They Should Be Honored to Give Their Lives for Konoha

"Wait..."

Jiraiya was leading everyone out when he saw Sarutobi Hiruzen blocking their path. His expression immediately turned cold, and his voice fell silent.

At the same time, he stopped walking.

Tsunade stopped as well, staring warily at Sarutobi Hiruzen before them, her expression equally icy.

As for the people who had followed Zijiang Dun'er in escaping, the moment they saw Sarutobi Hiruzen, they shrank back behind the two of them in terror, afraid that he would truly kill them.

"Sarutobi Hiruzen!"

Tsunade frowned and stepped up beside Jiraiya, but her eyes never left Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Little Jiraiya... just charge through. Together, we can sweep him aside!" Sage Shima said slowly, her tone somewhat grave.

"He has a Forbidden Technique called the Reaper Death Seal... It can ignore everything and seal the soul," Jiraiya warned. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to clash head-on with Sarutobi Hiruzen.

After all,

If Sarutobi Hiruzen was pushed too far, he might very well take Jiraiya down with him.

And the current Sarutobi Hiruzen likely still had trump cards he had yet to reveal.

Sage Shima immediately fell silent. They might be able to escape, but if their souls were truly seized, wouldn't that be more loss than gain?

It was better to heed Little Jiraiya's words and remain cautious for now.

"Heh... you truly are my fine disciples. While I was busy holding the Chunin Exams, you took the chance to rescue these people!" Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped forward until he was less than ten meters away, his tone exceptionally grave. "You've been watching me all along, haven't you?"

"That's right... Ever since I returned to the village, I sensed that something was wrong. After discovering that people were disappearing, I started investigating you!" Tsunade looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen. "I never thought you