Whoosh—!
With a buzzing sound caused by the friction of the Tailed Beast Balls against the air, Hashirama and Tobirama's expressions shifted from deathly stillness to liveliness.
"Hey, I can move again!"
"Hahaha, Tobirama, that young man was actually quite kind. He actually released the control over us!"
The moment he awoke, Hashirama stretched his limbs, slapping Tobirama's arm, and shouting.
"Big brother, you idiot, don't be stupid! Remember, that's the enemy!"
Looking at Hashirama's carefree attitude, Tobirama felt a tightness in his chest.
"But he released it..."
"Shut up!"
Tobirama roared, making Hashirama shrink back. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the terrifying Tailed Beast Balls hurtling toward them.
"These are... Tailed Beast Balls!!!"
"Three of them?!"
Tobirama instantly lost all interest in lecturing his foolish older brother and roared out. "Use your Wood Release! Keep controlling your Wood Dragon! We can't let the Tailed Beast Ball explode here, or everything within a kilometer radius will be completely destroyed!"
Hearing Tobirama's shout, Hashirama quickly regained his composure, transforming back into the legendary God of Shinobi.
"Hahaha, this is a Tailed Beast Ball formed from the powerful Kurama's chakra. It truly brings back fond memories! Leave it to me. I'll do my best to block it!"
Clap!
Laughing heartily, black markings appeared between Hashirama's brows, and he slammed his hands together in front of his chest.
"Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Instantly, the entire arena shook violently, as if something was about to burst forth from the ground!
But even as the Tailed Beast Balls flew right before them, the ground only trembled; the thing beneath remained hidden.
"Brother, you idiot! What are you doing?!" Tobirama yelled angrily, forming hand seals and charging toward the Tailed Beast Balls.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A torrent of water, like a burst dam, erupted from Tobirama's mouth. Instantly, a massive water prison formed, enveloping the three flying Tailed Beast Balls!
However, this massive flow of water only briefly hindered the Tailed Beast Balls for a second. Then, it evaporated into steam at an even faster rate!
Hashirama reacted in that instant, apologizing as he clasped his hands together again.
"Sorry, sorry, it's mainly because Tobirama's ninjutsu isn't very effective with this body. This resurrected body can't summon the Thousand-Armed Buddha. But a Wood Golem Technique, smaller than the Wood Dragon, is still barely acceptable!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The trembling earth finally stopped. A wooden golem with an honest-looking face, over ten meters tall, rose from the ground!
He hoisted the Hashirama figure, who was standing on the ground, onto his head!
"Although it's less than a tenth of my peak power, it should be enough! Roar!"
As he spoke, the Wood Dragon that had been circling nearby instantly coiled around the wooden figure. Its form resembled that of the Arhat who subdued dragons in mythology!
Then, the wooden figure, resembling the Arhat, leaped forward, its hands firmly grasping the Tailed Beast Balls in mid-air. The dragon heads wrapped around its body shot out like lightning, biting into the last Tailed Beast Ball!
The next second...
The Tailed Beast Ball, finally blocked, transformed into a golden ball of light, rapidly expanding and exploding!
BOOM!!!
In an instant, the entire Four Violet Flames Formation was filled with terrifying gold! Its shape, initially square, was compressed and sculpted into an ellipse before shattering!
The Sound Five at the four corners were the first to be engulfed by the violent golden explosive energy. Then the entire arena was affected, and the energy continued outwards!
However, this burst of golden explosive energy vanished abruptly just outside the arena. It transformed into gigantic trees that grew wildly, filling the entire arena!
But the terrifying wind pressure it generated did not stop. It was like a massive B-Rank Wind Release jutsu. The spreading gale forced the surrounding trees almost to the ground. Villagers passing by were even sent flying into the sky, shoulder to shoulder with the sun!
"Such immense power!"
"Thank goodness it was blocked by those strange trees!"
The clan leaders of the various ninja clans, alerted to the explosion, all witnessed the terrifying golden explosion. They were about to turn and run when they discovered the explosion had been swallowed up by the rapidly growing trees!
Zō and Ōkami, who had run ahead, surrounded the clan leaders as if they had found their pillar of support. Before the clan leaders could ask any questions, Ōkami shouted directly.
"Clan leaders, prepare for battle! Capture the traitor who murdered the Hokage, the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Menma!"
"The traitor who murdered the Hokage!?" Exclamations rose and fell. There was shock, elation, and also anger. After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule over the years had been oppressive to the various ninja clans!
"Ōkami, wait a minute! Did you witness the Hokage's death with your own eyes?" Kakashi, who had followed behind, suddenly stepped forward and blocked their way. He didn't believe that Menma would kill the Third; after all, that was the person Naruto Uzumaki respected and admired most!
"Menma used the Nine-Tails' power to ambush and break the Hokage's limbs, and now he's used a forbidden Tailed Beast ninjutsu! Kakashi, do you think the severely injured and crippled Hokage can survive this?!" Zō also shouted angrily, his face full of dissatisfaction with Kakashi's obstruction.
"Third Grandpa is dead..." Asuma frowned, took a deep breath, and stepped forward. Thinking of Naruto Uzumaki, whom he had trained for two months, he didn't believe he would let his alternate personality attack his father.
"Stop arguing, let's go in and see before we decide." Seeing Asuma come out to stop them, Zō and Ōkami ultimately said nothing more.
Hiashi Hyuga, whose Byakugan veins bulged, withdrew his gaze and spoke. "The Third Hokage didn't die. He was... being held by the tail by Naruto Uzumaki. But something's strange. I saw the figures of the First and Second Hokage. They seemed to be confronting Menma."
Although he didn't know why the ANBU called Naruto Uzumaki "Menma," Hiashi Hyuga still described the scene he saw with his Byakugan.
"He didn't die!" Zō and Ōkami breathed a sigh of relief. Then they explained, "Those were puppets of the First and Second Hokage resurrected by Orochimaru using the forbidden technique, the Impure World Reincarnation."
Meanwhile...
The daimyo rescued by Danzo Shimura collapsed to the ground, trembling like leaves. They had almost thought they were going to die; thankfully, Danzo and his men had dragged them out.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not that weak coward Hiruzen Sarutobi. With me here, you'll be fine." Danzo's domineering words instantly gave the daimyo of the Land of Fire a long-lost sense of security. They didn't even find Danzo scary anymore; instead, they felt he was incredibly reliable!
As he spoke, the tangled, intertwined trees in front of them suddenly turned to dust and vanished completely, revealing the now-disappeared, enormous circular arena! In its place was a huge, semi-circular crater!
And in the very center of the crater, was Menma, wrapped in Hiruzen Sarutobi's three tails, along with Hashirama and Tobirama, whose bodies were slowly recovering!
The onlookers, including Danzo Shimura and his daimyo, all rushed over. Before they even reached the crater, a familiar figure clad in a divine robe appeared beside Menma.
"That's...!!!"
"The Fourth Hokage... Minato Namikaze!!!"
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