From Naruto onwards, I've become a dreamer.

Chapter 451 The Truth! Further Inducement!

With a heavy heart, Fukasaku left Mount Myōboku.

The relationship between the three holy sites is not actually very good. Apart from Shikkotsu Forest, where the slug sage resides, Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave are even worse.

Toads and snakes are natural enemies.

The thought of meeting the White Snake Sage sent chills down Fukasaku's spine.

Given the White Snake Immortal's temperament, wouldn't he have swallowed it before it even had a chance to speak, right?

Fukasaku thought about it and felt that it wasn't impossible, so he left the Great Toad Sage's residence and turned to call over the more honest Toad Ken.

Although it may not be of much use, it can at least provide some psychological comfort.

Like Mount Myoboku, Ryūchi-dong is hidden deep in the mountains.

As Fukasaku sat atop Gamaken's head, he was immediately surrounded by a large swarm of snakes as he entered Ryuchi Cave. The snakes' tongues hissed and twitched in the air, making a cold sound.

The toad held his shield upright in front of him, gripped his fork tightly, and was wary of a sudden surge of snakes.

"I am Fukasaku, the hermit of Mount Myōboku. I have come to see the White Snake Hermit on the orders of the Great Toad Hermit."

Fukasaku used the power of magic to amplify the sound dozens of times, making it echo throughout the vast Ryuchi Cave.

The snakes were driven back by the magic, but they quickly surrounded the area again.

"Is that not allowed?"

Shen Zuo frowned slightly, hesitating whether to force his way in.

Just then, the snakes suddenly parted to make way, and a girl with green hair, wearing a golden crown and a long dress, walked gracefully out from the snakes.

"Who are you?"

As Fukasaku looked at the girl in front of him, he felt a sense of familiarity.

"What? Don't you recognize me?"

The green-haired girl's face suddenly turned into a snake's head.

"It's you, Princess Tashin?" Upon seeing her appearance, Fukasaku suddenly remembered and said, "It's been so many years since we last met, and you can actually transform into human form now."

"Just a little trick."

Princess Tianxin transformed back into a beautiful young woman, using a folding fan to cover half her face: "The White Snake Immortal already knows why you've come. Please follow me."

Fukasaku breathed a sigh of relief; it was even simpler than he had imagined.

But at the same time, a question quickly filled Fukasaku's mind.

What did the Great Toad Sage foretell that made the White Snake Sage set aside his thousand-year-old grudges and decide to unite with Mount Myōboku?

Naruto Uzumaki stood blankly in the rain, gazing at the Third Hokage's tombstone.

Rain soaked his golden hair, but the boy was oblivious, staring blankly at the tombstone engraved with the name of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

In his memory, his three grandfathers were among the very few people who were willing to treat him well.

But now, that kind and gentle old man who always spied on the girl is buried in the earth forever and will never be seen again.

"Why do you think this is happening?"

Naruto felt more lost than ever before.

"What do you mean?"

Lu Mingze sat on the tombstone next to him, holding a black umbrella and wearing a white bow tie, as if he were attending a funeral.

"Why, every time, does someone have to take away the people I cherish?" Naruto lowered his eyes, rain streaming down his hair, obscuring his expression. He unconsciously clenched his fists, as if venting something: "Why, why am I always the one who's unlucky!"

Lu Mingze grinned and said, "Probably because I don't have the power."

Upon hearing this, Naruto lowered his eyes and remained silent.

Despite the torrential rain, the boy standing in the rain couldn't calm down. The image of the culprit who killed his three grandfathers kept flashing through his mind.

"Orochimaru."

He clenched his fists, his hatred never having been so intense.

However, at that moment, a figure emerged from the woods.

"You have a guest."

Lu Mingze offered a casual reminder.

guest?

Naruto turned around abruptly and realized that the figure was approaching.

But when the figure completely emerged from the shadows, long black hair cascaded down to the waist, long, golden pupils, like snake eyes, sent chills down one's spine, purple eyeshadow swept across the sides of the nose, pale skin seemed abnormal, and jade earrings on the earlobes jingled.

"Naruto-kun, we meet again."

The person who arrived was none other than Orochimaru, the culprit who publicly murdered the Third Hokage and attempted to provoke a war!

"It's you!!!"

Naruto stared at Orochimaru, and his anger erupted at that moment.

It was as if a raging fire was burning fiercely in his chest, and his pupils trembled as if they were being squeezed, like the vertical pupils of a wild beast, tinged with a scarlet hue.

Sensing the host's emotions, the Nine-Tailed Fox in the sealed space seemed to be stirring.

However, the boy in the suit gave him a cold look: "Don't move."

In an instant, the nine-tailed fox fell silent and obediently lowered its head.

I dare not move, I really dare not move!

The reaction in Naruto was that a heat source burned in his abdomen, but it quickly disappeared without a trace.

Even so, Naruto still drew his kunai and angrily charged towards Orochimaru.

"It was you! You killed three generations of my grandfathers!"

Looking at the out-of-control blond boy, Orochimaru gently sidestepped the kunai that was thrust at him, then raised his hand and slammed the boy's head hard against the ground.

boom!

Naruto's head made intimate contact with the ground.

Although the grass wasn't particularly hard, it still caused Naruto excruciating pain, with blood from his nose mixed with saliva flowing out.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

Naruto struggled frantically, but soon his body stiffened and he became unable to move.

"Don't get so excited, Naruto-kun."

Orochimaru calmly stood up, clapped his hands, and said indifferently, "I came to find you to talk."

"Why should I talk to you? You killed the Third Hokage!" Naruto's eyes were filled with rage as he glared at Orochimaru with hatred. "If it weren't for you, so many people wouldn't have died!"

"Yeah?"

Orochimaru's lips curled into a meaningful smile as he said, "What would you think if I told you that I wasn't the real killer of the Third Hokage?"

Upon hearing this, Naruto's brain almost shut down: "Whhh?"

"The Third Hokage in your eyes has long been replaced."

Orochimaru crouched down, his snake eyes reflecting the boy's astonished expression, and said with amusement, "If it weren't for me, your beloved 'Third Hokage' would have dragged the entire Hidden Leaf Village, and even the entire ninja world, into the quagmire of war, and then realized his ambitions."

"No way!"

Naruto glared at Orochimaru and growled, "You're lying to me! What impersonation? How could anyone impersonate the Third Hokage?!"

Naruto, who had been so self-righteous, suddenly saw a familiar figure—it was Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Naruto, what Orochimaru said is true."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, naturally resurrected through the Impure World Reincarnation technique, looked at Naruto with a complex expression: "About three years ago, I was killed by that person, and then he impersonated me. Even this Five Kage Summit was his scheme, intending to use the Amegakure (Hidden Rain Village) as a pretext to start the Third Shinobi World War!"

"Impossible."

Naruto suddenly felt as if the whole sky had collapsed.

"No need to confirm right away, Naruto-kun."

Orochimaru smiled slightly and said, "I'm just telling you the truth. Whether you believe it or not, you can verify it for yourself."

After saying that, he added, "By the way, what I told you today, don't tell anyone. That thing isn't dead. It's still alive, and it might even be lurking right next to you. If you don't want someone you cherish to be killed, keep this secret to yourself, understand?"

The control of the cursed seal disappeared, and Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have never appeared.

Naruto, dejected and lost in the torrential rain, walked home.

(End of this chapter)