[3. Due to the character's special identity, advanced options can be triggered. Enable?]
Yuichi stared at the three options in front of him.
A special identity?
So those with unique identities can trigger advanced options?
No matter how you look at it, "advanced" clearly means better rewards. If you choose option three, the system will grant something far greater than the ordinary choices.
Why hesitate?
I'll choose option three. Open the advanced path.
[Advanced options unlocked]
[1. Escape Konoha within one hour — Reward: 50% of Sarutobi Hiruzen's abilities and ninjutsu inheritance.]
[2. Stay in Konoha unnoticed and kill the current Hokage — Reward: All of Sarutobi Hiruzen's abilities and ninjutsu inheritance.]
[3. Destroy more than 50% of Konoha's buildings — Reward: A random set of escape skills with enhanced power.]
Yuichi carefully considered the three choices.
Sarutobi's skills and ninjutsu held no appeal to him.
The so-called Professor of Ninjutsu? At best, he had mastered the five elemental techniques. With time, Yuichi could acquire those on his own through daily choices.
So the answer was clear.
A faint smile tugged at Yuichi's lips.
Orochimaru noticed. "Are you really that happy about killing the old man, boy?"
"Of course. Shouldn't you feel joy when your goal is achieved?"
"Hmph. He should have died by my hand… yet you robbed me of that."
Orochimaru's cold gaze flickered with anger.
Yuichi blinked in surprise. Orochimaru—angry?
Because he killed the Third Hokage?
Of course. No matter what, Sarutobi was still his master. Even if their relationship had soured, a disciple always carried lingering attachment to their teacher.
Yuichi couldn't quite grasp such bonds.
"Boy," Orochimaru hissed, "do you even know the consequences of killing him?"
Consequences?
He must mean the chaos it would bring to the shinobi world… perhaps even the start of a Fourth Great Ninja War.
Exactly what Yuichi wanted.
"I know. And that's precisely the result I was hoping for."
Orochimaru froze, caught off guard by Yuichi's calm reply.
It was as if he had found a kindred spirit—this mere Genin from Konoha, already aiming to turn the whole shinobi world upside down.
Ambition like this, at his age…
Orochimaru almost wanted to sit down and ask him why. But that thought was quickly crushed.
Yuichi had slain Sarutobi, his master, right before his eyes.
That kind of hatred demanded vengeance.
Sarutobi could die—but not by the hands of a child.
"Kill him!"
With a trace of regret in his eyes, Orochimaru coldly ordered the First and Second Hokage, revived through Impure World Reincarnation, to attack.
The two puppets, devoid of will, moved in unison—one rushing left, the other right.
Whoosh!
Their speed was terrifying.
But Yuichi merely raised his fists.
One against two. Shadows of his strikes filled the air, each blow colliding with explosive force. The winds howled around them.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed.
One boy, facing the combined assault of two former Hokage… and he was actually overpowering them with taijutsu alone.
Unbelievable.
Yuichi had hidden his strength until now.
Boom!
A chakra-infused fist slammed into the First Hokage's head, shattering it into ash.
Yuichi spun, chakra surging through his body, and caught the Second Hokage by the ankle.
With a roar, he swung him like a rag doll.
Bang!
The Second Hokage was smashed into the earth. Yuichi raised his foot and stomped down hard on his head.
His cold gaze locked onto Orochimaru.
"If these were the true First and Second Hokage, at full power, then it would be worth my time. But like this? I have no patience to play with you."
Even as he spoke, the First Hokage's body began to regenerate.
Yuichi raised a hand and flicked his wrist.
Wood erupted from the surrounding forest, branches coiling tightly around the First Hokage.
Orochimaru's eyes widened.
No hand seals. Just casually casting Wood Style?
What was this boy?
The Second Hokage, still pinned beneath Yuichi's foot, was likewise bound in writhing wooden tendrils.
Orochimaru's expression darkened. The strength of this child… it was terrifying.
To so easily suppress two Hokage brought back from the dead… even he felt a chill of fear.
If this continued, even he might—
Suddenly, Yuichi crouched and lifted Sarutobi's corpse.
A Wood Style clone split from his body.
Orochimaru frowned. What was he planning now?
Yuichi turned, his face twisting into an expression of deep sorrow.
Orochimaru's heart sank. He realized what Yuichi was about to do.
Boom!
The Wood Style clone struck Yuichi with a crushing blow.
The explosion of force shook the forest.
Yuichi clutched Sarutobi's body tightly as he was blasted backwards, smashing through trees in a storm of splintering wood and flying leaves.
He crashed out of the forest, still holding the Hokage's corpse.
"This brat…"
So this was his plan. That Genin actually outwitted me.
To everyone watching, it would look as though Orochimaru's sword had slain the Hokage—while Yuichi, bloodied and battered, had been blasted out alongside him.
When Konoha's shinobi saw this scene, their fury would be absolute.
No explanation Orochimaru gave would matter. No one would believe him.
He, one of the Sannin, outmaneuvered by a twelve-year-old Genin.
Humiliation burned in his chest.
Yet even so… Orochimaru couldn't help but admire Yuichi. In just a few moves, he had shifted suspicion entirely onto him.
"Hmph."
Orochimaru's gaze swept to the bound First and Second Hokage. "But you overlooked one thing. Even though they are controlled by Impure World Reincarnation, they can still see and feel everything that happens before them…"