3rd Person
The serpent-like Sannin cautioned, "Do not be careless now, Sarutobi Sensei. You have always been too compassionate."
Enma urged him to regain his composure, "Get it together, Sarutobi."
Sarutobi found himself in a challenging predicament as he faced off against Orochimaru, his former student who had become a Sannin, as well as Tobirama Senju, his late master who was one of the most powerful shinobi in Konoha's history, and Hashirama Senju, the former god of shinobi and the first Hokage who had defeated Madara Uchiha. He felt beads of sweat rolling down his face, lacking confidence in his ability to emerge victorious.
Sarutobi whispered in despair, "Why did it have to come to this?" His eyes welled up with tears as he looked towards his former student.
*drip*
*Flashback*
Malice and ambition had always been hidden in his eyes...
I had always been aware that he had those qualities, but...
I chose to ignore it.
He was without a doubt a talent was only seen every few decades...
He was a genius bursting with tremendous talent in a time of war...
I wanted to guide him and pass on my legacy to him, I really did...
But fate had other plans.
Hiruzen managed to locate Orochimaru's hideout in the sewers and navigated through several twists and turns until he arrived at an iron door. After pushing it open slowly, it made a creaking sound.
As he looked inside the dimly lit room, he saw Orochimaru next to an operating table, conducting experiments on one of the villagers. Upon further inspection of the room, Hiruzen noticed that the walls were adorned with grotesque corpses, each one more disturbing than the last. This sight caused Hiruzen immense sadness.
With rage trembling in his voice, Hiruzen uttered the name "Orochimaru."
In response, Orochimaru, his expression serious, asked his former teacher, "Are you going to kill me?"
Mocking Hiruzen once more, Orochimaru asked, "Can you do it, Sarutobi sensei?" and then proceeded to clasp his hands together to form a seal. Meanwhile, Hiruzen summoned Enma, and the two clashed.
*Shatter*
With his back turned to Hiruzen, Orochimaru stood at the exit. As he glanced over his shoulder for the last time, he vanished into the darkness, leaving Hiruzen kneeling on the floor with blood dripping from his elderly face. Hiruzen closed his eyes in defeat.
"Sarutobi... You..." Enma said
But... I couldn't kill him
Pathetic
*Flashback end*
But this time...
This time will be different.
After wiping away his tears and reopening his eyes, Hiruzen's determination burned fiercely as he declared, "I'll make up for my past mistake by killing you now." With Enma in hand, he summoned two shadow clones to aid him.
Orochimaru sneered with a sly grin, remarking, "You've truly grown old... To think you'd shorten your lifespan out of impatience."
Confused by Hiruzen's sudden use of the Kage bunshin, an ANBU member outside the barrier shouted, "What is Lord Third doing?"
Enma came to a sudden realization and exclaimed, "You! It can't be..." As Hiruzen and his clones ran through seals, Enma confirmed his suspicion, "The order of the seals... There's no mistaking it... He's gonna use that jutsu."
As if on cue, a translucent figure appeared above the three. The being was much larger than an average human, possessing long shaggy white hair and two protruding horns. Its skin was purple, and it wore a white kimono along with prayer beads and a short knife in its mouth. It was known as a Shinigami.
Nervously, Hiruzen looked up at the Shinigami looming over him, thinking, 'This must be the Shinigami that Yondaime spoke of before.'
"It's already too late. No matter what you do, the Leaf WILL fall!" Orochimaru emphasized.
But Hiruzen was determined, "The Leaf will not fall, not ever! Not when I, the Hokage, the pillar protecting the house, have yet to fall!"
However, Hashirama took advantage of the moment and cast a genjutsu on Hiruzen and his clones, encasing them in darkness with the technique called "Genjutsu: Bringer of Darkness."
"How naive. You are but a short-lived leader of an organization called the Leaf," Orochimaru taunted. Suddenly, blood gushed from Hiruzen's arm, causing him to stumble.
Orochimaru's voice echoed again, "Even the rock faces will eventually fade and crumble into dust."
Hiruzen responded, holding his injured arm, "To me, it isn't just some organization."
He continued, "Every year, shinobi are born and raised in the Leaf Village... They live, they fight, to protect it and those precious to them, to the death."
"To me, even if we are not related by blood, the people in the village are my most precious... my family. I will protect my family no matter the cost!"
Orochimaru threatened, "I'll break you in half, then the main pillar of the house, and that will destroy the Leaf."
Hiruzen replied resolutely, "Even if I die, the Leaf will never fall. I am the man who inherited the will of the First and Second Hokages, I AM THE THIRD HOKAGE!"
"No matter how many times you target the Leaf, there will be a new Hokage to inherit my will and become the pillar... the pillar to protect the Leaf!" he shouted with passion.
As he prepared to face his enemy, he thought, 'Isn't that right, Yondaime?' and then he clasped his hand and unleashed his ultimate technique.
"I'll show you a jutsu foreign to even you, Orochimaru! Take this!"
He unleashed the powerful sealing jutsu,
"Fuuinjutsu: Death Demon Imprisonment!"
"Please show it to me... that jutsu," Orochimaru said in response.
-Meanwhile in the forest-
Sasuke has now caught up and overtaken the sand siblings, they have now come to a stop, the siblings stare down the uchiha.
"Damn it..." Temari muttered
"You cant escape!" Sasuke says with his signature smirk.
.
.
.
.
*Tap* *Swish*
"Sasuke's movements have stopped! There's still a few ways to go!" Pakkun informed the two genin
*tap* *swish*
"Yosh, lets go!" The blond responds
*sniff* *sniff*
"Wait... There's someone else after him... And its not human." The dog says with a worried expression.
"Hurry!" Sakura shouted, the trio sped up their movements.
.
.
.
.
"Temari take Gaara and run." Kankuro said taking off his puppet.
Kankuro removed his puppet and instructed,"Temari take Gaara and run."
"Be careful," she warned before swiftly disappearing into the forest.
Kankuro then turned to face Sasuke, who appeared anxious.
"Looks like I'll be your opponent, punk," Kankuro remarked, wiping the sweat from his face.
Suddenly, a voice interrupted their confrontation, causing both of them to look down.
Tenya Hyuga emerged from beneath them, his Byakugan activated as he stared intently at the two. "I beg to differ," he said.
Sasuke attempted to ask how Tenya had appeared so suddenly, but was swiftly cut off.
"Don't ask, just go," Tenya advised. Sasuke responded with a grunt of acknowledgement and quickly departed, leaving Kankuro and Tenya to face each other.
Kankuro's anxiety heightened as he recognized the dangerous nature of his opponent, having seen it in his match with Menma and his calculated demeanor. "I don't think you guys have truly felt fear," he nervously remarked, his lips forming a hesitant smile.
"You think you can scare me?" Tenya retorted with a scoff.
"No, but you'll have to face Gaara if you want to experience it...assuming you defeat me," Kankuro replied, assuming his Kugutsu no Jutsu stance.
Tenya adopted a gentle fist stance and pondered Kankuro's earlier statement. "What does he mean by that?" he thought to himself.
"Kugutsu no Jutsu!" Kankuro exclaimed, causing the bandages around his puppet to unravel as he controlled it with his chakra strings.
Tenya sunk deeper into his stance, smirking as he gazed up at his opponent. "What are you waiting for, emo? Bring it on," he challenged.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Gasping for breath, Gaara managed to pry open his eyes, startling Temari. "Temari," he rasped.
"You're awake?" she inquired, concerned.
"Put me down," he demanded. She halted on a nearby branch and carefully placed him onto it. However, Gaara soon began to groan and clutch his head, his face contorted in pain.
Realizing the situation was dire, Temari panicked and thought to herself, 'This is bad. I can't handle that thing alone. I need to get out of here!'
"Ugh!" Gaara cried out.
"Gaara!" Temari exclaimed, worried about his condition.
"Temari...scram!" Gaara barked, his tone harsh.
"Uhh..." Temari hesitated, reluctant to leave her injured brother.
"Just get lost!" Gaara snapped, striking her and sending her flying into a nearby tree.
As he lifted his head, Gaara locked eyes with the heavily breathing Uchiha above him. Suddenly, he clutched his head, writhing in pain.
"I may not know your motives, but I'll stop you!" Sasuke declared, determined. Temari peeked out from the leaves, observing that Sasuke had already caught up.
'Is that Sasuke? What's going on? Did he already defeat Kankuro?' she wondered, her head spinning with unanswered questions.
"I also want to see your real face," Sasuke insisted, reflecting on their previous match. Meanwhile, Gaara spoke aloud, his hand pressed against his face, which began to crack.
"You, who is strong."
"You, who has companions."
"You, who has ambition."
"You, who is like me."
"Only by killing you can I feel alive!" Gaara declared, his voice echoing throughout the forest. Temari shuddered at the sound, sensing that something dreadful was about to happen.
"Ah!"
"Argh!"
"Aaaagggghhhhhhh!!!!" Gaara's voice reverberated as his body morphed into a grotesque creature made of sand.
.
.
.
.
Kankuro and Tenya clashed, with Tenya using the terrain to his advantage to stop the puppet's advances. He continuously dashed between trees, trying to draw out Kankuro's puppet while observing him and devising a strategy to end the battle swiftly.
'Hmm... The puppet has poisonous daggers stored in each compartment of its body,' he deduced as the veins around his eyes became more prominent.
Using chakra on his palms he redirect the puppet's hand before pushing it aside and creating some distance between them. The puppet responded by shooting three kunai out of its mouth.
'It can use them as both melee and ranged weapons,' Tenya realized as he darted back into the bushes. 'If that's all there is to it, I can end this quickly.'
Kankuro, on the other hand, was growing increasingly frustrated with Tenya's tactics.
'Damnit, this guy is so annoying. All he does is run into the bushes at the first sign of danger.' He thought
Out of nowhere, three kunai were launched towards Kankuro from his left side. He immediately recalled his puppet to defend himself, but was interrupted by two consecutive explosions, causing damage to his puppet, followed by a smoke bomb.
In the confusion, Tenya charged towards Kankuro through the smoke. Kankuro reacted just in time to throw a punch, but Tenya blocked it with ease using the palm of his hand, leaving Kankuro surprised.
"I win," Tenya smugly said before using the Gentle Fist Technique: Body Blow, which expelled chakra through his tenketsu, sending Kankuro flying into a nearby tree. Tenya then closed his chakra points, easily subduing Kankuro.
"Another job well done. As expected of me," he said with a smug grin, his nose growing taller. Kankuro could only sweatdrop at his antics and thought to himself, "I can't believe that a guy like this beat me."
.
.
.
-Back to the Arena-
The blows from the two Hokage's still reached Hiruzen despite his desperate attempts to block them, causing him to groan out in pain.
Suddenly, he received a blow to the face and fell to the ground, blood pouring from his injuries. A voice spoke, taunting him.
"What's the matter, Sarutobi sensei? Do you intend to be the plaything of the dead?"
"Please hurry up and show me that jutsu of yours..." Orochimaru said watching Hiruzen getting to his feet while clutching his wounds.
As if waiting for this moment, the Shinigami raised its hand above its head, seals appearing on said hand before it thrust its hand into Hiruzen's soul. He felt his strength being siphoned from his body, but he thought to himself, 'Urgh!... Looks like it made it in time.'
Orochimaru sneered, "Seems like you're barely standing on your own two feet."
An Anbu member asked with concern, "What's happening in there?"
Hiruzen panted heavily as he thought to himself, "I just need to catch them." He then sniffed the air and detected the scent of the first and second Hokages. He rushed towards them and grabbed their arms, but he was suddenly impaled with a kunai. Despite the pain, Hiruzen persevered and reached into the chests of his reanimations to grab hold of the souls of the Hokages.
"We apologize for causing you so much trouble, Sarutobi," said the two Hokages.
Hiruzen bowed deeply, "Please forgive me, Lord First and Lord Second." He then activated a sealing jutsu and the hands yanked out the souls of the Hokages, placing them into the clones. The original bodies of the Hokages returned to their former state, but the true owners had passed away.
Hiruzen shed tears as he spoke, "You show no regard for the lives of your subordinates..."
Orochimaru struggled to comprehend the situation, "How long will you continue to spout such nonsense?"
The Hokage dispelled his clone, summoned Enma with a call of "Come. ENMA!" and engaged in a fierce battle with Orochimaru.
Despite the Sannin's attempt to counterattack, Hiruzen successfully disarmed him and Enma took advantage of the opening to attack with his claws. Orochimaru countered with his "Sublime Snake Hands," immobilizing Enma's arm, but Hiruzen seized the opportunity and restrained Orochimaru's arms.
"This is the end!" Hiruzen yelled as he summoned a hand from his chest for the final time, taking hold of Orochimaru's soul. Orochimaru reacted quickly, recalling his sword that hovered in the air, and shouted "Die!" along with Hiruzen.
The sound of metal cutting through flesh echoed, accompanied by the sound of dripping blood.