After reaching that conclusion, Jiraiya felt torn.
Watching his teacher beaten to the point he could not even stand filled him with pain, yet there was a small sense of consolation mixed in.
At the very least, it proved that his teacher was not someone like Shimura Danzo, a man who had completely discarded all shame and humanity. Sarutobi Hiruzen still had a bottom line.
Even if that very bottom line was now being crushed.
If this were twenty years ago, no, even ten years ago, Sarutobi Hiruzen could have taught Orochimaru a proper lesson about how to be human.
Although Orochimaru was a terrifying boss in the early stages, in terms of pure combat strength he was actually rather average among Kage Level shinobi.
Peak Sarutobi Hiruzen, on the other hand, was known as the Professor of Ninjutsu, even hailed as a ninja hero. A Kage Level powerhouse who mastered all five elemental natures.
He was far stronger than most Kage Level shinobi.
Ten years ago, Orochimaru would never have dared to harbor thoughts like this.
If the Third Hokage had truly steeled his heart back then, he could absolutely have killed Orochimaru, or at the very least crippled him beyond recovery.
But now, the Third Hokage's weakness was obvious to everyone.
He was so frail that Orochimaru could grab him by the collar and mock him at will.
"You're the Professor of Ninjutsu," Orochimaru sneered arrogantly. "Don't disappoint me too much."
The Anbu watching were heartsick. One of them shouted desperately, "Third Hokage-sama, please stand up. Protect Konoha, Hokage-sama."
Orochimaru only cast that Anbu a cold glance.
"Idiot. It's already too late. Hahahahaha!"
"Sarutobi, what's wrong with you? This isn't like you at all."
An eye opened on the Adamantine Staff, and Enma's voice rang out.
"This is nothing like you. What are you hesitating for? Now is the time to bring everything to an end."
Tears streamed from the Third Hokage's eyes. Looking at Orochimaru, his vision blurred.
"Orochimaru, you fool."
In a flash, Enma extended a hand from the Adamantine Staff's form and seized Orochimaru by the throat, clearly intending to crush him.
But Orochimaru turned into a lump of earth and vanished on the spot.
The moment he reappeared, the Third Hokage kicked him away.
To create space to deal with Orochimaru alone, Sarutobi Hiruzen activated the Explosive Tags he had attached earlier to the First and Second Hokage.
But almost immediately, he realized something was wrong.
The limbs that had been blown apart began to reassemble as fragments flew back together, restoring themselves.
"What is this?" Hatake Kakashi stared in shock as the First and Second Hokage stood back up.
"Isn't this basically immortality?"
He realized with horror that against Impure World Reincarnation, brute force alone might be the only option.
There was no real way to destroy them.
"If that's the case," Uchiha Itachi said quietly, "then the only way to solve this is to target the caster. If the caster is eliminated, the jutsu might be undone."
Watching the First and Second Hokage's bodies reform, Itachi thought calmly.
Every jutsu had a weakness.
Even one that looked this close to unsolvable had to have one.
And the Third Hokage clearly realized the same thing.
If Orochimaru was not dealt with, there was no way to truly defeat the First and Second Hokage.
"As expected, the only way is to deal with the souls bound by Impure World Reincarnation," Sarutobi Hiruzen thought. "If that's the case, then I can only use that jutsu of the Fourth Hokage."
A trace of apology crossed his face.
"First Hokage-sama. Second Hokage-sama. Please forgive me. I'm going to use that technique."
Orochimaru still had not grasped how serious the situation was. He walked over to his Kusanagi Sword and chuckled.
"Teacher, your breathing is really heavy. You're old now. I've never seen you look this miserable before. Hehehe."
"What's so funny?" the Third Hokage demanded.
"How tragic," Orochimaru replied softly. "Even someone once called the God of Shinobi can't defeat old age."
At that moment, right before everyone's eyes, Orochimaru tore away his face.
Beneath it was the face of a young woman.
"What is that?" one Anbu cried out in shock. "What is even going on?"
"Who are you really?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, stunned.
"It's too sudden to understand?" Orochimaru replied calmly. "It's me. Orochimaru."
The Third Hokage's eyes widened as realization struck.
"Have you mastered that technique?"
"Hahahahaha!" Orochimaru laughed with an inhuman edge. "I've suffered plenty during the years I was away from the village."
"You've become a terrifying inhuman monster," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, a mix of shock and grief twisting his face. "This is exactly why I never chose you as the Fourth Hokage. It was because of this twisted mindset."
The scene shifted.
It was one of the Third Hokage's memories.
In a dim underground sewer, Sarutobi Hiruzen led Anbu straight to Orochimaru, finding him absorbed in experiments inside his lab.
When confronted by his teacher, Orochimaru did not look surprised.
"So it's finally been discovered. What a pity."
"Orochimaru, what exactly are you doing?" the Third Hokage demanded.
"I set so many traps. I was surprised someone made it through. I see. It was you."
Orochimaru turned to face Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Anbu, listening as they accused him.
"Many ninja have gone missing recently. From genin to chunin, even Anbu jonin have disappeared. And intelligence shows your actions have been extremely suspicious."
"Orochimaru-sama," one Anbu asked in disbelief, "why would a ninja like you do something like this?"
Orochimaru had been one of the earliest members of Anbu, even second only to Danzo in Root.
Many Anbu had once seen him as an idol.
They could not accept that the person they admired had done such things.
"Orochimaru, so it really was you. Tell me, what are you doing here?" the Third Hokage pressed.
Orochimaru finally stopped pretending.
He explained that he was researching ninjutsu.
He wanted everything.
He wanted to master all jutsu and understand everything in this world.
There were tens of millions of jutsu in existence, and understanding them all required an immense amount of time.
A human lifespan was too short and too empty.
Even someone called Hokage vanished completely after death.
So he sought immortality.
Everyone was shocked.
The Third Hokage, the Anbu, and those watching from outside the scene.
"This immortal technique is a way to preserve one's spirit forever," Orochimaru explained as the scene returned to the Chunin Exams, his face still that of a young woman. "It requires finding a new body and letting your spirit take it over. A reincarnation technique."
"I kept my old appearance so you would reminisce when we met again, Teacher. Old age is truly hollow. Seeing you made that painfully clear."
"You will die here, and I will obtain a younger, more beautiful, stronger body. Konoha has really been a lot of fun."
"I see," Sarutobi Hiruzen said quietly. "It's Uchiha Sasuke, isn't it?"
Orochimaru licked his lips and admitted it.
"That's right. It's Uchiha Sasuke."
"So you seize another person's body, allowing your soul to live on," the Third Hokage said. "How many bodies have you used already?"
"This should be the second," Orochimaru replied indifferently. "I originally planned to shape Sasuke into the kind of vessel I liked before taking him. But if I'm going to make you regret your entire life and curse your own fate as you die, then using this face feels much more appropriate."
As he spoke, Orochimaru reverted to his original appearance.
Outside the scene, everyone fell silent.
"Orochimaru… what kind of monster have you become?" Jiraiya said, anger and mockery mingling on his face.
"You've spent your life searching for the perfect body. You set your sights on Uchiha Sasuke to steal the power of the Uchiha Clan."
"Too bad for you," Jiraiya sneered, "you never expected to fail so badly."
From childhood, Orochimaru had been a genius known throughout Konoha. His thinking was always far removed from normal people, which was why he walked such a twisted path.
Even so, Jiraiya could not deny it.
Developing a forbidden technique that allowed the soul to reincarnate into different bodies and achieve immortality was terrifyingly impressive.
Orochimaru was still brilliant, still dazzling.
But his talent was never used in the right direction.
Even more tragic was that after all his schemes, he was ultimately devoured by Uchiha Sasuke instead.
Clever to the extreme, yet undone by his own cleverness.
"Your soul reincarnation must have weaknesses," Jiraiya said slowly, his eyes sharp. "Let me guess. Each reincarnation weakens your soul. And since the soul represents mental strength, that means your resistance to genjutsu drops every time."
"That's why Uchiha Itachi could defeat you in an instant."
At that moment, Jiraiya was rapidly piecing together everything he knew.
All the things that once made no sense were finally becoming clear.