Despite possessing the Swift Release Kekkei Genkai, Shigeru failed to outrun Fujin. While his speed was faster than Fujin's, even when Fujin was assisted by the Wind Cloak, the Wind Cloak allowed Fujin to use the Assassin's Rush jutsu seamlessly and continuously. It allowed Fujin to outspeed Shigeru temporarily.
As his sword sliced through Shigeru's body, he thought, 'It looks like Swift Release can't keep up with me either. Well, at least not when used by a Jounin-level ninja. I guess Ay is the only one who is faster than me. At least when I don't use the Flying Thunder God jutsu...'
His eyes focused on Guren, who had just completed a complicated set of hand seals. The two subordinates protecting her noticed the Vacuum Slash flying at her and cursed, "Shit! Protect Lady Guren!"
Both weaved hand seals and slammed their hands on the ground.
'Earth Release: Earth Wall jutsu'
Multiple layers of earth walls appeared in front of them. However, recalling what Fujin's attack did to the crystal wall, both knew that such a defense wouldn't block Fujin's attack. Hence, they didn't rest easy and weaved hand seals once again.
'Earth Release: Iron Skin jutsu'
As Fujin's Vacuum Slash pierced through the walls, the two of them stood in its path to block the deadly jutsu with their bodies! Needless to say, both were sliced into two pieces as the slash continued towards Guren, who had slammed her hands on the ground.
Fujin's eyes widened as he saw six coffins rise from the ground! A smile appeared on Guren's face as she thought, 'It's done! This is our victory!'
She suddenly felt something and glanced at her right. Her eyes widened as she saw a Vacuum Slash mere meters away from her! The Vacuum Slash sliced through four of the six coffins, destroying the boxes as well as the bodies within!
Guren instinctively moved behind to dodge the Vacuum Slash. Unfortunately, she had too little time. Even though she managed to save her life, the Vacuum Slash cut her right arm at the elbow cleanly!
Fujin cursed, 'Shit, did she just perform the Edo Tensei jutsu? And summoned 6 ninjas at the same time?'
For the first time since the start of the battle, Fujin felt some pressure.
At the same time, 3 coffins rose inside the barrier. Unlike in the original story, Hiruzen didn't try to attack the coffins. Instead, he just looked at Orochimaru with a dark expression. Reading the words on the coffins, he knew who Orochimaru was trying to summon and understood why he was so confident.
He thought, 'To think he would try to summon the three dead Hokages… Sigh, he has completely drowned in hatred. For him to be so confident, has he improved the Edo Tensei jutsu to let the revived ninjas have the strength that they possessed when they were alive?'
Thoughts flashed in Hiruzen's mind at the speed of light as hope appeared in his eyes. He analyzed, 'Minato can't be revived. However, if Orochimaru can revive Lord First at his full strength, he won't be able to control him. Even Lord Second might be able to gain control. If that happens, we'll win in the blink of an eye.'
Even though Hiruzen had that hope, it was a very small one. He knew that Orochimaru wouldn't make such a basic error. In an inconspicuous corner of the stadium, a figure stood. Even though several battles were happening around him, no one attacked him. In fact, none of them even saw him. It was none other than a clone Fujin had left behind in the stadium long before the finals began.
From the moment the battle had begun, this clone had done only one thing, which was to observe the fight between Hiruzen and Orochimaru. He analyzed, 'So, Hiruzen didn't bother to try blocking the coffins. It makes sense considering that it really won't have any effect.
Regardless, these two indeed are at the peak of this world in terms of Ninjutsu. Their battle is exactly how I expected it to be. I can be considered good at Ninjutsu as well, but compared to them, I'm lacking considerably. The only technique in my arsenal with which I can compete with their skill is the Wind Domain…'
He recalled their fight before letting out a sigh and thinking, 'Oh well, these two have worked on their skills for several decades longer than me. It'll take me some time to catch up with them in this regard. Besides, with the Flying Thunder God jutsu, I can easily compete with them even if I'm lacking in Ninjutsu.'
He continued observing the battle. Considering how advanced the battle between Hiruzen and Orochimaru was as compared to their fight in the original story, he was looking forward to seeing the two Senju brothers in action. Even though neither lived as long as Hiruzen, there was no question regarding their skills.
In another part of the stadium, a figure stealthily left the stadium and chased after Naruto's group. It was another clone of Fujin! Due to Shikaku's plans, Fujin was no longer sure whether Naruto would get to fight Gaara. He just arranged a clone to follow them in case things somehow happened similarly. With the reanimated Kabuto stalling Kakashi, the chance he was awaiting had appeared.
In the arena, Guren held her right arm. Crystal appeared around her elbow, closing the cut. She glanced at Fujin with fear in her eyes while thinking, 'He was able to kill Shigeru and Kurogaki in such a short time?'
The area around Guren was covered in dust and splintered wood, blocking the eyesight of most ninjas. She saw the four bodies that were reforming and thought, 'Luckily Lord Orochimaru had already reanimated them and my only task was to summon them. Otherwise, there might have been complications and our plan would have been a lost cause.'
Guren recalled her meeting with Orochimaru when he trusted her with the most important task. Her expression hardened as she decided, 'My role isn't done here. Orochimaru-sama's former teammate is still somewhere around. Even if I die, I won't let Orochimaru-sama down!'
The crystal around her right elbow began expanding, eventually forming an arm. Fujin paid no attention to Guren. Instead, his attention was on the six reanimated ninjas. Even though he couldn't see their appearance yet, a frown appeared on his face as he recognized the chakra signatures of two of the six ninjas.
He quickly analyzed, 'These two… This will be a difficult battle. Even though I can take on these two myself, I won't be able to handle all 6 alone if others are at the same level as them. And, if anyone is stronger…'
Fujin quickly analyzed, 'If the card Orochimaru prepared is Edo Tensei jutsu, then we won't need Guy's Eight Inner Gates. I guess this is as far Shikaku's pre-war plans go!'
Fujin suddenly disappeared from his spot and appeared among the Konoha ninjas who were fighting the Oto ninjas. The Oto ninjas had activated stage 2 of the curse seal and initially overwhelmed the Konoha ninjas. However, once the Jounins stepped forward, they were easily suppressed. However, the Jounins hadn't been able to kill them in a short while due to their physiques.
Suddenly, all ten remaining Oto ninjas were sliced in two. The Konoha ninjas looked at Fujin, who was standing among their ranks. Before they could say anything, Fujin glanced at the Jounins and said, "Free up Kakashi and Guy. I'll need help."
Fujin immediately looked at the reanimated ninjas after giving the order. He couldn't afford to take his eyes off them for a long time. The Konoha ninjas followed his gaze and shock appeared on their faces.
"That's Juzo! Wasn't he dead?"
"Is he Kaminari? Didn't he go rogue over a decade ago? Why is he here?"
"Wait, look at their eyes!"
The experienced ninjas immediately realized that their opponents had been reanimated with the Edo Tensei jutsu. Without exchanging a single word, they retreated and moved towards Kakashi and Guy.
As the dust settled and the bodies of the four ninjas completely reformed, the Konoha and Suna ninjas started seeing who were summoned one by one. The battle slowed down slightly as most ninjas were more interested in this development. The Konoha ninjas were slightly nervous while hope ignited within the Suna ninjas.
Only Baki was slightly nervous. He wondered, 'Why hasn't Kazekage-sama appeared yet? I can't trust Orochimaru's arrangements…'
As the figures became visible, the surprised voices of several ninjas could be heard.
"That's Juzo and Zabuza! Two of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"
"The Kumo rogue is here too? When did Kaminari die? No wonder there was no news about him."
"Who is that girl?"
"Holy crap! Kaguya Shirogane is also revived! That madman led his entire clan to its demise!"
Finally, the last person's appearance became clear. Immediately, the blood of all Suna ninjas who saw him became cold. Terror appeared in the eyes of Konoha ninjas. Even Fujin's expression became grave! While the remaining 5 weren't a threat to Fujin, the last person forced him to raise his guard to the highest level!
[A/N: Kaminari appeared in chapter 136.]
[A/N: The author's notes in chapter 632 were related to this. I was struggling with one simple question - Why didn't Orochimaru spam the Edo Tensei jutsu to destroy Konoha in the original story? It would have been an easy win. Even though Orochimaru's Edo Tensei isn't as advanced as Kabuto's, it was never said that he could control only a small number of reanimated ninjas. The limitation was more focused towards the fact that the revived ninjas (more specifically the strong ones like Hashirama and Tobirama) couldn't reach their full strength (and even this was added later in the story).
Since there was no explanation, my initial plan was to temporarily nerf Edo Tensei jutsu so that Orochimaru could do only what he did in the original story. However, when I was considering what to do with Fujin (since he is considerably stronger than my initial plans), I suddenly wondered why I was nerfing the Edo Tensei jutsu when it was the perfect answer to my issues.
Kinda glad that the idea appeared in my mind when it did as it'll make this arc far more fun. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it. Plenty of fun battles to come (but please keep the author's notes from chapter 704 in mind).]
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"Hmm? What's this? I'm alive again?" Juzo glanced at his own body in surprise before noticing others around him. His eyes widened as he realized, 'This… Is this Konoha's Edo Tensei jutsu?'
"That bastard Kakuzu! He fucking stabbed me in the back!" Kaminari seethed in rage once he realized that he was revived. He wanted to do nothing more than get his revenge. Unfortunately, he knew that he was nothing but a puppet under the control of the one who reanimated him.
"Zabuza-sama, is that you? Where are we? How am I alive again?" Haku asked curiously. Unlike the other experienced ninjas, he knew nothing about this jutsu.
Zabuza replied, "You aren't. Someone used a jutsu to bring back the dead temporarily. We'll be under that person's control."
A sad look appeared on Haku's face as he muttered, "Does that mean that you're dead as well? I failed in my duty."
To his surprise, Zabuza chuckled and said, "Don't beat yourself up. You did very well, Haku. Anyway, we seem to be in Konoha and in the midst of a war."
Juzo glanced at Zabuza and noticed Kubikiribocho with him. He said, "Zabuza… So you are the one who succeeded my blade. However, it looks like you have fallen as well."
Zabuza looked at Juzo as well. Before he could say anything, Kaminari began hurling another round of creative curses at Kakuzu. He suddenly stopped when his eyes fell on Fujin. He said, "He looks a bit familiar… Who is he?"
Juzo overheard him and replied, "He is Suzuki Fujin. I heard that you clashed with him before you died."
Kaminari's eyes widened in surprise. He exclaimed, "That brat has grown so much? Not bad… As expected of someone who could injure me. How did you die, Juzo?"
Juzo sighed and answered, "I was killed by that brat."
"What?" Kaminari shouted in surprise. While he was impressed by Fujin's chakra, he didn't think he'd be able to kill someone like Juzo at such a young age.
While the reanimated ninjas chatted a bit among themselves, the last reanimated ninja's appearance became clear. As soon as they saw him, fear appeared in the eyes of both Suna and Konoha ninjas!
Fujin's expression became serious as well as he thought, 'Hatake Sakumo… Sigh, such a difficult opponent. Even if he isn't at his full strength, sealing him will be a difficult job…'
"Long time no see, Saru..."
"You've aged, Sarutobi…"
As soon as they were reanimated, the Senju brothers noticed how old Hiruzen had become.
Hiruzen sighed and apologized, "I never imagined I would see you two again under such circumstances. I am so sorry."
Hiruzen quickly assessed the situation, 'So much for that hope… Their chakra levels are far lower than when they were alive, especially in the case of Lord First. They won't be able to break free of Orochimaru's control. However, they should still have the strength of a rank S ninja along with their skills...
I might be able to take the three of them on at the same time, but this will be a difficult battle… Very difficult… It might have been a bit easier if Jiraiya and Fujin backed me up. However, I sensed Sakumo's presence, along with Shirogane's chakra… They won't be able to free themselves easily.'
Tobirama glanced at Orochimaru and said, "Edo Tensei, huh? And that stripling over there is the one who summoned us with my jutsu? Impressive. He has improved this jutsu considerably… Huh?"
Tobirama's eyes suddenly widened as he felt something. He glanced outside the barrier, looking into the arena first before glancing in the direction of the village. He thought, 'I can't see them… However, why do I feel like there are millions of Flying Thunder God marks in the village? Did someone improve that jutsu as well?'
When Hiruzen gave Fujin the Flying Thunder God scrolls, he had given Fujin everything related to it. The aspect of hiding the Flying Thunder God mark was developed by Minato. While Tobirama's marks could be sensed by anyone who had some expertise in Space Time Ninjutsu, Minato's marks couldn't be sensed even by such ninjas, unless he wanted to show them.
In order to ensure that reanimated Tobirama and Minato wouldn't be able to see his marks, Fujin changed the seal formula even further. It wasn't exactly an improvement on Minato's formula, but just a change to ensure that Minato couldn't see his marks either.
However, since he had planted millions of marks in Konoha, Tobirama, who was extremely skilled at Space Time Ninjutsu and probably the ninja who knew the most about it, instinctively felt the presence of an enormous number of Flying Thunder God marks.
Tobirama looked back at Hiruzen and asked, "Saru, did someone master the Flying Thunder God jutsu as well?"
Hiruzen was a bit surprised by the question. He answered, "Yes, he was quite a genius with the technique as well and became the Fourth Hokage. Unfortunately, he passed away over a decade ago…"
Tobirama sighed and thought, 'A pity… Someone who could change my seal formula and plant millions of marks in the village must have been a very formidable ninja. Attacking the village would have been impossible if he was still alive.'
Orochimaru chuckled and said, "Enough with the small talk. Why don't we get started?"
In the arena, the ninjas on both sides were in shock at seeing Sakumo. Fearful voices could be heard among the ranks of Konoha ninjas.
"That bitch summoned Sakumo-sama?"
"Wasn't Sakumo-sama stronger than the Sannins? How are we supposed to fight him?"
"We need to trust Councilman Fujin! Let's block the others with our lives and let Councilman Fujin deal with Sakumo-sama by himself!"
At the same time, hateful voices could be heard among the ranks of Suna ninjas.
"That is Konoha's White Fang?"
"Why did Orochimaru revive that cursed bastard? He killed both my grandparents!"
"Screw you! He killed all four of my grandparents and both my parents!"
"Stop talking! That bastard almost annihilated my entire clan! Do you know how often I dream that I could kill this motherfucker!"
While Sakumo's strength was always known, he gained fame during the Second Great Ninja War when he led Konoha's armies on the Suna front. The wounds he inflicted on Sunagakure were worse than what Fujin inflicted on Kumogakure. Unlike Fujin, who did it stealthily and without any witnesses, Sakumo did it in front of everyone on the battlefield. For over a decade, there wasn't a single person in Sunagakure who didn't hate him!
Kakashi and others glanced in the direction of this commotion as well. It was too big to ignore. His eyes widened as he muttered, "Father…"
He looked back at Kabuto and said, "Edo Tensei… So that is the weird feeling I was getting. However, who killed you, Kabuto?"
Having faced Kabuto, Kakashi knew how formidable he was. Seeing that he had suddenly died caught him off guard. Of course, the one who was caught off guard most was none other than Kabuto. He wondered, 'What in the hell? It doesn't seem like he is lying. In fact, he has no reason to lie. What is going on? Who killed me? And, who can use Chidori as well as Kakashi?'
Kabuto immediately felt like he was on the verge of finding out about a great conspiracy. He racked his brain to figure out what it was while continuing to restrict Kakashi.
Sakumo glanced at the headband Guren was wearing and the Oto ninjas around her before glancing at Fujin. Seeing the wind cloak around him, Sakumo immediately concluded that all the Oto ninjas had been killed by Fujin. He sighed, "To think that I would be revived to fight my own village… You, what is your name?"
Fujin replied, "I didn't expect to see a ninja of your caliber in the enemy ranks. I'm Suzuki Fujin."
Sakumo said, "Fujin, good name. Even though I'm revived, I can feel that I'm not at my full strength. However, you can't kill someone who has been summoned by the Edo Tensei jutsu. This jutsu can only be stopped by either sealing us or by putting the caster under a Genjutsu and dispelling the jutsu. Call for a few Uchiha Jounins and have them suppress her…"
The eyes of Konoha ninjas widened while the Suna ninjas smirked. The famed Uchiha clan no longer existed. The only ones who lived were Sasuke and a few academy students. The only two strong Uchiha were rogue ninjas. Even though they hated Sakumo, seeing him on their side raised the morale of the Suna ninjas. Just a minute ago, Fujin was ruthlessly butchering Suna and Oto ninjas. Now, it would be Konoha's turn to suffer!
Before the Konoha ninjas could say that there was no Uchiha Jounin in the village and ask Sakumo to give a different advice, Guren shouted, "Stop stalling time and attack him! Kill Fujin before he is reinforced and annihilate the remaining Konoha ninjas!"
[A/N: Next Chapter : Fujin's Decisiveness!]
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