Rumbling explosions and clouds of smoke filled a certain area of the Chūnin Exam grounds. The terrain could not exactly be called destroyed, but it had still suffered a considerable degree of damage.
Curiosity killed the cat. With a battle of this level going on, there were temporarily no genin teams reckless enough to be unable to suppress their curiosity and come over to watch.
After Hagoromo arrived here, the first thing he saw was a battle between giant summoned beasts.
And it was a complete chaotic mess.
Mirai and the other two had already summoned every summoned beast they had, including Katsuyu. Yet even so, they were still at an absolute disadvantage in terms of the number of summoned beasts, because the enemy across from them seemed to have brought out the entirety of Ryūchi Cave.
At this moment, everyone in Team Six was covered in dust and grime. In many situations, experience equaled combat strength. The amount of experience one possessed was equivalent to the strength of one's combat power. In that sense, Uncle Snake bullying Team Six was no different from crushing noobs.
The fact that Mirai and the others had yet to suffer any casualties was most likely because Uncle Snake genuinely had no intention of doing so. Aside from his personal interest in testing the strength of this younger generation, there was also one major reason: Uncle Snake did not want to become mortal enemies with Hagoromo.
Hagoromo was sometimes a very easy person to understand. Aside from those times when something short-circuited in his head and he decided to stir up trouble himself, most of the time, if you did not provoke him, he would not provoke you.
Orochimaru had always been very interested in Hagoromo. Exploring just how far Hagoromo's strength had reached was also something he had always wanted to do. But no matter what, he absolutely did not want someone with Hagoromo's combat power chasing him down all the way to the ends of the earth… That would be even more troublesome than Akatsuki. Although Akatsuki was also tracking him, they were, after all, an organization with "proper business" to handle. Hunting him down was only incidental. But if it were Hagoromo instead? Heh. Guess.
When Hagoromo saw this scene that looked as though someone had poked a snake nest, he was naturally able to confirm the opponent's identity beyond any doubt.
According to this world's traditions, this situation should have been one where Mitarashi Anko personally killed her teacher, Orochimaru. Unfortunately, that could not be achieved. First, the condition of her cursed seal prevented her from bringing out her combat strength. Second, even if she could multiply her strength several times over, she still would not be Orochimaru's opponent.
So there was no need for her to enter the field at this time. Hagoromo simply had her go report the matter to the Hokage… Although she was somewhat unwilling, at this moment, she still had to accept Hagoromo's order.
Right now, Hagoromo had come to the battlefield alone.
In the next instant, all of Shikkotsu Forest's side, who had been fighting against all kinds of seductive snake spirits in various poses, disappeared at once—Hagoromo had undone their summons.
"Mirai, that's enough!"
"This has nothing to do with you anymore. Continue with the Chūnin Exams."
Sure enough, just as he had expected, Team Six had been fighting Orochimaru. However, Hagoromo's attitude remained fairly calm, because he had already confirmed their condition immediately. None of them were seriously hurt.
In fact, considering the rate at which these three were growing stronger, occasionally suffering a setback was not a bad thing. It could let them recognize exactly where the gap lay between themselves and top-tier shinobi.
Seeing Hagoromo arrive made both Kimimaro and Haku feel as though they could finally breathe a sigh of relief. To be honest, in the situation just now, they had not been confident that they could guarantee Mirai would retreat unharmed.
After taking several deep breaths and calming her emotions, Mirai nodded to Hagoromo. Then, following his instruction, she turned and left.
No shinobi would willingly accept losing to someone else, especially not Mirai, who had never lost before. She was definitely unwilling to accept it. But unwillingness was one thing. She also understood that, for the time being, she had no place interfering in a battle of this level.
Only after watching the three of them leave did Hagoromo turn his gaze toward Orochimaru. Although that face was not Orochimaru's own, such a disguise had already lost all meaning at this point.
"Young shinobi these days truly are talented. With their strength and growth speed, they should soon be able to stand among the top ranks of the shinobi world." Surprisingly, the first one to speak was Orochimaru. He made no attempt to conceal his identity.
"Although the battle just now looked like you were suppressing them one-sidedly, in reality, even if I hadn't arrived in time, you might not necessarily have won," Hagoromo said. Although Team Six had looked badly suppressed on the surface, Mirai had yet to use the trump card Hagoromo had left her.
"Heh." Orochimaru neither confirmed nor denied it. From that face of his, it was impossible to tell whether he had taken Hagoromo's words to heart.
"Hagoromo, you went to Ryūchi Cave… and killed Manda? According to a certain hidden existence in Ryūchi Cave, a 'young shinobi who uses senjutsu' once intruded into Ryūchi Cave and stood before him."
Orochimaru did not seem to have any intention of mourning Manda's death. What interested him more was something else. The "hidden existence" he spoke of was probably the White Snake Sage.
"In other words, you can use senjutsu?" Senjutsu was a field Orochimaru had yet to touch for the time being, so he was quite interested in this point.
However, Hagoromo ignored Orochimaru's question completely. Instead, he asked in return, "Why return to Konoha at a time like this? Planning to hold a class reunion?"
This was obviously sarcasm and a joke. Although Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya were all currently in Konoha, their positions were completely different.
Or rather, precisely because so many powerful combatants had gathered in Konoha, Orochimaru should have been even less inclined to walk straight into a trap.
"As for that, the shinobi world hasn't heard from me in quite some time, so I wanted to create a little news and prove that I still exist," Orochimaru said.
That explanation naturally could not satisfy Hagoromo, because Orochimaru was not such a boring person. However, this sort of somewhat incomprehensible pattern of behavior had always been Orochimaru's way of doing things.
"Konoha does indeed have quite a few powerful shinobi at the moment. But do you think I would come to Konoha without any confidence at all?"
"My new technique has been fully completed. This occasion just happens to be perfect for testing it… Or rather, using the 'White Yaksha' to test it first could not be more suitable."
As he spoke, Orochimaru rapidly formed hand seals with both hands. Immediately afterward, a plain wooden coffin with no paint or lacquer whatsoever was summoned up from beneath the ground.
On the coffin lid, the character "One" was written in an extremely conspicuous manner.
"Edo Tensei?" Hagoromo muttered to himself. Orochimaru's tricks amounted to little more than this sort of thing, so he was not particularly worried.
In reality, Hagoromo had not yet fully understood what Orochimaru meant by "completed." Originally, the Edo Tensei was a technique developed by the Second Hokage, perfected by Orochimaru, and ultimately completed through Kabuto Yakushi's hands. But now, the situation in the shinobi world had urged Orochimaru to accelerate his research progress. After all, this was the fastest way to increase his combat power. So at this point, Uncle Snake had already reduced the risks of this technique to their minimum.
The coffin lid opened by itself, revealing the figure inside.
"I have always been considering what method I should use if I ever became enemies with a shinobi like you… In terms of combat strength, the person before you is already more than enough. However, he is not the most suitable candidate. It is truly regrettable that I could not let you meet the person you most wanted to see…"
"After all, the sealing technique you left behind is somewhat troublesome."
Hagoromo looked at the still-closed eyes of the First Hokage's face. After a long silence, he finally spoke. "Orochimaru, for the time being, I stand on Konoha's side. But before this, I have never taken a hostile attitude toward you. Do you know why?"
"Why?" Orochimaru had not expected Hagoromo to say this, but he really was somewhat curious. Although Hagoromo was not exactly an inheritor of the Will of Fire, his attitude toward Orochimaru had indeed been far too tolerant.
"It was not because of fate, nor because of bonds. It was not because of emotion, and even less because of benefit. It was because of…"
"Talent."
"You are one of the most talented shinobi in this world. In fact, in most cases, even the words 'one of' can be removed." Hagoromo genuinely acknowledged this point.
"But everything has its limits… No matter what you want to do, regardless of the occasion or the timing, attempting to anger me is absolutely not a good choice."
Hagoromo's tone remained calm, but Orochimaru, standing opposite him, could sense the emotion hidden beneath that calmness.
This was exactly what he wanted. Or rather, from the start, he had intended to lure Hagoromo over.
The only question was whether Orochimaru knew what Hagoromo had done the last time he felt this way.
He had used Rashōmon to dig a river.
Did Orochimaru think that Konoha's founder, the hero who brought an end to the Warring States Period, would be able to block a move like that?
Oh, right. Last time, he had taken that attack with his face.
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