Inside the Hamura Shrine,
Toneri led Hiroki toward the massive Tenseigan.
Gazing at the yellow sphere radiating terrifying power, Toneri said, "I can channel the energy from this Giant Tenseigan into our original Byakugan, enabling its direct evolution into a Tenseigan. The youthful strength of this eye will be sufficient."
"But the Byakugan must first be implanted in your body, and it will require some time."
"How long?"
"It would be best to proceed slowly for maximum stability," Toneri replied.
"I understand," Hiroki nodded. "Once things settle below, I'll stay here."
With secret agents still active in Konoha, Orochimaru quickly acquired part of the Third Hokage's flesh.
He didn't care about Jiraiya's opinion, nor did he even inform him before directly using Impure World Reincarnation to summon Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Upon realizing he had been brought back from the dead and seeing before him the former student he once felt proud of, Hiruzen couldn't help but reveal a bitter smile, his emotions complex.
"Orochimaru, why?"
"Lord Sarutobi, please don't misunderstand," Orochimaru smiled lightly. "Besides you, I have revived others too."
As he spoke, the Fourth Raikage A and Bee entered.
"The Uchiha boy isn't half bad… just a shame," A remarked.
Bee remained silent beside him, not breaking into their usual improvised rapping.
After detecting that A and Bee still harbored unresolved hatred and strong attachment to this world, Orochimaru gave them limited freedom.
They were allowed to roam freely within certain boundaries.
Of course, Orochimaru never lost complete control over them—if they strayed too far, he'd know immediately.
For A and Bee themselves, Yugito's murder was difficult to forget, especially after learning from Orochimaru about the annihilation of the Yeyue clan. Their resentment against Yugito grew even stronger.
Within the base, aside from Orochimaru and the occasionally appearing Jiraiya, these two were the strongest presences.
Sometimes, they'd encounter Sasuke.
Sasuke, proud and ambitious, always sought lessons from powerful warriors. Upon learning their identities, he intentionally sought them out for "sparring."
Having a natural affinity for lightning release, he naturally preferred interacting with these two masters of lightning-based techniques.
Gradually, the four developed some level of interaction.
A and Bee, already dead men with their clans destroyed, carried fewer traditional biases in their hearts and were actually willing to teach Sasuke some lightning-element jutsu.
[Seriously, lately I've been exclusively reading novels on Ye GuoYueDu for updates, multiple sources switching supported, various reading voices available, .yeguoyuedu both Android and iOS compatible.]
"What's there to pity?" Orochimaru asked.
"What a shame he didn't come from Kumogakure," A replied.
"And what does Kumogakure have to do with either of you anyway?" Orochimaru sneered.
After a moment of silence, A turned his gaze toward Hiruzen. "Hey, isn't this the Third Hokage? Were you reincarnated too? Did you also die?"
"How did you die?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed quietly without answering and walked straight out.
Orochimaru gave him a calm glance but made no move to stop him for now.
He turned to look at B, who had not spoken. "Can you activate Tailed Beast chakra?"
B shook his head. "The Eight-Tails was extracted from me long ago. How could it possibly remain?"
Orochimaru frowned and thought for a while before stabbing two kunai inscribed with seals into the back of A and B's heads.
In an instant, their eyes became lifeless and their expressions turned dull.
"Could it be the vessels aren't suitable for resurrection..." Orochimaru murmured.
Stepping outside, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at a broad open space.
At that moment, Sasuke and Naruto were locked in combat.
Seeing Hiruzen's arrival, both hesitated in surprise.
Overjoyed, Naruto nearly burst into tears and seemed ready to dash forward any second. "Grandpa Third, you're alive! You escaped from Konoha?"
Looking at Naruto rushing up to him, Hiruzen shook his head with a sigh. "Naruto, I am already dead."
Naruto's face immediately darkened.
"Don't be sad, Naruto. Grandpa accepted death willingly."
"I don't want to hear it!" Covering his ears, Naruto ran away. "I'll go tell Master Jiraiya. He'll definitely be thrilled to see you!"
"Naruto, don't go..." Hiruzen called toward Naruto's retreating back.
He knew that if Jiraiya saw him, there wouldn't be a trace of joy—worse yet, Jiraiya might even refuse to face him at all.
Sasuke observed the scene with calm detachment. Looking at Hiruzen's skin condition, obviously different from a normal person's, his expression was one of strangeness mixed with confusion.
Unlike Naruto, Sasuke wasn't about to kid himself. He was absolutely certain Hiruzen shared the same state as A and B. After a brief hesitation, he voiced his question.
"Lord Third Hokage, exactly how long have you been dead? Rumors from Konoha say someone impersonated you for decades?"
Helplessly rubbing his temple, Hiruzen responded.
Even though he lacked sensation, he still performed this habitual motion.
He paused for a moment before replying, "It's best not to air your dirty laundry in public. If such an incident truly happened, it would constitute a scandal for Konoha—do you think they'd allow news like that to spread?"
"Sasuke, people must learn independent thinking. The more something spreads around, the less truth there probably is to it."
Sasuke froze. After a pause, his expression turned complex as he met Hiruzen's gaze, asking slowly: "...Then, about Itachi Uchiha annihilating our clan—was that also fabricated?"
A slight start crossed Hiruzen's face. Eventually, after a long moment, he gazed deeply at Sasuke, saying softly, "What you should consider is: who benefited the most after the Uchiha massacre—who gained the greatest advantage. That would bring you closest to the actual truth."
Left confused, Sasuke tried to count off on his fingers the events that followed the Uchiha massacre.
But given his limited circle, it was only natural he couldn't grasp the changes that took place among the clans after the Uchiha's fall.
He could only remember major incidents.
After the massacre of the Uchiha Clan, didn't things unfold like this—Tsunade suddenly returned while the Third Hokage fell from power?
Anything else? Nothing at all.
But how did any of this connect to the destruction of the Uchiha Clan? There seemed to be no link at all.
Sasuke racked his brain but couldn't make sense of it. Tentatively, he asked, "The upcoming Fifth Hokage?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen said nothing, his expression remaining calm and indifferent—neither confirming nor denying.
Sasuke became even more frustrated.
What exactly was the truth?
After a long silence, his face turned cold.
The killer was none other than Itachi Uchiha—no matter what, he couldn't escape responsibility.
"Master Jiraiya, Grandpa the Third isn't really dead..."
Naruto ran out of Orochimaru's hideout and into a nearby room, shouting inside.
Inside the room, upon hearing these words, Jiraiya was stunned for a moment before quickly realizing the truth—it must have been Orochimaru using the Impure World Reincarnation technique again.
Anger surged within him.
Orochimaru, I clearly told you not to do something like this.
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