Torune Aburame asked the same question Danzo had.
Neither of them believed the Cao Ya in front of them was the former Cao Ya.
Someone must have replaced him!
Cao Ya could not be bothered to explain either, so he let the misunderstanding stand.
"Does it matter?" Cao Ya asked with a smile in return.
Right, it truly didn't matter. Danzo was dead, and Root was about to be truly disbanded... Where would their future... lead them?
For a moment, heavyweights of Root like Torune Aburame and Yamanaka Fū felt quite lost.
Return to the sunlight?
To be honest, having committed so many shady deeds while serving in Root and taking orders from Danzo, they had never even considered walking normally under the sun!
Cao Ya smiled: "I am Cao Ya. Danzo was killed by me, and from now on I am the boss of Root. Who has any objections? Who approves? Who opposes?"
The few of them exchanged a barely perceptible glance. In truth, they were not very willing to take orders from this "Cao Ya" who had killed Danzo.
Yet Cao Ya did not seem to give them a choice.
If they really voted in opposition, would they probably... follow right in Danzo's footsteps immediately?
The scene of Danzo's death was still vivid in their minds.
Cao Ya's strength was simply terrifying!
The commotion when Cao Ya obliterated Danzo had been massive. Anbu members could not come due to Orochia's Konoha Crush, but Root members were fine and had the time to come and investigate.
Only these few core figures of Root, who had not been placed under a confinement order by Danzo, had been able to make it over.
"What do you want to do? Become the Hokage?" Yamanaka Fū asked, cutting straight to the point.
He keenly sensed that after beating Danzo to death and gathering Root under his wing, Cao Ya harbored some special ambitions.
Torune Aburame and the others wore strange expressions. The Hokage-that was the position Danzo had striven for decades without ever managing to sit in.
Cao Ya chuckled softly: "The Hokage is for the strongest, isn't it?"
After a few seconds of silence, everyone nodded in unison.
Unlike the Anbu, the Jonin Commander, the Medical Department, and the like, Root had always believed in the survival of the fittest!
Moreover, Cao Ya believed that in a world possessing extraordinary power like Naruto, pursuing individual strength was quite enough.
Take Hashirama Senju, for instance. Were there things he could not accomplish?
As long as one could harden their heart!
Never mind whether anyone refused to submit; just flatten everything all the way through and be done with it.
Danzo was dead, the Third Hokage should have been taken care of by Orochimaru by now, Jiraiya had no heart for the Hokage, and Tsunade did not even want to return to the village before meeting Naruto.
At this time, it was a prime opportunity for Cao Ya to seize the position of Hokage!
However, he still had to make some major contributions!
"For instance... crushing Orochia!" Cao Ya looked toward Konoha, wearing a smile.
Then he issued orders to Torune Aburame, Yamanaka Fū, and the others, telling them to assemble the Root members and convey his instructions.
Over the coming period, he would visit the major ninja clans of Konoha one by one.
"Understood!" Torune Aburame, Yamanaka Fū, and the others acknowledged the order.
Right after that, they witnessed a sight that left them dumbfounded.
Cao Ya temporarily dismissed the effect of the golden avatar, stomped his foot, and actually flew directly up into the sky!
Cao Ya, he could actually fly?!
Their jaws dropped.
In the world of Naruto, apart from a few ninjas with special ninjutsu, the vast majority of ninjas were incapable of flight.
Yet Cao Ya appeared not to have used any ninjutsu at all.
Perhaps Cao Ya really can sit in the seat of the Hokage?
Abruptly, a thought surfaced in the minds of the few of them.
Descending from the sky and knocking down Orochimaru, this ought to be shocking enough... Heh, I am definitely going to be the Fifth Hokage of Konoha!
As Cao Ya flew, no one discovered him.
Konoha villagers hid under the protection of ninjas with plenty of experience, while Anbu members and ninjas from some ninja clans battled the invading foreign ninjas.
Everyone's focus remained on the original venue of the Chunin Ninja Exams.
The battle between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru!
As well as the Impure World Reincarnation of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage!
A duel between Hokage and Hokage!
To be honest,
Cao Ya was already quite surprised that Orochimaru could control the Impure World Reincarnation bodies of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage. The Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu was a technique created by the Second Hokage himself-did he not even know a reversal technique for it?
Furthermore, how could Orochimaru possibly control the First Hokage's terrifying power?
Fine, Orochimaru had improved the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, and since the First Hokage and the Second Hokage were bodies summoned by Impure World Reincarnation, they failed to regain their full strength in life and could not resist Orochimaru.
Yet, could the First Hokage, the Second Hokage, and Orochimaru combined still not finish off the Third Hokage?
Did Orochimaru even have to pay the price of losing both his arms?!
Orochimaru was a bit useless!
"My arms..." Orochimaru cried out in shock and anger. Launching the Konoha Crush this time, he himself did not know how many mixed emotions were driving him.
Disappointment in Konoha? Disappointment in the Third Hokage? Sending off the Third Hokage to his grave?
There were probably all of these!
However, one thing was absolutely clear: when sending his revered teacher to the grave, Orochimaru definitely did not want to pay with a pair of arms.
"Damn it, the operation is over, the barrier is no longer needed, let's head back," Orochimaru ordered, and the four Otogakure ninjas maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation released it.
The ground was shattered beyond recognition, and the corpse of the Third Hokage lay sprawled across the earth.
A Hokage who had died in battle!
It could hardly be considered a disgrace to the title of Hokage!
"Let's go," Orochimaru ordered. He still needed his subordinates' help; without his hands, his strength was drastically reduced, and relying solely on himself, it would be very difficult to escape Konoha.
"Don't even think about escaping!"
A group of Konoha Ninja blocked the path.
"Orochimaru!"
Suddenly, a voice came from the sky.
Everyone froze for a moment.
What was going on?
Someone was actually in the sky?!
Cao Ya lowered his head, fixing his gaze on Orochimaru. His expression was stern and murderous, and righteous words rang out from his mouth, "You attacked Konoha, killed the Third Hokage, and caused the deaths of ninjas and civilians. Orochimaru, your sins are grave! You must face judgment!"
"I, Konoha Jonin Udagawa Cao Ya, shall surely bring you to justice!"
Kakashi, Guy, Mitaraishi Anko, Kurenai Yuhi, Sarutobi Asuma, and other Konoha Jonin stood there dumbfounded one by one.
Did we see that right... Cao Ya, can he actually fly? How dare he declare war on Orochimaru?!
Boom!
Cao Ya did not wait for Orochimaru to reply or exchange any harsh words. After delivering his speech, his voice shook dozens of miles around, and every Konoha resident heard it.
"Cao Ya? Who is that? A Jonin of our Konoha?" All the Konoha residents looked at each other in dismay, and then grew excited.
Sure enough, Konoha would not fall!
Jiraiya, Hyuga Hiashi, Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, and other heavyweight figures of Konoha were also taken aback when they suddenly heard Cao Ya's declaration.
Has this Jonin named Cao Ya lost his mind, daring to make a move against Orochimaru!
And he wants to bring Orochimaru to justice?!
Sensing the gazes from all directions and having initially achieved his goal, Cao Ya wasted no words and struck directly.
Transforming into a small golden figure, he plummeted with a crash, smashing his fist toward Orochimaru.
"Damn it!" Orochimaru's face darkened. At this moment, without his arms, he was unable to weave hand seals, rendering many jutsu unusable. Facing a Jonin... no, this wasn't a Jonin!
This Udagawa Cao Ya was even stronger than Teacher Sarutobi just now!
Kage Level!!!
Danzo's Root member... how could this be... Orochimaru was filled with doubts.
When he launched the Konoha Crush this time, he and Danzo had an unspoken understanding.
Why would a Root member step forward?
Most importantly, why was this Udagawa Cao Ya so immensely formidable?!
Before you continue