, annoying the younger Anbu members, instructed, "Go and fetch a squad from the Barrier Team and Sealing Corps. I don't want to risk Orochimaru fleeing once I lower this barrier."

Without hesitation, Akihiro turned to the youngest member of the group and ordered him to carry out Wu's instructions. The panda-masked boy didn't seem too enthused by the idea but immediately complied, darting off in the direction of the Hokage Tower while Akihiro turned to Wu and asked, "Can Senju-sama really lower this barrier...?"

Adopting a cheeky smile, Wu replied, "Without raising so much as a single finger."

Though he felt Wu was exaggerating, Akihiro was one of the few people who had seen the former's true power. He was one of the right-hand men of the Hokage, so he had been privy to witnessing the 'sparring matches' between the two during Wu's training in the Forest of Death. If Wu said he could take down the barrier, Akihiro believed him...

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Spotting his most hated enemy outside the barrier, Orochimaru was half-tempted to lower it and allow the First and Second Hokages to rampage within the village while he personally dealt with Wu. Instead, he turned to Kushina, going out of his way to say, "If the barrier somehow falls, you are to use your Adamantine Sealing Chains to seal that boy."

"Huuuuh-? You cheeky snake bastard. Who do you think you are, ordering me around? You're a coward; that's what. I mean, seriously, resurrecting the dead to get your way? This is a new low when it comes to throwing a tantrum."

"..."

Pulling out a sealing tag, Orochimaru slapped it across Kushina's mouth to keep her quiet. The fiery redhead's hair began rising like flaming tendrils in response, but the control the caster had over those summoned via the Edo Tensei was nigh-absolute. It was difficult to suppress the summoned person's ego, allowing them to speak and expose their weaknesses to their opponents, but the caster had absolute control over the rest of their actions.

As an added precaution, Orochimaru had Kushina cover her mouth with both hands while he pressed his own to his stomach, pressing into it as his chest and throat expanded. Instead of spitting out another copy of himself, however, he regurgitated the head of a large snake, who, in turn, regurgitated the hilt of a sword.

Drawing the sword from the snake's mouth, Orochimaru brandished it while his not-so-little friend slid back into his throat. He wanted to save his Chakra for the inevitable fight against Wu, so he waited until Hiruzen had fallen into the Second Hokage's Infinite Darkness Genjutsu, depriving the middle-aged man of his sight. Once Hiruzen was effectively blind, he rushed forward at a blinding speed, intent on stabbing his former mentor in the abdomen.

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Though his remaining senses allowed him to continue blocking attacks from the weakened First and Second Hokages, Hiruzen was unprepared for Orochimaru's sneak attack. While the profession of Shinobi wasn't the most honorable, he never expected his former student, someone he had once cherished more than any other, to resort to such an underhanded method.

Grasping Orochimaru's forearm, Hiruzen coughed up an alarming amount of blood before groaning, "Orochimaru...if you were going to do something like this, why not just slit my throat and be done with it...?"

Grimacing slightly, Orochimaru replied, "You brought this upon yourself, Sarutobi-sensei...conspiring with that 'monster' to lure me into a trap? I hate being deceived..."

Punctuating his words, Orochimaru attempted to twist the sword and stir up Hiruzen's guts, but the old man's grip held firm, squeezing the muscles of his forearm so tightly he couldn't even wriggle his wrist.

Clicking his tongue, Orochimaru mentally instructed Tobirama to slice off Hiruzen's arms. In response, the white-haired Hokage immediately drew out a kunai, spinning it in his hand before slicing down at his successor's forearms. Fortunately, Hiruzen's armor was forged from a combination of Chakra Metal and an incredibly durable metal known as Tamahagane. The moment the kunai made contact with his vambraces, the tip shattered like weak ceramic against the much tougher metal.

Ignoring the pain in his arms, Hiruzen caught Orochimaru a little off guard by opening his mouth and coughing up a large volume of liquidy, mud-like vomitus. The moment it made contact with the scowling snake's face and body, it expanded at an explosive rate, entombing the enraged Sannin in a block of stone that filled nearly half the barrier.

Having leaped away immediately after vomiting onto Orochimaru's face, Hiruzen took a moment to catch his ragged breath, falling to one knee as he held his bleeding abdomen. Fortunately, it hadn't been that long since he consumed the revitalizing peach. As a result, his injuries were rapidly healing, albeit at the expense of a few new wrinkles on his face.

Noticing his fingers becoming a little thinner, Hiruzen quickly understood what was happening. Instead of being concerned, however, he adopted a mischievous smile and muttered, "Looks like I won't have to worry about outliving my remaining friends...huhuhuhu..."

Forcing himself to his feet, Hiruzen crossed his fingers together, creating four identical copies of himself before they all started to weave a lengthy series of differing hand signs. He knew it was only a matter of time before Orochimaru and the reanimated Hokages managed to break free from the stony prison he had created for them, so Hiruzen prepared to greet them with one of the Ninjutsu that had earned him the moniker 'God of Shinobi.'

As each version of Hiruzen finished their hand seals simultaneously, the quintet took deep breaths before exhaling tremendous streams of each of the five primary elements from their mouth: Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, and Lightning. When combined, they tore through the massive earth wall as if it were paper mache, consequently vaporizing the bodies of the First and Second Hokages while dealing tremendous damage to Orochimaru. Those summoned via the Edo Tensei had functionally limitless Chakra and would regenerate no matter how much damage they sustained, but the process took time. Time Hiruzen intended to make use of.

Rushing forward, Hiruzen kicked Orochimaru in the chest hard enough to send the critically injured snake crashing into the barrier near Kushina, causing the latter to hold her gut and laugh despite her sealed mouth. As for Hiruzen, he made his way over to the regenerating Tobirama, placing a hand on his chest and using the Contract Seal, a Fuijutsu that severed the connection between a summoned entity and its contractor.

As awareness returned to the regenerating Hokage's eyes, an approving smile developed across Tobirama's face as he stated, "You've done well, Saru..." before forming the same hand signs Orochimaru used to activate the Edo Tensei, freeing himself from the latter's control.

Without the need for an explanation, Tobirama rushed over to his brother with the intent of freeing him while Hiruzen stumbled toward the burning Orochimaru and snickering Kushina, a grim expression on his face as he declared, "It's over...all of your ambitions end here, Orochimaru. Surrender at once."

Similar to the first time he had caught fire, Orochimaru spat out a copy of himself, appearing noticeably fatigued as he glared back at Hiruzen and declared, "I will never surrender...and nothing you can do...could ever kill me..."

Though a number of ways to kill Orochimaru immediately appeared in his mind, Hiruzen's expression visibly softened as he asked, "How did things end this way? You used to be such a caring and compassionate child...not one person cared more about preserving life than you..."

Adopting a melancholic expression of his own, Orochimaru asserted, "This world is broken, Sarutobi-sensei...even if I must become a monster, I will fix it...this cycle of death and hatred...someone must bring it to an end..."

Punctuating his words, Orochimaru surprised Hiruzen by using the index and middle fingers of his right hand to pierce his heart, a malicious smile adorning his face as he collapsed forward and began to dissolve into a mass of odorous white liquid.

Recovering from his stupor, Hiruzen ran over to Orochimaru's liquefying corpse, confusion marring his expression but nowhere near as much as the members of the Sound Four. None of them expected Orochimaru to suddenly take his own life, effectively leaving them stranded, surrounded by enemies. Even if they were to utilize their Level Two transformations, they had no hope of fleeing without Orochimaru's aid.

Surprising the other three further, Tayuya immediately ceased upholding the barrier from her end, causing the entire structure to crack like glass as it required four people to maintain. Sakon immediately shouted, "What the fuck do you think you're doing, Tayuya..!?" but the redhead simply ignored him as she ran over to Wu. The latter may not have killed Orochimaru, but being near him was a hell of a lot safer than staying inside the barrier.

Demonstrating this, Hashirama, now in control of his actions, clasped his hands together, enormous tree roots erupting from the destroyed roof to entangle the remaining members of the Sound Four. The trio attempted to transform, but the roots had the unique ability to absorb both Chakra and Natural Energy. The more the trio produced, the stronger and tighter their bindings became. If Hashirama didn't willfully cancel it near the end, they would have ended up as desiccated corpses in less than a minute...

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(A/N: 49-year-old Hiruzen go hard.)

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