"Third Hokage-sama..."
Hearing the Third Hokage's sharp intake of breath, the intelligence ninja's expression stiffened slightly. An instinctive word nearly slipped from his mouth, but he stopped midway.
"Is there no way to obtain anything more?"
The Third Hokage seemed to have noticed something. He turned to the intelligence ninja beside him, frowning.
"Yes..."
At this, the intelligence ninja lowered his head once more. After a brief hesitation, he answered truthfully.
They had no way of obtaining anything more.
At least, not much useful intelligence.
"Not even a single piece of intelligence can be obtained?"
Upon hearing that, the Third Hokage's expression turned utterly grave.
Orochimaru...
Could it be that you are still continuing those experiments?
And have they reached the point where you leave nothing behind?
That thought passed through the Third Hokage's mind.
Yes, the reason for the Third Hokage's grave expression at this moment was not Uchiha Nobuhiko, but his most prized disciple.
One of Konoha's Sannin, and also Konoha's greatest disgrace—the current S-rank rogue ninja, Orochimaru! Orochimaru, who had gone astray and lost the thing most important to him! He was also the Third Hokage's everlasting pain.
He was the stain on his record as an instructor ninja that could never be erased. No, not a stain—a blot.
That blot was not because his disciple had defected, dealing a heavy blow to Konoha as it struggled to recover after the Nine-Tails' Rampage, directly causing all manner of consequences and even dragging the Hyuga Clan into it, nearly forcing them to bow their heads and seek peace with Kumogakure.
Rather, it was because he had long seen that something was wrong with this disciple, yet in the end, he had failed to guide him onto the proper path. As a teacher, that was an utter failure. It