A Look Around the Pure Land

Deep underground in Orochimaru's base, in a spacious secret room, Kato Osamu and Orochimaru sat quietly on chairs, while Kabuto Yakushi stood silently beside Kato Osamu, his eyes flashing slightly.

"Orochimaru- sensei, we can begin..."

"Well, I'm really looking forward to it... meeting beings like the First and Second..." Orochimaru's face showed a hint of anticipation.

"Impure World Reincarnation!"

He slowly stood up. Several spies from some unknown ninja village, who were bound in front of him, were being used as sacrifices, and three more coffins rose from the ground.

The Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, improved by Kato Osamu and Orochimaru, begins to take effect from the moment the soul is summoned back to the Pure Land after the sacrifice, with the incantation strictly binding any movement of the Impure World Reincarnation body.

This eliminates the need to place control talismans and also serves as a patch for the possibility of escaping the control of the Impure World Reincarnation caster.

"Where... where am I...?"

"Minato Namikaze, it's been a long time..."

The first to regain consciousness was Minato Namikaze. The moment his consciousness returned, he felt his body was under some kind of control and he was completely unable to move. However, his gaze fell on the three people not far in front of him.

He seemed slightly lost in thought for a moment when he saw Kato Osamu...

"Huh, where is this?" A slightly naive and bewildered voice suddenly broke through Minato Namikaze's thoughts.

"It seems to be that technique..." Tobirama Senju glanced at his own body and immediately understood. After all, he was more familiar with the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, which he had spearheaded in developing, than the other two.

"Welcome everyone... to this era!"

Orochimaru smiled slightly as he quietly observed the three Hokage, each with a distinct Hokage.

"Ha, I see, Tobirama! It was that technique you developed, wasn't it! I told you long ago not to research that technique, but I never expected you to complete it after my death!"

"Big brother..." Tobirama Senju looked into Hashirama's eyes, a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

"First Hokage, Second... It seems we have been resurrected..." Minato Namikaze looked at Orochimaru and Kato Osamu, wanting to introduce their identities to the Senju brothers.

"Hmm? You're that one?" Hashirama was slightly taken aback, looking puzzled.

"It must be the Fourth Hokage..." Tobirama Senju was certain that he had appointed Hiruzen Sarutobi as the Third, and judging from Minato Namikaze's attire, he was undoubtedly the Fourth Hokage.

But why is the Fourth Hokage here...? Where is Hiruzen Sarutobi? Who is the current Hokage?

"Ah, Eternal Sister!" Hashirama felt a surge of warmth towards Minato Namikaze upon hearing the Fourth Hokage's address. "You died so young? By the way, who is the current Fifth Hokage?"

"Forehead..."

"No, perhaps the First Hokage made a mistake. There is no Fifth Hokage. The current Hokage is still the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi ..." Just as Minato Namikaze hesitated, Kato Osamu spoke slowly, drawing the attention of the three of them.

"Orochimaru- sensei, let them move around for now, but they can't refine Chakra or Hand Seals..."

"After all, even the strong should be given basic respect..."

Orochimaru chuckled softly, and with a slight movement of his hand, Hashirama two immediately felt their bodies lighten, and they were able to move freely again.

"It seems you've improved the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu..." Tobirama Senju understood that his Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu couldn't achieve this.

"By the way, who are you?" Hashirama Senju stretched his limbs. Although he felt that this body was too weak, he didn't care and punched Orochimaru and Kato Osamu.

"First Hokage, let me speak..." Minato Namikaze sighed softly, his gaze complex as he looked at Orochimaru and Kato Osamu. Both of them had been geniuses of Konoha; if they could stay in Konoha...

"Orochimaru, a disciple of the Third, was once a pillar of Konoha before defecting. Konoha Kato Osamu, Orochimaru's disciple, was a genius ninja who killed the Fourth Mizukage at a young age and was also one of my former subordinates..."

"And... he left Konoha..."

As soon as Minato Namikaze finished speaking, Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju looked on with confusion. According to their status, they were Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple and grand-disciple, so shouldn't they be true members of the Hokage? How could they have defected?

"You just said that the current Hokage is still that 'little monkey'? Then why did you, as the Fourth Hokage, die before the Third? And what exactly happened to them?"

Tobirama Senju slowly sized up Orochimaru and Kato Osamu, then quietly stared at Minato Namikaze. As intelligent as he was, he probably understood what was going on—it was nothing more than a power struggle...

When the First dominated the world, these underhanded struggles were not obvious, but after the First passed away, they gradually began to emerge, and signs of them had already appeared before his death.

However, in his still-residual memories, wasn't the Konoha clan's greatest enemy the Uchiha Clan? When did they start fighting amongst themselves?

"It's a long story..." Minato Namikaze, who roughly understood the cause and effect, was momentarily speechless.

Orochimaru may have had his own reasons. Whether it was Danzo's coercion or the Third Hokage's tacit approval, Orochimaru's pursuit of immortality outweighed all ethics and morality. His defection was understandable, and it is hard to say that Orochimaru was a victim.

But Kato Osamu...

The Second might be able to understand the rationale Danzo's existence, but the First Hokage would likely find these dark aspects unbearable...

"Alright, I called you out here not to chat idly..."

"I have some questions I'd like to ask the First and Second Hokage..." Kato Osamu's voice wasn't loud, but his gaze was cold as he looked at the First and Second, treating Eitai-chan as if she were a complete stranger...

"Secrets concerning the Senju Clan, Uchiha Clan, Hyuga Clan, and Uzumaki Clan..."

"Is it possible that these four tribes were once one tribe... or that they shared a common ancestor...?"

"Hmm?" *3

Listening quietly to Kato Osamu's voice, all three looked on in disbelief, seemingly unable to understand why anyone would ask such a question...

"I expected this... but I'm still a little disappointed..." Looking at the expressions of the three, a hint of disappointment flashed in Kato Osamu's eyes, but then he thought that this involved things that happened many years ago, and it was understandable that they knew nothing about them.

"Then... this era no longer needs you..." Kato Osamu said, lightly pressing one hand into the air, and a jet-black longsword appeared in front of him. He gestured slightly to Orochimaru, and the three Hashirama them stopped moving, staring blankly at Kato Osamu.

"To prevent certain possibilities, your souls cannot return to this Pure Land..." As he spoke, Kato Osamu's long sword sliced across Minato Namikaze's neck. Minato Namikaze's eyes widened as he stared at Kato Osamu in disbelief.

In the blink of an eye, Minato Namikaze's entire body turned to dust, and a dark blue ball of light emerged from his body before being completely absorbed by the longsword.

"What... kind of ninjutsu... secret technique...?" Tobirama Senju 'Tobirama Senju pupils constricted sharply, completely bewildered by Kato Osamu's actions. He could only vaguely guess that Kato Osamu had absorbed Minato Namikaze's soul through this long sword...

But... the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, that near-immortal body, was broken so easily?

Ignoring Tobirama Senju's gaze, a flash of light appeared, and the souls of the Senju brothers were stored in his soul space.

The entire basement was completely silent; not a single sound could be heard at this moment.

"Xu-jun's Soul Secret Technique are becoming increasingly terrifying..."

Even Orochimaru was slightly taken aback by this situation...

"Let's move on to the next experiment..."

With a slight smile and no explanation, Kato Osamu sat back down in his chair, Kabuto Yakushi's gaze was intense, his eyes filled with excitement.

"Let's go to the Pure Land and take a look..."