I just returned to Konoha and found that my entire clan was gone.

"Kakashi-sensei, thank you for your guidance." Sasuke didn't say anything more. He had always known about Kakashi's dedication to him. He used to take it for granted, but after joining the Anbu, he realized that teachers as responsible as Kakashi were extremely rare.

He bowed deeply with gratitude and followed Ye Lan without saying another word.

Chapter 92 The Crack (Part 1)

Thump thump thump—

"Enter."

Tsunade was busy reviewing materials and didn't even look up to say a word.

The only sound in the office was the soft scratching of Tsunade's writing. After a long silence, Tsunade realized that someone had entered the office.

She stopped writing and looked at the person who had arrived, then sighed.

"I already know about your encounter with Orochimaru. It seems you two are both alright."

Sasuke was somewhat tempted and wanted to speak, but Ye Lan stopped him by shaking her head and then said.

"Lord Hokage, Sasuke's attack this time was not accidental. Danzo leaked Sasuke's information to Orochimaru..."

Ye Lan's words were devoid of any emotion; he simply recounted what Sasuke had told him, without embellishing a single word or action, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"So it was A who directly ambushed Sasuke, and all of this was orchestrated by Danzo."

After hearing this, Tsunade slammed her fist on the desk, sending the documents flying.

"I didn't expect that even if he went too far, he would still have some restraint. I didn't expect him to directly attack the people in the village!"

That's true. Tsunade thought Danzo had only leaked information, but she didn't expect him to actually let Kagami take action. If the village found out about his cooperation with a rogue ninja like Orochimaru, he would become a pariah.

"Shizune!" Tsunade summoned Shizune directly. "Have Danzo come to the Hokage's office immediately. I have something to ask him!"

Regardless of Tsunade's behavior at this moment, Ye Lan's face remained expressionless. He didn't look like a victim at all, but rather like a spectator watching everything unfold.

Seeing Ye Lan's expression, Tsunade thought to herself that he was in a difficult situation, and then changed the subject to other things.

"Sasuke, how are your other two teammates? Are they getting along well?"

For someone like Sasuke, a member of the Anbu, Tsunade should only use his code name; it's very rare for her to address him by his full name like this.

When Sasuke realized that Tsunade had asked him a question, he was initially surprised, but after looking at Ye Lan's expression and seeing that he remained unmoved, he finally spoke.

"Both Antelope and Gray Wolf are great teammates, and we cooperate very well. They are trustworthy comrades."

"Don't you mind abandoning them and going straight back to the village?"

Tsunade stared intently at Sasuke, trying to discern if there was anything unusual about his expression.

"How could that be? Even if they had stayed, there would only have been two more corpses. Given the circumstances, their best course of action was to return to Konoha as quickly as possible."

Sasuke didn't hesitate at all and said directly that this was his true feeling. At that time, he really hoped that the two of them would leave as soon as possible. Tayuya was swallowed alive by Manda right in front of him, and he didn't want to see that scene happen to his teammates.

Seeing Sasuke's decisiveness, Tsunade couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Sasuke and Yelan's loyalty to Konoha was beyond question, and she must not become like her teacher.

"If you think the rest of your class are all pretty good, then your class should follow Tenzo from now on. That way, I'll feel more at ease." After thinking it over, Tsunade decided to make arrangements for Sasuke first.

As the captain of the Dark Guard, Tenzo is certainly not weak. With him around, even if they encounter any powerful opponents, Sasuke's safety can be guaranteed. Moreover, with Sasuke able to use the Reverse Summoning Technique, as long as he doesn't do anything reckless, there won't be any more accidents.

Sasuke was surprised that Tsunade would make such an arrangement. He had only met Tenzo a few times. After joining the Anbu, he had always heard that Tenzo's strength was unfathomable and that the level of secrecy was very high. He had only been in the Anbu for less than a year when he became teammates with the Anbu captain.

This truly demonstrates Tsunade's trust in him, and also shows a sense of compensation.

"Don't overthink it. I'm doing this to put Ye Lan at ease. I can't let him run over to save you every time."

Tsunade still had a firm grip on Sasuke, a child, but what gave her a headache was Ye Lan, who was always reluctant to talk.

"Ye Lan, tell me, how did you feel about meeting Orochimaru this time? Without his hands, he's definitely no match for you, right?"

After Orochimaru lost both hands, he personally went to Tsunade to ask her to treat him, but Tsunade refused for whatever reason. Therefore, she was well aware that Orochimaru's strength had declined significantly.

"Lord Hokage, you underestimate your old classmate. In my opinion, he might be even more troublesome without his hands." For Sasuke's sake, Ye Lan decided to give Tsunade a heads-up.

"What did he do this time?" Tsunade hadn't expected to get such unexpected information from Ye Lan. Tsunade's feelings for Orochimaru were very complicated.

"Do you still remember the Impure World Reincarnation technique?"

Of course I remember. When Orochimaru found her, he used this technique to tempt her, saying that it could revive the two people she loved most, in exchange for repairing Orochimaru's hands.

But what does that have to do with anything? Tsunade had heard that when Orochimaru dealt with the Third Hokage, who was resurrected as her great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather, Hiruzen Sarutobi single-handedly suppressed all three of them.

When she learned this information, she knew that the Impure World Reincarnation was a pretty but useless technique. With the strength of her two grandfathers, either of them could easily defeat the Third Hokage in his prime. The strongest Hokage? In Tsunade's eyes, it was a self-deceptive joke.

Seeing Tsunade's nonchalant attitude, Ye Lan understood that Tsunade definitely hadn't considered this point.

"When I arrived, I first dealt with Manda, and then Orochimaru used the Impure World Reincarnation technique, which produced the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa."

Ignoring Tsunade's somewhat surprised expression, Ye Lan continued.

“I’ve seen it before when Orochimaru fought the Third Hokage. The Edo Tensei he was fighting back then was not on the same level as the one I was dealing with. The completeness of the resurrected Rasa was completely different. I’m sure that the Edo Tensei Rasa not only has his consciousness from his previous life, but also most of his strength.”

"Are you sure?" This information is indeed valuable. If Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation really achieves this effect, he only needs to resurrect famous ninjas from the past to defeat everyone.

"That's right. I had a hard time dealing with Rasa back then. Fortunately, sealing techniques are effective against this kind of technique. Otherwise, with unlimited chakra and an immortal body, it would have been quite difficult to deal with him."

"It seems we can no longer let him get away with this. We need to keep a close eye on Orochimaru's movements from now on."

Tsunade was well aware of the terrifying nature of this technique. If Orochimaru were to act rashly and use the Impure World Reincarnation technique extensively, it would bring a catastrophe to the entire ninja world.

Thump thump thump—

The office door rang again. Ye Lan subtly distanced himself from Tsunade and stood expressionless to the side.

Seeing Ye Lan's actions, Tsunade clicked her tongue. At this moment, only Danzo had arrived, and Ye Lan was watching to see how she would handle the situation.

Even though they were her subordinates, they seemed to be scrutinizing her. No matter how magnanimous Tsunade was, she was still a little annoyed and said a single word in an annoyed tone.

"Enter!"

Chapter 93 The Crack (Part Two)

The first to enter the room were not Danzo, but Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado. Danzo then walked in shakily.

Not only did Tsunade frown, but Ye Lan's expression also changed.

In Danzo's mind, he had always been a sinister and vicious old man who walked with a brisk pace and showed no signs of aging. He looked much younger than the Third Hokage, who was the same age as him, but at this moment his face had become unusually pale.

"Shizune, what's going on? Didn't I just tell you to call Danzo over?"

Tsunade was somewhat annoyed that Shizune was incompetent; why had she brought those two troublemakers along again?

"Tsunade, don't blame her. We came here of our own accord," Koharu Utatane said directly, making her stance clear from this moment on.

Shizune managed to squeeze in last and quickly ran behind Tsunade. She had no choice; the advisors had somehow gotten wind of the situation and had all come over.

"Okay, it's fine if you come."

Tsunade didn't care about anything else now and just said it directly.

"Uchiha Sasuke encountered Orochimaru during this mission, but he has managed to return by luck. Orochimaru has always had designs on Sasuke and even launched an attack on him during the Chunin Exams, as you all remember."

Tsunade got to the point, and Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, of course, knew about it and both nodded.

"Sasuke was ambushed by Orochimaru as soon as he left the village, and at the same time, he had already been attacked by his own teammate, 'Kagami,' and was seriously injured..."

"Wait a minute." Koharu Utatane interrupted her abruptly. Tsunade looked at her with some annoyance; this girl still had no memory.

“We all know Orochimaru’s strength. You say Sasuke was ambushed and seriously injured, so how come he came back alive and looks perfectly fine?”

"That's because Ye Lan arrived and repelled Orochimaru once again," Tsunade answered directly, and seeing that Koharu Utatane wanted to ask more questions, she said it directly.

"Don't ask Ye Lan how he was able to get here. This is his ninjutsu, and this kind of information cannot be leaked."

This immediately shut Koharu Utatane up, and then Homura Mitokado spoke directly.

"In that case, let's bring 'A' over for a confrontation and see what really happened?"

"Do you think he could have leaked Sasuke's information by himself? How can you be sure he has someone backing him? Besides, Sasuke heard Kagami say that he was conveying Lord Danzo's greetings to Orochimaru."

Ye Lan went straight to the point, highlighting the most important details while keeping a close eye on Danzo's every move.

"Danzo! Did you really do this?" Mitokado Homura never expected that there was such a thing. The two of them were just teammates that Danzo had temporarily recruited. He never expected that Danzo would hide it from them.

"Heh, Uchiha Yelan's mudslinging tactics have no effect on this old man." Danzo remained calm, his pale face masking an undeniable tone.

“Then I suggest we torture A and ask the mountain tribe for help. That way, the truth will come out.”

Ye Lan's method was the most direct and fastest, but Tsunade was somewhat dissatisfied after hearing it.

"You evil brat from the Uchiha clan, you really don't care about the lives of your comrades at all. In my opinion, someone like you should be sent to school to learn what the Will of Fire is."

Danzo launched a direct attack, seemingly without any grounds for rebuttal.

Sasuke was a little angry. This was the first time he had ever seen someone call black white. Did this kind of person have no sense of reason at all?

Ye Lan gestured for Sasuke not to panic and slowly said, "Companions? They are people you can entrust your back to. I can trust Kakashi, Anko, Guy, Asuma, and so on. What are you?"

Tsunade's initially somewhat displeased expression softened upon hearing Ye Lan's words.

"You bastard! How dare you speak like that!" Xiaochun from the dormitory pointed at Ye Lan. This kid was challenging their authority. If word got out, it would be disastrous.

At this moment, Jingyin was hiding in a corner, covering her ears, wondering how she ended up in such a place.

"You need to understand this! Sasuke and I are here as victims! And the suspect is among you! The fact that I can talk to you calmly already shows that I'm being very rational!"

Ye Lan choked back immediately, his Sharingan already activated in his pupils, and a dark chakra erupted from his body.

Do you really think you're so used to being a good person that you have no temper at all? You and Zhishui have somewhat different personalities. You both seem like nice guys, but once Yelan crosses your bottom line, he will be ruthless no matter who it is.

Koharu's fingers recoiled instantly, and she involuntarily took a few steps back. Having been away from battle for so long, how could she withstand Ye Lan's imposing aura?

"Kid! Are you trying to rebel?!"

Despite Danzo having half his body wrapped in bandages and looking like he was about to die, he didn't back down at all and instead walked up to Koharu Utatane.

"Ye Lan!"

Tsunade seemed to give a reprimand, but Ye Lan immediately returned to his normal demeanor, as if nothing had happened.

"Ye Lan is still young and a bit emotional. As for rebellion or anything like that, I, as the Hokage, am right here. Do you think the advisors would be afraid?"

Tsunade easily defused Danzo's difficult situation. What she was most satisfied with after Ye Lan returned to the village was that, unlike some ninjas who acted recklessly without thinking, Ye Lan rationally sought her out for discussion.

"Let's call Jia over first and have him confront Sasuke. I think all the advisors will know what the situation is."