"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bomb!"
Three intense fireballs shot toward the snake horde from the left, the right, and the front instantly incinerating countless serpents upon impact.
But it was far from over.
"Lightning Style: Raging Thunder!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi unleashed two jutsu in quick succession. A water dragon soared into the sky, and simultaneously, a spear-like bolt of lightning flashed from his mouth. Combining water and lightning amplified their destructive force but Hiruzen didn't aim at the snakes. Instead, he charged straight at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru sprang into action, bracing himself on both hands, executing a flawless 360-degree spin to evade the assault.
"You underestimated me, Teacher," Orochimaru taunted.
But the moment he spotted the faint smile on Hiruzen's face, realization struck. Expression shifting, Orochimaru muttered, "No… Teacher's intention is …"
Too late.
BOOM!
In an instant, the two former Hokages still not fully recovered were reduced to confetti-like fragments.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
Hiruzen's voice rang out again. Orochimaru looked back to see a massive fire dragon erupting, swallowing the lingering snakes whole.
"Teacher, you really haven't changed never missing an opportunity."
"Heh, let's end this farce."
Hiruzen shouted, "Roof Tile Shuriken!"
Suddenly, roof tiles beneath their feet flew at Orochimaru like oversized shuriken.
"Heh, that trick again? Useless," Orochimaru sneered, swiftly dodging.
"Great Shuriken Projectile Technique!"
Just then, Hiruzen hurled an enormous shuriken and sealed another hand sign.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Countless shuriken materialized out of thin air, cutting toward Orochimaru.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Orochimaru slammed his hand down, summoning an earth wall in front of him but in moments, the wall was sliced in half by the giant shuriken.
"What?!" Orochimaru gasped.
Shhk!
Unable to evade in time, Orochimaru lost an arm. Blood poured, his face drained of color.
"Hmph, is that it?"
For someone using Reanimation, losing an arm was little more than an inconvenience.
"Heh, Orochimaru, you let your guard down," Hiruzen's weary voice came through. Unknown to Orochimaru, he had already completed a mysterious seal, and behind Hiruzen a terrifying figure emerged.
"What is that?" Orochimaru's face paled.
A death god.
"Disband the Four Violet Flame Formation and retreat!" Orochimaru barked.
"It's too late!" came Hiruzen's voice suddenly from behind Orochimaru.
Startled, Orochimaru spun around. Two of the roof tiles he thought he'd dodged had transformed into Hiruzen Sarutobi clones each locking onto Hashirama and Tobirama Senju's shoulders.
"Impossible?!"
"Orochimaru, don't get distracted!" A shuriken beneath his foot shifted into a shuriken-chakra beast, tightening its grip around him.
The Nyoibo staff that had been near Hiruzen had vanished.
"Curse it! When-"
"Now!" The beast snarled.
"Kinjutsu: Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"
While Orochimaru and Hiruzen clashed fiercely, Neji steadied Shukaku.
"I almost threw a kunai at him."
Neji toyed with the kunai in his hand, glancing at Gaara with an eerie intensity. When a jinchūriki dies, the tailed beast inside them also 'dies'. But this is temporary. After some time, the beast reawakens elsewhere, free once more. If that's true, then Shukaku would regain its freedom and potentially serve as Gaara's ally.
But is any of this real? Neji hesitated he'd never seen proof of such a rebirth. Even the Nine-Tails, fiercely resentful of humans at first, deeply feared Naruto's death.
As for the Three-Tails on two occasions its jinchūriki had died under Obito Uchiha's hand. Neji suspected Obito extracted the beast before death, using the Rinnegan.
"What impact would Gaara's death have on you, Shukaku?"
Neji was certain of one thing: tailed beasts don't truly die. They are chakra forms, not living beings. When the Yin Half of the Nine-Tails was separated, its reduced form simply vanished not dead. When Yin Kurama died it went to the Pure Land, not extinction.
Still, a jinchūriki's death deeply affects the tailed beast, explaining their anguish.
Hearing Neji's question, Shukaku trembled slightly. That tremor, to Neji, was unmistakable a flicker of emotion. The ground seemed to sway for a moment.
"There's something off!" Neji's gaze narrowed, conviction setting in.
"Konoha and Suna are at war now," Neji said softly to Shukaku. "If you lie, I will really kill Gaara. Think carefully."
Shukaku remained silent for a long while no longer brash or defiant. Finally, the beast spoke, its voice low:
"Come into my mind and speak there."
The tailed beast raised its clawed hand above Neji.
Neji complied. A moment later, the scene shifted completely.
Darkness enveloped them. Beneath their feet, rippling waves. Heavy chains snaked around, binding Shukaku tightly.
"That's enough. Speak."
Neji stood face-to-face with the beast.
This close, Shukaku could have easily crushed Neji but he hesitated. At this moment, he saw the old man's shadow within Neji: the Hokage who once cared for them as his own children. A single tear slid from Shukaku's eye, absorbed into his sand-coated body.
Yet Neji dared to do this only because he held the ultimate threat: Dead Demon Consuming Seal. Though bound, Shukaku's captivity gave Neji peace of mind.
Indeed, this was a charming misunderstanding.