For Uchiha Itachi, that kind of perfect world could only exist in dreams.
The one who truly pushed the Uchiha Clan into a dead end, destroying any chance of turning back, was none other than the man who called himself Uchiha Madara.
How could Itachi not hate him?
If not for that absurd intangibility ability, the way he could never pin down the exact timing of Madara's phase shift, Itachi might have already found a chance to ambush and kill him somewhere.
What made it worse was the suspicion that even after Itachi's death, that man had still manipulated Sasuke.
The hatred in his heart only deepened.
He had to leave more safeguards behind, no matter what.
"Nothing is ever truly decided until the very end," Sarutobi Hiruzen said coldly. "That's what I taught you, isn't it."
At those words, Orochimaru reached up and tore the human-skin mask from his face.
"Orochimaru, I always knew this day would come sooner or later," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, a trace of regret crossing his expression. "But taking my head won't be that easy."
"I told you before, you should have decided who the Fifth Hokage would be earlier," Orochimaru replied without a hint of courtesy. "Because the Third Hokage, meaning you, will die here."
Sarutobi Hiruzen heard Orochimaru's laughter. When he looked up slightly, he saw the glint of tears at the corner of his student's eyes.
"What's this?" Hiruzen said calmly. "So happy you're about to cry? Or does killing your own teacher still make you feel a little sad?"
"No."
Orochimaru suddenly raised a kunai and drove it viciously into his own palm. Blood sprayed out in a violent burst.
"I've been sleepy this whole time. Now I'm finally awake."
Watching from outside the scene, Uchiha Sasuke felt his entire worldview crack.
This was a battlefield where lives were on the line. Who got sleepy at a time like this?
And the solution was stabbing yourself?
What kind of insane world was this?
"I thought so," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, completely unsurprised. "You were never a man driven by hatred. You have neither motive nor purpose."
At that, Orochimaru released the Third Hokage and slowly walked aside.
"Yes, I suppose I do have a purpose," he said lightly. "If I had to explain it, moving things are interesting. Things that don't move are boring. A windmill that doesn't turn might look nice depending on my mood, but most of the time it isn't worth looking at. So now I want to use the wind of destroying Konoha to make that windmill spin."
As he spoke, he casually tossed away the Kazekage's hat, spouting words that sounded utterly meaningless.
All of this… for such a trivial reason?
"Yes. If it's Orochimaru, that probably really is his honest answer," Jiraiya muttered to himself.
To a normal person, those words would sound insane. To Orochimaru, they were perfectly natural.
He wanted to make this rotten Konoha move again.
"He really dares to think like that," Jiraiya murmured. "But no matter what, it can't be done this way."
He despised the corruption of Konoha's upper ranks as well, but that did not mean he could accept Orochimaru's methods.
Especially killing one's own teacher. That was something he could never accept.
Inside the footage, Sarutobi Hiruzen showed no surprise at all.
"You really haven't changed."
"I finally get to fight you again," Orochimaru said, a long-lost excitement creeping into his voice.
"This barrier can only be broken from the inside. If the Hokage-sama defeats even one of the four maintaining it, we can step in to help."
An Anbu grit his teeth as he spoke.
"All right, it's about time," Kidomaru, one of the Sound Four, said.
Immediately after, those responsible for maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation sealed themselves inside the barrier as well, preventing the Third Hokage from breaking out directly.
"Hmph. Looks like there's no easy way out."
Sarutobi Hiruzen's tone remained calm.
"Lying to yourself," Orochimaru said, seeing straight through his teacher's thoughts. "Letting them in would only get in your way."
Only a Kage Level shinobi could deal with another Kage Level opponent. Letting Anbu enter would accomplish nothing except getting them killed.
Even though those Anbu were elites by any normal standard, in front of Kage Level power, they were no different from ants.
The two faced off for only a moment before moving at the same time.
"Ninja Art: Tile Shuriken!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen formed seals in an instant. Roof tiles around them tore free and blasted toward Orochimaru.
"Too naive. Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Orochimaru leaped into the air, dodging effortlessly. At the same time, his tongue transformed into a long snake and clamped down hard on the Third Hokage's neck.
"Attacks at this level…" Orochimaru said smugly. "I really don't want to grow old, Teacher Sarutobi."
His satisfaction did not last long.
The Third Hokage's body abruptly turned into a lump of mud.
A Body Replacement Technique.
By the time Orochimaru landed, it was already too late. Sarutobi Hiruzen had finished forming his seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow River!"
With a shout, the ground beneath Orochimaru turned into a raging mud torrent, sweeping him away.
Faced with that attack, Orochimaru merely smiled.
"Is that all?"
He was just about to counter when Sarutobi Hiruzen completed another set of seals.
"Don't even think about it. Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet. Fire Dragon Bullet."
Earth Release and Fire Release combined in rapid succession, completely engulfing Orochimaru.
"To combine Earth Release and Fire Release like that…" an Anbu said in awe. "As expected of the Hokage."
"That's nothing yet. He's not even serious. This is still just probing."
Jiraiya heard the Anbu's amazement and could only think they were impressed far too early.
Combining Earth Release and Fire Release was nothing.
The old man's true masterpiece was the Five Release Great Combo Technique.
Four shadow clones, each using a different elemental release, five attacks unleashed together with power comparable to a small Tailed Beast Bomb.
That was real terror.
It was his ultimate trump card, never passed down even to the three Sannin despite their close bond as teacher and students. It would probably remain the Sarutobi Clan's ultimate secret technique.
There was a reason Sarutobi Hiruzen was called the Professor of Ninjutsu, even hailed as the strongest Hokage in history.
After becoming Hokage, he rarely stepped onto the battlefield, but every time he did, his combat power was nothing short of staggering.
That technique alone could change the course of a small battle in a very short time.
At his peak, even Hanzo the Salamander, known as the Demigod, had been wary of him.
Otherwise, why would Hanzo have spared the three of them after defeating them?
Unfortunately, with the old man's current age and condition, he likely could not use the Five Release Great Combo Technique anymore.
Creating four shadow clones alone would push him to his limit.
At his peak, his chakra reserves ranked among the best of Kage Level shinobi. Now, maintaining that threshold at all was already impressive.
Split his chakra into five parts, and he could probably only use that technique once, and even then it would be forced, with far less power than before.
What a shame.
That S-rank jutsu would probably never be seen again.
"So this is what a battle between Kage Level shinobi looks like?" Uchiha Sasuke's entire body trembled with excitement.
He had seen his future self fight Shimura Danzo before, yet this still left him shaken.
The oppressive presence washed over him, making even breathing feel difficult.
The video conveyed the power of every jutsu with terrifying clarity.
More importantly, the Third Hokage's tactics flowed seamlessly. One technique led into the next, each move prepared in advance, even predicting Orochimaru's predictions.
Against an ordinary elite jonin, the fight would have ended long ago.
But Sasuke knew the ending already.
Since the Third Hokage would fall, this calm, controlled version of him had yet to reach the most intense part of the battle.
The real nightmare was still ahead.
Even so, a fight of this level, something that should be relatively casual for Kage Level shinobi, was enough to broaden Sasuke's perspective immensely.
Things you had never seen were simply things you did not know existed. Experience and information were critical parts of a shinobi's growth.
As Orochimaru was swallowed by the mud flow, Sarutobi Hiruzen showed not the slightest reaction.
He knew his student's strength too well.
No matter how much Orochimaru had grown over the years, he would not be defeated by attacks of this level.
"Hehehe, that really is impressive," Orochimaru's voice rang out coldly. "But I've been underestimated. Did you really think that kind of jutsu could kill me?"
"Still as unpleasant as ever," Sarutobi Hiruzen said calmly.
"Don't say that," Orochimaru replied with a faint smile. "Isn't it said that the more troublesome something is, the cuter it becomes? Teacher Sarutobi."
"We should stop playing around," he continued. "This isn't a lesson at the ninja academy."
At that, Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a cold laugh. He flung away his Hokage robes.
"You're right."
Beneath them was full battle gear.
"So you've already foreseen your own death?" Orochimaru taunted.
He ripped off the Kazekage's robes as well.
Both of them were done holding back.
They were ready to fight for real.
[A/N: Enjoying the story? You can read more chapters early and support me here:patreon.com/Aeroscissors]