Infinite Anime [258-259] (Patreon)

Chapter 258: The Death of Danzō

At the very last instant, through Observation Haki-like perception, Gusion sensed Danzō form the Ox, Boar, and Ram seals—he must have activated Izanagi.

Sure enough, reality shifted against Danzō's unfavorable outcome. The corpse before Gusion vanished, and Danzō lunged from where he had been standing, Wood Release transforming into a slender yet rigid spear thrusting at Gusion's back.

But in the next moment, Danzō—certain his ambush would land from that position—felt a sudden daze. Gusion's figure disappeared and slid laterally, stopping with perfect balance, as if he had teleported.

Danzō couldn't spare a thought for how Gusion pulled off such a body flicker. He didn't dare engage in close quarters again; after the failed strike, he leaped back and triggered a Substitution Jutsu.

He was still a step too slow. Gusion's movements were ghostlike. Planting off two tree trunks in quick succession, he blitzed in and slashed, bisecting Danzō before the Substitution could complete.

This time Danzō didn't bother acting. After using Izanagi, he reappeared at a distance and shouted toward Itachi, "What are you standing there for!? Quickly annihilate Konoha's enemy!"

Itachi saw there were still many Root operatives on-site and couldn't be sure the message wouldn't leak, so he stepped forward to join the battle.

Itachi merely pretended he couldn't match Gusion's speed, trailing behind him and eating dust.

Seeing this, Danzō fumed. "Where's your Mangekyō!?"

"He's not looking at me."

Itachi feigned helplessness. "I can't use Tsukuyomi, and we've crossed blades—he's on guard."

Danzō cursed in his heart at Itachi being useless. If the first mission had succeeded and they'd killed the Calamity, none of today's mess would be happening.

Seeing that Gusion's intent to kill him wouldn't waver, Root's men couldn't hold him back, and Mangekyō Itachi was unreliable, Danzō had to solve Gusion himself.

Despite the heartache, Danzō tore off the bandages covering his eye—he would use Kotoamatsukami on Gusion!

As Gusion closed in, he saw Danzō unwrapping the bandage and grew wary. He immediately gathered natural energy and entered Sage Mode.

Though he'd try to avoid eye contact given his intel advantage, he couldn't guarantee Izanagi wouldn't rewrite reality in Danzō's favor. If he really got hit by Kotoamatsukami without elevating his temporary state, he'd capsize in the gutter.

Seeing Gusion use the Senjutsu mentioned in the intel didn't surprise Danzō. He calmly used another Izanagi; now wasn't the time to mourn his limited stock of Sharingan. As long as he won, he could wipe out the Uchiha afterward and get as many eyes as he wanted.

Steel flashed; Danzō was cut in half again. He revived via Izanagi, appearing below Gusion and locking eyes with him.

In an instant, Shisui's Sharingan whirled at high speed—Kotoamatsukami activated!

The moment Danzō unleashed Kotoamatsukami, he exhaled in relief.

He'd won!

Even if he hadn't used it on Itachi or Naruto, so long as he survived, it would be worth it. The Calamity could become a fine chess piece.

If the Calamity hadn't committed the grave crime of attacking Kirigakure, Danzō might have even tried to wash his name clean and bring him back to serve Konoha under his command.

In a heartbeat, Danzō sketched out all the follow-up routes in his mind, as if he could already see himself on the Hokage's seat.

Meanwhile, Gusion, standing on a trunk, also seemed to freeze—but he simply glanced at the combat menu details.

[The Pioneer is under Kotoamatsukami's genjutsu; his will is about to be altered...]

[Calm-Heart Bloodline initiating judgment...]

[The Pioneer's current Spirit attribute: 75. Judgment passed. Control negated.]

Gusion sighed inwardly at the Calm-Heart bloodline's power, then lowered his gaze to the smiling Danzō.

"Gusion, come down," Danzō ordered, like a superior to his subordinate.

Seeing Gusion hop down from the tree, he felt even more satisfied, already plotting to use Gusion to wipe out the Uchiha and call it an attack by rogue ninja—he could mourn them publicly while harvesting a bounty of eyes.

"What are you doing still holding that blade? Put it away."

Seeing Gusion approach still carrying Mazuko, and recalling how many times he'd been sliced apart by it, Danzō felt an instinctive disgust.

Gusion looked at Danzō as if at an idiot, then swung once, beheading him in front of the converging Root operatives.

"Elder Danzō!"

The cry didn't come from just anyone—it was Itachi, closest to Danzō.

In terms of acting, Itachi was far above Zabuza. Knife in hand, he was every inch the image of a loyal Konoha defender.

"How can this be? Kotoamatsukami failed!?"

A newly arrived Root operative blurted, looking around. Danzō didn't reappear—and he noticed the Tongue-Curse Seal's effect had vanished.

Danzō… was dead?

Freed Root members were momentarily at a loss, but they knew this much: Gusion was a Konoha rogue-nin who had just slain a Konoha elder before their eyes. They had to keep him here.

So the Root operatives charged without fear of death, each unleashing their signature jutsu.

"Quite loyal," Gusion remarked as he released the high-voltage current of the Goro Goro no Mi, dropping the Root operatives rushing him.

At the same time, stepping through Shunpo, he rose into the air, looking toward the conflagration in Konoha. "But I'm not interested in playing with you right now."

Rumble—

Explosions from large-scale ninjutsu boomed continuously from Konoha's direction, finally making the remaining Root notice. They stared in horror toward the village.

It had been like this for a while—they'd assumed the racket came from this battlefield, but with fighting here over and the roar deafening in the night, they realized the sound was coming from Konoha.

Could the village be under attack!?

…

Inside Konoha, Orochimaru watched the battlefield from above. Seeing the mercenary army he'd paid handsomely for get stalled annoyed him.

That lightning-style user felt somewhat like Gusion—the thunder energy differed from ordinary Raiton, closer to natural lightning.

What's going on? He'd never heard of Gusion having kin. Wasn't he supposed to be the last of some kekkei genkai?

Despite his doubts, Orochimaru knew anything could happen in war. All he could do was further bolster his side.

He made up his mind, performing Summoning and pairing it with Impure World Reincarnation—three coffins emerged.

Gusion had given him three strong corpses. He couldn't figure out why, but that ninja named Black Tech couldn't be summoned with Edo Tensei; no matter what he tried, there was no response. In the end, he only used that body as a medium to reincarnate other powerhouses.

"What!? What kind of jutsu is this!?"

Shinobi on the scene felt instinctive revulsion at the two coffins. When their doors opened, they were shocked. "The Fourth Mizukage!?"

Some might not recognize Kisame, but Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, was a legend known across the ninja world.

"This jutsu… the forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage? How bothersome—won't even let me rest in peace," Yagura muttered, stepping out and flexing his body, then glancing at Orochimaru. "Brat, did you summon me?"

Orochimaru licked his lips. "I'll be troubling you to perform a bit more."

He plunged a control kunai into the back of Yagura's head. Although he felt Yagura wouldn't oppose destroying Konoha, since Gusion would later arrive to the battlefield, Orochimaru had to prevent clashes between Yagura and Gusion.

"Orochimaru!"

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with his trusted ANBU. Seeing the Fourth Mizukage and three coffins behind him, he flew into a rage.

"You're still studying that forbidden jutsu that desecrates the dead!"

The Third roared, swinging the Adamantine Staff at Orochimaru.

Boom—

Kisame blocked with the Explosive Blade that Orochimaru had procured from who knows where, triggering explosive tags and forcing the Third to retreat.

Standing amid the blast wind, hair whipping, Orochimaru looked down at the falling Third Hokage. The battle below had reached a fever pitch. With his main course having arrived, Orochimaru no longer waited; he bit his finger and slapped the air again.

Three more coffins were summoned, and a powerful foreboding seized the Third's heart.

He tried to rush in and stop the jutsu, but Yagura and Kisame blocked him.

These two weren't standard Edo Tensei summons using other people's bodies; they had been reincarnated with their original remains. In such cases, Edo Tensei suffered almost no performance loss—they could fight at their peak.

Even without Three-Tails, Yagura's strength barely dipped. Edo bodies had effectively infinite chakra and life; damage repaired automatically. Their suppression on the battlefield was overwhelming.

The Professor of Ninjutsu knew many techniques, but facing an all-rounder like Yagura and a chakra monster like Kisame, he had few answers and was beaten back repeatedly.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

Facing the two-pronged assault, the Third used Earth Style for elemental advantage.

After slapping the ground, a chakra-wrought earth dragon surged forth, spewing mud streams at Yagura and Kisame, disrupting their jutsu.

He then rapidly formed seals and chained another jutsu. "Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"

The terrain shifted, sweeping the newly landed, unsteady Yagura and Kisame away.

With that, the Third briefly cleared the field before him and moved to stop Orochimaru's ritual.

But delayed by the two, Orochimaru calmly completed Edo Tensei. Three coffins opened in sequence, and two familiar figures stepped out.

Other Konoha shinobi on the field stared, dumbstruck—they knew these faces well from the Hokage Rock.

"Huh? Is this Konoha? It's changed a lot. Weren't we dead?" said the first, a man in Warring States-era vermilion armor, his guileless face puzzled. Turning, he saw the other figure emerge. "Tobirama, long time no see."

Tobirama, far quicker on the uptake than his idiot older brother, gazed at firelit Konoha, sensing his body and soul. "Impure World Reincarnation? Is that man the caster?"

He glanced at Orochimaru. "Impressive—he actually mastered this technique."

Hearing his brother praise Orochimaru, Hashirama was displeased. "This is Konoha. Looks like he's attacking the village, isn't he?"

Chapter 259: A Person's Name, A Tree's Shadow

Hashirama looked at the fires raging across Konoha, grumbling, "Tobirama, I told you not to research a jutsu that desecrates the dead. Look at the mess now."

He tried flexing his limbs—he retained some self-control but couldn't attack the caster.

Tobirama remained calm. His eyes swept to Hiruzen facing down Orochimaru and, rather than greet his pupil, he said, "No matter. He shouldn't have used my forbidden technique to summon me."

He attempted to perform the release method for Edo Tensei, but found himself restrained the moment he tried to form seals.

"Heh heh, Lord Second, if I'm summoning the creator of this forbidden technique, how could I not be cautious?"

Orochimaru's smile was cold. He hadn't summoned the two at full power and stayed ready to clamp down with bindings at any time, never giving Tobirama a chance to release the jutsu.

As he spoke, he controlled the returning Yagura to block the Third again and plunged a control talisman into the back of Tobirama's head.

With that, Tobirama lost his will, leaving only battle instinct for Orochimaru to direct.

"Sensei!"

The Third's head pounded—Konoha truly was in danger today.

Hashirama looked helplessly at Orochimaru controlling Tobirama. He tried to unleash power, but found this body could muster less than one percent of his peak—he couldn't break free of the caster's control.

"You're Hiruzen, aren't you? So old already? Why haven't you found a new Hokage?"

Hashirama frowned slightly, wondering why the village let an elderly Hiruzen keep the seat. Were there no younger successors?

"Hehe, there was a Fourth—but he died. The old man took the post again," Orochimaru answered for the Third, smirking.

"Even the Fourth died? Then what about the Fifth?" Hashirama asked, confused.

Hiruzen was a bit embarrassed, but a kunai slid into Hashirama's nape, sparing him from answering.

Meanwhile, the third coffin opened. Out stepped a young man with short red hair and a handsome face. He turned to Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, I didn't expect to see your hateful face even after death. Is this an assignment from the Organization?"

Explorers on the field went pale at this third Edo master—Orochimaru had summoned Sasori of the Red Sand. A puppeteer of that caliber was a battlefield king. As an Edo, his corporeal weakness shrank to near-nothing.

"A personal affair. But given the chance, Calamity and I might consider capturing the Nine-Tails," Orochimaru smiled. He'd wanted to summon the Fourth Hokage but failed for unknown reasons. Sasori's remains were a tribute from Dark Sky Demon and his crew.

Somehow, those mercenaries not only stole Sasori's corpse but also his Puppet Arts scrolls.

"Couldn't catch One-Tail—Nine-Tails will do," Sasori said flatly. "But if you trouble me again, I will kill you."

Orochimaru paid no mind to a dead man's threat and replied smoothly, "Then I'll trouble my former partner."

Unlike with the First and Second, Orochimaru didn't use seals to control Sasori; Sasori already hated Konoha—his parents had been killed by Konoha. He had no qualms attacking the village.

And while he and Orochimaru weren't exactly close, they had partnered before. Their botched Sand mission left Sasori a tad obliged. With Orochimaru now aiming for the Nine-Tails, Sasori—though displeased at being summoned—was happy enough to assault Konoha and attempt a capture.

While the two spoke, the Third assessed the field.

Without Dark Sky Demon's backing, the other Otogakure ninja were being slaughtered by Konoha in one-sided fashion.

That ended quickly—Yagura and Kisame joined the fray.

Even so, Orochimaru's hoped-for steamroll didn't occur. Konoha had many excellent shinobi: Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, and other elite jōnin arrived. Even the recently recovered Kakashi had come.

With so many elites together, mindless Edo Yagura and Kisame couldn't advance the line. The battle stalemated.

Hiruzen felt slightly relieved but knew he was in the most perilous spot.

Orochimaru's eyes said it all—this student surely still resented him for not making him Hokage.

Now he faced Orochimaru, the First and Second Hokage, and the S-rank rogue Sasori—four Kage-class opponents. Even if the two Hokage couldn't fight at peak, he couldn't handle them.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Under Orochimaru's control, Hashirama first unleashed Deep Forest Emergence, partitioning the field and creating a private arena for Orochimaru and the Third.

Clearly, Orochimaru didn't want their conversation disturbed.

He didn't truly care about destroying Konoha; he wanted closure with his teacher.

As the forest encircled Hiruzen, the Second also cast the Darkness Technique, stealing Hiruzen's sight.

It was already night, now further shrouded by forest, and with the Darkness Technique, Hiruzen was blind.

Only his battle-honed instincts saved him from Tobirama's Flying Thunder God thrust.

"Enma, I'm counting on your eyes!"

Knowing that with limited vision under siege he'd die in minutes, the Third relied on his partner.

The forested arena spanned nearly a kilometer, pulverizing Konoha's front-street buildings into primal woodland.

Some unlucky shinobi got trapped inside. Instead of retreating, they attempted to support the Third.

But this forest housed four Kage-class foes, and Tobirama's Flying Thunder God was everywhere. Any ninja approaching the core fell to him.

The woods became a death zone. Realizing this, the Third shouted, "Repel the invaders with everything you have! Do not enter this forest—leave Orochimaru to me!"

He cried out, "In the name of Hokage, I will protect the village!"

He said it mostly to keep forces from dying needlessly—he saw no path to victory.

He did know a powerful sealing technique that could seal Edo Tensei summons, but unless he could take out Orochimaru the caster, sealing a few wouldn't help—who knew what else Orochimaru had?

Unless he found an opening to seal all three powerhouses plus Orochimaru at once, he had no chance.

"Hokage? Protect?"

Sasori's cold voice echoed in the forest. Until now he hadn't moved, but stirred at the Third's words.

He drew a scroll from his back. "Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"

In an instant, over a hundred red-robed puppets appeared. Some, controlled by chakra threads, charged the Third; others locked down the forest perimeter, sniping any potential reinforcements.

Within the village, Kakashi, Guy, and other elites didn't need much effort to halt the mindless Yagura and Kisame and even considered splitting off to aid the Hokage.

Explorers in Konoha, having seen Orochimaru's "Destroy Konoha Plan" being "just that," came out in force, joining the battle and trying to farm treasure chests.

But once involved, they discovered a big trap.

Participation triggered a End Space mission: ["Defense of Konoha."] 

They were to kill enemies to accumulate points, and if they stopped the person behind Konoha's destruction plan, they'd get a dark-gold chest.

The mission's upper-bound difficulty… was certain death.

The previously rampant explorers cooled instantly, wondering where the lethal pit lay.

Orochimaru?

Unlikely. Even with three strong summons, Hiruzen shouldn't be taken without cost, right? At least a Hokage-for-a-Hokage?

And Konoha had many top-tier fighters. Two major powerhouses were even lurking as backup—what could go wrong?

Indeed, sharp sensors had noticed Tsunade and Jiraiya had arrived. Tsunade had already joined the main battle, smashing Kisame into a bizarre shape with one punch.

But her power was unstable; after one hit she locked up—hemophobia flared and she couldn't continue.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, hid in the shadows outside the forest, waiting for something.

This was the Third's arrangement. He felt Orochimaru's attack was unusual; even with these forces and Edo summons, they couldn't beat Konoha.

He feared another trap and kept Jiraiya in reserve to support the whole field as needed.

But the Third now found the pressure overwhelming. Three powerhouses had him in tatters; without Enma's reliable aid, he'd be dead already.

"Jiraiya, move!"

His shout came from within the forest—he couldn't hold on. If his trump card didn't act now, his old bones would be left here.

Jiraiya didn't hesitate.

Just as he sprang to enter the forest, a tremendous boom erupted from Konoha's east wall.

He reflexively turned and saw a crimson giant serpent burst from the night, smashing through the wall like an ultimate war engine—unstoppable.

Meanwhile, dark red waterfalls plunged from the sky, battering Konoha's ground and blasting craters. Fortunately civilians had already evacuated, or this carpet-bombing would have cut the population by twenty percent.

Even so, buildings were wrecked, nearby shinobi injured, some grievously or fatally, crumpling to the ground.

Amid flames and blast winds, the man standing atop the crimson serpent's head had fringe whipping and a cold expression as he looked down at the routed Oto-nin. "Truly useless."

By firelight and fading arcs of electricity in the air, Konoha's shinobi saw his face and tensed to the extreme.

A person's name casts a tree's shadow—Calamity's feat of single-handedly maiming Kirigakure had spread across the ninja world. He was recognized as stronger than your average Kage—an invincible force.

"Gusion!"

Jiraiya recognized him active during the Third War at a glance. He had once admired the young ninja, thinking he'd be a fine rival for Minato.

Shame he strayed, following Orochimaru into human experimentation and now attacking Konoha alongside him.

"Old man, hold out for a bit—I'm going to deal with Gusion!"

Jiraiya shouted, abandoning the idea of aiding the Third. He believed a shinobi like Gusion was too destructive; without someone of his caliber to stop him, Gusion could wipe out Konoha's elite in an instant.

As he leapt, he formed seals and summoned a giant toad.

Gamabunta appeared, sword at his hip, pipe in his mouth. Ripped from his night life, he was displeased and about to complain to Jiraiya when he saw Manda wrestling with Chōza Akimichi in the distance.

More importantly, his eyes sharpened at the crimson serpent. "Garaga…"

He drew the blade at once.

"Jiraiya, this foe is troublesome."

No time for explanations. Jiraiya spun up a Rasengan atop Gamabunta's head and launched himself at Gusion.