Ch 424: Hiruzen’s Guilt

Yuta, roused by Kakashi, approached, gazing at Mizuki with the curiosity of a child.

Mizuki turned his head, his face bearing an expression of utter misery.

Attempt after attempt, failure after failure, and then the ridicule—he had become somewhat numb to it all.

And each time, it was that brat, Yuta…

“I thought Red Bean Sensei had killed you, hehe.”

Yes, annoying brat.

Wait.

Mizuki suddenly grew suspicious.

Why was it always Yuta?

It was as if… as if… as if he were under Yuta’s control, like a marionette, acting out a humorous play. When the play ended and his purpose was served, it was time for him to exit the stage.

No, impossible.

Mizuki dismissed this fanciful notion from his mind.

Yuta was just a foolish child, unable to even actively use his own abilities. How could he possibly influence him? It was clearly his own greed that was consuming him step by step.

Mizuki couldn’t believe that Yuta had planted a psychological suggestion on him back when he was pursuing Old Purple, nor could he even conceive of such a possibility.

“Fourth Hokage-sama, it’s done.”

Kakashi returned, and all the unconscious ninjas had been awakened.

“Good. Then I leave Mizuki to you. Take him to see the person he wants to see, and then…”

“Watch out!”

Without warning, a dark void appeared beside Mizuki.

Minato, possessing the strongest spatial sensing ability, reacted instantly and issued a warning.

At the same time, he dashed towards the void.

It must be that person! That space-time ninjutsu—it’s definitely the one who almost killed Kushina back then!

But Minato was a half-beat too slow.

The void, like a whirlpool, appeared, pulling Mizuki inside, then vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving Minato grasping at air.

Everyone present frowned.

Kakashi unconsciously covered his Sharingan, hidden beneath his forehead protector.

Is it really you… Obito…

Just now, his Sharingan felt a tremor.

But Orochimaru seemed unsurprised, merely smiling with narrowed eyes.

Swish—

Itachi appeared.

“It was space-time ninjutsu, Fourth Hokage-sama. No other movement on the perimeter, only him.”

“Understood, Itachi. Well done.”

From the beginning, Orochimaru knew that Akatsuki was collaborating with Sunagakure to cause trouble during the Chūnin Exams.

Because Kabuto, ultimately, wasn’t Sasori’s man, but his, Orochimaru’s!

But Orochimaru still allowed them to cause trouble in his village. His goal was to lure them out, kill them, and keep them within Konoha.

He had long since positioned the Anbu Action Department led by Itachi in hiding around the final exam grounds of the Chūnin Exams. Even when Shukaku appeared, the Anbu didn’t reveal themselves; this was the reason.

Unfortunately, only the one skilled in space-time ninjutsu came, and he wasn’t easy to capture.

But through this incident, Orochimaru gathered a great deal of information.

Akatsuki was strong, but their veil of mystery was thinning. At least Orochimaru now knew that Akatsuki’s base was in Amegakure.

“It’s alright, Hayate.”

“Yes! Fourth Hokage-sama!”

Hayate was about to become a glorious Jonin and enter semi-retirement, so naturally he couldn’t falter; his response was incredibly swift.

“Handle the Chūnin Exam matters. Come to my office later. As for the Chūnin promotion list, we’ll record it then.”

“Understood, Fourth Hokage-sama.”

“Mm.”

The ninjas all greatly respected Orochimaru as the Fourth Hokage, and Orochimaru was equally satisfied with these energetic young subordinates.

Disappearing in a flash, leaving the ruined exam grounds behind, Orochimaru sped towards Root.

Deep beneath Root, Orochimaru felt as familiar and at ease as if he were in his own home.

No one stopped him along the way.

Unlike Hiruzen, Root didn’t only recognize Danzo; they also knew the Fourth Hokage. Orochimaru’s authority as the Fourth Hokage far surpassed Hiruzen’s.

“You’ve arrived.”

Danzo, seeing Orochimaru’s casual demeanor, glanced at him with a hint of displeasure, but it didn’t matter.

“It’s ready. Shinzo is here.”

Danzo picked up a coffin from behind his desk and placed it on the table.

Shinzo’s corpse wasn’t preserved in the coffin; otherwise, it would have long since deteriorated.

But Danzo didn’t know the steps of Impure World Reincarnation. He only knew he had just seen a coffin.

Therefore, Danzo thought that Impure World Reincarnation required placing the sacrifice or the subject’s corpse in a coffin.

To quickly perform Impure World Reincarnation on Shinzo, Danzo, like a diligent butler, had prepared everything in advance for Orochimaru.

Orochimaru curled his lips into a smirk.

He understood Danzo’s eagerness.

“Impure World Reincarnation! Let’s see if Shinzo can be resurrected!”

Crack—

The coffin lid was indeed kicked open.

“This is annoying. I feel like I just fell asleep, how am I being called out again?”

Shinzo’s slightly disgruntled voice echoed from the coffin. Then, he propped himself up on the edge of the coffin, sitting up.

“Eh? Orochimaru? You’re also using this technique that manipulates the souls of the dead? And Elder Danzo, what’s going on here?”

Danzo felt a little embarrassed. After all, it was a bit unreasonable to drag someone back after they had just escaped.

Orochimaru, however, was much more composed, offering a direct apology.

“I apologize, Shinzo, but I did indeed perform Impure World Reincarnation on you. We have many things we need to ask you.”

“Hmph, I knew it.”

At that moment, a voice came from the doorway of Danzo’s office.

Hiruzen, his face cold, walked in step by step.

Danzo acted as if he’d been caught in the act, immediately becoming agitated.

Orochimaru was only slightly surprised, then understood that his Sensei must have been waiting here.

However, Orochimaru didn’t intend to release the Impure World Reincarnation. Wouldn’t that be like trying to cover up the sound of a bell?

Since they were already here, let’s reminisce about Shinzo together, shall we?

“Oh~ Third Hokage, look at your good disciple, disturbing my sleep. Unbelievable, Fourth Hokage~”

As soon as Shinzo saw Hiruzen, his familiar sarcastic tone immediately emerged.

Hiruzen’s old eyes almost squeezed out little pearls.

Back then, Shinzo had been this unreliable, always making sarcastic remarks, but he had never been unreliable in his actions!

“Oh, right, Third Hokage, how’s Koji doing? Still a Genin?”

When Shinzo mentioned Koji, Hiruzen froze, then a wave of guilt washed over him.

After his retirement, he hadn’t visited Koji, and he didn’t even know if Koji was alive or dead.

I’m such a fool!

…….

…….