After a pause, he continued, "It's over now, let's hurry back to Konoha. Naruto, you take Sasuke and Sakura. You two move quickly, I'll go ahead. Konoha is in chaos right now."
After saying that, he tossed Gaara onto a treetop. "This is for you too, you're wasting my time," he said, pointing at Gaara.
"Ah! Give them all to me! Where are Hinata and Ino?" Naruto looked dissatisfied.
"They? Of course, they're rushing back to Konoha as fast as they can. You're the slowest among us. If you don't take responsibility, who will?" Kaito said indifferently.
As for asking Hinata and the other girl to report to someone else—forget it, Kaito didn't even consider it.
The three glanced at each other, activated their instant body technique, and vanished from Naruto's sight in a blink.
"Are you really from the same class as those three?" Pakkun stared at Naruto with his dog eyes, scrutinizing him.
"Yeah! What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just the gap is a bit big."
Naruto: ...
What do you mean? Are you indirectly saying that I'm stupid?
One man and one dog, amidst the noisy chaos, set out on the road back to Konoha. Naruto even created two shadow clones, one carrying Sasuke and Gaara, while his real body held Sakura. This made Naruto look quite happy.
Konoha Village! On a rooftop outside the Four Purple Flame Formation!
A cold star turned into a bolt of lightning, appearing outside in an instant!
Nearby, some Anbu were watching the battle inside with worried eyes.
Upon seeing Kaito, they hurriedly greeted, "Kaito sama!"
(They're respectful because he took down root, that alone proves how strong he is)
After all, this world respects strength. Kaito had killed Danzo and was Tsunade's disciple. His strength and status were higher than most.
"Yeah," Kaito nodded lightly.
Then, pretending to be worried, "How is it inside?"
"I have no idea," an Anbu said solemnly. "But the Third Hokage is in great danger! Orochimaru used forbidden techniques to summon the First and Second Hokage."
"Besides Orochimaru, there are three Kage-level fighters, including the Third Hokage..."
The Anbu stopped, implying the situation was extremely dangerous.
Kaito watched the fight quietly, no desire to intervene. After all, his original intention here was to send Sarutobi Hiruzen off.
"With your strength, you should be able to break the Four Purple Flame Formation," a cold female voice appeared behind Kaito.
He turned and saw a woman wearing an animal mask, her long purple hair flowing in the wind.
An obvious sign—she was an Anbu. Her name instantly popped up in Kaito's mind: Uzuki Yugao, fiancée of Gekkou Hayate.
Kaito shook his head, smiled bitterly, and said, "If I were in my prime, I definitely could break it. But I just summoned the slug to heal the injured ninjas and civilians in Konoha."
"You have to understand, the slug's healing consumes the user's chakra. Now, I have only a trace left, and that is not enough to break the formation."
Kaito lied calmly, without a hint of nervousness.
He had indeed used a lot of chakra to summon the slug to save people, but it was certainly not true that only a little chakra remained.
With his current chakra comparable to that of the tailed beasts, it could not have been consumed so quickly.
At least half of his chakra still remained in reserve. Ultimately, he just didn't want to save Hiruzen.
He said this to improve his reputation among the Anbu.
Also, to use Yugao to spread the message to other Anbu members.
In short, to win their trust.
After all, these people would be Tsunade's main force once she rose to power.
"I thought so! So you were the one who summoned the slug below!" Yugao suddenly realized.
Kaito: What a perfect assist!
"Then are we just going to wait here?" Yugao asked reluctantly.
"What else can I do? I have no chakra left. How about you ask Kakashi Sensei?" Kaito spread his hands, feigning helplessness.
Yagao fell silent. If Kakashi had a solution, they wouldn't be waiting here.
After their conversation, an eerie silence fell outside.
Everyone's eyes fixed on the chakra fluctuations inside.
At this moment, inside the Four Purple Flame Formation filled with towering trees,
the battle was nearing its end.
Hiruzen suddenly roared with what seemed like his last breath, the Kusanagi sword lodged in his back. Ignoring the pain, he appeared before Orochimaru and grabbed Orochimaru's shoulders with both hands.
Shock and disbelief filled Orochimaru's snake-like eyes.
Pressed down by Hiruzen, his entire body seemed frozen and motionless.
"Orochimaru, I can't kill you now, but I will take your hands back and nullify all the ninjutsu you've learned!"
In the sky behind Hiruzen, the Dead Demon Consuming Seal slowly appeared.
An ethereal hand reached to Hiruzen's abdomen and pulled at Orochimaru's soul, yanking it out.
The god of death in the sky took out a long sword and slashed at the soul.
Orochimaru's soul was instantly sealed within Hiruzen's stomach.
At the same time, Hiruzen smiled faintly and fell to the ground, eyes closed.
Orochimaru's face was full of resentment and anger. "No! No! Give me back my hands!"
"Damn old man, damn it," Orochimaru glared at his own pair of gray hands.
Knowing all kinds of forbidden techniques, he understood his hands were useless now.
"Hiruzen, even if I die, you must let me pull the sword out for you!"
At this moment, Emma struggled to pull the sword from Hiruzen's body.
"Hmph, the battle is over. Let's go," Orochimaru said to the subordinates around him.
"Understood, Orochimaru sama," the four withdrew the barriers in their hands, supporting Orochimaru as they left.
So far,
Konoha's Great Collapse Plan had finally come to an end.
"Stop chasing! Let's see how the old man is doing first. You'll just die if you keep going," Kaito stopped the Anbu who wanted to pursue Orochimaru, speaking seriously.
"I understand, Kaito sama," an Anbu replied reluctantly.
The rooftop was small, and Kaito, together with Yugao and other Anbu members, quickly found Hiruzen's body.
"Kaito sama," an Anbu said quietly.
"Let's find two medical ninjas. This problem isn't something we can solve," Kaito sighed, feeling uneasy for some reason.
In the past, he had hoped Hiruzen would die, but now that he was dead, he felt no sadness. Perhaps this was the so-called "cheap" nature.
---
Gain access to 70+ Chapters in advance on patron.
Patreon.com/Zphyr_