A Sudden Upheaval

In the medical room, Hyuga Hiashi and Neji finally settled what had happened all those years ago.

"Hizashi... We never sent him to his death," Hiashi said. The sharpness that had once filled his eyes was gone, replaced by bottomless sorrow...

"Impossible! That's nothing but the Main Family's excuse!" Neji shouted.

He couldn't believe that was what had caused his father's death.

"I was already prepared to die... Your father protected me... He volunteered to take my place..." Hiashi said, tears slipping down his cheeks despite himself.

"Hizashi didn't die as a member of the Branch Family... He died as a younger brother, protecting his older brother, his child, and Konoha..."

To Neji's surprise, Hiashi fell to his knees.

"Please believe me. I'm telling you this as his older brother..."

"Please, get up..."

Neji suddenly spoke, his voice quiet.

He finally understood his father's wishes. Hizashi had wanted to choose his own fate, according to his own will...

"Excuse me!"

Jimo had remembered in advance that Sunagakure and Orochimaru were planning to cause trouble, so he headed to the medical room. There, he found Neji still caught up in Naruto's talk-no-jutsu.

Jimo deliberately waited until Hiashi had left before going in.

"You look like you're doing pretty well... How about another fight?"

Jimo tossed Neji a Senzu Bean.

"W-what is this?"

"A miraculous bean that can heal injuries. Of course, you'd better keep it quiet. Otherwise, the maggots lurking in Konoha's shadows might drag us off and dissect us..."

Neji swallowed the Senzu Bean without hesitation. A warm current slowly rose in his stomach.

The bruises on his body faded at a visible rate.

"Tell me, why did you give me this bean...?"

"I already told you when I came in. Come outside and fight me again... I'm guessing things out there have already—"

"Boom!"

A tremendous crash rang out from the arena. Gaara had entered his Shukaku-transformation state early.

"Oh, no... This is bad! I'd better hurry over there! Watch yourself! If you see anyone wearing a mask, just beat them up!"

With that, Jimo left Neji behind in the medical room.

By then, the Third Hokage also sensed something was wrong. The "Rasa" beside him had felt strange from the start.

The Kazekage swiftly took the Third Hokage hostage and flew up to the roof. Four unfamiliar young ninjas formed a barrier around them.

"It's been a long time, Teacher Sarutobi..."

The Kazekage tore off his disguise, revealing the face of the rogue ninja Orochimaru.

In the distance, three giant snakes smashed through Konoha's walls, their massive bodies crushing buildings as they rampaged through the village.

"Today is a historic moment... Here in Konoha... I'll kill my beloved teacher..."

Orochimaru wiped away a tear and spoke in a sinister voice.

Inside the arena, Kakashi and the other Jonin broke free of the Genjutsu and joined battle with the Sound Ninja.

"Kakashi, where'd that little monster from your team go?"

Gai fought with his back to Kakashi's.

"Who knows? He's a ninja with a hundred percent chance of causing a surprise..."

"Were you talking about me?"

Two glowing orbs plummeted from the sky amid explosions.

Jimo appeared in the dust cloud, sitting on the bodies of two Sound Ninja.

"As expected..." Kakashi had grown used to Jimo's habit of dropping in from the sky.

"Jimo, you and Sakura hurry and release Naruto and the others from the Genjutsu. Then go help Sasuke chase that little Sand Ninja!"

Kakashi said, "This is your first A-rank mission since the one in Wave Country!"

Kakashi summoned his Summoning Animal, Pakkun, and had him lead Naruto and the others after Sasuke.

"Sakura, go on ahead... There's something I need to find out!"

Jimo's expression turned cold. He sensed an extremely powerful Ki nearby. It had to be Orochimaru.

Before Sakura could finish speaking, Neji arrived.

So Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji followed Pakkun to go after Sasuke.

Jimo, meanwhile, climbed onto the roof, where he spotted the purple barrier in the distance.

Elsewhere in the arena, Baki faced an opponent who left him stunned.

"But you were supposed to be..."

"Dead? Luckily, I've got backup!"

Gekko Hayate said as he swung his long sword. He looked much better, and even his dark circles were gone.

After Baki had stabbed through his chest, neither Kabuto nor Baki had finished him off. Jimo had managed to save him in time.

For the past few days, Hayate had been keeping an eye on the Sand Ninja's movements from the shadows.

"I haven't forgotten the way you cut me!"

In an instant, Gekko Hayate had dealt Baki a grievous injury...

On the roof, the Anbu were all racking their brains for a way to break the barrier, which would set anyone who touched it ablaze.

"Kamehameha!"

A massive blue beam struck the barrier, wrapped in a spiraling ripple.

"Kamehameha! Piercing strike!"

The four ninjas at the corners grimaced in pain.

The next second, the barrier was breached, and all four ninjas coughed up blood.

"If you can't break through a barrier, it just means you haven't applied enough force from the outside!"

Jimo flashed inside the barrier.

"Old man, it's not fair to leave me out of a fight!"

Jimo saw the two open coffins and froze...

"Why are you so reckless? Regretting it now?" the Third Hokage said helplessly. "You picked a terrible time to show up..."

The First and Second Hokage had already been brought back with Impure World Reincarnation.

"Sarutobi, your new student? He can even break through a barrier... Impressive," the Second Hokage said, his eyes vacant.

"To have a promising youngster like this in Konoha, you've done well!"

Unfortunately, before the two could say anything more, Orochimaru finished controlling their minds.

The four ninjas had already repaired the barrier.

"Looks like we're not getting out of here..." Jimo looked at the two former Hokage, his tension mounting to its peak.

The battle began in an instant. The Third Hokage fought the First and Second Hokage at once. Because of his age, he had to carefully ration every bit of Chakra.

Jimo, meanwhile, charged at Orochimaru.

"Kid, you really are annoying..." Orochimaru spat out the Kusanagi Sword and swung it at Jimo.

"Clang!"

A red staff appeared in Jimo's hand.

"Don't think you're the only one with a weapon!" Jimo swung the Nyoi-Bo and sent Orochimaru flying with a single blow.

"Interesting... You can actually clash with my Kusanagi Sword..." Orochimaru wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stared at Jimo coldly.

Before he could attack, a white fireball came flying at him.

"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

The scorching flames nearly melted the rooftop into glass. Orochimaru burst through the blaze, his charred body splitting open as a new body crawled out from inside.

"Interesting... So Fire Release can be used like that?"

Orochimaru gazed at Jimo greedily, his eyes blazing.

"I've made up my mind... I'm taking you back for experiments... I'll study you thoroughly..."