Snap!
The pipe was crushed in his hand.
Staring at the thriving village of Konoha outside, the Third Hokage's face twisted into a mad grin. "Soon, the world will kneel before me!"
Meanwhile, the Uchiha Sogetsu, who had been sitting unnoticed on the couch, revealed a deep, meaningful look in his eyes.
He sat with his legs crossed, as if on an exalted throne. His vertical slit-gold eyes reflected the seemingly insane 'Third Hokage,' ripples forming in his gaze. His lips parted slightly, though no sound escaped. "Long time no see, White Zetsu."
Things were getting more and more interesting.
It's likely that all of Konoha doesn't know that the Third Hokage they respect has long been replaced.
Yes, the person sitting in the Hokage position now, wearing the "Third Hokage" guise, is no longer the real Sarutobi Hiruzen, but rather the White Zetsu that was once influenced by him.
When Uchiha Sogetsu saw through the White Zetsu's disguise, it was easy for him to directly infiltrate the other's mental island.
The entire backstory was laid out clearly, without any hidden parts, directly showing itself to him.
The "Adam" of the Hokage world had been targeted by "Abomination," causing his mental state to completely break down. He was forced to fall into a deep sleep in the "Groselle's Travels" to suppress the corruption of the Mother Tree of Desire with the divine kingdom of the Dragon of Imagination.
This was when White Zetsu saw his chance.
After Zetsu's departure, Hokage Adam, in order to maintain the "Twilight Hermit Order" and deal with possible future issues, decided to cultivate White Zetsu as a "Spectator."
At first, everything went smoothly. Hokage Adam never relied on mere "loyalty," so he had prepared many measures to prevent potential betrayal from White Zetsu.
But the problem came when something went wrong!
The "Obito" that was supposed to be part of the plan suddenly ascended to Sequence Four and decided to completely eliminate the Twilight Hermit Order.
In order not to disrupt the overall plan, Hokage Adam had no choice but to face him head-on.
However, he didn't actually possess the true strength of Sequence Four and could only use tools to force Obito back.
The consequence was that in that battle, Hokage Adam's mental island was invaded by the Mother Tree of Desire.
With no other choice, Hokage Adam fell into a deep sleep to suppress the corruption.
However, after losing Hokage Adam's control, White Zetsu began to develop a dangerous idea.
It wanted to break free from the control, to completely seize "Adam," and yearned to become the one and only "Spectator"!
Of course, it had no idea that Adam was just a consciousness clone of Uchiha Sogetsu. From beginning to end, White Zetsu had always believed that Adam was Uchiha Sogetsu!
What followed was much simpler. White Zetsu, imitating Uchiha Sogetsu's behavior, took over the identity of the Third Hokage, quietly completing the replacement.
With this identity, he began plotting to advance the ritual for ascending to a Sequence Four demigod, and the upcoming Chunin Exams were the result of White Zetsu's efforts.
As for the real Third Hokage, his ashes were thoroughly scattered.
In the Nibelungen.
Uchiha Sogetsu sat on a bronze chair, facing Adam.
On the mottled bronze table, two tea cups were placed, along with freshly brewed tea leaves, the fragrant aroma spreading in the air.
"You're just going to watch?"
Adam calmly brewed a cup of tea for himself, took a small sip, and said, "Don't tell me you're actually going to watch White Zetsu succeed."
"Why stop it?"
Uchiha Sogetsu still wore a gentle smile and replied softly, "After all the effort to meet the requirements for the Advancement Ritual, do I look like the kind of person who would stop a good thing from happening?"
Hearing this, Adam thought for a moment, set down his tea cup, and tilted his head to look at him. "Isn't that what you're doing?"
Uchiha Sogetsu was silent for a second, then smiled and shook his head. "Not only is there no need to stop it, but we should also help him. That way, I can show how magnanimous I am, don't you think?"
"Pfft. You? Magnanimous?"
Adam, who prided himself on being professionally trained to avoid laughter no matter how funny something was, couldn't hold back this time.
Let's tell a joke: The true magnanimous one.
It's hard to forget who came back and immediately dragged everyone to settle scores with the 'divine disaster.'
And Pompeii, who, just because he exhausted his energy during the space-time storm when he first arrived, got poked by Gungnir and ended up dying.
This is called magnanimity?
Clearly, it's about taking revenge whenever possible—no waiting overnight!
"Is there a problem?"
Uchiha Sogetsu smiled at him.
"No, no problem."
Adam immediately stopped smiling. Even though he was the clone of "true body," he didn't want to risk retaliation.
"Ahem, so what are you planning to do?" Adam quickly changed the subject and asked.
"That guy, White Zetsu, not only betrayed 'Adam' from the Hokage world, but even took the identity of the Third Hokage. Clearly, he plans to use this Chūnin Exams to fake his death like you and then move up to Sequence Four."
"I told you already, didn't I?"
Uchiha Sogetsu picked up his tea cup and replied calmly, "Naturally, we'll help him."
Adam didn't believe his words. He gazed deeply at him and asked, "Are you preparing... for the Sequence One Ritual?"
"Since White Zetsu wants it, then let him have it."
Uchiha Sogetsu set down the tea cup, and in his pale golden vertical pupils, a deep and dark gleam reflected: "Sequence 4 is useless. If you're going to take it, take Sequence 1."
"But the thing is... you don't need a second 'Author' ability." Adam furrowed his brows slightly and said.
"It's simple. Just have it switch paths, isn't that enough?"
Uchiha Sogetsu wore a gentle smile, his eyes rippling with layers of subtle waves as he softly said, "The five pathways of God Almighty, aside from the 'Tyrant' path, anyone can be chosen. For example, 'White Tower,' 'Sun,' or 'Hanged Man'—I'm not unreasonable, right?"
He was quite merciful, not letting White Zetsu go for the 'Witch' path, which was already a show of favor.
However, these seemingly casual words caused a storm in Adam's mind, like a thunderbolt exploding within him.
So it's like this. From the very beginning, the true goal wasn't the Sequence One's 'Ritual.'
It was preparing the prerequisites for the [Great Old One]!
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