Although Uchiha Tamahiko's close-range fierce attacks made it difficult for Hiruzen Sarutobi to find an opportunity to form hand seals, he would certainly not give up so easily.
Like a final burst of energy, he momentarily engaged in a back-and-forth battle with Uchiha Tamahiko's Shadow Clone, continuously unleashing various Ninjutsu. The two fought from the Hokage Building all the way to the vicinity of the Hokage Rock.
Hiruzen Sarutobi continuously released techniques involving nature transformation, which were difficult to defend against. Uchiha Tamahiko had to dodge some of them; resisting them head-on would only be possible with Susanoo.
"Reaper Death Seal!!"
Finally, Hiruzen Sarutobi found an opportunity to use this forbidden jutsu.
There were only nine hand seals in total. As long as there was a one-second window, Hiruzen Sarutobi completed the jutsu.
The Shinigami appeared directly behind Hiruzen Sarutobi, and a smile appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.
He felt that in the end, he had won!
Although the Sarutobi Clan's days might not be so easy afterward, it would certainly be better than being annihilated by this Uchiha.
"It's over!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi controlled the Shinigami's arm to pass through his own stomach. The Shinigami's spiritual arm could extend infinitely like Luffy's rubber arm; once caught, it was over.
But then Hiruzen Sarutobi froze, because the opponent didn't dodge, but instead rushed straight at him.
The long sword in his hand directly cut a wound on his stomach, and the Shinigami's arm also passed directly through Uchiha Tamahiko's body.
Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't quite understand. The opponent mentioned the Reaper Death Seal, proving he understood the jutsu, so why would he do this in the end?
At this moment, he felt as if he had been tricked!
"Bang!"
When he saw the Uchiha Tamahiko in front of him vanish into smoke, and the long sword that had cut his stomach fell to the ground with a crisp sound, Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned.
"Shadow Clone!!"
The three remaining Anbu around him said in disbelief.
The person who killed more than a dozen of their Anbu and pushed the Third Hokage to this point was just a Shadow Clone?
Then what were they?
Couldn't they even defeat the opponent's Shadow Clone?
"Well done!"
"Do you feel despair?"
"This despair is what the Uchiha felt in their hearts that day when they fled Konoha."
Another Uchiha Tamahiko appeared, calmly jumping up from below the Hokage Rock and picking up the raiu that had just fallen in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Seeing the wound on Hiruzen Sarutobi's stomach, and a similar wound appearing on the Shinigami's abdomen behind him, along with a wisp of ghost-fire-like substance floating out of the wound, Uchiha Tamahiko looked somewhat pleased at this sight.
Making Hiruzen Sarutobi use the Reaper Death Seal was a pre-planned move. Besides luring him into a trap, he also wanted to see if he could release the soul of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Because Uchiha Tamahiko had his eyes on the sealed Yin Nine-Tailed. This thing was like a super large blue potion; it was a waste not to take it.
At the same time, it was also to let Hiruzen Sarutobi experience this helpless sense of despair.
"Go to hell!!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi roared in anger.
He once again controlled the Shinigami's arm, passing through his own abdomen and striking towards Uchiha Tamahiko.
But this time, Uchiha Tamahiko began to dodge, choosing not to resist head-on.
The Shinigami's arm stretched into various shapes in mid-air, but it was still difficult to catch Uchiha Tamahiko.
However, to vent his dissatisfaction, Uchiha Tamahiko continuously provoked Hiruzen Sarutobi, approaching his body and leaving wounds on him with raiu.
The third time, when raiu cut a long wound across Hiruzen Sarutobi's back, he was once again caught by the Shinigami's hand.
"Bang!"
It was still a Shadow Clone!
Hiruzen Sarutobi was almost on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Why was a Shadow Clone so powerful?
To what extent had Uchiha Tamahiko's strength reached?
Before he could react, another Uchiha Tamahiko appeared—naturally, it was a Shadow Clone!
Uchiha Tamahiko's main body, meanwhile, was by Naruto's side, preventing the Nine-Tailed from being released to cause destruction.
The Anbu protecting Naruto was not Kakashi. Although their strength was decent, totaling two squads, they were naturally no match for Uchiha Tamahiko's main body.
After the first Shadow Clone was dispelled and sent back information, Uchiha Tamahiko immediately dispatched a new Shadow Clone. The second Shadow Clone that was defeated was one of the three initially created.
On the night the Uchiha fled, Hiruzen Sarutobi also hid to prevent Shisui's Kotoamatsukami. Today, Uchiha Tamahiko imitated him, hiding to avoid the Reaper Death Seal, to see if Hiruzen Sarutobi had any other methods.
"Uchiha Tamahiko, you beast!!!"
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who usually maintained a good temper, couldn't hold back at this point and began to curse loudly.
A truly inhuman fellow.
The Shinigami appeared. Before its arm passed through the body, it could still be dispelled, but once the body was pierced by the Shinigami's arm, the contract was officially established and could not be stopped at all.
Uchiha Tamahiko's Shadow Clone also prevented Hiruzen Sarutobi from extracting other people's souls, continuously entangling him. Hiruzen Sarutobi had no way out; if he didn't attack the opponent, he would die immediately, but if he attacked the opponent, he still accomplished nothing and would die just the same!
"The commotion of the battle has awakened quite a few people, hasn't it?"
"It's better not to let these people get involved in the battle!"
Uchiha Tamahiko's main body noticed an Anbu, who had previously been knocked out by Conqueror's Haki, covering his head and trying to stand up.
Seeing this, he once again released Conqueror's Haki to cover the entire Konoha.
The Anbu who had just woken up suffered another heavy blow and collapsed to the ground.
Including all conscious people, everyone instantly felt breathless. Only the Uchiha Clan members were unaffected, as they were already accustomed to the impact of this aura and felt almost no effect.
"Is this power also the power of the Uchiha?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave up attacking, instead looking at Uchiha Tamahiko with a blank gaze and asking.
"It's my power."
"In order to take over a relatively intact Konoha and avoid too much destruction, I used this method to filter out all those who are not qualified to stand up."
Uchiha Tamahiko did not continue his pursuit, because he saw that Hiruzen Sarutobi had little Chakra left and would soon die.
"Did I really make a mistake?"
"The Senju and Uchiha Clans accounted for nearly seventy percent of Konoha's combat power and interests, leaving no room for other families to survive."
"I never intended to harm the Senju Clan; I just hoped their strength would weaken a bit to increase the strength of other families, allowing for mutual checks and balances."
"Now, no one in Konoha dares to act rashly, and there are almost no conflicts. Isn't this good?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Uchiha Tamahiko and couldn't help but question him.
He felt he had done nothing wrong.
"You were wrong."
"It was from the very beginning. If you felt that Konoha's interests were not enough to be distributed, then you should have found ways to gain more interests, not squeeze it out of your own people!"
Uchiha Tamahiko said coldly.
When it was difficult to fight others and gain benefits, or even many people would die, they turned to snatching food from their own people.
Perhaps Hiruzen Sarutobi's initial intentions were good.
However, the current situation in Konoha was enough to prove his failure, and he had fallen into his own greed.
"It's not that easy!"
"Others will witness it. Konoha will be completely destroyed in the hands of the Uchiha, and the Ninja World will once again fall into war!"
"The Uchiha Clan will also be annihilated!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed twice, then scoffed.
He believed Uchiha Tamahiko was too young to have such ideas.
"The first to be annihilated will be your Sarutobi Clan."
Uchiha Tamahiko said coldly.
Then raiu directly cut off the head of Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was unable to resist and whose face was filled with despair, killing him completely.
The Shinigami, for its part, was not polite either, taking its offering. With its hand, it dragged Hiruzen Sarutobi's soul from his body, chewed it a few times in its mouth, and swallowed it.
After being satisfied, it slowly disappeared into thin air.