"But there are still some significant flaws..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought,
"For example, their fighting styles are far too limited."
"They can't adapt flexibly..."
After all, they were merely rigid assassin personalities, lacking the intelligence to think on their feet.
"And the easiest weakness to exploit is..."
"Genjutsu..."
The artificial personalities Sarutobi Hiruzen had created were, in the end, just that—artificial. Their minds were far weaker than those of ordinary people.
With targeted Genjutsu attacks, Fujin and Raijin would be quite easy to catch off guard.
"Still, that doesn't mean there's no solution."
Sarutobi Hiruzen had naturally considered this already and come up with a way to deal with it.
"Fujin! Raijin!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly shouted. The two men fighting froze for a moment, then immediately understood his command.
"Gate of Opening! Open!"
"Gate of Healing! Open!"
"Gate of Life! Open!"
"Gate Four! Gate of Pain! Open!"
Fujin and Raijin were perfectly in sync. Almost simultaneously, they clenched their fists, and the Chakra within their bodies seemed to solidify as it rose to the surface.
It distorted the air around them like flames, while their presence grew even more savage and terrifying. The veins beneath their skin bulged like coiling dragons, making them look especially fearsome.
"Come over here."
Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered them.
Their physical strength had already been like artillery fire sweeping across the ground. If they fought while using the Eight Inner Gates,
the battle might spill into Konoha.
Sarutobi Hiruzen examined the two men, whose hair was blown upward by their Chakra flames like Saiyans, and nodded in satisfaction.
Apart from Taijutsu, this was the only technique Sarutobi Hiruzen had implanted in their memories.
"With the Eight Inner Gates bolstering them, only Genjutsu on the level of Tsukuyomi..."
"Ordinary Genjutsu can't break through the chaotic Chakra currents inside Fujin and Raijin."
"Does this state wear you down?"
Fujin and Raijin answered, taking turns.
"My lord..."
"We get hungry faster than usual."
"But it's manageable..."
"We can keep it up indefinitely..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help laughing when he heard that.
Thanks to the Perfect Being's powerful vitality, they could keep the Eight Inner Gates open as a standard state. Their stamina now might even surpass that of the Raikage, who had trained to activate his body for years.
How could this war possibly be lost?
Their methods were too limited?
Did that mean charging around the battlefield like Gundams?
Of course, keeping the Eight Inner Gates open all the time wasn't practical, but the Perfect Weapons' absurd vitality would still be enough to wear down most Ninja.
"Besides, we can deal with the energy expenditure by carrying plenty of Military Ration Pills..."
"With these two gluttons' digestive abilities, they'll eat as many as they can get."
"Now this is what a Perfect Weapon should be!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought of another question and asked them,
"Can you still open more gates?"
Fujin and Raijin replied,
"We can open one more at most..."
"After that, we won't be able to open any more..."
"It's like something's missing..."
"We just can't open any of the remaining gates."
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned, a little disappointed, though he had expected as much.
Although the Eight Inner Gates was a Taijutsu technique, it was also a skill that required training of the mind, body, and technique.
If opening the Gate of Death were that easy, Konoha wouldn't have kept the technique locked away for so many years.
A force of assassins who could open the Gate of Death would be enough to dominate the Ninja World.
But Fujin and Raijin were mentally deficient, and their willpower and spirit were far inferior to an effort-driven genius like Might Guy.
Opening the gates beyond the sixth would probably require a more complete mind and stronger will.
Still, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't dwell on it.
Judging by Fujin and Raijin's current abilities, they were already more than enough to dominate a large-scale war.
On the battlefield, they'd be two walking humanoid Tailed Beasts, with even greater destructive power.
If the Rock Ninja had been surrounded by these two Perfect Weapons back then, it wouldn't have taken three days and three nights. They could've killed all ten thousand Ninja in a single day.
"Then... everything is ready."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression turned fierce.
"All that's missing is a great victory."
Somewhere in the Ninja World,
deep in a dark cave, a pair of cold, vertical pupils gleamed in the darkness, radiating a fearsome chill.
"Danzo... is dead?!"
Orochimaru murmured, his voice carrying a trace of disbelief.
As the Third Hokage's student, he had witnessed the two of them work together for many years. Though they sometimes clashed, they had certainly been Wolong and Fengchu.
The official story was that Danzo had attempted to assassinate the Third Hokage and had been killed on the spot.
Orochimaru believed the first part; it was certainly something Danzo would do.
But the second part didn't seem like something his teacher would do.
"Moreover..."
"Teacher Sarutobi is plotting to mobilize the army."
"To fight the Cloud Ninja?"
"Because the Cloud Ninja provoked them at the border?"
Orochimaru had spent many years building his influence in Konoha. Naturally, his grasp of the village surpassed even that of the other great Ninja villages.
The intelligence he received was more timely than even the Cloud Ninja's. But the more he read, the stranger his expression became.
Because all these actions, beginning with Danzo's death, were things the Third Hokage Orochimaru knew would never have done.
Orochimaru looked puzzled.
He was beginning to wonder if someone had replaced his Teacher Sarutobi. How had he changed so drastically?
"Could it be that the upheaval in Konoha came too fast and too thick?"
"Teacher Sarutobi's friends and family have been leaving one after another..."
"So it's gotten to him?!"
After turning it over in his mind, Orochimaru could only reach the same conclusion as Konoha's higher-ups.
When Orochimaru looked at the final piece of intelligence,
he saw that it said the Third Hokage had hired a sexy female secretary who dressed that way every day, and had handed all the Hokage's duties over to the Council of Elders.
"..."
"Maybe it really has gotten to Teacher Sarutobi..."
"To be living so wildly at his age..."
Orochimaru shook his head.
No matter how much the Third Hokage changed, the fact that Orochimaru had become a Konoha traitor couldn't be changed.
He was no longer one of Konoha's Sannin, and Konoha's affairs had nothing to do with him.
"Still..."
A greedy glint flashed in Orochimaru's vertical pupils.
"War."
"It's the perfect time to gather materials..."
With Orochimaru's strength, he wouldn't lack materials after leaving the restraints of a Ninja village. But Ninja specimens were of incomparable value for experiments beside ordinary people.
And as a traitor, Orochimaru couldn't exactly hunt Ninja from other villages too openly in ordinary times.
What's more, he knew that the clingy Jiraiya was watching him. If he made too big a move, Jiraiya would latch onto him.
Orochimaru didn't want to deal with that fool whose heart held only the Will of Fire.
Though he himself had once been the same.
"But now I've completely remade myself!"
Orochimaru's bright yellow eyes shimmered, nearly illuminating the cave.
"That technique... is already taking shape."
"I'll achieve Immortality!"
Orochimaru laughed coldly, his smile full of ambition.
"But before that..."
"I need to gather some materials."
A note to all readers: The previous title was a little too casual and not appealing enough, which made it harder to get promoted, so I've changed it!
Taking everyone's suggestions into account, I've changed it to:
Transmigration: The Third Hokage—You'll Regret Making Me Hokage!
Thanks for your support! Please keep reading!
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