Chapter 57

The Konoha ninjas exchanged glances, for in Konoha, no one had ever dared to ignore the Hokage's orders.

Su Zhong was the first.

The Sand ninjas were furious, and Maki glared at the Anbu ninja: "Is this your guarantee?! Is this Konoha's sincerity?!"

The Anbu ninja's eyes were filled with anger: "Please remain calm. We will give the Sand ninjas an explanation."

"Maki-sama, don't listen to their deceit. Let's fight them!"

"How dare they...!"

The cat-faced Anbu, his expression behind the mask was also unpleasant: "Maki Jounin, you must understand your current situation. We are not afraid to continue the battle. But can you bear the consequences for the Sand Village? Moreover, the Fourth Kazekage is still missing. You must think carefully."

The last sentence made Maki waver. The disappearance of the Kazekage was a major issue.

Historically, the mysterious disappearance of the Third Kazekage had caused significant damage to the Sand Village.

It took the Sand Village more than a decade to gradually recover. If something went wrong at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Fine, we will remain calm. We hope Konoha will give us an explanation after the war."

"Explanation? As the aggressors, you should give us an explanation..."

A Konoha ninja muttered under his breath.

The lead Anbu and Maki pretended not to hear.

Who would give an explanation after the war depended entirely on the strength of the parties involved, and there was no logic to it.

...

Su Zhong completely ignored the reactions of those people.

His Hard Qi Gong had unexpectedly broken through again, and his strength had suddenly increased, giving him a feeling of invincibility.

Although he knew this was just a side effect of the sudden increase in strength, a false feeling.

If he indulged in this feeling, he might become a megalomaniac.

But Su Zhong didn't mind using this boldness to settle some personal grudges.

After being treated so badly, how could he not vent?

He stomped his feet repeatedly, and the ground exploded into small craters.

Su Zhong's speed was incredibly fast, and the ninjas along the way could only see a black shadow flash by, even thinking it was a hallucination.

Following the route he saw with his Insight Eye, Su Zhong quickly arrived at the place where the Third Hokage and Orochimaru were fighting.

"Qiu? Why are you here?" Kakashi, startled, looked at the suddenly appearing Su Zhong.

"His speed is so fast, it seems his strength has increased again," Kakashi thought solemnly.

"What's the matter?" Kakashi no longer paid attention to the battle between Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, focusing his defense on Su Zhong.

During this sensitive period, the appearance of the dangerous Su Zhong was highly suspicious to Kakashi.

"I came to settle accounts with Orochimaru." Su Zhong was still bare-chested, having rushed here without time to find clothes.

His eyes focused on the few people fighting inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, assessing their strength.

He paid special attention to the First Hokage.

The First Hokage had a Sage Body, and Su Zhong's Hard Qi Gong had just broken through. He wanted to see the difference between his body and a Sage Body.

To Su Zhong's disappointment, the First Hokage, while powerful, was far from the impression he had. After being controlled by Orochimaru, he did not use Sage Techniques.

It seemed the sacrifice's strength was too weak, or Orochimaru's research on the Impure World Reincarnation was not yet complete, leading to a significant reduction in the First Hokage's strength.

But it was still formidable.

Su Zhong carefully watched the battle between the three Kage, trying to absorb as much experience as possible.

Kakashi stood casually, ostensibly observing the battle, but in reality, he was constantly monitoring Su Zhong.

"Kakashi, why do you keep staring at me?"

Su Zhong suddenly turned and looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi's body didn't move, but his eyes shifted, turning his gaze to the Third Hokage, showing no embarrassment at being caught.

"Just curious. Why would Qiu have a conflict with Orochimaru? As far as I know, this was your first mission outside Konoha. I didn't notice any contact between you and Orochimaru during the entire process."

Kakashi asked straightforwardly.

The three Anbu crouching on the ground were startled and subtly moved to surround Su Zhong.

Su Zhong gave them a contemptuous glance.

His Insight Eye covered a hundred-meter radius. Kakashi's gaze and the Anbu's defenses were clear to him.

He turned to watch the intense battle between the three Hokage, ignoring Kakashi's suspicions.

At that moment, he saw the Third Kazekage use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.

To Su Zhong's surprise, he could clearly see the appearance of the Death God.

"The Insight Eye has this ability? It seems I need to reassess the nature of the Insight Eye," Su Zhong mused.

Kakashi followed Su Zhong's gaze to the Third Hokage's head but saw nothing.

Before he could figure it out, he saw the Third Hokage display his power, sealing the First and Second Hokage, then grabbing Orochimaru, victory in sight.

Kakashi was elated.

But Orochimaru suddenly controlled the Kusanagi sword to stab into the Third Hokage's abdomen, causing him significant damage.

"It's time," Su Zhong muttered, suddenly disappearing from his spot.

He intended to intercept Orochimaru first.

With the Insight Eye as a real-time monitor, Su Zhong wasn't afraid of losing him.

Orochimaru, filled with resentment, glanced at the Third Hokage and was quickly carried away by his subordinates.

His numb hands made him even angrier. He had prepared thoroughly and even used the Impure World Reincarnation, but the losses were unexpectedly large.

"The First and Second Hokage's strength can't be that weak. It seems the Impure World Reincarnation still needs improvement," Orochimaru thought to himself as he lay on his subordinate's back.

"Orochimaru, don't be in a hurry to leave. Don't we have some accounts to settle?" a voice suddenly rang out.

Orochimaru's body stiffened, immediately regaining his composure and seeing a bald, eyebrowless youth standing nearby.

"Who are you? Have we met before?" Orochimaru was cautious, maintaining a calm exterior.

"You don't recognize me? If you don't recognize me, why did you send people to kill me?" Su Zhong was taken aback.

He had thought it might be Danzo's plot to assassinate him, but he hadn't expected that the executor, Orochimaru, knew nothing about him.

"Uchiha Qiu?" Orochimaru was uncertain. This was a critical moment for his escape, and he was already frustrated. If it were anyone else, he would have killed them outright.

But Uchiha Qiu, who had escaped from nine Sand Jounin, was not easy to deal with.

"This was a deal between Danzo and me. I was only responsible for the execution. As you saw, I only knew your name before this, and the specific execution was handled by my subordinates," Orochimaru betrayed Danzo: "What conditions do you need to let me pass?"

Su Zhong's lips curled. "Orochimaru-sama is truly straightforward."

Orochimaru gave a sinister smile but remained silent, becoming even more wary of Su Zhong.

Not avenging a great enemy, but extorting instead? Orochimaru's anger rose. No one had ever dared to extort him!

"I want the sealing techniques, including the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques," Su Zhong said directly.

Initially, Su Zhong had thought of taking the opportunity to finish off Orochimaru. But after watching Orochimaru's battle for a while, his agitated heart quickly calmed down.

Orochimaru had many trump cards. In the original plot, he was still alive in the later stages of the series, showing his strong vitality.

Although Su Zhong's strength had increased, he realized he might not be able to kill him.

Moreover, strictly speaking, he and Orochimaru had no personal grudges.

It was all about the exchange of interests. His enemy was Danzo, and Orochimaru was an accomplice.

"Since I can't kill you now, I might as well let you go. After all, Sasuke will deal with you in the future."

Thinking this, Su Zhong decided to extort Orochimaru. This was why he left Konoha early and intercepted Orochimaru on the way.

Otherwise, Su Zhong would have ambushed him and quickly fled.

"Fine! I agree to give it to you," Orochimaru nodded readily, then added with interest, "But I don't have it now. Do you want to leave Konoha with me?"

Su Zhong smiled. "Your temptation is useless. When I leave Konoha is my decision."

"Then there's no deal. It seems we have to fight," Orochimaru said regretfully.

He then suddenly released a terrifying killing intent, as if ready to fight to the death.

Su Zhong coldly snorted and instantly broke free from Orochimaru's killing intent lock.

"Orochimaru, do you dare to fight me in your current state? I don't need to defeat you; I just need to delay you to put you in a deadly situation. Do you believe me?"

Su Zhong wasn't intimidated by Orochimaru. Orochimaru's aura was indeed fierce, but Su Zhong, having lived in three worlds, had a strong will and was unaffected.

"You don't know yet, but your old rival Jiraiya has returned to Konoha. Otherwise, who would deal with your snakes?" Su Zhong said maliciously.

Orochimaru's snake eyes narrowed, his gaze becoming even colder. If he weren't severely injured, he would have immediately killed Su Zhong.

He had never felt so frustrated.

"Then how do you want to deal with this?" Orochimaru gritted his teeth.

"Give it to Sasuke," Su Zhong said suddenly.

Orochimaru paused, a bad feeling rising in his heart. Anger surged from his core: "You dare to interfere with my plans?!"

An even more fierce aura enveloped him.

Su Zhong's expression turned serious. Truly worthy of Orochimaru.

"I respect Sasuke's choice," Su Zhong said calmly, "If Sasuke seeks power from you, I won't stop him."

Orochimaru stared at Su Zhong for a long time, his face returning to calm.

"Uchiha Qiu, you are impressive. I will remember you. When Sasuke comes to me, I will naturally give him the techniques," Orochimaru's voice was emotionless.

Su Zhong admired him internally. Even in this disadvantageous situation, Orochimaru could quickly regain his composure.

Truly worthy of being one of the Sannin!

Satisfied, Su Zhong smiled, stepped aside, and moved back to let Orochimaru pass.

Orochimaru gave Su Zhong a deep look.

"Go!"

The subordinate carefully walked past Su Zhong, seeing no reaction, immediately carried Orochimaru and fled.

"The Third is dead, and Sasuke is about to leave Konoha. I need to make some preparations," Su Zhong thought, looking at his tattered pants.

Without delay, he headed towards the Uchiha compound.

As for the chaos in Konoha, it was none of his business!

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