"Alas... these days have finally come to an end..."
After signing the last document of the day, Third Hokage stretched his old waist. He is not old enough to throw the person on the earth who is already approaching retirement...
Fortunately, these days should be over soon for him. After the new Fourth Hokage is elected, he can retire happily and no longer have to deal with such drudgery.
A village of shadows may look nice, but the Ninja Village is not a centralized system. The hard work required of a village of shadows far exceeds what he can get. If anyone thinks that being a shadow is a good job that only needs to enjoy rights, then as long as he is replaced, there is no guarantee that he will want to run away.
It's a pity that if he is still Hokage, even if he really retires, what happens next will cause him to have several myocardial infarction attempts...
"Lord Hokage!"
The door was suddenly pushed open, and a Konoha Ninja rushed in, with a look of panic on his face.
"Something big happened!"
"Huh!?"
The third generation is very familiar with this ninja. He is one of the Anbu members directly under him. It is not that he has never seen big scenes, but now he is so panicked...
A very bad premonition came to his mind.
"Slowly and clearly!"
As he spoke, he secretly prayed that during this critical period, no big trouble would be caused to him...
But if prayer was useful, people all over the world would have worshiped the great god collectively.
"Yes...Lord Orochimaru! Our people have just discovered that all the people in his mansion have disappeared. Those who went to search found his disciple Anko. It seems that he was subjected to some experiment, and his life is hanging by a thread now!"
"What!?"
The third generation stood up from his seat with a "hoo" sound.
"What about the others!?"
"They left the village! Barrier Team just confirmed that a considerable number of people passed the barrier and left the village! And..."
"And what!?"
Sandai really wished he could faint at this moment...
"Anko went out to a location where, according to her, she was injected with a substance before being brought back to the mansion."
"Damn it! How could this happen!?"
Sandai only felt that his eyesight went dark. This "sap" blow almost choked him to death. The matter was really serious. Orochimaru... He actually wanted to...
His body swayed, and his feet suddenly became weak, but only for a moment. The sense of responsibility of being Hokage for decades had pulled him back from the emotional chaos. He held on to the corner of the table and looked at his subordinates with a serious expression.
"Notify Jiraiya and Minato immediately and ask them to come see me! And... don't make any noise about this matter!"
He couldn't call others. It was his own who discovered the situation first. This was his luck. Otherwise, the matter would only be bigger. He only hoped that Jiraiya and Minato, the two masters and disciples, could handle this matter well...
He is not in a hurry to find Orochimaru. As Orochimaru's teacher, he knows very well what Orochimaru will do next, even if this is not what he wants to see.
"Yes!"
This ninja also knew that the matter was of great importance. In fact, before he came here, he had already asked others to keep the secret closely. He turned away almost as soon as he responded. In the current situation, every second counts.
Soon, for the first time in Sandai's life, when he was almost impatient and about to lose his mind, Jiraiya and Minato arrived.
"Old man! Orochimaru, he really wants to..."
Jiraiya almost shouted loudly as soon as he entered the door. Minato, who knew his teacher's temper, closed the door as soon as he entered.
Hokage The office is a place with good sound insulation, so you are not afraid of being heard by people passing by.
"It's true..."
The third generation looked at Jiraiya with a complicated expression. From tonight onwards, Jiraiya will be his only remaining disciple...
"Sandaime-sama, what should we do?"
Minato looked solemn. The departure of Tsunade had already made the pillar of Konoha, "Sannin", crumbling. The departure of Orochimaru was the last kick to kick this pillar off. This was far more serious than the suicide of White Fang!
When White Fang died, Konoha still had Sannin to support him, but now Konoha, once he loses Sannin, there will be no one to replace him...
He has never thought about his current position in Konoha...
"I'm going somewhere!"
Sandai frowned in pain,
"It's fine if I can keep him, but if I can't, Jiraiya, I'm afraid I'll have to take action from you."
"..."
Jiraiya was suddenly speechless. He looked at his teacher, because he knew that the third generation had always had high hopes for Orochimaru.
Saying this sentence does not mean giving up the relationship between master and disciple, but also negates the past efforts of three generations...
"Old man, you..."
At this moment, he really didn't know anything.
The only thing he wants to do now is to find Orochimaru and ask him: What happened to you!?
"Sir, Mr. Jiraiya, why don't you just let me go!"
Minato, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke out,
"Senior Orochimaru is your disciple and companion. In comparison, I can feel more relaxed."
"No!"
This time, the third generation and Jiraiya spoke out almost at the same time,
"No, you absolutely can't fight him!"
Probably because they felt they had a tacit understanding, they looked at each other, and finally it was the third generation who explained to Minato,
"You and Orochimaru are both candidates for Fourth Hokage, so you absolutely cannot fight him at this time!"
"Yes, just leave the Orochimaru matter to us. You have more important things now!"
Jiraiya nodded aside,
"You have to go Land of Waterfalls right away!"
"Takigakure...Shinobi World Conference!?"
The fourth generation immediately understood what his teacher meant.
"Should we stop playing and return to the village immediately?"
"No."
Sandai shook his head,
"This is not necessary, but you need to protect them."
He has never been so worried in his life, and his brows are almost knotted...
"It won't take long for all Shinobi World to know about Orochimaru. Those children who went to the Shinobi World conference are the leaders of our new generation. Once the news about Orochimaru is conveyed, there is no guarantee that someone will have thoughts that they shouldn't. At that time, you will need to take action!"
"Not bad, especially the two children Qi and Kakashi!"
Jiraiya also added,
"You have taken them with you. I believe you know how important they are without me."
"I understand..."
Minato took a deep breath, his eyes flashed coldly,
"Unless I die, no one can take advantage of those children!"