Kusanagi Sword

Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the long-unvisited Hokage's office.

After being away for only a few days, even the Hokage Office Building's style had changed. The old stale atmosphere was gone, replaced by something cleaner and more efficient.

He headed straight for Orochimaru's office. The people of the village might no longer recognize Hiruzen Sarutobi as he was now, but the ANBU still recognized the Third Hokage.

They nodded at the Third and did not stop him. After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage.

After knocking once, Hiruzen Sarutobi entered the office directly.

The Legendary Sannin and Shikaku Nara were all there. The four of them were discussing the village's affairs.

Konoha urgently needed time to recover and allow a new generation of shinobi to grow.

This was the common choice of every shinobi village. After successive wars, the major shinobi villages had lost far too many shinobi.

Training new shinobi was an urgent matter. Shinobi had to graduate successfully every year; only with a constant influx of fresh blood could a shinobi village develop properly.

After all, even without war, shinobi had a high mortality rate.

Shinobi primarily carried out assassination missions, while also taking on guard duties. During missions, clashes with shinobi from other villages were unavoidable.

Orochimaru had noticed this problem long ago. As one of the Hokage's few scientists, his desire for research was boundless.

What they were discussing this time was how to change Konoha's current situation of having to rely on the Land of Fire to survive. Konoha needed to become self-sufficient and gain more authority and influence.

Otherwise, shinobi would forever remain tools, and pain and tragedy would never cease...

"Orochimaru, do you still have that Kusanagi Sword?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi got straight to the point and directly asked his beloved disciple for the Kusanagi Sword.

Without Immortal Iron Divine Ore, he could only make do by gathering more good materials.

Orochimaru froze for a moment. He had indeed been secretly collecting Kusanagi Swords, but he had never managed to find them all.

At present, he only had one Kusanagi Sword. He had found it in the ruins of the Eight-Headed Serpent within Ryuchi Cave. How did Hiruzen Sarutobi know?

"Yes, but I only have one. I haven't found the rest yet."

In the world of the Hokage, there was more than one Kusanagi Sword. The one in Orochimaru's possession could extend and retract after being infused with chakra, and it was incomparably sharp.

Even the Monkey Demon, who boasted an indestructible body, could be harmed by the Kusanagi Sword.

Another Kusanagi Sword was with Itachi Uchiha. However, Itachi had not yet awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, and without Susanoo, he could not use it.

In myth and legend, the Kusanagi Sword was the Ame-no-Murakumo Sword, the sword within the Eight-Headed Serpent. Since Orochimaru could transform into the Eight-Headed Serpent through a secret technique, it was only natural for him to possess a Kusanagi Sword.

"I plan to leave Konoha for a while. You know I no longer have chakra, so how about giving me the Kusanagi Sword for protection?"

Orochimaru was his disciple, and this Kusanagi Sword was not that important to him. Asking for it was no great matter.

Once he achieved the Dao in the future, helping Orochimaru would be no problem. After all, they shared the bond of master and disciple. However, Orochimaru was not suited for the Yin-Yang Body Tempering Art, and he had no other cultivation techniques at hand, so he could only wait.

Orochimaru thought for a moment, then nodded.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had changed greatly lately. He truly seemed to be growing younger with age, and those muscles looked genuinely difficult to deal with.

However, although Hiruzen Sarutobi was still the Hokage, the Legendary Sannin now made Konoha's decisions. His departure would not have much impact.

The Elders' Council and Root had both been eliminated. Perhaps only Konoha during the First Hokage's era could compare to how it was now.

Tsunade still held considerable resentment toward Hiruzen Sarutobi, believing that he had done all of this far too late.

If he had done this when Minato Namikaze was still alive, things would never have turned out this way!

"Old man, what exactly are you trying to do?"

After saying that, she stood and walked up to Hiruzen Sarutobi, staring straight at him.

She had originally intended to question the old man and find out what he was planning.

But when she came close to Hiruzen Sarutobi, the masculine scent that washed over her made Tsunade's face inexplicably flush.

"I plan to go out and have a look. I've spent most of my life in Konoha. If I don't go see the world now, I'll grow too old to walk."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Tsunade. His disciple was the famous voluptuous battle chariot, and seeing her in person, the reputation was well deserved.

He truly owed the Senju Clan too much. Having taken over the previous owner's body, he naturally had to bear the previous owner's karma as well.

"I say, Sensei, aren't you a little too idle now? You even look younger than me!"

Jiraiya looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and could not help complaining.

He had learned his habit of peeping into women's bathhouses and traveling around for inspiration from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He had clearly been a lecherous old creep, so how had he become so handsome? Jiraiya found it hard to accept, and his words dripped with jealousy.

"I only look younger, that's all."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had his own secrets, and he could not tell his three disciples for now. At the very least, he would wait until after Core Formation before telling them.

After all, the Sage of Six Paths was not dead. He was still observing the Shinobi World in the form of a consciousness entity.

He claimed it was to prevent Kaguya Otsutsuki's resurrection, but who knew what secrets lay behind it?

Orochimaru's movement broke the awkward silence. He opened his mouth wide and pulled the Kusanagi Sword out of his throat.

"Here."

The Kusanagi Sword was indeed sharp. It would have been even better if it were not covered in so much unidentified mucus.

Even after being Orochimaru's teammates for so many years, Tsunade and Jiraiya still could not quite accept this behavior of his.

"So disgusting!"

"Orochimaru, can't you change that habit?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not care. He took the sword directly and swung it once.

It truly was a fine sword. Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword was shaped like a Chinese longsword and felt very natural to wield.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had originally intended to refine a flying sword as his natal magic treasure.

"Then I'll take it. I'll be leaving Konoha in a few days, so just don't let Konoha get destroyed."

As Hiruzen Sarutobi left, Tsunade remained lost in thought for a long while.

Her teacher had changed far too much. He was practically a different person from before.

"I say, Tsunade, Sensei's body is indeed pretty good now, but you're master and disciple! If you're really lonely, consider me. I can reluctantly help you ease that loneliness!"

Jiraiya's nature was impossible to change. Just as he began drooling, Tsunade's Monster Strength Fist arrived, blasting Jiraiya out through the window in a single punch.

"What a punchable fool! Have someone send him to the Medical Division. I'll heal him, then punch him again!"

With that, Tsunade turned and left. Yet no one noticed that her face was still faintly flushed.

Tsunade's words made even Orochimaru break out in a cold sweat. Before Tsunade, even dying was not so easy.

Jiraiya had truly brought this upon himself.