In Orochimaru's view, it would take two Hokage predecessors, resurrected through Edo Tensei, just to deal with a single Hirakawa Aoshi.
That alone would cause an unprecedented shock.
Hashirama Senju! A legendary ninja who had ended the Warring States Era and ushered in the age of ninja villages!
An existence that once stood at the absolute pinnacle of the ninja world alongside Madara Uchiha!
Even Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, was no less renowned.
Perhaps his raw power was not as overwhelmingly invincible as Hashirama's, but he was still undeniably among the very top-tier ninjas in history.
Aoshi was indeed powerful. He even carried the title of Hero of Konoha.
However, no one would believe that he had already reached the level of those two Hokage.
"But if I resurrect those two with Edo Tensei, if they're too weak, it's meaningless. If they're too strong, they'll be difficult to control…"
Orochimaru muttered with a troubled expression.
"This is… troublesome."
The current situation was fundamentally different from the Konoha Crush plan in the original timeline.
Back then, although Orochimaru claimed that his goal was to destroy Konoha, his true intention had been to give his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, a glorious ending—to let him die protecting the village, at the hands of the two Hokage predecessors.
Otherwise, there would have been no need for Orochimaru to first kill Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, and his collaborator.
That was why the Hashirama and Tobirama resurrected during that battle possessed less than one-tenth of their original strength—and that was no exaggeration.
But now— Orochimaru's sole objective was to kill Aoshi.
Naturally, he could not afford to hold back. He needed to maximize the strength of the two Hokage ancestors after their Edo Tensei resurrection.
Yet not too much.
Otherwise, even he himself would be in danger.
"It seems I must further perfect the Edo Tensei technique," Orochimaru murmured.
"And to ensure success in a single strike—without any unforeseen accidents—I'll also need to find a collaborator to act alongside me."
As his words fell, Orochimaru's figure vanished from where he stood.
Now, the first thing he needed to do was deal with Elder Takeda of Sunagakure—to prevent any chance of exposure later on.
After eliminating all the Edo Tensei ninjas, Aoshi and Pakura cleaned up the battlefield.
The next day, the second phase of the Chunin Exams proceeded as scheduled.
As for the two of them, they had already traveled through the night to Sunagakure and met with the Third Kazekage, known as the strongest Kazekage in history.
It was just dawn.
Yet the Third Kazekage had already begun his workday as usual.
"Lord Aoshi, Pakura—do you require something from me?"
Although in terms of official status, the Third Kazekage was certainly above Aoshi, in the ninja world, strength was the ultimate authority.
Both Konoha's influence and Aoshi's personal power made it entirely appropriate for the Kazekage to address him in this manner.
In response, Pakura recounted everything that had occurred the previous night in detail.
As he listened, the Third Kazekage's expression steadily darkened.
He had always been committed to maintaining friendly relations between Sunagakure and Konoha.
He would never authorize such an assassination.
Which meant every action taken last night had been Elder Takeda's personal scheme.
"I offer my apologies," the Third Kazekage said solemnly. "My lax oversight has allowed Lord Aoshi to witness such an unseemly affair."
With that, he immediately ordered the Anbu to arrest Elder Takeda.
However, the report soon came back, and Elder Takeda had mysteriously vanished.
"That wretch actually fled in fear of his crimes!" The Third Kazekage slammed the table, roaring in fury.
Indeed, in his eyes, Takeda had clearly realized that last night's operation had failed and had defected overnight.
Only Aoshi immediately understood—this had to be Orochimaru's handiwork.
Since he had dared to act, he would certainly eliminate loose ends to avoid exposing himself.
Of course, Aoshi did not say this aloud. After all, he had no way to explain the source of his knowledge.
Amid his anger, the Third Kazekage looked toward Aoshi and requested that this matter not be reported back to Konoha.
After all, for a powerful elder to flee in fear of his crimes was an absolute scandal for Sunagakure.
If it leaked, the village's reputation would suffer a devastating blow.
Aoshi agreed. Even without the Kazekage's request, he had no intention of revealing it.
He did not even plan to report the Edo Tensei incident to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
There was little point.
First, he could not directly accuse Orochimaru of using Edo Tensei.
A cautious man like Orochimaru, who had already eliminated Elder Takeda, would naturally leave behind no evidence whatsoever.
Under such circumstances, Hiruzen Sarutobi might grow suspicious of Orochimaru, but he would never be able to impose any real punishment.
Secondly, even if Sarutobi Hiruzen truly managed to confirm that Orochimaru was behind everything—so what?
At most, it would play out exactly like in the original story: he would soften at the crucial moment and allow Orochimaru to escape, becoming a rogue ninja.
And by the time Orochimaru returned to Konoha again, it would already be too late.
Once Orochimaru became a rogue ninja, he would be as free as a fish released into the ocean.
In the vast ninja world, it would be extremely difficult for Aoshi to accurately track his whereabouts.
At that point, not only would the difficulty of dealing with Orochimaru increase drastically, but Aoshi would also have to remain on constant alert.
Because while Aoshi himself was not afraid of Orochimaru, the people around him were a completely different matter.
Therefore, it was far better to let Orochimaru remain in Konoha.
At least this way, Orochimaru would not realize that Aoshi already knew the truth, and thus would not act recklessly or threaten those close to Aoshi.
And with Danzo constantly stirring things up behind the scenes, Orochimaru—after extracting enough information—would sooner or later come knocking again.
That would be Aoshi's chance to deal with him directly.
"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Aoshi."
After that, Aoshi left the Kazekage's office, leaving the rest to the Third Kazekage and Pakura.
Once Aoshi had departed, the Third Kazekage's expression immediately darkened.
An incident like this occurring within Sunagakure during his reign filled him with anger.
After a moment, the Third Kazekage turned to Pakura with an apologetic look.
"Pakura, I will do my utmost to investigate Elder Takeda, but you know…"
He did not finish the sentence. Yet Pakura understood him perfectly.
Although Sunagakure was one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, its circumstances were far from ideal.
Short on funds, Sunagakure could only implement an elite education system. Simply put, they could not afford to train a large number of ninja.
Because of this, the investigation into the rogue Elder Takeda would most likely yield very limited results.
Shaking her head, Pakura indicated that she was fine. After all, she had not suffered any actual losses.
Seeing her understanding, the Third Kazekage felt greatly relieved.
"Lord Aoshi has come a long way to Sunagakure," he said. "Pakura, you must be sure to entertain him properly."
"Yes." After responding, Pakura also left the Kazekage's office.
She soon found Aoshi strolling leisurely through the streets of Sunagakure.
In this unfamiliar place, curious gazes followed them from all directions.
After all, a ninja wearing a Konoha forehead protector appearing openly in Sunagakure was bound to draw attention.
Aoshi, however, did not care in the slightest. When he noticed Pakura coming out of the Kazekage's office, he smiled and said,
"Pakura, you're going to show me around properly, aren't you?"
After all, before coming here, the two of them had already arranged all follow-up matters with the other examiners.
So disappearing for a short while posed no problem.
Even if something unexpected happened, they could rush back immediately with their speed. The distance wasn't far.
Pakura naturally did not refuse.
And so, the two of them walked side by side.
Although Sunagakure looked far poorer than Konoha, to Aoshi, everything here felt fresh and novel.
He didn't find it boring at all. Suddenly, Aoshi noticed a red-haired boy with a familiar yet expressionless face.
After thinking for a moment, realization struck him.
Isn't that Sasori of the Red Sand?
Of course, at his current age, Sasori had not yet made a name for himself.
As Aoshi observed him, Sasori—sensing the gaze—also looked back.
When he noticed the Konoha forehead protector on Aoshi's forehead, the boy's usually calm expression changed ever so slightly.
The change was subtle, but unmistakable.
Naturally, it did not escape Aoshi's eyes.
"His name is Sasori," Pakura explained when she saw Aoshi pause. "He's Elder Chiyo's grandson. Very talented in puppet jutsu—much stronger than Yūsuke Kitada."
Aoshi nodded, having no intention of initiating contact.
The two passed by each other without incident.
"Yo, Rasa. Long time no see." Continuing his walk, Aoshi greeted an acquaintance with a smile.
Rasa was accompanied by another person—a blonde female ninja who always wore a gentle smile.
"Is this your girlfriend?" Aoshi teased. "You've got good taste, kid. Treat her well in the future."
In terms of age, Aoshi was a year older than both Rasa and Pakura, so calling him a kid was perfectly appropriate.
Before Rasa could respond, the woman beside him spoke politely.
"My name is Karura. Welcome to Sunagakure, Lord Hirakawa."
As a ninja, Karura naturally knew of Aoshi. She was indeed Rasa's girlfriend.
The two of them had no missions that day and were out on a date.
After greeting Aoshi, Karura glanced at Pakura beside him.
Naturally, the two women knew each other as well.
Seeing Karura, a sentence involuntarily surfaced in Aoshi's mind. This was a woman who perfectly embodied maternal love.
Truly worthy of respect.
After chatting for a while, Aoshi took the initiative to excuse himself.
"Alright, we won't interrupt your date any longer."
Watching the couple leave, Aoshi suddenly asked Pakura, "Speaking of which… does this count as us being on a date too?"
The moment she heard that, Pakura's usually composed and beautiful face flushed crimson.
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Embarrassed, Pakura snapped back, then quickly stepped forward twice, leaving Aoshi staring at nothing but her smooth, jade-like, graceful back.
Aoshi couldn't help but marvel.
He hadn't expected that a casual joke from him would fluster Pakura to this extent.
Indeed—even someone as strong as her still possessed a delicate, feminine side.