[NTU] [ARC-26] Chapter : 340

"These kunai… the seals on them?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, scanning the kunai scattered before him. Though slightly caught off guard, he didn’t seem particularly alarmed.

Ding! Ding! Ding!
With a graceful swing, his Kusanagi blade moved in a blur, knocking the kunai aside like falling leaves in the wind.

"Pointless."
With the precision of the Sharingan guiding his every move, Sasuke dismissed the attack as nothing more than a distraction.

Swish!
A subtle shift in the air—

Before he could fully react, a figure materialized behind him—a white-haired man clad in ancient blue armor.

Clang!
Instinct took over. Sasuke spun his sword in reverse grip, intercepting the attacker’s blade just in time. Cold sweat trickled down his temple.

"That was too close…"

The ambush had been sudden—far too quick for ordinary eyes to follow. If not for Orochimaru's brutal training and the reflexes honed through countless battles, he might not have made it.

"Who are you?"
Sasuke’s eyes narrowed as he studied the man’s dated armor—clearly from a bygone era. There was something ghostly in his aura. Familiar, yet… wrong.

No ninja in this age wore armor like that anymore. And this man didn’t feel alive.

"Not good…"
Sasuke’s Sharingan spun rapidly, analyzing the man. A chill crept up his spine.

Trusting his instincts, he leapt away just as a massive strike crashed down on the spot he'd stood moments before. He barely landed before another flurry of attacks forced him into a series of backflips, dodging with practiced precision.

Then—he saw him.

“The Third Hokage?”

An aged man wielding a massive iron staff stood in front of him, the weapon lodged under his arm as if he'd just used it to launch an ambush.

There was no mistaking that face.

“This is… the Edo-tensei.”
Sasuke immediately recognized the vacant, lifeless expression—the telltale sign of a reanimated corpse.

If that was the Third Hokage, then…

“The other must be the Second.”
Sasuke shifted his gaze. The second hokage had flanked him silently. Surrounding them were dozens of White Zetsu.

His expression darkened.

"Damn it. I've wandered too deep into enemy territory."
Both Hokage, and all of these Zetsu—were they after him?

How could he have fallen into a trap so easily, right after being reprimanded by his father?

No time to think.

“Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
Hundreds of shuriken split from the originals mid-air, raining down in a steel storm as Sasuke began planning his escape—he’d have to carve a path, just like his father.

“Fire Style—Great Fireball Jutsu!”

A roaring inferno burst forth from Sasuke’s mouth, engulfing the battlefield in a wall of flames. It incinerated most of the shuriken and halted the Third’s advance.

Only a few smoldering blades fell through, clinking harmlessly on the scorched ground.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, a familiar sound sliced through the air. Sasuke’s heart jumped.

Before he could fully react, kunai flew toward him from the flank. He parried swiftly with the Kusanagi sword—but a figure was already beside him, sword drawn.

"Just as I thought."

Sasuke met the attacker’s blade head-on.

This didn’t surprise him. Not anymore.

As sparks flew from the clash, Sasuke stared into the eyes of the Second Hokage—calm, calculating, and under someone else's control.

“Good thing he’s just a puppet,” Sasuke muttered under his breath.
“If his consciousness were intact, the Flying Thunder God would’ve torn right through me.”

He ducked just in time to avoid the Third’s extending staff, feeling the wind from the strike brush past his hair.

The Second Hokage formed a few swift hand seals with one hand, then opened his mouth and expelled a stream of glowing blue water that enveloped his ninja blade.

Without hesitation, he lunged forward, sword flashing.

In the heart of the battlefield—an isolated mountain surrounded by a swarm of White Zetsu—three figures moved like lightning. The silence was broken only by the occasional clang of steel colliding against steel.

“I can’t keep this up!”

Panting heavily, Sasuke was forced back again, struggling to withstand the relentless assault of the two resurrected Hokage.

He gripped the hilt of his Kusanagi sword tighter, stealing a glance at his trembling right arm. A searing pain throbbed beneath the skin. He had to find a way out—fast.

Just a few exchanges had shown him what it truly meant when people said, The old guard is still the strongest.

The Second Hokage’s Flying Thunder God, merged seamlessly with his ninjato and a mysterious water-based jutsu, created attacks that were swift, elusive, and almost impossible to predict. Sasuke had to stay at full concentration just to survive.

The Third Hokage, on the other hand, fought like a seasoned master. Wielding the Adamantine Staff, which could grow or shrink at will, he demonstrated brutal, overwhelming strength.

His unpredictable style and fluid movements meant Sasuke couldn’t afford to take his eyes off him for even a second.

Even worse—their attacks were relentless. Both men pressed in close, fighting with the kind of precision and timing only battle-hardened veterans could achieve. Every strike was heavy and merciless, giving Sasuke no chance to recover.

In just a few moments, he was drenched in sweat and felt as though he’d fought a hundred battles.

Then, without warning—

“Adamantine Prison!”

The Third Hokage’s Staff shot over Sasuke’s head, multiplying rapidly in midair.

“Damn it, I can’t keep this up!”

As the golden staff split—one into two, two into four—Sasuke realized he had to act fast. He began to summon the power of his Curse Seal, hoping to break free of the suffocating pincer attack.

Swish!

But just as the dark marks of the Heaven’s Curse Seal began to flare on his neck, the Second Hokage appeared again—his speed terrifying—and interrupted the activation.

“Troublesome…”

Above him, the golden staves wove themselves into a massive cage, sealing him inside along with both the Second and Third Hokage. The walls of this prison glimmered like steel, closing in fast.

There was no room to move, no space to dodge.

Trapped.
Two legendary Hokage. One exhausted shinobi.

Sasuke felt his chances of escape plummet to near zero.

“Is this... where it ends?”
He clenched his jaw in frustration. These two weren’t even fighting at full power—just puppets, controlled by the Edo tensei. Yet, even so, he was already being pushed to the brink.

The taste of defeat stung in his mouth, bitter and raw.

“Damn it… I’m not done yet!”

Unwillingness surged in his chest. He couldn’t accept this—wouldn’t accept this.

Then—

“Is that... Third Hokage?”

Far in the distance, a sharp gaze cut through the chaos. Fugaku Uchiha, who had been monitoring his younger son's movements, suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Even through the layers of White Zetsu blocking his view, he could feel Sasuke’s chakra weakening—collapsing.

Without hesitation, he moved.

Fast. Silent. Deadly.

The Former head of the Uchiha Clan, the Wicked-eye Fugaku, was on his way.