"That's because..."
"All the trouble is caused by you..."
Fourth Kazekage Rasa slowly removed his kasa and tore off the human skin mask on his face, revealing a sinister and cold visage.
It was indeed Orochimaru.
What Orochimaru said was actually correct.
Whether it was himself or Shimura Danzo, these two troubles were created by Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, yet he never resolved them.
Orochimaru raised a kunai, cutting through his palm, and opened his mouth with a mocking tone: "I also want to ask... I didn't expect you wouldn't recognize me either, master."
"..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Orochimaru's face, his voice turning dark and hoarse: "Ever since Danzo emerged, I've been wondering where you've been hiding. I didn't expect you'd return to Konoha in the same manner as Danzo..."
This matter is truly unpredictable.
Thinking back now, it seems somewhat reasonable.
Shimura Danzo posed as the elder of The Hidden Mist Village, while Orochimaru posed as Fourth Kazekage Rasa, using their identities to infiltrate Konoha during the Chunin Exams and draw close to the Hokage.
"Yes..."
Orochimaru licked his lips with his tongue, chuckling softly: "How else could I get close to you? Killing you isn't easy, after all, besides the Dark Department, there's the most troublesome Akihara Kagura by your side..."
"There's no way."
"I could only use this method to let Danzo attract your attention, let those fools from the Hidden Mist attract your Dark Department, and transfer both the Kage Guard and the Dark Department away from your side..."
"At this time..."
The strongest in the village, Akihara Kagura, would definitely appear by your side as quickly as possible to protect you, and Danzo would voluntarily surrender during the battle, allowing himself to be captured..."
"And you, being hypocritical and weak, whether to get information about me from Danzo or for the sake of so-called bonds, would never kill Danzo..."
"However, this is the Chunin Exam with many Ninja Villages present. You definitely don't want the chaos to escalate further and be laughed at by the Kazekage. You would want to end the chaos caused by Danzo and the Hidden Mist Ninja quickly, needing to detain Danzo to calm the situation..."
"But with your Dark Department and Kage Guard dispatched, in a situation where no one is around, the nearest Akihara Kagura would be the quickest choice to escort Danzo, as he is the Leader of the Root and perfectly suited to guard Danzo..."
Orochimaru looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a somewhat triumphant smirk: "Everything is within my plan, now that Akihara Kagura has left here, Danzo is confident that Kagura won't show up. I only need to kill you here..."
"..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart suddenly grew heavy.
Because everything Orochimaru said matched his thoughts, even their every move was anticipated by Orochimaru, whose scheming was more terrifying than ever!
The most troublesome thing is!
He gave Danzo and Akihara Kagura the chance to interact!
Sarutobi Hiruzen had always feared Akihara Kagura would once again become a tool in Danzo's hands, but he never calculated this layer!
To calm the situation quickly, Sarutobi Hiruzen had no choice but to send Akihara Kagura to escort Shimura Danzo, allowing Danzo to take this opportunity to lure Akihara Kagura...
This is truly troublesome...
Their real plan was to use the past relationship between Shimura Danzo and Akihara Kagura to get Danzo to secretly contact Akihara Kagura and defect the strongest force in Konoha!
Perhaps... at this moment...
Shimura Danzo is deceiving Akihara Kagura, turning him into a tool. If that happens, it will truly be the danger arriving in Konoha!
Unless certain life-for-life kinjutsu is used, there's no way to handle the crisis from Akihara Kagura, and only Sarutobi himself can use those jutsus!
"Your ambition is truly grand..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen clasped his hands, eyes coldly fixed on Orochimaru: "However, you seem to have forgotten that this is also a chance for me to correct past mistakes. This time, I will kill you first..."
"That's not necessarily..."
Orochimaru chuckled and suddenly opened his mouth wide, a long snake flew out, directly biting Sarutobi Hiruzen's neck!
The snake moved extremely fast, biting Sarutobi Hiruzen's neck instantly, yet in a moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen's body turned into a clump of earth!
"Earth Substitute?"
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed as he scanned the surroundings, trying to locate his master. The Four Purple Flames Array barrier wasn't large, leaving little space to hide...
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
A stream of muddy river suddenly swept over!
Orochimaru's body was involuntarily thrown by the mudslide!
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bomb!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood beside the muddy river, taking advantage to perform the Earth Dragon Bomb Jutsu, a dark brown mud dragon head floating beside him, continuously firing mud bombs at Orochimaru with rapid speed!
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bomb!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen again formed hand seals, a flame instantly enveloping the mud bombs, the flame bomb hitting Orochimaru's body instantly!
This was Sarutobi Hiruzen's Combined Ninjutsu, Earth Dragon Flame Stream!
Using swift spellcasting and combining Attribute Release Jutsu, combining the advantages of two different attributes to cover the flaws between them.
After the Earth Dragon Flame Stream ended, Orochimaru's body unexpectedly drilled up from the ground, smiling and mocking: "Luckily it was your Combined Ninjutsu! If it were Kagura's Combined Ninpo, I'd probably be thinking of escaping by now..."
Orochimaru had seen Akihara Kagura use Combined Ninpo, directly releasing the Jutsu with incredible speed and power!
"Master, you've already been surpassed..."
Orochimaru spread his palms, a slight contempt on his lips: "Stop with these childish games, it's time to use some real methods, lest you think I haven't learned anything..."
"Indeed being underestimated..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed somewhat helplessly, shedding his Hokage Divine Robe and Hokage Kasa, revealing a lean battle outfit.
Ever since hearing about Orochimaru, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been preparing for battle, as he anticipated Orochimaru would come with trouble, even foreseeing Akihara Kagura might be moved away or held back.
Today...
Might be the day of his sacrifice.
Sarutobi Hiruzen understood all this in his heart.
"Ninpo: Summoning Jutsu!"
Orochimaru swiftly clasped his fingers, quickly forming a Summoning Hand Seal, arrogantly staring at Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Master, today is your death day!"
As Orochimaru's hand rose, two coffins appeared before him. He didn't need the appearance of a third coffin because two people were enough!
Clack!
The coffins' lids fell down!
The figures of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama and Second Hokage Senju Tobirama slowly emerged from the coffins, gradually standing before Orochimaru.
"..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's pupils unconsciously widened.
Even though he knew Orochimaru's Reanimation Jutsu had resurrected the previous Hokages, seeing them in person made his heart inevitably heavy and sorrowful.
"Monkey."
Senju Tobirama gazed at Sarutobi Hiruzen and was the first to speak: "It seems what they said is true. You've already aged so much and yet continue to serve as Hokage..."
"Yes..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded slowly.
"I see..."
Senju Tobirama nodded slowly and suddenly rushed towards Sarutobi Hiruzen: "I know, let's clean you up here then!"