Shukaku's consciousness had barely emerged before being brutally beaten back by these two cheaters.
Meanwhile, Gaara, who had been unconscious, was rudely awakened by Naruto's 'wake-up call', but looking at his bruised and battered face, he was probably not in great shape.
On the outskirts of the arena, Kakashi's eyes twitched.
'Just how the hell were these two raised?!'
'That's the Ichibi's Jinchuriki of Sunagakure!!'
The war machine of the Shinobi World was about to go berserk, but was violently suppressed by these two cheaters.
Originally, he and Guy had been ready to charge in.
But after seeing the sheer destructive power of the techniques these two unleashed, they were genuinely afraid that they would be caught in the crossfire before they could even intervene.
"Kakashi…"
"Your students… "
"Truly embody the most Youthful and Passionate spirit of Konoha Village..."
Although Guy still shouted about Youth, his tone lacked the usual fiery enthusiasm, which was enough to show that he was also very speechless.
Then, remembering the insane training these two usually put themselves through, Guy's eyes reignited with fighting spirit.
"It seems my Youth still burns too dimly!"
"After this is over, I must drag five trees and run a hundred laps around the village!"
"My eternal rival, join me in this hellish training!"
Kakashi: "..."
It wasn't just them. The other Shinobi who had fought in past wars watched in shock, and then dread, as these two cheaters went toe-to-toe with a rampaging Biju.
Those who have not experienced war before, may have no idea about the rampage of the Biju.
But most of the Shinobi here had witnessed Shukaku's power on the battlefield.
That level of destruction...
A single swing of his claws could reap countless lives. Many of the graves in the memorial stone belonged to Shinobi who had fallen to the Ichibi.
And now, seeing these two freaks...
Everyone collectively took a deep breath. They couldn't even imagine how terrifying these two would become if they kept growing stronger.
…
Inside the barrier…
Hiruzen was being overwhelmed by the reanimated Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage, who are summoned by Orochimaru.
After barely dodging and retreating to create distance, Hiruzen caught sight of Naruto and Sasuke suppressing the Biju from running rampant, and immediately smiled with relief.
'That kid Naruto…'
'While he's infuriating most of the time, but in critical moments, he's as dependable as Minato.'
The old man took one last look at Konoha Village, his eyes filled with reluctance, and memories of his life flashed through his mind.
Then, looking at his most favored student, Hiruzen's face hardened with resolve.
"Orochimaru!"
"I won't allow you to continue down this path!"
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Hiruzen planted his staff firmly in front of him, created two shadow clones, and then formed hand seals.
"Huruzen, don't tell me you're planning to..."
Enma, Hiruzen's Summoned Beast, spoke up in shock.
He felt that the situation on the scene was far from the point where it would use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, and there was absolutely no need for Hiruzen to exchange his life with Orochimaru.
But Hiruzen ignored Enma and quickly completed the hand seals.
Behind him, the spectral figure of the Shinigami slowly materialized, and its arms wrapped around Hiruzen's soul.
Orochimaru, however, couldn't see the spectral figure.
Hiruzen gripped his staff tightly and charged forward without hesitation. None of Orochimaru's attacks could stop him now.
In the end, Hiruzen used Enma to grab Orochimaru's hands. The spectral figure of the Shinigami behind him slowly raised the blade in his hand and pierced through Hiruzen's chest, preparing to reap both their souls.
Meanwhile, his shadow clones restrained Tobirama and Hashirama on either side as the Shinigami's hands reached out to drag their souls.
Although Orochimaru didn't know what Hiruzen was doing, he had already smelled the scent of death.
He knew that if this continued, he would really die at Hiruzen's hands.
Orochimaru raised his fingers slightly and used Chakra to control the Kusanagi Sword on the ground, aiming straight for Hiruzen's heart.
Both men roared simultaneously.
"It's over!"
"Die!"
The Kusanagi Sword pierced through Hiruzen's heart, and the Shinigami only managed to tear out Orochimaru's arms before fading away.
Hiruzen's consciousness gradually became blurred.
His injuries were too severe, so he couldn't extract Orochimaru's entire soul.
Slash…
The Shinigami didn't care. With a single stroke of its blade, it took away part of Orochimaru's soul and Hiruzen's full soul.
Orochimaru's hands instantly lost feeling and his body was in unspeakable pain.
But…
The old man, who had been gripping his hands so tightly, finally loosened his hold.
He lost strength and collapsed into Orochimaru's arms.
And so, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha fell in battle.
Orochimaru used his body to push the corpse away, summoned his subordinates to remove the barrier, and quickly retreated from the scene.
At this moment, all the Shinobi, upon seeing the barrier removed, immediately rushed forward to check on Hiruzen's condition.
Only Naruto and Sasuke remained standing where they were, unmoving.
Naruto stood still, staring at Hiruzen's lifeless body from afar for a full ten minutes.
After sighing softly, Naruto opened a portal, said goodbye to Sasuke, and left first.
Meanwhile, Sasuke held a ball of paper thrown by an Otogakure's Shinobi in his hand. He raised his hand to throw it away, but at the last second, he stuffed it back into his pocket.
That day, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha perished. As if mourning with them, the sky drizzled with rain, continuing well into the next day...
…
At Hiruzen's funeral, nearly everyone in Konoha came to pay their respects to the elderly man.
Even a certain white-haired old man, who had escaped from the village to avoid the limelight, made an appearance.
He held the old man's crystal ball in his arms, waters dripping on his cheeks, and no one could tell whether it was rain or tears.
After standing there for a long time, Jiraiya looked up at the sky, closed his eyes, and muttered to himself.
"Sorry, old man..."
"I'm late."
There weren't many loud sobs or wails at the scene, as it was mostly the new generation of Shinobi crying and shouting.
The older generation of Shinobi have become accustomed to this kind of scene of separation and death.
Konohamaru knelt before the gravestone, tears and snot streaming down his face, while his mind replaying the memories of his grandfather over and over.
"Ugh... sob..."
"Grandpa..."
After a few choked cries, Konohamaru frantically dug through his pockets, then pulled out numerous medicine bottles.
While crying, he carefully arranged them in front of the tombstone.
"Sniff... Grandpa..."
"I found this from the trash can."
"Sob... Don't forget to take your medicine in the Pure Land..."
Naruto: "…"
Konoha's filial piety left the surrounding crowd in stunned silence.
But no one stopped him.
While his behavior was somewhat inappropriate, at least Konohamaru's heart was in the right place.
The mourners soon dispersed, leaving only two white-haired men, Konohamaru, and Naruto behind.
Naruto didn't go back because he hadn't paid his respects to Hiruzen yet.
As for why these three people didn't go back, Naruto didn't know.
To be honest, it was Naruto's first time to attend a Konoha's funeral, and the only thing he could offer as a condolence was a bouquet of flowers.
But he didn't really understand the significance.
Jiraiya was standing next to Naruto, and seeing that the boy still didn't move, he placed a hand on his shoulder, and whispered softly, "Go ahead."
"Say your final goodbye to the old man."
Naruto raised his head, looked at the serious expression of the white-haired old man, nodded slightly, and finally took his first step forward.
However, when he was about to reach Hiruzen's tombstone, Naruto suddenly threw the bouquet in his hand aside.
Before Kakashi and Jiraiya could react, they saw Naruto take out a blue sword and walk step by step to the tombstone.
"Naruto..."
Kakashi was worried that Naruto was going to do something reckless, so he called out his name, but Jiraiya at the side shook his head to stop Kakashi.
Naruto looked at Hiruzen's smiling portrait, the corners of his mouth suddenly raised, and he pointed the diamond sword in his hand at the portrait and shouted, "Old man Sandaime!"
"My sword is not bad either!" (T/N: It seems to a sentence from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where Yuan Shao challenges Dong Zhuo with this sentence. Here, Naruto uses it as a defiant, almost playful farewell… acknowledging their rivalry while paying respects in his own way.)