Chapter 27: The Shocking Tathagata Divine Palm! Is That the Holy Master!?
"I never thought I'd have to show you this side of me!"
In his complete One-Tail form, Gaara locked eyes with Hinata, speaking slowly.
"I never imagined…
I'd be beaten so badly I couldn't even fight back!
Die!!"
With a furious roar, he whipped his massive tail.
BOOM!
The entire arena was instantly demolished!
The deafening explosion threw every faction present into complete chaos.
The Leaf side was beyond busy—
fending off invaders, defending against the One-Tail's rampage, rescuing ordinary people caught in the genjutsu, sending teams to suppress the tailed beast, and keeping reinforcements ready for the Hokage at all times.
The invaders were only slightly better off.
They only had to deal with the Leaf shinobi… and the One-Tail.
Looking at the pandemonium outside,
both Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned at the same time.
"What a mess."
Orochimaru's expression was extremely displeased.
The Sound Four's barrier was powerful, yes—
but it wouldn't hold up against a direct tailed beast attack.
If the One-Tail went berserk and targeted this place, he wouldn't be able to keep Hiruzen trapped.
Hiruzen, meanwhile, was also deeply unhappy.
This Chūnin Exam was being hosted by Konoha.
For something like this to happen…
Who knew how many spectators would end up dead or injured?
Most of those audience members were ordinary civilians!
If even a daimyo died here…
the consequences were unthinkable.
So neither Orochimaru nor Hiruzen felt like wasting words anymore.
"Hahaha…"
Orochimaru suddenly started laughing.
At the same time, tears welled up in his eyes for some reason.
"Are you so happy you're crying?"
Hiruzen gave a cold smirk.
"Or is it…
killing your old teacher actually makes you feel a little sad after all?"
"No…"
Orochimaru stabbed the kunai that had been pressed against Hiruzen's throat deep into his own palm.
"Ah~"
He yawned casually, as if nothing happened.
"I've been so sleepy since earlier…
Finally feeling awake now."
"I knew it would be like this…"
Hiruzen snorted coldly.
Orochimaru didn't reply.
Instead he released Hiruzen, slowly walked a few steps away,
then turned back to face him.
They stared at each other for a moment.
Then Orochimaru spoke.
"To fight you again like this…
Sensei~"
Hiruzen didn't bother with more talk.
With the One-Tail wreaking havoc below, he had no time for nonsense.
He formed hand seals and attacked.
"Ninjutsu: Tile Shuriken!"
With a flick, countless roof tiles transformed into deadly projectiles, raining toward Orochimaru.
But Orochimaru dodged them easily.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru extended his tongue—
which instantly turned into a giant python lunging for Hiruzen's throat.
It did bite him…
but only a substitution log.
Orochimaru froze for a split second.
And in that instant of hesitation—
Hiruzen's counterattack arrived!
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
The bricks beneath Orochimaru's feet turned into a raging mud torrent, sweeping him downward.
"That's all you've got,
Sarutobi-sensei?"
Orochimaru laughed as he formed seals again.
But before he could complete the technique,
Hiruzen's next attack was already there.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
A massive dragon head burst from the rubble, firing a barrage of earth bullets at Orochimaru.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"
At the same time, Hiruzen exhaled a roaring flame dragon from his mouth.
Fire and earth combined in a devastating assault.
A miserable scream echoed—
then Orochimaru vanished.
"Stop with the boring theatrics."
Hiruzen glanced outside, growing even more anxious.
Once he felt he'd tested enough,
he stopped holding back.
"Impressive as always~"
Orochimaru emerged from the pile of tiles.
"But you've underestimated me, haven't you?
Did you really think techniques of that level could kill me?"
"You haven't changed at all.
Still as unpleasant as ever."
Orochimaru smiled at that.
Then he looked down at the chaos below and felt a surge of irritation.
"Let's stop playing around, shall we?
This isn't some ninja academy ninjutsu class."
"You're right."
Hiruzen gave a small smile, then casually tore off his Hokage hat and robe.
Underneath was a full set of Hokage battle attire.
Orochimaru did the same, discarding the Kazekage robe to reveal his usual outfit.
This time, neither wasted any more words.
They charged straight into battle.
Hiruzen threw several shuriken,
then flashed through hand seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
The shuriken multiplied into a storm of blades flying toward Orochimaru.
At the same moment, Orochimaru finished his own seals.
"Summoning Technique: Impure World Reincarnation!"
Three coffins burst up from the rubble, blocking the shuriken barrage.
But the third coffin was barely visible before Hiruzen slammed it back down.
Bang…
As the lid fell,
two extremely familiar figures stepped out.
"Now… how will you handle this,
Sarutobi-sensei?
No…
Lord Third Hokage~"
Hiruzen's body stiffened involuntarily as he looked at them.
"It's been a long time,
Sarutobi."
"You've gotten old too,
Hiruzen~"
"I never thought I'd meet the two of you brothers again under circumstances like this.
I'm… truly sorry."
Hiruzen took a deep breath.
"Get ready.
Lord First Hokage!
Lord Second Hokage!"
...
"It's started, huh?"
Byakuya casually dispatched another invader while keeping an eye on Hiruzen's situation.
When he saw Orochimaru use Impure World Reincarnation and Hiruzen starting to struggle more and more,
his brows furrowed.
"Looks like the old man really doesn't have any more cards left.
I have to step in now.
Otherwise, once he uses the Reaper Death Seal, it'll be too late."
With that thought,
Byakuya stopped hesitating.
He directly activated a "Tathagata Divine Palm" item from his system inventory.
...
At the same time—
Hiruzen was gripping the transformed Adamantine Staff from Enma, panting heavily as he faced the two legendary Hokage.
"This won't do…
This won't do at all…
No matter how much damage I deal, they just regenerate immediately.
There's no way to win like this…"
Hiruzen felt utter despair.
No matter how gravely he injured the First and Second Hokage,
they recovered in moments.
Their chakra seemed limitless.
His own… was running out fast.
Feeling the little chakra he had left,
he finally made his decision.
"If it's come to this… then I'll have to use that technique…"
Just as Hiruzen steeled himself—
He suddenly sensed something and jerked his head upward.
High in the sky…
a colossal golden palm had appeared.
It was descending slowly, unhurried, straight toward them!
And with its approach came an overwhelming, bone-chilling pressure—
growing stronger with every inch it drew closer.
"What… is that!?"
Hiruzen was completely stunned.
Orochimaru saw it too.
And the shock and panic in his heart were even greater than Hiruzen's.
Because…
he felt that massive palm was coming straight for him!
And no matter how he tried to dodge—
he had the terrifying feeling he wouldn't be able to escape it!
"What kind of ninjutsu is this!?
It's so terrifying…
It's giving me the strongest sensation of death I've ever felt!"
Orochimaru's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
In all his life,
this was the most powerful ninjutsu he had ever witnessed!
"Who… is doing this!?
Whose technique is this!?
Could it be…"
Suddenly, Orochimaru remembered the red-haired woman he'd encountered not long ago.
And the intelligence he'd gathered from Konoha—
that woman belonged to some organization…
whose leader called himself the Holy Master.
"Could it be…
the Holy Master has finally made his move!?"