Orochimaru's Defeat and Retreat

"Cough, cough, cough..."

"Lord Hokage, are you all right?"

At the edge of the rooftop, two Anbu hurried forward to support the weakened Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Gather all Chunin and higher-ranked ninja in the village. Launch a counterattack against Sunagakure and Orochimaru!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said between heavy breaths.

"Yes!"

"Have you found Jiraiya?"

"Lord Jiraiya is on his way."

Konoha was currently desperately short on top-tier combat power. Two of the Three Sannin had long remained outside the village. If Hiruzen Sarutobi had not summoned Jiraiya back beforehand, they likely could not even have gathered two Kage Level fighters.

Kakashi and Guy were being held back by Baki, a Sunagakure jonin, and Kabuto.

According to the two Anbu, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto had also gone berserk and seemed to be battling Sunagakure's jinchuriki.

Konoha's current situation left Hiruzen Sarutobi utterly overwhelmed.

"Danzo, where are you at a time like this?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered through gritted teeth, no longer sparing thought for his old friend who was surely waiting for his death.

"Teacher's strength is still as powerful as it was in life. Now that he has even undone the Impure World Reincarnation, doesn't that mean he can remain in this world forever?"

For some reason, that thought suddenly surfaced in Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind.

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Amid the ruins, the Sound Four dug Orochimaru out from beneath a pile of roof tiles.

Orochimaru was in a terrible state.

Having taken Tobirama Senju's S-rank Water Release ninjutsu head-on, even his modified soft body could not endure it.

"Retreat... retreat," Orochimaru forced out.

The four immediately moved to carry Orochimaru away.

"Oh? Junior, after reducing Konoha to this state, do you still think you can leave unscathed?"

A cold voice brought the five fleeing figures to a halt.

In that brief span of time, Tobirama Senju had already dealt with his mindless elder brother and sealed him away.

Blue chakra surged from his body. The immense chakra was nearly tangible, and even the ground cracked beneath its pressure.

For the first time, panic appeared in Orochimaru's ever-calm eyes.

"This... this is impossible! The Second Hokage actually recovered his strength while in the Impure World Reincarnation state? That makes no sense! How could a dead man become stronger?"

Orochimaru's heart trembled.

Beside him, the Sound Four were already trembling from head to toe at the eruption of that immense chakra.

The world knew of his elder brother's title as the God of Shinobi, yet they had forgotten that Hashirama Senju's younger brother had likewise been hailed as a grandmaster of the ninja world.

Now, Orochimaru understood.

Though he did not know how such a powerful Second Hokage had died in the first place, he knew that he was no match for Tobirama Senju now that he had recovered his strength.

Orochimaru's expression shifted, and a thought arose in his mind:

With a grandmaster of the ninja world revived, how would the other great nations and Akatsuki react?

After several thoughts flashed through his mind, Orochimaru took a deep breath and said calmly:

"Lord Second Hokage, I did indeed underestimate you."

Orochimaru already regretted reincarnating Tobirama Senju in the first place. He had never expected a dead man to break free of his control, disrupt his plans, and even beat him into a cripple.

"I wonder what Teacher Hiruzen will think of a Second Hokage who can remain in the world forever? Hehehe... how interesting."

After laughing a few times, Orochimaru threw down a smoke bomb.

When the smoke cleared, the five were nowhere to be seen.

Tobirama Senju did not pursue them.

He had already placed a Flying Thunder God mark on Orochimaru. If he wished, he could even kill Orochimaru right now.

But that would bring him no benefit. There were only a handful of people in the ninja world who pursued science. If he captured Orochimaru alive in the future, Orochimaru could prove very useful.

Name: Tobirama Senju

Strength: Weak Super Kage Level (not overall)

Status: Impure World Reincarnation

Mission:

Destroy the Konoha Crush Plan, turn the situation around, and eliminate all Sound ninja and Sand ninja within Konoha.

Reward: Restore all strength.

Tobirama Senju glanced at the panel and smiled faintly.

The mission to destroy the Konoha Crush Plan was simple. He did not even need to personally intervene. After all, in the original story, even after the Third Hokage's death, Konoha's ninja had already organized a counterattack on their own.

Now, with Tobirama Senju added to the equation and the Third Hokage still alive, completing the mission would take only moments.

"Are you... Lord Second Hokage?"

Just as Tobirama was checking the system, a voice called out from behind him.