Even though Jiraiya had entered Sage Mode, it was still difficult to deal with both Ginkaku and Kinkaku, two brothers who had mastered the Nine Tails' chakra.
Just fighting Ginkaku alone already needs Jiraiya's full attention.
In Sage Mode, Jiraiya's speed and power increased greatly, allowing him to fight evenly with Ginkaku.
But Kinkaku wasn't going to just stand by and watch.
While Jiraiya was locked in a fierce battle with Ginkaku, Kinkaku circled behind him.
Crimson Nine Tails chakra surged from his body, and his arm turned sharp like a blade as he thrust it toward Jiraiya's back.
Jiraiya, though alert to a sneak attack, couldn't fully dodge from such a tricky angle while fighting Ginkaku.
He twisted his body at the last moment to avoid a fatal blow.
Just as Kinkaku thought his strike would land
A three-pronged kunai flashed in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, Minato appeared, his body glowing with chakra.
Without hesitation, he threw another kunai, aiming straight for Ginkaku's face.
Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, Kinkaku had no choice but to stop his attack on Jiraiya.
Kinkaku had no choice but to turn around and use the arm he had aimed at Jiraiya to block Minato's incoming kunai.
"That's the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique..." Kinkaku narrowed his eyes.
"Since being revived, I keep running into things related to that defeated Second Hokage. What a pain."
Minato kept his ninja gear running at minimal power.
His chakra was limited, so he had to use it carefully.
If he ran out, he wouldn't be able to generate Senjutsu Chakra by reacting with natural energy.
"You're using some strange ninja tool to gain Sage power?" Kinkaku said angrily.
As a descendant of the Sage of Six Paths, he found such tools disrespectful to the power of true sages.
Minato just gave a calm smile.
"You should pay attention."
Before Kinkaku could respond, Minato vanished.
In a flash, he reappeared behind Kinkaku.
Kinkaku scoffed.
"That's just a cheap trick from Tobirama's defeated technique!"
He had already predicted the move. He turned sharply and punched down with full force, splitting the ground with a thunderous impact.
But Minato was already one step ahead, he had thrown another kunai just before the attack landed.
The kunai flew across Kinkaku's face, and in that moment, Kinkaku's eyes locked onto it.
Sensing danger, the Nine Tails chakra around him flared wildly.
But Minato didn't appear from that kunai. It was a decoy the same one Kinkaku had hit earlier!
Another kunai, wrapped in Senjutsu Chakra, flew toward Kinkaku.
"Enough with the tricks, kid!" Kinkaku shouted.
He crushed the incoming kunai with a palm covered in Nine Tails chakra.
But at that moment, Minato appeared beside Ginkaku's face from yet another kunai.
"This move is called the Multi-Stage Flying Thunder God Technique."
A flash of light-blue energy burst out.
Minato activated the full power of his Spellcaster Type I gear.
The kunai in his hand turned into a glowing blue blade, almost like a lightsaber and sliced clean through Kinkaku's neck.
His head hit the ground… but then, slowly, it began to turn into paper and reform at the neck.
Though slower than usual, the body was still regenerating.
"Tch… just as I thought. These Edo Tensei freaks are hard to deal with," Minato muttered.
"If only Kushina were here."
After all, sealing was the Uzumaki clan's specialty.
Unfortunately, Konoha hadn't expected the enemy to use Impure World Reincarnation in this attack, so they were seriously lacking in sealing teams.
Simu was observing everything from a distance.
Judging by how slowly Kinkaku was regenerating, this Edo Tensei technique wasn't as refined as the one used in the Fourth Great Ninja War.
And the number of revived shinobi so far was far too few.
Was the enemy trying to hide their full power?
Simu suddenly looked up.
On the rooftop at the edge of Konoha, two coffins come out of the ground without warning.
Konoha's ninja quickly surrounded them.
But as the lids slowly opened, their faces turned grim.
Both figures inside wore armor one red, one blue.
One had black hair, the other silver.
Anyone who looked closely would instantly recognize them from the Hokage Monument.
They were the same except now, cracks covered their faces.
"Lord First Hokage..."
"Lord Second Hokage..."
Senju Hashirama scanned the village in front of him and quickly understood the situation.
He turned to his brother, clearly unhappy.
"Tobirama... I told you the Impure World Reincarnation was a mistake."
Senju Tobirama's face darkened.
To be revived by someone else's jutsu forced to fight against the very village they once protected, was the complete humiliation.
Even with his usual firm demeanor, Tobirama was at a loss for words.
"…Let's hope someone can stop us."
Hashirama looked a bit helpless—he could already feel his body starting to move on its own.
Across from him, the Konoha ninja were still frozen in shock.
Tobirama spoke coldly, "Konoha shinobi, we're your enemies now. Don't hold back, attack!"
His words snapped them out of it.
But before anyone could move, a beam of light suddenly shot out, completely blowing apart Tobirama's upper body.
The blast of wind from the lightsaber blew through Hashirama's hair.
Looking at his brother, now reduced to only his lower half, Hashirama smiled.
"Looks like the younger generation of Konoha is quite capable."
He turned to look at the tallest building in the village center.
Simu stood on top of it, wearing a Hokage robe, holding a massive bow and arrow.
"So, he's the Fourth Hokage…"
Hashirama brought his palms together.
But Simu seemed to know exactly what Hashirama was about to do.
With the way Hashirama fights, a battle inside the village would level most of Konoha.
So before he could finish his jutsu, Simu appeared in front of him.
"Have you ever been kicked by the speed of light?"
Now wasn't the time for banter. Simu landed a powerful kick, launching the slow-moving Hashirama out of the village and into the open battlefield.
The blinding explosion startled many of the nearby ninja.
"Finish the battle quickly," Simu ordered the Tailed Beasts.
The beasts immediately picked up speed.
Although Simu usually liked to talk and joke around, once he got serious, he became terrifying.
If they dared to slack off now, they might get caught and roasted by Simu
Simu summoned the Three Tails again and sent it straight into battle.
In the center of the battlefield, Hashirama slowly stood up, a visible crack still on his body.
He looked at the four Tailed Beasts in front of him with a puzzled expression.
"So... this kid from the Fourth Hokage managed to gather all the Tailed Beasts?"
Tobirama's body had finished regenerating, but the moment he stood up, Simu kicked him straight into the battlefield as well.
Tobirama didn't want to see the village he worked so hard to build destroyed in this fight.
Orochimaru was clearly focusing his control on the First and Second Hokage, so their regeneration was much slower than Ginkaku and Kinkaku's.
Even though both pairs were brothers, the First and Second Hokage were far stronger than Ginkaku and Kinkaku.
Simu appeared on the battlefield as well.
Hashirama gave a reminder, "Fourth Hokage, I can't control my body anymore, be careful."
Even if this body only has one-tenth of its original strength due to the Impure World Reincarnation, it's still extremely dangerous."
Especially with Tobirama backing him up.
"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique!"
Hashirama pressed his hands together, and a massive wooden dragon burst from the ground, jaws wide open as it lunged at Simu.
Simu sighed.
"If this is only one-tenth of your full strength, then it's time for you to rest."
He also pressed his hands together.
To the shock of both Hashirama and Tobirama, tens of thousands of glowing lightsabers appeared behind Simu, he had already entered Sage Mode.
"Sage Art: Lightsaber Sanctuary!"
Blinding golden light surged out wildly.
The moment the wooden dragon touched the golden glow, it was struck by countless slashes and instantly crumbled into dust.
Tobirama quickly formed a hand sign.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bomb Technique!"
But before the water dragon could take shape, Simu sliced it in half with a single lightsaber.
Simu then opened his palms.
The golden light condensed into dozens of glowing rods, like steel spears.
With a flash, they shot forward and pierced Tobirama's body, pinning him to the ground.
"Damn it… This body really is useless!"
Tobirama muttered through gritted teeth, humiliated.
He had been a respected figure in the ninja world for decades, when had he ever been defeated like this?
Hashirama burst out laughing.
Even though the jutsu controlling them could move their bodies, it couldn't control their thoughts or words.
But just as Hashirama laughed, Simu suddenly appeared in front of him.
A barrage of fierce attacks rained down like a storm.
Even the First Hokage could barely keep up with the defense.
After Simu left, Kushina's childbirth reached its most critical moment.
At that time, two village advisors showed up.
"Sorry, no one is allowed in or out," said the guarding ninja.
Kakashi appeared instantly, placing one hand on the short sword on his back.
Facing Kakashi's firm stance, Utatane Koharu said coldly,
"With the Hokage gone, it's our responsibility to protect the Nine Tails Jinchūriki."
But Kakashi didn't flinch.
"I said, no one goes in."
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TO BE CONTINUED
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