The four Sound ninja stood at the four corners of the rooftop.
Sakon said, "Let's begin. We can't let anyone disturb Lord Orochimaru."
"I know," Kidomaru replied.
"Yeah!" Jirobo grunted.
"…" Tayuya remained silent.
The four of them spread their hands in unison. "Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!"
A barrier erupted, and four walls of purple chakra instantly enveloped the rooftop, trapping everyone inside.
"Master," Orochimaru hissed, "let's have some fun."
"It will be rather difficult to take my head," Hiruzen said, a mysterious smile on his face. "Although I would very much like to end things with you myself, your opponent is not me."
A kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal emerged from Hiruzen's sleeve. In an instant, Minato Namikaze appeared, but before his feet could even touch the rooftop, he vanished again. When he reappeared, his Rasengan was already slamming into Jirobo.
"Ugh!" Jirobo, who had been completely focused on maintaining the barrier, had no time to react. Despite his immense strength, he could not withstand the force of the Rasengan and was seriously injured on the spot. With one of its casters down, the Four Violet Flames Formation flickered and slowly disappeared.
"Damn Jirobo! He's so useless!" Sakon cursed. With one member of their team down, the barrier was no longer viable. In desperation, the remaining three Sound-nin immediately moved to surround Orochimaru.
"Lord Orochimaru, I'm sorry," Sakon said. "The plan has failed!"
"If I had known Jirobo was such a loser, I wouldn't have brought him!" Tayuya added angrily.
"There was nothing we could do," Kidomaru said. "That guy was too fast. Could he be…?"
Despite the barrier's failure, Orochimaru remained completely unfazed, a calm smile on his face. "Yes, he is the Fourth Hokage, the legendary Yellow Flash. You cannot call Jirobo useless. None of you would have been able to withstand a blow from Minato Namikaze."
"Facing two Hokage," Jiro said, his voice now serious, "this will be difficult. Lord Orochimaru, what should we do now?"
Tayuya snapped, "Idiot! Have you forgotten about those two big shots we dug up yesterday?"
"Fortunately, the mysterious old man who guards the cemetery wasn't there yesterday," Sakon added. "Lord Orochimaru, I sense it is time to use that technique."
"I have been thinking the same thing," Orochimaru smirked, clasping his hands together.
"Minato, I am grateful that you broke my barrier. This was originally part of the plan, but now, I have a new idea."
"Lord Orochimaru!" Minato said sternly. "Your and the Sand Village's attack has been completely suppressed by the Konoha shinobi! I advise you to turn back now and not make the same mistake again!"
"Tsk tsk tsk… Suppression? A few casualties, nothing more. The best is yet to come!"
As he spoke, a coffin suddenly rose from the ground at Orochimaru's feet. On its lid was the kanji for "First."
"This… Lord Third, could this technique be the legendary…?" Minato's face darkened as he stared at the scene before him. Immediately after, a second coffin appeared, this one marked with the kanji for "Second."
"Oh no," Hiruzen's face was grim, a sense of deep unease flashing through his heart. "I didn't expect him to have actually learned the Reanimation Jutsu!" In that moment, he truly felt a pang of regret. He regretted letting his most beloved student go all those years ago.
The coffin lids slowly creaked open, then crashed to the rooftop. Then, two men in ancient, archaic armor stepped out of the coffins like zombies.