"Wh… what?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes went wide, his expression twisting into horror. When he had resolved to unleash the Reaper Death Seal, he had already accepted death as the price.
But…
To die like this—meaninglessly—was something Hiruzen could not accept.
Slowly, he turned his head, staring in disbelief as Orochimaru slithered free from the maw of a giant white serpent.
"You've truly grown old… Sarutobi-sensei."
Orochimaru rose to his feet, savoring every flicker of despair on Hiruzen's face.
"In battles between shinobi, unless there is an overwhelming difference in strength, the true deciding factor is intelligence gathering. I've long since seen through your final card, Sarutobi-sensei."
From the very beginning, Orochimaru had prepared a substitute body, perfect down to appearance and chakra signature. To ensure the Reaper Death Seal would never claim his true self.
"No… that's impossible…" Hiruzen's voice trembled. His will, his composure—everything crumbled in that moment.
"There's nothing impossible about it, Sarutobi-sensei. Have you forgotten my research into the human body? If I could transplant Lord Hashirama's cells into another, then naturally, I could transplant my own into a host as well.
A host bearing my cells… would carry my chakra too."
Orochimaru spread his arms wide, no longer bothering to conceal the truth. From the moment Hiruzen sealed the false body, his death had been inevitable.
"You… Orochimaru—"
Before Hiruzen could even finish, the Shinigami he had summoned swung its ghostly blade. The spectral edge cleaved through him, tearing his soul from his body in a single merciless strike.
The Third Hokage collapsed lifelessly before the entire battlefield.
Kakashi, Yamato, Guy—all of them stood frozen, unable to process what had just happened. They had watched, powerless, as the very soul of the man who once led their village was claimed by the god of death.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's sacrifice… was meaningless.
"It's over."
Orochimaru looked down at the fallen body, his voice calm. Yet deep inside, something gnawed at him—an emptiness. The sensation was faint, strange, and difficult to describe.
Even worse… as he gazed at his teacher's lifeless form, the thrill of destroying Konoha seemed to vanish from him entirely.
But just as Hiruzen's body began to hit the ground, a shadow flickered across the battlefield.
In an instant, strong arms caught the fallen Hokage in a cradling embrace.
"Lord Third…"
The man who appeared was none other than Senju Haruto.
"I was still too late," Haruto muttered, his brows furrowing as he looked upon Hiruzen's lifeless face.
Unlike in the anime, this Hiruzen had not died with peace in his heart, believing the Will of Fire would one day reignite. No… on his face lingered only regret.
"Is that… Haruto?"
Kakashi's Sharingan widened as he saw the man holding Hiruzen's body. It was indeed Senju Haruto—he had arrived at last.
"Haruto… you finally came."
Hiashi Hyūga activated his Byakugan to confirm. The moment he recognized Haruto, his body gave out and he collapsed to the ground with a sigh of relief.
And not just him—Naruto and Sakura rushed to Kakashi's side as well.
"Kakashi-sensei, we're late," Naruto said.
"Yeah…" Kakashi nodded, relief mixing with sorrow for his fallen teacher.
But the battlefield still demanded their attention.
Orochimaru—and the Edo Tensei reincarnations of the First and Second Hokage—remained very much alive.
"S-so Temari was telling the truth after all…" Sakura whispered as her eyes darted across the field, watching an endless sea of First and Second Hokage clones.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu…" Naruto murmured, eyes narrowing. "So the Second Hokage could use it too?"
"Of course. He invented the technique in the first place," Kakashi muttered, half in awe, half in disbelief.
On the head of the massive wooden golem, Orochimaru and Haruto's gazes locked.
Now more than ever, Haruto was no longer the man he once was. Wielding both the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and the Byakugan, he had seen this battle unfolding from afar.
He had deliberately slowed his pace—ensuring Hiruzen's sacrifice, ensuring his own grand arrival would be timed perfectly.
Exactly as he had planned.
After Orochimaru unleashed Hashirama's Wood Style, the entire battlefield had paused in dread. Even the Sand shinobi began realizing how thoroughly they had been used.
And now, with countless eyes fixed on them, the roles were cast.
Orochimaru, branded as the betrayer.
Senju Haruto, the savior.
"Th-that's… Lord Haruto!"
"Haruto? Who's that?"
"You don't know? He's the one who saved Konoha!"
"That's right—years ago, during the Nine-Tails' rampage, it was Haruto who subdued the beast!"
"With Haruto-sama here, we'll be saved!"
Voices spread like wildfire. Hope sparked in the hearts of shinobi and civilians alike. So much so, that Hiruzen's sacrifice was already fading in their minds.
"…What a show-off."
Sasuke muttered under his breath. Yet his eyes never left Haruto. In fact, he activated his Sharingan, unwilling to miss a single instant of the coming battle.
Because the air itself was brimming with tension.
This was inevitable.
Orochimaru, who had just slain the Third Hokage.
And Senju Haruto, who had arrived to challenge him.
The two stood at the very center of an inescapable destiny.
"So, we meet again," Orochimaru said with a sly smile, his golden eyes narrowing.
"You should never have come here, Orochimaru," Haruto replied. His voice was calm, yet heavy with chakra. Amplified, his words spread across the battlefield like thunder.
"Killing Lord Third… was the greatest mistake of your life."
Still holding Hiruzen's body in his arms, Haruto stepped forward. His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan swirled to life in both eyes, radiating raw pressure.
"You think you can change anything?" Orochimaru hissed. "Even if you kill me now, the Edo Tensei will never end. You—"
But before his words could finish, Haruto's Susanoo erupted around him, its blade flashing with unstoppable force.
Without hesitation, he brought it down upon Orochimaru.
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