Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 61: Betrayal and Choice

Perhaps age brings fear of death, or perhaps it fosters endurance.

Shinno turned out to be more fragile than Hagoromo Gengetsu had imagined.

This made it much easier for Hagoromo Gengetsu to acquire medical ninjutsu from him.

After a while, the intelligence agents from the Hagoromo clan took away Shinno, whose chakra had been sealed. Hagoromo Gengetsu examined two scrolls in his hands, titled "Body Activation" and "Body Regeneration."

Compared to the Sky Ninja and the so-called Zero-Tails behind Shinno, these two medical forbidden jutsus were more valuable to him.

Hagoromo Gengetsu quickly browsed through the scrolls, his eyes lighting up.

Undoubtedly, compared to conventional medical ninjutsu, the forbidden jutsus developed by Shinno, focused on body activation, were highly effective.

They would be very beneficial for his injuries and could even improve his physical body, which had always been a weakness.

The next step was to thoroughly comprehend these two medical forbidden jutsus.

In addition, the intelligence agents who had just arrived brought the latest news from Konoha.

Sasuke had set out.

"Interesting. Let's see what choice you make next."

Hagoromo Gengetsu smirked, looked in the direction of Konoha, and then disappeared, heading back to the Valley of the Fallen God.

Let's rewind time a bit.

In the dead of night, after the daytime battle with Naruto on the rooftop and a subsequent beating by the Sound Four sent by Orochimaru, Sasuke had become even more determined to leave the village.

But now, he had another option.

"Orochimaru."

Sasuke touched the curse mark on his neck.

According to the Sound Four, this was a gift from Orochimaru, a key to gaining power.

If it weren't for the option of Hagoromo Gengetsu, Sasuke, who was willing to pay any price for revenge, would have chosen Orochimaru despite knowing that Orochimaru coveted his body.

But now he had two choices.

Orochimaru and Hagoromo Gengetsu.

Who to choose?

For Sasuke, who craved power, he would naturally choose the stronger one.

Having personally encountered them, he had a deep understanding.

Through his Sharingan, he sensed that although Orochimaru was eerie and powerful, he didn't exert the same silent pressure as Hagoromo Gengetsu.

Moreover, Orochimaru made no effort to hide his desire for Sasuke's body, while Hagoromo Gengetsu seemed indifferent.

Sasuke wasn't foolish enough to choose a weaker, more dangerous path.

Thus, he made a decisive choice.

Hagoromo Gengetsu!

Valley of the Fallen God!

Without hesitation, Sasuke quickly packed his things and left the village without saying goodbye to anyone.

On the way, he unexpectedly encountered Sakura.

"Sasuke, where are you going so late?" Sakura forced a smile as she saw Sasuke looking like he was going on a long journey.

"Go back." Sasuke replied coldly.

Sakura's last bit of hope vanished.

She was very smart and observant.

After encountering Hagoromo Gengetsu on the way back from the Land of Tea, Sasuke had suggested taking a break and then left alone, making her suspect something.

After the rooftop battle at the hospital that day, her worries grew, leading to her waiting for him here.

As expected, Sasuke was planning to leave the village.

"Sasuke..."

"Sakura, thank you."

Ignoring Sakura's heartfelt pleas, Sasuke, whose heart was set on revenge, knocked her out with a chop and continued on his way.

Even knowing that his actions were a betrayal to the village, he didn't care.

Aware that the Sound Four were waiting for him outside the village, Sasuke chose a hidden path to leave the village.

By the time he left, the Sound Four were still waiting near the village gate.

Impatient, Tayuya grumbled, "Is that Sasuke guy coming out or not?"

"Don't worry, Orochimaru-sama's prediction won't be wrong," Kidomaru said confidently. "Besides, I saw the desire and ambition in Sasuke's eyes. He won't refuse Orochimaru-sama's offer."

However...

An hour later, Kidomaru's smile grew stiff.

"We should go check inside," Sakon sighed.

Everyone agreed.

Due to the frequent missions and many ninjas being out, and Orochimaru's familiarity with Konoha, the Sound Four successfully infiltrated the village again.

Silently arriving at Sasuke's house, they checked around, and Sakon frowned, "Sasuke has already left."

"Why didn't he meet us?" Jirobo rumbled.

Squinting, Kidomaru examined the map on Sasuke's table, which seemed to have been handled many times. Though it bore no markings, the subtle indentations were noticeable to him.

"Sasuke left, but he didn't go to Orochimaru-sama," Kidomaru said coldly.

"No matter where he went, for Orochimaru-sama's sake, we must take him!" Tayuya drew her flute, brimming with killing intent.

Sakon nodded, "Since Sasuke refused Orochimaru-sama's kindness, we won't be polite. If we can't capture him alive, breaking his legs will do."

The Sound Four quickly left the village, following clues to pursue Sasuke.

In Konoha, the reaction was slower.

Until Sakura awoke and rushed to inform the Hokage, Tsunade became aware of Sasuke's departure.

"We must bring him back!"

Considering Sasuke as the sole remaining bloodline of the Uchiha clan, Tsunade frowned and asked Sakura if she knew where Sasuke might have gone.

Tsunade wasn't hopeful.

Unexpectedly, Sakura gave her a "surprise."

"Hagoromo Gengetsu! Sasuke must have gone to find him!" Sakura revealed her analysis.

Tsunade's eyebrows tightened.

"Hagoromo Gengetsu, you've finally made a move."

Tsunade agreed with Sakura's analysis but couldn't understand why Hagoromo Gengetsu wanted Sasuke.

Although the Sharingan was powerful, someone like Hagoromo Gengetsu shouldn't care about it.

"Hokage-sama."

At that moment, Nara Shikamaru, newly promoted to Chunin, entered after receiving the notification.

Tsunade quickly issued orders.

Soon, a team composed of the available Konoha Twelve set out to track Sasuke.

"Remember, we only have twelve hours to track him. If the time expires, we must stop. Also, as the team leader, I have the authority to abort the mission at any time. Everyone must comply. Understand?"

After organizing the team, Nara Shikamaru gave serious instructions to his teammates.

Kiba Inuzuka complained, "Why limit the time? Shouldn't we chase him to the ends of the earth?"

"Yeah! I'll bring Sasuke back even if I have to break his bones," Naruto vowed, not understanding Sasuke's actions.

'Because there might be terrifying dangers ahead!'

Shikamaru sighed, looking at his eager teammates, feeling his first mission as a leader would be very challenging.