Crack.
Konoha. The Hokage Tower.
The moment the barrier shattered, the Sound Four were struck as if by a giant hammer.
Pfft—
Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon and Ukon, and Jirobo all spat out blood at the same time.
Their bodies flew like broken sacks and slammed to the ground, twitching violently.
They coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood, and even their eyes began to lose focus.
"Lord Orochimaru… what… what terrifying beings did you summon…?"
Jirobo forced down another mouthful of blood and raised his head in disbelief.
Just the pressure alone had crushed the barrier the five of them had trained so long to maintain.
It had even severely wounded four of them on the spot.
They could hardly continue fighting.
"I… I don't know either. Maybe Kimimaro does?"
Sakon held up the side of his head, half of which had been blown open, and looked toward Kimimaro, who had been standing there the entire time as if he were doing nothing.
"This guy hasn't moved from the beginning… and he doesn't even look hurt…"
Not hurt?
Kimimaro indeed wasn't hurt.
But because he had been part of the formation, he could clearly feel how overwhelming that pressure had been.
It had shattered the five-man barrier without the slightest effort.
"Even Lord Orochimaru probably couldn't destroy it in one move… let alone with just pressure…"
"But… if that pressure was really that strong, then why did it stop the moment it got here…?"
As that thought crossed his mind, Kimimaro lowered his head and glanced at his sleeve.
There was a clean cut near the elbow.
That had been the only place where the pressure had reached before vanishing completely.
"So… did that mean my physical power completely ignored that pressure?"
The thought flashed through Kimimaro's mind, but he quickly pushed it aside.
Instead, he turned and looked at the smiling Uchiha boy standing opposite him.
Was he helping me?
Why is he… being so kind to me…?
No! That's not right! The one who treats me best is Lord Orochimaru!
But… he's willing to talk to me. He even helped me block that pressure…
Maybe… maybe I can treat him as my second companion?
As confusion swirled inside him, Kimimaro's attitude toward Kai began to change.
At his current age, the boy still longed deeply for friendship and companionship.
But because of his illness, the other four members of the Sound Four never wanted to speak with him.
They even isolated him.
Thinking of that, Kimimaro couldn't help sneaking another glance at Kai. A faint blush unexpectedly appeared on his handsome, delicate face.
Kai: ???
Looking at Kimimaro's reaction, Kai felt baffled.
"Did I fail to block it? If this kid dies here, that'd be a bit of a loss."
As the likely last descendant of Kaguya's bloodline, Kimimaro—
At least for now—
Could not die.
Not before Kai completely mastered Edo Tensei.
"But…"
Kai lifted his head and looked toward the two figures on the rooftop, eagerness flickering in his eyes.
"The aura released by the First and Second Hokage seems much stronger than in the original story…"
"Could it be that because of me, Orochimaru's Edo Tensei was perfected ahead of time?"
"No wonder there was even demand for renting out Hizashi Hyuga's corpse…"
Thinking about it that way, it actually made sense.
Because of Kai's existence, many things in this world had already begun to change.
To put it simply, the Akatsuki probably wouldn't dare come near Konoha again for at least another six years.
Unless—
Obito decided to dig Madara back out of the ground.
…
"The… the… the barrier broke?"
Outside the Hokage Tower, an ANBU ninja on guard duty spoke in a trembling voice.
Behind the mask, his face was filled with panic and shock.
That aura just now—
Just a tiny bit of it leaking out had made his heart nearly stop, as if the heavens were collapsing on top of him.
"K-K-Kakashi-senpai… there's a silver-haired one up there!"
Yamato steadied himself. The Wood Release cells in his body stirred, allowing him to recover slightly, though his face was still pale.
Sweat rolled down his forehead.
Instinctively, he looked at the silver-haired jonin beside him, then at the silver-haired man on the rooftop, then back at Kakashi again.
A wildly immature thought slowly formed in his heart.
The same tall, handsome figure.
The same short silver hair.
The same cold face holding a blade.
The same powerful aura.
Could it be—?!
"You noticed it too…" Kakashi drew a breath and nodded. "You guessed right."
After saying that, he glanced toward the Hokage Rock in the distance, waves rising in his heart.
Even he had never expected to see the First and Second Hokage of Konoha under circumstances like this.
So it really was true!
Hearing that confirmation, Yamato nodded hard.
No wonder they looked so similar!
Subconsciously, he lowered his voice and asked, "So… Kakashi-senpai, aren't you going up there to call him fa— I mean, say hello?"
Kakashi didn't catch the first part and simply shook his head.
"No. Maybe later, if there's a chance."
The two great elders had returned in such a blasphemous state.
If he went over now and a fight broke out…
And if he accidentally defeated both of them…
Wouldn't that be awkward?
How would the people of Konoha look at those two elders after that?
He shook his head again, fully aware that a jutsu that defiled the dead could never reproduce their full strength.
If it were before, his guess would probably have been right.
But now…
That might not be true anymore.
"It's actually those two lords!"
Nara Shikaku suddenly brushed aside his bangs, his eyes widening into circles.
His mouth hung open unconsciously, and his mind went completely blank.
The First Hokage…
And the Second Hokage!
Legends he had only ever heard about from memorial tablets and the stories passed down by his family.
The God of Shinobi who had single-handedly ended the Warring States Era and founded Konoha.
And the other one—the cold, powerful Second Hokage who had developed countless forbidden techniques—
Tobirama Senju.
He had never imagined he would live to see the two of them standing before him in the flesh.
Shikaku rubbed his eyes, hoping this wasn't all a dream.
Very soon, one forbidden technique surfaced in his mind.
A technique absolutely prohibited from being practiced—
Edo Tensei.
"Could it be… Edo Tensei? Orochimaru, you madman!"
He inhaled sharply and immediately looked toward one side of the tower.
When he spotted the ten-year-old boy wearing the Uchiha fan crest, he quietly let out a breath of relief.
As long as that one was here, even someone as powerful as Lord Tobirama wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble.
"Th-this… could this be the ultimate challenge of youth—returning from the dead?!"
Beside him, Guy's thick brows rose as he clenched his teeth.
Hot blood surged through his body, and the Eight Gates opened instinctively.
Just one glance had triggered the Eight Gates to begin opening on their own!
That realization left him overwhelmed once again.
But unlike the Konoha side, who felt shock and excitement—
The elite Sunagakure ninja across the street had completely lost their minds.
"Kazekage-sama!"
Their eyes were bloodshot as they stared at the Kazekage's fallen body on the rooftop.
In their hearts, that invincible, omnipotent figure—
Had simply died.
Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara had naturally noticed it as well, and their expressions froze completely.
None of them had expected that the very first thing they would do after arriving here…
Would be to attend their father's funeral.
Gaara's brow twitched.
For a brief moment, anger surged through him.
The killing intent in his heart had only just risen when the voice inside his body immediately talked him down.
"No need, no need, Gaara. Let's deal with that brat after you grow a little more!"
Shukaku's hoarse, sharp voice rang in his ears.
Gaara's raised foot stopped midair.
A few seconds later, he silently lowered it and thought to himself,
"…Fine. You're the one stopping me from going."
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