"He's certainly very strong!" Orochimaru licked his lips.
After the war, he definitely had to discuss Sage Mode with Kazuki. And, he also needed to research the situation at Ryūchi Cave.
The great snakes of Ryūchi Cave are difficult to get along with, and those so-called Sages are even harder to approach.
Although Orochimaru is considered a successor of Ryūchi Cave, he has never actually entered Ryūchi Cave to see it. At the very least, he needed to wait until his strength was sufficient for self-preservation.
"Let's help too. We can't let Kazuki take all the glory by himself." Jiraiya mused for a moment, then invited Orochimaru.
"Hmm." Orochimaru didn't refuse when he heard that.
The stronger Kazuki was, the more beneficial it was for them. After all, Kazuki was Tsunade's disciple, one of their own.
As for the future, they would deal with it then. If one day Kazuki truly was more suitable to be Hokage than himself, Orochimaru would heartily congratulate him.
This was a true genius!
In the end, Kazuki was different from the future Minato. Orochimaru wouldn't believe he was inferior to Minato. At that time, from every perspective, Orochimaru was superior to Minato. Yet, Hiruzen preferred to choose Minato over him. How could the proud Orochimaru accept that?
For Orochimaru, Hiruzen was no different from his father. But his father didn't approve of him.
How could Orochimaru, who was already beginning to change at that time, accept that?
It was like Indra. Many people knew Indra was excellent. Of the two sons, Indra was clearly the more outstanding one, and Indra himself believed this.
If Hagoromo hadn't made a misguided choice, Indra and Asura would have continued to be harmonious brothers, which would have been a good thing for Ninshu.
However, Hagoromo did not choose Indra. This was an act of distrust towards Indra. It would have been strange if Indra could have accepted it.
Orochimaru couldn't accept those things, but if Minato was truly much better than him, Orochimaru would offer his blessings.
But the problem was, in all aspects, Orochimaru was not inferior to Minato at that time. Aside from Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique being troublesome, was Orochimaru really worse on the battlefield?
On the main battlefield, it was Orochimaru leading the main forces in desperate fighting, while Minato's role was at most a detached force.
But the power Kazuki was now displaying was far superior to Orochimaru's. Most crucially, he wasn't even using his Sharingan, he was using Sage Mode and various Ninjutsu. This gave Orochimaru a sense of recognition towards Kazuki.
...
"Hanzo, what is the meaning of this?" Chiyo sternly rebuked Hanzo.
Chiyo had actually arrived in the Land of Rain long ago, and recently she had been working on deciphering the Salamander poison. Her negotiations with Hanzo were also something she had settled with him.
Previously, she had not participated in the battlefield, primarily to let Hanzo personally kill Hiruzen's three disciples.
This was to make Hanzo show sincerity and offer a pledge, and also to deplete the Land of Rain's military strength, hoping to watch the fight from the sidelines.
However, Chiyo never expected that Hanzo would betray them. The Ame Ninja's counterattack dealt a severe blow to the Suna Ninjas, resulting in heavy losses.
Chiyo was enraged. Hanzo had gone back on his word. Did he really think Sunagakure was easy to bully?
But upon seeing Hanzo, Chiyo's eyes were filled with an even more incredulous expression.
Chiyo naturally knew how strong Hanzo was, he was a very powerful opponent. Even if she could resolve Hanzo's poison, if she were to truly fight him, she wouldn't be able to defeat him. His Body Flicker Technique and Kenjutsu countered her.
In the entire Sunagakure, only the Kazekage could contend with Hanzo.
But Hanzo had now lost his right arm and had many injuries on his body, which caused even greater turmoil in Chiyo's heart.
Could it be that Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were really that strong? Or was it that Hiruzen, or that old hag Mito, had come to the Land of Rain?
"Chiyo, I lost. You are also doomed. There is no hope."
The light faded from Hanzo's eyes. Kazuki had broken the spirit of this top-tier warrior.
If it had been Hiruzen, Hanzo might have been able to accept it somewhat. But Kazuki was different, he was still so young.
Who knew what level Kazuki could reach in the future when he matured to his peak?
"You!"
Chiyo instantly grew anxious, wanting to ask for the truth of the matter, but she saw Hanzo, with his sole remaining arm, holding a scythe and charging towards her.
At the same time, the Ame Ninjas, cooperating with the Konoha Ninjas, began to deal with the Suna Ninjas. Enemies who were fighting to the death just a moment ago were now united, fighting the Suna Ninjas. One could only say that this world was truly amazing, anything could happen.
"Madara, Hanzo lost." White Zetsu reported to Madara with a panicked tone.
"Lost?"
Madara was stunned when he heard this. Although Hanzo was not held in high regard by him, he knew that for ordinary people, Hanzo was very powerful.
But now White Zetsu was telling him that Hanzo had lost. Could it be that Mito had come to the front line?
Undoubtedly, Madara was also involved in this alliance between Sunagakure and the Land of Rain.
Neither the Land of Rain nor Sunagakure alone was a match for Konoha. Konoha hadn't even dispatched too many Ninja yet, the war needed to be pushed further.
If Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru died in the Land of Rain, Konoha would not be able to ignore it.
As for how Madara would achieve this, wasn't it a simple matter?
He wasn't completely immobile. If he wanted to, it would be easy to control Hanzo with his Sharingan without anyone knowing.
Moreover, a slight influence with Genjutsu would be even more effective, making it impossible to guard against.
Even if Madara didn't act, White Zetsu's ability to cause trouble was top-notch.
Madara looked at Black Zetsu beside him and asked in a low voice, "What exactly is going on here?"
"It's a young man named Kazuki. He defeated Hanzo." Black Zetsu had already gathered information about Kazuki and was at a loss for words.