Orochimaru licked his lips, his voice slightly hoarse, and spread his hands.
"A Four-Tails jinchuriki?"
"I'm afraid I don't know anything about that, Lord Yuto."
Orochimaru's face showed not the slightest hint of surprise, as if he truly had no idea.
But deep within Orochimaru's heart, he couldn't help but flinch.
Under the watchful eyes of both Uchiha Madara and Yuto, capturing the Four-Tails jinchuriki Roshi meant Orochimaru naturally had to be as cautious as humanly possible.
From the moment he began targeting the Four-Tails jinchuriki, Orochimaru had never appeared in person.
He had left everything to his subordinates while he remained hidden in the shadows.
So whether First Mizukage Yuto had genuinely discovered something or was simply probing, Orochimaru would absolutely never admit to anything.
Hearing Orochimaru's reply.
Yuto's expression remained as indifferent as ever. He even raised a hand and stroked his chin.
"In that case, I suppose I'll just have to kill you one more time."
He said these words in an utterly flat tone, yet the air itself seemed to solidify in that instant.
"Just the aura he's giving off is this overwhelming. Truly frightening."
Orochimaru let out a low chuckle, his eyes flashing with a gravity they had never shown before.
"There's no way we'll let you do as you please!"
"Even if we die here today, we'll drag you down to hell with us!"
"This is the oath of the Hokage!"
Tsunade's entire body erupted with a tremendous surge of chakra.
Her golden ponytail and her tea-green long coat with black trim fluttered in the shockwave of her own power.
Hearing Tsunade's impassioned cry, Yuto turned his head to gaze at her.
His expression was one of utter boredom, even bordering on a yawn.
"What a hot-blooded speech."
"If those words had come from your grandfather Senju Hashirama, perhaps I'd find it interesting. But in you, I see absolutely none of Senju Hashirama's talents."
"I thought something interesting might happen, but my opponents are the three of you. In that case, go die together."
Yuto shook his head slowly and spread his palm with a bored expression.
In an instant!
The chakra within Yuto's body rapidly converted into the unique chakra signature of a Tailed Beast.
It gathered at a 2:8 yin-yang ratio, quickly converging in the center of Yuto's palm.
In the blink of an eye!
A Tailed Beast Ball roughly ten meters in diameter materialized in Yuto's hand.
Unlike other Tailed Beasts, which required some preparation time to form their Tailed Beast Balls, Yuto needed no such thing.
In roughly a single breath, the Tailed Beast Ball was fully formed!
Yet Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had barely managed to react.
The massive, terror-inducing Tailed Beast Ball came crashing down with blinding speed.
The distance between them was not great!
At such close range, facing a Tailed Beast Ball this horrifying, the three of them had absolutely no chance to dodge.
But Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru showed no trace of panic on their faces.
Just as the enormous Tailed Beast Ball was about to reach them!
A golden flash appeared out of thin air before the three of them!
In the next instant, the colossal Tailed Beast Ball vanished without a trace, as though it had never existed.
And standing before Tsunade and the others was a figure clad in a blue bodysuit and green flak jacket.
He had spiky blond hair, blue eyes, and wore a white haori emblazoned with the words "Fourth Hokage."
The Fourth Hokage — Namikaze Minato!
Tsunade and the others showed no surprise at the sight of Namikaze Minato, as if they had known he would come all along.
"You came at just the right time, Minato."
Jiraiya gazed at Minato's back, his eyes slightly moist, and broke into a wide grin.
"Haha, that was really close, Jiraiya-sensei."
Minato stood up with a radiant smile, turning to look back at Jiraiya before glancing at Tsunade and Orochimaru.
"It's been a long time, Lady Tsunade, Lord Orochimaru."
Tsunade and Orochimaru gave Minato a slight nod, both their eyes tinged with nostalgia.
BOOM!!
While they spoke, a massive explosion erupted hundreds of kilometers away in a dense forest.
The violent shockwave leveled everything in its surroundings in an instant!
Though the blast itself did not reach the battlefield, the sound carried clearly. The Tailed Beast Ball had been teleported away.
"Edo Tensei? I see. So this is the trump card you prepared."
Yuto noticed the grayish-black whites of Minato's eyes, and a flicker of understanding crossed his gaze.
At Yuto's words, everyone's attention refocused on the battle.
"First Mizukage Yuto. I heard stories about you when I was young. I never expected to meet you in person after death."
Minato looked at Yuto, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.
Even without sensory abilities, Minato could feel the terrifying power contained within Yuto's body.
Another golden flash streaked across the sky above.
A figure with silver hair and an imposing presence appeared on Konoha's side.
"Second Granduncle!"
Tsunade's face lit up with delight at the sight of this figure.
"So you were released after all, Yuto."
Senju Tobirama nodded at Tsunade, then turned his gaze toward Yuto in the distance, his expression grave.
"It's been a long time, Tobirama."
"It's not easy encountering familiar faces in this era."
Seeing Senju Tobirama, Yuto's face rarely broke into a faint smile.
"I don't want to see you at all."
Senju Tobirama's face held no smile whatsoever, his voice cold as ice.
He turned his head toward Tsunade.
"Has my brother already engaged Uchiha Madara?"
Tsunade nodded quickly.
Following the arrivals of Namikaze Minato and Senju Tobirama, several more figures descended from the sky above Konoha.
Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo were the first to appear before the group.
"I never expected to still be of use to the village even after death."
Sarutobi Hiruzen wore a genial smile on his face.
"Too much talk, Hiruzen!"
Shimura Danzo shot a glance at Sarutobi Hiruzen, then fixed his gaze on Senju Tobirama.
He bowed his head slightly and spoke with deference.
"It's been a long time, sensei."
"I can't believe how old you've both gotten."
Senju Tobirama looked at the aged faces of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo, and let out a sigh.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two more figures arrived with the sound of breaking air, drawing everyone's attention.
Hatake Sakumo, known as the "White Fang of Konoha," along with Uchiha Itachi, appeared before the group after a few swift leaps.
As these former titans of Konoha assembled on the battlefield, the Konoha forces erupted with earth-shattering morale.
Tsunade and the other Edo Tensei warriors all fixed their eyes on Yuto.
It was clear that upon being summoned, they had already been briefed on the general situation.
"Hahaha!"
"Now things are finally getting interesting!"
Faced with the piercing gazes of multiple powerful opponents, Yuto simply laughed out loud, his voice brimming with delight.
Yuto never worried about what kind of trump cards Konoha might have prepared.
The only thing that concerned him was that this war might turn out to be boring.
But from the looks of it, that wouldn't be the case — at least not for now!
Edo Tensei was a jutsu that desecrated the dead. Under normal circumstances, as long as Konoha's upper echelon didn't want their reputation ruined, they would never use it.
In a sense, Edo Tensei was typically employed by villains who didn't care about their infamy.
But Konoha was now facing an existential crisis. Naturally, the desecration of the dead and matters of reputation were no longer a concern.
From what Yuto could see, all the Edo Tensei summons were former ninjas of Konoha.
"What a pity."
Yuto's laughter faded, his expression returning to its usual indifference as he surveyed the Konoha forces.
A note of genuine regret tinged his voice.
If Konoha had been bolder and summoned the strongest warriors from all five great shinobi villages, this war would have been far more entertaining.
What Yuto didn't know was that the Konoha leadership had actually considered this.
At this point, reputation was irrelevant — protecting the village was all that mattered.
The reason they hadn't done so was twofold: there simply hadn't been enough time to search for the corpses of powerful ninja from other villages.
And more importantly, they didn't want Yuto to realize they were capable of such a thing.
"To protect the village, we've disturbed you who have passed on."
"But it was all worth it!"
"Yuto, your opponents now are the strongest warriors who have ever protected Konoha!"
Jiraiya stepped forward, his face set with unparalleled determination, and shouted.
"Come then!"
"Show me your resolve!"
Yuto grinned without the slightest attempt to hide it, throwing his head back in a booming laugh.
Namikaze Minato and Senju Tobirama exchanged a glance, then drew their custom-made kunai.
They hurled them simultaneously toward Yuto.
At the same time, both rapidly formed hand seals and let out a thunderous cry.
"Ninja Art — Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Ninja Art — Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
In an instant, the handful of kunai they had thrown multiplied into thousands upon thousands.
They blanketed the sky as they rained down toward Yuto from every direction.
But the moment they threw their kunai, Yuto had already vanished from sight.
His speed was so great it was almost like teleportation!
"Demonic Illusion — Toad Confrontation Chant!"
Jiraiya's expression tensed as he clapped his hands together.
Fukasaku and Shima, perched on his shoulders, puffed out their cheeks and unleashed their croaking song.
The frog call, imbued with special chakra, carried extraordinary penetrating power and spread rapidly forward.
Under the influence of this auditory genjutsu, Yuto's rapidly approaching figure momentarily faltered.
And in that single instant!
Namikaze Minato and Senju Tobirama both vanished from their positions.
Using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, the two reappeared on either side of Yuto.
Without the slightest hesitation!
Both of them thrust their kunai forward!
Minato's kunai aimed for Yuto's heart, while Tobirama's struck toward Yuto's neck.
Two flashes of cold steel pierced through the air!
To Minato's astonishment, though his kunai struck Yuto's chest, it failed to penetrate.
No matter how much force he applied, the blade wouldn't advance even a single inch further.
It wasn't like hitting impenetrable skin — it was as though the force itself simply ceased to exist.
In Minato's perception, the moment his kunai made contact with Yuto's body, the power behind it vanished into thin air.
Senju Tobirama, on the other hand, showed no surprise.
A cold smile tugged at Yuto's lips as he threw a punch in an instant.
The air itself shattered in the path of his fist, carrying terrifying force toward both Minato and Tobirama.
But the moment they realized their attacks had failed, both men used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to vanish.
Seeing his attack miss, Yuto's expression remained blank.
Facing opponents who wielded a space-time ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God, capturing them would take considerable effort.
So from the very beginning, Yuto's targets had not been either of them.
Jiraiya's sound-based genjutsu had slowed Yuto slightly, but to any other ninja, he would still be nearly invisible.
Yuto shot through the air like an arrow and appeared before Jiraiya in the blink of an eye.
"Little Jiraiya, get out of the way!"
Fukasaku and Shima's faces went pale with alarm. They immediately stopped their chant and urged Jiraiya to dodge.
Jiraiya's pupils contracted sharply.
Bolstered by Sage Mode, he launched himself backward while simultaneously forming hand seals.
Senjutsu — Hair Needle Senbon!
Jiraiya's hair instantly hardened, each strand transforming into a needle-like projectile that rained down like a storm.
At the same time, his white hair began growing rapidly, forming a protective wall in front of him.
Facing this torrential hair assault, Yuto raised his hand and swung it forward.
A violent burst of chakra surged from his palm, creating a massive shockwave like a Wind Release jutsu that instantly obliterated everything before him.
"White Blade — Short Slash!"
Hatake Sakumo, with his silver hair, appeared at Yuto's side in a flash.
The short blade in his hand crackled like lightning as it sliced through the air, aimed directly at Yuto's eyes.
Facing this strike!
Yuto's brow furrowed slightly. Sakumo's attack had actually managed to produce a faint edge that even Yuto could sense.
But even so!
Yuto was not overly concerned.
Sakumo's short blade carried enough force to momentarily obstruct Yuto's vision when targeting his eyes, even though Yuto could absorb the impact.
So.
Yuto's original assault on Jiraiya paused for a moment.
He twisted his body to easily dodge Sakumo's slash, then raised his arm and delivered a brutal punch.
[
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