"So it's true… Orochimaru-sama and Ryūchi Cave have both met with disaster."
Somewhere in the Land of Fire.
The secretly returned Yakushi Kabuto stared at the scene of devastation before him.
For a while, he stood frozen in place, not knowing what to do.
He remained dazed for over a full minute before he finally tried to locate Orochimaru's corpse, but after searching everywhere, he found nothing—only the charred remains of several of Orochimaru's subordinates.
Recalling that Ryūchi Cave might also have been affected, Yakushi Kabuto murmured in speculation, "Could it be that the final battle broke out within Ryūchi Cave? So Orochimaru-sama's body is there as well?"
The problem was—
Entering Ryūchi Cave was no simple task. The easiest method would be to have one of the sages of Ryūchi Cave use the Reverse Summoning Technique to summon him there.
However, no matter what summoning techniques Yakushi Kabuto had tried before, he had been unable to make contact with the snake sages within Ryūchi Cave.
"Try once more… just one last time…"
With that thought in mind, Yakushi Kabuto once again performed the summoning technique.
He hadn't held out much hope—yet to his astonishment, a puff of white smoke suddenly flared before him.
As Yakushi Kabuto's eyes widened, the white smoke cleared.
And before him appeared the figure of the White Snake Sage.
"You… you're Orochimaru's disciple, aren't you?"
Yakushi Kabuto stared blankly at the White Snake Sage before him. Before he could even recover from his daze, an indescribable sense of weakness instantly drained the color from his face.
The chakra within his body seemed almost completely sucked dry; even that youthful face showed a faint trace of aging, and his consciousness grew hazy.
Before he could respond to the White Snake Sage's words, he fell straight to the ground.
"Forcing this frail young body to respond to a Summoning Technique of this level… so it couldn't endure after all."
The White Snake Sage lowered her head to look at the unconscious Yakushi Kabuto.
It was not that Yakushi Kabuto had forcibly or coincidentally summoned the White Snake Sage—rather, the White Snake Sage had deliberately allowed herself to be summoned by the other party.
As a result, Yakushi Kabuto suffered an unprecedented drain of chakra.
It was probably pure luck that he hadn't dropped dead on the spot.
The White Snake Sage did not leave immediately but waited for quite a long while, until Yakushi Kabuto slowly regained consciousness.
By the time Yakushi Kabuto opened his eyes, night had already fallen.
He felt his entire body limp and powerless; every nerve felt as if gnawed by ten thousand tiny ants, tinged with a faint stinging pain that made him involuntarily suck in a cold breath.
Realizing he was lying on the ground, he tried to brace himself up with his hands—but halfway through, his strength gave out.
His face slammed heavily into the ground, and blood spurted from his nose.
In the end, it was the White Snake Sage who flipped Yakushi Kabuto over with her tail.
"Huff… huff…"
Pale-faced and panting heavily, Yakushi Kabuto turned his head with effort, his disbelieving gaze landing on the White Snake Sage. His voice was hoarse and weak as he asked, "You are… the White Snake Sage of Ryūchidō? Why… do I have the qualification to summon you?"
At these words, a trace of fierceness flashed in the White Snake Sage's eyes.
Then she spoke in a voice that could freeze one's heart: "Because, within Ryūchidō, every other being willing to respond to your call… is already dead. They were all buried long ago in a sea of magma and fire."
"The ones that remain are only some of the more docile snakes. None of them are willing to cause trouble, nor will they respond to any Summoning—they fear suffering the same fate at that human's hands."
The amount of information hidden in those brief words made Yakushi Kabuto's pupils contract sharply.
It seemed his initial speculation had once again proven correct…
And the situation appeared far worse than he had imagined! The serpent sages of Ryūchidō might already be on the brink of extinction.
And the one who had caused this catastrophe—was none other than Uchiha Keizumi, who had pursued Orochimaru-sama all the way to Ryūchidō!
Could that Uchiha shinobi truly possess such power?
"Could it be… even you, White Snake Sage…" Yakushi Kabuto found it difficult to even imagine the level of strength that entailed.
"I cannot kill him." The White Snake Sage took out a smoking pipe from somewhere, coiling her tail around it and setting it to her mouth.
Her tone grew colder. "That human's power has nearly reached the level of the First Hokage of Konoha."
Whether it was an illusion or not, to Yakushi Kabuto, those words sounded like they were spoken through gritted teeth.
"Then… White Snake Sage, you responded to my Summoning—what is it that you want me to do for you?"
Yakushi Kabuto couldn't help but ask again.
The White Snake Sage stared at the battered, frail Yakushi Kabuto, who couldn't even stand up, and spoke slowly: "I see in you a potential never before witnessed. I also hear within you a voice that comes from the future."
"The special qualities you possess are no weaker than any human in the shinobi world. Little one, I shall grant you the power to contend against Uchiha Keizumi."
Yakushi Kabuto: "!!!"
Why did it feel like the White Snake Sage wanted to raise him into a tool for hunting Uchiha Keizumi?
After all, since the White Snake Sage wouldn't personally take action, no matter what happened, it would lose nothing, right?
Orochimaru-sama had indeed been right—one must be cautious of the serpent sages of Ryūchidō.
Not a single one of these snake sages was easy to deal with!
However…
Looking at the White Snake Sage before him, Yakushi Kabuto also realized that, at this point, he had absolutely no right to refuse!
…
That night, Sarutobi Hiruzen still stayed in the Hokage Building and did not return home.
He had discovered that fewer and fewer people in the village were willing to support him. Even Mitokado Homura had shown an ambiguous attitude regarding this matter—Homura had even met with Tsunade.
If Mitokado Homura, as Konoha's Senior Advisor, were to side with Tsunade, then Hiruzen would likely have no chance of victory left.
If someone like Tsunade, who believed in Absolute Justice, were to become the Fifth Hokage of Konoha—
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even dare to imagine what the village would become by then.
It would probably turn into a dictatorship ruled by a single person—where there would be no fairness or justice, let alone any equality of human rights within the shinobi village!
The First Hokage had founded Konoha based on the Will of Fire.
Since the founding of Konoha, not even a century had passed, and now, if the Will of Fire were to be replaced by Absolute Justice—
Then all the shinobi villages in the ninja world would surely laugh at Konoha!
That was the one outcome Sarutobi Hiruzen could never accept.
In the end…
It was because, in his eyes, Tsunade had chosen the wrong side. If Tsunade still upheld the Will of Fire, then even if she wished to become the Fifth Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen could have willingly stepped down and ceded his position.
"Hah…"
"The key is that Koharu hasn't returned yet. I have no idea what she's doing or what method she intends to use against Keizumi."
Usually, Sarutobi Hiruzen had always thought that Utatane Koharu lacked capability—that after entrusting her with the Root, she had failed to manage it properly.
Only now did he realize that Utatane Koharu might be the only person he could still trust.
Because Utatane Koharu was someone who stood one hundred percent on his side.
Not long ago, when Koharu had repeatedly clashed with Uchiha Keizumi, he hadn't stood by her. As a result, she had suffered continuous setbacks and had even been imprisoned… Thinking of this, Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly felt a surge of guilt toward Utatane Koharu.
Sarutobi Hiruzen also came to understand that sometimes, loyalty was far more reliable than competence.
At the very least, a loyal person wouldn't be like Tsunade—or like Mitokado Homura—stabbing him in the back when he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was already in decline, and doing so without the slightest mercy.
After pondering deeply, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt that he could not simply sit and wait for death.
Even someone like Tsunade, with such a carefree and straightforward personality, now possessed this degree of initiative.
If he simply sat and waited for death, the few who still supported him would probably end up completely disheartened.