"Did you intentionally leave Konoha yesterday to show me? When did you discover my plan?" Orochimaru released Hiruzen Sarutobi and stepped aside.
Although he always spoke disparagingly of Jiraiya, Orochimaru still acknowledged Jiraiya's strength deep down, otherwise he wouldn't have specifically sent people to monitor Jiraiya's movements.
"From the very beginning." Hiruzen Sarutobi took off his Hokage robe, revealing the battle suit he had been wearing underneath.
"You've given me quite a surprise, Hiruzen-sensei," Orochimaru said with an evil smile.
Jiraiya's sudden appearance disrupted Orochimaru's plan, but everything was still within his control.
Orochimaru's confidence stemmed from a Ninjutsu, a Ninjutsu that could revive the dead.
"Edo Tensei!"
Three coffins rose sequentially from the ground.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly threw shuriken infused with Chakra.
"Thud, thud, thud..."
The shuriken pierced the wooden coffins.
Hiruzen Sarutobi formed hand seals, suppressing the third wooden coffin that hadn't fully risen yet: "We must at least reduce one enemy, Jiraiya!"
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
Jiraiya spewed a large amount of Chakra oil and simultaneously used Fire Release to ignite it, instantly sending a sea of flames towards Orochimaru.
"It seems I can only abandon the third one." Orochimaru gave up contesting control of the third coffin with Hiruzen, then slammed his hand on the ground: "Rashomon."
To prevent Rashomon from touching the barrier, Orochimaru only released the smallest Rashomon in terms of size and defense.
"Boom!"
"Crack, crack, crack..."
The area where Rashomon met the sea of flames cracked, and the raging inferno was about to break through the obstruction.
"There's enough time." Orochimaru no longer paid attention to Jiraiya, turning to continue activating Edo Tensei.
"Click."
The wooden coffin lids fell, and two figures emerged from within.
Seeing their faces, a cold sweat dripped down Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead: "It had to be these two..."
Wearing ancient Sengoku era armor, with imposing faces and Konoha headbands on their foreheads, these two were none other than the First Hokage and Second Hokage of Konoha Village, who had died many years ago.
"Although this Ninjutsu is still imperfect due to various reasons, and these two can only display a small fraction of their strength from when they were alive, they are still the First and Second Hokage.
What will you do, Hiruzen-sensei?" Orochimaru didn't give the Hokage time to reminisce, pulling out Kunai from his pocket and embedding them into the heads of the two.
The real battle was about to begin!
...Konoha Village's Southern Forest.
"Thump, thump, thump, thump..."
Yuta, enveloped in Nine-Tails Chakra, moved rapidly through the forest.
Estimating the distance from Konoha Village, Yuta turned and stopped: "That's about right."
Gaara, who had been chasing Yuta, also stopped on a nearby tree.
Feeling the evil power within the red Chakra, Gaara grinned widely: "You indeed have something inside you too.
Your blood is definitely the most delicious of all!"
"You want to kill me?" Yuta sighed: "Let's not talk about that for now.
Is it really okay for you to stand so openly in a place an enemy would pass?"
A cold smile appeared on Yuta's lips: "Explode!"
"Boom!"
The explosive tag stuck to the branch exploded, shattering the branch and causing Gaara to lose his balance and fall towards the ground.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
Three tails extended from behind Yuta, and he rushed in front of Gaara as if teleporting.
"Leaf Whirlwind."
His right leg, amplified by Nine-Tails Chakra, heavily kicked Gaara's abdomen.
"Splash, splash..."
Chains bound the recoiling Gaara and pulled him back forcefully.
Yuta used this momentum to move again in front of the incapacitated Gaara.
"Sealing Technique: Wind Seal!"
Yuta placed his right hand on Gaara's chest, and a blue 紋印 quickly spread from their point of contact.
Wind Seal, one of the basic Sealing Techniques of the Uzumaki Clan, can be combined with four other seals to form more advanced Sealing Techniques.
"Not enough." Yuta manipulated the chains to spin Gaara: "Water Seal!"
"Next." Yuta's right hand condensed a Rasengan and slammed it into Gaara's back.
"Boom!"
Gaara was smashed into a deep crater in the ground.
Yuta jumped onto a nearby tree and continuously released Ninjutsu into the deep crater.
Yuta had no masochistic tendencies.
If he could defeat Gaara before he fully released Shukaku, that would be the best outcome, but this was clearly unrealistic.
"Sand Coffin."
A frantic voice echoed from the deep crater.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."
"What?!" Hearing the sound, Yuta turned his head in surprise.
Just as Yuta was releasing Ninjutsu, the sand controlled by Gaara moved along the trees to above Yuta.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."
Gaara, clad in a Tailed Beast Cloak, rose supported by the sand.
Looking at Yuta, who was wrapped in sand, Gaara extended his right hand and smiled cruelly: "Sand Waterfall Funeral."
"Creak, creak, creak..."
A grating sound rang out, but no blood seeped from the sand as Gaara had imagined.
"Sand Waterfall Funeral!" Gaara raised his right hand again.
"Boom!"
Four solid beast tails shattered the sand ball and unfurled.
"Crack, crack..."
Yuta, in his Four-Tails state, slowly emerged from the sand ball.
"What is this?!" Gaara swallowed with difficulty.
Just one less tail, but the pressure it brought to Gaara increased geometrically.
"Hum."
As Gaara hesitated whether to fully release Shukaku, Yuta's fourth tail slowly retracted.
"Phew." Yuta recovered his sanity and let out a long sigh of relief, still shaken.
If he hadn't forced open his Four-Tails state, taking that attack from Gaara head-on would have resulted in at least a serious injury.
"Did the Sealing Technique have no effect at all?" Yuta cursed under his breath.
Jinchuriki were indeed troublesome.
"Boom!"
Gaara slammed his right hand heavily on a tree: "Uzumaki Yuta! You truly are my prey.
I will kill you! I must kill you!"
"Sigh." Yuta shrugged helplessly: "Killing or not killing aside, can you please wipe your drool?
You're a grown man, why are you still so unhygienic?"
"Ugh..." Gaara was choked into silence.
He simply raised his right arm and launched an attack directly: "Sand Hand."
"He got angry after just a few words." Yuta leaped up, and the giant sand hand slammed into the tree.
"Crack, crack, crack..."
A dense sound of breaking echoed, and trees as thick as two people's embrace collapsed under this single blow.
"Thud."
Yuta landed on a nearby branch: "In this state, I should be able to try that Water Release Ninjutsu."
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Yuta created two Shadow Clones to restrain Gaara's movements, while his main body quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique."
"Boom, boom, boom!"
A waterfall tens of meters high, containing the power to destroy everything, pressed down on Gaara.
The thick trees in the forest snapped like dry wood under this technique.
Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique, one of the Water Release A-rank Ninjutsu, its power is related to the user's Chakra volume.
Its maximum power is no less than a natural disaster, the only drawback is that it requires a large amount of Chakra.
In his normal state, Yuta would never use such a Chakra-intensive, large-scale Ninjutsu.
Firstly, his Chakra volume wouldn't allow it, and secondly, the destruction caused by such Ninjutsu was simply too great.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The water surge swept through the forest like a decaying force.
Gaara was instantly engulfed and dragged to the bottom of the water the moment he touched the waves.
"Whoa, whoa, are you kidding me?" Looking at Gaara, who was completely unharmed in the water, Yuta bit his lip hard.
The pressure of a waterfall tens of meters high was terrifying, yet even so, it only pinned Gaara to the bottom of the water, unable to move, without causing effective damage.
"This defense is a bit unfair, isn't it? Never mind, the goal wasn't to kill anyway." Yuta placed his right hand on the water's surface, Chakra rapidly pouring in as if it were free: "Water Release: Water Cannon."
More than ten water cannons slammed into Gaara's face.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Gaara felt his sanity almost completely slipping away.
Looking at Yuta standing on the water, Gaara roared: "Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle..."but he forgot that he is under water not like he cares anyway.