Ch 420: Minato In Tears

Yuta, who was secretly watching from the sidelines, was also shocked.

Mizuki, you’re incredibly bold! I won’t say anything else, but your courage is truly remarkable!

Even Minato and Kushina, hidden in the shadows, monitoring the situation, exchanged a glance.

“This…Minato, should we go help the Fourth Hokage?”

“Hmm…Let’s wait and see. That guy is Mizuki, originally just a Chunin Sensei at the Ninja Academy. Um, I mean, he doesn’t seem like the mastermind…”

Minato didn’t want to speak too harshly, even behind his back, even though the other was already a Missing-nin.

It’s easy to understand. A Chunin jumping out and saying he’s going to kill the Hokage—no one would think he’s strong enough to rival the Hokage. They’d only think he’s seriously ill.

Mizuki responded to Orochimaru’s amusement with intense hatred. That pale face, that expression—it was clear contempt!

Mizuki couldn’t stand it!

“Humph! Orochimaru! Today, I will cut off your head and destroy Konoha!”

“Oh?”

Orochimaru stroked his chin, but his thoughtful response momentarily interrupted Mizuki’s hatred.

“I remember you have a fiancée in Konoha. Are you going to destroy her as well?”

Orochimaru didn’t refute Mizuki or scorn his strength. Instead, he asked this question.

Mizuki seemed to recall something, his eyes narrowed.

But those who achieve great things don’t dwell on trifles. What fiancée? Mizuki instantly dismissed it from his mind.

Success is only one battle away. How can he hesitate now!

Orochimaru noticed Mizuki’s brief lapse in concentration and his immediate recovery.

For a moment, Orochimaru admired Mizuki. At least his self-control and ruthless pursuit of his goals resonated with Orochimaru.

Unfortunately, Mizuki showed this too late. Now, he stood on the absolute opposite side of Konoha. Otherwise, he could have been recruited into Anbu for training.

“In that case, before you die, let me see what gave you the courage to confront me.”

Orochimaru smiled slightly and stood up from his seat.

He slowly placed his hand on the Hokage Hat, then tossed it. The Hokage Hat naturally hung on the back of the chair, and the Hokage Robe fell onto the chair as well.

Dressed in his battle attire, Orochimaru nodded to Mizuki—it could begin.

Mizuki’s teeth were practically grinding. That disdainful look, that…look that made him want to kill Orochimaru a hundred times!

“I know!”

Mizuki said fiercely.

“I know you look down on me, that you think a Chunin like me challenging the Hokage is presumptuous. But Orochimaru! You forgot, I once saw that scroll!”

Mizuki suddenly became arrogant.

He raised his head, “looking down” at the taller Orochimaru.

“And, I’ve prepared two great gifts for you! Hahahaha!”

Laughing, Mizuki quickly formed hand seals, then slammed his palms onto the ground.

“Impure World Reincarnation!”

Rumble——

As the ground cracked open, two coffins rose from the earth.

One had the character Hanzo inscribed on it, the other Shinzo.

Orochimaru’s face instantly fell.

Impure World Reincarnation. Mizuki had actually learned this technique.

This was why Orochimaru had wanted Red Bean to kill him.

Although Impure World Reincarnation would eventually be used, it was too soon.

Even Orochimaru himself used it, but he didn’t think many in the Ninja World, after mastering this power, could remain as rational and controlled as he was.

And here, this Chunin, having probably only recently learned it, was already acting wildly, returning to “slaughter the village.”

“What do you think, Orochimaru? You must want to see who’s inside! Hahahahaha!”

Mizuki laughed loudly, as if he had already won.

I’ll beat the crap out of you, Mizuki!

Yuta lay in the middle of the field, watching the coffin with the character Shinzo, his eyelids twitching.

His soul felt a summons.

That coffin definitely contained a Shinzo clone!

But where did Mizuki get Shinzo’s cells? Wasn’t Shinzo’s body in Root?

After a moment’s thought, Yuta realized that Kabuto didn’t represent Sunagakure, but Akatsuki.

Kabuto’s current superior was Sasori. If it was Sasori, he might be able to obtain cells from Shinzo’s body.

Dan and Shizuka, Sasori’s parents （alternate setting, details in previous chapters, I forgot which ones） killed Shinzo, and Sakumo Hatake, though a righteous man, killed Dan and Shizuka but didn’t stop Sunagakure from recovering the corpses.

Didn’t you want to try the Impure World Reincarnation after mastering it? You just used it directly, not afraid of failure?

Yuta felt helpless to comment. He hadn’t felt the soul summons before, meaning Mizuki completely believed the technique would succeed and didn’t even test it!

As for the coffin with the character Hanzo, needless to say, it was Hanzo.

Understanding Orochimaru reveals that he had two people he wanted to challenge.

One was Shinzo, a battlefield commander during the Second Shinobi World War.

The man who gave Orochimaru a breakthrough strategy, whom Orochimaru admired and desperately wanted to meet.

Unfortunately, he died, and Orochimaru didn’t even get to meet him while he was alive.

The other was Hanzo of the Salamander, who gave Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade the Sannin title during the Third Great Ninja War.

The Sannin title was both an honor and a shame.

It meant the three Sannin were forever inferior to the Demigod Hanzo, forever overshadowed by him.

A title bestowed by an enemy, even a powerful one, was a shameful mark.

Like adding a stroke to a series of “correct” marks on your thigh, looking back, it’s incredibly disgusting.

Orochimaru looked at the two coffins and narrowed his eyes.

“Mizuki…hehehe…you…thoughtful…”

“Is that so? Fourth Hokage, in that case, let’s play with these two~”

Seeing Orochimaru’s change in expression pleased Mizuki. His tone was relaxed, as if he had everything under control.

Bang——

The coffin was kicked open, and Hanzo, wearing a respirator, carrying his scythe, walked out.

“Oh? Orochimaru? This is unexpected. But I remember I’m supposed to be dead.”

On the other side, the coffin with the character Shinzo opened with a thud, the wood falling to the ground.

Shinzo casually walked out, hands in his pockets.

“Hmm, this climate…it’s not the Land of Rivers. It seems like I’m back in Konoha? Where’s Minato? Hey? You’re Orochimaru?”

Orochimaru looked at the two who emerged and took a deep breath.

In the shadows, Minato, a man in his thirties, was already weeping uncontrollably.

“Shin…Shinzo Sensei…”

…….

…….