Chapter 78: Orochimaru — What the Hell Happened to Konoha!
The next moment,a shock wave of energy arrived.
The seemingly invincible Orochimaru lasted only a few seconds before being completely obliterated.
Boom!!
The deafening roar echoed as all buildings, plants, and people within a radius of a thousand meters were caught in the explosion.
Those who hadn't escaped in time could only watch in terror as the overwhelming blast consumed them.
After a while,the aftermath of the explosion finally subsided, and silence returned.
Looking around—the view was… vast.
Everything had been reduced to rubble.At the very center of the explosion, even the slag had been vaporized.A deep crater, tens of meters wide, now scarred the ground.
Mitarashi Anko descended from the air, walking steadily toward the center of the ruins. Her perception locked onto the pit below.
"Your life really is hard to snuff out, Orochimaru."
"…"
A violent cough echoed up from below. Rubble shifted and scattered as Orochimaru staggered out—battered, filthy, and barely standing.
From the outside, he didn't seem seriously injured.But his ragged breathing told a different story.
At the last second, Orochimaru had used his Body Replacement Technique to dodge the initial blast.The problem was that the energy shock continued far longer than expected. One substitution wasn't enough.In just those few seconds, he had been forced to use the technique more than ten times in succession.
Externally, he looked unscathed.Internally, his chakra was completely drained, his body near collapse.
Combined with the sealing of his arms, he was now so weak that even an ordinary person could kill him.
Leaning on a shattered wall for support, he hunched over, panting heavily before rasping out,"I don't even know who you are. How did I offend you?"
"Heh. Orochimaru, don't tell me you can't even recognize your own disciple?"
Hearing this, Mitarashi Anko reached up and removed her blindfold, revealing her face.
"What—? You're Anko?!"
The moment he saw her clearly, Orochimaru's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
The voice had indeed sounded familiar,but the difference in power and appearance was too great—he hadn't considered the possibility at all.
And yet… it truly was his own disciple, Mitarashi Anko.
How could that be possible?
"No need for nonsense, Orochimaru. You took something you shouldn't have. Now you're coming with me to face the Deputy."
Taking a breath, Mitarashi Anko stated her purpose directly.
After calming herself, she knew the truth:she couldn't kill Orochimaru alone.Even if she did, Sasuke would just use the Four Symbols Time Reversal to bring him back.
Su Li's order had been clear — capture him alive.
There was no need to continue the fight.
Orochimaru, still reeling from shock, couldn't comprehend how Anko had become this strong.
But that wasn't the most pressing issue right now.
It was the term she'd used — the Deputy.
"What do you mean? Konoha has an acting Hokage now? Who is it?!"
Orochimaru frowned deeply.Shouldn't Danzo have taken the position of Fourth Hokage after the Third's death?
Otherwise, why had he spent so much time planning the Konoha Collapse in the first place?
"You—"
Mitarashi Anko was about to reply when—
from the shadows, Sasuke stepped out.
"Senior Anko, stop wasting time. Bring him back quickly. I've got other things to do."
"Tch. Brat."
Clicking her tongue, Anko glared but didn't argue.She swung her chains, binding Orochimaru tightly.
The fallen Orochimaru, restrained and weakened, barely noticed.His gaze locked instead on Sasuke, who had appeared silently from the darkness.
Emerging from the shadows…?So that's how Anko appeared out of nowhere without him noticing.
What kind of ninjutsu is that?A bloodline limit?
But wasn't Sasuke's bloodline limit the Sharingan?
Could it be…power from those comics?
Even now—cornered and captured—Orochimaru's mind was still analyzing, curious about the unknown.
Soon, he experienced that power firsthand as Sasuke sealed him inside the Shadow Space, imprisoning him completely before setting off toward Konoha.
The Land of Rice Fields bordered the Land of Fire, and with the Shadow Space's effect, Sasuke and Mitarashi Anko returned to Konoha with Orochimaru in mere moments.
Following Su Li's instructions, they brought Orochimaru directly to Su Li's residence, avoiding the eyes of others.
Boom.
Stepping out of the shadow space, Anko tossed the bound Orochimaru to the floor.
The sudden noise startled Temari, who had been in the kitchen thinking about how to make dinner taste better.
"Who's there?!"
Wearing a kitchen scarf and clutching a spoon like a weapon, Temari rushed out—only to relax slightly upon seeing Mitarashi Anko and Sasuke, both wearing Konoha forehead protectors.
But then her gaze fell on the man lying in the corner.
"W-Wait—Orochimaru?!"
Temari froze in terror, immediately looking for something sharper than a spoon.
"Don't panic, Miss Temari. It's like this—"
Seeing her reaction, Mitarashi Anko quickly explained.She knew Temari was Su Li's fiancée, so her tone was far gentler than it had been toward Orochimaru.
"What's going on here…?"
Orochimaru, watching this scene, was utterly stunned.
Didn't Anko know that Temari was the daughter of the Kazekage—one of Konoha's enemies during the invasion?
Then why were the two of them acting so familiar?So at ease?
They looked… like family.
What the hell happened to Konoha?!