The Sand Village had not yet forgotten the plague that had ravaged their home and killed so many, an event that had occurred only a few years prior. That, combined with the accumulated hatred from several Great Ninja Wars, old grudges and new, finally exploded.
As the Sand and Sound shinobi, using their summoned giant snakes, smashed through Konoha's outer walls, countless ninja who had been lying in wait swarmed into the village, killing indiscriminately.
They cut down everyone in their path—children, the elderly, and shinobi alike. Driven by hatred, they charged toward the Hokage's building in the center of Konoha.
"Orochimaru! It was you?" Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, looking at the man disguised as the Kazekage.
Whether it was old age or a moment of carelessness, a Hokage had been easily taken hostage by Orochimaru on the rooftop. Not only that, but Orochimaru had stabbed him in the arm. If not for the lack of poison on the blade, Hiruzen would have likely been dead before the fight even began.
"Long time no see, Sarutobi-sensei," Orochimaru hissed with a chuckle, removing his Face-Erasing mask to reveal the strange face of a woman.
"Wait, you're not Orochimaru. Who are you?" Hiruzen asked, staring in horror at the familiar yet strange woman.
"Hahahaha! I am Orochimaru. I've simply changed bodies. This is my third one. What do you think? Is it disconcerting? Perhaps you'd be more comfortable if I changed back to my original appearance, Sensei." With that, Orochimaru's hand moved across his face, and it morphed back into his familiar form. His throat rippled, and his voice returned to its original hoarse rasp.
For a biologist, changing one's voice was far simpler than changing one's body.
"Sensei, I have a few gifts for you." Orochimaru smiled and clapped his hands together. Three coffins rose from the ground. Hiruzen immediately threw a shuriken with an exploding tag, blowing one of them up.
But in reality, that was a failed summoning. An Edo Tensei body was not so easily destroyed. Whether the failed summoning was the Fourth Kazekage or the Fourth Hokage, no one knew. It remained a mystery.
"This is... Lord First? And Lord Second Hokage?" Hiruzen stared in shock as two figures slowly emerged from the remaining coffins, his expression quickly turning to rage.
"Orochimaru! You would desecrate the souls of the previous Hokage?! You—You deserve to die a thousand deaths!"
The First and Second Hokage opened their eyes and realized they had been brought back as Edo Tensei puppets. Of course, since Orochimaru had used ordinary sacrifices and was using the 2.0 version of the jutsu, their strength was not at its peak. Orochimaru easily controlled them both.
"Young man, was it you who summoned us to the world of the living?" Tobirama Senju demanded coldly of Orochimaru.
"Heh heh. It's all thanks to the forbidden jutsu you researched. Isn't it ironic? Your own jutsu, used on you after your death," Orochimaru asked with keen interest.
Tobirama's face was grimly silent. Beside him, Hashirama Senju sighed. "Tobirama, my dear brother, I told you not to mess with those forbidden jutsu. You just wouldn't listen. And now look, we're dead and still being revived to fight Hiruzen..."
"Shut up, brother! Now is not the time for this!" Tobirama snapped at his older brother. Hashirama immediately wilted, looking emotionally wounded.
"Gentlemen, if you're going to have a reunion, how about we add a few more people? The Uchiha clan has a lot they'd like to say."
"Who?!" "What?"
The men, including Hiruzen, were startled by the sudden voice. The speaker had used a space-time ninjutsu to appear among them without a sound.
Although Nagi hadn't placed a Flying Thunder God seal inside the Sound Four's barrier beforehand, he had still managed to enter with a Mind Teleporter.
Uchiha Nagi stood before the Senju brothers and Hiruzen, a cheerful smile on his face. He clapped his hands, and two more coffins rose from the ground. One held Kagami, the other Fugaku.
Upon emerging, Kagami saw Tobirama and Hiruzen. He was first overcome with excitement, then his expression turned to one of deep sorrow.
"It's been a long time, Sensei. Hiruzen... Hiruzen, I want to ask you, is it true that you ordered the annihilation of the Uchiha clan?" The first thing Kagami did upon being revived was to demand the truth of the Uchiha massacre.
"What? The Uchiha were annihilated? What happened, Hiruzen?" Tobirama asked, his brow furrowed in a frown.
"Kagami? Fugaku Uchiha?" Hiruzen looked at the two Uchiha, his face a complex mask of emotions, unsure of what to say.
"What's the matter, Lord Third Hokage? Can't bring yourself to admit it? Where's the decisiveness you had when you wiped out the Uchiha clan? You have the guts to do it, but not to admit it?" Nagi mocked.
"Hiruzen, what happened?" Tobirama demanded sternly.
Hiruzen sighed before finally speaking. "The Uchiha clan was planning a coup. For the greater good, to prevent Konoha from being torn apart, I had no choice but to order their annihilation."
"Hahahaha! You hypocrite, Third! Even now, you're still playing the benevolent good guy!" Fugaku Uchiha, who had been silent until now, finally broke, laughing wildly until tears streamed down his face.
"You! The disciples of the Second Hokage! You relentlessly suppressed the Uchiha, pushed us to the brink! Did you think we wouldn't rebel? Don't try to shift the blame! The source of all of this was you! The four of you, the ones who inherited Tobirama's will and dedicated yourselves to crushing the Uchiha!"
Tobirama frowned. He had wanted to suppress the Uchiha, yes, but he had never intended to exterminate them. This was not a pot he was willing to carry.
"You there, Uchiha. I never had any intention of wiping out your clan. And I certainly never left any final words ordering them to be pushed to their deaths."
"That's right, you never gave the order. But your students inherited your ideals, and they drove the Uchiha clan to their graves! The same Uchiha who fought alongside you to protect Konoha through several Great Ninja Wars! The Uchiha who gave their lives for the village!"
As if a dam had burst, Fugaku's long-suppressed rage poured out. "That devil Hiruzen Sarutobi! He even turned my own son against me, made him slaughter his own kin! Itachi was barely a man, and he was given such a cruel mission! Hiruzen Sarutobi, you are not human! You are unworthy of being Hokage!"
Hiruzen said grimly, "Itachi is a good child. He perfectly inherited the Will of Fire. He fought for Konoha..."
"Bullshit!" Nagi cut the Third Hokage off. "Today, I'll let you experience the pain of the Uchiha clan."
With that, Nagi clapped his hands together, and another coffin rose from the ground. From it emerged a sturdy man with a full beard.
Hiruzen's pupils contracted. "Asuma..." he cried out in anguish.
"That's right. Asuma. Today, I will use Asuma to go to the Sarutobi clan compound and slaughter his own kin. Prepare yourself, Third Hokage! Hahahaha!" Nagi laughed maniacally. Seeing the Third's pain brought him joy.
"The Third Hokage has his students and his teacher to deal with here. That should be enough. Lord Patriarch, shall we take a stroll to the Sarutobi clan compound? I hear Lord Third allocated the most prosperous part of Konoha to his own clan. Tsk, tsk, raking in the money, are we?"
Tobirama, standing to the side, could watch no longer. Although his student Hiruzen had made a mistake, Konoha was still his life's work, his precious creation. He would not allow anyone to destroy it.
"You evil Uchiha brat! I advise you to give up this idea, or else..." Before Tobirama could finish, his body stiffened. Orochimaru, behind him, had formed a hand seal with two fingers.
"Gentlemen, our reunion is over for today. Now, we will destroy Konoha together, starting with my dear Sarutobi-sensei." Orochimaru smiled slyly and took out two kunai engraved with sealing formulas, plunging them into the heads of the First and Second Hokages.
"Sigh. So much trouble in life. The wars finally stopped, and I never thought I'd have to suffer even after death, being controlled to fight again. Tobirama, I told you that Edo Tensei of yours was no good. Now look..." Hashirama covered his face, but his complaints were cut short as Orochimaru's kunai pierced his skull, and his consciousness faded.
Tobirama received the same treatment. Because of their immense strength, their souls were also powerful. If Orochimaru allowed them to remain conscious while controlling them in battle, they would constantly fight back against the caster. That would make them much more difficult to control. So, Orochimaru simply erased their consciousness, locking them within their Edo Tensei bodies. Although their combat prowess was slightly diminished, they were now completely under his control.
"Well then, Orochimaru-san, I wish you a pleasant game. By the way, Kagami Uchiha, do you plan to have a chat with your dear classmate, or would you like to join us outside at the Sarutobi clan compound?" Nagi asked.
"Hiruzen, I have one last question for you. My descendant, Shisui... his Mangekyo Sharingan was stolen by Danzo. Did you know about it? Were you involved?" Kagami asked.
"No! I was not involved in taking Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan! I only found out after he was already dead!" Hiruzen immediately replied.
"Haha! That's hilarious! You weren't involved?" Nagi laughed. "Danzo was your best friend for decades. You knew what he was thinking with a single blink of his eye. You dare say you didn't notice he was planning something? You just tacitly approved of it, pretending not to know. Stop faking it, Third."
"The reason you allowed Danzo to make his move was because you feared the power of Shisui's Kotoamatsukami. An eye that could control people's minds and alter their will was too great a threat for you leaders to not have in your own hands. It made you uneasy."
Hiruzen opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out. He knew that no matter what he said now, they wouldn't believe him. He could see it in Kagami's expression, which had gone from disappointment to resentment. He no longer trusted his old classmate.
"Please, take me outside. I need to see Danzo," Kagami said bleakly.
"Heh heh. Then we'll be on our way." Nagi placed his hands on the Edo Tensei bodies and vanished from the barrier with a Flying Thunder God, reappearing outside.
"I've released the control on your jutsu, Fugaku Uchiha. Do what you want," Nagi said. He not only released Fugaku, but also the entire army of Edo Tensei Uchiha he had summoned—over a hundred of them, from chunin to jonin.
"Everyone, we are now in Konoha. Our target is the Sarutobi clan. After we've had our revenge, we'll go to Danzo's clan compound. Those two are the masterminds behind the Uchiha clan's destruction. I hope you won't waste your precious time on meaningless civilians." Nagi took out a map of Konoha, on which two locations were circled.
The hundred or so red-eyed Uchiha present glanced at it once and committed it to memory with their Sharingan. Besides, they had grown up in Konoha.
"Go! Avengers of the Uchiha clan!"
A hundred ninja, trying to destroy Konoha and get their revenge, would normally be a joke. But now, with the Sound and Sand villages attacking, the appearance of a hundred Edo Tensei Uchiha was a fatal blow. Their red eyes burned with hatred—hatred for the village they had protected, which had turned around and destroyed them.
"Hahahaha! Sarutobi clan, you will all die! Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!" "Fire Style: Great Fireball Annihilation!"
In the Sarutobi clan compound, some of the ninja were stunned when they saw a group of people with red eyes approaching and killing everyone in sight. Red eyes... wasn't that the Uchiha clan?
"You... you're Uchiha?"
"That's right. We've returned from hell to take our revenge. Your Sarutobi clan is doing quite well for yourselves, aren't you? Now, die!"
"Hmph. You think you can?" A middle-aged Sarutobi clan member blocked an attack and brought his sword down on his opponent's neck. But to his surprise, the man just grinned ferociously and chose to trade blows, a mutual-destruction tactic.
At the last moment, the middle-aged man managed to dodge, but he saw that the neck wound on his opponent was already healing. He was stunned.
He was knowledgeable enough to recognize what this was. "Everyone, be careful! This is the Second Hokage's forbidden jutsu, the Edo Tensei! They can't be killed! We need sealing jutsu!"
Squelch!
But it was too late. The moment the middle-aged man finished speaking, an Uchiha stabbed him through the heart. He had been careless. In a one-on-one fight against a Sharingan user, with genjutsu in the mix, a single moment of inattention was all it took. And in a high-level battle, one second caught in a genjutsu was enough for your opponent to kill you.
"Why... why are you forcing me to slaughter my own clan...?"
Among the many Edo Tensei Uchiha, there was one who didn't belong. It was Asuma. Asuma didn't have the immense strength or powerful soul of the First and Second Hokages, so Nagi wasn't worried about him breaking free of his control.
Tears streamed down Asuma's face as he looked at the familiar faces falling at his hands, his heart filled with immense pain.
"Call for help! Call the Anbu! Get the Sealing Squad! The Edo Tensei can't be killed! Everyone, call for backup from the Sealing Squad!"