Meeting the Teacher Openly

He used the last of his strength to fight Orochimaru.

"Clang, clang."

The sound of weapons clashing rang out.

But their goals were completely different.

Orochimaru wanted to win.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was willing to do whatever it took to take Orochimaru down with him.

At first, Sarutobi Hiruzen had thought the price would be paid by Konoha's civilians and ordinary shinobi.

But now he had no choice. The only price Konoha could pay this time was himself.

Sarutobi Hiruzen struck the hand holding Orochimaru's sword with his staff.

Orochimaru winced in pain and was forced to let go of his sword.

Sarutobi Hiruzen leaped onto a tree. The staff in his hand grew longer again, while Enma prepared to grab Orochimaru and deliver the final blow.

At this critical moment, Orochimaru instinctively made the best possible decision.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" Orochimaru reached out, and countless venomous snakes emerged from his arm and coiled around the staff in Sarutobi Hiruzen's hands.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen dropped the staff and used the Body Flicker Technique to grab Orochimaru by the shoulder.

"It's over."

The Death God began to act.

Orochimaru felt his soul being pulled away. Trembling, he could only control the Kusanagi Sword and thrust it toward Sarutobi Hiruzen's back.

Enma voluntarily released the transformation and caught the Kusanagi Sword at the last moment.

But the blade still pierced Sarutobi Hiruzen's body.

The grievous wound made Sarutobi Hiruzen spit out a mouthful of blood.

After part of his soul had been dragged out, Orochimaru finally saw the purple-faced, fanged Death God behind Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Even Orochimaru, who treated human life as worthless, couldn't stop fine beads of cold sweat from forming on his forehead at the sight of the Death God's true appearance.

His golden, serpentine pupils widened.

It was the instinctive fear humans felt toward unknown creatures.

And this creature had come to claim him.

Orochimaru, who had always been so sure of himself, spoke with a hint of horror. "You've got to be kidding me, you old geezer."

His face twisted into a grimace, nothing like the calm expression he'd worn moments ago.

As soon as he finished speaking, he used all his strength to control the Kusanagi Sword, trying to end Sarutobi Hiruzen's life.

The Third Hokage felt his chakra and stamina draining away and knew he no longer had the strength to kill Orochimaru outright.

Still, Sarutobi Hiruzen gritted his teeth and used the last of his chakra and strength.

Both men were at the end of their rope, holding on by sheer force of will.

Orochimaru gritted his teeth and said to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Just hurry up and die, old man."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at him and replied, "I already told you. If one of us dies, we both die."

Outside the barrier, everyone watched the bizarre scene, utterly confused.

Might Guy spoke up. "Why is Lord Hokage letting Orochimaru attack him instead of making him stop?"

Uchiha Yan pushed his Sharingan to its limit. He understood what Sarutobi Hiruzen was doing.

He had used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to take Orochimaru down with him. But due to his age and frailty, he had nearly exhausted his chakra and stamina.

So the two of them were locked in a stalemate.

Inside the barrier.

Orochimaru was still making one last desperate struggle.

The Kusanagi Sword had now pierced all the way through Sarutobi Hiruzen's back.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen continued to hold on through sheer, terrifying force of will.

The blood spilling from his mouth showed that he was at the end of his strength.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Orochimaru's contorted face, gritted his teeth, and said firmly, "Orochimaru, you've mastered countless ninjutsu. Since you've wasted them, I'll give you the punishment most fitting for you: I'll cripple both your hands and take away every ninjutsu you've mastered."

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out one final roar. The Death God behind him took the dagger from its mouth and raised it high before severing part of Orochimaru's soul.

Orochimaru could only let out a terrified wail. "Yamete! (Stop!)"

Sarutobi Hiruzen roared, "Seal!"

Unwilling to give in, Orochimaru used his last bit of strength to raise both hands.

A deep purple color slowly spread across them.

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at Orochimaru and declared, "Since you can no longer use your hands, you can't form Hand Seals. You'll never be able to perform ninjutsu again."

Orochimaru's hands fell limply to his sides. He was completely broken.

Staring at Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose life was slowly fading, he shouted, "You old geezer, give me back my hands!"

As he neared death, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled with relief.

"Orochimaru, I never thought you'd become this foolish. I couldn't take you with me, but we'll meet again in another world."

Orochimaru was completely broken and began babbling incoherently.

Sarutobi Hiruzen could no longer make out what Orochimaru was saying.

He slowly closed his eyes. In his final moments, he thought, At last, I can face my teacher with a clear conscience.

The shinobi surrounding the barrier watched, their faces filled with shock.

The Anbu member was trembling all over. Even through his mask, the anguish twisting his face was clear.

"The Third Hokage is dead!" His voice shook, and everyone present could hear the grief in it.

Kakashi's expression beneath his mask was complicated. He had watched the Third Hokage die at Orochimaru's hands.

He felt empty, as if he'd done something and yet nothing at all.

Kakashi looked at Uchiha Yan beside him, and a terrifying thought suddenly occurred to him.

It was as if an invisible hand had been controlling everything, directing events as they unfolded.

Orochimaru's hands hung limp at his sides.

Then several of his subordinates released the barrier and appeared beside him.

The Anbu member roared, "Capture Orochimaru and his subordinates! Don't let them escape! They're the ones responsible for hurting the Third Hokage!"

One of Orochimaru's subordinates immediately threw a smoke bomb. Once the thick white smoke cleared, Orochimaru and his men had vanished without a trace.

Only Uchiha Yan's eyes shone with excitement.

With the Third Hokage's death, no successor had been named.

The only person in the village with the standing to become Hokage was Jiraiya.

But Jiraiya himself had no interest in the Hokage Position. It would take plenty of time even to bring Tsunade back and ask her to take the position.

The power vacuum in Konoha was the perfect opportunity for him and the Uchiha Clan.

But what was done was done. They could start by making Orochimaru their first target.

The Anbu member stared in bewilderment as Orochimaru escaped, unsure what to do.

Uchiha Yan reacted quickly. "Everyone from the Konoha Military Police Force, split into teams of three and search for the S-rank rogue ninja Orochimaru!"

But he gave the Uchiha Clan members present a meaningful look, signaling that they only needed to go through the motions.

The Uchiha members quickly understood what Uchiha Yan meant.

They acknowledged the order at once. On the surface, they looked outraged, but in reality they only searched for Orochimaru along a few of Konoha's main roads.

As for the side streets and the outskirts of Konoha? Those were naturally the responsibility of the Anbu directly under Lord Hokage.