Yes, the Hokage

"Hmph." However, Tobirama immediately saw through Fenglan's little scheme, "You kid, you think that Big Brother's fighting strength has recovered again, and you don't want to let us go, right?"

[Damn it, why don't you just see through me and not say it? How am I supposed to ask you to stay if you're being so direct?] Feng Lan felt her eyelids twitch.

"Fenglan, it's best to leave the village affairs to you." Hashirama turned around and smiled. "After seeing Madara's body, I have no more attachment to this world. Let us old folks return to dust."

[Tch, they rejected me so directly. Looks like I'll have to resort to some drastic measures.]

Feng Lan steeled his resolve and was about to speak up and try again, as he was unwilling to give up this level of combat power easily. However, Shui Men suddenly pressed down on his shoulder and shook his head.

Just as Fenglan understands Minato, Minato also understands Fenglan. It is precisely because he understands him that he intervened at this moment.

“Alright…” Feng Lan sighed helplessly. “Shisui, control Orochimaru and undo the Impure World Reincarnation.”

"Yes."

Shisui immediately complied. The weakened Orochimaru seemed powerless to resist and simply followed the order to form hand seals. Soon, a faint white light began to emanate from Hashirama and Tobirama.

"Looks like it's over." Hashirama smiled calmly. "I'm quite happy to be back this time, but I think it's best if this kind of thing doesn't happen again."

The implication is that they should stop trying to resurrect me with Edo Tensei and instead focus on developing the village's strength.

"Hmph, staying would have been a better choice, but oh well, the village will ultimately depend on you descendants to protect it." Tobirama was still being arrogant, but there was a faint smile on his lips.

The two turned around at the same time and looked at the people behind them: "Monkey, Minato, and Fenglan, the village... I'm counting on you."

Chapter 195 The Death of the Third Generation

As the bodies of the two previous Hokage gradually dissipated into the air, everyone was filled with mixed emotions.

For Minato, Obito, and Shisui, these two were legendary figures who established Konoha Village in a chaotic world and protected the entire Land of Fire. They were the goals that Minato admired and pursued. Obito, in particular, had been personally mentored by the First Hokage and could almost be considered half a disciple of him. Naturally, he felt a mix of joy and sorrow.

The tragedy lies in the fact that the two were ultimately from different eras. Even though we witnessed their brilliance for a short time, they were destined to part ways unexpectedly.

The joy stemmed from the fact that the First and Second Hokage entrusted the village to them, proving that they had gained recognition.

Compared to them, Feng Lan and Hiruko were the more composed ones. As for Feng Lan, the transmigrator, there's no need to say anything. Although the First Hokage's attitude was one of refusal, if something really went wrong, he would definitely use White Zetsu as material to summon these two back. If you're so capable, why don't you just watch the village fall and do nothing?

So he didn't take the parting seriously at all, and even used the crystal ball to film the two disappearing. After all, he had agreed to give the other major powers an explanation to put their minds at ease.

Hiruko's attention had long since shifted to Shinya Venom beside him. He had no respect for the two previous Hokage, only a thirst for their powerful strength.

The Third Hokage is the most special, because the First and Second Hokage were not legendary figures to him, but mentors who watched him grow up. The Second Hokage, in particular, was like a father to him. In front of others, he was the powerful Third Hokage, an old fox who had to rack his brains to fight against, and a powerful warrior with unparalleled strength. But in front of those two, he was just an affectionate name—Monkey.

The pain of such a brief reunion followed by another separation is the deepest blow to the three generations who are already in their twilight years.

He stared at the spot where the two Hokage had vanished for a long time, unable to come to his senses.

"Sandaime-sama? Sandaime-sama?"

Minato tried calling out several times before the Third Hokage suddenly turned around: "Huh?"

Minato couldn't help but show a surprised expression, because the Third Hokage in front of him was the first time he seemed old. He had always presented himself as shrewd, capable, and vigorous in his old age, never showing any signs of fatigue, which made people subconsciously ignore his age and only notice his power and make judgments.

At this moment, everyone present clearly realized that the Third Hokage had really aged, so much so that his face was full of wrinkles and his beard was mostly white. This was probably because he had exhausted a lot of energy in the illusion array, and even his breathing was not yet completely calm.

The Third Generation knew he shouldn't be like this at a time like this, but today he was truly exhausted, both physically and mentally, and couldn't even pretend to be as composed as he usually was.

"Advisor Fenglan," he said slowly, his eyes closed, "Orochimaru should be handed over to me now."

His mentor has left again; he must at least protect his beloved disciple.

"Obito, Shisui, check on Orochimaru." Although Fenglan was also very tired, he still maintained the necessary vigilance.

The two immediately activated their Sharingan and stepped forward, then retreated a moment later: "His chakra is still depleted, and his injuries haven't even fully healed. Theoretically, he can't even break free from the shackles on his body."

“Third Hokage…” Feng Lan hesitated for a moment, “Your current condition isn’t very good, perhaps we should wait until tomorrow…”

"Hand him over to me." The Third Hokage's voice was deep, tinged with weariness, yet undeniably firm. "This is what we agreed upon from the beginning."

“Then, please be very careful.” Feng Lan glanced at Minato and finally gave in. “I know that in your heart, he is your beloved disciple, but don’t forget that to the village, he is the extremely dangerous rogue ninja Orochimaru. This guy will do anything to regain his freedom.”

"No need for the advisor to trouble himself." The Third Generation sighed. "I have my own methods. I will never let him cause any more harm to the village... nor will I let anyone hurt him again."

Since he had already said so much, Feng Lan naturally couldn't say anything more and could only watch as the third generation carried the entire cross away slowly.

“Lord Fenglan,” Zhishui said, noticing his expression, “If you’re worried, I’ll secretly follow them…”

“No, the Third Hokage’s ANBU are not to be trifled with either. If he finds out we’re trying to get our hands on Orochimaru again, he’ll really go berserk.” Feng Lan glanced at the Third Hokage’s slightly staggering back one last time. “Go back, everyone. Even if you’re an old man, put Orochimaru out of your mind for now.”

"You mean temporarily?" Minato raised an eyebrow.

“That’s right, Orochimaru will eventually have to be killed, but we can’t turn against the Third Hokage for now,” Feng Lan said calmly. “At least while the Third Hokage is alive, we should be able to keep an eye on him and prevent him from having any more opportunities to do evil.”

The implication is that once the Third Hokage dies of old age, Orochimaru will still have to die.

He never concealed his murderous intent towards Orochimaru, but he kept backing down because of the Third Hokage. This was not only because the Third Hokage was powerful enough that it was difficult to turn against him, but also because he gained enough benefits with each concession, and more importantly, because Orochimaru, in theory, could not cause any trouble once he was in the Third Hokage's hands.

"Alright, everyone must be tired after a long day. Go back and rest." He stretched and yawned. Although he was still a little worried about Orochimaru, the Third Hokage was no pushover. He wasn't as weak as he was during the Konoha Collapse Plan. Dealing with Orochimaru, who had burned through his mana, was a piece of cake for him.

……

The Third Hokage carried Orochimaru all the way back to his home. The ANBU guards who were nearby immediately came up to help, but he waved them off, saying, "Activate the barrier immediately and do not allow anyone to set foot here!"

"Yes!"

The elite ANBU members around immediately sprang into action, and soon a triple protective barrier was activated. The Third Hokage then led Orochimaru directly to the secret basement beneath the tea room to begin preparations.

He first bit his finger and drew on the ground, the content of which was the sealing seal that Kakashi placed on Sasuke in the main story. After setting this up, the Third Hokage took out various rare materials and continued to inscribe the seal around the blood-red characters.

"The Evil-Sealing Seal plus the Great Five Elements Seal, ha... Sarutobi-sensei, are you trying to completely strip me of my qualifications to be a ninja?" At some point, Orochimaru, who was hanging on the cross, raised his head, his pale golden vertical pupils staring at his mentor.

"I'm doing this for your own good." The Third Hokage stopped what he was doing, looked up at his disciple, and said, "Your ambition is too dangerous. It has begun to affect the safety of the village. Feng Lan will not let you off the hook."

"All I can do is seal all your meridians, so that your chakra can no longer flow, and keep you by my side to protect you. As long as you don't show any aggression, even Feng Lan won't be able to hurt you again."

“I know that even without chakra, you will slowly break this seal, so I will reinforce it every three months to give you no chance to escape.”

"Teacher," Orochimaru's tone turned cold, "I am merely your disciple, not your puppet. I will not obey your every command, and you can forget about using this method to keep me by your side for the rest of my life!"

"This is the best method I can think of." The Third Hokage sighed and lowered his head again to draw the sealing incantation. "I can't let you hurt the village, and I can't let anyone hurt you either, so... forgive me."

"You're always so autocratic! Why should everyone do what you say? Just because you're the Hokage!" Orochimaru struggled violently, blood dripping from the torture instruments. "Because of you, even your own son refused to serve in Konoha and went to the Daimyo's side to become one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja!"

"Why should I forgive you? Why should I obey you? I am Orochimaru, the Orochimaru who will research all ninjutsu and live forever!"

"Immortality is just a dream, a dream that can never be realized. Even a strongman like the First Hokage has left us." The Third Hokage dared not look up again, for he could not bear to see his disciple's disappointed and furious face. "Orochimaru, forget those things and live a peaceful life as an ordinary villager of Konoha."

"Ordinary Konoha villagers?" Orochimaru's mind conjured up images of Konoha commoners brimming with the will of a hegemon. He suddenly fell silent, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Sarutobi-sensei, do you know where the biggest difference lies between you and Fenglan?"

The Third Hokage did not answer, but Orochimaru sneered sarcastically, "It's because he never treated the Konoha villagers as human beings, while you actually treat these Konoha guys as family!"

"Don't use that word in front of me, Orochimaru." The Third Hokage's reply was exactly the same as Minato's.

"I'll give you one last chance, Sarutobi-sensei." As Orochimaru spoke, his wounds were healing at a visible speed. Unfortunately, the Third Hokage was facing away from him, focused on drawing the seal, and didn't notice. "Let me leave now, and I promise I won't go back to Konoha."

"I don't trust you. You'll definitely come back, because you and Fenglan are mortal enemies." The Third Hokage tried to make his voice sound cold. "Stop trying to be clever. Just be a good student by your teacher's side. If you really behave well, I'll consider it..."

"Pfft—!"

Before he could finish speaking, an extremely sharp sword coated with deadly poison pierced his chest: "I gave you a chance. Since you insist on this, then die... Teacher!"

"How...how is this possible?!"

The excruciating pain left the Third Hokage's mind blank. He was truly old and exhausted. In today's illusion array, Hashirama and Tobirama were in their reanimated forms, and Minato was young and strong. Only he was old and frail, so he was targeted by the Three Goddesses as a breakthrough point.

Although he was not injured, he had exhausted a lot of his physical strength and chakra. His heart was also tormented by the departure of his mentor and the miserable state of his disciple. He was in a state of physical and mental exhaustion. In particular, he was now facing away from Orochimaru, concentrating on drawing the seal, and he was also feeling guilty towards his disciple so he dared not turn around. Therefore, he was ambushed and successfully attacked!

Of course, this is also related to the fact that he never expected Orochimaru to suddenly recover his chakra. After all, Shisui and Obito both checked with their Sharingan and found that Orochimaru was definitely out of chakra at this time!

But the truth is cruel; the Kusanagi sword pierced straight through his chest, and this sword was undoubtedly spat out of the snake's mouth. As for the snake... it was naturally spat out of Orochimaru's mouth.

"Both you and Fenglan have underestimated Ryuchi Cave and me!"

Orochimaru sneered and shed his skin, freeing himself from the prison. He was now radiant, a far cry from the faintly breathing Kong Lan he had been.

“It’s… the White Snake Sage…” The Third Hokage felt his vision blur and involuntarily knelt down on the ground.

"It's too late to know all this now." Orochimaru calmly began forming hand seals. "I know you had arranged for three barriers to be set up outside just in case, but I escaped using the Reverse Summoning Technique. Even a god couldn't stop me!"

"Konoha, and that damned Feng Lan, just you wait..." His golden vertical pupils radiated an astonishing killing intent, "I will repay you a hundredfold for the humiliation and torment you have suffered during this time!"

Orochimaru was making threats while forming hand seals, but just as he finished the last seal, he was horrified to find that he could no longer move his body.

"What, what is this?!"

Looking down, he saw a semi-transparent, purplish-blue hand reaching into his body and tearing it out forcefully, as if trying to rip another semi-transparent version of himself out of his body. The owner of this hand was a withered monster wearing a white robe and with a face resembling a demon.

"I was wrong, I was really wrong..." The Third Hokage, who had collapsed to the ground and was spitting blood, trembled as he formed hand seals. "Orochimaru... my indulgence of you... led you down the path you are today, but as the Hokage... I will absolutely not allow you to do anything to harm the village again!"

He clasped his hands together sharply: "Sealing Technique - Corpse Demon Sealing!"

"Damn old man!" Orochimaru was both shocked and furious. He had at least held back with his sword strike and hadn't really intended to kill. He only planned to severely injure the Third Hokage before running away. He never expected that even in his current state, this old guy would still have the strength to fight to the death!

He was now unable to use magic, but with a flick of his finger, the sword embedded in the Third Generation's chest began to spin and approach his heart. He couldn't care less about the master-disciple relationship now; if his soul were devoured by the Grim Reaper, even he would be unable to regenerate.

"Die—!"

The two exerted their strength together, roaring angrily. If they continued at this intensity, the consequence would inevitably be the death of the Third Hokage, and Orochimaru's soul would be extracted by the Grim Reaper, forever locked in a bitter struggle with his mentor's soul within the Grim Reaper's belly, never to be reborn.

At the last moment, the Third Hokage saw Orochimaru as a child, and ultimately hesitated, slowing down the speed of his technique.

"Pfft—!"

His heart was instantly ripped open, and the Third Hokage lost the strength to continue controlling the Grim Reaper. However, the ninja's strong vitality prevented him from dying immediately, so he quickly took remedial action and controlled the Grim Reaper to swing the sword!

"Shh-!"

As if by fate, this strike severed and sealed Orochimaru's hands!

"Ah... Orochimaru... you foolish... idiot disciple..."

Having done all this, the Third Hokage finally could no longer hold on and staggered to the ground: "I'm sorry, First Hokage, Second Hokage... I just couldn't bring myself to kill my beloved disciple."

"Minato, I'm sorry to trouble you again. I'm counting on you for the village from now on..."

"And Fenglan...you cunning little devil, you must...help Minato and protect Konoha..."

"Bam—!"

Orochimaru had vanished in a flash of white light, his aged body crashing heavily onto the floor of the secret chamber: "Where the leaves dance, the fire will never die... Am I... a good Hokage?"

Chapter 196 Ruthless and Cruel

Because the Third Hokage had specifically and strictly instructed that no one was allowed to enter, the Anbu members only tentatively entered the underground chamber to inquire after three hours when they felt something was really wrong. They discovered the dead Third Hokage, and it was already past midnight when Minato shook Fenglan awake from her bed.

"Fenglan, Fenglan! Wake up! The Third Hokage... is dead!"

"……What?!"

Feng Lan didn't react for a second, but the next second she jumped up from the bed, her mind buzzing with thoughts like, "How is this possible?", "The Third Hokage was a genuine Kage-level shinobi!", and "Orochimaru hadn't fully recovered his chakra?"

But after a moment, he regained his composure, immediately put on a coat, and grabbed Minato's wrist: "Take me there right now!"

Minato knew the situation was urgent, and without saying a word, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique. It was clear that he had been informed by the Anbu and had been to the secret room beforehand, which is why he left the Flying Thunder God Technique mark.

The scene before her suddenly changed, and the stench of blood filled her nostrils. Feng Lan looked closely and saw that the secret chamber was filled with blood-written characters, and there was a grand-looking sealing spell on the outside. The Third Generation lay at the exit, his expression a mixture of sorrow and joy, filled with indescribable entanglement and bewilderment.

"Reporting to the Fourth Hokage..." The ANBU member in charge of the investigation stepped forward to report, "The Third Hokage was trying to seal Orochimaru in this secret room, but he was suddenly attacked, his heart was cut open, and he eventually died from exhaustion due to the poison."

"How could he have been ambushed by Orochimaru?" Minato couldn't help but shout. "Shouldn't that guy be exhausted of chakra and his wounds be unable to heal?!"

"This, this..." The Dark Division was speechless, because they had investigated for a long time without finding any results.

"I think I have a clue." Feng Lan stared at the corpse of the Third Generation. The light in his eyes gradually changed from shock to pity and sympathy, and finally turned cold and hard, with a glint like a knife.

"What is it?" Minato immediately turned his head to look.

"This is not the time to talk about this!" Feng Lan didn't answer him, but looked at the Anbu. "How long has the Third Hokage been dead?"

“This…” The Dark Division hesitated.

"Answer my question!"

"Yes!" The ANBU member was startled and hurriedly replied, "The Third Hokage's time of death was at least four hours ago..."

"You told Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu first, and then you told Minato, right?" Fenglan pressed on.

The ANBU member nervously swallowed, seemingly reluctant to answer, but considering that after the Third Hokage's death, they were theoretically still Minato's subordinates, they forced themselves to say, "Yes, those two lords knew first."

"Watergate!" Feng Lan shouted sharply, his expression more solemn than ever before.

"I'm here." Minato realized the seriousness of the situation and stopped asking questions.

"Go to the Uchiha clan immediately and gather all the capable fighters. Shisui and Obito will come with you. Assemble the entire Anbu and make them decide who they should pledge allegiance to. Anyone who fails to assemble them will be killed! Anyone who disobeys orders will be killed! Anyone who attempts to leave the village will be killed!"