Chapter 259: An Act of Treason
Although he realized Uchiha Madara was in the state of Impure World Reincarnation, Jiraiya felt the pressure on him grow even heavier.
Even so, he did not choose to retreat.
Without hesitation, he entered Sage Mode and summoned the two great Toad Sages of Mount Myōboku.
Fukasaku and Shima appeared on Jiraiya's shoulders.
When they saw Konoha before them, along with the massive Susanoo looming in the distance, their expressions instantly turned grave.
"Little Jiraiya, it's been a long time."
Fukasaku greeted him in a low voice, his eyes quickly scanning the battlefield.
"I'm sorry to call you here at a time like this, but Konoha is in great danger. Masters, please fight by my side!"
Jiraiya apologized.
"This chakra presence is truly unusual. It does seem Konoha is in terrible trouble."
"Don't worry, little Jiraiya, we'll help you!"
Although Shima could feel that Madara's chakra was overwhelmingly powerful—even enough to fill them both with dread—since Jiraiya had summoned them, the two sages did not choose to back down.
"Then I'll be relying on you both!"
Jiraiya pressed his fists together, eyes firm.
"Let's go, little Jiraiya!"
At Fukasaku's shout, Jiraiya instantly rushed toward his target.
As he charged at Uchiha Madara, his hands flew through seals: "Ninja Art: Toad Oil Bullet!"
Watching Jiraiya rush in decisively to support Nagato and Yahiko, Orochimaru's gaze grew infinitely deeper.
He fixed his eyes on the frenzied figures moving across the battlefield. Although he, too, felt a deep dread toward Madara's power, there was also a burning hunger in his heart.
"This man… he was once considered an equal to the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama…"
"Even though he's in the state of Impure World Reincarnation, if I could obtain his cells, perhaps my research would take on an entirely different dimension. Fascinating… heh heh…"
Orochimaru licked his tongue greedily as the thought spread through him.
At the same time, an even more dangerous idea came to mind.
Something he had always wanted to do, but never dared—yet now, the opportunity was right before him.
Everyone in the village was focused on dealing with Madara's threat.
Even that old man, the Third Hokage, was busy protecting civilians and leading them toward shelters. Nobody would be paying attention to strange activity within the village.
The guard at that particular place was emptier than it had ever been.
A perfect chance.
With that in mind, Orochimaru ignored the battle between Jiraiya and Madara, turning instead toward Konoha's outer cemetery.
Before long, he arrived at the Konoha Cemetery.
Here lay all the shinobi who had contributed to the village since its founding, whether famed heroes or nameless protectors.
His judgment had been correct.
Arriving at the cemetery, he found that the guards had indeed all been dispatched to the battlefield.
"Heh heh…"
"If Madara were to see that man, he would surely be astonished."
Orochimaru muttered to himself as he quickly approached a particular grave.
His expression grew much more solemn, his eyes filled with reverence.
For buried here was none other than the God of Shinobi himself, the First Hokage of Konoha—Senju Hashirama.
Having once spied upon the Scroll of Seals, Orochimaru had long since mastered the Impure World Reincarnation.
For years, he had labored tirelessly to perfect it.
Until now, with little progress.
After all, this forbidden technique had been created by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama himself—the difficulty of mastering it was beyond imagination. Perfecting it was even harder.
But upon seeing Uchiha Madara today, Orochimaru suddenly experienced a breakthrough.
All those long-standing problems that had hindered him seemed to vanish in an instant.
That was why he had set his sights on this—the idea of exhuming Senju Hashirama's remains, so he could use the Impure World Reincarnation to summon Hashirama back into battle.
"My apologies, First Hokage-sama."
"But facing Uchiha Madara, perhaps only you can stand as his equal. I have no choice but to do this."
After some self-comfort and flimsy justification, that last shred of reverence and guilt in Orochimaru's heart vanished.
He decisively shattered Hashirama's tomb and took the body within.
Yet he was not satisfied.
Soon, he arrived at another grave.
This one held another legendary figure of Konoha—Hashirama's younger brother, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
Although Tobirama's achievements were far beneath his elder brother's, he was still one of the top-tier shinobi who struck fear into countless hearts.
Without hesitation, Orochimaru stole Tobirama's remains as well.
He had originally intended to take the bodies of other Hokage and Konoha elites too.
But just then, he sensed someone approaching.
Given his current status—forced back into Konoha under Madara's watch—if he were discovered committing such an act of treason, it would be troublesome.
Orochimaru had no choice but to sink into the ground and vanish.
Meanwhile, back in Konoha—
Jiraiya's Toad Oil Bullet struck true, igniting into a roaring blaze. Fanned by the oil, the flames burned furiously, engulfing Madara's colossal Susanoo.
But not even searing heat and towering fire could harm Madara in the slightest.
Standing atop Susanoo's massive head, hundreds of meters above the ground, he looked down at Jiraiya with eyes filled with contempt—and a trace of interest.
"Sage Mode, is it?"
At the sight of the markings on Jiraiya's face and the two toad sages on his shoulders, Madara instantly recognized the technique.
In that moment, he thought of an old rival.
"Sage Mode may bear the same name, but compared to Hashirama, you are not even one ten-thousandth of him."
"A mere insect is unworthy of my full strength."
With that, he casually crooked his finger.
At once, a black chakra rod shot down from the sky toward Jiraiya.
The angle was cunning—due to the upward perspective, anyone on the ground would naturally suffer from blind spots.
But Jiraiya was not like Kakuzu.
With the two sages assisting him in gathering natural energy, he could easily sense the changes in his surroundings.
The instant the black rod struck from his blind spot, Jiraiya slipped aside with ease, evading what would have been a fatal blow.
Madara's eyes narrowed slightly in surprise at the reaction.
At that moment, Nagato's attack came crashing in.
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