The pressurized wall of water finally fell back onto the tiles of the roof. However, it very quickly rose once again before being launched towards the old Hokage. On its way, the water slowly transformed into a dragon's head.
On the opposite side of the roof, Lord Third Hokage found himself pressed against the purple chakra barrier that had been raised by Orochimaru's subordinates. He swiftly completed a combination of hand seals that culminated with the old man spitting out a lot of mud. It expanded like foam and then it hardened, turning into a big robust wall that blocked the incoming water jutsu.
As the attack dissipated, he could see half of the hand seals the reanimated corpse of the first Hokage was doing. For even elite jounin, it would be hard to tell what was coming by just seeing half of the seals, but for the God of Shinobi, that was more than enough to recognize his predecessor's secret jutsu.
The old man swiftly bit his finger, which caused a minor hemorrhage on it. Then, he jumped and climbed his own mud wall, seeking to escape the little tree buds that were very quickly growing beneath him.
The buds then became a mess of thick branches and roots that only grew faster with time, clearly chasing Sarutobi. As he finally reached the upper end of his wall and stood on it, the roots and branches had already reached him and completely surrounded him. He moaned out in pain as one of the branches cut through his armorless arm and left a major cut.
Very quickly, he found himself completely tied down by the several branches and leaves. His eyes widened as he was completely unable to move. Orochimaru's cackles were audible from his position, even if neither him nor his two predecessors were observable.
The old man reached for the branch closest to him, which was right in front. It seemed like it was too far away for him to place his hand on it, but as he stretched his fingers as much as he could, a small trace of blood painted its surface. The Third's eyes widened in relief before yelling.
"The Art of Summoning: I call thee!" A smoke explosion emerged from the traces of blood before a robust monkey, wearing a black shinobi outfit under a coat made out of tiger fur, appeared on the branch. "Enma, King of the Monkeys!"
The monkey looked over the branches and saw the disciple of his good friend standing right behind the First and Second Hokage.
"Orochimaru!" Yelled the monarch. "So it has come to this… And all because you refused to kill him that day, Sarutobi!"
"I'm dealing with it now." Was the only reply the Third could think of.
The monkey crossed its arms. "Too late!"
His summoning then broke the branches away, freeing the old leader. Then, it jumped into the air.
"Indestructible nyoi staff!" Yelled Sarutobi before kicking one final branch out of the way and emerging from the trap set by the First.
"Transform!" Yelled the monkey before his body turned into a long staff with golden details on both ends.
"How interesting!" Said Orochimaru. He opened his mouth to an unnatural degree before a snake came out straight from his throat. Then, the snake also opened its mouth, ejecting a katana into the air.
The Sannin grabbed the sword while the snake returned to his throat.
Hiruzen rushed towards his two predecessors and tried to hit both of them. However, the Second Hokage crawled down while the First jumped, dodging the attempt.
This left an opening in between them that the Third intended to use. He held the staff pointed straight at his old student, before it began extending towards him. Orochimaru held his sword in front of him and blocked the attack, though the force of the attack pushed him back a couple of steps.
From the golden covering of the end of the staff, emerged the furious head of Enma. The king opened his mouth, revealing his fangs, and reached to bite off the Sannin's head. However, the staff was kicked by both reanimated Hokage, which pushed Hiruzen backwards along with the staff.
The force of the kicks beat Sarutobi's knees and he fell back. Enma retracted the staff to its regular length, while he merged his head back into the form of the weapon.
Orochimaru cackled once again. "I can't believe you didn't even try using shadow clones."
Just outside the barrier, two ANBU were watching the fight closely. Alongside them was Danzo, who calmly awaited for any opening that would allow him to step in. However, it seemed that the Sannin's plan had been precisely to isolate the Hokage to take him down first, as he was by far the strongest shinobi in all of Konoha.
One of the ANBU gasped at Orochimaru's comment.
"Shadow clones are very costly jutsu. Someone his age can no longer abuse it." Explained the second ANBU. "His age has caught up to him. Even the God of Shinobi's chakra reserves decline with age."
Sarutobi's breathing was heavy, and if one's eye was well trained enough, it would be able to see the slight shake in his arms. At this point in life, the legendary nyoi staff had become quite heavy for his frail old body.
Orochimaru, still standing behind the protection of Konoha's first two leaders, watched with certain disappointment as his old master was no longer the legendary shinobi that earned the title of 'God of Shinobi'. He should be glad that it would be easier to take him down, but deep down he was not. Far from it, he was frustrated about it.
The Sannin forced a smirk upon his face. "You're the legendary shinobi known as 'The Professor' for knowing every jutsu in this village, even those held in secret by the clans, and those within the village's forbidden scrolls. Please do not disappoint me."
Smoke began to emerge from two pieces of paper that had been attached to the feet of both Hokage. Hiruzen let out a small sigh of relief as the seals exploded, completely destroying the lower half of their legs.
The smoke briefly covered the bodies of his two predecessors, but once it dispersed, it revealed an unexpected scene. There was no blood, no bones. It seemed as if the reanimated bodies were made out of ashes, as that was all that came from the severe injuries. And on top of all, their injuries were slowly regenerating, with the pieces of ash and paper returning to reconstruct the destroyed limbs.
Lord Third Hokage gritted his teeth. Finally, he realized that he would not be able to defeat the reanimated Hokage in the traditional fashion. If he wanted to end the Edo Tensei, he only had one option.
A cold drop of sweat came down from his forehead, all the way until it fell off his chin. He had to bound the souls of his two predecessors. He had to use the Fourth Hokage's sealing jutsu.
The two oto-nin swiftly made their way upstairs. Slamming the many doors of the classrooms and offices open, even the restrooms. However, the students and teachers were nowhere to be seen.
They began to plant explosive seals in every door they opened, while continuing their way to the last floor, the fifth one. Once they reached it, it became evident that the building was seemingly empty. All the restrooms, all the classrooms, all the offices, all the janitor rooms. Even the lockers were seemingly empty.
But if it was so, why would a jounin like Anko be guarding the building?
The sound of all the lockers opening and closing at a rapid rate suddenly caught their attention. They turned around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. However, the metallic sound only became more intense.
Finally, a kunoichi with long, curly hair jumped at them holding a kunai. One of the oto-nin reacted in time and grabbed her wrist before she could land her attack. Even with the screeching making him dizzy, the foreign shinobi pulled her arm and slammed her into the floor.
Behind them, a man wearing a Konoha chunin uniform also appeared. He had a distinctive scar across his face, while his brown hair was tied into a ponytail.
Both enemies turned to him, recognizing the bigger fish.
"Suzume, go back to the kids. I'll try to hold them back." Said Iruka while grabbing a pair of kunai from his pocket.
"You think we're just gonna let her through?"
"No, but I'm going to entertain you quite a bit."
The woman stood up, and the other instructor got the signal to initiate his own offensive. However, as soon as he took a single step, something akin to a meteor crashed through the roof into the hallway.
Iruka flinched and so did Suzume, but one of the oto-nin had been hit directly. As the dust was slowly pulled down by gravity, a humanoid silhouette was revealed.
A boy with very spiky, black hair was the one responsible for the sudden crash landing right over the oto-nin. His arms were unusually muscular, almost unnaturally so for someone his age. The other foe tried to escape, but the boy appeared right in front of him in the blink of an eye. He gave him a precise hit on the neck, causing him to fall unconscious.
The boy's clothes were nothing like Iruka had seen. His white cape was similar to something people from the Land of Wind would wear in caravans, but his purple gi under it was unfamiliar.
From the hole above, Iruka's students peeked into the hallway to see what had happened. Among them was the familiar face of Sakura, who was wearing the same attire as the mysterious boy.
"All good up there, Sakura?" Asked Gohan, who was not agitated by the confrontation at all.
The ease with which he had knocked out the attackers was almost frightening to both instructors of the academy.
"Yeah! Nobody injured here!" Yelled the pink-haired girl. "Are you okay, master Iruka?"
"Sakura? But I thought you were…" He turned to look at Suzume, and they exchanged confused expressions.
"Yeah, I was away for a while but Gohan here, and his master, took care of me!" Explained the girl, oblivious to the fact that there was a grave in Konoha's cemetery with her name on it.
Iruka then glanced at the Saiyan, who waved awkwardly at the strangers. He had only then realized he was yet to present himself, and felt embarrassed for his lack of manners.
"I'm Son Gohan, nice to meet you." He smiled nervously. "Sakura told me a little about you. Sounds like you're a good teacher."
"I'm Umino Iruka. Welcome to Konoha… I guess."
"Master, what's going on? We sensed a lot of deaths and that's why we hurried up here." Sakura inquired, as from the roof of the Academy, she was able to clearly see the extent of the invasion.
"Orochimaru of the Sannin has invaded Konoha with the help of Sunagakure, it seems…" Explained the teacher, while still unsure of how to react to the situation. "I don't have much information but I believe Lord Third is fighting Orochimaru on the Central Viewing Tower of the stadium."
"Anko is fighting someone on the first floor here. She might need some help." Suzume added, considering that to be the priority at the moment. "I'm sure Lord Hokage will defeat Orochimaru on his own."
Iruka was not so certain.
"Well, Sakura, you can go help that Anko person and I can help… Hokage? That's an odd name." Gohan said while scratching his chin.
Sakura finally jumped from above, into the hallway. She cracked her knuckles before offering to give the spiky-haired boy a brown pocket.
"Oh, no no, keep the Senzu beans. I won't need them and we only have three." He crossed his arms. "I guess you could cut them in half to have more pieces in case it was necessary, and though the effect won't be as complete, it will still help a lot."
Once again, the two instructors exchanged glances filled with confusion. There were many details they were missing. Not only was Sakura alive, but she was accompanied by a weird looking boy and talking about some beans.
"You'll have to explain a lot of things after this, Sakura." Said the teacher, while rubbing his forehead.
The pinkette laughed nervously while tying the pocket to the blue belt of her purple gi.
"By the way, master." Sakura began. "Do you know where Naruto and Sasuke are?"
Iruka frowned. "I don't know."
That was the only viable answer at that specific moment. He could not possibly deliver the news to her at that time, and he also did not know exactly where the blonde boy was, even if he was told he would be training.
"I guess I'll have to find them." Replied the girl with determination. Unusually, the light in her green eyes reminded the instructor of the fiery determination in Naruto's own. Something had changed about Sakura. A positive change.
"Alright, let's go, Gohan!"
"Wait a minute." The Saiyan grabbed the girl by the arm as she began to float. "Where is the stadium?"
Both instructors and Sakura fell on their backs.
"He's very strong but he doesn't seem to be very smart!" The voice of a boy yelled from the hole on the roof.
As the group looked above, they found the familiar face of Konohamaru standing right in front of his classmates. His arms were crossed, though his confident smirk was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his expression showed nothing but concern.
"You can fly, right?!" Asked the boy wearing the long blue scarf.
The half-blood nodded.
"Then you'll be able to see the stadium engulfed in flames and dark smoke south of the big red tower in the middle!" Explained the youngest of the Sarutobi, while pointing to his right. "Please go. Gramps is old and weak. I don't think he can beat whoever that freak is."
Iruka's expression softened at the innocent concern from the boy. Even the grandson of the Third Hokage, the God of Shinobi, was worried about his grandfather.
Gohan flew up to the height of where the boy was standing. He gave him a warm smile and patted him on the head, moving his green goggles a little.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Konohamaru! The future Sixth Hokage!" Yelled the kid while raising his fist towards the Saiyan.
"Well, Konohamaru, I promise to help your grandpa!" He removed his hand from his head to give him a thumbs up. "I'll bring him back in no time!"
Then, a blue aura became visible around his body. The boy felt a certain heat near his face coming from it. He blinked once, and the mysterious boy was already gone. Only traces of his blue aura were left, but they soon were absorbed back into the regular air.
The blue trail of his aura was visible in the sky as he flew at unbelievable speeds towards the stadium.
Even Sakura was shocked by his speed, as well as the intensity of his energy to the point where it was visible. She then nodded and began floating again, this time aiming for the window. She had to go to the first floor and help Anko.
As the girl launched herself at the window at impressive speeds, Iruka was simply left astonished. The boy was powerful, but the girl had also reached a very high level all of a sudden. The ability of flight alone was an ability that only one person in the entire shinobi world possessed, and that man was one of the strongest shinobi alive.
At least he could be certain that Anko would be aided by a very strong kunoichi.
"Master Iruka!" A girl with dreads pushed the still shocked Konohamaru away to speak to the teacher. Her dreadlocks were only kept back by a pink bandage, worn in a way very similar to hitai-ate. "Can I learn how to fly like that?"
"Well, Gin, only the Tsuchikage was known to be able to do so." Iruka explained. "I don't think most of us can do it."
Sakura let herself fall onto the schoolyard. She was yet to test herself and her progress after her brief training with Gohan, so it was only then that she realized how much lighter she felt all of a sudden.
The pinkette turned around and saw the main entrance. She had aimed at the right window. The doors were already open, and the scene unfolding in the main hallway was clearly visible from her position.
A violet-haired woman was on her knees, her back turned on Sakura. In front of her, a gray-haired young man was laughing in quite the maniacal fashion at what the genin figured was his victory.
The girl cracked her knuckles, before dragging one of her feet backwards. She took a deep breath, and then ran at the top of her speed. Not only did she feel lighter, but she had also become considerably faster than before.
Kabuto noticed a flash that quickly approached him. However, he was unable to react. He only realized that he received a powerful kick straight to the side of his face, and was pushed backwards from the sheer force of it.
Sakura landed like a ballerina, using just the tip of one of her feet. Then, she calmly approached the injured jounin, who turned to look at the girl with certain surprise.
For the snake's right hand man, going in between such a powerful kick to such a light landing made no sense. How could someone able to fall down as slowly as a feather possibly hold so much strength. He felt that one of his teeth was loose, so he took it and spit it out by himself.
Anko waved off the girl's offer to help her up, and stood on her own.
"Reinforcements, Anko? Really?" Mocked the man with the ponytail. "And who is this girl? You just called her to use her as fodder? I see some of Orochimaru has remained within you, after all…"
"I don't know her, but I'm not about to deny her help after what she just did to you." Replied the woman as she wiped the blood off her mouth. Then, she adopted her fighting stance. "Let's get this over with."