That sword strike missed by three inches

This way.

"Hehe..." Orochimaru chuckled softly.

Can you feel it?

He raised his eyes, looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi opposite him, and spoke in a flat tone.

The sheer pleasure and joy of personally hurting someone you once called your teacher.

"Just so you can taste this flavor too."

"That's why I specially prepared this generous gift."

"Just bear with it."

The moment the words left his mouth, Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju's expressions changed.

The gentle warmth he had shown during their earlier reminiscing had completely vanished.

The two rushed straight towards the Third Hokage.

Gorō Satoru rested his chin on his hand, watching these people fight and enjoying themselves, completely ignoring Orochimaru's ignoring of him.

It's just that they didn't take him seriously.

I reckon his plan is to deal with Third Hokage first, and then settle things with himself later.

After all, the area was surrounded by a barrier, so ordinary people couldn't escape even if they wanted to.

We can deal with him later.

After pondering for a moment, Gorō Satoru came to this conclusion.

That said, Orochimaru is truly evil to the core.

Sending Hiruzen Sarutobi's teacher to fight Hiruzen Sarutobi —only he could come up with such a despicable trick.

And yet he keeps taking on apprentices one after another. Isn't he afraid that one day these younger generations will ride roughshod over him?

Gorō Satoru shook his head, his understanding of Orochimaru's despicable nature rising to a new level.

Meanwhile, the battle between the Hokage had not yet ended.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" Hiruzen Sarutobi flipped his hand seals and unleashed Fire Release.

The large ball of flames instantly swept towards the First and Second Hokage.

In the blink of an eye, flames and thick smoke completely enveloped the two Hokage.

Seeing this scene, Hiruzen Sarutobi dared not relax his efforts in the slightest.

For injuries of this severity, there's usually nothing that can be done to them.

Sure enough, there was movement soon inside the Kakkō.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall." The Second Hokage uttered the phrase indifferently.

He twisted his fingers into a knot, Water Release technique was unleashed.

The sudden surge of water completely drenched Hiruzen Sarutobi's Fire Release.

The Anbu Ninja standing nearby were completely dumbfounded.

"How is that possible?"

"How can someone use such a powerful Water Release Ninjutsu when there's no water at all?"

"I can't believe it!"

Orochimaru, standing nearby, also showed a hint of interest.

"As expected of the previous Hokage." He lowered his voice.

Gorō Satoru didn't react much; his Azure eyes remained calm.

These two were ruthless characters who had fought their way up on the battlefield back in the day; this kind of Ninjutsu was nothing more than commonplace for them.

But then I thought about it again and realized something was wrong.

Given their skill level, they shouldn't have only produced this much.

Was it that Orochimaru didn't execute his Cursed Technique correctly, or that he used the wrong sacrifice?

Looking at the two ninjas whose strength had been greatly reduced, Gorō Satoru's mind raced with ideas.

Over here, the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju his hands together and unleashed another jutsu.

" Water Release · Water Shockwave."

The huge wave Hiruzen Sarutobi down on Hiruzen Sarutobi with a heavy, muffled sound.

Without the slightest hesitation, Hiruzen Sarutobi on the opposite side immediately followed up with his Earth Release technique.

The thick, raised rock walls blocked the water halfway through.

The water, however, did not recede; it bypassed the rock walls and spread in all directions, quickly submerging the entire examination area and completely altering the terrain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was pinned down in the mud, struggling to fend off the combined attacks of the two Hokage.

The First Hokage Hashirama Senju hand Hand Seals and unleashed a Wood Release technique.

"Deep Forest Emergence!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than countless trees sprouted from the ground.

These trees seemed to have been suddenly pulled from the ground, and in the blink of an eye, they grew into a dense forest.

Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could even move, his hands and feet were bound by these suddenly appearing branches, and his body was firmly pinned down.

On the other side of the barrier, the Sound Four were maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation also witnessed this scene.

The Chakra became nutrients for the growth of the forest.

"That's really impressive."

"Is this the legendary Wood Release used by Hashirama Senju, who quelled the chaos and single-handedly built Konoha?"

"That's terrifying."

The group exchanged glances, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes.

Orochimaru walked forward at a leisurely pace.

"Finally caught you, teacher." He looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was now unable to move, and said slowly.

From the moment he unleashed the forbidden technique of Impure World Reincarnation, the rest of the story was already written out.

Outside the barrier, the Anbu ninjas watched this scene with bated breath.

"What do we do now?"

"Is the Lord Hokage going to lose?"

"Is this Four Violet Flames Formation truly unbreakable?"

No wonder the Impure World Reincarnation is listed as a forbidden jutsu.

The Anbu Ninja didn't dare to look away for a moment, their eyes fixed on the movement inside the barrier. They were all fully prepared, waiting for the barrier to break so they could rush in and fight.

At this moment, everyone's eyes, whether from the Sound Ninja or the Konoha, were focused on Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi.

No one knows what will happen to this former master and disciple.

Gorō Satoru's gaze also fell on Orochimaru was not far away.

Then Orochimaru slowly opened his mouth, and the head of a Great Snake emerged from his throat.

The snake opened its mouth and spat out a sword that gleamed with a cold light.

"This is..." The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, spoke with little variation in tone.

"Kusanagi Sword".

Orochimaru didn't reply, but simply picked up the sword and turned his gaze to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"That's why I said, teacher, you should decide on a successor sooner rather than later." His voice carried a hint of malice.

The implication is that Konoha will soon experience what it's like to be without Hokage.

He slowly raised the Kusanagi Sword above his head, the cold light emanating from its blade momentarily dazzling everyone's eyes.

This is getting a bit tricky.

This old man can't die yet.

He shouldn't just give up so easily before the answer to that matter comes out of his mouth.

Gorō Satoru rested his chin on his hand, seriously calculating in his mind.

Those Azure eyes remained unmoved.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" A few crisp sounds suddenly exploded.

Several Shuriken were aimed at extremely tricky angles, directly targeting the tree branches that were entangled with the Third Hokage.

The tree branch snapped cleanly in response, and the Third Hokage reacted quickly, shrinking back from the encirclement.

Who did it?

Everyone's eyes immediately turned to the direction from which the Shuriken had just flown.

That white-haired ninja?

No one expected him to make his move at this moment.

Orochimaru was quite surprised.

"I've always thought of you as a sensible person," he said, a hint of regret in his voice.

"If the prey accepts its fate, it might even gain a tiny bit of sympathy from the predator."

"But if you insist on jumping out and causing trouble yourself, that's not a smart thing to do."

He thought the boy understood this basic principle.

She still had some interest in him at the moment and didn't want to break off relations and take action so soon.

But if he insists on getting in the way of the plan, then he'll be really annoying.

For a fleeting moment, a dangerous glint flashed in Orochimaru's pupils.

Of course, he wasn't really planning to kill him yet.

Ultimately, this white-haired ninja brought him quite a few unexpected surprises.

The Third Hokage, having withdrawn from the encirclement, also began to have some doubts.

He couldn't understand why the boy would step forward at a time like this.

He wasn't from Konoha at all, yet he seemed to harbor an inexplicable malice towards me.

Who would have thought that they would suddenly reach out at this moment?

"Making a move at this time is not a good idea," Hiruzen Sarutobi said slowly.

"Oh?" Gorō Satoru blinked, resting his chin on his hand.

"Really?"

Whether things are good or bad is never determined by others for me.

A bright smile curved his lips.

Every ninja present was a legend whose name was etched in the Shinobi World, yet he stood in the middle without appearing out of place, showing no sign of fear whatsoever.

He still had that lazy, listless, and bored attitude, as if nothing could sway his mind.

At this moment, Gorō Satoru calmly looked at the people opposite him.

Expecting predators to have a change of heart?

You can just listen to that kind of nonsense to fool children and forget about it.

Do you really think he's as easy to fool as Sasuke? Believing everything you're given?

Gorō Satoru puffed out his chest smugly, his heart filled with pride.

"That's something only a young person would say," Hiruzen Sarutobi remarked.

He was once just as arrogant, believing there was nothing in this world he couldn't accomplish, and that he could decide his own path.

But in the end, reality never lets those young people who dream off the hook.

Orochimaru wasn't wrong; he shouldn't have stepped forward.

Although we don't know what he was after, this move was undoubtedly a mistake.