As feathers began to fall around the arena, the Kazekage turned toward the Hokage. Out from his sleeve, the Kazekage pulled a large ball from his sleeve and threw it on the ground unleashing a large cloud of smoke that obscured the vision the occupants of the Kage box. Immediately, the Hokage stood to his feet as his guard was impaled by several long kunai that went through his flak jacket and pushed him to the back wall. "Hokage-sama … leave … now" the man rasped out as he fell to his knees, then the ground on his side.
Suddenly, the Kazekage wrapped his left arm around the Hokage's neck and held a kunai to his temple. The Kazekage dragged the Hokage to the roof of the Kage box. Suddenly four Anbu, Zo, Baku, Taka, and Inu, arrived on the scene. Baku, Taka, and Inu were in black full body cloaks and Zo is in a white full body cloak. The Kazekage's guards attempted to halt the Anbu but Zo cut them down with two kunai as he shouted, "YOU WILL NOT INTERFER!" The bisected bodies of the Kazekage's guards fell to the roof with a thud. As soon as the bodies hit the floor, four individuals came out of the cloaks.
The first that landed on the roof was a fair skin teen with straight, long dark blue hair that covered the left side of his face while leaving the right side exposed. He was wearing a dark green shade of lipstick as well as eye liner. He was wearing a black shirt with a low collar under a brown tunic, which had a front and back apron, that had long sleeves that were held down by two black vambraces. On the front apron was the taijitu that was fully grey, rather than its usual black and white, which represented the unit he led for his master, The Sound Four. His tunic was secure with a thick purple rope belt, with the ends aiming up. Secured within his rope belt was a large scroll, though what its purpose was, is an unknown. He was wearing a maroon red beaded necklace and skin tight black shorts that stopped above his knees. He was also wearing black, Konoha style shinobi sandals with calf-length leg warmers covered by bandages with a flare at the top reminiscent of loose cavalier boots. What made the teen really stand out was that he had a second head growing out of his neck that had an inverted hair style, meaning its left side was exposed.
There was a single woman amongst the group. She was fare skinned with a slender build though she was rather short. She has brown eyes accented by her long eyelashes which complemented her usual impassive expression. She has waist length dark pink hair with a bang that was chin length while falling over her face. Like her colleague, she too was wearing low collar black shirt under a brown tunic, that had a front and back apron, though she had short sleeves but she has the same black vambraces. On the front apron was the taijitu that was fully grey representing that she was a member of The Sound Four. Her tunic was also secured with a thick purple rope belt, with its ends aimed up wards. She was also wearing black, Konoha style shinobi sandals with calf-length leg warmers covered by bandages with a flare at the top reminiscent of loose cavalier boots as well as skintight, black knee length shorts. On her head was a black beanie with three small pipes that ran along the top of the hat while bandages were wrapped around it.
The next was a dark-skinned teen who has his shaggy, black hair tied into a high ponytail. He was slightly taller than the two headed teen. His most stand out feature was the six arms he has, each of which have a black vambrace of their own. He wore a sleeveless, low collar, black shirt under a sleeveless tunic that was grey rather than brown with a V neck cut in the collar. It still had the front and back aprons as well as the grey taijitu. His tunic was also secured by a thick, purple rope belt with the ends pointing up. He was also wearing skintight black shorts that stopped halfway down his upper leg as well as black, Konoha style shinobi sandals with calf-length leg warmers covered by bandages with a flare at the top reminiscent of loose cavalier boots.
The final person to land was a tall but portly teen with orange hair cut into three lines reminiscent of mohawks, one down the center and one on each side of his head. He has fair skin and narrow, slanted orange eyes. Unlike his colleagues, he wore no undershirt beneath his beige, sleeveless tunic that has the front and back aprons and the taijitu on the front apron. He wore loose fitting black pants that fell halfway down his shins, a necklace that was comprised of many, thin, metallic rods with a red bead separating each rod, and a set of black vambraces. He too was wearing black, Konoha style shinobi sandals with calf-length leg warmers covered by bandages with a flare at the top reminiscent of loose cavalier boots.
They took up positions around the two Kage's in a rectangular formation that encompassed most of the roof they were on. As soon as they got into position, they went through several hand seal. Acting quickly, the four Anbu rushed to not be separated from Hiruzen. As they approached the teens shouted "SHISHIENJIN!" As they stuck their arms out, a violet purple rectangle began to form around the two Kage, using the four teens as the corners to the bottom face of the rectangle. This did not stop the Anbu as they managed to make it inside the barrier before it was fully formed. "Tch! They got in" said the one with two heads.
The Kazekage stared down the four Anbu, but no expression could be determined due to the vail that covered his face. Despite having a kunai pointed at his temple, Hiruzen spoke. "I never imagined Suna would betray Konoha."
"Treaties are nothing but a smokescreen best used to lull the other party into feeling secure until you are ready to strike. But now this pitiful competition is over. From here, history will be made by the victor."
Hiruzen was shocked by Rasa's words, "Are you starting a war?"
"Yes" responded Rasa in a gleeful tone.
In a panicked laced tone "Let us avoid this needless violence and reach an accord through negotiation Kazekaga-sama. There is still time to avoid needless death."
At those words the Kazekage let out a chuckle. "Old age has slowed your mind … Sarutobi-sensei." At the title the Kazekage used to address him, Hiruzen's eyes went wide. Silence enveloped the two. This allowed them to see the conflict that happened in the center of the arena.
"I guess jinchuriki are only useful when they control their biju" commented the Kazekage. This was the final piece that Hiruzen needed. He now for sure knew the person with a kunai to his neck was not Rasa.
"So that's what this is about. Manipulating others to do a deed you wish, you have changed."
"And your foolishness has stagnated Konoha, so I shall be victorious" retorted the Kazekage.
"Humph. Nothing is decided until the very end. I taught you that all those years ago didn't I …" As Hiruzen was talking, the Kazekage grabbed his face, "Orochimaru!" he finished as the man tore his face off putting Anbu more on guard.
Orochimaru was a disturbingly pale man with golden eyes that contained a unique slit pupil. Around his eyes and down his nose was purple eyeshadow that was rather reminiscent of snake fangs that could be considered birthmarks as he had them even as a child. He as waist length black hair that framed his face as his bangs curved across his face as well as blue, sharp tomoe earrings that were hidden beneath his hair.
Hiruzen let out a sigh, "I knew this day would come, but I won't die easy" he replied with fire in his voice.
"You should have named another successor because as our guests will soon bare witness to the death of the Sandaime" said Orochimaru as he licked the blade of his kunai.
For a while nothing was happening. Suddenly the kunai in Orochimaru's hand began to move. As soon as they noticed, the Anbu closed the gap between them and Orochimaru to save their Hokage. Then the kunai was embedded in … Orochimaru's palm. He then let Hiruzen go and walked away, confusing the Anbu.
As soon as Orochimaru was a few paces away, the Anbu took up a loose box formation around Hiruzen. As Orochimaru was walking away, Hiruzen asked "Do you process some kind of regret towards killing me?"
"No, I was feeling a bit sleepy. I just wanted to make sure that I am awake for this" Orochimaru said with glee as he turned to face Hiruzen. This was a sign to the Hokage and the Anbu that the fight they were anticipating was about to start so Hiruzen removed his Kage robes.
Under his Hokage robes, Hiruzen was wearing a black body suit with mesh armor showing over his lower legs and forearms. He has a mute, green gauntlet over his right arm. He has a helmet with plated armor that fell to his shoulders in the same green as his gauntlet. Over his helmet, he has a bandanna style hitai-ate with its ties being long enough to drag on the floor, even at his full height. On the back was a piece of armor that was bolted to the bodysuit at the shoulders which had the kanji for Sandaime Hokage. Placed over the armor were two shuriken holsters on his back. He had open topped sandals that were held up by a strap around his ankle with an additional strap that went over his toes.
Underneath the Kazekage's robes, Orochimaru was wearing his usual kaki tunic that fell to his mid-shin with sits running up to his waist. He has a black, skintight high collar that was layered over his tunic as well as black long sleeve shirt underneath. He has grey, pocketless pants with his lower shins wrapped in bandages, black Konoha style sandals and a thick purple rope belt.
"It looks like they are about to start" commented the six-arm shinobi. "Put a barrier on the inside" commanded the two headed one. At his order's, the four Oto shinobi protected themselves with an additional barrier reminiscent of the first they cast.
"Originally I was hoping that no one would interfere, but you are going to die all the same" taunted the Hebi Sannin. Soon the surrounding air became weighted down by the pressure coming from the Hebi Sannin and the Hokage. With no signal needed, the combatants rush forward to begin the battle. Hiruzen made the opening move. From a shuriken holster on his back, Hiruzen threw a shuriken at his way ward student. Going through a few hand seals, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he called. As the shuriken flew, they multiplied from the single, original shuriken to eighty.
As the shuriken flew towards their target, Orochimaru went through his own hand seals. He suddenly clapped both of his hands together, "Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!" At his words, caskets began to rise from roof. As the second coffin was rising, the Anbu disrupted Orochimaru's jutsu by throwing a few kunai that the Captain caught as they missed their target. He used the thrown kunai as melee weapons, slashing at Orochimaru, forcing the Hebi Sannin to leap away or risk getting slain. This also cancelled the rest of Orochimaru's jutsu, leaving just the two caskets that managed to rise from the edo tensei.
Seeing what was written on the caskets, Hiruzen shouted "Get back!" The Anbu followed the orders of their Kage, once again taking positions around Hiruzen. Orochimaru stepped up to the caskets as they fell open revealing their occupants, the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage.
Hiruzen was disturbed. Orochimaru used a jutsu the Nidaime created to bring his mentors back from the Pure World, all so they could be used to fulfill his ambition of killing him.
Hashirama Senju, the Shodai Hokage, was a tall man with tan skin and dark eyes that complimented his waist length black hair that has a center part with two fringes framing his face due to his hitai-ate holding back his side bangs. He was wearing a black body suit under dark red armor that has the puldrons and tassets, that fell to the side of his legs, built from numerous plates that hung from the cuirass. On his pauldrons was the Senju Clan symbol. He has his lower shins wrapped in white bandages while having open sandals that were secured by a strap that went around his ankles.
Tobirama Senju, the Nidaime Hokage, was nearly as tall as his brother, the Shodai, but he has fair skin with shaggy, silver hair. He has three red marks on his face, one under each eye and one on his chin. He has black eyes like Hashirama and wears a similar outfit, the differences being his armor his blue with a white fur collar and his tassets fell over his front and back. Under his pauldrons were a set of rerebraces while in place of the traditional hitai-ate is a happuri. He has his lower shins wrapped in white bandages while having open sandals that were secured by a strap that went around his ankles.
The two deceased Hokage took in their surroundings as their zombie like forms slowly moved out of their casket, which fell to the roof as the two Hokage vacated them. The first to speak was Tobirama. "The Edo Tensei huh? And that pale one is the one who summoned us eh?"
"So we have to fight?" questioned the Shodai. With the caskets now fallen to the side, Orochimaru stepped up to the two deceased Hokage with two kunai that had red seal tags tied to the rings on the handles. "We are sorry for troubling you Sarutobi" said a sad Hashirama.
"Let's get started" commented Orochimaru as he inserted the seal tags into the heads of the deceased Hokage. Soon their zombie like bodies began to release smoke as their forms began to turn back to that of their physical prime. Their eyes then became white and unfocused while the sclera becoming pitch black. As the older Kage's seemed to regain their forms, "Mocking the dead? Nothing good ever comes from messing with the past" chastised Hiruzen.
Once their forms had finished becoming rejuvenated, Hiruzen gave an order to his Anbu. "Follow my lead! Katon: Karyuendan!" The Anbu followed suit, mixing their flames and a Futon: Reppusho to empower the fire wave.
In response the Nidaime released his own jutsu with a single hand seal, "Suiton: Suijinheki!" The Nidaime spewed forth a massive amount of water that formed into a barrier that stopped the wave of fire and blanketed the area in a cloud of steam. Hiruzen and his Anbu immediately went on guard. It was known that the Nidaime was a sensor nin and had a unique method of utilizing this ability. Suddenly a new jutsu was called from the steam. "Suiton: Suishoha!" The steam was condensed a massive vortex of water that shot towards Hiruzen and the Anbu.
Acting quickly Hiruzen and one of the Anbu went through a series of seals allow for another jutsu. "Doton: Doryuheki!" the two shouted in unison. The two coughed up a copious amount of mud forming a wall that was nearly as tall as the barrier they were in. Sadly, the wall did not stop water, merely diverting it. To stay safe until the water became inert, the five jumped to the wall and used their chakra to stick to it.
The five were not idle however. They used the cover of the wall to position themselves for a surprise attack. They unleashed another Doton jutsu, Doton: Ganchuso, which spawned several spikes around Orochimaru and the revived Kage to skewer them. The Shodai acted quickly and used one of his own jutsu that stopped the reinforced spike, showing everyone the power of one of the world's strongest kekkei genkai.
During this time Hiruzen preformed a jutsu of his own. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Enma!"
Enma is a white furred monkey that stood taller than Hiruzen himself. He has a mane of long hair that falls from his head to his tail with sideburns that reach past his chin and a goatee of near equal length. He wears a black body suit that stops at the elbows and knees revealing he was wearing a full body suit of mesh armor. Over his body suit he was wearing a sleeveless kimono shirt that was orange with black stripes. Across the collar, waist, and cut off points of the sleeves were white fur though they were a darker shade that his fur. The shirt was held closed by a maroon red sash while a Konoha hitai-ate was secured on his forehead.
Taking in his surroundings, Enma was confused. "Hiruzen what is going on?" Enma asked. "Orochimaru has invaded Konoha with the help of Suna. He has revived Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama."
"Tsk, sad Sarutobi all because you failed to kill him that day" replied a ticked off Enma. With a sigh Hiruzen responded, "I'm getting to it. Enma, you need to become the Vajra Nyoi" said Hiruzen.
With annoyance in his tone, Enma answered his long-time friend. "Fine Henge: Kongonyoi!" shouted Enma. Enma transformed into a black staff with yellow end caps that was half as wide as Hiruzen while being said to be as hard as diamonds and heavy to wield. The staff has the ability to change its width and length at Enma's will however his mass never seemed to change.
Hiruzen came out from behind the wall and stared down the protective dome the Shodai had created. The Anbu had also waited patiently for the Shodai to release his jutsu but stayed at a respectable difference to not get hit by a sneak attack.
Seeing the staff in his sensei's hands once the dome fell, Orochimaru brought out his own weapon by regurgitating a snake that then regurgitated Orochimaru's sword known as the Kusanagi. The sword has a black blade with a silver edge. It has a gold looking handguard and holding plates, while the handle was white wrapped in black cord wrap held together by a gold pommel. The sword was said to be able to cut through nearly anything while being able to extend to any length though the wielder needed to be careful as its mass increased with its length.
Hiruzen stood before Orochimaru with Enma in his hands. "Take care of the pests, and when you are done slay the old man!" ordered Orochimaru. The two Kage's said nothing as they launched themselves at the Anbu. Not deterred by their foes, the Anbu charged at the two Hokage to aid the Sandaime by removing this threat.
Hiruzen got into a ready stance, holding most of the staff forward like spear, his knees slightly bent and his feet spread wider than his shoulders with most of his body aimed away from Orochimaru creating a harder profile to hit.
Orochimaru took up a neutral kenjutsu stance. He has his feet staggered at shoulder width with his arms relaxed and fully extended at his hips with the blade angled toward his Hiruzen as he moved. Despite the ensuing combat of the Anbu and Hokage going on around them, the two seemed to be isolated in their own world as they stared each other down.
Hiruzen struck first, thrusting his staff forward toward Orochimaru's chest. Using the flat side of his blade, Orochimaru deflected the blow but did his best to keep his blade in contact with the staff to close the distance between the two fighters. Knowing his former students plan, Hiruzen performed a quick flourish with a back step, breaking the contact of the two weapons. Once again Orochimaru was on the defensive as Hiruzen aimed another strike toward Orochimaru's midsection.
Orochimaru was once again forced to deflect the strike with the flat of his blade. As Hiruzen struck out, he began stepping forward with every few strikes Orochimaru was forced to step back else he could be struck by the weapon. Seeing he was getting nowhere quickly, Orochimaru jumped back to not be in range of Hiruzen's staff. As soon as he did, the staff's length shot out to pursue him. Ducking low, Orochimaru brought his blade horizontally over his head as the staff nearly stuck him. Taking advantage of his current position. Orochimaru rushed forward, keeping his blade in contact with the staff. Seeing what was happening, Enma quickly tried to become his normal size again.
Enma returned back to Hiruzen too late, forcing the Sandaime to change his stance and choke up on the staff to use both ends to fend off Orochimaru. Orochimaru lashed out with a strong horizontal slash that was blocked with the staff being held perpendicular to the ground. From there, Hiruzen brought the staff down hard. Sadly for the Hokage and his partner, the strike was dodged. However, it was followed up with a thrust and the staff being rotated to strike with the back side. Orochimaru was forced to dodge each of these strikes as he overextended his weapon away from his body with the heavy strike earlier.
Once again, the two were at weapons length from each other. Orochimaru raised his weapon to strike for a right cross strike. As he brought his weapon down, he used the Kusanagi's special ability. The blade of the weapon extended to near equal length of Enma's staff form. As the blade extended so did its mass, allowing the blade to strike with more force. Hiruzen used Enma to push the blade to the side, going as far as to hop away to the side from his current position.
As soon as he touched down, Hiruzen had the staff extend once again. Orochimaru was still recalling the blade to its original length, so he was forced to block with his arms up the blade slanted down. Sadly, this gave Enma and Hiruzen the advantage. Out from the sides of the staff came Enma's arms however they were upside down. They latched on Orochimaru's wrists preventing him from moving, as his head and neck came out from the bottom of the blocked staff where he used his fangs to bite into Orochimaru's throat and rip his windpipe out. Orochimaru dropped his sword which clanged to the roof so he could cover his throat with his pale hands.
Enma once again reformed to his normal length as he and Hiruzen watched Orochimaru fall to his knees. To the surprise of both the Monkey King and the Sandaime, Orochimaru's eyes rolled to the back of his head, his mouth opened wide and two pale hands grabbed the upper and lower sections of his jaw and forced them apart. The two nearly vomited as they watched another Orochimaru climbed out of covered in slime. The new Orochimaru bent down and retrieved his sword and took in his foes disgusted expressions.
"What do you think sensei? It's a new jutsu I developed when someone manages to maim me in a way I deem disadvantageous" explained Orochimaru. Despite the silence the two were stunned to, Enma broke from his stupor first. "That's just vile" commented the Monkey King.
Soon a light amount of steam came into the area while water seemed to wash across their feet. The two applied chakra to the bottom of their feet, raising them out of the water. The two once again clashed weapons as Hiruzen trust his staff forward which Orochimaru once again deflected to the side. Taking advantage of the deflection, Hiruzen preformed another flourish but instead of another thrust, Hiruzen went for a downward strike. Orochimaru brought the Kusanagi up for a horizontal block. As soon as the weapons collided Orochimaru allowed the staff to push his blade down sliding the staff off. This allowed him to use the force of the strike to aid in swinging his sword up by rotating his wrist for the strike as he extended his blade. Hiruzen was forced to jump back lest he loose an arm to the sword. While he managed to not lose his arm to the strike, Orochimaru drew Hiruzen's blood by cutting a sizable gash up Hiruzen's chest.
Orochimaru rushed forward so strike down the weakened Hiruzen. However, the old Hokage wasn't done yet. Hiruzen used his bad arm as brace before extending the staff once again. Orochimaru dodged the strike but was blindsided by the straight punch that Enma delivered before Orochimaru passed the staff. The strike disorientated the Hebi Sannin so he didn't see the staff being swung towards him that sent him flying towards the wall of the barrier. Reacting quickly, Orochimaru used the Sen'ei Jashu to grab onto the roof to halt his flight. He then rushed his former sensei as soon as he touched the roof. Before he was close enough to use the Kusanagi at its standard length, he extended the blade to slash with a left sided, diagonal strike.
Hiruzen leapt back and swung Enma into the blade, batting it to the side. Hiruzen extended Enma once again to strike his former student. Orochimaru brought the handle of his sword up to his chin, rotating the blade towards the sky as the blade retracts. Enma collided with the side of blade with a loud clang. Acting quickly, the Hebi Sannin rotated his sword where the guard met the staff so to but his blade over it to prevent a follow up strike as he rushed forward. With his shoulder injured like it is, Hiruzen was unable to preform a flourish strike. His next best action was to bring the staff up similar to how Orochimaru did as Enma returned to his standard length. This allowed him to strike out towards Orochimaru's feet to keep him back. Once again, the two were back at a stalemate and forced to take neutral stances so save energy for their next clash.
Before their confrontation could continue, the Anbu Captain landed next to Hiruzen though he seemed to be missing an arm while the previous two Hokage soon followed. Hiruzen quickly batted the incoming Hokage away forcing them to Orochimaru's side.
Above the Sandaime and the Hebi Sannin the Anbu and Hokage began their clash. The Anbu brandished duel kunai while the Shodai kept to his bare fists, encasing the appendage in chakra while the Nidaime called a discarded kunai to his hand. The sounds of clashing metal rang out over the confined rooftop. The force of the collision made the four combatants separate with the Anbu landing back on the wall while the Hokage landed close to its base. Wasting no time, three of the Anbu rushed forward while Taka remained on the wall. Taka used the basics of Doton manipulation to drop chunks of the wall where the Sandaime and the Anbu created the large structure.
Zo lead his subordinates into the fray, using Doton chakra to reinforce his kunai against his foe. Inu followed his Captains lead with the Doton chakra as Baku channeled lightning through his own. Once he dropped a significant amount of earth from the wall, Taka rushed to join his comrades, channeling Futon chakra through his kunai.
Zo clashed with Shodai's fists as the Nidaime attempted to fly over his brother and stab the Captain in the head. Trusting his comrades, Zo didn't shift his attention. His trust was well met as the Nidaime's attack was stopped by Inu as one of his empowered kunai deflected the Nidaime's while his second found its home in the Nidaime's head. Instead of the usual blood, slips of paper were ejected from the wound as the former Kage's body fell to the ground. Baku followed suit, attempting to skewer the Shodai only for the former Kage to push off the Captain's kunai, elbowing the Anbu in the chest that attempted to stab his head before landing next to his brother.
As Taka charged down the wall, he noticed the paper slips from the fallen Nidaime recollect at the Nidaime's head. Sensing the incoming issue, Taka replaced on of his current kunai with one with an explosive tag wrapped around its handle. "TAG OUT!" he shouted to let his fellow Anbu know of the live explosive. The three Anbu retreated to Taka's position, landing on the wall as the explosion went off. The explosion wasn't that large, however it would definitely kill someone that was caught in the center of the blast.
Despite the smoke, the Anbu remained vigilant. Before the smoke cleared, the Nidaime charged from the smoke appearing as if he had taken no damage. As the Nidaime charged, the Shodai leapt high into the air to perform a pincer of their own. The Anbu wasted no time reacting. Zo let loose a Kato: Gokakyu no Jutsu at the airborne Hashirama. This was responded to by a Suiton: Taihodan let loose by Hashirama that drowned out the fireball. This resulted in minor flooding in the area and releasing a light amount of steam into the air. As soon as the jutsu were released the remaining Anbu sprang into action with Inu moving forward to intercept the Nidaime if he gets any closer while Baku leapt up to reinforce his Captain. Taka let out a Raiton: Sandaboruto at the Nidaime. Though most of the technique was dodged, its use of targeting multiple foes was used to successfully strike the Nidaime as he weaved around most of the bolts, forcing him back to the walls base.
The Nidaime was taken out of commission for the time being, which allowed the Anbu to focus on the Shodai. In response, Hashirama throughout Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu. The small branches flew towards the Anbu at incredible speed forcing them to dodge. Sadly Baku was not able to dodge entirely. A branch struck his left leg, where it exploded into multiple spears that went through not only his leg but also pierced his abdomen. The combination of the impalement and the fall from his position on the wall lead to him being taken out of the fight.
Despite the loss of their comrade, the Anbu remained vigilant. The Nidaime released his own jutsu that went unnoticed by the Anbu until its casting. While running up the remaining earth wall, he unleashed Doton: Tsuchi Nami no Jutsu, further destabilizing the wall as many waves of passed through the earthen structure. The Anbu shifted their attention to their footing to make sure they didn't fall, though this left an opening that the zombie Kage took advantage of this by striking out at the distracted Anbu.
The Anbu fell victim to one of the truths of the shinobi world. A single distraction could cost you your life. The Shodai struck the destabilized wall, breaking it into several large pieces. Zo and Taka were able to escape unharmed, sadly Inu fell to a stab from Tobirama who imbued the kunai he retrieved with Raton chakra to make sure it went through his target.
The two remaining Anbu landed on the ground only to be beset on by the Senju brothers who each let loose a hard punch that smashed the two Anbu into the ground. Once the impact was made, the two Anbu were revealed to be nothing but piles of mud. Before the zombie duo reacted, the Anbu quickly stabbed two explosive tags into the Senju brothers. However, let it be said that the two were not inexperienced. Even in their weakened state the brothers knew what to do. As the kunai struck, they had thrown themselves into the strike allowing the kunai to travel through them and grabbed ahold of the Anbu's arms. The tags went off, turning both of the revived Kage's to paper slips once more. The explosion nearly killed both Anbu, however they were able to substitute once more with the mud available but at a cost. Taka had taken a lot of the concussive force as well as the cauterization of the stump that once held the explosive tag, while Captain Zo merely lost his arm.
Seeing no other solution and to keep his semi-living comrade safe, Zo regrouped with his Hokage, the Senju brothers pursuing him.
"I'm sorry Hokage-sama. My Squad and I were unable to defeat them" apologized Zo. Hiruzen could only look to his Anbu with regret and self-loathing. If he had stopped Orochimaru before he fled the village, then three more of his shinobi would not be dead due to his inaction.
"Well? What will you do now Sarutobi-sensei? Your Anbu are gone save one. You don't think you can protect him and defeat us, do you?" taunted Orochimaru. Hiruzen took in a deep breath, resigning himself to the fact he will fall this day to stop this threat to his home. Believing his Hokage's hesitancy to be related to his inability to fight, "Do not worry about me Hokage-sama. Your safety is out priority. If you must let me fall to defeat those in front of us do not hesitate to do so" commented Zo.
Hiruzen looked to his remaining Anbu out of the corner of his eye. It was against those of Konoha to sacrifice their comrades and Hiruzen decided to remind his Anbu of that. "We are Konoha shinobi! We do not sacrifice our comrades!" boasted Hiruzen as he set down Enma. Hiruzen went through several signs that no one alive was familiar with after creating two kage bunshins. "Zo. I ask you to help me one last time." Zo was hesitant but nodded all the same, "Of course, Hokage-sama." At these words, Zo retrieved one more kunai from under his coat as he prepared to give his life for his Hokage. Suddenly a cold feeling blanketed the area, but not one of low temperature. Instead, it felt like the shadow of death was near and it affected everyone, including the dead. What none could see, aside from Hiruzen himself was the spectral form of the Shinigami.
The Shinigami is a translucent specter with the visage of a demon that towered over any human. It has long, shaggy white hair which has two red horn that sprung out from its forehead and purpled hued skin complimented by long sharp teeth. It was clad in a white kimono with a set of prayer beads in its right arm. Within its teeth was an unsheathed tanto which it held by the handle which also hid its long serpentine tongue. When the being first appeared, its arms were spread wide as it held the sleeves of its kimono. Held on the deity's chest was the Sandaime's soul.
The Shinigami then preformed a ceremony where it allowed its prayer beads to loosely wrap around its right arm that was painstakingly slow. As the beads fell down its arm, markings crawled down its arm. Orochimaru was getting impatient. "What did you do Sarutobi-sensei?" 'He preformed a set of seals yet nothing has yet to happen. What is his jutsu?' thought Orochimaru. Zo was thinking the same thing as the traitorous Sannin. He was unsure of what his Hokage was doing but kept his faith all the same.
Tired of waiting, Orochimaru had Hashirama cast one of the most powerful illusions ever created, Kokuangyo no Jutsu. A blanket of darkness covered the roof, denying sight to Hiruzen, his bunshins, and Zo who managed to get in front of Hiruzen before his vision was restricted. Sadly Hiruzen was forced to keep his hands clapped together, so he was unable to retrieve Enma. Within the darkness, Orochimaru struck out at Hiruzen, however Enma would retake his normal form and disarm the Hebi Sannin by having the blade fly towards Hiruzen. He used his sense of smell and acute hearing to get around the blinding affects. He was soon bounded for his effort by the Sen'ei Jashu which had him fall at the Sannin's feet. It was then that Hiruzen moved. He rushed forward and manage to find his targets with the aid of Enma shouting out their locations. Orochimaru didn't bother to stop the Monkey King as he wanted to see what his former sensei's jutsu did.
Hiruzen, and by extension, his bunshins grabbed onto the collar of the zombified Hokage as well as Orochimaru. "NOW!" shouted the Sandaime. At his word the Shinigami sent its bead wrapped arm through the Sandaime's soul and grabbed the souls of Hashirama and Tobirama. Once it had a firm grasp on their souls, the Shinigami began to drag their souls from their bodies which released them from the Hebi Sannin's control. "Sorry Sarutobi" said Hashirama, "Forgive us for troubling you" were Tobirama's final words. "And forgive me sensei's … for not allowing you to rest proper" said Hiruzen as the souls of his predecessors were sealed into him. What happened next would terrify Orochimaru. When Hiruzen grabbed ahold of the Hebi Sannin, he was now able to see the Shinigami.
Orochimaru began to panic at the sight of the Shinigami. Using his index and middle fingers of his right hand, Orochimaru was able to call the Kusanagi towards him, much to the surprise of Enma and Zo. He intended to use the weapon to skewer the Sandaime. As the Shinigami began to drag out Orochimaru's soul the blade was about to make contact with Hiruzen. "DIE!" they both shouted. Just as the blade was about to pierce his chest, Zo and Enma acted quickly. Zo managed to redirect the weapon while Enma grabbed a hold of the blade. Sadly, this meant the weapon pierced the Sandaime's lung but not his heart.
Hiruzen coughed up the blood that began to fill his lungs due to the stab. Orochimaru smiled in triumph, believing that it was now his victory. "Hehehe. It seems that it is my victory Sarutobi-sensei" the pale man gloated. Hiruzen could only give a weak smile in return. "You may believe so. However, this jutsu … requires the user to sacrifice their life to kill their target." At this Orochimaru began to panic. If his sensei was willing to kill himself just what was the jutsu he was caught by? He was feeling himself grow weaker. But not due to lack of chakra. It was something else. What was the apparition that was behind his sensei?
Hiruzen was struggling. Not only was he close to his seventies, but he had just taken the souls of the previous Hokage. He was tired. Zo was not going to be of any additional help. The Anbu just went through his own battle and lost an arm. Heck it was a miracle the Captain could remaining kneeling after the trials he had been through today. There may be no way for him to slay his traitorous student. He would have to settle for wounding Orochimaru in a way that would protect people from his machinations. As the Shinigami used the casters physical energy as a medium to draw out the soul of the target, he could not rely on the Death God to keep its grip on Oroochimaru's soul. Instead, he had it focus on his former students second most precious body part.
He had the Shinigami focus its grasp on Orochimaru's arms before Hiruzen was forced to end the jutsu. This had the Shinigami bring its tanto down, severing the soul of Orochimaru's arms from the rest of his body. The soul of the libs were taken along with Hiruzen's soul, causing his life was fading. Orochimaru howled in pain as the soul of his arms was separated from the rest, turning his arms gray, limp and useless. The two head member of his guard shouted his master's name. "We need to retreat! Lower the barrier!" Following their masters' orders, the four lowered the barrier and retrieved their master. Zo was too wounded and tried to pursue the traitorous Sannin. Instead, as his adrenaline died down, he moved to the fallen Sandaime, lamenting his failure to protect his leader. "Sarutobi … allow me to remove the blade" said a now free Enma as he shed tears for his fallen friend.