It was as if an invisible, hideous hand had clawed its way out of Hiruzen's abdomen, tearing through his clothes and reaching for Hashirama and Tobirama in front of him.
The sensation of the Shinigami's hand drilling through his body felt as if his soul itself was being pierced, making his legs go weak.
Hiruzen gritted his teeth and endured, cold sweat pouring down his face.
Caught by the Shinigami's hand, Hashirama and Tobirama were unable to move, their souls being rapidly pulled out.
Orochimaru could no longer control them. It was as if some invisible force was acting upon them, affecting his influence. In the end, he watched helplessly as the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique was broken.
At the same time, the immortal Edo Tensei bodies of Hashirama and Tobirama collapsed. As the ashes drifted away, they revealed two dull-eyed, tragically killed strangers—the sacrifices for the Edo Tensei.
"It's your turn, Orochimaru!"
"Come here! Enma!"
Hiruzen grabbed the Adamantine Staff.
Orochimaru's expression turned solemn as he drew the Kusanagi Sword.
At that moment, a speck of golden light appeared in the sky and this speck of golden light was constantly expanding.
Both Hiruzen and Orochimaru were very familiar with this golden light.
Before the person even arrived, they had already guessed who it was—Hiromi.
Hiruzen stared blankly at the golden light falling fiercely from the sky. His expression gradually shifted to one of sudden realization, filled with an unbelievable fury at the truth he had uncovered.
Many questions had originally existed in his mind, but the appearance of One-Tail, Manda, and Orochimaru had left him no time to seek answers.
Now, with the arrival of Hiromi, those questions began to surface one by one, as if they finally had answers.
Why was Hiromi looking for Orochimaru?
Why did Hiromi kidnap the Jinchuriki of Sunagakure?
Why did the Uchiha clan give up Sunagakure's Jinchuriki so easily?
Why did Sunagakure's Jinchuriki go on a rampage in the Sarutobi Clan Compound?
Why did Orochimaru disguise himself as the Kazekage to carry out the Konoha Crush Plan?
The moment Hiromi appeared, all of this had an answer.
It was all for...
Killing him, the Hokage!
"Hiromi!!!" Hiruzen's voice was filled with immense rage.
Hiromi's voice rang out from the sky. "Hokage-sama! I've come to help you!!!"
His voice resounded throughout all of Konoha. The madness in that voice rang out high and loud at this moment, filled with wild intensity.
It gave the battling ninjas a great deal of confidence. But it made Hiruzen, who knew the truth, even more enraged, his eyes nearly splitting from fury. Now, rather than killing Orochimaru first, he felt he should kill Hiromi.
However, within that endless, fierce high temperature, a faint glimmer of white light seemed to be hidden.
Orochimaru recalled the scene of Hiromi countering Dust Release.
Hiruzen recalled the scene of Hiromi being ambushed by the masked man and distorting space.
The two of them both chose to dodge in a moment of unspoken agreement. But no matter how fast they were, they weren't as fast as Hiromi, who was constantly accelerating his descent from the sky.
It took only two seconds.
BOOM!!!
The ground shattered, and ravines appeared. The intense heat was a madness that threatened to burn everything.
Even Manda nearby was somewhat terrified, hurriedly twisting his body to avoid falling into that massive ravine.
Everyone was utterly horrified, their minds going blank.
At that moment, a furious voice rang out.
"Orochimaru! You actually killed Hokage-sama!!!"
Orochimaru: "..."
He had originally been thinking about how to kill Hiruzen now that Hiromi had arrived. But he hadn't expected Hiromi to be so fierce.
He appeared to be coming to support, but in reality, he directly finished off Hiruzen?
His expression couldn't help but turn somewhat dark. It was partly for Hiruzen's death, and partly because of the danger Hiromi posed.
He turned around and, like a snake, flickered through the corners, quietly and quickly making his escape.
The area around Hiromi was a glowing red.
Buildings had turned to ash, drifting slightly in the air.
Hiromi stood there with his eyes closed. Under the gaze of all the Anbu, he spoke, "Pursue!"
The Anbu hesitated for two seconds.
Exchanging looks, they chose to temporarily follow Hiromi's order to hunt down Orochimaru.
However, along the way, their numbers gradually decreased as they diverted to help the other ninjas against Sunagakure. To them, Hiromi's words were not truly a command.
—
Although Manda was very displeased with Hiromi, since Orochimaru had fled, he had no reason to block Hiromi.
So with a "poof," he turned into a massive cloud of smoke and disappeared from the center of the village, leaving behind only countless ruins and blood.
And One-Tail in the Sarutobi Clan Compound also vanished.
As if all this horror had come to an end, Konoha breathed a sigh of relief.
The eyes of the Suna ninjas dimmed.
The Konoha Crush Plan... had failed.
They had sacrificed so much, only for it all to come to nothing.
"Retreat!"
The Suna ninjas retreated one by one. Also retreating were Baki, Temari, Kankuro, and the others carrying Gaara. One by one, their figures flickered past as they left toward the outskirts of the village.
Some of the braver villagers peered cautiously through the cracks in their doors.
Finally opening their doors and seeing that Sunagakure had truly retreated, their hearts settled.
But at that moment, a figure like blue lightning appeared in the sky, descending fiercely toward Konoha.
Ninjas with good eyesight looked closely, their expressions turning to terror. Because they saw who that blue lightning was—the Fourth Raikage!
That was a formidable man whose existence was comparable to a Tailed Beast!
The Suna ninjas' eyes lit up.
This was an opportunity.
While the Raikage was being surrounded and Konoha's combat power was divided, Sunagakure could take the chance to occupy Konoha.
"Retreat! There's no chance!"
Baki, who had witnessed Hiromi's power, knew that besides Hiromi having those terrifying eyes, Shisui had them too, and perhaps Fugaku did as well. If they were pushed too far and controlled Nine-Tails to come out, every single Suna ninja would die.
He knew all too well how strong Konoha's combat power was.
However, he was not the commander, nor was he an especially important figure in the village.
Therefore, while some hesitated, they ultimately followed the commander's order—"Kill!"
Sunagakure returned after having left. The first half was over, the second half had begun.
Konoha Crush Plan 2.0, Start!