Soon, the Third Hokage completed his hand seals, and a ghostly figure appeared before him—a spectral entity standing five or six meters tall, with a knife clenched between its teeth and a blue form bound to its chest by long, white hair, that can only see by the summoner.
"Open! Sealing Technique: Reaper Death Seal!"
The Third Hokage clasped his hands together and shouted.
Simultaneously, rune-like black markings began to spread from the Death God's left hand.
The Death God then thrust its left hand into the blue figure bound by the long hair before it.
As the Death God's hand penetrated, the Third Hokage uncontrollably coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Without command, his shadow clones immediately shot toward the First and Second Hokage.
Just as expected, his shadow clones grabbed the First and Second Hokage in succession.
The Death God's left hand drilled out from the shadow clone's chest, seized the souls of the First and Second Hokage, and pulled them free.
After the souls of the First and Second Hokage were drawn into the shadow clone's chest, the distinctive seal mark of the Reaper Death Seal appeared there.
As their souls were extracted, the earthen shell covering the First and Second Hokage rapidly crumbled away, revealing the true appearance of the sacrifices.
In the original timeline, Orochimaru had used Zaku and Kin as sacrifices.
Now, however, the sacrifices for summoning the First and Second Hokage were two ninja from Otogakure.
Among the Genin, Zaku and Kin were indeed quite strong.
But compared to the elite Chunin and Jonin, their strength was negligible.
For this reason, Orochimaru had deliberately modified his plan, using two Jonin from Otogakure as sacrifices instead.
Even so, the quality of the sacrifices still wasn't ideal.
After sealing the First and Second Hokage, the Third Hokage rushed toward Orochimaru without hesitation.
Seeing the Third Hokage charging at him, Orochimaru first let out a sigh.
Then, he ran toward the Third Hokage with the Kusanagi Blade: Longsword of the Sky in hand.
Under his control, the Kusanagi attacked the charging Third Hokage as if it possessed a consciousness of its own.
Simultaneously, Orochimaru used the Body Flicker Technique to retreat to a safe distance.
Knowing that the Reaper Death Seal could seal his soul, he certainly wouldn't risk his life again.
For Orochimaru, as long as he avoided being caught by the Third Hokage, victory would be his.
Though this seemed somewhat unfair, a winner was still a winner.
The Third Hokage wasn't in good shape, and between the interference of the Kusanagi Blade and Orochimaru's deliberate evasion, he had no way to make contact with his former student.
Witnessing this scene, Enma the Monkey King decisively dropped his transformation and attempted to help the Third Hokage capture Orochimaru.
But even with this assistance, the Third Hokage still couldn't get close to Orochimaru.
After trying for some time, the Third Hokage, with little physical strength remaining, stopped and gazed at Orochimaru, who was taunting Enma, with a complicated expression.
"Enma, come back!"
The Third Hokage called out.
Upon hearing his voice, both Orochimaru and Enma halted simultaneously and turned to look at the Third Hokage.
"You've won. I have no strength left."
"Since I was your teacher, let's end it here."
"You should know that even if I die, you can't destroy Konoha. Jiraiya has returned to the village."
"Additionally, the man with long silver hair outside is called Richard, and you can't handle him."
"His strength is no less than yours or Jiraiya's..."
At this point, the Third Hokage paused and looked at Orochimaru with a kind expression.
"I didn't choose you to be the Fourth Hokage, not because you weren't as strong as Minato."
"But because you took the wrong path... No, I am your teacher, and I failed to guide you on the right path. It's my fault..."
"Goodbye, Orochimaru!"
As soon as the Third Hokage finished speaking, the Death God behind him withdrew its left hand.
Although nothing was sealed, the distinctive mark of the Reaper Death Seal still appeared on the Third Hokage's chest.
Under the gaze of Orochimaru, Richard, and the others, the Third Hokage closed his eyes and collapsed uncontrollably onto the roof.
The Third Hokage was dead!
Watching the Third Hokage—who had taught him for many years and guided him on the path of the ninja—die before his eyes, Orochimaru's expression grew complicated.
According to his original plan, he should have been elated to see the Third Hokage defeated and dying before him.
But at this moment, he felt no joy whatsoever.
Not only that, but strange emotions he'd never before experienced welled up within him as his mind unconsciously recalled scenes of his studies with the Third Hokage.
After standing there, staring at the Third Hokage's corpse for nearly half a minute, Orochimaru addressed the Sound Four who had cast the Four Violet Flames Formation: "Remove the barrier!"
The Sound Four didn't hesitate and immediately dispelled the Four Violet Flames Formation.
When the barrier vanished, the ANBU ninja on the roof immediately rushed to the Third Hokage's body.
Orochimaru ignored them and turned to look at Richard.
"I'll come to see you tonight."
Orochimaru mouthed to Richard without a sound.
Richard nodded without reply.
After seeing his acknowledgment, Orochimaru wasted no more time and vanished from the rooftop with the Body Flicker Technique.
Since Orochimaru had already departed, the Sound Four naturally wouldn't linger and left one after another.
Having witnessed the life-or-death battle between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, Richard no longer had any interest in staying. He activated his flight ability to leave the rooftop and soared thousands of meters above the village center.
The Third Hokage was dead, but the battle within the village wasn't yet over.
The ninja from the Sound Village and Sand Village continued to wreak havoc according to the original plan.
They didn't know that Orochimaru and Gaara had already left.
Had they known, they certainly wouldn't have stayed to continue the "Crush the Leaf" operation but would have sought escape from Konoha as quickly as possible.
All the high-level combat assets on their side had departed. If they didn't leave soon, they'd end up permanent residents of Konoha—buried in its soil.
Compared to the battle between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, the skirmishes still raging throughout the village weren't particularly impressive.
The only noteworthy sight was Jiraiya using the Summoning Technique to call forth Gamahiro, a toad only slightly smaller than Gamabunta, who then used the Crushing Vendor Technique to crush the three-headed snake summoned by Otogakure ninja.
As for the other battles, they all seemed rather mundane.
But this was to be expected.
An exciting battle requires opponents of similar and substantial strength.
One-sided contests where the strong overwhelm the weak rarely make for compelling viewing.
In this "Crush the Leaf" operation, the only individuals who could be considered high-level combat forces were Orochimaru and Gaara.
When they departed, it naturally became difficult for those remaining to stage an exciting battle of equals.
Time passed steadily.
Initially, Otogakure and Sand Village ninja wreaking havoc inside Konoha were unaware that Orochimaru and Gaara had left.
But before long, they received the news and began their retreat.
Though the Leaf ninja tried their utmost to stop them, many Sound and Sand ninja still managed to scale Konoha's dozens-of-meters-high walls and escape the village.
With the departure of these Hidden Sound and Sand Village ninja, Orochimaru's "Crush the Leaf" operation came to its conclusion.
Just as in the original timeline, Orochimaru's attempt to destroy Konoha had failed to truly crush Konohagakure Village.
Nevertheless, he had achieved the milestone of "killing his master," slaying the Third Hokage and clearing the final obstacle for Tsunade to eventually become the Fifth Hokage.
Had he not killed the Third Hokage, Tsunade would never have returned to Konoha to serve as the Fifth Hokage.
From this perspective, Orochimaru had propelled the plot into a new chapter and ushered Konoha into a new era.
That night, in the forest near the Uchiha district, Richard arrived alone.
"Come out. I've spotted you."
Richard turned his head, glancing at a large tree to his right.
Hearing his voice, Orochimaru emerged from his hiding place within the tree as if growing out of its very trunk.
Orochimaru wore no disguise now, still dressed in the same clothes he'd worn during his battle with the Third Hokage.
Before he could speak, Orochimaru noticed Richard's empty hands, frowned and asked, "Didn't you bring any sake?"
"Who said I didn't?"
With that, Richard produced two bottles of strong liquor from his system space and tossed one to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru caught the bottle, removed the cap, tilted his head back, and drained the entire bottle in one go.
"Jiraiya once told me that drinking helps people relax."
"Back then, his knowledge of biology was quite limited. He didn't understand this was actually alcohol's effect on the central nervous system. He observed the result without comprehending the true cause."
Orochimaru tossed the empty bottle aside as he spoke to Richard.
"Some things don't need to be understood completely—as long as the desired outcome is achieved."
After saying this, Richard began to raise his hand to throw the second bottle to Orochimaru.
But as soon as he showed signs of movement, Orochimaru said, "No, keep it for yourself. I don't actually enjoy drinking. After killing the Third Hokage, I suddenly had the urge to share a drink with you."
"Not long after leaving the village, that urge vanished."
"I came here tonight simply because I didn't want to break our appointment."
Richard shrugged indifferently, opened the bottle, and took a sip.
Then he asked Orochimaru: "What will you do next?"
"Don't tell me you're planning another attempt to destroy Konoha in the future?"
Orochimaru smiled and shook his head, responding slowly: "I'm not that obsessive."
"If Konoha wasn't taken down this time, I won't harbor any designs against it for quite a while."
"As for what comes next—I originally wanted to take Sasuke away, but obviously you wouldn't allow that."
"I'll continue my previous research, striving to master all the jutsu in this world and unravel all its secrets."
"By the way, I've begun studying the eternal fire you gave me before."
"You were right—the eternal fire is indeed a most unusual flame."
"Though I haven't discovered anything useful yet, I'll persist until I uncover the secret of the eternal fire... and your secret as well!"
Orochimaru looked at Richard intently, unconsciously extending his serpentine tongue to lick his lips.
"If you believe you possess the strength to challenge me, you're welcome to visit anytime."
"However, let me be clear: if you face me without sufficient power, I cannot guarantee you'll leave alive."
Richard spoke calmly.
Though he had a favorable impression of Orochimaru, if the Sannin came to trouble him repeatedly, Richard wouldn't hesitate to turn him into a corpse.
Orochimaru ignored the threat and replied with a smile: "Don't worry. I'll definitely open your eyes when next we meet."
"Nothing more to discuss—I'm leaving."
"If you find yourself bored, you can visit Otogakure to find me."
"Though I may not remain there forever, if you come to the Sound Village, I'll certainly know of it."
With those words, Orochimaru vanished from Richard's sight using the Body Flicker Technique.
After finishing the liquor in his bottle, Richard turned and walked toward his residence.
Time flies.
A week soon passed.
Konoha held a somber funeral for the Third Hokage.
Richard did not attend and closed his ninja tool shop on the day of the ceremony.
Compared to before, his shop had become extraordinarily popular following the Chunin Exam.
After word of his performance at the venue spread, everyone in Konoha knew of his immense strength.
Initially there weren't many customers, but soon the shop became crowded.
Although most people couldn't afford the vibranium kunai and vibranium tantōs in the store, many ninja and civilians still came due to the shop's growing reputation.
When only one trident vibranium kunai and one standard-style vibranium kunai remained, Richard considered closing the ninja tool shop.
Though he still possessed ample vibranium in his system space, he had no plans to continue crafting new ninja tools from the precious metal.
Currently, he still had a trident vibranium kunai, a standard vibranium kunai, a vibranium tantō, and a vibranium Katana.
He wouldn't continue selling these four vibranium weapons but planned to keep them as souvenirs.
Of course, he could also use them when necessary.
For instance, when training Yugao Uzuki.
Though he closed the ninja tool shop, he neither sold nor rented out the space, simply leaving it vacant.
He didn't lack for money now, so there was no need to sell or lease the shop.
As for whether to reopen it later, that decision could wait.
Not long after the Third Hokage's funeral, Jiraiya took Naruto away from the village, beginning their journey to find Tsunade and for Naruto to learn the Rasengan.
As for Sasuke—although the young Uchiha wanted to continue learning from Richard, Richard still directed him to continue training with Kakashi, having no intention of resuming Sasuke's guidance for the time being.
From Sasuke's perspective, Kakashi had little left to teach him.
But that wasn't the case at all.
Though Kakashi might not be as powerful as Orochimaru, his strength far exceeded what Sasuke had witnessed.
If nothing else, Sasuke had never seen Kakashi's true power.
After killing Rin Nohara, Kakashi's Sharingan had evolved into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
However, he himself remained unaware of this development, having fainted during the incident.
According to the original timeline, during the two years that Naruto trained abroad with Jiraiya, Kakashi would discover that he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and unlocked the power of Kamui.