Rasa, the Death God Mask, and Minato

In the battle arena below.

Gaara was in the midst of transforming into his Tailed Beast, but because he had not clashed with Sasuke as in the original timeline, he did not pursue him and instead remained in place.

The Konoha Sealing Team was already on its way.

In the spectator stands, the ninjas from Sunagakure and Otogakure suddenly launched an assault.

But as expected, it was just as Ōnoki had predicted.

Although Konoha was not what it once was, it was, after all, the premier ninja village.

The quality of their jonin was exceptionally high; they were barely affected by the genjutsu and immediately threw themselves into the fray.

As more and more Konoha ninjas joined the battle, the forces of Sunagakure and Otogakure gradually began to buckle.

Under the protection of Yeying, Deidara, Kurotsuchi, and Karin had already reached a relatively safe area.

The combatants on both sides ignored them, leaving them temporarily secure.

On the outskirts of Konoha, several terrifying giant snakes smashed through the perimeter walls, stirring up waves of chaos within the village.

More Sunagakure and Otogakure ninjas were rushing toward this sector at high speed.

Finally, the main event began.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been forced onto the rooftop.

Ōnoki hovered to the side, waiting quietly for Hiruzen Sarutobi to call for reinforcements.

Orochimaru exchanged two rounds with Hiruzen Sarutobi and, realizing the old man's strength had not diminished much despite his age, immediately retreated and began weaving hand seals.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A coffin rose from the floorboards.

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately demanded, "Orochimaru! Have you fallen to such a degree?!"

"This is the jutsu of the Second Hokage," Orochimaru said with an evil grin. "As a Konoha ninja, it is only natural for me to use the techniques of his esteemed self, is it not?"

Thud.

The coffin lid hit the ground.

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, stepped out from within.

Orochimaru raised his hand to reinforce the control seal and said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Don't panic. I'll let you all have a good chat in a moment."

He maintained the control seal for the First Hokage with his left hand while beginning to weave seals with his right.

Following that.

More coffins rose one after another.

There were three in total, marked respectively with the characters for "Second," "Fourth," and "Fourth."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was shocked and immediately attempted to intervene.

But Hashirama Senju appeared directly in front of him.

Thud, thud, thud.

As the coffin lids fell.

Three figures emerged from within.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.

And...

The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze!

High in the sky, Jingxin frowned upon seeing that figure, as many memories began to piece themselves together in his mind.

Once, under the guidance of Chinatsu, Jingxin had traveled to the Land of Whirlpools to search for the secret scrolls of the Uzumaki Clan.

He had succeeded.

His second task was to collect the masks stored in the ancestral hall.

At the time, Jingxin had discovered that one of the masks was missing. He had sensed something was amiss, but his train of thought was interrupted by his teammates calling him away.

Afterward, those masks were stored in the secret vault of Iwagakure, with sealing ninjas reinforcing their seals at regular intervals.

But that missing mask happened to be the Death God Mask, which had somehow ended up in Orochimaru's hands, allowing him to release Minato Namikaze, who had been consumed by the Death God.

The situation was critical, and Jingxin had no time to ponder these mysteries.

He only knew that Ōnoki might be in danger!

This was an unforeseen complication.

If things had followed the original timeline, Ōnoki and Hiruzen Sarutobi fighting against Orochimaru, Hashirama Senju, and Tobirama Senju would have led to a relatively manageable outcome.

That was because the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu had not yet been improved by Kabuto.

Orochimaru's control over the Impure World Reincarnation was not yet refined, preventing him from unleashing the true power of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.

But now...

Orochimaru possessed the Death God Mask, rendering Hiruzen Sarutobi's Dead Demon Consuming Seal a non-threat.

Furthermore, Orochimaru was exceptionally cautious; he first summoned Hashirama Senju to intercept Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Then, he summoned Tobirama Senju, Minato Namikaze, and Rasa.

This resulted in a severe imbalance of combat power within the barrier.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had also lost his trump card, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

Rasa was manageable.

Minato Namikaze, however, was the most dangerous of all.

His Flying Thunder God technique was even more terrifying than Tobirama Senju's.

Moreover, Minato Namikaze was very young; this building had already existed when he sacrificed himself.

It was hard to guarantee that there weren't already Flying Thunder God marks left behind by Minato Namikaze on the structure.

He was the greatest danger.

This is bad...

Jingxin's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

Outside the barrier, Sunagakure had already discovered Rasa within, and upon the reminder of the Konoha ninja, they ceased their attack.

Realizing the truth, the Sunagakure ninja were filled with indignation, wanting to enter the barrier to kill Orochimaru.

Some Sunagakure jonin had already left to rendezvous with the main force outside Konoha to clarify the situation.

Otogakure belonged to Orochimaru, and knowing their mission was complete, they had long since retreated, save for the Sound Four maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation.

A large number of ninja were blocked outside the Four Violet Flames Formation.

Inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, the group was chatting animatedly.

"I didn't expect to see you again under these circumstances, Hiruzen."

Tobirama Senju observed his surroundings, immediately assessed the situation, and sighed: "I've caused you trouble."

Rasa was actually able to move freely; he looked down at his cracked hands and walked to the edge of the barrier, where the Sunagakure ninja outside were teary-eyed.

Tobirama's sharp gaze swept over, and he immediately warned Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Monkey, that guy can only control three Impure World Reincarnation summons at once. The remaining one can move freely but cannot use ninjutsu, though it may still pose a threat to you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said respectfully: "I understand, Teacher."

Tobirama looked beside him, recognizing only Hashirama, and asked: "Who are you?"

No one responded.

"Hey! Kid! What are you spacing out for?!"

"Huh?" A trace of confusion rose in Minato's eyes: "Is this Konoha? How did I come back?"

He looked toward the source of the voice and exclaimed in surprise: "Wow! Lord Second Hokage! Um... I am the Fourth, named Minato Namikaze."

Tobirama's eye twitched.

No wonder he sacrificed himself so young; he was a natural airhead.

"Wow!" Minato exclaimed again: "Even Lord First Hokage is here?!"

Hashirama's burly frame jolted: "Hmm? Who is calling me?"

Slap!

Tobirama barely managed to raise his hand to his forehead...

These two idiots!

He really couldn't stand them.

However...

The situation was urgent. Tobirama remained calm and looked up at Ōnoki: "Are you that brat who followed Mu? Wearing a hat—have you become the Tsuchikage? Are you also an enemy?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi cast his gaze toward Ōnoki, who had been watching the show.

"I don't know what's going on," Ōnoki said, his own brows locked in a frown, "but I am not with that guy."

Tobirama immediately ordered Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Win Ōnoki over!"

Orochimaru finally finished preparing the cursed seals and sneered: "Enough idle chatter, everyone."

He placed the cursed seals into the heads of Hashirama, Tobirama, Minato, and Rasa one by one.

"Not good!" Tobirama's brows furrowed: "Now he can control all four of us. Although he has reached the limit of the Impure World Reincarnation and cannot seal our consciousness..."