Tenzo had not been burned by the Fire Release. When he was buried beneath the mass of snakes, he had wrapped himself in layer after layer of wooden shells. But avoiding physical injury did not mean he had escaped psychological damage. I'm still in the "enemy formation," you know. And you've already started setting things on fire?
He was hurt. Unfortunately, no one cared about Tenzo's feelings at a time like this.
The snake corpses were piled into mountains, filling the woodland with a nauseating stench. Tenzo covered his nose and mouth as he crawled out of his wooden shell, while the Third Hokage entered the forest with a grim expression.
"Can you still sense Orochimaru's whereabouts?" the Hokage asked.
Yet no one answered him for a moment. Could it be that none of the men behind him were sensory ninja? Yuhara had no choice but to step forward and say, "Lord Hokage, Lord Orochimaru has already escaped. I can't sense his Chakra anymore."
After a slight pause, Yuhara twisted the knife further. "I think Lord Orochimaru anticipated this day long ago. It's obvious that he prepared an escape route in advance."
"..."
The Third Hokage had also undergone "Shock Therapy."
His favorite disciple had suddenly defected from Konoha, and the Third Hokage's mood was already terrible. Yet Yuhara had told him that things could actually get even worse.
The Hokage stood frozen in place, his gaze unconsciously sweeping from side to side. He was not searching for anything; he was merely suppressing a certain emotion. He looked left and right anxiously, then saw a strange, twisted corpse.
"This is... Orochimaru?"
The Third Hokage took a few quick steps to the corpse. He immediately recognized the body with a hole in its chest and a split-open mouth as Orochimaru's.
The