Minato, who had been standing silently to the side, finally spoke up, "Third Hokage, this doesn't seem to be the Hidden Leaf Village." His words brought the Third Hokage back to his senses. Indeed, this place was not the Hidden Leaf Village.
Although it appeared that a great battle had recently taken place here, there were no remnants of buildings in the damaged areas. Moreover, the surrounding mountains were completely different from those in the Hidden Leaf. The Third Hokage let out a small sigh of relief.
Minato's words also snapped Hashirama and Tobirama Senju back to reality. They realized that this was not the Hidden Leaf Village. However, Hashirama quickly turned to Minato, asking, "Who are you?"
Minato was momentarily taken aback, then turned around and pointed to his back, where the words "Fourth Hokage" were emblazoned on his cloak.
Of course, only Minato's cloak had this design; the cloaks of the First, Second, and Third Hokage were simply white robes without any Hokage insignia. The flame pattern wasn't something exclusive to the Hokage either; it was just a common design.
Even Jiraiya's childhood clothes had it, suggesting that Minato might have drawn inspiration from his teacher's attire.
After all, Jiraiya was Minato's teacher, and the flame pattern was quite fitting for the title of Hokage. Seeing the words on Minato's back, Hashirama exclaimed with delight, "Wow, the Hidden Leaf Village has already reached the Fourth Hokage? I wonder who the Fifth Hokage is."
Hashirama was pleased. The continuation of the Hidden Leaf Village was more important to him than anything else.
Even if he didn't want to meddle in the affairs of the living, the village was a creation of his and Madara's, built with the efforts of many ninjas, and he didn't want to see it destroyed. Minato replied somewhat awkwardly, "I wouldn't know. I died before the Third Hokage."
Hashirama was momentarily stunned, "You died before him? That's truly unfortunate." He could sense that Minato was a bright and decent person.
Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi approached the four. The Third Hokage realized he couldn't make a move against Orochimaru. Any thought of attacking him was immediately suppressed by the sealing technique within him. The power of that seal was overwhelming, leaving him unable to resist.
Orochimaru stepped forward and answered Hashirama's question on Minato's behalf, "The Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village is your granddaughter, Tsunade."
Hashirama, who had been eagerly awaiting Orochimaru's answer, was momentarily taken aback, his mouth twitching slightly, "Is the Hidden Leaf Village doing well?" The Third Hokage, standing beside him, also felt a bit awkward.
He had assumed Jiraiya would become the Fifth Hokage. But then he remembered something and looked at Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, how is Yoruha? Is he alright?"
Hearing this, Hashirama, Tobirama, and Minato all looked puzzled, not understanding why the Third Hokage was so agitated. Could this Yoruha be someone important to him?
Orochimaru was also at a loss for words because the person the Third Hokage was asking about was standing right in front of them. Moreover, he had intended for them to fight Yoruha.
"I am your teacher, after all," the Third Hokage said coldly. "As my student, you should not attack the Leaf Village."
"As long as Yoruha is here, you won't be able to destroy the Leaf Village. He is far more exceptional than you."
Orochimaru's lips twitched slightly. Although he had long been indifferent to human emotions, the Third Hokage's words still made him uncomfortable. Kabuto, seeing Orochimaru rendered speechless, responded, "Lord Third Hokage, Lord Orochimaru summoned the four of you to attack Yoruha."
The Third Hokage was taken aback. "What?!"
He then turned around to face Yoruha, who was smiling at him from across the battlefield. "I thought you looked familiar. So it really is you."
"I never expected Yoruha to grow to such an extent," the Third Hokage said with a gratified smile. Hashirama, Tobirama Senju, and Minato also turned to look at Yoruha. Is this the Yoruha that the Third seems to value so highly?
From his appearance, he seems quite impressive. Hashirama nodded seriously at Yoruha. "Hmm, quite a remarkable young man. For Orochimaru to summon us to deal with you, it seems your strength has already surpassed his. Monkey, you've raised a good kid."
Tobirama also nodded. "Indeed, impressive. But Orochimaru, to lose to someone so young, that's quite something."
Orochimaru knew Tobirama was deliberately provoking him and chose to ignore it. Minato, upon seeing Yoruha, thought of Naruto and wondered, "I wonder how Naruto is doing now. Being in the same era as such a genius must be tough for him."
Minato, being a genius himself, understood how stifling it could be for those around a prodigy. And for Yoruha to force Orochimaru to summon the four of them, his strength must far exceed Orochimaru's. Minato doubted Naruto could be as strong as Yoruha.
The Third Hokage looked at Yoruha and asked, "Yoruha, where is this place, and why are you here?" At this moment, the Third was very concerned for Yoruha's safety.
After all, Orochimaru had summoned the four of them: the Fourth Hokage, the speed king; the First Hokage, the god of shinobi; the Second Hokage, the king of strategy; and himself, the master of the five elemental ninjutsu.
Yoruha might not be able to withstand them. Yoruha saw the worry in the Third's eyes but found it hard to explain. He was technically skipping work.
So, Yoruha awkwardly smiled and said, "This is the Land of Water. I'm here on a mission."
"Who knew I'd run into Orochimaru."
"And I never expected Orochimaru to use the Impure World Reincarnation to summon you."
The Third Hokage frowned. "Then why didn't you leave? You can use the Flying Thunder God Technique. You shouldn't stay here; it's too risky."
After the Third spoke, Tobirama and Minato were stunned, looking at Yoruha in disbelief.
"Monkey, this kid Yoruha knows the Flying Thunder God Technique?" Minato didn't speak, but his face was full of shock as he looked at Yoruha. How old is Yoruha? To have mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique at his age?
No wonder Orochimaru is no match for him. The Third Hokage nodded seriously. "That's right. He mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique when he was 12."
After the Third said this, Tobirama and Minato were even more shocked.
"Mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique at 12? Are you crazy, Monkey? What nonsense are you talking about?"
The Third Hokage explained with a serious expression, "Teacher, I'm not speaking nonsense. Yoruha indeed mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique at 12. It was precisely because of this that I intended to groom him as the Fifth Hokage. Unfortunately, Orochimaru's attack on the village interrupted my plans."
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