"Ye Fan, we can't keep this up. You hold the First Hokage and Second in place. Leave the rest to me!"
"And if you can, please restrain Orochimaru too. I want to bury him with my own hands!"
The Third Hokage dragged his badly injured body upright.
"Hm?" Ye Fan turned to look at the Third Hokage, his brow furrowing.
He understood what the Third Hokage meant. He was going to use the Reaper Death Seal, paying for it with his life.
"Old man, I just told you I'd never let you die in front of me, and now you're going to use a sealing jutsu that'll cost you your life?"
"You're really not showing your bro any respect!"
"Ye Fan, the Chakra I have left won't last much longer. We should hurry!"
"Old man, why don't you go find somewhere cool to sit?"
Ye Fan waved a hand, signaling the Third Hokage to move farther away.
The truth was, Ye Fan did have a way to kill the First and Second outright.
Ever since the first time he shattered an Impure World Reincarnation body, he had noticed something.
The "Qi" inside him could damage souls!
That was why Ye Fan had only used physical strength when fighting the First Hokage and the others, and had never used "Qi."
If he combined "Qi" with his physical strength, he was afraid he might accidentally shatter the souls of the First Hokage and Second completely.
Once a soul was shattered, it was truly gone. No method could bring it back!
"Ye Fan... This is the only way to stop all of this. Listen to me and hurry up—hold them in place!"
The Third Hokage thought Ye Fan was stopping him from using the sealing jutsu because he cared about him.
If he knew Ye Fan was actually just fed up, he would have wondered what to make of it.
"Who said this is the only way? You think Orochimaru's just standing around?"
"I've had my fun. It's time to end this farce!"
Ye Fan's expression changed abruptly. In an instant, he shattered the bodies of the First Hokage and Second.
Then he appeared in front of Orochimaru and grabbed him by the throat.
The moment his hand touched Orochimaru's neck, Ye Fan channeled some "Qi" into his fingertips.
"Th-this..."
Orochimaru suddenly felt an indescribable discomfort throughout his body, and he began to tremble faintly.
It was a feeling like terror rising from the depths of his soul!
"Orochimaru, if you know what's good for you, release the Impure World Reincarnation at once."
"Otherwise, I'll send you on your way right now!"
Ye Fan's voice was icy, utterly devoid of emotion.
Orochimaru drew in a sharp breath, his heart pounding with anxiety.
He knew perfectly well that Ye Fan wasn't bluffing. He really had the power to do it!
The moment Ye Fan grabbed his throat, Orochimaru felt the breath of death for the first time since he had nearly attained an Immortal Body.
"Orochimaru, you have three seconds to decide. After that, your chance is gone."
"Fine, fine! I'll release the Impure World Reincarnation right away!"
Ye Fan's presence had shaken Orochimaru so badly that he could barely get the words out.
Ye Fan tossed Orochimaru aside. Orochimaru didn't dare try anything else and obediently formed the hand seals to release the Impure World Reincarnation.
As he performed the jutsu, Orochimaru's gaze grew increasingly fervent.
He secretly swore to himself that he would obtain Ye Fan's body at all costs.
Even setting Ye Fan's body aside, that mysterious power alone filled him with longing.
He could clearly sense that before such an unfathomably mysterious power, every Kekkei Genkai was an ant—utterly outclassed!
"Such mysterious power, coupled with a body this powerful... It's perfect!"
"Ye Fan comes from the Uchiha Clan. Could some bloodline mutation be the reason he has no Sharingan, yet possesses something even more extraordinary?"
Orochimaru thought to himself, his desire for Ye Fan's body growing ever stronger.
At that moment, he didn't want to spend another second in his current body. He wanted only Ye Fan's!
But the gap in their strength left him no choice but to bide his time.
For now, the most important thing was figuring out how to get out of here.
As the Impure World Reincarnation was undone, the souls of the First Hokage and Second gradually left their bodies.
The first thing the Second's soul said after leaving his body was:
"You naturally evil Uchiha brat! I'd love to kill you with my own hands!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the First Hokage's soul covered it with his hand and said with a laugh, "Don't mind him. He's always been like this."
"So your name is Uchiha Ye Fan, is it? I have faith in you. You possess something others don't."
"Perhaps you can accomplish what our generation strove for and bring true peace to the shinobi world."
"Good luck!"
"Big Brother, let go of me! Naturally evil..."
"What do you mean, 'evil'?"
The First Hokage smacked the Second on the back of the head, then slowly vanished from this world.
Watching them, Ye Fan let out an amused laugh. The First and Second really were a pair of eccentrics.
Especially the First Hokage. No one would ever guess that someone with his personality had once been the God of Shinobi and the strongest man in the entire shinobi world.
After the First and Second had left, Ye Fan looked at Orochimaru and said, "Your Impure World Reincarnation is pretty crude. You didn't bring out their full strength at all."
"Heh, that's true. With no consciousness, Lord First and Lord Second were like puppets. They were indeed limited in many ways."
Orochimaru smiled as he met Ye Fan's gaze.
He might not have been Ye Fan's match, and Ye Fan could certainly kill him, but he wasn't afraid of Ye Fan.
Now that he had recovered his composure, Orochimaru genuinely liked Ye Fan.
Ye Fan glanced at him. "You really are one of the legendary Sannin. Your nerves are stronger than most people's."
As he spoke, Ye Fan glanced at Sasuke, who had collapsed on the ground in terror, his pupils dilated and his whole body trembling.
"You flatter me. I just have a feeling you don't want to kill me."
"Heh, that's right. I don't want to kill you right now. You're still useful to me."
Ye Fan turned to the Third Hokage. "Old man, I don't know any jutsu. Could you use some sealing jutsu or other and seal Orochimaru away?"
The Third Hokage nodded. He didn't actually want to kill Orochimaru either.
Orochimaru didn't resist as the Third Hokage performed the sealing jutsu.
Since Ye Fan had said he still had a use for him, he might as well stop trying to escape. The odds of getting away were low anyway.
Besides, if he could stay by Ye Fan's side, he would have a much better chance of taking over his body.
With everything settled, Ye Fan picked up the unconscious Naruto and hurried toward the village center.
While he had been inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, he had sensed an extremely violent surge of Chakra. It didn't seem like something an ordinary person could produce.
Ye Fan guessed that a tailed beast—most likely the One-Tail—had gone berserk in Konoha.
As he hurried along, a long-absent system notification sounded in his mind.
"Ding..."
Before you continue