V2.C5. Invasion IV – Kage Level Ninjutsu

Chapter 5: The Invasion IV – Kage Level Ninjutsu

The First and Second Hokage stood silently beside Orochimaru. Their bodies were pale, their eyes empty, their movements waiting for command. The cracks of the Reanimation Jutsu spread across their skin like the lines of a broken vase that had been glued back together.

Without another command, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was the first to move.

Hashirama remained behind him, calmly observing. His arms were crossed. His expression was unreadable. He was waiting.

Orochimaru simply smiled. He wanted Hiruzen to experience the abilities of his predecessors one by one. He wanted to watch the old man struggle, to see the light fade from his eyes as he realized he could not win.

Tobirama rapidly performed a series of hand seals. His movements were precise, economical, the movements of a man who had designed half the jutsu in the Leaf Village's arsenal. He finished by thrusting both hands forward.

"Water Style: Water Shockwave!"

Without a nearby river or lake, an enormous volume of water suddenly erupted from his mouth. The torrent crashed across the rooftop like a tidal wave, tearing roof tiles from the building and sending them tumbling into the barrier. The water raced straight toward Hiruzen with enough force to sweep him completely off the roof.

Hiruzen immediately reacted. His hands moved with the speed of a man who had been fighting for longer than most of his opponents had been alive.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"

He slammed both palms onto the rooftop. A thick earthen wall rose almost instantly between him and the incoming flood. The wave slammed into the wall with tremendous force, water exploding upward in every direction. For several seconds, the wall absorbed the full impact while water poured around both sides.

The technique successfully protected Hiruzen from being overwhelmed.

Tobirama was not finished. Instead of letting the flood disperse, he used the water he had just created. He formed another set of hand seals. The water surrounding the battlefield suddenly compressed. Then countless high-pressure streams fired toward Hiruzen.

Rather than behaving like ordinary jets of water, they struck with the speed and force of rifle rounds. The mud wall was peppered with impacts. Chunks of earth exploded away. Hiruzen was forced onto the top edge of the wall to avoid being struck directly. Several water bullets narrowly missed his face and torso.

The wall began collapsing beneath the relentless barrage. Hiruzen realized he could not remain there.

Before Tobirama could finish him, Hiruzen bit his thumb. Blood ran across his hand. He slammed his palm onto the rooftop.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A massive cloud of white smoke erupted. From within it appeared the Monkey King, Enma. The old monkey landed between Hiruzen and the incoming attacks. Without even asking what was happening, Enma immediately understood.

"So... it's Orochimaru."

Hiruzen gave a short nod. "There isn't time to explain."

Enma studied the battlefield. His eyes immediately widened upon seeing Hashirama and Tobirama. Even he was surprised.

Seeing Enma arrive, Orochimaru decided to join the battle himself. He tilted his head back. His jaw opened unnaturally wide. A snake emerged from his mouth. The snake opened its own mouth. From inside it, Orochimaru slowly pulled the legendary Sword of Kusanagi.

The blade gleamed despite having come from within the snake. He pointed it toward Hiruzen. Now all three of Hiruzen's opponents were preparing to attack together.

Hiruzen gave a single command. "Enma!"

The Monkey King immediately responded. His body stretched and hardened. In an instant he transformed into the Adamantine Staff. Hiruzen caught it effortlessly. Enma remarked confidently that very few weapons could match his hardness. The staff was now ready to counter both the reanimated Hokage and Orochimaru's Kusanagi.

Knowing Tobirama's Water Style was the immediate threat, Hiruzen rushed directly toward the Second Hokage. Using the Adamantine Staff, he swung with tremendous force. The strike was aimed squarely at Tobirama before another Water Style technique could be unleashed.

Tobirama remained calm. He quickly formed hand seals.

"Water Style: Water Wall!"

A towering wall of spinning water erupted directly in front of him. Instead of merely blocking Hiruzen's strike, the rotating wall caught the momentum of the attack. The Adamantine Staff struck the water barrier. The force of the spinning current redirected Hiruzen. The wall burst outward. Hiruzen was thrown backward across the flooded rooftop, unable to reach Tobirama.

While Hiruzen was still recovering, Hashirama finally acted. He calmly brought his hands together. Unlike Tobirama's quick combat seals, Hashirama's movements were almost effortless. He spoke only four words.

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence."

The rooftop immediately began to shake. Cracks spread beneath Hiruzen's feet. From every direction, gigantic wooden trunks burst through the stone roof. Branches exploded upward. Roots tore through the tiles. Within seconds the battlefield was transformed into a dense forest growing directly from the rooftop itself.

Massive branches raced toward Hiruzen, attempting to overwhelm and bind him from every angle. At this point, Hiruzen was fighting on three fronts simultaneously. Tobirama controlled the battlefield with devastating Water Style. Hashirama reshaped the terrain with Wood Style. Orochimaru waited for an opening with the Sword of Kusanagi.

The battle had become a coordinated assault by three Kage-level opponents, forcing Hiruzen to rely increasingly on Enma's Adamantine Staff rather than trying to overpower them with ninjutsu alone.

High above the battlefield, hidden in the shadows of a nearby rooftop, Naruto watched.

He had seen everything. The coffins rising from the roof. The First and Second Hokage stepping out of the dust. The water exploding across the rooftop. The forest emerging from the stone. The Third Hokage fighting for his life against three enemies who should have been dead.

"What are you doing here kid?” The anbu repeated.

Naruto did not look at him. His eyes were fixed on the battle below.

The Anbu was silent for a moment. Then he nodded. He understood.

Naruto watched the Third Hokage struggle against the First and Second. He saw the old man being pushed back, forced to defend, unable to mount a counterattack. He saw the Wood Style branches closing in, trapping the Third inside a cage of living wood.

He spoke to the Anbu without turning his head. "Is there a way to remove the formation? Without burning up?"

The Anbu shook his head. "The Four Flames Formation is absolute. Once it is erected, nothing can enter or leave. We have tried everything. The only way to break it is to kill the four shinobi maintaining it. But they are hidden within a second barrier to protect themselves."

Naruto's jaw tightened. "There has to be a way."

"There isn't."

Naruto did not respond. He was already running. He moved across the rooftops, leaping from building to building, heading straight for the barrier. The Anbu called after him, but Naruto did not stop.

He reached the edge of the barrier. The violet energy crackled in front of him. He could feel the heat of it, the raw power contained within. He could not enter. He could not help.

But he could be seen.

Inside the Wood Style cage, Hiruzen stood with the Adamantine Staff in his hands. Enma had transformed the staff into a protective barrier, a cage of hardened metal that kept the grasping branches at bay. But the branches were pressing in from all sides. The cage was shrinking.

Enma's voice came from the staff. "Hiruzen. You cannot protect him anymore."

Hiruzen's eyes widened. "Enma…"

"Orochimaru. You have been protecting him. Even now, you are hesitating. You are fighting like a teacher trying to correct a student, not like a Hokage trying to kill an enemy."

Hiruzen was silent.

"Look at him," Enma said. "Look at what he has become. He is not your student anymore. He is a threat to everything you have protected. And you have a duty to stop him."

Hiruzen looked out through the gaps in the wooden branches. He saw Orochimaru standing at the edge of the battlefield, the Sword of Kusanagi in his hand, a smile on his face. He saw the First and Second Hokage waiting for his next move. He saw the barrier crackling around them, cutting them off from the rest of the world.

And then he saw Naruto.

The boy was standing at the edge of the barrier, his hands pressed against the violet energy, his eyes fixed on Hiruzen. He was not trying to enter. He was not trying to help. He was just... watching. Waiting.

Hiruzen understood.

Naruto was watching him. Naruto was expecting him to do something. Naruto believed in him.

Hiruzen closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. When he opened them again, they were clear.

"You are right, Enma. I have been protecting him. I have been hoping that somewhere inside him, the boy I trained still exists." He paused. "He does not. And I cannot keep pretending otherwise."

He deactivated the Adamantine cage. The staff returned to its normal form in his hands. The wooden branches surged forward to crush him.

Hiruzen swung.

The Adamantine Staff cut through the branches like a blade through grass. Wood splintered and flew in every direction. The Deep Forest Emergence shattered around him, the massive trunks collapsing into broken fragments. Hiruzen emerged from the destruction, his robes torn, his breathing heavy, but his eyes burning with determination.

He leaped back to the mud wall. He landed on its edge, his staff in hand, his body turned toward Orochimaru.

His hands came together. Two shadow clones appeared beside him, solid and ready.

Orochimaru's smile faltered. "You cannot defeat me, Sensei. You are old. Your chakra is nearly gone. The First and Second…"

"Are dead," Hiruzen said. His voice was cold. "And I am tired of fighting ghosts."

He pointed the Adamantine Staff at Orochimaru.

"I will kill you, Orochimaru. That is my duty as Hokage. And I will not fail."

---

Next Time: The Invasion V