I am the new Hokage of Konoha.

Having fallen so low that they can't even get enough to eat, and with critical shortages of essential rations like pills, kunai, and shuriken, can the Iwa ninja, whose morale is at an all-time low, hold on?

Deidara suddenly thought to himself.

However, he quickly put this idea out of his mind.

No matter what, we must hold on.

"Old man, I'll go back to the village right now and get another batch of supplies," Deidara said quickly.

"Be careful, Deidara."

At this moment, every Iwa ninja must dedicate all their strength.

Ōnoki would not refuse his disciple's request.

At last.

Watching Deidara's departing figure, Onoki, lying on the bed and enduring the pain, said with a firm gaze:

Two days!

......

Two days?

Inside the main tent of the Konoha army in the Land of Grass.

According to the latest intelligence, a force from Sunagakure has set off for the Land of Earth. After calculating the distance, it is clear that this new force will be able to reach Jiraiya's location in two days. Minato Namikaze said calmly.

Then, he looked at the group of Konoha ninja present and announced decisively, "Since we only have two days, let's set the time for two days from now and give the Iwa ninja a final funeral!"

"Yes!"

At that moment, all the Konoha ninja nodded excitedly.

Having fought this far, every Konoha ninja is now full of confidence regarding the current situation, firmly believing that they will achieve final victory in two days.

However, they did not expect this.

Sometimes life is full of surprises.

Just two days later, Konoha Village, their base of operations, will play a little "joke" on them.

Chapter 285 Orochimaru's Resurrection

It was cold, damp, and quiet.

Just as the ninja world was in an uproar over the outbreak of the Fourth Shinobi World War, a heavy footstep broke the silence in a secret underground base located in the Land of Waterfall.

"Kimimaro, the sacrificial offerings have been captured."

A slightly naive male voice rang out. A tall boy named Jugo, carrying an unconscious person on his shoulder, spoke kindly to a boy with white hair and two red dots between his eyebrows in the base.

"Well done, Jugo!"

His gaze swept over the cursed mark on the neck of the unconscious man, and the white-haired youth Kimimaro nodded in satisfaction, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"Now Lord Orochimaru can be revived."

Since Lord Orochimaru went to the Land of Fire some time ago and never returned, Kimimaro, who already knew the outcome based on the contingency plans left behind by the former, began to prepare for Lord Orochimaru's resurrection.

The so-called preparation naturally refers to the spell seal.

As masters of the soul, each person who has been marked by Orochimaru's cursed seal harbors his consciousness, which is also the key to his resurrection.

Kimimaro also had a curse mark on his body.

However, according to the former's previous instructions, this time, in order to revive Lord Orochimaru, he needs to restore Lord Orochimaru to his perfect state in one step, under the dual blessing of the cursed seal and the resurrection of the corpse.

Instead of simply awakening it from the curse seal, causing it to become weak for a long time.

Therefore, Kimimaro, who could not become a candidate for the Undead Reincarnation due to a hidden illness, could only choose the highest quality offering from the many sacrifices prepared by Lord Orochimaru.

But then an unexpected incident occurred.

The chosen sacrifice not only showed no honor, but also dared to escape.

Kimimaro, who had wasted some effort on this person, has finally finished everything now.

"Let's begin now." At this moment, Kimimaro, usually so calm, spoke with a rare hint of excitement.

“Okay.” Jugo, who was more willing to listen to Kimimaro than Orochimaru, quickly put the offering on the operating table.

At the same time, Kimimaro opened a hidden box in the secret base and took out a sealed scroll.

After unpacking it, a piece of flesh sealed inside the glass jar was removed.

This is precisely one of Orochimaru's original flesh and blood.

To awaken someone from a cursed seal, one must have their own chakra input.

Orochimaru's own flesh and blood containing chakra was undoubtedly the best choice.

In the following time, after taking out Orochimaru's flesh and blood, Kimimaro immediately placed it on the cursed seal position of the offering, and then quickly formed hand seals according to the technique taught by the former.

A few breaths later, as Kimimaro completed the hand seals, the three magatama-shaped curse marks on the neck of the offering quickly lit up with a strong light.

Under this light, Orochimaru's flesh and blood were visibly being rapidly absorbed by the cursed seal.

Finally, the cleansed seal suddenly moved.

moment!

One after another, black magatama beads spread out from the curse mark, covering the entire body of the offering.

In a daze, Kimimaro and Jugo, who were watching from the sidelines, seemed to hear a familiar hoarse voice.

"Reincarnation of the Undead!"

Under their watchful eyes, a surge of chakra that did not belong to the sacrificial offering rapidly entered the offering's body.

After taking over all the cells like a cuckoo occupying a magpie's nest, a familiar aura began to appear.

Upon seeing this, Kimimaro finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing Kimimaro relax, Jugo's own face also relaxed.

a long time.

When there was no more movement on the operating table, Orochimaru's uniquely hoarse voice rang out clearly the next second:

"Kimimaro, Shigego, well done."

As soon as the words fell, the previously unconscious sacrifice sat up instantly, and a pair of cold, golden snake-like eyes, unlike the former's, swept towards the two people in front of him.

Clearly, the souls of the original sacrificial offerings have been erased.

Now, however, it is the real Orochimaru who has taken his place.

"Master Orochimaru!"

Kimimaro, his eyes burning with desire, immediately knelt on one knee and said.

Jugo, who was standing nearby, followed suit.

"Get up." Orochimaru waved his hand as he stepped off the operating table, signaling the two to rise.

At the same time, he wiped his face with his other hand, and his original appearance was instantly covered over the face of this body.

Then, under the influence of the chakra within his body, his body crackled and popped.

In an instant, Orochimaru, who had been in the form of a sacrifice, transformed back into his true form.

"This body is not bad." After experiencing the new body, Orochimaru gave a light review, then frowned slightly and said, "It's a pity that the previous body was even better and could have been used for a long time, but it just so happened that it encountered that evil star. What bad luck."

Even now, Orochimaru is still quite unhappy about the last time he tried to steal a chicken but ended up being caught and killed by Yun Ting.

Although being killed is not true death, who would want to sleep in darkness forever?

"I'm sorry, Lord Orochimaru!" Kimimaro, who thought that the offering he had chosen had not satisfied Lord Orochimaru, handed over the clothes that had been prepared for him, and said with great remorse.

"No, Kimimaro, you've done very well," Orochimaru said, taking the clothes from him.

Even someone as discerning as him was extremely satisfied with a subordinate who had devoted himself entirely to him and possessed the powerful bloodline limit of the Corpse Bone Pulse.

The only pity is that the other party suffers from a serious illness that even he cannot cure.

With only a few years left to live, it's impossible for me to possess this body that I so desperately desire.

Soon, after donning his white kimono and purple shimenawa again, completely restoring his former appearance, Orochimaru flashed a serpentine smile and said, "The ninja world seems to be quite lively these days!"

Although he was physically killed, his consciousness still exists within each of the cursed seals.

Orochimaru was also very clear about everything that the person with the cursed seal had seen during this period.

"Lord Orochimaru, the Fourth Shinobi World War has begun. This is the intelligence that your subordinates and I have gathered over this period of time." Upon hearing this, Kimimaro handed over another intelligence document.

Orochimaru did not refuse.

After all, what he saw was only one side of the story; he needed more detailed information to understand the current situation.

A few minutes later, Orochimaru, whose war experience was no less than Jiraiya's and even surpassed it, chuckled, his golden eyes flashing.

"Lord Orochimaru, is there anything we need to do?" Kimimaro asked curiously.

"Whether it's Konoha or the other coalition, it has nothing to do with me. I have no interest in wars started by others. However..." Orochimaru's expression was calm at first, but then he changed the subject and said, "I still have a strong desire for revenge against the person who killed me twice."

"Now, let me present this enemy with a great gift."

In the end, Orochimaru's golden vertical doll was filled with icy killing intent.

Chapter 286 Konoha's Maki Squad

Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf Village)

As the most prosperous place in the Land of Fire and even the entire ninja world, although the flames of war did not reach here or even the Land of Fire, the series of changes caused by the war still affected this place.

Putting everything else aside, the departure of tens of thousands of Konoha ninja who originally lived in the village has made the entire village much quieter, and even the once bustling commercial district has become much more desolate than at its peak.

Of course, regardless of the circumstances, most of the remaining people continued to live their lives as always.

At this very moment, a small group consisting of Senju Maki, Uchiha Yui, and Naruto Sasuke was idly strolling down the street.

"Ughhhhhh~~~ Why do Sasuke and I, who are both grown up, have to go shopping with you two?!" Naruto's miserable cry of boredom rang out halfway through their walk.