Chapter 235: White Snake Sage and Kabuto Yakushi
Kabuto Yakushi stared blankly at the White Snake Sage before him. Before he could recover from his trance, an indescribable sense of exhaustion made his face instantly turn pale.
The chakra in his body felt almost completely drained. Even his young face showed a hint of aging, and he was completely disoriented.
He didn't even have time to answer the White Snake Sage's question before he pitched forward and collapsed.
"By forcibly responding to this young man's summoning jutsu, his weak body naturally couldn't handle it..."
The White Snake Sage looked down at the unconscious Kabuto Yakushi.
It wasn't that Kabuto Yakushi had forcibly or coincidentally summoned the White Snake Sage; rather, the White Snake Sage had intentionally allowed itself to be summoned by him.
As a result, Kabuto Yakushi suffered an unprecedented depletion of chakra.
It was probably a miracle that Kabuto Yakushi didn't die on the spot.
The White Snake Sage did not leave immediately. It waited for a long time, until Kabuto Yakushi vaguely regained consciousness.
By the time Kabuto Yakushi opened his eyes, the sky had already darkened.
He felt limp and weak all over. Every nerve felt as if it was being gnawed by ten thousand ants, carrying a faint stinging pain that made Kabuto Yakushi gasp for a breath of cold air.
Realizing he was lying on the ground, he tried to prop himself up with his hand, but his hand lost strength halfway through.
His face fell heavily onto the ground, and nosebleed spurted out.
Ultimately, the White Snake Sage used its tail to flip Kabuto Yakushi over.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Kabuto Yakushi panted heavily, his face pale. He struggled to turn his head, fixing an unbelievable gaze on the White Snake Sage, and asked in a dry, weak voice: "Are you... the White Snake Sage... of Ryūchi Cave? Why... am I qualified to summon you?"
Hearing this, a hint of fierce intensity flashed in the White Snake Sage's eyes.
Then it dropped a bombshell: "Because the other beings in Ryūchi Cave who were willing to respond to your existence... are already dead. They perished in the sea of magma and fire a while ago."
"The remaining ones are all relatively gentle snakes. And they are all unwilling to cause trouble, let alone respond to anyone's summoning, for fear of suffering the same fate at the hands of that human."
The sheer volume of information contained in those few sentences made Kabuto Yakushi's pupils contract.
It seems my initial guess was right once again...
And the situation seemed even more serious than he had suspected! The Snake Sages of the entire Ryūchi Cave were probably on the verge of extinction now.
The person who caused this tragedy was none other than Ikeizumi Uchiha, who had pursued Orochimaru-sama all the way to Ryūchi Cave!
Is that Uchiha ninja really that powerful?
"Could it be... even you, White Snake Sage..." Kabuto Yakushi was already struggling to imagine the power possessed at that level.
"I cannot kill him." The White Snake Sage pulled out a pipe from somewhere, curling its tail around it and placing it in its snake mouth.
The White Snake Sage's tone also became a bit colder: "That human possesses power that is almost on par with the First Konoha Hokage."
Whether it was Kabuto Yakushi's illusion or not.
The White Snake Sage's words sounded to Kabuto Yakushi as if they were uttered through gritted teeth.
"Then... are you responding to my summoning because you want me to do something for you, White Snake Sage?"
Kabuto Yakushi couldn't help but ask again.
The White Snake Sage stared at the disheveled Kabuto Yakushi, who was too weak even to stand. It slowly said: "I see unprecedented potential in you. I also hear a voice from the future in you."
"And the special potential you possess is not inferior to any human in the Shinobi World. Little one, I want to grant you the power to contend with Ikeizumi Uchiha."
Kabuto Yakushi: "!!!"
Why does it feel like the White Snake Sage wants to groom me into a tool to hunt Ikeizumi Uchiha?
In any case, it's not the White Snake Sage doing the killing personally, so it won't lose anything, right?
Orochimaru-sama was right after all. I must be wary of the Snake Sages in Ryūchi Cave.
None of these Snake Sages are to be trifled with!
However...
Looking at the White Snake Sage before him, Kabuto Yakushi also realized that he had no right to refuse now!
Hiruzen Sarutobi stayed in the Hokage Building tonight and didn't go home.
He found that the number of people in the village still willing to support him was decreasing. Even Homura Mitokado showed an ambiguous, equivocal attitude on this matter, and that guy Homura even met with Tsunade.
If Homura Mitokado, as a Konoha Senior Elder, sided with Tsunade, then he would probably have no chance of winning.
If Tsunade, who believed in Absolute Justice, became the Fifth Hokage of Konoha.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't dare to imagine what Konoha would become at that point!
It would probably turn into a ninja village under a sole dictator, with no semblance of fairness, justice, or equality in human rights!
The First Hokage established Konoha Village with the Will of Fire.
If the Will of Fire were to be replaced by Absolute Justice less than a hundred years after Konoha's founding...
Probably all the ninja villages in the entire Shinobi World would laugh at Konoha!
This was the situation Hiruzen Sarutobi found most unacceptable.
Ultimately...
It was because Tsunade had, in his eyes, chosen the wrong faction. If Tsunade still believed in the Will of Fire, and she wanted to become the Fifth Hokage, he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would readily step down and yield his position to the worthy.
"Phew..."
"The key is that Koharu hasn't returned yet. I don't know what she's been up to, nor do I know what method she intends to use to deal with Ikeizumi."
In the past, Hiruzen Sarutobi often felt that Koharu Utatane lacked the capability, entrusting her with the Root yet finding she couldn't manage it well.
Now, he realized that Koharu Utatane might be the only person he could still trust.
Because Koharu Utatane was a person who stood 100% on his side.
In the previous period, when Koharu occasionally clashed with Ikeizumi Uchiha, he did not stand by Koharu, causing her to suffer repeated setbacks, even getting imprisoned... When thinking about this, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly felt a surge of guilt towards Koharu Utatane.
Hiruzen Sarutobi also realized that sometimes, loyalty is more reliable than ability.
At least a loyal person wouldn't stab him, Hiruzen Sarutobi, in the back when he was down and out, unlike Tsunade or Homura Mitokado, and mercilessly so.
After much thought.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that he could not just sit and wait for things to happen.
Even someone with a willful and carefree personality like Tsunade now possessed such initiative.
If he sat idly by, the few people who were still willing to support him might be completely disappointed.
"Someone!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi called for several ANBU ninja. Just as he was about to give some instructions, an ANBU ninja suddenly interrupted what he, the Hokage, was about to say.
The ANBU ninja said in a low voice: "Hokage-sama, our ANBU squad's shift is over. If the Hokage-sama has something to instruct, please do so tomorrow during the daytime. It's time for us to go back now."
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "???"
For a moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely taken aback.
The next second, he realized—the vast majority of ANBU ninja do not work 24 hours a day; after all, ninja are human. Even if they were mechanical puppets, they would need to be stopped and maintained after prolonged use before they could continue.
It was just that normally, Hiruzen Sarutobi habitually made the ANBU ninja work overtime.
It was even something he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had done to make ANBU ninja work several days straight without sleep, constantly carrying out missions.
In the past, the ANBU ninja had no complaints because they held absolute loyalty to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
And held absolute respect for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But now...
The times have changed.
Looking at the several ANBU ninja before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say some words of reprimand. But the words got stuck in his throat, and he could only helplessly wave his hand, signaling the ANBU ninja that they could leave.
Soon, the Hokage office returned to its empty state, leaving only Hiruzen Sarutobi alone.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat weakly in the chair, his body deeply sunken into the backrest.
"Alas..."
A sigh sounded.
He did not call in other ANBU ninja who were still willing to pledge their allegiance to him, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Now, it was not just the ANBU ninja who were disappointed in him; Hiruzen Sarutobi was also deeply disappointed in the loyalty of the ANBU, and he had even begun to distrust the ANBU ninja.
When his orders as the Hokage were not entirely obeyed, then if the Hokage were to be attacked by an enemy village one day...
Would the ANBU ninja sacrifice their lives to save him?
Hiruzen Sarutobi was extremely doubtful.
The next day.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi woke up, the first shocking news he received was that—Ikeizumi Uchiha had left the village!
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply.
"What is going on..."
In his view, since Ikeizumi Uchiha had decided to support Tsunade to replace him, the Third Hokage. Then he should definitely be making a huge fuss in Konoha Village. He would even need to be personally involved in many situations, as he was going to compete with a Third Hokage who had served as Hokage for many years.
He should definitely take it seriously!
But...
Right at this crucial moment, Ikeizumi Uchiha was nowhere to be found, having left Konoha directly.
Escaping?
Impossible. Ikeizumi Uchiha was definitely not the type of person who would choose to escape. That was not his personality.
"The only explanation is that the position of Hokage is, in Ikeizumi's eyes... actually not something worth focusing on at all. He has fully entrusted everything in Konoha to Tsunade, which means that, in his eyes, Tsunade alone is enough to depose me."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression instantly became extremely complex. He racked his brain trying to figure out how to compete with Ikeizumi Uchiha, who commanded such immense power.
But the opponent didn't even see him, the Third Hokage, as a worthy opponent.
This gave Hiruzen Sarutobi an inexplicable sense of being belittled and aggrieved.
He took a deep breath, taking several seconds to recover. Hiruzen Sarutobi finally calmed down.
He raised his eyelids, looked at Kakashi Hatake who had delivered the news, and asked Kakashi: "Do you know where Ikeizumi went?"
Every time Ikeizumi Uchiha left the village, he caused earth-shattering events outside.
Either he killed many nobles of the Land of Fire.
Or he directly killed the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
He was a little worried that Ikeizumi Uchiha's departure this time would also lead to something that would give him a heart attack. He was already old and couldn't withstand that kind of shock anymore.
One more shock... and he might truly shorten his lifespan by a decade or more.
Kakashi lowered his head and replied: "The confirmed information we have is that—Ikeizumi Uchiha left the village with Jūzō Biwa, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Izumi Uchiha from the Military Police Force, and the ninja cat Kijirō. The direction they were heading seems to be towards the Land of Water."
"Jūzō Biwa?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi was stunned: "That Mist rogue ninja, the envoy of the Land of Rain? Didn't he leave Konoha a long time ago?"
Kakashi shook his head and said: "We haven't found out why he was in Konoha yet. But we have investigated and found that Jūzō Biwa chose to join the Konoha Military Police Force."
Hiruzen Sarutobi: "???"
Wait a moment...
Hiruzen Sarutobi was almost unable to make sense of it.
Doesn't this mean that after Jūzō Biwa betrayed the Hidden Mist Village, he then betrayed the Hidden Rain Village, and finally regarded Konoha Village as his destination?
But the question was, how did he, the Hokage, not know that such an excellent ninja had joined Konoha Village?
Did Ikeizumi let him join the village without authorization?
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face instantly darkened.
"What are they going to the Land of Water for?" Hiruzen Sarutobi did not believe that Ikeizumi Uchiha would defect. Even if that man were to kill him, the Third Hokage, he probably wouldn't defect from Konoha.
Kakashi shook his head: "I don't know."
At the same time.
A merchant ship had already sailed away from a Konoha seaport. Jūzō Biwa stared at the sea surface reflecting the glittering sunlight. The unease and worry in his heart began to intensify.
He subtly glanced at Ikeizumi Uchiha who was not far beside him.
Just as he was hesitating to speak.
A strangely accented voice rang out from behind Jūzō Biwa: "Don't worry, meow! Ikeizumi-sama is not some ruthless murderer. As long as your Hidden Mist Village is still salvageable, even if there's only a sliver of hope, Ikeizumi-sama will not eliminate everyone."
Jūzō Biwa turned his head.
Empty.
"Look down, meow!"
He moved his gaze down and saw that the speaker was a very fat ninja cat.
Jūzō Biwa remembered this orange ninja cat. This cat, although not exactly fighting on equal terms with that strange swirly-faced creature from the Akatsuki, could at least delay that swirly-faced creature.
Hmm.
A very formidable character.
"I'm not worried." Jūzō Biwa naturally couldn't admit what he was thinking, otherwise, he would reveal his weakness, making it too easy for Ikeizumi Uchiha to control him.
Looking at the mouthy member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Kijirō rolled its eyes.
It said unceremoniously: "Meow, I suggest you be careful. Don't get assassinated before you even reach the Land of Water and guide Ikeizumi-sama to the Hidden Mist Village."
Jūzō Biwa frowned. Why is this cat cursing me?
Kijirō slowly said: "Haven't you noticed that you are already being targeted by a Hidden Mist Village spy hidden on this merchant ship? Being next to Ikeizumi-sama, his great strength made you too complacent, causing your vigilance to drop, didn't it?"
Jūzō Biwa: "!!!"