Tenten's heart hammered in her chest as she assessed her situation. Trapped in Kotohime's web, each movement only entangled her further. The spider-woman approached on her eight articulated limbs, mandibles clicking with anticipation.

  "You know," Tenten said, forcing her voice to remain steady despite her racing pulse, "I thought you'd at least grow some hair with your transformation. But seems like you're still rocking that bald look."

  Kotohime froze mid-step, her multiple eyes narrowing. "What did you say?"

  "Your hair," Tenten continued, wiggling her trapped hand slightly toward her weapons pouch. "Or lack thereof. Must be embarrassing—all those new spider powers, but you still couldn't manage to grow something as basic as hair."

  The sound ninja's mandibles clacked furiously. "You think I care about something so trivial? I've transcended human concerns."

  "Is that what you tell yourself?" Tenten laughed, though she could feel the silk tightening around her limbs. "Looks like a pretty raw deal to me. Orochimaru promised you power but left you with that shiny egg-head."

  Kotohime screeched, her human voice distorting through inhuman vocal cords. "I'll drain you slowly for that!" She lunged forward, abandoning her methodical approach.

  That was exactly what Tenten wanted. As Kotohime moved within range, Tenten twisted her trapped arm just enough to release a hidden blade from her sleeve. With a quick slash, she severed the main silk strand supporting her weight.

  She dropped, ripping through the lower part of the web—painfully, but effectively. Landing in a crouch, Tenten immediately rolled away from a spray of acidic venom that Kotohime spat toward her.

  "Nice trick," Tenten called out, watching the roof tiles sizzle where the venom hit. "But I've got a few of my own."

  Pulling out her scroll with her free hand, she channeled chakra into it, summoning a rain of shuriken. Kotohime skittered sideways with unnerving speed, her multiple limbs allowing her to traverse the building's surface in ways no human could.

  "You can't hit what you can't catch," the spider-woman taunted, circling around Tenten.

  "I don't need to catch you," Tenten replied, reaching for a second scroll. "Just keep you in range."

  She unleashed a barrage of kunai with explosive tags attached. Kotohime dodged most but couldn't avoid all of them in the confined space of the rooftop. An explosion caught her side, cracking part of her exoskeleton and sending her crashing into a chimney.

  Tenten pressed her advantage, leaping forward with a kusarigama chain weapon spinning in her hand. She caught one of Kotohime's legs with the chain, yanking hard.

  The sound ninja hissed, her wounded leg nearly separating from her body. But instead of weakening, she seemed enraged. With surprising strength, she pulled back on the chain, jerking Tenten off balance.

  "You think I feel pain like you humans?" Kotohime snarled. "My new body is built for combat!"

  She launched herself up the side of the building, dragging Tenten with her. The weapons specialist was forced to release the chain or be pulled along. She landed hard on a lower roof, wincing as her ankle twisted beneath her.

  Before she could fully recover, Kotohime descended from above, spraying silk in a wide pattern. Tenten dodged most of it but felt strands catch her left arm, binding it to her side.

  "Your little boyfriend isn't here to save you," Kotohime taunted, circling Tenten. "I saw him earlier, running from the village with his sister. Seems the sand rats are abandoning ship. Smart move."

  "I don't care," Tenten said, though a flicker of doubt crossed her mind.

  "Don't you?" Kotohime's mandibles clicked in what might have been a smile. "He certainly didn't stick around to help you. So typical of men, isn't it? They make promises, then leave when things get difficult."

  Tenten gritted her teeth, reaching for a smaller scroll with her free hand. "You don't know anything about him."

  "I know enough," Kotohime replied, spinning more silk as she moved. "I know he valued his village's plans more than you. Isn't that all that matters?"

  The words stung more than Tenten wanted to admit. She channeled that pain into her jutsu, unfurling the scroll with a flick of her wrist.

  "Twin Rising Dragons," she called, unleashing a swarm of weapons.

  Kotohime leapt away, but several projectiles found their mark, embedding in the softer joints of her exoskeleton. Black ichor oozed from the wounds, but the sound ninja didn't slow down.

  "Is that the best you've got?" Kotohime taunted, though her movements had become slightly more labored.

  Tenten didn't respond, focusing instead on her next move. She had to be careful—her chakra wasn't unlimited, and she couldn't keep summoning weapons indefinitely.

  Kotohime took advantage of her momentary concentration to spray another burst of silk, this time catching Tenten's legs. The sticky substance instantly hardened, binding her feet to the roof.

  "Now I've got you," Kotohime said, dropping to all eight limbs and scuttling forward with disturbing speed.

  Tenten tried to pull free, but the silk was too strong. She reached for another scroll, only to have it knocked from her hand by a precise stream of webbing.

  "No more toys for you," Kotohime said, approaching with predatory confidence.

  Tenten assessed her options rapidly. Most of her weapons were spent, and her main scrolls were either used or out of reach. But she wasn't defenseless yet.

  As Kotohime lunged forward, Tenten reached into her hair and pulled out the flower hairpin—the one she and Kankuro had worked on together. With a surge of chakra, she activated the mechanism hidden within.

  The delicate flower transformed, metal petals unfurling to reveal a compressed shuriken blade. Tenten hurled it directly at Kotohime's face, but the spider-woman twisted her head unnaturally, avoiding a direct hit.

  "Missed," Kotohime gloated, closing the distance between them.

  Tenten smiled grimly. "Did I?"

  The hairpin weapon boomeranged back, its edges slicing through Kotohime's silk strands as it returned. The sound ninja noticed too late, spinning around only to have the blade embed itself in one of her eyes.

  Kotohime screeched in pain, black ichor spraying from the wound as she clutched at her face. Tenten took advantage of her distraction, drawing a kunai and slashing at the silk binding her legs.

  But she wasn't fast enough. Kotohime recovered quickly, fury replacing pain. With a guttural roar, she lunged forward, mandibles wide and dripping with venom.

  "You'll pay for that!" she shrieked, her remaining eyes glowing with hatred.

  Tenten raised her kunai in defense, but Kotohime knocked it aside effortlessly. The spider-woman's front limbs pinned Tenten's arms, immobilizing her.

  "I'm going to enjoy watching you die slowly," Kotohime hissed, her mandibles inches from Tenten's face. "First, I'll paralyze you. Then I'll wrap you up and inject you with digestive enzymes. You'll feel yourself dissolving from the inside out."

  Tenten struggled against the iron grip but couldn't break free. She could feel the sound ninja's hot, acrid breath against her skin as Kotohime leaned closer.

  "Any last words, weapon girl?"

  Tenten looked up defiantly. "Yeah. You really should've checked where that hairpin ended up."

  Confusion flickered across Kotohime's inhuman features. She glanced down just as Tenten activated the second trigger on her hairpin weapon—still embedded in the spider-woman's eye.

  The metal flower exploded outward, dozens of tiny senbon needles shooting in all directions through Kotohime's head. The sound ninja's body jerked violently, her grip loosening as the needles tore through her brain and nervous system.

  Tenten rolled away as Kotohime thrashed, her limbs spasming uncontrollably. The victory was short-lived, however, as Tenten realized the explosion had also destabilized the roof they were on. Tiles cracked beneath her, and she felt the structure giving way.

  She scrambled for purchase, but her trapped leg held her in place as the roof collapsed. Tenten and Kotohime both plummeted through the disintegrating building, crashing through floors and beams.

  Pain exploded through Tenten's body as they hit the ground floor. A support beam had fallen across her right leg, crushing it beneath its weight. She could feel bones shattering, flesh tearing. The agony was blinding, forcing a scream from her throat.

  Nearby, Kotohime twitched in her death throes, the needles having done their work. The sound ninja's transformed body convulsed a final time, then went still, multiple limbs curling inward like a dead spider.

  Tenten tried to push the beam off her leg, but it was too heavy, and her strength was failing. Blood pooled beneath her, spreading across the dusty floor in an ever-widening circle.

  "Help," she called weakly, though she knew the chances of anyone hearing her in the chaos of the invasion were slim. "Somebody... help..."

  Her vision began to darken at the edges. She thought of Lee and Neji, wondered if they were safe. Thought of Gai-sensei and his ridiculous speeches about youth and perseverance. Thought of Kankuro and their shared moments working on weapons together.

  Had he really abandoned the village? Had everything between them been a lie?

  The questions faded as shock set in. She was losing too much blood, and the pain was becoming distant, disconnected from her body.

  Through dimming vision, Tenten saw movement at the edge of the ruined building. A figure appeared in the doorway, silhouetted against the daylight outside.

  Tenten blinked, trying to focus. As the figure approached, she recognized the four ponytails and the giant fan strapped to her back.

  Temari. The sand kunoichi looked down at her with an expression Tenten couldn't read—not anger or hatred, just a cold, clinical assessment.

  "You're dying," Temari stated matter-of-factly, looking at the blood pooling around Tenten's crushed leg.

  Tenten tried to respond, but her tongue felt too heavy in her mouth. She managed only a weak nod.

  "My brother would be upset if I let that happen," Temari continued, her tone neutral.

  Tenten's fading consciousness struggled to make sense of the statement. Was Temari talking about Gaara? That didn't seem right.

  The sand kunoichi knelt beside her, examining the beam pinning Tenten's leg. "This is going to hurt," she warned, unfolding her fan.

  With a powerful swing, she generated a cutting wind that sliced through the beam. Tenten screamed as the pressure shifted, sending fresh waves of agony through her mangled limb.

  "Your leg can't be saved," Temari stated clinically, reaching into her equipment pouch. She pulled out what looked like a medical kit. "But you might be, if you're as tough as my brother seems to think you are."

  Through a haze of pain, Tenten realized Temari was talking about Kankuro. She wanted to ask questions, demand answers, but consciousness was slipping away too quickly.

  The last thing Tenten saw before darkness claimed her was Temari pulling out a tourniquet and medical supplies, her expression still neutral but her movements decisive.

  Then there was nothing but the void.

  Suigetsu struggled to reform his body, the water molecules vibrating at frequencies that threatened to tear his very being apart. Each attempt to solidify sent painful tremors through whatever parts of him managed to take shape.

  "Fuck," he spat, half his face liquefied, the word bubbling through partially formed lips. "What kind of freak show did you turn into?"

  Dosu's bat-like ears twitched, tracking the subtle vibrations in Suigetsu's voice. "I've transcended the limitations of our base form. Lord Orochimaru has given me perfection." He tilted his head, the movement unnervingly inhuman. "I can hear your cellular structure trying to reconstitute itself."

  Dosu stepped forward, his modified gauntlet humming with stored chakra. Each step was precise, calculated—a hunter closing in on wounded prey.

  Suigetsu forced his body to stabilize, gritting reformed teeth against the pain. "You call that perfection?" He managed a mocking laugh despite his precarious state. "You look like someone slapped bat parts onto your ugly mug and called it a day."

  The transformed Sound ninja's unnaturally wide mouth twisted into something between a grimace and a smile. "Mock all you want. Your water form can't protect you anymore."

  Dosu raised his gauntlet, and Suigetsu barely rolled away as another sonic blast tore through the space he'd occupied. The attack shattered wood and stone where it hit, sending deadly splinters flying in all directions.

  Suigetsu scrambled behind a fallen support beam, trying to buy precious seconds to fully reform. His mind raced through options. Distance wouldn't help—not with Dosu's enhanced hearing. Stealth was useless. Direct confrontation was suicide with those sonic attacks disrupting his water form.

  "You're not hiding," Dosu called out, voice echoing oddly in the destroyed building. "You're just postponing the inevitable. I can hear your heart pounding, your lungs struggling, the water in your body straining to maintain cohesion."

  Suigetsu glanced at the Kiba swords strapped to his back. If he could just get close enough for one good strike...

  "Why the hesitation?" Dosu taunted, moving methodically through the debris. "Is the fearsome Hozuki swordsman afraid?"

  Suigetsu narrowed his eyes. No one called him afraid and lived.

  "Screw this," he muttered, grabbing one of the Kiba blades. He fed his chakra into it, and lightning crackled along its edge—painful for his water-natured body, but necessary. The sword hummed with electrical energy, eager for blood.

  Dosu's massive ears swiveled toward the sound instantly. "Lightning nature? Interesting choice for someone composed of water."

  Suigetsu launched himself forward, ignoring the painful feedback from the lightning-infused sword in his grip. Dosu dodged with eerie precision, his ears tracking Suigetsu's every movement before it happened.

  "Too slow," Dosu hissed, countering with his gauntlet. A focused sonic wave caught Suigetsu in the chest, disrupting his partially liquefied torso.

  Suigetsu felt his organs vibrating, threatening to tear apart. He coughed, droplets of his own watery body splattering across the floor. The lightning chakra running through his sword fluctuated dangerously.

  "You're fighting against your own nature," Dosu observed, circling his struggling opponent. "The lightning element damages your water form even as you try to wield it."

  Suigetsu staggered back, forcing his body to remain solid despite the competing elements tearing at him. "Yeah, well—" he coughed violently, more droplets spattering from his mouth, "—no one ever said I was smart."

  Dosu's elongated tongue flicked out, tasting the air. "Indeed. This battle was over before it began."

  He raised his gauntlet again, this time aiming directly at Suigetsu's head. The Mist ninja barely managed to dodge, the sonic attack grazing his shoulder instead, sending vibrations through his entire right side. His arm destabilized, water splashing to the ground.

  Suigetsu cursed, backing away, his right arm slowly reforming but weaker than before. Each attack was taking a toll, making it harder to maintain his form.

  "Your chakra is depleting," Dosu observed. "Each reformation costs you. Eventually, you'll have nothing left."

  Gritting his teeth, Suigetsu knew the bat-freak was right. He needed a different approach.

  "So what's it like?" Suigetsu asked, buying time as he edged toward a pile of debris. "Drinking Orochimaru's special juice? Worth turning into a monster?"

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Dosu's ears twitched with irritation. "Monster? No. This is evolution. Power without the limitations of bloodline inheritance."

  "Seems like a raw deal to me," Suigetsu countered, slowly circulating chakra through his body, preparing for his next move. "All that power just to be Orochimaru's pet bat."

  Dosu's transformed face contorted with anger. "I am no one's pet! I serve Lord Orochimaru because he recognized my potential when others saw only a faceless grunt!"

  The outburst gave Suigetsu the opening he needed. He hurled a chunk of debris directly at Dosu's face. The Sound ninja easily tracked the projectile with his enhanced hearing, tilting his head to dodge.

  But Suigetsu wasn't aiming to hit him.

  The moment Dosu's attention shifted to the debris, Suigetsu liquefied his lower body, propelling himself forward with explosive force. Even with his enhanced senses, Dosu had only fractions of a second to react to the real attack.

  Suigetsu reformed his arm mid-lunge, swinging the lightning-infused Kiba directly at Dosu's exposed neck.

  Dosu twisted away at the last possible moment—but not completely. The electrified blade sliced through his shoulder instead of his neck, cutting deep into muscle and bone.

  An inhuman screech erupted from Dosu's transformed mouth, the sound so high-pitched it rattled windows in nearby buildings. Blood sprayed from the wound, sizzling where it met the lightning chakra on the blade.

  "Not so perfect after all," Suigetsu taunted, pressing his advantage despite the pain coursing through his own body from the lightning chakra. He swung again, but Dosu launched himself backward, clutching his wounded shoulder.

  "You'll pay for that," Dosu snarled, blood seeping between his fingers. He raised his gauntlet, but Suigetsu was ready this time.

  He liquefied everything except his arm holding the sword, the sonic attack passing harmlessly through the water molecules. Before Dosu could adjust the frequency, Suigetsu reformed and struck again.

  This time, he connected with Dosu's gauntlet arm, the Kiba blade slicing through the metal device. Electricity discharged violently as the specialized weapon shattered, sending both fighters tumbling in opposite directions.

  Dosu crashed into a pile of rubble, his primary weapon destroyed. Blood poured from his shoulder and now his mangled arm, the skin burned where electricity had discharged into it.

  "Not so tough without your fancy toy," Suigetsu grinned, though the effort of maintaining his form while channeling lightning chakra was taking its toll. His body kept trying to liquefy, the opposing elements warring within him.

  Dosu's ears twitched frantically, his breathing ragged. For the first time, Suigetsu saw fear in those inhuman eyes.

  "This changes nothing," Dosu hissed, backing away. "I still have advantages you can't counter."

  "Keep telling yourself that," Suigetsu replied, gripping the Kiba with both hands now. He'd lost too much chakra to maintain his partial liquefaction technique, but he still had enough for one more good strike.

  Dosu's transformed body tensed, then he launched himself sideways with surprising speed, disappearing through a collapsed section of wall.

  "Running away? I thought you were evolved!" Suigetsu called after him, following at a measured pace. No need to rush—the blood trail was clear enough, and he could hear Dosu's labored breathing.

  Outside, the chaos of the invasion continued all around them, but this corner of the village had been temporarily abandoned as fighting concentrated elsewhere. Destroyed buildings and debris-filled streets created a maze of potential hiding places.

  Suigetsu followed the blood trail methodically, sword at ready. "Come out, come out, little bat," he sang, his voice echoing between the buildings. "I'm not done playing yet."

  A faint rustling sound came from behind a overturned cart about twenty meters ahead. Suigetsu smiled. Dosu was trying to set up an ambush, but his wounded body was betraying him.

  "You know what's funny about your new ears?" Suigetsu called out, approaching slowly. "They might help you hear better, but they make you easier to hit."

  He paused, listening. The breathing behind the cart had stilled—Dosu trying to control his respiration to avoid detection.

  "And all that blood you're leaking? I can smell it from here." That was a lie—Suigetsu had no enhanced sense of smell—but the psychological warfare seemed to be working. He could practically feel Dosu's tension from where he stood.

  "When I'm done with you," Suigetsu continued, edging closer, "I think I'll keep those ears as a souvenir. Mount them on a wall or something."

  The attack came suddenly—not from behind the cart, but from above. Dosu had somehow climbed onto a nearby roof and now launched himself down, his remaining arm extended into claws, his fanged mouth open in a silent scream.

  Suigetsu had just enough time to think, He used the cart as a decoy, before Dosu crashed into him. Those claws tore into his partially liquefied shoulder, and the fangs sank into his neck.

  "I don't need the gauntlet to kill you," Dosu growled around his mouthful of liquid flesh.

  Pain shot through Suigetsu's body as Dosu's bite somehow prevented him from liquefying fully. The fangs were vibrating at a frequency that disrupted his transformation, locking him in a semi-solid state.

  "Nice trick," Suigetsu grunted, struggling against the larger ninja's weight. "But you forgot something important."

  "What's that?" Dosu mumbled through his mouthful of Suigetsu's shoulder.

  "I have two swords."

  With his free hand, Suigetsu drew the second Kiba blade from his back and jammed it straight through Dosu's side. The Sound ninja released his grip with a shriek of pain, stumbling backward.

  Suigetsu rolled away, both Kiba blades now in hand, electricity crackling along their lengths. The pain from channeling lightning chakra was excruciating, but the look of terror on Dosu's mutated face made it worthwhile.

  "No more games," Suigetsu snarled, advancing on his wounded prey.

  Dosu clutched his bleeding side, his transformed eyes darting around for escape routes. With a desperate lunge, he threw himself behind a thick stone wall—part of what had once been a sturdy building.

  "That won't save you," Suigetsu called, approaching the wall. "Nothing will."

  "Stay back!" Dosu's voice came from behind the stonework, higher-pitched with fear. "I can still destroy you! These ears—I can generate sonic attacks without the gauntlet now!"

  Suigetsu paused, eyeing the wall cautiously. Was the bat-freak bluffing? His enhanced hearing would certainly detect any approach...

  An idea struck him. Carefully, he poured chakra into both Kiba blades, maximizing their electrical output. The swords hummed with power, lightning arcing between them.

  "Let me show you a trick Zabuza-senpai taught me," Suigetsu said conversationally, as if they were sparring partners rather than enemies. "It's called 'silent killing.'"

  In one fluid motion, Suigetsu stabbed both electrified blades through the stone wall, at exactly the height where Dosu's head would be if he were crouching behind it.

  A wet, gurgling scream confirmed his aim was true. The stone cracked and crumbled as the Kiba blades sliced through it—and through Dosu's neck. Electricity discharged violently, further demolishing the wall and illuminating the gruesome scene behind it.

  Dosu's transformed body convulsed as his head separated from his shoulders, those bat-like ears twitching spasmodically even as death claimed him. The head rolled away from the body, coming to rest face-up, its inhuman features forever locked in an expression of shock.

  Suigetsu yanked his swords free from the wall, blood and tissue sizzling on their electrified edges. He approached the severed head cautiously, nudging it with his foot to ensure Dosu was truly dead.

  The bulging, mutated eyes stared sightlessly up at him. No trick, no last-minute substitution jutsu. Just another corpse on a battlefield littered with them.

  "Evolution, huh?" Suigetsu muttered, wiping blood from his blades. "Didn't seem to help you much in the end."

  He considered taking the ears as a trophy after all, but decided against it. The transformation was already beginning to fade in death, the unnatural tissue reverting to something more human.

  Suigetsu turned away from the corpse, surveying the chaotic battlefield Konoha had become. Explosions and jutsu flashed in the distance, smoke rising from multiple sectors.

  "One down," he murmured, shouldering his bloodied swords. "Now to find the others."

  Orochimaru surveyed the battlefield from his position within the barrier, golden eyes narrowing at what he saw. His carefully orchestrated invasion was beginning to falter. The transformed Sound ninja, despite their enhancements, were being systematically isolated and overwhelmed by Konoha's coordinated defense.

  "Pathetic," he spat, watching as another squad of his forces retreated from a withering assault. "Must I do everything myself?"

  "Losing your composure so soon, Orochimaru?" Sarutobi smiled thinly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Despite his injuries, the Third Hokage stood tall, his battle armor cracked but his resolve unbroken. "Your greatest flaw has always been impatience."

  Orochimaru's pale face contorted with irritation. "My flaw? Look around you, old man. Your precious village burns while we debate philosophy."

  "And yet your forces retreat." Sarutobi gestured to the battlefield below. "You hand out tricks and trinkets to your followers like they're toys. These elixirs and cursed seals become crutches—making them powerful in one dimension but utterly limited. They have no adaptability."

  The snake Sannin hissed, "Power is power."

  "Is it?" Sarutobi shook his head. "You're brilliant, Orochimaru. You would adapt to these enhancements effortlessly, bending them to your will. But your followers aren't geniuses of your caliber. They become slaves to that single trick, with no way to adapt when countered."

  Outside the barrier, Konoha's forces had rallied. The transformed Sound ninja, initially terrifying with their enhanced abilities, now stumbled about in obvious discomfort. Many clutched their enhanced ears or eyes, overwhelmed by sensory input they couldn't control.

  "The Inuzuka clan learns from birth how to filter enhanced senses," Sarutobi continued. "Your followers gained power without knowledge—the worst kind of shortcut."

  Orochimaru's jaw tightened. "Enough of this tedious lecture. I had planned to capture you alive—to demonstrate mercy to your precious villagers. But time grows short."

  He turned to the four reanimated Kage standing behind him. Their eyes, black with red irises, stared vacantly ahead, awaiting commands.

  "I'll kill you myself, then unleash these legends upon your weakened forces." Orochimaru's tongue slithered between his lips. "How quickly do you think their resolve will break when they face the founders of their village?"

  "You've already lost, my student." Sarutobi's voice carried a mix of sadness and determination. "You're so focused on your grand scheme that you've lost track of the actual battle."

  "What nonsense are you—"

  Before Orochimaru could finish, two blurs dropped from above. Hayate Gekko and Yugao Uzuki, their swords gleaming, executed a perfectly synchronized Dance of the Crescent Moon. Their target wasn't Orochimaru, but Mui—the Grass shinobi who had been watching.

  The warden's eyes widened in shock as three blades—one real and two illusions—pierced his chest. Blood sprayed from his lips as he collapsed.

  Yugao and Hayate pivoted immediately, their blades arcing toward Orochimaru. The snake Sannin twisted inhumanly, evading their strikes with contemptuous ease.

  "You send these children against me?" Orochimaru laughed, his arm stretching impossibly to strike Hayate across the chest. "What insult!"

  But while Orochimaru's attention was diverted, Sarutobi launched himself at the Second Hokage. Tobirama Senju reacted instantly, raising his arms to counter, but Sarutobi didn't attack—he grabbed Tobirama's hands.

  With surprising speed for his age, Sarutobi's fingers formed seals using Tobirama's own hands.

  Snake → Ram → Boar → Dog → Tiger.

  Orochimaru caught the movement from the corner of his eye. "A suicide technique?" he hissed. "You'd sacrifice yourself to take one of them with you? How disappointing."

  The Second Hokage violently repelled Sarutobi, sending the old man skidding across the rooftop. But instead of attacking, Tobirama raised his hands to his mouth and exhaled a thick, chakra-infused mist that rapidly filled the battlefield.

  "What is this?" Orochimaru snarled, his vision suddenly obscured by the dense fog.

  The sound of metal slicing through air was his only warning. He twisted away as Yugao's blade cut through the space where his neck had been. Another slash came from his right—Hayate, moving silently through the mist.

  Orochimaru's arm morphed into a mass of snakes that ensnared Hayate's sword arm. With a vicious yank, he pulled the swordsman close and drove his fist through the man's chest.

  Blood showered Orochimaru's face as he withdrew his hand. Hayate collapsed, gasping, blood flooding his lungs.

  "Hayate!" Yugao's anguished cry betrayed her position.

  Orochimaru struck with brutal efficiency, his leg connecting with her midsection. Bones cracked audibly, and she sailed backward, disappearing into the mist. He heard her scrambling, then the sound of a body being dragged—she was attempting to save her fallen lover.

  "Enough of these games," Orochimaru snarled. He formed seals rapidly, gathering his chakra. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

  A howling gale erupted from his mouth, tearing through the mist and dispersing it. The wind carried dust and debris, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

  As visibility returned, Orochimaru surveyed the battlefield. The damage to his forces was worse than he'd initially realized. His Sound Four still maintained three points of the barrier, but they were visibly straining.

  Before him, a grim tableau emerged. Zabuza Momochi stood hunched over, blood soaking his bandages. The Executioner's Blade trembled in his grasp. Nearby, Chojuro lay unconscious, his glasses shattered. Yugao had managed to drag Hayate behind the Third Hokage, who now knelt, exhaustion evident on his weathered face.

  Only Mei Terumi still stood relatively strong, though her elegant robes were torn and bloodstained. Her mismatched eyes burned with defiance.

  Opposite them, the four reanimated Kage—the First and Second Hokages, and the Third and Fourth Kazekages—stood in formation, awaiting Orochimaru's command.

  "Finish them," Orochimaru ordered, his voice cold. "Hashirama, Tobirama—kill your successor. I want to see his face as he falls to his teachers."

  He stepped back, already calculating how to spin this victory. Perhaps he would claim the reanimated Hokages had broken free of his control in their admiration for his strength? Or should he portray himself as the reluctant executor of their judgment on a village grown weak? Both had propaganda value.

  His planning was interrupted by a searing pain in his back. He staggered forward, shocked, as gleaming spears of gold dust and iron sand protruded from his chest.

  "What—" he gasped, twisting his head to see behind him.

  Both Kazekage stood with their hands extended, their faces impassive as they controlled their legendary weapons—weapons now buried in Orochimaru's flesh.

  "Impossible!" Orochimaru hissed, his body dissolving into mud as he used the Substitution Technique. He reformed several meters away, only to find Hashirama and Tobirama Senju rushing toward him.

  "Reanimation Release!" he shouted, forming the cancellation seal. "Return to the void!"

  The Hokages didn't slow. If anything, they moved faster, determination replacing the blank stares they had worn before.

  Orochimaru summoned Kusanagi, his legendary sword materializing in his hand. He parried Tobirama's water-blade, then twisted to avoid Hashirama's wooden spikes erupting from the ground.

  "I command you to stop!" he snarled, channeling more chakra into the control seals. "Why aren't you obeying?"

  Tobirama's face showed something Orochimaru hadn't seen on the reanimation before—contempt.

  "You believe the creator of the Reanimation Jutsu wouldn't know how to break its control?" Tobirama's deep voice rumbled. "You desecrated my technique with your crude modifications. Its flaws were obvious to its inventor."

  "The hidden hand seal sequence," Orochimaru realized, eyes widening as he remembered Sarutobi manipulating Tobirama's hands. "But that's impossible! The control talismans—"

  "Were overridden the moment my brother and I synchronized our chakra through the mist," Tobirama finished for him. "A contingency I built into the very foundation of the jutsu."

  Behind them, the Sound Four realized their master was in danger. Kidomaru was the first to act, abandoning his post at the barrier to fire a golden arrow toward Hashirama.

  The barrier flickered, then collapsed entirely as the remaining members of the Sound Four joined the attack.

  "Lord Orochimaru!" Tayuya cried, raising her flute to her lips.

  She never completed her melody. A spear of gold dust pierced her throat, cutting off sound forever. The Fourth Kazekage stood behind her, his face grim.

  Jirobo charged at the Third Kazekage, only to be engulfed in a wave of iron sand that constricted around him like a vice. Bones cracked as the sand compressed, and he fell motionless to the ground.

  Kidomaru's six arms worked frantically, firing arrow after arrow at Zabuza and Mei, who had joined the attack. His spider-like agility saved him from their initial assaults, but he failed to notice Mei's acidic mist creeping toward him until it was too late. His screams echoed briefly before falling silent.

  Sakon and his brother Ukon managed to avoid the initial attacks, slipping into their cursed seal's second state for added power. They lunged at Tobirama, hoping to merge with him and take control of his body.

  They never reached him. Wood erupted from the rooftop, ensnaring them in a prison of branches. Hashirama didn't even look their way, his focus entirely on Orochimaru.

  "You speak of evolution," the First Hokage said, his voice sorrowful. "Yet you failed to evolve beyond your own hatred and fear."

  Orochimaru slashed wildly with Kusanagi, the legendary blade cleaving through wood and water alike, but for every attack he countered, three more came at him from different angles.

  "I cannot die!" he screamed, his face contorting with rage. "I've conquered death itself!"

  "No," Tobirama replied flatly. "You've merely hidden from it, like a child covering his eyes and believing he's invisible."

  A wooden dragon erupted from beneath Orochimaru, its jaws clamping around his torso. He tried to substitute again, but Tobirama's water needles pinned his chakra points, disrupting the technique.

  "Release me!" Orochimaru demanded, thrashing against his wooden prison. The dragon's grip tightened, its wooden teeth piercing his flesh. "I am the future of this world!"

  Tobirama approached, a water blade forming in his hand. "Your future ends here."

  "Wait." Sarutobi's voice, though weakened, carried authority. He limped forward, supported by Enma in his staff form. "This is my responsibility."

  The Second Hokage paused, then nodded, stepping aside.

  Sarutobi stood before his former student, their eyes meeting in a moment of perfect understanding.

  "You failed me," Orochimaru spat, blood trickling from his mouth.

  "Yes," Sarutobi admitted, his voice heavy with regret. "I saw your brilliance, but not your suffering. I tried to guide you, but never truly reached you."

  For a moment, something almost human flickered in Orochimaru's serpentine eyes.

  "Your potential was limitless," Sarutobi continued. "You could have been Konoha's greatest Hokage."

  Orochimaru's laugh was bitter. "Sentimentality—your eternal weakness."

  Sarutobi's grip tightened on Enma. "No. Compassion is strength. You never understood that."

  With a swift, precise movement that belied his age, Sarutobi brought Enma down on Orochimaru's neck. The staff connected with a sickening crack. Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock—then again, as Sarutobi struck a second time. And a third.

  Blood pooled beneath the wooden dragon's jaws as Orochimaru's body went limp. His final expression wasn't fear or rage, but something closer to puzzlement—as if death itself were merely an interesting problem he hadn't quite solved.

  Sarutobi stepped back, his hands trembling. Enma returned to his monkey form, placing a sympathetic hand on the old man's shoulder.

  The First and Second Hokages surveyed the battlefield, their expressions grave. Despite Orochimaru's defeat, the invasion had taken a heavy toll on Konoha's forces. Hashirama's deep voice carried a note of regret as he addressed the weary defenders.

  "You have fought bravely, but the battle is not yet over. Allow us to relieve you of this burden."

  Tobirama nodded, his eyes sweeping over the scattered remnants of the invasion force. "We will route the remaining invaders and ensure the safety of the village."

  The Third Kazekage stepped forward, his iron sand swirling menacingly around him. "You presume too much, Hokages of the Leaf. Our forces may have been misled, but they are still citizens of the Wind Country. We will not abandon them to your judgement."

  The Fourth Kazekage joined his predecessor, golden dust hovering in a deadly cloud. "Suna's quarrel was never with Konoha directly. If our people must face consequences, it will be at the hands of our own leaders—not yours."

  Tension crackled in the air as the legendary figures faced off. Sarutobi, his energy spent from his battle with Orochimaru, could only watch, his face etched with weariness.

  Hashirama's eyes narrowed, but before he could respond, a soft voice cut through the standoff.

  "Enough."

  All eyes turned to Mei Terumi as she limped forward, her elegant robes tattered but her bearing regal. Though battered, the Mizukage's gaze was clear and determined.

  "The Hidden Mist Village renounces any alliance with the forces that enabled this invasion," she declared. "Suna has been deceived, just as my own village was by the false Mizukage before me. There has been enough bloodshed this day."

  She turned to the Kazekage. "I cannot speak for Konoha's intentions, but the Mist has no quarrel with Suna or its shinobi. Let us attend to our wounded and go our separate ways in peace."

  The Fourth Kazekage studied Mei for a long moment, his impassive mask betraying nothing. Finally, with a subtle hand gesture, the swirling gold dust settled.

  "Very well," he said gruffly. "We will withdraw and return to our village to address...internal matters."

  The Kazekage turned and began issuing orders, his deep voice carrying across the battlefield as the Suna forces regrouped. The remaining Sound ninja, their enhancements fading, offered no resistance as they were secured by Konoha's forces.

  As the Suna shinobi began their retreat, the Third Kazekage lingered, fixing the Hokages with an inscrutable look.

  "This was not our way," he said finally. "But we are ninja—we endure, and we adapt."

  With that cryptic statement, he turned and followed his successor, the iron sand trailing behind him like a metallic shadow.