Ever since the name Ōtsutsuki had been revealed, it had hung over every ninja like a nightmare.
They were beings that even legends of the shinobi world—the First, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha—could not defeat together.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had once borne the title of the strongest Hokage, had repeatedly been relegated to support when faced with threats on the level of the Ōtsutsuki. To put it bluntly, even joining the fight would only make him a burden.
Old in both body and spirit, he had once tried to make himself accept that fact.
Yet he could not deny that a fire still burned within him.
He had also kept pondering those threats destined to awaken and return. Were ninja like him truly left with no choice but to leave the stage of history, unable to do anything?
He refused to accept it.
If he were merely a dying old man, if he were merely an ordinary Konoha ninja, he would indeed have had to accept it.
But he was not!
He was the man who had borne the title of Hokage longer than anyone else, the man whose fighting in the Fourth Shinobi World War had struck terror into every nation, the man who had spent countless nights studying ninjutsu just to advance one step further.
If a man like that were given a chance to return to his prime and face a god head-on, what would he do?
Hiruzen's answer was simple and direct—
Facing the chakra fists that blotted out the sky, Hiruzen, in Sage Mode, extended his thumb and forcefully activated one of his own pressure points—
"Eight Gates Released Formation, Gate of Death..."
"Open!!!!"
In an instant, blood-red chakra mixed with natural energy surged into the sky, forcing back even the Divine Empty Strike!
Before