"Orochimaru! What the hell is going on?!"
The Third Hokage glared furiously at Orochimaru. "Didn't you say this was just an ordinary experiment?"
"Oh, I lied to you."
Orochimaru spoke in a hoarse voice, his tone so calm it was as if he had nothing to do with it.
"You!"
The Third Hokage was left speechless with fury.
The crowd erupted into an uproar.
"Look! Those people in the cultivation tanks..."
Just then, someone suddenly cried out, "Aren't those people the ones who went missing some time ago?!"
That simple sentence struck like a thunderbolt!
No one cared to investigate who had such sharp eyes. Everyone turned to look at the cultivation tanks.
Cries of shock rose one after another.
"It really is him! I know him! He's an orphan who usually picked up odd jobs on the streets. Then he suddenly vanished a month ago!"
"Yes! And that little girl over there, she's an orphan too. Her parents just died on the battlefield, and she disappeared only a few days later!"
"How could this be?! A Hokage's disciple used children who lost their parents for human experiments?!"
"..."
A tidal wave of fury surged forth, making the Third Hokage's head buzz.
"Orochimaru! Cough, cough..."
He began coughing violently, his body—rapidly aged over the past few years—shuddering as though seized by spasms.
All the clamor came to an abrupt halt.
They stared blankly at the Third Hokage, as if only now realizing that the former strongest in the ninja world had grown so old that he could no longer straighten his back.
Was it because of Sarutobi Shinsuke?
Or had he truly reached the end of his strength?
That invincible Third Hokage seemed to really... not be up to it anymore?
"You... you... you!"
The Third Hokage's trembling finger pointed