Chapter 69 (Patreon)

“Here. Yes, there too. Do not overlook a single inch.”

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave his orders with a grave expression, as if the fate of the village depended on the patch of ground in front of him.

The ANBU operatives had no choice but to swallow their dissatisfaction and begin what he called an investigation.

Half an hour later, an ANBU operative from the Hyūga clan returned to Hiruzen’s side.

“Third Hokage-sama, we have finished inspecting this area. There are no traces of Orochimaru.”

He lowered his head and continued.

“We can proceed to the designated base and begin the arrest operation.”

“Wait.”

Hiruzen suddenly stopped him.

“How can you be certain this entire area has truly been checked?”

The Hyūga operative froze.

Hiruzen stared at him seriously.

“What if Orochimaru prepared a hidden passage in some corner we have yet to notice?”

The Hyūga ANBU slowly raised his head.

Behind his mask, his Byakugan stared at the Third Hokage in disbelief.

Is this really the same Sandaime-sama everyone knows?

A hidden passage in some corner?

Does he think the Byakugan is for decoration?

Hiruzen seemed to notice the look in the operative’s eyes and coughed lightly.

He understood that his words sounded unreasonable, but he quickly hardened his voice again.

“In that case, all elite ANBU from the Hyūga clan will remain here and continue the investigation.”

“Remember. Search carefully. Do not miss anything.”

“The rest of the ANBU will continue with me.”

After saying that, Hiruzen turned and left without giving the Hyūga operatives any chance to argue.

The ANBU who had been ordered to stay behind looked at one another in silence.

In the end, their gazes all fell on Yujiro.

“I said from the beginning that Sarutobi Hiruzen would be in charge of tonight’s arrest operation.”

Yujiro gave a faint smile.

“Just follow his orders.”

With that, he took Kakashi and Shisui with him and left.

All the ANBU from the Hyūga clan could only remain behind and continue their so-called investigation mission.

Minato followed Yujiro and the others with a complicated expression.

The Hyūga clan had been left behind.

So that was it.

Third Hokage-sama is afraid of their Byakugan.

Over the next two hours, Sarutobi Hiruzen came up with several more excuses.

One after another, the ANBU from the major clans were left behind at Orochimaru’s abandoned bases under the name of investigation.

The remaining operatives, aside from Yujiro’s group, were almost all ordinary shinobi from civilian backgrounds.

“Orochimaru... I have done all I can.”

Hiruzen looked at the twenty or thirty ANBU left behind him and sighed inwardly.

Behind him were Yujiro, Shisui, and Kakashi.

The rest were elite Jōnin-level ANBU, but most of them did not possess secret clan techniques.

The operatives with clan abilities had all been separated from the main force by Hiruzen.

A faint, satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Yujiro, your attitude may be forceful, but when it comes to experience and schemes, you are still far too young to beat me.

If Yujiro knew what Hiruzen was thinking, he probably would have laughed out loud.

Leaving aside the fact that Hiruzen considered these remaining ANBU ordinary, there was still a Kage-level shinobi named Minato among them.

Hiruzen believed he had taken control of tonight’s situation.

In reality, this was exactly what Yujiro had allowed him to do.

He had delayed the operation for some time, yes.

But what a pity.

He had traded away his own reputation to do it.

And reputation was a strange thing.

It could turn a person into a hero in an instant.

It could also drag someone down until everyone in the village looked at them with disgust.

Yujiro looked at Hiruzen’s unhurried back, the corner of his mouth curving slightly.

The smile carried only contempt.

He even wondered how Sarutobi Hiruzen had ever become Hokage in the first place.

Perhaps the Second Hokage had truly run out of choices back then and could only pick one from among those people.

“Commander Yujiro.”

Sure enough, at that moment, an ANBU operative from the rear of the formation quietly approached Yujiro.

“What is it?”

Yujiro looked at him with a faint smile.

The ANBU hesitated, then clenched his teeth and lowered his voice.

“Third Hokage-sama is... deliberately stalling for time, isn’t he?”

“Is that so?”

Yujiro acted surprised.

“Yes, Yujiro-sama.”

The ANBU nodded firmly.

He carefully glanced at Hiruzen’s back before continuing in a whisper.

“When we searched the first of Orochimaru’s abandoned hideouts, the Hyūga already noticed something strange.”

“They realized that Third Hokage-sama was trying to delay the operation.”

“After that, the Yamanaka clan noticed as well. Then, little by little, everyone understood.”

“It is just... you said tonight’s operation would follow the Third Hokage’s command, so none of us objected.”

Yujiro let out a quiet sigh.

“To be honest, I did not want Sarutobi Hiruzen involved in tonight’s operation at all.”

“But he used his former position as the Third Hokage to pressure me. There was not much I could do.”

“Why?”

The ANBU’s voice immediately filled with anger.

“He is no longer the Hokage. He has already stepped down. The village has the Fourth Hokage now.”

Yujiro lowered his gaze slightly, as if helpless.

“I only hope Sarutobi Hiruzen does not do anything beyond saving.”

The ANBU clenched his fists.

“Understood, Yujiro-sama.”

“Good. Continue the mission.”

“Yes, Yujiro-sama.”

The ANBU quickly nodded and returned to the rest of the formation.

At that moment, Minato finally understood Yujiro’s intention.

This move was ruthless.

After tonight’s arrest operation ended, the image of the Third Hokage would likely collapse completely.

Everything happening here was real.

Before long, Sarutobi Hiruzen might become someone the villagers could no longer respect.

Thinking of that, a faint light flashed across Minato’s eyes.

“There is no need to feel sorry for him.”

Yujiro spoke calmly.

“Especially not for someone like him.”

Minato looked at him.

Yujiro’s voice remained flat.

“Is what Sarutobi Hiruzen did worthy of the civilians who died? Worthy of the shinobi who never came home?”

“In my eyes, even if Sarutobi Hiruzen dies at the hands of his own student this time, there would be nothing pitiful about it.”

In the original future, the Third Hokage did die at Orochimaru’s hands.

But if one thought about it carefully, that ending suited him.

However, Yujiro had no intention of letting Sarutobi Hiruzen die so easily.

Want to die?

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not even worthy of dying yet.

From beginning to end, that man had always been cowardly where it mattered most.

After becoming ANBU Commander, Yujiro had read through many reports from the Third Shinobi World War.

There had clearly been many battles where Konoha could have turned defeat into victory.

Yet because of the Third Hokage’s hesitation and weakness, missions that should have succeeded ended in failure.

And because of his inaction, Konoha lost many elite shinobi during the war.

If Yujiro had not entered the battlefield later, Konoha might have fallen.

A man like that did not deserve sympathy.

After hearing Yujiro’s words, Minato’s eyes gradually became firm.

That was right.

The dead shinobi, the civilians who suffered, and the families they left behind had endured far more than Sarutobi Hiruzen ever had.

“What do we do now?” Minato asked.

“Continue.”

Yujiro looked ahead.

“Watch the old monkey.”

With that, he followed the ANBU with Kakashi and Shisui.

Far away, inside Orochimaru’s underground base, Orochimaru had already finished sorting through all his scrolls and sealed them into one.

At that moment, he also sensed the vibrations coming from the ground above.

He released his chakra perception.

After a while, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and murmured softly.

“He only brought this many shinobi?”

His lips curved into a thin smile.

Then he slowly left the hidden chamber and walked toward the passage leading outside.

Above ground, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already sensed Orochimaru underground the moment he arrived.

That cold, sinister chakra was not concealed at all.

Orochimaru...

What are you thinking?

I delayed them for so long.

You should have fled the village by now.

At that moment, Hiruzen was not the only one who felt that chilling presence.

Even the thirty or so ANBU standing above ground sensed it.

Orochimaru’s undisguised chakra was practically guiding them toward him.

“Third Hokage-sama!”

One of the ANBU shouted.

“We have discovered a hidden passage here!”

Just as the ANBU prepared to enter with the others behind him, Hiruzen suddenly shouted.

“Wait!”

The ANBU stopped in confusion.

Hiruzen’s eyes narrowed.

“I just checked it.”

“There is something wrong with this passage.”

“It is bait left by Orochimaru. He wants to lure us in.”

“But...”

The ANBU wanted to argue.

“No buts!”

Hiruzen’s voice sank into a growl.

“I am the Third Hokage!”

He had been humiliated more than once tonight, and now his patience was clearly reaching its limit.

“Listen carefully. All remaining ANBU will follow my orders.”

“Enter through the hidden passages on both sides.”

“As for the passage in the middle, I will handle it myself.”

Hiruzen waved his hand, then immediately jumped into the entrance of the middle passage.

A moment later, the ground trembled.

The entrance was sealed shut by Hiruzen’s Earth Style jutsu.

“That man...”

When Minato saw it, his expression turned extremely ugly.

By now, he had seen everything clearly.

Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to let Orochimaru escape.

He wanted to let go of Orochimaru, who had killed so many comrades from Konoha.

“Minato-sensei, calm down.”

Yujiro smiled faintly.

“The real show begins now.”

He took two steps forward and looked at the ANBU.

“Do as Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered. Enter through the side passages.”

“But if you encounter Orochimaru, avoid direct combat as much as possible.”

“Yes, Yujiro-sama!”

The thirty or so remaining ANBU accepted the order without hesitation.

Immediately, they split into two groups and entered the underground base through the other two hidden passages.

Yujiro turned his head and looked at Kakashi and Shisui behind him.

“Kakashi. Shisui.”

“Yes.”

“You two summon all the elite ANBU who were left behind. Tell them it is my order.”

“Understood.”

Kakashi and Shisui answered at once.

In the next instant, both disappeared from where they stood.

Yujiro looked at the sealed passage in front of him and smiled lightly.

“Tonight’s main act starts here.”