"Spread out! Fire the Signal Flares!"
The Third Hokage sensed that something was not right and immediately ordered his subordinates. He needed to warn the village in case Orochimaru had other plans targeting it.
Whoosh... whoosh...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The accompanying Anbu did not hesitate, each firing a Signal Flare into the sky. After several explosions, dazzling fireworks burst across the pitch-black night.
"Orochimaru, what was your purpose in sneaking into the village?"
"Hehe, did I need to sneak in to return to Konoha?" Orochimaru sneered. "Teacher Hiruzen, there's no need to be so tense. This time, I did not return of my own accord. Someone specifically invited me back for a look."
"As for who that person was, I imagine you knew perfectly well. How I left Konoha back then—could you really not know?"
The Third Hokage grew furious upon hearing this.
He knew that this former disciple was referring to his old friend, Shimura Danzō.
Back when he had discovered Orochimaru secretly conducting those inhuman illegal experiments within the village, he had deliberately let Orochimaru escape. He knew Danzo and Orochimaru had always been connected and working together. Even if someone intercepted him outside, Danzo would certainly use Root's secret transfer points to send him out of Konoha.
But he had not expected that, after so many years, he would leave the village for only two months, and Danzo would already be unable to wait to contact Orochimaru again.
"Letting you go out of weakness was the greatest mistake I ever made. Now, I will correct it."
As the Third Hokage spoke again, he had already torn off his Hokage Robe. Beneath it was the battle gear he had worn for many years, armor clad over his body.
"Oh?" Orochimaru's terrifying gaze seemed almost tangible. "Are you going to kill me? Then I truly look forward to it. But if you could not do it back then, you certainly cannot do it now."
"By the way, I also heard that quite a few interesting things had happened in the village recently. Konoha has already begun to fall into chaos, and you, growing ever more senile, no longer seem fit to remain in the Hokage's seat."
"Especially seeing you aged into this state, I feel even more keenly how merciless time is. It truly leaves one empty."
The Third Hokage stepped forward, an intensely murderous aura rising from him. "Orochimaru, you are still the same as before, always spouting incomprehensible nonsense. But today, your fate is already Destined!"
Orochimaru's expression became rather meaningful. "Is that so? Did Teacher Hiruzen not always teach me that one would never know the outcome until the very end?"
"Or was there some formidable figure hidden among these insignificant minnows, giving you such confidence?"
The Third Hokage said nothing more. He slid his thumb across a rivet on his shoulder armor, then slapped his hand against the ground.
"Ninja Art! Summoning Technique! King Enma!"
Boom!
An old ape with white hair and beard, dressed in a tiger-skin skirt, leaped to the Third Hokage's side and stared gravely at Orochimaru.
"Hiruzen, I told you that you would regret it. The snake you raised has become more than merely troublesome."
"It is not too late to deal with him! Come, Enma! Adamantine Staff!"
"Understood! Transformation!"
After a cloud of smoke, Enma vanished. Yet the Third Hokage was already gripping a thick iron staff with both hands.
Seeing this, Orochimaru's golden vertical pupils narrowed slightly. Then he extended his tongue and licked his lips in a circle.
"Using a summoning to find help? Hehe! It seems master and disciple really are of one mind."
"Then, Teacher Hiruzen, prepare to accept my gift."
As soon as he finished speaking, Orochimaru pressed his palms together in a Hand Seal. "Summoning Technique! Impure World Reincarnation!"
Rumble!
The ground suddenly shook violently as a coffin burst from the earth. The lid bore a clearly written character: "First."
"What is that?"
The surrounding Anbu were puzzled. They had no idea what use Orochimaru had for producing a coffin.
Yet the Third Hokage's expression had already changed drastically.
"Bastard!"
"Orochimaru, how dare you toy with the souls of the dead!"
At the same time, Naruto stood by the windowsill of his bedroom, considering whether he should detonate the Explosive Tags Genma had buried now.
The Third Hokage had been lured to the Forest of Death. It seemed like an opportunity.
But he did not know what had happened in the Forest of Death.
He had previously planned to detonate those Explosive Tags when he could intervene at the moment some major event occurred in Konoha's future.
He worried that detonating them now might create unpredictable consequences in the future and affect some of his later plans.
Just as he thought of this, Signal Flare fireworks flashed across the starry sky. Then he sensed that all the Konoha ninja had begun moving. Aside from the people monitoring the area near his small building, everyone else's Chakra was racing throughout the village.
The alert had already been raised.
Naruto therefore abandoned the idea of detonating the Explosive Tags now. He had never been someone who liked changing plans in the first place.
Still, he was now very interested in the situation over in the Forest of Death.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed that the Chakra fluctuations of the group of Anbu who had followed the Third Hokage into the Forest of Death had vanished. Aside from that strange Chakra and the Third Hokage's Chakra, two new and distinct Chakra signatures had appeared out of nowhere.
One of those Chakra signatures felt very strange to Naruto.
Its fluctuations were far too extreme. One moment it was unimaginably strong, and the next it was incredibly weak.
Naruto immediately formed a Hand Seal and created a Shadow Clone. He handed it a mask and gave it several instructions.
"The Third Hokage and the others are not far from the Flying Thunder God marker. Disguise yourself and go take a look. You know what to do after that, right?"
"I am you. Of course I know what you are thinking."
The Shadow Clone had already used the Transformation Jutsu. It lightly fastened the mask over its face, replied, then immediately activated the Flying Thunder God and vanished.
Whoosh!
Naruto's clone instantly appeared in the Forest of Death. After sensing the Third Hokage's location once more, it broke into a rapid sprint in that direction.
Within the Forest of Death, the Third Hokage and Orochimaru were confronting each other. The Anbu all lay on the ground around them, while the coffin Orochimaru had summoned earlier had shattered into splinters.
At the center of the splinters lay a corpse whose face could not be seen clearly.
"Orochimaru, it seems your ninjutsu training was lacking. You should stay behind and attend class properly."
"Oh? Was Teacher Hiruzen not very excited when he saw the First just now? What a pity that my mastery of this technique is still insufficient. Otherwise, that touching reunion would have been difficult to come by. I think you were very satisfied with this gift, weren't you?"
"Shut up! You who toy with the souls of the dead!"
Holding the Adamantine Staff, the Third Hokage leaped forward and rapidly closed the distance between himself and Orochimaru.
"Adamantine Staff: Gale!"
He swung the staff in his hands with all his strength while using Wind Release. A powerful suction force instantly engulfed Orochimaru.
"Hehe, don't even think about it! Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru stretched out one hand, and his entire arm transformed directly into several great snakes that wrapped around a tree at his side. The instant the Third Hokage's technique activated, Orochimaru was already standing atop the tree.
"Teacher Hiruzen, do not be so naive. You have already lost so many subordinates today. You and I know each other too well. If we keep fighting, who will come out on top—"
Orochimaru was about to continue mocking his former teacher when he licked his lips. Suddenly, he caught an unfamiliar scent from the surroundings. His eyes immediately turned fierce as he glared toward a direction beneath the night sky and shouted.
The Third Hokage's gaze followed shortly afterward.
Before long, a figure wearing a mask, with black hair and a black robe, emerged from the woods.
"What a shame. I thought I could watch the show a little longer. After all, it was not easy to come out here."
The one who emerged was Naruto's Shadow Clone. It had only arrived a short while ago and had been hiding perfectly well. It had no idea how Orochimaru had suddenly discovered it.
"Who are you?"
The Third Hokage immediately asked. From Orochimaru's reaction just now, he could tell that this person was not with Orochimaru.
"I am, in fact..."
A nearly inaudible voice came from the Shadow Clone as it slowly walked toward the Third Hokage and Orochimaru. At the same time, it gradually raised its right hand toward the sky.
"Hm?" x2.
Orochimaru and the Third Hokage both narrowed their eyes.
When the Shadow Clone reached the space between them, its five right-hand fingers suddenly spread wide. Visible Chakra erupted from the center of its palm and began spinning madly, forming an ink-black sphere in the blink of an eye.
"Great Spiraling Ring!"
Boom—
A blinding light flashed into existence.
The Forest of Death exploded!
Before you continue