Chapter 14: Chunin Exams, Reanimation Jutsu

Chapter 14: Chunin Exams, Reanimation Jutsu

In the 60th year of the Hidden Leaf Village.

The smoke of the Third Great Ninja War had long since dissipated. In this era of peace, children played ninja games, dreaming of growing up to become one of the Five Kage.

Compared to its early days 60 years ago, the Hidden Leaf Village had transformed significantly.

Not to mention the increasingly bustling streets and buildings.

On the Hokage Rock, what was once just the solitary face of Hashirama Senju now included three new faces.

Below the rock, the former residences of the Senju and Uchiha clans, once the core of the village, had vanished.

Now, only a few remnants like Tsunade and Sasuke Uchiha remained from the two founding clans of the Leaf.

The villagers no longer cared about the history and glory of the past.

In their current understanding, the Third Hokage was the strongest among all the Hokage in the village's history.

The established facts of the past had become completely distorted after being buried under time and layers of concealment.

Only those who had experienced that era could laugh and shake their heads at the audacity of present-day people.

But what did it matter? They were just remnants of an old era.

The world was moving forward, and no matter how glorious the past was, it had been swept into the dustbin of history, unable to influence the present.

Now it belonged to the people of the new era.

Who cares about the God of the Shinobi or those who stood shoulder to shoulder with gods? They hadn't seen them with their own eyes.

They had seen the Third Hokage, who had experienced wars larger and more intense than any during the Warring States period, leading the Leaf Village to defeat countless enemies.

They had seen the legendary Sannin, who had signed contracts with the three great summoning beasts.

They had seen the Yellow Flash, who was so fast he could fight against the Raikage and Killer Bee.

What? Someone stronger than all of them?

Heh.

Call them out, let our old and young see.

Can't call them out?

Then don't talk nonsense.

At this point, those who wanted to argue could only close their mouths helplessly.

Until one day, a talented rogue ninja from the Leaf Village completed the forbidden technique left behind by the Second Hokage known as "Reanimation Jutsu."

Finally, the brilliance of those from history, previously recorded only in words, once again shone in the present, blinding everyone.

The times were changing; everything had already shifted.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Yay~~~ Woohoo~~~ Oh yeah~~~"

As the referee, Genma Shiranui, announced the final result of the match, the blond-haired boy named Naruto Uzumaki ignored his fatigue and celebrated wildly on the battlefield, giving enthusiastic kisses to the cheering audience.

This was the scene of the Chunin Exams held in the Leaf Village.

It was a selection exam for Chunin, gathering Genin from various villages, including the Leaf, Sand, Sound, Rain, and Grass.

After two rounds of assessments, eliminating a large number of participants, they had reached the final round.

This final was held under the watchful eyes of many notable figures, including the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazekage.

At the very beginning, no one expected that a boy named Naruto Uzumaki would defeat the champion favorite, Neji Hyuga from the prestigious Hyuga clan.

This caused a stir in the crowd.

The following matches were equally exciting.

Shikamaru Nara used his wits against Temari, ultimately conceding defeat.

Sasuke Uchiha made a dramatic entrance, fiercely battling Gaara, the One-Tail Jinchuriki.

However, all of this paled in comparison to the shock when the "Fourth Kazekage" held a kunai to the Third Hokage's throat, announcing the commencement of the Leaf's destruction plan.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions, fighting, screams, and wails.

The once peaceful Leaf Village plunged into chaos in an instant.

On the viewing platform of the Chunin Exams, atop the roof.

Inside the Four Violet Flames Formation.

Orochimaru revealed his true face and, after a brief conversation with his beloved teacher, finally got serious.

"Sarutobi-sensei, don't disappoint me too much."

Orochimaru sneered sinisterly at the aged Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen, shedding his Hokage robes to reveal his black combat attire, remained calm, throwing a handful of shuriken and forming hand seals:

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In an instant, numerous shuriken multiplied, filling the sky as they shot towards Orochimaru.

Orochimaru clapped his hands together and smirked:

"Summoning Jutsu: Reanimation!"

With a rumble, several upright coffins rose from the ground, positioning themselves in front of Orochimaru, blocking all the shadow shuriken.

"Reanimation? That's..."

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils constricted.

As the Hokage, how could he not recognize the Reanimation Jutsu recorded in the Forbidden Scroll?

"Summoning the dead?"

Hiruzen's gaze fell on the first two coffins, which were labeled "First" and "Feather."

Then he noticed two more coffins labeled "Second" and "Hagoromo" slowly rising.

His heart sank with a bad feeling as he quickly formed seals to stop Orochimaru from summoning further.

Sensing the obstruction of the coffin labeled "Fourth," Orochimaru shrugged nonchalantly after a futile attempt:

"The fourth one seems to be unavailable. Oh well."

In the end, a total of three coffins were summoned.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on guard, watching the scene unfold before him.

Soon.

With a creak, the lids of the coffins, covered in shuriken, slowly fell to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Crunch~ Crunch~

The sound of metal colliding came from within the dust.

Hiruzen Sarutobi clenched his fists.

Outside the Four Violet Flames Formation, a team of Anbu ninjas also stared intently at the scene.

Finally, the dust settled.

In that moment, everyone saw the three men clad in old-fashioned armor from the Warring States period, their bodies covered in cracks, step out of the coffins stiffly.

"That's... the First Hokage and the Second Hokage!"

The Anbu ninjas watching quickly recognized the First and Second Hokage of the Leaf.

After all, their statues had been seen since childhood by the people of the Leaf.

But...

"Who is that young man in silver armor?"

The Anbu ninjas looked at each other, unfamiliar with the man standing alongside the First and Second Hokage.

While the Anbu were clueless, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Hokage, knew exactly who it was.

"The man who once fought against the first Five Kage, killing the Mizukage and maiming the Raikage, whom the First Hokage had to go to great lengths to finally kill, a man said to stand shoulder to shoulder with gods!"

"Hagoromo Gengetsu!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the reanimated Hagoromo Gengetsu, his heart sinking as he spoke each word carefully.

"Oh?"

"I didn't expect people today to still recognize me."

Hagoromo Gengetsu, lifting his head to enjoy the long-lost sunlight, looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and smiled brightly,

"Not bad, commendable."