More than ten minutes later, Orochimaru's disappearance was discovered, and the entire Konoha prison — even all of Konoha itself — was thrown into alarm.
Everyone sprang into action, locking down Konoha and launching a manhunt to capture Orochimaru.
The result, naturally, was complete failure.
Against two people who had escaped using space-time ninjutsu, any form of tracking was useless.
After the fruitless search, the Third Hokage, Uchiha Fugaku, and other clan leaders came to Konoha prison to investigate how Orochimaru had managed to escape.
"Strange. The prison's barrier wasn't damaged, and neither was the prison itself. How exactly did Orochimaru escape?"
Yamanaka Inoichi, head of the Yamanaka clan, said with puzzlement after carefully inspecting the high-security prisoner section.
"After all, it's Orochimaru. He might possess some special ninjutsu that allowed him to slip through the prison's barrier."
Akimichi Choza, head of the Akimichi clan, speculated.
"I had previously suggested we execute Orochimaru immediately, but unfortunately, the Hokage did not agree."
Hyuga Hizashi, head of the Hyuga clan, glanced at the Third Hokage as he spoke.
"Although Orochimaru is an S-rank rogue ninja, he once held a rather special position and still has many loyal followers. Executing him outright would surely provoke resentment among those old retainers."
The Third Hokage shot a cold glance at Hizashi; clearly, the Hyuga clan had begun openly opposing him.
"The Hokage is right — the feelings of Orochimaru's old followers cannot be ignored."
Nara Shikaku, head of the Nara clan, added.
"The result is that the Orochimaru we finally caught managed to escape."
Hyuga Hizashi chuckled lightly.
"This is an unexpected situation. Before this, no one thought Orochimaru had the ability to escape from Konoha's high-security prisoner prison."
Yamanaka Inoichi said.
"How exactly did Orochimaru escape? Even if he has special secret techniques, there should have been some trace left behind."
Hatake Nobuhiro, head of the Hatake clan, frowned and said.
"Indeed, even if he escaped, it's unlikely he wouldn't leave any trace."
The voice of the Aburame clan leader expressed doubt.
"It's not necessarily Orochimaru escaping by himself; he could have been rescued by someone."
"Noro Orochimaru has connections with wood release ninjas, and those wood release ninjas have spatial abilities. It's very possible they infiltrated using their space skills to rescue Orochimaru."
Nara Shikaku offered his theory.
"Wood release ninjas?"
Many clan leaders present furrowed their brows.
If wood release ninjas with spatial abilities did infiltrate, it could indeed explain how Orochimaru was rescued without leaving any damage or traces.
"So Orochimaru really does have a connection to the wood release ninjas."
Yamanaka Inoichi said.
"There is actually another possibility."
Uchiha Fugaku, who had been silent until then, finally spoke, immediately drawing the attention of the clan leaders present.
As the undisputed strongest in Konoha, everything he said attracted the clan leaders' focus.
"What does Clan Head Fugaku mean?"
Hyuga Hizashi asked cooperatively.
"The prison and the barrier weren't damaged because Orochimaru didn't escape by himself. He was deliberately let go by someone."
Uchiha Fugaku said.
"Let go by someone?!"
"Who would have let Orochimaru go? Could it be one of his old followers?"
...
The clan leaders began to discuss among themselves.
The fact that neither the prison nor the barrier was damaged indeed suggested the possibility Orochimaru was released by someone — something they had subconsciously overlooked.
"Konoha prison, especially the high-security section, is guarded tightly by ninjas. It's impossible for anyone to approach without being detected."
Nara Shikaku shook his head, believing this possibility was unlikely.
"I heard that when Orochimaru first defected from Konoha, the Hokage had a chance to stop him but let him go. Is that true?"
Uchiha Fugaku glanced at the Third Hokage with a playful tone.
Ordinary people certainly don't have the ability to infiltrate the heavily guarded high-security prison to release Orochimaru, but someone like the Third Hokage, who has absolute control over Konoha prison, could.
"Nonsense. How could I deliberately let Orochimaru go?"
The Third Hokage's voice held anger as he looked at Fugaku, clearly understanding what he implied.
"Is that so? Then the rumor must be false."
Uchiha Fugaku replied calmly.
Hearing the exchange between Fugaku and the Third Hokage, many clan leaders preferred not to get involved, pretending not to have heard, but inside, they were stirred.
They had also heard the rumor before, and as far as they knew, it was very likely true.
Now that Fugaku brought it up, they could not help but suspect that the Third Hokage had deliberately released Orochimaru — after all, this was not the first time he had done so.
After spending some time at Konoha prison without gaining any clues, the group left, but Fugaku's words planted seeds of doubt about the Third Hokage in many clan leaders' hearts.
Along with recent incidents, their impression of the Third Hokage had definitely worsened.
This man who once had a glorious reputation no longer appeared as honorable as before.
...
Leaving Konoha prison, Uchiha Fugaku walked down the streets of Konoha.
As a ninja, his senses were sharp; even conversations from a considerable distance away could be heard.
He overheard many people discussing the accusations against him and the Hyuga clan incident.
Among these conversations, when mentioning the Third Hokage, the tone no longer held the reverence of the past.
Clearly, these two incidents had severely damaged the Third Hokage's image in their eyes.
A smile appeared on Fugaku's face.
The plan was working. The Third Hokage's reputation had indeed taken a severe hit.
If there were public opinion polls in this world, the Third Hokage's approval rating would surely plummet.
"It's still not enough. This level alone won't force the Third Hokage to step down!"
He shook his head slightly.
Although the Third Hokage's image was severely damaged, and his glorious stature had faded, it was impossible to use just this to guide public opinion into forcing him from office.
"We need to add something explosive — something that will utterly destroy the Third Hokage's image!"
Uchiha Fugaku pondered what kind of bombshell revelation would further disgrace the Third Hokage's reputation.
"The death of the White Fang of Konoha?"
He thought of how the Third Hokage manipulated public opinion to drive the White Fang of Konoha to suicide but immediately dismissed the idea.
Given his current relationship with the Hatake clan, if he requested, they would probably cooperate.
But in that incident, the Third Hokage did not act directly, instead achieving his goal by manipulating public opinion.
Many years have passed with no trace left. If this were exposed, it might backfire and cause the Third Hokage to accuse him of slander.
Thus, it was not suitable as explosive material to further ruin the Third Hokage's image.
"Got it!"
An idea struck him.
Over these years, the tragic fate of the Fourth Hokage's son, Naruto Uzumaki, was entirely caused by the Third Hokage. If this matter were exposed, the Third Hokage's image would plummet to an all-time low.
With the public outrage that would follow, the Third Hokage would likely find it difficult to remain in office.