"Link-kun—"

  Orochimaru's eyes burned with iy as he stared at the chakra scalpel in Link's hand. "So it was this teique that destroyed my curse mark."

  "As I suspected, a special jutsu capable of severing chakra..."

  "Ah—!"

  Two figures stepped out from the coffins. the chaotic se, the white-haired Sed Hokage was the first to speak. "Sarutobi, has the Sunagakure ihe vilge?"

  "Edo Tensei..." The bck-haired First Hokage turned his head toward Orochimaru behind them. "So it was this young man who used a forbidden jutsu to summon us?"

  "Enough of this outdated chatter," Orochimaru said as he pluwo kunai into the bodies of the two Hokage, the red talismans attached to the kunai embedding themselves into their heads.

  Squish! Orochimaru's hand pulled away, smeared with a sticky, foul liquid.

  The pale eyes of the reanimated Hokage lost their light, their heads drooping as they awaited ands.

  Smash! The sand creeping silently toward Link to engulf him was once again shattered by a strike from the Third Hokage's staff.

  That dangerous brat... The Fourth Kazekage, floating mid-air, felt no shame for his earlier atta a younger oppo.

  Link had prepared to dodge, but standing beside him was the stro Kage on the se. He calmly refined his chakra, performed a series of hand seals, and activated a substitution jutsu.

  After three secutive substitutions, he suddenly stopped.

  Something had activated—a force that could undoubtedly ge the tide of the battle.

  His previously serious expression rexed as he began to smile. The shadow beh him twisted and morphed, sprouting a horned head and taking on an oval shape. A dark purple hue spread across the shadow, c it entirely, as golden, lifeless eye sockets opened within it.

  Is that... a new jutsu?

  Orochimaru, who had been watg Link closely, immediately noticed the anomaly. Having suffered once before at the hands of the Five Elements Seal, he had never uimated the boy. To him, Link’s poorth taking seriously.

  Just as Orochimaru had once fled after beied by an Uchiha's genjutsu, avoiding strong enemies was not something he sidered shameful.

  Shadow...

  The Fourth Kazekage noticed the ges in Link’s shadow at nearly the same time. He spread his sand in front of himself, catg his own shadow to prevent it from being cast onto the roof.

  "AAAAHHHH!"

  In the chaotic arena, a deafening roar echoed as a monstrous creature covered in violet patterns appeared. Standing still, its mere tail sweep destroyed the spectator stands.

  BOOM!

  The battle between the Konoha, Sunagakure, and Otogakure ninja desded into utter chaos. The sheer size of the creature threate the entire arena down. Regur spectators, nobles, and even daimyo were equally at risk of death from the indiscrimiacks of the tailed beast.

  Walls crumbled, support pilrs cracked, and the stands shook violently, as if on the verge of total colpse.

  The genjutsu-induced sleep from the Temple of Nirvana was meaningless in the face of death. Screams and wails filled the air as warriors and ninja frantically evacuated nobles and daimyo. Meanwhile, others fought amid the ruins, dodging attacks from both the monstrous creature and enemy ninja.

  The fully transformed Jinchūriki was a walking catastrophe. While it might not yet mat elite Jonin in direbat, its raw destructive power was overwhelming.

  Gaara, fully transformed, was now chasing Rock Lee, who darted around like a flea, away from the arena.

  No time to waste—

  Link g Lee, who was struggling to maintain the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates. Without hesitatioended his shadow, making tact with the shadow of the Third Hokage.

  What is this?!

  The Third Hokage trembled as a surge of power and vitality flooded his body, bringing back the long-lost vigor of his youth.

  "Sarutobi, you—"

  From the staff he held, a monkey head emerged, wide-eyed with shock.

  The Hokage's white hair turned bck, his wrinkles vanished, his hunched posture straightened, and the grim expression on his face softened into one of fidence.

  This is bad— Orochimaru’s smile vanished instantly. Only he knew how terrifying the old man had been in his prime.

  Orochimaru shot a deep, calg look at Link, already preparing for a strategic retreat.

  What an intriguing array of jutsu...

  You’re being more and more fasating, Link-kun!

  Whoosh! Dozens of golden sand spears shot toward them.

  The rejuvehird Hokage cpped his hands together, f hand seals so quickly that no one could follow them. A torrent of fmes erupted, iing the golden sand spears mid-air.

  Fire Release: Dragon Fme Bullet!

  Sizzle! A high-pressure water jet from the reanimated Sed Hokage evaporated into steam before it could eve close.

  "Haah..."

  Link gripped his chakra scalpel tightly and said, "I only maintain this jutsu for one minute—"

  The rejuvehird Hokage smiled fidently, gripping his staff. "Enma, get ready!"

  With the tide of the battle shifting, the Anbu and Jonin reheir e with the enemy.

  The ption was much less than expected...

  Link had initially thought reversing the Third Hokage’s age with the Stand ability of his Sethan teique would exhaust him, but it barely made a dent in his reserves.

  He still had plenty of energy to tinue fighting.

  Wait—where was Orochimaru?

  Sing the battlefield, Link realized that, aside from the fierce battle among the three Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage, Orochimaru and the Sound Four had disappeared entirely.

  Link couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Pulling out a trump card only for the boss to run away? Ridiculous.

  Fet it— He gripped his chakra scalpel, preparing to pursue the Oailed Jinchūriki.

  Whoosh!

  An invisible wind bde grazed past him, pierg through the briearby and slig off a few strands of his hair, which floated in the air.

  An attack without warning and incredibly fast—this jutsu is too dangerous.

  Link warily eyed the Sunagakure Jonin, Baki, standing in his path.

  Thud! Kurenai Yuhi leapt onto the crumbling stands.

  This is...!

  Baki, notig the female ninja f seals, quickly shifted his gaze, but in that brief moment of distra, his body was suddenly ensnared and bound by jured trees.

  "Release!" He disrupted his chakra and broke free from the genjutsu.

  Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Several shuriken ged against the arms of a humanoid puppet with three eyes and four arms, creating dull echoes.

  "Don’t let yuard down, Baki-sensei," Temari said softly, gripping her giant three-star fan.

  Kankurō spread his arms wide, trolling the puppet Karasu with transparent chakra threads extending before him.

  Bleam