Chapter 68: The Second Hokage, Heartbroken, the Uchiha Have Been Wiped Out
"No!!!!!!!"
A miserable scream echoed across the rooftop.
Everyone turned to look.
"Orochimaru, you must stay calm! You absolutely can't do something like that!"
"This is wrong! Even for the sake of our past as comrades, I beg you to give up this idea… If it comes to it, I'll kneel for you!"
Jiraiya's face was filled with sorrow and despair as he shouted at Orochimaru from outside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
Jiraiya's grief was so intense that it left everyone else confused.
"Monkey, you just said that Orochimaru, Tsunade, and this one called Jiraiya are all your disciples, right?"
"You trained some excellent students. This Jiraiya, in particular, is outstanding."
"Compared to that Orochimaru who only talks about respect, this disciple of yours truly respects me."
"I never expected that when someone targeted me, he'd react even more strongly than I did myself."
Senju Tobirama looked at Jiraiya with satisfaction and nodded in approval.
"Thank you for the praise, Tobirama-sensei."
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled politely on the surface, but inwardly he was baffled, since when did Jiraiya have such deep feelings toward the Second Hokage?
"Jiraiya, what does this have to do with you?"
Listening to Jiraiya's howling, Orochimaru calmly turned around to look at him.
"Who says it has nothing to do with me?!"
Jiraiya reacted sharply, clenching his fists.
"Think about it carefully! If you make the Second Hokage use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and Transformation Jutsu to work in the red-light district, how many innocent girls and married women will lose their jobs?"
"How are they supposed to survive? What about their families?"
"And besides… how am I supposed to go there in the future?!"
"Before I drink and have fun with a beautiful woman, do I have to beat her up first to make sure she's not the Second Hokage in disguise?"
"If I don't do that, what if, sooner or later, I end up sharing a bed with the Second Hokage…!"
At this point, Jiraiya's expression twisted in agony, and he collapsed to his knees.
How was he supposed to gather inspiration like this in the future?
This was too much!
This was basically cutting off all hope for his future!
"Monkey."
"Yes?"
"Is this really the excellent disciple you taught?"
"..."
Weren't you praising him just a moment ago?
"Where is Tsunade? Is she dealing with the enemies outside?"
The Second Hokage glanced beyond the barrier.
The quality of the Impure World Reincarnation was too poor. It couldn't exert much power, and even sensory abilities were severely suppressed.
"Tsunade isn't in Konoha. A few days ago, I sensed that something unexpected might happen today, so I sent ANBU to look for Jiraiya in the red-light district and for Tsunade in Tanzaku Town."
"Jiraiya came back early, but as for Tsunade… I don't know whether she received the message, or whether she'll return to provide support."
Hiruzen sighed.
"One disciple fooling around with women in the red-light district, one disciple gambling in Tanzaku Town, and one slightly better, researching my Impure World Reincarnation among piles of corpses…"
As Tobirama listed the deeds of Hiruzen's three disciples, he felt that Konoha was doomed sooner or later.
"Tobirama, actually, Tsunade liking to gamble isn't Monkey's fault, and I think the last one is the most serious…"
"Big brother, shut up!"
The Second Hokage barked sharply.
On the other side.
Shiromo continued talking with Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru, the materials you prepared for this Impure World Reincarnation are too poor. Next time, make some custom ones for the two of them, like installing a pair of Sharingan in the Second Hokage's reincarnated body."
"Oh, right. If you're worried about affecting civilians by going to the red-light district, you could also transplant, you know, that into his body, and have the Second Hokage help nurture new members of the Uchiha clan."
In an instant, a murderous gaze shot toward Shiromo.
"This is good! This is great! Let's do this one! Absolutely don't go harm the red-light district!"
Hearing Shiromo propose an alternative, Jiraiya immediately scrambled up from the ground, showering him with praise.
The murderous gaze shifted to Jiraiya.
"That's enough. Stop talking."
Orochimaru kept his hands in a sealing position, a bead of sweat sliding down his forehead.
Those summoned by Impure World Reincarnation had their strength greatly weakened, but the souls residing within were still the originals.
That was why, earlier, when Orochimaru used the Third Kazekage's Impure World Reincarnation to fight Sasori's Third Kazekage puppet, the Third Kazekage had broken free through sheer willpower.
After a small improvement, Orochimaru had added a tag that erased consciousness.
By removing consciousness, preventing the target from using the strength of their soul and keeping it in an unconscious state, he could ensure the Impure World Reincarnation wouldn't be broken.
But Shiromo had stopped him from doing that.
There were no consciousness-erasing tags inside the First and Second Hokage.
Even though their current physical strength was nowhere near their prime, they could still break free through sheer will.
Especially the Second Hokage, the creator of Impure World Reincarnation himself, who held its very "source code."
Everything Orochimaru had improved was merely layered on top of the original version.
Now, with this living ancestor standing right in front of him, provoking him nonstop, Orochimaru was close to losing control.
Yet Orochimaru didn't blame Shiromo.
"It's incredible. Even under the control and weakening of Impure World Reincarnation, the Second Hokage can still break through."
Having just asked Shiromo to stop talking, Orochimaru immediately began marveling again.
"Do you think it's possible that this is because of the Uchiha?"
Shiromo glanced at the Second Hokage.
It felt like if Orochimaru lost control, Tobirama might instantly use Flying Thunder God and slash him.
Because of the Uchiha, the Second Hokage breaking through his limits wasn't surprising.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, when the former Hokage were reincarnated, Tobirama himself admitted that his Flying Thunder God wasn't as good as the Fourth's, and that was true.
But when facing the innately evil Uchiha, Tobirama surpassed himself. At a moment when even the Fourth couldn't react or use Flying Thunder God, Tobirama used it three times in succession, returning the Truth-Seeking Orbs to the evil Uchiha.
Every jutsu Tobirama developed was meant to counter the Uchiha, but not only the Uchiha.
Shadow clones counter dōjutsu at a fundamental level, one that dōjutsu cannot see through.
As a result, they didn't just counter the Uchiha, they even countered the Uchiha's ancestors, the Ōtsutsuki.
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, even after eating the chakra fruit, couldn't see through them. Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was outright killed because he couldn't see through shadow clones.
When it came to dealing with the Uchiha, the Second Hokage was the ultimate authority.
"Evil little brat, you must have been bewitched by the Uchiha. I'll help you right now… "
Grinding his teeth, the Second Hokage struggled with all his might to break free of Orochimaru's control.
"Tobirama-sensei, please calm down. He's just ignorant and talking nonsense. The Uchiha have already been wiped out, there's no way you'd be made to do that!"
Seeing the situation spiral, Hiruzen hurriedly spoke up to calm him.
To do so, he even threw out a piece of information that was explosive to both the First and Second Hokage.
"What?!"
Shock mixed with heartache filled Senju Hashirama's eyes.
"What?!"
Senju Tobirama stopped struggling, shock and heartache also filling his gaze.
"Who did it?!"
The Second Hokage took a deep breath, his eyes burning as he locked onto Hiruzen's.
This was too much!
Even in his worst imaginings, he'd only thought of something like the Caged Bird Seal, putting restraints on those emotionally unstable Uchiha.
Or maybe whipping them from behind while making them work the fields.
But someone actually killed all the Uchiha?
This was Konoha's precious resource!
If nothing else, kill the adults and leave the children, raise them properly from a young age!
(End of this chapter)