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[— Manga Scene —]
On top of the building, Orochimaru was still standing behind Hiruzen, the kunai in his hand, his sinister smile never fading.
Suddenly, Orochimaru moved the kunai toward his other hand.
Slash!
Without the slightest hesitation, he drove the blade into his own hand.
Blood flowed from the wound.
"…!"
Hiruzen looked at him.
"Do you feel some regret… when you think about killing your teacher and mentor?"
A small tear appeared in Orochimaru's eye, but he quickly wiped it away.
"No… I was just feeling sleepy."
"Just as I expected…" Hiruzen said. "You're not a man driven by hatred."
Orochimaru smiled.
"The truth is, I have a purpose."
He looked toward the village stretching out before him.
"I enjoy watching things move… Things that remain still are boring."
His smile widened.
"I want to set the wheel in motion…"
"…by destroying Konoha now."
Hiruzen smiled bitterly.
"You haven't changed in the slightest…"
…
Inside the exam stands, most of the audience had already fallen under the effects of the genjutsu.
But Sakura remained conscious.
Kakashi looked at her with approval.
"I knew teaching you how to dispel genjutsu during your genin survival training would pay off."
"Kakashi-sensei…"
Kakashi pointed toward the sleeping Naruto and Shikamaru.
"Sakura, dispel the genjutsu on those two and wake them up."
"Alright!"
"I have another mission for you."
Sakura paused.
"A mission?"
Kakashi looked at her seriously.
"An A-rank mission."
"What?!"
[— End Scene —]
Inside Konoha's Art Store, Hiruzen's eyes remained fixed on the page where Orochimaru had stabbed his own hand.
That wasn't what caught his attention.
It was the question his future counterpart asked afterward.
Did Orochimaru feel regret?
"Hmm…"
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.
He knew his student well, perhaps better than anyone else inside this store.
That was why he wasn't particularly surprised when Orochimaru wiped away the tear and claimed he had merely been sleepy.
But seeing it still wasn't pleasant.
'Even my future self wanted to make sure…'
Hiruzen looked toward Orochimaru, who was sitting some distance away.
'Is there anything left of your feelings toward me or not?'
…
"Haha… that really does sound like you."
Jiraiya laughed mockingly as he looked toward Orochimaru.
"You stab your own hand with a kunai just to prove a point?"
Orochimaru didn't raise his head.
"Is there a problem?"
"The problem is that you're a freak."
"And you needed a manga from the future to discover that?"
"You bastard…"
Before Jiraiya could continue, Tsunade extended her hand and shoved him aside.
"Shut up. I'm trying to read."
"Tsunade! Why is it always me?!"
She completely ignored him.
Her eyes were fixed on Orochimaru's words.
I want to set the wheel in motion.
Her expression changed slightly.
"So it isn't a grudge."
This time, Jiraiya fell silent.
In the previous chapter, a Konoha shinobi had spoken about the possibility that Orochimaru held a grudge against Hiruzen because he hadn't been chosen as the Fourth Hokage.
But now, Orochimaru himself had given a different answer.
He didn't say he hated Hiruzen.
He didn't say he wanted revenge against Konoha.
He simply said that he wanted to make things move.
"What a ridiculous reason."
Jiraiya muttered.
"Destroying an entire village because you're bored?"
"I don't think it's that simple."
Tsunade replied.
"What do you mean?"
She pointed at the manga.
"He said he wants to set the wheel in motion. Destroying Konoha is merely a way of doing that."
Jiraiya looked at her for a moment.
Then he returned his gaze to the page.
"That's worse."
"Exactly."
…
Far away from them, Orochimaru read the chapter calmly.
Unlike the others, he didn't find the words of his future counterpart strange.
Things that remain still are boring.
If everything remained the same, nothing new would ever emerge.
The villages wouldn't change.
Techniques wouldn't change.
The limits of humanity wouldn't change.
People would live, grow old, and die, only for another generation to come along and repeat the same thing.
'Set the wheel in motion…'
Orochimaru smiled.
He liked that phrase.
But that didn't mean he completely understood his future counterpart.
Why Konoha?
Why Hiruzen?
And what did he intend to accomplish after destroying the village?
The manga hadn't answered those questions yet.
But Orochimaru wasn't in a hurry.
"Interesting…"
He spoke in a low voice.
…
From Hiruzen's seat, the Third heard those words from afar, but ignored them.
He was occupied with another sentence.
You haven't changed in the slightest.
'I haven't changed?'
To everyone else, perhaps it sounded like nothing more than an ordinary sentence exchanged between two enemies who had known each other for many years.
But Hiruzen understood it differently.
Orochimaru in the manga had become a rogue shinobi.
He had founded the Sound Village.
He had allied himself with Sunagakure.
He had infiltrated Konoha.
And now he wanted to kill him.
And yet, his future counterpart looked at him and said:
You haven't changed.
"Hiruzen."
Danzo's voice interrupted his thoughts.
The Third raised his eyes.
Danzo was looking at the page.
"It seems you still know him quite well, even in that future."
"He's my student."
"Your student who wants to cut off your head."
Hiruzen's eyebrow twitched.
"You don't need to remind me."
Danzo paid no attention to his irritation.
He pointed toward the image of Konoha.
"But one thing has become clear."
"What?"
"You aren't his only target."
Hiruzen fell silent.
Of course.
That much was already obvious from the scale of the attack.
Hundreds of shinobi.
Sunagakure.
The Sound Village.
Giant snakes.
A genjutsu covering entire sections of the stands.
None of that would have been necessary if Orochimaru merely wanted to kill a single man.
"Konoha is the target."
Danzo said.
Then his eye narrowed.
"Or at least… one of the targets."
…
In the seat opposite them, Mito was reading the same conversation.
"I want to set the wheel in motion…"
She quietly repeated the phrase.
Kushina, who was sitting beside her, frowned.
"I don't understand him."
Mito smiled faintly.
"It's probably better that you don't."
"But why destroy Konoha just to set the wheel in motion? He can go destroy something else."
The corner of Minato's mouth twitched.
"I don't think it works that way, Kushina."
She looked at him.
"Then explain it."
"Hmm…"
Minato thought for a moment.
"I don't think Orochimaru sees destroying Konoha as an end in itself."
"Then?"
"As something that will lead to other changes."
Kushina looked back at the manga.
"He's still a bastard."
"I never said otherwise."
Minato smiled.
…
"Fool."
Mito suddenly spoke.
The two looked toward her.
Her smile had disappeared.
"It's easy to say you want to set the wheel in motion when other people are the ones who will be crushed beneath it."
Minato didn't respond.
Because she was right.
To Orochimaru, Konoha might simply be something stagnant that he wanted to move.
But to thousands of people…
It was their home.
…
At that moment, the events of the manga shifted from the Hokage's rooftop to the stands.
And there, several readers noticed something interesting.
"Sakura didn't fall asleep?"
One Konoha shinobi asked in surprise.
"She dispelled the genjutsu herself."
Another replied.
The way people looked at Sakura on the page began to change slightly.
Throughout the Chunin Exams, the girl hadn't received the same attention as Naruto and Sasuke.
But this time, surrounded by stands filled with sleeping people, she was still standing.
…
"Hoho!"
Sakumo smiled.
"Well done, Kakashi."
Beside him, the young Kakashi raised his head.
"Me?"
"Your counterpart."
"I know!"
"Then why did you ask?"
Kakashi froze for a moment.
He couldn't think of an answer.
Sakumo laughed before returning his attention to the page.
The future Kakashi had taught Sakura how to dispel genjutsu during their previous training.
Something small.
Training that might not have seemed particularly important at the time.
But now, it had made her one of the few people who remained conscious inside the stands.
"Good training shows its value when you actually need it."
Sakumo said.
Young Kakashi looked at Sakura.
Then nodded seriously.
…
But his attention quickly shifted to the next matter.
Wake Naruto and Shikamaru.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes.
"Those two?"
"Hmm?" Sakumo looked at him.
Kakashi pointed at the page.
"Why did he choose Naruto and Shikamaru?"
"I don't know."
"Dad."
"What?"
"You're a Jonin."
Sakumo laughed.
"That doesn't mean I know the future."
Young Kakashi frowned.
But he returned his gaze to the manga.
If his future counterpart had chosen those two specifically, there had to be a reason.
____________
Upcoming chapter titles (spoilers):
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Chapter 252: You Anticipated Your Last Moments!
Chapter 253: The Beginning of a Battle of Life and Death! (The End of the Volume)
Chapter 254: The Student or the Threat?
Chapter 255: Orochimaru's File!
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