On the roof of the Chunin Ninja Exams venue, a fierce battle raged. Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi faced his traitorous disciple Orochimaru alone, along with the First and Second Hokage, who had been summoned and placed under Orochimaru's control through Impure World Reincarnation.
The fighting was intense. Chakra clashed, and explosions rang out without pause.
Outside the sturdy purple barrier—the Four Violet Flames Formation—several masked Konoha Anbu could only watch as the Third Hokage fought for his life. Their fists were clenched, their eyes beneath their masks full of anxiety and helplessness.
The Sound Four—Sakon and Ukon, Tayuya, Jirobo, and Kidomaru—had erected smaller barriers around themselves while maintaining the main formation. The Anbu could not even get close enough to disrupt them.
"...That's the First, isn't it?"
A low voice sounded beside the Anbu without warning. Startled, they spun around. A tall figure stood nearby, his body concealed beneath a loose black robe. None of them had noticed his arrival.
"Who are you?!"
The Konoha Anbu went on high alert at once. Kunai flashed into their hands, and their eyes locked on the unidentified intruder.
The black-robed man seemed to ignore their questions and hostility. He looked instead at the battle between the living and the dead inside the barrier. "No matter how great a hero was in life, no matter how powerful... time still takes his life in the end. How pitiful..."
"And even after death, his soul gets no peace. Scum like that summon him back from the Pure Land to toy with him and bend him to their will."
As he spoke, he slowly removed his hood and the disguise covering his face. Beneath them was a face mostly hidden by a mask—and a pair of inhuman eyes glowing green.
Kakuzu swept his gaze over the Anbu