Traveling through Naruto with Heroes of Might and Magic.

Do you know about the Third Hokage?

Human experimentation?

container?

Wait, has Orochimaru already developed the Reanimation Jutsu?

"Ho ho ho..."

Orochimaru spoke, his voice hoarse and soft, carrying a chilling quality:

"My good disciple, you have brought me a great gift. Your teacher will reward you."

"Red Bean...you...your...teacher?" Iruka, having regained some control, stammered as he asked.

"No..." Hongdou's face turned deathly pale instantly.

She wanted to explain, to say that she hadn't deliberately lured Qingwu here, to say that she didn't know the teacher would intervene, to say...

I have so much to say.

But Orochimaru's gaze swept over Iruka, over Anko, and finally settled on Seigo.

He seemed to have lost interest in everyone except Qingwu, not even glancing at his own disciples.

"Hey! Thousand-Handed Green Wutong, let me see your wonderful power."

Orochimaru stretched out a hand.

That hand was pale and long, like the fangs of a snake.

"Hidden Shadow Serpent Hand!"

The same ninjutsu, when used by different people, can have vastly different effects.

"Teacher—" Hongdou screamed with her eyes closed.

However, her scream got stuck in her throat.

Qingwu, with a solemn expression, jumped onto a tree branch to dodge the giant python's attack, and shouted at the same time: "Super Spirit Summoning Technique!"

"boom--!!!"

Centered on the green wutong tree, a beam of emerald green light shot into the sky!

"What?!" Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly.

next second.

A total of 60 dwarf warriors appeared under the tree.

The dwarf swung his heavy warhammer and slammed the giant serpent into the ground.

That's not all; 76 centaurs were lined up in four columns, their fur gleaming metallic in the sunlight.

Spears stood like a forest, and iron hooves trampled the earth, spreading out in all directions, as if ready to charge at any moment.

On the branches of several large trees beside Qingwu, 45 wood spirits leaped and flew among the treetops, longbows in hand, arrows nocked.

Faced with an enemy like Orochimaru, Qingwu summoned all his troops.

"This, this is..." Iruka had seen Qingwu's summoned creatures before, but... he never thought there would be so many. Are you sure it's not a legion?

"Teacher!" The moment Anko regained control of her body, she ran towards Orochimaru, wanting to question her teacher about why he had attacked her comrade.

However, Orochimaru seemed not to hear her cries.

Orochimaru's pupils also contracted at this moment, but he wasn't afraid; instead, he was... excited.

Orochimaru was deeply interested in everything unknown.

"I see!"

Orochimaru's vertical pupils revealed intense greed: "No wonder Danzo's men suffered losses at your hands, an army of summoning beasts? Heh heh heh..."

"old--"

Anko tried to speak, but Orochimaru, as if disgusted, sealed her mouth with a snake and sent her underground.

Orochimaru's gaze returned to Qingwu, and he walked over step by step.

His steps were light, but with each step he took, the sky seemed to darken a little more. Although it was almost noon, Iruka felt a chill run through his body.

"Let me see... where your wonderful power comes from."

At this moment, Orochimaru only wanted to capture Qingwu, cut open his stomach, and study the principles behind this Wood Release technique, which was different from that of the First Hokage.

"Iruka, get out of here!"

Qingwu's expression was solemn.

He certainly wasn't confident he could defeat Orochimaru.

But this is Konoha territory after all. If the Third Hokage is monitoring it, he should be able to find out and come to the rescue very quickly.

Even if all units are wiped out, we must buy time!

Iruka's pupils shrank to the size of pinpoints. He tried to move, but now only his mouth could move. "I... I won't retreat. I want to stay and fight together."

"go!"

Without wasting words, Qingwu manipulated the two centaurs to lead Iruka to the rear.

Orochimaru did not make a move; he didn't care at all about Iruka's fate.

He simply approached step by step.

It was as if they wanted to study these "wonderful" creatures up close...

Chapter 45 Spirit Summoning: Ten Thousand Snakes

"Are you trying to stall for time?"

Orochimaru suddenly shifted his gaze from the "summoned creature" and looked up at the green parasol tree on the branch.

Qingwu stared intently at Orochimaru's actions: "If you're curious about my Wood Release, I might as well explain it to you."

"Ho ho..."

Orochimaru remained unhurried: "Are you waiting for the old man? He... I'm afraid he won't be here for a while."

"What? Could it be..."

Qingwu's heart sank.

Konoha is currently experiencing a decline in its top wisdom. Apart from the Uchiha clan, if Jiraiya and Tsunade are also absent, the only Kage-level wisdom remaining in the village are the Third Hokage, Danzo, and Orochimaru.

And Orochimaru's meaning...

……

at the same time.

The Third Hokage is currently in a standoff with Danzo at Konoha Hospital.

"Hiruzen, so much time has passed. Do you want to waste a ninja's precious time for growth?"

Danzo stood at the door of the ward, leaning on his cane: "Get out of the way, I must take 'A' with me today!"

The Third Hokage frowned and said, "Danzo, I've told you many times, you are not allowed to have any contact with him again."

However, Danzo was particularly tough today, saying, "Kai is a subordinate I've painstakingly trained. If you can't make him work for you, give him back to me."

Sandaime: "..."

Wood Release holds immense significance for Konoha, but after all this time, having tried both soft and hard methods, the boy inside still insists on returning to Root.

“His injury last time was quite serious…” The Third Hokage brought up the previous reason again, “He will need at least a month to recover.”

"Hmph, so that Senju Seigo had no good intentions. He probably saw another Wood Release ninja appear and was worried about losing favor, so he injured 'Armor' like this."

"Danzo, don't always have such malice towards a child."

"Hiruzen, you're too naive. Otherwise, how do you explain that 'Kai' was injured so badly during what was just a routine investigation?"

"It was you who sent someone to Qingwu's house without permission..."

"Hiruzen, I have the authority to investigate everything that happens in Konoha."

"In any case, to avoid any lasting effects on A, as the Hokage, I need to make sure his injuries are all healed before I let him go."

The Third Hokage emphasized the word "Hokage" very much.

In the past, Danzo would have angrily slammed the door and left.

However, Danzo only gave another cold snort today:

"Hiruzen, do you think I'll believe what you say? Today, whether you agree or not, I'm taking my people away."

The Third Hokage, whose brow was furrowed, suddenly changed his expression.

He smiled slightly: "Danzo, we're both old. What? Are you going to use force?"

The third generation master shook his divine robe.

The divine robe slipped down, revealing a black tactical bodysuit underneath. "I'd like to see if you've improved over the years, old friend."

"..." Danzo was about to speak.

"Whoosh!"

An ANBU member appeared and knelt on one knee: "Hokage-sama, something has happened at the examination hall."

"Huh?" The Third Hokage was taken aback.

He monitors the exam room every day, and he only left for a short while... how could this happen?

"A fierce battle has broken out over at the examination hall. The chief examiner and the secret service have already rushed there."

What a coincidence, Qingwu… The Third Hokage suddenly turned around, staring intently at Danzo: “You deliberately lured me here, didn’t you?”

Danzo, however, refused to admit it: "What nonsense are you talking about? Something's happened and you're not going to deal with it? No, I'll go with you."

The Third Hokage glared angrily at Danzo.

He didn't even bother to put on his divine robes and jumped out of the window.