What the Hell Are You Laughing At?

Obito Uchiha slowly walked out of the Dragon Cave's mountain entrance, sunlight glinting off his dragon horns.

"Whew, after four years of training, it was time to see the results..."

Before coming out, Obito Uchiha had already gathered intelligence. The Hidden Cloud Village had now declared war on Konoha!

In the four years he had been gone, the Shinobi World had become a complete mess, with changes occurring everywhere.

Because the Third Raikage had not died, Konoha was under unprecedented pressure!

On top of that, Killer B had mastered his tailed beast and become a perfect jinchuriki. His cooperation with A had been unstoppable on the battlefield!

They were known as the AB Combo, and some even compared them to the Silver-Gold Brothers from decades ago.

Yugito Nii had also mastered the Two-Tails, and all three forces had moved out!

They formed a pincer-like encirclement against Konoha!

The Third Raikage led one shinobi force, the AB brothers led another, and Yugito Nii led a third with the Two-Tails.

With all three forces deployed, Konoha's situation was perilous.

Konoha had no choice but to transfer Jiraiya and Orochimaru to the Hidden Cloud battlefield.

But just as Hiruzen Sarutobi was preparing to deploy them, Orochimaru suddenly defected from Konoha!

Hiruzen Sarutobi had been utterly baffled. Later, an ANBU investigation revealed that Orochimaru had been secretly conducting human experiments, and Jiraiya had discovered them.

The two had fought fiercely. In the end, Orochimaru left Konoha, while Jiraiya went after him!

It turned out that ever since Jiraiya had learned the prophecy that "a snake will destroy the world," he had paid special attention to Orochimaru, hoping to find clues from him.

Jiraiya was an expert at gathering intelligence. If he wanted to investigate someone, it was relatively easy, especially when that person was his own comrade.

And he had actually found something. By sheer coincidence, Jiraiya uncovered news of Orochimaru's human experiments.

That convinced Jiraiya one hundred percent that Orochimaru was the person who would destroy the world in the future!

That was why the two had fought.

The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that his two disciples had fought, his head began to ache.

He knew something about Orochimaru's human experiments.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that where there was light, there was darkness. He believed Konoha might one day need such science, so he had tacitly allowed Orochimaru to conduct human experiments.

Officially, Hiruzen Sarutobi had only agreed to let Orochimaru use corpses from the battlefield. As for using living people... he had turned a blind eye.

After all, this was wartime, and he still needed Orochimaru. Orochimaru was also one of Konoha's top combat powers, so Hiruzen Sarutobi did not dare say much to him.

Orochimaru was different from other shinobi. He could not be constrained by morality, nor did he believe in the Will of Fire.

There was no use talking to Orochimaru about the Will of Fire.

So Hiruzen Sarutobi had adopted a somewhat permissive attitude toward him.

Who would have thought that his other disciple, Jiraiya, would directly start fighting Orochimaru...

Well, now neither of them knew where the other had gone, and Konoha's Three Sannin existed in name only!

Helpless, Hiruzen Sarutobi could only send Minato, Kakashi, and a group of Jonin to resist the Hidden Cloud Village.

To stabilize morale on the front lines, Konoha even spread word that the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would personally take the field against the Third Raikage!

"If that was the case, I might as well go straight to the front lines!"

Obito Uchiha formed hand seals, then vanished in an instant!

Konoha Administration Building

"Hiruzen! The Hidden Cloud front is in critical condition. Make a decision quickly! If nothing else works, you should go in person!"

Danzo Shimura spoke sternly to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe. At that moment, he seemed to have aged decades, and his already hunched body had grown even smaller.

"Ah..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a deep sigh.

At that moment, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane both looked toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"That's right, Hiruzen! You're the only one who can go now!"

"Hiruzen! For Konoha! For the Will of Fire! Please charge forward once more!"

The two stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi with blazing eyes, filled with hope.

His three old friends all looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed bitterly to himself. If he were still at his peak, he could still fight.

But now... he still had Kage-level strength, just not much of it.

Though the Third Raikage was the same age as him, the Third Raikage was strong and vigorous.

By the time he finished forming hand seals, the Third Raikage would probably have already flashed in front of him and sent him flying two miles away with an elbow.

If this were his final battle, Hiruzen Sarutobi would dare risk his life against the Third Raikage, leaving behind a good name for dying in battle for the village.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi still wanted to live, and he also wanted to maintain the army's morale.

It would be fine if he won, but if he lost, the Hidden Cloud Village would publicize it everywhere, claiming that they had shattered the undefeated myth of the Shinobi Hero.

And when Konoha saw that its strongest man, the Hokage, had been defeated, they would probably lose faith in him.

"Ah, you're all my old friends, so I won't hide it from you. Perhaps... I'm no longer capable..."

After saying that, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked like an eggplant struck by frost.

Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado looked at one another.

Then came the condemnation of all three at once!

"Hiruzen, this isn't like you. You used to be unyielding and never admit defeat. Why are you growing timid before even fighting?"

Koharu Utatane rebuked him sternly.

"Hmph, Monkey, the Hokage should bear the Hokage's responsibility. If you can't do it, I will!"

Danzo Shimura said bluntly.

"Hiruzen, how would you know your strength had weakened if you didn't try?"

Homura Mitokado said slowly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a bitter smile.

"Maybe it was from the morning I woke up and realized I was no longer standing tall..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said helplessly.

"Pfft!"

Upon hearing that, Koharu Utatane instantly lost it and burst out laughing.

Even Danzo Shimura, who had always been stern and unsmiling, could barely hold it together after hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words.

Homura Mitokado truly deserved to be called an old hand. Hearing something like that, her face did not even redden.

As the saying went, women were like fine wine—the older they grew, the richer their flavor.

"Hahaha... sob... hahaha..."

Koharu Utatane did not know whether he should laugh or cry.

The situation was critical, so he should not have been laughing, but whenever he thought of what Hiruzen Sarutobi had just said, Koharu Utatane could not stop himself from laughing again.

"What the hell are you laughing at?"

"We're the same age. Are you saying you wake up standing tall every day?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help saying as he watched Koharu Utatane.

"Sorry, Hiruzen, it's just fucking hilarious."

Koharu Utatane said with a laugh.

Danzo Shimura sat beside them, drinking tea with his eyes closed.

"Enough. The most urgent matter is facing the Hidden Cloud Village! Minato is too young, so he probably won't be enough! And we're too old. What should we do now?"

Danzo Shimura could not help asking.

"Perhaps we could send the Nine-Tails jinchuriki to provide support."

Homura Mitokado said calmly.

"No!"

Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected the suggestion in unison!

There were too many complications surrounding Kushina, and she had not mastered the Nine-Tails' power. Sending her out rashly would be sending her to her death.

After thinking for a long time, determination appeared in Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes!

"Now, we can only dispatch the newest generation of Jonin!"

"Send my sons, Shinnosuke Sarutobi and Asuma Sarutobi, to the Hidden Cloud battlefield as well! At the same time, deploy all of Ino-Shika-Cho!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi ultimately made this decision.