Hokage: I Confronted the Five Kage Before the System Arrived

Chapter 70: Dominating the Ninja Academy!

[Ding!]

[Mission being released.]

[Main Mission: Dominate the Ninja Academy]

[Mission Description: The host, having successfully defeated the Cutting Class quartet, has garnered the attention of both teachers and classmates. Now, only one final mountain remains to be conquered for complete dominance over the Ninja Academy! That mountain is Uchiha Sasuke, the orphan of the prestigious Uchiha clan, possessor of the powerful Sharingan, and Indra's reincarnation, who holds unrivaled influence in the academy. The old king is dead; long live the new king! The host must topple this mountain to achieve the goal of dominating the Ninja Academy.]

[Mission Note: This is a main mission. It cannot be refused or avoided.]

Uchiha Sasuke?

A mountain?

Hagoromo Gengetsu glanced at Sasuke beside him, who had taken the risk of defecting from the village and traveled a thousand miles to seek power from him.

Is this the mountain?

"Later, show me your strength," Gengetsu said to Sasuke.

"Okay!"

Mistakenly thinking that Gengetsu wanted to assess his abilities to teach him accordingly, Sasuke nodded excitedly.

"Where are we going?" he asked eagerly afterward.

Gengetsu, leading the way, replied without turning his head, "To a good place."

"Itachi, I've brought the person," Kisame called out from within the forest, facing the direction of the Valley of the Fallen God. He then approached, stabilizing Sakon, whose head rested on his shoulder, with his right hand. They locked eyes, and Itachi's Sharingan quickly spun into three tomoe.

Soon, the dazed Sakon, in a dreamlike state, joyfully exclaimed, "Orochimaru-sama! We successfully brought Sasuke back."

Itachi withdrew his hand, saying coldly, "I've located Orochimaru. Inform the leader."

Kisame snapped Sakon's neck with a "crack" and nodded.

Through the ring communication, Pain received the information and relayed it to the nearby artistic duo.

"Hey~ Sasori-san, we found the hideout of that mole-ridden Orochimaru... hm." Deidara waved excitedly.

"That wretched snake, this time I'll skin him alive!" Sasori's eyes gleamed with coldness.

Heretics are always more detested than heathens.

As a fellow seeker of eternity, Sasori had always been disgusted by Orochimaru. He was the most proactive during the previous hunt for him.

However, Orochimaru had hidden deeper and deeper, making him hard to find for a long time.

Sasori was naturally thrilled to discover his lair this time.

"Let's go!"

"Yay!"

Deidara tossed a small clay bird, which quickly expanded. After the two climbed aboard, the bird soared into the sky, heading towards Orochimaru's reported location.

"Ah!!! Where is Sasuke? Why hasn't he arrived yet?" Orochimaru's body trembled in pain as his frantic shouts echoed through the underground base.

Kabuto, who had been monitoring Orochimaru's condition, adjusted his glasses with a serious expression. "None of the medicines are working anymore. This can't go on. Orochimaru-sama, perhaps it's time to consider the backup plan."

"Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked unwillingly.

Kabuto shook his head. "There's been no word for a long time. It's highly likely they've failed."

"Even Kimimaro couldn't make it..."

Seeing the burning pain in his hands and feeling the unbearable strain on his soul, Orochimaru finally acknowledged reality and said, "Then..."

Boom!

Before he could finish, a sudden explosion erupted overhead.

Kabuto's expression changed. He quickly grabbed Orochimaru, flashing out of the room.

The next second, the ceiling collapsed.

Accompanying the destruction was an excited shout.

"Art is an explosion! Hm!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of explosions echoed throughout the underground base.

As the dust settled, revealing the familiar red clouds on black cloaks of the Akatsuki, Orochimaru and Kabuto's faces turned grim.

Seeing who had arrived, Kabuto understood why Orochimaru was so upset.

Soon, with one hand on his hip and the other chewing clay, Deidara grinned. "Akatsuki traitor Orochimaru, we meet again."

"The snake hiding in the shadows, you won't escape this time," Sasori, hidden within Hiruko, said coldly.

"Really?"

Orochimaru smirked coldly.

Without time to ponder how Akatsuki had located him, Orochimaru glanced at Kabuto.

Understanding the signal, Kabuto nodded and prepared for battle, saying, "Orochimaru-sama, go do what you need to. I'll handle things here."

Orochimaru turned decisively, heading deeper into the base.

"Kill him!"

Sasori's voice suddenly rang out.

Simultaneously, he formed a specific hand sign.

Cerebral Manipulation!

The technique involves inserting a needle into the memory center of the brain to seal off a target's memories, which can be restored upon the release of the technique.

Upon seeing Kabuto, Sasori recognized him as a former sleeper agent.

At this moment, he decisively released the memory seal.

Thud!

Kabuto felt a sudden surge in his brain, as if it was about to burst, as a flood of additional memories rushed in.

"So... that's how it is."

Kabuto finally understood himself.

Following Sasori's order, he immediately turned and struck at Orochimaru.

However, Orochimaru quickly sped towards the base's depths.

He never looked back.

Seeing this, Sasori's eyes widened, his expression darkening.

Next to him, Deidara spread his hands, shrugged, and said, "I don't know what's going on, but it seems you've been played, Sasori-san."

"Attack!"

Never expecting his controlled pawn to betray him, Sasori ordered coldly.

"We should've done this from the start."

Deidara tossed a handful of C1 explosives, which scuttled towards Kabuto and Orochimaru.

"This is truly troublesome. Let's hope Orochimaru-sama can finish his body swap in time."

Kabuto sighed, turning to face the approaching enemies and dutifully blocking their advance.

The fierce battle began.

After a while.

"Wind Release: Pressure!"

"Magnet Release: Gold Dust!"

Under the onslaught of the terrifying gold dust storm, the underground base collapsed with a loud crash. Sasori and Deidara barely escaped in time.

As he dusted himself off, Sasori's eyes coldly assessed the figures in the distance: an oddly rejuvenated Orochimaru, a critically injured Kabuto, and two other notable figures. His voice was icy: "We're still a step too late."