Kage: You Call This Guy the Savior?!

So, the moment he found a hiding spot, he immediately summoned his Danzo clone and followed silently behind the main cast, waiting for Orochimaru to take the bait.

If I can't beat you with my main body, then I'll let Danzo have a go at you!

Having Danzo protect Naruto and Sasuke—such an absurd and bizarre scenario was actually playing out, and even Keiichi found it amusing.

After an unknown amount of time, Keiichi suddenly opened his eyes with a faint smile on his lips, but he quickly closed them again, focusing his full attention on the clone.

Before his eyes, a strange scene unfolded: even though Naruto had correctly recited the password, Sasuke had struck him hard across the face, leaving Sakura, who was standing nearby, completely stunned.

It turned out that this was a Rain Ninja disguised as Naruto, and thanks to Sasuke's superior combat prowess, he was taken down with ease.

Not long after, when the real Naruto returned from hunting, Sasuke asked him for the password again. This time, Naruto stammered and couldn't answer, yet he still received a "friendship punch" to the face from Sasuke.

"That makes no sense. How did you identify me?" The Grass Ninja looked at Sasuke with a playful expression, as if he didn't care at all that his ruse had been exposed.

"Hmph, I just felt like punching that idiot. Do I need a reason?" Sasuke replied.

"So that's how it is. How interesting." The Grass Ninja flicked his long, thin tongue, licking his lips as he became intrigued by Sasuke.

"Where is Naruto? Let him go!" Sakura, though terrified, mustered the courage to speak up.

"Hee hee, my treasure is playing with him right now, don't worry." The Grass Ninja looked in a certain direction, his pupils suddenly slitting, easily piercing through countless obstacles to see Naruto being swallowed by a giant snake.

Although he was also interested in the Jinchuriki, his goal for this trip was not him.

"Come, let us begin. Let's have a fight with everything we've got; you had better entertain me well." The Grass Ninja issued his declaration of war.

In an instant, Sakura and Sasuke were dealt heavy blows. In a two-on-one situation, they were completely unable to fight back!

I'm going to die!

The moment this thought crossed his mind, a Kunai had already pierced his brow, blood blurring his vision, and Sasuke felt absolute despair.

Sakura collapsed slowly beside him, the light fading from her eyes.

However, the next moment, he suddenly snapped back to reality, only to find himself completely unharmed; everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

Genjutsu?!

No, the Sharingan told him this wasn't just Genjutsu!

This was killing intent!

A powerful, intense killing intent he had never felt before!

With nothing but killing intent, he had been forced to hallucinate the scene of his own death at the hands of his opponent!

Who on earth is this guy? He's even more terrifying than Zabuza!

Danzo, lurking to the side, saw the two of them trembling from the killing intent but had no intention of intervening.

He was still observing Orochimaru's strength, preparing for his own move later.

Before that, the main cast would just have to suffer a little; after all, they were fated, and a few injuries wouldn't kill them.

Yes, Keiichi was absolutely certain that the person disguised as the Grass Ninja was Orochimaru. With killing intent this sharp, who else could it be but a Kage-level powerhouse?

Orochimaru walked slowly toward Sasuke, throwing Kunai from his hand as he moved with a leisurely, unhurried gait.

Sasuke could only rely on his Sharingan to dodge, yet even so, he was grazed by the blades several times.

The gap in their strength was painfully obvious.

"Is this the Sharingan? It's a bit disappointing, actually."

"Don't you dare insult the Uchiha Clan!" Despite being at a disadvantage, Sasuke refused to back down.

"What a pity. It seems this is just an unripe fruit that hasn't matured yet; I've come at the wrong time." Orochimaru spoke as if he weren't talking to Sasuke at all, but merely to himself, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

If it weren't for the fact that the time for his Living Corpse Reincarnation was approaching, he would have been willing to wait longer, until the day it matured.

"Take this!" Just as Sasuke was about to reach his limit, several Shuriken suddenly flew toward Orochimaru's back, forcing him to dodge.

Sasuke looked closely and saw Naruto, covered in snake blood, standing on a tree, striking a heroic pose and showing off.

That idiot!

Without a second thought, Sasuke accelerated with all his might, appearing in front of Naruto in an instant and shoving him away.

The next moment, a lethal Kunai pierced his chest, and blood gushed out, terrifying Naruto, who had narrowly escaped death.

"Sasuke!" Sakura's face turned deathly pale; she couldn't imagine a scene where Sasuke died right in front of her.

"Dying for a comrade—the bond between you is truly moving!" Despite his words, Orochimaru had no intention of stopping; he moved in a flash, lunging toward Naruto.

But the next moment, he stopped right in front of Naruto, the Kunai mere centimeters from his throat.

The one who stopped him was none other than Sasuke.

"Here, you win!" Sasuke held the Scroll of Heaven high, saying the words with deep reluctance.

Admitting defeat was more painful than death for him, yet at this moment, he had said it without a second thought.

Even he didn't know why.

Orochimaru began to laugh. So, even the arrogant Uchiha could bow their heads and admit defeat?

But they were still too green. Did they really think that by handing over the scroll, I would let them go?

Just as he extended his tongue, intending to snatch the scroll from Sasuke's hand, he suddenly seemed to sense danger and recoiled abruptly.

A hunched figure appeared in the clearing, slowly reaching out to pick up the scroll before tucking it into his robes.

"Well now, since when did you develop a hobby of bullying the younger generation?" The aged voice was raspy, yet carried an immense sense of authority.

"How is it you..."

"It has been many years, Orochimaru."

"Danzo!"

Orochimaru had envisioned many possibilities, but he had never expected to encounter Danzo under these circumstances. Could it be that he had known from the very beginning that he would infiltrate the second exam?

Even if Root was the most powerful intelligence agency on this continent, tracking his movements should have been far beyond their reach.

Despite the old man's decrepit appearance, even Orochimaru dared not act rashly.

Having dealt with Danzo for so many years, he believed he understood this old fox; he never walked into danger without absolute certainty. If he was here, he must have had the situation completely under control.

"Danzo, it has been a long time. You've grown so old. You're already one foot in the grave, so what is it you still want?"

"Shouldn't that be the question I ask you, Orochimaru?"

Taking advantage of their exchange, Naruto and his two companions carefully put distance between themselves and the pair, hoping to seize the opportunity to slip away.

Orochimaru saw through their intentions instantly. He moved in a flash, appearing before Naruto and attempting to bind him with his Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.

However, Danzo's speed was no less impressive. Before the snakes could touch Naruto, Danzo grabbed them, tearing them in two with a single, forceful motion.

Yet, the next moment, the snakes dissolved into mud. Orochimaru let out a faint, triumphant chuckle as his own body melted away as well.

Earth Clone!

A feint!

The thought had barely crossed his mind when a figure emerged from the tree trunk near Sasuke, lunging at him with incredible speed. His mouth hung wide open, revealing sharp, venomous fangs, as if to sink them into Sasuke's neck.

Indeed, Danzo's appearance had disrupted Orochimaru's layout. He had now abandoned all pretense of playing around, intent on completing his plan immediately.

Otherwise, once the Root ninja completed their encirclement, the difficulty would increase significantly.

However, the moment his fangs were about to make contact with Sasuke, he found his body completely immobilized, unable to move an inch.

Despite being only a hair's breadth away, he could not advance any further.

Turning his head, he saw that, at some point, the surrounding vines and branches had bound him tight, with even more snaking around him like pythons.

Damn it, Danzo actually mastered Wood Release?!

Seizing this chance, the trio of Naruto did not hesitate; they took off running, disappearing from sight within seconds.

With such a vast gap in strength, even someone as proud as Sasuke knew what had to be done.

Seeing this, Orochimaru glared viciously at Danzo, his eyes filled with barely concealed, murderous rage.

These branches could not hold him. With a wide opening of his mouth, he shed his skin like a serpent, slithering out of the trap.

But the timing had been lost; with Danzo here to obstruct him, catching up to Sasuke would be far too difficult.

"The Jinchuriki was never my target; my target is Sasuke. Why must you stop me!" Orochimaru stood up and demanded sharply.

He had banked on Danzo's mindset, which was why he had initially disguised his attack as targeting the Jinchuriki to deceive him. He never expected it to fail!

"That remnant is still of use to this old man."

"Oh? So your goal is his Sharingan?!"

"Heh, I have plenty of those things here. You underestimate me far too much."

As he spoke, Danzo unwound the bandages on his right arm, revealing a hideously deformed limb embedded with eleven Sharingan, a sight that chilled the blood.

Upon seeing this, Orochimaru first wore a look of astonishment, then began to laugh, his mouth stretching wide as if he had witnessed something incredibly amusing.

"What is so funny?" Danzo's expression darkened.

"You really did take my advice—using the Yin power of the Sharingan to balance the Yang power of Hashirama. No wonder you can control Hashirama's power, and no wonder the Uchiha Clan was wiped out. I guessed correctly; you were the one pulling the strings behind that incident!"

"Hmph, the Uchiha Clan deserved their fate. I did not do this merely to complete the Wood Release."

"Yes, yes, of course. Lord Danzo is entirely devoted to the village; how could you ever do something so self-destructive? Heh-heh-heh." Orochimaru's laughter was as grating as possible, his tone dripping with mockery.

Yet, Danzo remained unmoved by his taunts, his gaze sharp as he stated, "Orochimaru, regardless of your motives, get out of the Leaf Village immediately and return to your Sound Village. The Leaf is not a place for you to stir up trouble."

"Oh? You even know about my connection to the Sound Village? You old relics may be rotting away, but your sense of smell is truly sharp." Orochimaru remained unfazed by Danzo's threat.

"You refuse to leave? Then do not blame this old man for being ruthless!" With that, Danzo discarded his cane and began weaving hand seals.

Seeing this, Orochimaru charged toward Danzo at high speed, seemingly intent on interrupting him before he could complete his jutsu.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves!"

With only a simple set of seals, Danzo unleashed his signature technique. Blades of wind struck out like a torrential storm, forcing Orochimaru to retreat repeatedly.

"Simplified hand seals?" Orochimaru paused. Though these old men were past their prime, their experience in combat could crush anyone.

Judging by the power of these wind blades, there was practically no difference from a full set of seals.

In truth, Orochimaru had completely misunderstood the situation. Keiichi, who was controlling the Danzo clone from behind the scenes, didn't know any of Danzo's techniques at all. The system had simply provided a thoughtful "one-click service"—as long as he formed the specific hand seals, he could release the ninjutsu directly.

In the upper-left corner of his vision, there was even a "move list" hanging there, with a chakra gauge beside it that made the whole thing feel just like a fighting game.

With the first move concluded, Orochimaru showed no intention of retreating. He could be seen using the tree trunks in the cramped space to constantly change direction, attempting to confuse Danzo's judgment and seize the opportunity to land a fatal blow.

Orochimaru's figures filled the sky, dazzling to the eye.

At the same time, his voice echoed from all directions: "Danzo, we haven't settled our old scores yet. You dare to come here alone—are you truly not afraid that I might kill you?"

"Old scores? This old man helped you compete for the position of Hokage; it was you who were incompetent. Do you intend to pin that on me?"

"Heh, do you really take me for a fool? You wanting me to become Hokage was nothing more than wanting a puppet! The essence of that matter was mutual exploitation, each taking what we needed. That is not what I am talking about."

"Then what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I am talking about what happened ten years ago!"

Keiichi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. Ten years ago?

What happened ten years ago?

Hadn't Orochimaru already defected from the Leaf Village by then?

Oh, he remembered now; he must be referring to the time Hiruzen discovered his human experiments.

For Orochimaru to bring up this old debt with Danzo, could it be that...

"I was forced into that desperate measure, and had no other choice," 'Danzo' said cautiously, trying his best to avoid saying the wrong thing and arousing Orochimaru's suspicion.

"So it is true! It was you who reported me ten years ago, wasn't it?"

"And if it was?" 'Danzo' went with the flow and simply admitted it.

"It really was you!"

"Hmph, in that situation, if I hadn't reported you, the one forced to defect from the Leaf Village would have been me! Is it not normal to sacrifice a pawn to save the king?" Danzo said dismissively.