The old man's anger boiled over.
"No matter what kind of so-called genius you are, no matter how powerful your Sherwood Forest clan may be—if you dare disturb the sleep of Konoha's Hokage, desecrate the sacred resting place of the Heroic Spirits, and even tamper with the Second Hokage's remains, you deserve nothing less than death!"
Once Sarutobi Hiruzen understood Satoru's origins, he wasted no time with further words. His fingers flashed through a string of seals as he drew shuriken and hurled them forward. In the air, the single volley multiplied into a storm of steel.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique! Old man, you're really going for blood!"
Satoru wasn't some greenhorn. The instant the Third Hokage reached for his back, Satoru had already recalled the old man's favored jutsu. He was ninety percent certain that Hiruzen would open with this technique.
Sure enough—his guess was right.
Anticipation made countering easier. Instead of wasting time, Satoru lashed out with a kick, sending the coffin lid of the Second Hokage—just recently disturbed—flying up to intercept the cloud of shuriken.
A legendary coffin lid, reduced to a shield for shuriken. What a waste… and yet, what style!
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, but he wasn't shocked. The boy had called out his name with complete confidence the moment he appeared—he clearly wasn't ordinary.
Even so, Hiruzen's pride burned. Did this brat think the title of "Professor of Ninjutsu" was just an empty name? His fingers flew once more, his chest swelled, and he spat out chakra-laden earth.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!
Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Back-to-back Earth Release techniques.
The Konoha Cemetery was rich with earthen chakra. With the Third Hokage's immense reserves, the ground churned instantly into a raging mud river, pulling everything nearby into its flow. He deliberately skirted the graves of the First and Second Hokage—disturbing those would brand him a sinner, and Danzo would surely pounce on that stain.
But the surrounding Senju clan graves were less fortunate. They crumbled into the torrent, earth and mud surging toward Satoru.
From that same flood, a dragon's head erupted—its maw already charging a blast of earthen energy.
"Good, good! Worthy of the Professor of Ninjutsu. Most jōnin would take an eternity to prepare such advanced jutsu, but you—instantaneous! The Earth Flow River binds me, and the Earth Dragon Bullet goes for the kill. Hiruzen Sarutobi… your strikes truly leave no room for retreat!"
Though prepared from the start, Satoru had still underestimated the sheer force of a Hokage. Instantaneous A-rank ninjutsu—the title was well-earned.
"Boy, your instincts are sharp—you've already seen the essence of my combination technique. But you touched what you should never have touched. Were it not for that, I might have spared your life." Hiruzen's words dripped with false pity, his eyes burning with open killing intent.
The Second Hokage had treated him like a son. Now, his grave had been desecrated. Only blood could answer that crime.
"Old man, don't bother with your hypocrisy. Do you really think I'd put my life in your hands here in Robin Hood? I've got more important business today—no time to waste with you. I'm leaving."
Satoru didn't even attempt to block the Earth Dragon Bullet. Aside from using the Flying Thunder God to escape, he had no technique to withstand it. His arsenal was small, and none of his few jutsu suited this situation—unless he called out Madara.
But exposing Madara here, in front of the Third Hokage, was absolutely impossible.
"Leaving? Boy, don't kid yourself. Maybe you had some tricks earlier, but now, bound by my Earth Flow River, there's no escape. Even a Kage would fall before this Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Hiruzen's voice dripped with disdain. Boasts meant nothing without strength to back them.
"Hahaha! Old man Sarutobi, I told you—I'm leaving. You won't stop me. Until next time!"
Satoru's words barely finished before the earth dragon's blast smashed straight into his forehead. A heartbeat slower and it would've pierced his chest.
But the body burst into smoke.
A shadow clone!
Hiruzen's face hardened instantly. At last, he understood the boy's bold parting words.
All along, he'd been battling a clone.
He had guarded against substitutions, against teleportation techniques, against tricks of movement. When the Earth Flow River snared his target, he had relaxed his vigilance only slightly—yet still, he hadn't expected a clone.
Not just any clone either—Shadow Clone Technique.
Distinctive to Konoha, unmistakably Konoha.
At that moment, countless faces flickered through Sarutobi Hiruzen's mind—Danzo, Itachi, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and even Naruto, who had just recently studied the Forbidden Scroll. But one by one, he dismissed them.
That child only learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique… why would he want this corpse, unless… unless he's mastered the Impure World Reincarnation? After all, that forbidden jutsu was also recorded within the scroll.
But after thinking it over, Hiruzen immediately shook his head.
Impossible. The conditions for using the Impure World Reincarnation are extremely demanding. Not only does the caster need extraordinary skill and chakra control, but if their strength is insufficient, the resurrected ninja could easily break free of control and turn against them. That is why, in practice, most can only summon those weaker than themselves—or those whose power they can suppress.
Naruto might have inherited a vast chakra reserve from his mother, Uzumaki Kushina, along with the Uzumaki clan's potent life force. But raw reserves alone could never substitute for mastery of such a forbidden art.
Impure World Reincarnation was not just difficult—it required a living sacrifice. And not just any living being, but a trained shinobi with chakra. This requirement was far from ordinary.
"Lord Hokage, report!" A voice broke his thoughts. One of his ANBU operatives knelt beside him, speaking cautiously. "Upon inspection… it isn't only the Second Hokage's grave. The First Hokage's grave has also been disturbed!"
Hiruzen froze, the words crashing into his mind like a hammer. His gaze snapped to the sacred tombs.
The sight made his blood surge violently, so much so that his vision darkened. He staggered, nearly collapsing under the weight of fury.
"Robin Hood…!" His voice thundered with hatred. "I swear by the Will of Fire itself—until I grind you to ashes, I will not rest as a human being!"