More Danger Than Hope

The "corpse" of Orochimaru on the ground dissolved into a puddle of pus.

Clearly, this was yet another shadow clone.

Ever since he was routed by Lin Qing last time, Orochimaru had made up his mind: he would never again expose himself within Lin Qing's range—no, within Lin Qing's line of sight—and had hidden in the shadows early on.

Thump! Thump!

The heavy, solid wood coffin lids slammed onto the ground.

Two corpses, their bodies covered in cracks, stepped out from the coffins.

From the coffin marked with the character "One" stepped a long-haired man with a square face, sharp features, red layered armor, and a steel Konoha forehead protector.

On the other side.

From the coffin marked with the character "Two" stepped a tall, thin man wrapped in bandages from head to toe, obscuring his features, wearing a black silk forehead protector.

Lin Qing stared at the two old mummies emerging from the coffins, his brows knitting slightly.

Their eyes were gray and lifeless, devoid of any spark, clearly stripped of their cognitive abilities and reduced to mere puppets on strings.

Yet, Lin Qing felt a heavy sense of threat.

Among the spies hiding in the corners, two groups let out gasps of shock:

"Lord First?!"

"Lord Second?!"

The figures stepping out of the coffins were none other than the First Hokage of Konoha, Hashirama Senju, and the Second Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, Mu.

The reputation of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, needed no introduction.

As the legendary God of Shinobi, it was thanks to him that the various nations were able to establish their hidden villages; in his lifetime, he was practically invincible.

The Second Tsuchikage, Mu, though perhaps not as famous as Hashirama Senju, was undoubtedly the greatest among the successive Tsuchikage in the history of Iwagakure.

The Kekkei Tōta he developed, Particle Style, could be considered one of the most powerful offensive techniques in the ninja world.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!"

Deidara grabbed Itachi Uchiha's robe, shouting excitedly: "Brother Itachi, are you seeing this?! The dead have been resurrected!"

Itachi glanced at his robe, which was about to be torn off by Deidara, swatted his hand away, and said with a stern expression:

"Konoha possesses a forbidden technique called 'Impure World Reincarnation.' Through an extremely evil ritual, it uses living humans as sacrifices to summon the souls of the deceased back to the world of the living, where they can be controlled.

The living dead brought back by Impure World Reincarnation are nearly immortal. No matter how severe the damage, as long as the caster does not release the technique, they can recover unconditionally."

Konan had heard of Impure World Reincarnation, but in the decades since, she had never seen it performed and had always assumed it was just a rumor spread through the ninja world.

"I never imagined... that such a technique actually existed."

She thought of Nagato's control techniques.

But there was a fundamental difference between the two.

Moreover, Nagato relied on the power of the Rinnegan to make corpses move again, and the Rinnegan was unique to him, whereas this technique could be used by anyone who learned it.

"This man is too terrifying. No wonder Nagato is so insistent on capturing him alive."

Konan asked: "If that's the case, isn't the person who masters this technique invincible? They could summon an army of the undead and sweep through all the major hidden villages."

Itachi Uchiha shook his head slightly.

No matter how powerful a ninjutsu is, it is impossible for it to have no way of being broken.

For instance, Itachi's Amaterasu could destroy a resurrected ninja.

Or, in a situation involving multiple people working together, sealing techniques could also be used to seal corpses that constantly regenerate.

Deidara tilted his chin toward Lin Qing: "By your logic, isn't he a dead man walking?"

Itachi pondered for a moment, putting himself in Lin Qing's shoes, and after a few seconds of deliberation, he nodded slowly:

"The odds are against him."

Lin Qing's advantages lay in his absolute oppressive presence at close range and his super-explosive power in short bursts, but all of this was useless against the resurrected Hashirama Senju and Mu.

Drawing on Lin Qing's past combat experience, Orochimaru knew he could seize the Water Style techniques summoned by his enemies, so he had deliberately chosen not to summon the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

Hashirama Senju's divine power and Wood Style ninjutsu were sufficient to deal with Lin Qing's frontal assault.

Mu's Kekkei Tōta, Particle Style, was a deconstruction and stripping at the atomic level; even Lin Qing's defensive capabilities could not block it.

Orochimaru had also scouted that Lin Qing could summon a "strange bird" capable of firing miniature shuriken and scouting the movements of his enemies.

But this was not a forest or a wasteland; it was Otogakure, and it was full of people.

Some of them were ninjas.

And many more were ordinary people just trying to make a living.

Orochimaru knew that, given Lin Qing's character, he could not bring himself to slaughter the entire village just to find him.

Itachi Uchiha whispered:

"Lin Qing, how will you break this trap?"

"Even if you break Orochimaru's trap, what will you do about the three of us?"

In the eyes of Itachi Uchiha, the outcome of today had long been set in stone.

Everyone was waiting.

Waiting for Lin Qing to follow their script and be defeated by the invincible powerhouses from their memories.

But—

BOOM!

Star Platinum and Hashirama Senju collided.

Their fists met, locked in a test of strength.

One was the representative of "power and speed" among Stands, the other the possessor of the strongest brute force in the ninja world; for a moment, neither retreated even half a step.

ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!

Star Platinum roared, unleashing countless punches in an instant.

Hashirama Senju did not dodge, planting his feet firmly and throwing his fists like a rapid-fire cannon. The collision of fist against fist produced a thunderous roar, as if an army of thousands were charging into battle.

A scorching wind swept out from the battlefield where the two clashed, forcing the gathered spies to hold their breath.

"T-too strong, right?!"

Whether it was the resurrected First Hokage or that god-like, majestic "Evil Spirit," both were unimaginably powerful.

Hashirama Senju's strength was beyond doubt.

But...

What on earth was that Evil Spirit?!

Suddenly, Hashirama Senju took a step back.

The spies were stunned.

They never expected that it would be Hashirama Senju who retreated!

After the first step came the second, then the third... Hashirama Senju's body began to disintegrate bit by bit, turning into countless fragments.

"ORA!!!"

Star Platinum threw one final punch, sending Hashirama Senju flying.

The legendary God of Shinobi had been suppressed!

And it was a suppression that shattered his body by sheer force, leaving him without a shred of resistance!

Itachi Uchiha's eyes narrowed, his three tomoe slowly spinning.

This First Hokage... something is wrong. Is it a flaw in the Impure World Reincarnation?

His reactions, speed, and even the application of his strength felt somewhat stiff.

Itachi had never met the First Hokage, but he guessed that the resurrected version likely possessed only seventy percent of the original's power.

Itachi shifted his gaze upward.

Mu, who had previously vanished into invisibility, reappeared, having used the time bought by Hashirama Senju to complete his jutsu.

Mu held his hands before his chest, wind, earth, and fire chakra condensing in his palms to form a tiny yet blindingly brilliant disc of light.

"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"

A cylindrical, semi-transparent barrier flew toward Lin Qing at high speed like a cannonball.

Wherever the barrier passed, even natural energy was annihilated. Lin Qing understood that neither his physical body nor the Blade of Ruin could block this technique!

He did not intend to take it head-on and was about to move out of the attack range when the ground split open, and trees erupted to entangle his legs.

Hashirama Senju, who had been blasted apart by Star Platinum, had already reformed his body in that short time, his hands pressed together as he unleashed Wood Release.

Lin Qing exerted force through his legs once more, shattering the trees that had coiled around him.

But in that split second of delay...

The Atomic Dismantling Jutsu had already descended!