Two Kage Level powerhouses faced each other from a distance. The sheer tension of their standoff made the air feel frozen, forcing everyone watching to hold their breath.
There were four diary holders present. Two of them were Kage Level shinobi, so they could still face the terrifying pressure pouring out of the screen with relative composure.
For Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Sasuke, though, it was overwhelming.
Kakashi felt sweat bead on his forehead. Even the last time he had faced Orochimaru alone in a video, it had not been this frightening. Back then, Orochimaru had not been serious.
This time was different.
Facing Sarutobi Hiruzen, even an older version far from his peak, Orochimaru had no choice but to go all out.
"So this is Kage Level power," Kakashi muttered through clenched teeth. "I have to break through to that realm."
It was not as if Kage Level battles had never happened before. He had watched the entire fight between Mangekyo Sharingan Sasuke and Shimura Danzo.
But in that battle, neither side had bothered with releasing pressure or posturing. They had been desperate to kill each other, especially Sasuke, whose only thought had been ending Danzo as quickly as possible.
This was different.
This was the first time Kakashi had fully felt the oppressive presence of a true Kage Level confrontation.
When someone like that appeared on a battlefield, the only answer was another Kage Level shinobi. Otherwise, every battlefield would be overturned.
Even Kakashi felt crushing mental pressure. For ordinary jonin, chunin, and genin, it would be unbearable.
"Damn it…"
Uchiha Sasuke clenched his teeth. The single tomoe in his Sharingan spun wildly, helping him resist the terrifying pressure bearing down on him.
This was far worse than the pressure Zabuza had given him in that earlier video.
Back then, the version of himself facing Zabuza had even entertained thoughts of suicide. He had been nothing more than a fledgling who had just left the academy.
But now things were different.
He had experienced far more. His strength was growing rapidly.
Even though the gap between his current self and Orochimaru or the Third Hokage was far greater than the gap between his past self and Zabuza, he felt calmer.
He would never think of giving up his life again.
This kind of pressure was ultimately mental intimidation. It was forged only by wading through seas of blood and corpses. To resist it required a will as hard as steel.
Long-term exposure to this kind of pressure led to only two outcomes. Either you went mad, or your mental fortitude was tempered at frightening speed.
Sasuke suddenly realized something.
He might have found a way to rapidly strengthen his mental endurance.
After all, the diary could be reviewed again and again. It was not limited to a single viewing.
This was practically a cheat.
And it was a method he could use to improve himself quickly.
Rubble continued to collapse. The air remained suffocating. The confrontation between the two reached a terrifying extreme.
"I won't go easy on you just because you've grown senile," Orochimaru sneered. "Don't disappoint me too much."
Faced with the provocation, the Third Hokage replied coldly, "That suits me just fine. I'll decide whether you need to go back to the academy after I see the completion of your jutsu."
The chakra radiating from their standoff drifted through the air. Even the Anbu outside the Four Violet Flames Formation could feel it, prompting hushed amazement.
"Such powerful chakra. It feels like the air itself is pressing down on us."
In the blink of an eye, both of them formed seals. The Third Hokage struck first.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
In an instant, countless shuriken clones filled the sky, blotting everything out.
At the same time, Orochimaru completed his own hand seals.
"Summoning Technique: Impure World Reincarnation!"
Several coffins suddenly appeared in front of him.
Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately realized what that jutsu was and reacted at once.
"That technique… using summoning as a shield, and those dead are…"
"First Hokage. Second Hokage!" Hiruzen shouted. "Stop the third one!"
Only then did he fully grasp how serious the situation was. If it had just been disciplining his wayward student, he had still been confident.
Even past his prime, he was not truly afraid of Orochimaru in a direct fight.
But the moment Orochimaru used Impure World Reincarnation, he knew things had gone terribly wrong.
That jutsu was recorded in the Scroll of Seals.
Yes, another forbidden technique created by his teacher.
The version recorded there had been incomplete. The Second Hokage had died on the battlefield before finishing it, and afterward, no one in Konoha had the talent to complete it.
And yet, Orochimaru had done it.
Not only that, it looked combat-ready.
Countless shuriken pinned into the coffins, stopping the one marked with the number four from emerging.
"The third one doesn't seem to be working," Orochimaru said indifferently. "That's fine. The first two are enough."
"So the third was stopped," Sarutobi Hiruzen said grimly. "Which means the real trouble starts now. Of all people, you summoned those two."
In front of him, the coffin lids fell away. Smoke dispersed, revealing two figures.
The moment they appeared, everyone watching was stunned.
One had black hair and wore red Warring States armor. The other had white hair and wore similar armor.
"Could it be… those two?" someone among the Anbu whispered.
"How will you deal with this, Teacher Sarutobi?" Orochimaru grinned. "Third Hokage-sama."
"Damn it. Orochimaru… how dare he. How dare he do this."
Jiraiya clenched both fists as the figures appeared on screen. Never in his life had he hated Orochimaru this much.
He recognized them instantly.
They were none other than the founders of Konoha, the First Hokage Senju Hashirama and the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama.
Their prestige in Konoha was unmatched. Even Jiraiya, who harbored plenty of dissatisfaction toward the village's leadership, held deep respect for the two former Hokage.
By seniority, they were his teachers' teachers.
And now Orochimaru had summoned them, using them to fight their own student, the Third Hokage.
It was cruelty beyond words.
When the two former Hokage appeared, both Uchiha Itachi and Hatake Kakashi became visibly grave. This trump card was far beyond anything they had anticipated.
Especially Itachi.
Orochimaru had been instantly defeated when facing him. His Mangekyo Sharingan had completely countered Orochimaru.
Itachi knew Orochimaru's true strength went far beyond that, but even so, he had never imagined something this horrifying.
If Orochimaru had summoned these two back then, even without knowing how much of their original power they retained, the fight would have been brutal.
"This Orochimaru…" Kakashi started to say, wanting to comment on his audacity, but then he remembered everything Orochimaru had done.
And suddenly, it felt entirely in character.
With that level of recklessness, what wouldn't Orochimaru dare to do?
Once something outrageous was attributed to Orochimaru, it somehow started to make sense.
Uchiha Sasuke, on the other hand, could not identify the two figures from their attire alone. They only felt vaguely familiar, likely because he saw portraits of past Hokage every day.
But a jutsu that summoned the dead back to the living world was completely outside his understanding. It never even crossed his mind.
Even so, he instinctively felt the immense pressure brought by the appearance of the First and Second Hokage.
The two Hokage walked toward the Third Hokage.
The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, spoke in a hollow voice, "It's been a long time, Monkey."
"It really has been a while. You've grown old too, Sarutobi," Senju Tobirama added, his tone reflective.
"I never thought I'd meet you both again under circumstances like this," Sarutobi Hiruzen said heavily.
The two men before him were his teachers, both of whom had guided his path as a shinobi.
He knew exactly how terrifying they were. Either one alone would be an enormous problem.
Together, they were a nightmare.
"This is bad," an Anbu squad leader muttered.
"That summoning jutsu… who exactly are those two?" another Anbu asked.
"Brace yourselves," Sarutobi Hiruzen said slowly. "The First Hokage-sama and the Second Hokage-sama."
Everyone froze.
"That's right," the Anbu captain explained. "The one with black hair is the First Hokage. The one with white hair is the Second Hokage. They are revered as the greatest shinobi, the Hokage who built the Konoha we know today."
Only then did Uchiha Sasuke fully understand why the Third Hokage and the Anbu looked so grave.
Those two strange figures summoned from the dead were actually the First and Second Hokage.
Figures he had only ever seen in textbooks.
Even though they were not given as much emphasis as the Third Hokage, their presence in the books had still left a deep impression.
Even someone from the Uchiha Clan like him had learned to respect them.
And now Orochimaru had summoned them back.
He can summon the dead?
The thought struck Sasuke like lightning.
His expression turned almost feverish.