Inside the Hokage Office, Hiruzen asked in a low voice to an Anbu member beside him, "Has Danzo made any moves recently?"
Jiraiya and Tsunade were also present.
"Hokage-sama, there's no special news for now. After all, we can't enter the Root base, and Danzo hasn't left."
"Is that so?"
Hiruzen was deep in thought, puffing on his pipe, while Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade, whose expression wasn't very good, and immediately spoke up, "Hey, old man, why don't you just confront him directly? Wouldn't that be more convenient?"
"You..." Hiruzen shook his head helplessly.
"This matter cannot be handled that way, especially now. It will only cause more trouble."
"I know we can't move now, but what about before?"
Tsunade actually understood the bigger picture, but she was in a very bad mood right now.
"I've fully confirmed that it's the modified cells of my grandfather, and he's the only one who could have access to them, old man. I hope you can be more decisive."
"I know."
Hiruzen naturally understood what Tsunade meant. She wanted him to act after the Chunin Exams.
Although he was very frustrated, he couldn't continue to shield Danzo.
"During this time, I will relax my control over him so he doesn't become too wary. I will also find an opportunity to talk to him to avoid more trouble later."
"That's good."
Although she didn't say much, Tsunade understood what he meant.
Even if it was a bit absurd, considering the situation of herself, Jiraiya, and Orochimaro, she couldn't say anything more.
"Putting that aside, Jiraiya, how's your research coming along?"
Seeing Tsunade's attitude soften, Hiruzen immediately changed the subject.
"Also, how are the arrangements for this Chunin Exams?"
"I've already found those two Chakras within Naruto."
Jiraiya was relatively serious, he nodded and smiled.
"I can confirm it's Minato and Kushina. I can awaken them, but I haven't figured out how to maintain the seal while preventing these two Chakras from being consumed, so..."
"Hmm, you should also speed things up."
This was good news, Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction.
Jiraiya continued to smile, "As for the arrangements for the Chunin Exams, old man, don't worry, everything is ready..."
Boom—
However, before Jiraiya could finish his sentence, a sudden violent roar erupted from outside.
"What's going on?"
This startled all three of them. They immediately looked out the window, only to see a mushroom cloud quietly rising in the distance.
Seeing this, Hiruzen clutched his chest, turning to Jiraiya in disbelief.
"This is what you meant by 'everything is ready'?!"
Inside Konoha, many people looked at everything in disbelief.
"What's going on with Konoha?"
Kankuro, who had just arrived in Konoha with the Sunagakure Ninja, looked at the mushroom cloud in disbelief, and turned to Baki.
"Is it that dangerous?"
Meanwhile, Temari on the other side looked at her younger brother with some concern. "Gaara, what's wrong?"
At this moment, Gaara was clutching his head, looking extremely pained.
The One Tail within him seemed to be going mad at this moment.
And at the very edge of Konoha, Danzo and his Root subordinates looked towards the village in confusion.
"What's happening?"
From afar, they seemed to see a mushroom cloud rising. But before he could figure it out, two figures slowly emerged from the forest.
This immediately caught Danzo's attention, but when the three of them appeared, they all froze.
The three stood in the forest, staring at each other, their eyes seemingly filled with disbelief.
After a long while, the red-haired person slowly spoke.
"Long time no see, Danzo."
"It's you."
Danzo looked at the newcomer, his face ashen. When he saw Nagato's face, he felt a momentary daze.
Even though Nagato had changed significantly, Danzo recognized him immediately.
"Hanzo, did he sell me out to you?"
"Isn't it possible that Hanzo is already dead?"
Orochimaru, standing nearby, licked his lips and let out a hoarse laugh.
But at this moment, he also wanted to escape.
"That idiot Danzo, he actually seeked Hanzo?"
Seeing the current situation, how could he not realize that Danzo had already screwed him over.
Danzo wanted to seek Hanzo, but did he really not consider that Hanzo was already dead?
"Also, this guy, something's not right..."
Looking at the red-haired man with a withered face, Orochimaru himself felt a bit dazed. But he would never mistake those Rinnegan.
"Hanzo is dead?"
Danzo's expression was somewhat grim, and Nagato nodded.
"That's right, he's been dead for a long time. He died before you, but you'll soon be joining him."
At this point, Nagato paused, then turned to look at Orochimaru.
"Long time no see, Orochimaru. I didn't expect the other person he mentioned to be you."
"I also didn't expect them to be so foolish as to find you guys."
Orochimaru was a little flustered. He had experienced the power of the Rinnegan before.
"Although you're a traitor, I'm curious about one thing."
At this moment, Nagato appeared exceptionally calm, as if everything was within his grasp.
"What is your objective this time?"
"Danzo."
Orochimaru immediately gave the answer, and after glancing at Nagato and the others, he couldn't help but lick his tongue.
"However, if you want to expand a bit, perhaps I can also do something."
"Oh?"
Nagato raised an eyebrow, seemingly a little interested.
If it were before, he might have already made a move, but after two beatings, he had sobered up considerably.
At least now, he was willing to listen to what Orochimaru had to say.
"I don't know your intentions, but no matter what you do, Konoha is not easy to deal with right now."
Orochimaru licked his tongue. What he needed to do now was to stabilize this guy, because he didn't believe that Nagato was the only one here.
"Not to mention that Konoha will surely be well-prepared because of the Chunin Exams, just Takemi alone will probably be difficult to handle."
"I suffered a great loss at his hands, and it's difficult to retaliate. That kid has probably already surpassed Minato."
"With him around, whatever you want to do will probably be very difficult, right?"
"Continue."
Nagato was silent for a moment, then spoke.
Orochimaru immediately followed up, "So, I think I can help you. At least this time we can cooperate, since I'm very familiar with Konoha."
Nagato and Orochimaru conversed brazenly like this. Although Nagato wanted to kill Orochimaru, he didn't fully trust Obito's competence.
Even if Orochimaru was unreliable, since he had appeared in Konoha, he could still be utilized.
And Orochimaru didn't trust the Akatsuki either, but since he encountered them, it seemed he could achieve his 'Konoha Crush Plan' and have someone else take the blame.
Then...
He definitely wouldn't be polite!
As long as he was careful, he believed he could leave Konoha smoothly.
"Bastards..."
The two's arrogant actions made Danzo's fists clench slightly.
How much contempt did they have for him?!
However, being looked down upon didn't seem like a bad thing. At least he could find an opportunity to escape now.
"But are these madmen targeting my Konoha?"
Danzo's face was gloomy. Konoha was his, and even though he was almost seventy, he firmly believed he could become Hokage.
"They're all a bit afraid of that Takemi?"
However, Danzo also caught key information. He himself hadn't expected Orochimaru to rate Takemi so highly.
"Then, as long as I leave this place and return to the center of the village, they will—"
Clatter—
Clatter—
However, just as he had an idea, he suddenly heard what sounded like heavy objects continuously falling behind him.
And the sound, why did it sound a bit like a corpse falling to the ground?