At that moment, the Third Hokage suddenly stepped back, putting some distance between himself and Orochimaru. Naturally, Orochimaru didn't mind—he didn't think a simple kunai could defeat the Third Hokage anyway.
Taking two steps back, the Third Hokage stood beside Linton, still maintaining a bit of distance. Although he didn't fully trust Linton's words, it was clear that something had gone wrong between Linton and Orochimaru. He was already unsure about how to handle Orochimaru, so using the conflict between the two could be a good strategy.
The Third Hokage shrugged off his Hokage cloak, preparing for battle. Linton glanced at him and shook his head slightly. As expected, the Third Hokage had grown old. Just from his stance and aura, there was a noticeable difference compared to when Linton had previously faced him. Konoha's weaknesses were becoming too obvious. The fact that such an old Hokage had to stand at the front lines showed how dire things were. Orochimaru had chosen the perfect time to strike.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball!" The Third Hokage made some hand signs and shot a large fireball toward Orochimaru. But Orochimaru was unfazed and quickly performed his own hand signs, casting a summoning jutsu.
"Summoning Jutsu: Edo Tensei!"
Suddenly, a coffin emerged from the ground, blocking the Third Hokage's attack. Soon after, a second coffin appeared next to the first. Seeing this, the Third Hokage reacted swiftly. Noticing that a third coffin was about to appear, he quickly made hand signs and barely managed to stop it from emerging.
Linton didn't intervene—mainly because he wasn't interested in the Fourth Hokage's abilities. After all, the Second Hokage also had Flying Thunder God, and Linton had already learned the Rasengan.
"Damn, it's those two..." Although the Third Hokage had successfully stopped the third coffin, his expression remained grim.
As expected, the lids of the coffins opened, revealing two familiar figures in front of the Third Hokage and Linton. These two faces were all too recognizable, especially with their images carved on the Hokage Rock behind them.
"The First... and the Second Hokage..." Even the Anbu trying to figure out a plan from outside couldn't help but cry out in shock.
"Edo Tensei?" The Second Hokage, slightly stunned, quickly recognized the jutsu he had created. Glancing at Orochimaru, whom he didn't recognize, he remarked, "I never expected to be summoned by my own jutsu. The younger generation is truly formidable."
"Looks like I'll have to fight you now, Sarutobi," the First Hokage added. Then, noticing Linton, he asked, "An Uchiha?"
"Hey, old man, let's split up. I'll handle these two; you go deal with Orochimaru," Linton said without hesitation.
"Oh?" Both the First and Second Hokage were surprised. Not only was Linton unafraid, but he even boldly stated that he would take them on himself. His arrogance was undeniable. The Second Hokage, in particular, seemed offended, but Senju Hashirama just laughed heartily. "Ah, typical Uchiha behavior... You remind me of an old friend."
"I know exactly who you mean. In fact, let me quote one of his favorite lines," Linton said, activating his Sharingan and waving his hand toward the First Hokage. "You... also want to dance?"
"Hahaha!" Hashirama burst into laughter. "Yes, that's exactly what he would say!"
"Brother..." The Second Hokage sighed, clearly exasperated by his older sibling's carefree nature.
"Enough chit-chat," Orochimaru interrupted, clearly impatient. He drew two kunai wrapped in sealing tags. "Let's begin."
Without further ado, Orochimaru embedded the kunai into the First and Second Hokage's heads. As the kunai sank in, the two Hokage's expressions changed. Linton, knowing exactly what was happening, understood that the two had now become mindless puppets under Orochimaru's control. In fact, their combat abilities were somewhat diminished because of this.
"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!" Suddenly, the Third Hokage launched another attack, spitting fire toward Orochimaru. But Orochimaru had already finished his preparations. The controlled Second Hokage quickly made hand signs.
"Water Style: Water Wall."
A wall of water surged up, effortlessly blocking the Third Hokage's fire attack. The nearby Anbu were stunned. Using a water-style jutsu in an area without any water? Truly worthy of the Second Hokage.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Before the Third Hokage could react, the Second Hokage swiftly launched a water dragon toward him.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Linton suddenly intervened, unleashing his own water dragon that collided with the Second Hokage's, neutralizing the attack. It was a stalemate.
Everyone turned to Linton. As expected, he had copied the Second Hokage's technique with his Sharingan. However, Linton hadn't copied it—he had spent points to learn it. The Water Dragon Jutsu was useful, and it wasn't too expensive. He thought it was worth buying. What shocked those around him wasn't just that Linton could replicate the technique, but that his jutsu was powerful enough to match the Second Hokage's.
After all, the strength of a jutsu varies depending on the user. The same technique would have a vastly different power level when cast by a lower-ranking ninja compared to an elite one. Linton's jutsu had already reached the level of the Second Hokage's, raising the question: was Linton already at Kage-level?
Linton wasn't sure what had happened either. Ever since he acquired a Tailed Beast's chakra, his jutsu seemed to have become much stronger. Perhaps the high cost was justified after all.
Linton's unexpected assistance caused the Third Hokage to hesitate. The Water Dragon Jutsu would have hit him for sure, but Linton had stepped in to help. Could it be that Linton really had returned to help Konoha, as he claimed? The Third Hokage was starting to believe him.
"What are you waiting for?" Linton shouted at the Third Hokage, seeing him lost in thought.
Snapping out of it, the Third Hokage quickly prepared his next jutsu. There was no time to ask questions. Since Linton was temporarily on their side, they needed to focus on defeating Orochimaru first.
Just as the Third Hokage was about to make hand signs, his expression changed. He noticed the First Hokage beginning to make hand signs of his own—a technique the Third Hokage recognized all too well.
"Damn, that's the First Hokage's secret jutsu!" the Third Hokage yelled.
"Wood Style, huh?" Linton also understood what was happening, but he didn't have time to deal with the First Hokage. His target was already the Second Hokage.
With his Sharingan spinning, Linton locked onto the Second Hokage's position. "Amaterasu!" A black flame shot toward the Second Hokage.
If the Second Hokage had been in control of his own mind, he would have dodged. But being controlled by Orochimaru, his first instinct was to block the attack.
"Water Style: Water Wall." The Second Hokage cast the same jutsu as before, thinking it would extinguish the fire. But this time was different. The moment the black flames touched the water, the water evaporated instantly. The black flames continued unabated, engulfing the Second Hokage.
With a loud explosion, the Second Hokage was set ablaze. Even though he was on fire, he still managed to make hand signs. "Water Style: Water Shockwave!"
This time, the attack wasn't aimed at Linton, but at himself. He tried to extinguish the black flames with water. However, it was futile. The water did nothing to stop the flames. Instead, the fire only grew stronger, as if even the water itself was burning.
"What is this fire?" The surrounding Anbu, watching in shock, couldn't comprehend what was happening. Normally, water jutsu were the natural counter to fire jutsu. But with Linton's black flames, the usual rules didn't seem to apply. The flames were unrelenting, and no one knew why.
Before they could think any further, the First Hokage attacked. Pressing his hands to the ground, he activated his jutsu: "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground shook violently as massive tree branches erupted from the earth. These branches were no ordinary trees—they moved like living vines, growing rapidly and twisting toward Linton and the Third Hokage.
"Summoning Jutsu!" The Third Hokage was ready. Slamming his hand onto the ground, a puff of white smoke appeared, revealing a new figure in front of them.
"Orochimaru... So, it has come to this," said the figure—a monkey, the Third Hokage's summoning partner, Enma. Seeing the scene before him, he immediately understood what was happening. However, when he turned to look at the Third Hokage, he saw something unexpected.
"Huh? What's that guy doing here?" Enma pointed at Linton.
"We don't have time to talk right now, let's deal with Orochimaru first." The Third Hokage didn't even know how to explain; he wasn't sure how he ended up teaming up with Linton to fight Orochimaru.
Meanwhile, on Linton's side, the First Hokage's attack finally triggered his automatic combat system. His body started rapidly dodging, jumping back and forth to evade the surrounding trees.
Suddenly, his body began moving, quickly forming hand seals. Seeing this, Linton immediately shouted, "Don't waste your chakra, these trees aren't afraid of fire."
"Please provide more combat information, host." Linton's body stopped forming seals as if it trusted his judgment.
Normal Fire Release techniques indeed didn't work against Wood Release. Linton was getting annoyed by the vines chasing him. The barrier wasn't that big to begin with, and he figured there wouldn't be much room to run soon. Just as he was wondering what to do next, the Second Hokage, who had been burning under Amaterasu, suddenly collapsed to the ground.
(End of Chapter)