Absurd.
Completely absurd.
Utterly ridiculous.
Rasa felt a surge of hot blood rush uncontrollably to his head.
The sight nearly triggered his high blood pressure.
Since when had the son he both cherished and feared—
The son he had raised with such caution—
Started kneeling before someone else and begging for forgiveness?
And even letting that person rub his head while praising him?
What kind of nonsense was this?!
Between the fury and the injuries he had just suffered in battle, Rasa suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood without warning.
The rage had struck straight at his heart.
Even the hand controlling the gold dust trembled violently.
The evenly matched battle instantly tilted.
The gold dust collapsed.
"Kazekage-sama!"
Outside the barrier, several Sunagakure ninja cried out in horror.
They wanted to rush in and help.
But the barrier was far beyond their ability to break.
Inside the barrier, the Third Hokage immediately pressed the attack.
Strike while the enemy is down.
This time there was no hesitation.
No holding back.
Only by killing one opponent first could Hiruzen hope to end this chaotic battle.
He quickly formed hand seals again, summoning a massive earth dragon to assist.
Earth Dragon Flame Stream!
Fire.
Endless fire.
After suppressing his injuries and struggling to circulate his chakra, Rasa immediately realized he could no longer withstand the torrent of flames.
In desperation, he shouted:
"Orochimaru! Move now!"
"Move? Hehehe… very well."
A cold laugh slithered beside his ear like the hiss of a snake.
In the next instant—
Pain exploded through his body.
Orochimaru appeared behind him like a ghost.
A pleasant, apologetic smile rested on his pale face.
His right hand extended, the five fingers stretched straight like a blade.
Without hesitation—
He thrust forward.
Puchi!
A clean, chilling strike.
The snake-scaled fingers pierced directly through Rasa's heart from behind like a dagger.
Thump.
Thump.
Orochimaru could even feel the warmth of the beating heart in his palm.
Then he squeezed slightly.
Puchi!
The heart burst.
"Ugh… y-you…"
Covered in blood, Rasa's body froze.
He lowered his head slowly, staring at the fingers protruding from his chest.
His face filled with disbelief.
He tried to struggle.
Tried to turn around.
But the overwhelming pain and cold spreading through his body had already stolen all his strength.
His body went limp.
Utterly powerless.
He barely managed to turn his head, his fading eyes reflecting Orochimaru's pale, mocking face.
"Why…?"
With the last of his strength, he forced the question out.
He couldn't understand.
Why had Orochimaru suddenly attacked him?
They had been cooperating perfectly well just moments earlier.
Of course he had considered guarding against Orochimaru.
But that should have happened after killing the Third Hokage.
So what was this?
Betraying your ally before the job was even done?
"Thank you for your hospitality, respected Kazekage Rasa."
Orochimaru flicked out his long tongue, licking his lips.
His snake-like eyes gleamed with the joy of a successful scheme.
"I forgot to tell you… even without you, killing the Third Hokage would have been easy."
"Oh, and thank you for the gold dust and the corpse."
"Don't worry. I'll take good care of you."
With that, he pulled his hand out.
Puchi!
Another burst of blood erupted like a fountain.
From front and back alike.
Impossible to stop.
"Hah… hah…"
Rasa struggled weakly.
But the light in his eyes dimmed further with every second.
His body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
He fell onto the rooftop.
Blood flowed down the tiles and dripped from the eaves.
"KAZEKAGE-SAMA!!!"
Outside the barrier, the Sunagakure jonin cried out in despair.
Their leader.
Their Kazekage.
Had just died before their eyes.
They tried desperately to break in.
But the Sound Four blocked their path while the barrier held firm.
Meanwhile, the ANBU surrounding the battlefield were momentarily at a loss.
Both sides had begun fighting each other.
Even the Third Hokage stood stunned.
His anger rose higher and higher.
He had been ready to risk his life.
But he had never intended to actually kill the Kazekage.
This was the leader of one of the Five Great Villages.
And now he had died in Konoha.
"This… has become a disaster…"
Hiruzen's expression turned grim.
He almost wanted to curse out loud.
He glared at Orochimaru, fury blazing in his eyes.
"Hehehe… Teacher, why look at me like that?"
Orochimaru didn't even glance at Rasa's fallen corpse.
He simply looked at the Third Hokage with a smile.
There wasn't a hint of guilt in his snake-like eyes.
Only the anticipation of being praised.
"After all… I just helped you."
Then the excitement faded from his gaze.
What remained was pure malice.
And fanatic obsession.
"Now that the troublesome one has been dealt with…"
"Teacher, the two of us can finally have a proper reunion."
He formed hand seals rapidly.
Cold chakra exploded from his body.
Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation!
BOOM! BOOM!
Two coffins wrapped in eerie sealing symbols suddenly rose from the rooftop.
Cracking through the stone.
Cold deathly energy spread through the air.
"What is this…?"
The Third Hokage's face darkened.
"You dare defile the dead!"
Though he shouted in anger, a terrible sense of unease grew inside him.
Especially when he saw the markings on the coffins.
One.
Two.
"Hehehe… sss…"
Orochimaru licked his lips again, unable to hide his excitement.
"A surprise gift from your student, Teacher."
The coffin lids fell open.
Thud.
Thud.
The moment Hiruzen saw who stood inside—
He froze.
His old face tightened instantly.
Then—
He straightened his back.
Chest lifted.
Standing at attention.
In that instant, he was no longer a hunched old man.
Instead—
He looked like a young soldier standing at inspection.
…
"What just happened?"
"Wait— the Fourth Kazekage was killed! That man is—"
"Lord Orochimaru?! So he never really defected? Haha! Great! Lord Orochimaru and the Third Hokage joined forces to kill the Kazekage!"
"Phew! Looks like everything's fine!"
One ANBU ninja clapped excitedly.
Certain he had figured everything out.
But soon he noticed something strange.
The looks his comrades were giving him were…
Odd.
Like they were staring at an idiot.
"Has it occurred to you…"
One ANBU gestured downward.
"…that maybe we were never in danger to begin with?"
The others followed his gaze.
On the street below, Kai had already turned and was walking toward the Hokage Tower.
"Ah… that lord is finally coming."
The ANBU exhaled in relief.
With him present—
No monsters or demons in the world were worth fearing.
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