"Grown old and made foolish by peace, haven't you, my dear teacher?" Hearing Hiruzen still trying to persuade him to give up at this point, Orochimaru couldn't help but mock him.
"You bastard!" Hearing his words, Hiruzen finally understood who had seized him, his expression filled with anger.
…
While the two conversed, on Konoha's walls, three giant snakes materialized outside the towering battlements.
"Inform Hokage-sama immediately!" A guarding Chunin urgently told his comrade. But as the words left his mouth, a giant snake head descended, crushing the wall like paper in an instant.
After breaching the wall, the three giant snakes slithered inside.
At that moment, several kunai tied with explosive tags were shot at one of the giant snakes, but apart from causing it slight pain, they had no effect.
Seeing the few Ninjas attacking it, a snake head opened its bloody maw, instantly killing them.
"Quick, get reinforcements!" A Konoha's Ninja, sensing the situation was bad, told his comrade.
But just as his comrade was about to leave, he was hit by four kunai, wailing as he fell.
Looking back, the Ninja saw five Sunagakure's Ninjas standing atop the wall… they had launched the attack.
…
Meanwhile, back in the arena!
"Kankuro, go protect Gaara and Temari!" When the operation began, Baki and Kankuro in the audience area immediately jumped down. Baki quickly instructed Kankuro.
"Alright!" Hearing him, Kankuro nodded without hesitation, preparing to chase after Gaara and Temari.
However, the moving Kankuro was directly intercepted by Genma. Seeing this, Baki quickly blocked Genma's path.
"Gaara is Sunagakure's trump card. We must have Gaara act no matter what. Go help them treat their injuries. Once he recovers, execute the plan immediately!" Blocking Kankuro, Baki added.
"I understand. What about you, sensei?" Hearing Baki's resolute tone, Kankuro could only nod again.
"I'll hold these guys off." Hearing Kankuro's question, Baki looked at the eager Genma. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Shino frowned as they watched them.
Sasuke didn't understand what was happening, having just arrived.
The situation escalated even before his first match ended, leaving him confused. As for Shino, injured from his fight with Sasuke, he could only stay put to observe.
"Do you think I'll let him leave just like that?" Hearing Baki, Genma looked flatly at him.
"I'll make sure he does. Go!" After confronting Genma for a moment, Baki seized an opportunity and shouted to Kankuro.
Hearing this, Kankuro didn't hesitate, immediately leaving the spot.
Seeing Kankuro leave, Genma frowned. However, Baki's pressure was significant and he didn't dare act rashly.
Moreover, there were Shino and Sasuke here. Thinking this, he glanced at Takeru above. If Takeru acted, this problem could be easily solved.
"So, Orochimaru is the mastermind behind this?" Unable to pursue Kankuro, Genma tried to get more information from Baki.
"Who knows? Let's just get things lively first!" Hearing him, Baki naturally wouldn't say much.
"Sasuke, sorry. The Chunin Exams end here. You're already at Chunin-level. As a Konoha's Ninja, lend your strength to the village." At this point, Genma could only look at Sasuke beside him.
"So, just stop their actions, right?" Hearing him, Sasuke understood and said flatly.
"Don't pursue too deeply. This is no longer an exam, it's real combat." Hearing Sasuke, Genma reminded him flatly.
"Hmph, not much different." Hearing Genma, Sasuke quickly glanced at Baki and dashed toward the wall.
"Don't even think about it!" Seeing this, Baki threw two shuriken at Sasuke, but Genma also threw two, colliding with his and intercepting them.
As Sasuke also left, Baki clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Sasuke!" Kakashi in the arena also frowned, watching Sasuke leave.
"Sasuke!" Naruto in the competitor's area also noticed Sasuke's departing back and shouted.
"What a hassle." Seeing this, Shikamaru frowned. From the explosion at the Hokage's location, Shikamaru realized something had changed.
If possible, he wished he were in the audience area, asleep along with the unconscious spectators.
"Shikamaru, Takeru, everyone, let's go help Sasuke!" Seeing the situation, Naruto excitedly said to Takeru and the others still capable of fighting.
"No, Naruto. Sasuke should be fine for now. Gaara is severely injured. Though his recovery is strong, he won't be combat-ready immediately. For now, let's check the situation in the audience area first." Hearing Naruto, Takeru directly shook his head.
Hearing Takeru, Naruto, though eager to chase Sasuke, thought for a moment and decided to listen to Kakashi's words first.
"Good grief, I planned to take Sasuke during the chaos caused by Gaara. It seems things can't always go as planned." Orochimaru also saw Sasuke running out of the arena and said flatly.
"Is that so? So that's how it is. Your targets are this Konoha Village and Sasuke?" Hearing Orochimaru, Hiruzen said with understanding.
"Is the Konoha Village something so important? Besides, if Gaara fully awakens, you'll see something even more interesting. But let's put that aside for now." Orochimaru said disdainfully.
However, thinking of Takeru's mysterious and unfathomable abilities, Orochimaru hesitated, then changed the subject.
"Your foolishness has plunged Konoha into this chaotic situation. I've won." Orochimaru looked seriously at Hiruzen.
"You never know the outcome until the very end." Hearing Orochimaru, Hiruzen spoke confidently.
Hearing him, Orochimaru frowned, then removed his Kazekage disguise.
"I knew this day would come eventually. But taking my head won't be so easy." Looking at Orochimaru's familiar face, Hiruzen said seriously to him.
"I should have told you: you should have decided on the Fifth Hokage sooner. Because the Third, that is, you… will die here." Looking at Hiruzen, Orochimaru spoke with absolute confidence.
Meanwhile, inside Konoha Village, whether Academy's teachers or others, all saw smoke rising from the wall area.
"Damn Orochimaru!" Looking at the wall, Ibiki, who had been briefed earlier, frowned.
"Should we provide support?" A Ninja directly asked Ibiki.
"No. Acting without clear information is dangerous. If the mastermind is Orochimaru, it's even more dangerous." Hearing him, Ibiki refused.
Ibiki was only a Special Jonin, he was self-aware of his strength.
"Is Orochimaru such a dangerous figure?" Hearing him, a Ninja behind asked, puzzled.
"He was originally Hokage-sama's student." Seeing this, Ibiki directly stated Orochimaru's identity.
"Then why did he become a Missing-Nin?"
"In the past... when deciding the Fourth Hokage, it's said Orochimaru insisted he was the most qualified candidate but wasn't recognized by everyone. Soon after, he left the village. Orochimaru might hold a grudge against Hokage-sama over this." Ibiki directly told everyone.
If Takeru were here and heard Ibiki's words, he'd probably laugh. Takeru clearly understood Orochimaru's situation.
The specifics were: Konoha devoted its entire village's resources to researching the revival of the First Hokage's Wood Release.
However, the Hashirama's cell transplantation experiments conducted on adult volunteers continually failed, increasing the number of casualties.
Therefore, this attempt was deemed a Forbidden Technique and sealed.
Yet Orochimaru, to collect various Ninjutsu, continued the already forbidden Hashirama's cell transplantation experiments. He successively kidnapped Genin, Chunin, Anbu from the village, and sixty infants from villages around Konoha.
He extracted genetic material from the First Hokage's corpse, then injected it into the sixty infants for human experimentation. But the rejection reaction was severe, and they died one after another...
Just as Orochimaru was about to dispose of the bodies, his experiments were exposed, leading Orochimaru to finally leave Konoha.
Behind this, Takeru was also well aware that there was also Danzo's shadow.