Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 428 The Impure World Reincarnation Technique!

Faced with his teacher's fury and questioning, Orochimaru was not flustered at all; instead, he let out a low, pleasant laugh.

He raised his hand and gently touched the tiny crack on his cheek with his pale fingers, a movement as tender as caressing a lover's skin.

"Hehehe... Originally, I was planning to give you an even bigger 'surprise' later, teacher. I didn't expect that this mask is still not perfect. When I unleash my full chakra, this little flaw appears... But, since you've noticed it, teacher..."

Orochimaru's voice carried a twisted sense of pride and smugness.

He grasped the edge of his pale, effeminate adult face, and then slowly tore it downwards!

stab-

The human skin mask was completely torn off.

What was revealed was a youthful, delicate face, even bearing a hint of boyishness!

Even more horrifyingly, as the mask was torn off, Orochimaru's body, like a deflated balloon, began to slowly shrink!

His once perfectly fitting and magnificent attire became loose and baggy, which he casually ripped off, revealing a close-fitting black outfit and a white robe underneath.

In just a few seconds, the treacherous and cunning "Orochimaru, one of the Three Legendary Sannin" disappeared, and in his place was a "boy" who looked no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, with a thin figure and eyes that still carried that chilling and sinister feeling!

"This...?!" Outside the barrier, Yamato, who had been keeping a close eye on the situation inside, froze in surprise the moment he saw Orochimaru's new appearance!

This is……

Rejuvenation?!

Inside the barrier, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils contracted violently as if in an earthquake, and the color drained from his face instantly.

He stared intently at the "boy" in front of him, whose facial features vaguely resembled those of Orochimaru in his youth. The "boy" was both familiar and unfamiliar, and his first reaction was that his darkest guess had come true.

"You...you actually used 'Reanimation Jutsu' to take over the body of an innocent boy?! Orochimaru! You are truly...deserving of death!!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice became hoarse with anger and heartache over his disciple's fall, and his chakra became even more violent due to his emotional agitation.

However, faced with his teacher's fury and accusations, Orochimaru, still in his youthful form, seemed to have heard the most ridiculous joke in the world, throwing his head back and letting out a wild, mocking, and gleeful laugh:

"Hahaha...hahaha!!"

"Teacher! My dear teacher! Even you, the one known as the 'Ninja Doctor,' couldn't see it?"

"It seems... my skills are even more successful than I imagined!"

Orochimaru laughed for a while before slowly stopping and wiping the corner of his eye.

"Look carefully, teacher." Then, he spread his hands and slowly turned around in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, as if displaying a perfect work of art, his tone full of smug satisfaction and almost manic boasting.

"This body isn't some innocent boy; it's a 'container' I cloned in a culture tank, using my own cell samples as a blueprint, fusing Hashirama cells and White Zetsu cells, and after countless failures and adjustments!"

clone?

Intercolumnar cells?

White blood cells?

As the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally knew the theory of "cloning technology" and some of the forbidden experiments, as well as the value and danger of the cells of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.

No wonder the boy's face looked so familiar; it was Orochimaru at fourteen...

Hiruzen Sarutobi's thoughts drifted back to more than thirty years ago when he had just taken Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade as his disciples.

At that time, Orochimaru's eyes were still full of youthful innocence and curiosity about the world, but the Orochimaru in front of us, although his body is that of a fourteen-year-old, can never return to that look in his eyes.

But then Hiruzen Sarutobi came to his senses and remembered Orochimaru's mention of "White Zetsu cells"...

What is that?

Orochimaru licked his lips, his scarlet snake eyes gleaming with excitement, and continued, "Unfortunately, in order to give you this surprise, this body didn't have time to develop to its most perfect eighteen-year-old state before I activated it ahead of time."

"However, it should be more than enough to deal with your advanced age."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

How far has my disciple come on the path of pursuing forbidden power and immortality?

Just how many astonishing technologies does Orochimaru possess?

However, Orochimaru's "surprise" was clearly not over yet.

"However, teacher, such a surprise alone does not seem to be enough to match the scene of our long-awaited reunion, nor can it express my gratitude for your teachings over the years."

Orochimaru's smile widened, and he became increasingly dangerous.

He slowly took a few steps back, creating some distance between himself and Hiruzen Sarutobi, and then began to form hand seals with an extremely skilled speed.

Yin-si-xu-chen!

Upon seeing the order of the seals, Hiruzen Sarutobi's pupils contracted sharply once again!

The order in which they were printed...

Could it be?!

"Therefore, I have specially prepared two special 'old friends' for you."

Orochimaru completed the last hand seal, clasped his hands together, and his chakra surged into the roof beneath his feet like a flood!

"The Impure World Reincarnation Technique!"

Rumble—!!

As Orochimaru shouted, the shattered glazed tiles and wooden structure in front of him seemed to transform into water, beginning to ripple and bulge violently!

Immediately afterwards, two old, simple wooden coffins, exuding the aura of the dead, slowly rose from the ground!

On the coffin lid, two shocking characters were written in bold.

"early"……

"two"……

"No... impossible..." Hiruzen Sarutobi's body trembled uncontrollably. He staggered back half a step, his face drained of color, his eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and grief.

As he looked at the two coffins and the two words, two kind yet dignified faces appeared in his mind.

"Orochimaru! You—!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was hoarse and almost cracked as he pointed at Orochimaru, his fingers trembling violently.

"Over the years... how many... how many forbidden techniques that blaspheme the dead have you secretly researched?! What exactly are you trying to do?!"

Outside the Four Purple Flame Formation, Yamato was completely stunned, his mind blank.

"First" and "Second".

Could it be that the coffin contained...?

No, not possible!

That kind of thing...

Orochimaru ignored his teacher's questioning, simply watching with a satisfied smile as he admired the complex emotions of shock, grief, and anger that Hiruzen Sarutobi displayed.

He snapped his fingers lightly.

Click...

Click...

The lids of the two coffins slowly tilted forward, crashing to the ground with a dull thud.

Amidst the swirling dust, two figures slowly stepped out of the coffin.

The man on the left wore red layered armor over dark clothing, with long black hair flowing behind his head. He had a handsome and resolute face, and his brows exuded a natural majesty as heavy as the earth.

He simply stood there, giving people the feeling of being as immovable as a towering tree, yet containing boundless vitality.

The person on the right wore blue layered armor over a black bodysuit, had long white spiky hair, striking red facial markings, and sharp, piercing eyes, exuding an innate calmness and majesty.

It was Hashirama Senju, the founder of Konoha and the First Hokage revered as the "God of Shinobi."

And his younger brother, the Second Hokage who developed countless forbidden techniques—Tobirama Senju!

Moreover, unlike the relatively crude Impure World Reincarnation technique that Orochimaru mastered at that time in the original work, the "Impure World Body" of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju summoned at this moment is more complete, their chakra is more concentrated, and their eyes are clearer. Obviously, Orochimaru's mastery of this forbidden technique has reached an astonishing level.

Looking at those two faces that were all too familiar, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt all his strength drain away in an instant, and his vision went black.

He staggered, panting heavily, almost unable to stand.

"The First Generation Master... The Second Generation Master... Teacher..."

He murmured, as if in a dream, calling out the names of those two long-dead people who would live forever in his heart and in the hearts of all the Konoha ninjas.

Hashirama Senju looked around, his gaze sweeping over the magnificent glazed tile roof beneath his feet, over the silent purple flame barrier burning all around, and finally landing on the massive arena below, which resembled a destroyed anthill, filled with explosions and flames, and the faint sounds of battle cries, as well as the thick smoke rising from Konoha Village in the distance.

"Eh? Where is this...?" He tilted his head, a look of naivety on his face that seemed out of place with his status.

"Brother, is there even a need to ask?" Tobirama Senju slowly crossed his arms in front of his chest, his brows slightly furrowed, his voice carrying the authority of someone who had long held a high position.

"This place looks like Konoha no matter how you look at it, and..." His gaze lingered for a moment on the raging purple three-headed serpent and several explosions in the distance, and his tone turned somber.

"It's clearly undergoing a large-scale, organized invasion; the situation looks very bad."

After speaking, he turned his gaze to the old man opposite him, whose body was surging with chakra, yet whose age and shock were hard to conceal. This was Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Tobirama's gray eyes were filled with extremely complex emotions, including ripples of joy at a long-awaited reunion, but more so with scrutiny of the current situation and a hint of hidden disappointment.

"Long time no see, monkey."

"However, it seems you're in quite a bit of trouble right now."

At that moment, Hashirama followed his brother's gaze and saw Hiruzen Sarutobi on the other side.

"Oh! It's a monkey!" A cheerful smile immediately appeared on his face, a smile that seemed to dispel some of the heavy atmosphere within the barrier.

"It's been such a long time! You've aged a lot!" He waved vigorously, his voice booming.

Their familiar tone made it seem as if they had not been separated by decades of life and death, but were simply having an ordinary reunion.

However, this warm greeting, in this situation, only made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel even more pained.

After greeting everyone, Hashirama turned around and took a closer look at Orochimaru behind him, who had a strange smile on his lips and whose body had shrunk to the size of a boy.

Although his appearance had changed somewhat, Hashirama still recognized him by his face and the cold, sticky feeling of chakra.

"So... it's finally come to this, Orochimaru?" He stroked his chin, a look of realization mixed with a touch of helplessness on his face.

Hashirama's tone was not stern, but rather a sigh of "I knew it."

Clearly, this was not the first time he had been summoned by Orochimaru in this form, and he had anticipated what might happen.

Looking at the two teachers before him, whose expressions and tones were exactly the same as in his memory, Hiruzen Sarutobi was initially shocked, but then felt boundless shame, anger, and the agonizing pain of having his faith trampled.

"First Hokage, Second Hokage, I am so sorry..." He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and said to Hashirama and Tobirama.

"To force the two who should have rested in peace to witness such a wretched state of Konoha in this way is all due to my incompetent disciple's poor teaching and ineffective governance."

His gaze swept over Orochimaru, who stood leisurely behind the two Hokage, seemingly enjoying a wonderful drama. His eyes were filled with a mixture of heartache and anger.

"This traitorous disciple is the mastermind behind this invasion of Konoha. I am incompetent; not only did I fail to guide him back to the right path back then, but now I have allowed him to cause such a disaster, disturbing your peaceful slumber and endangering the survival of the village..."

He took all the blame upon himself, his tone heavy with sorrow.

In the presence of his two teachers who had created Konoha's golden age and entrusted the village to him, Konoha was invaded by the enemy, and the Hokage himself was trapped. This was undoubtedly the greatest dereliction of duty and disgrace.

Especially considering that during the reigns of the first and second Hokage, when had Konoha ever allowed its enemies to trample on the village like this?

Upon hearing this, Hashirama Senju's smile vanished. He raised his hand and slapped his forehead hard, making a soft "smack" sound. Then he let out a long, helpless sigh: "Sigh... I knew it..."

"My initial fears have indeed come true..."

His sigh contained little blame for Hiruzen Sarutobi, but rather a sense of helplessness in the face of an unavoidable trend and cause and effect.

"Brother, now is not the time to talk about these things!" Tobirama Senju interrupted Hashirama's slightly sentimental sigh.

His sharp gaze locked onto Hiruzen Sarutobi once again.

"Monkey!" Tobirama's tone turned serious. "Although I don't know exactly what happened to the village after we died, some of your actions... were really inappropriate."

"Especially that matter concerning the Uchiha clan."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's old eyes widened, his heart filled with turbulent waves!

The First and Second Hokage died thirty or forty years ago. How could they possibly know about the "Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre" that only happened six years ago?!

Could it be Orochimaru who told them?

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze suddenly shot towards Orochimaru, the boy whose form was fully revealed after the coffin sank.

Orochimaru's gleeful smile widened, his golden snake eyes gleaming with a mischievous gleam. He didn't speak, but simply tilted his head slightly, as if to say: "Continue, teacher, the best is yet to come."

Ignoring Hiruzen Sarutobi's drastically changed expression, Tobirama continued in his calm, almost cold voice, "To condone, even tacitly approve, the persecution and purge of the Uchiha, monkey, what you've done... is too much."

Hiruzen Sarutobi trembled and opened his mouth to try to explain, but Tobirama stopped him with a raised hand.

"I know the Uchiha's personality well: they are arrogant, prone to extremes, and the power of the Sharingan can easily breed darkness."

"During the Warring States period, my two younger brothers, Watama and Itama, died at the hands of Uchiha ninjas. I have absolutely no good feelings towards their clan." Tobirama's tone was filled with obvious hatred when he recalled the deaths of his two younger brothers.

"Even so, when my elder brother and Madara Uchiha founded Konoha, and when I took over the village after my brother's death, I never thought of completely eradicating the Uchiha clan or forcing them out of the village!"

He paused, his gaze meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes. "I established a police force, entrusting the village's internal security and some judicial powers to the Uchiha. While this certainly had the consideration of keeping them out of the open for easier surveillance, wasn't it also about giving them honor and responsibility, attempting to integrate them into the village and make them a true part of Konoha?"

"Power and responsibility go hand in hand; this will be the beginning of the bond between the Uchiha and the village."

"But what about you, monkey?" Tobirama's tone carried a hint of disappointment and questioning: "In your hands, the police force has become a tool to ostracize and isolate the Uchiha? The rift between the Uchiha and the village has deepened day by day, eventually evolving into an irreconcilable conflict."

"You caused that horrific bloodshed? Is this your solution as Hokage? To 'dispose' of one of the founding families of Konoha in such a cruel way?"

"I..." Hiruzen Sarutobi was rendered speechless by his teacher's series of sharp and direct questions.

He wanted to talk about how complicated the situation was at the time, the threat posed by the radical faction within the Uchiha clan, the pressure from the other advisors and elders, and how he did it to avoid a larger-scale civil war...

But all these reasons seem so pale and powerless in the face of Tobirama's all-knowing gaze, even like sophistry to shirk responsibility.

Being criticized so openly by his most respected and role model teacher, especially when it involved one of the most painful and controversial decisions of his career, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a heavy sense of powerlessness and deep shame welling up in his heart.

"I'm sorry... First Generation Master, Second Generation Master..." He staggered, barely managing to steady himself, lowered his head, and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"At that time... I... I had no better way... I... I thought that would prevent greater sacrifices and preserve the stability of the village..."

His explanations were weak and unconvincing; he couldn't even convince himself.

"Tobirama, calm down." Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's devastated and somewhat broken state, Hashirama Senju finally softened.

He patted Tobirama on the shoulder, trying to ease the tension, and forced a slightly silly, cheerful smile that seemed particularly out of place in the context.

"We can talk about the past later, once we've dealt with the immediate problem. Right now, the most important thing is to figure out how to help the monkeys hold out until reinforcements arrive, and then drive these invaders out..."

"Brother! Don't you understand yet?!" Tobirama Senju suddenly raised his voice, sharply interrupting his brother's attempt to smooth things over.

He turned his head and looked at Hashirama. In his sharp eyes, there was a clear burning of anger and helplessness at his brother's naivety.

Tobirama pointed to the area below the barrier, where the arena was still chaotic, filled with explosions and sounds of battle, and then to the distant Konoha village where multiple fires had broken out and the direction from which the sounds of fierce fighting were coming from.

"Where are the village reinforcements? Where are the private soldiers of those ninja clans? Where is the main force of the Anbu?"

Tobirama's voice was like an ice pick, each word striking Hiruzen Sarutobi's already crumbling mental defenses.

"Big brother, take a good look!"

"The invasion has been going on for quite some time now, with battles breaking out in multiple locations throughout the village. Even the Hokage is trapped inside the barrier!"

"But aside from the ANBU who are fighting alone and hastily responding to the enemy, and the nearby ninjas, where is Konoha's organized and large-scale support force?!"

Tobirama's speech grew faster and faster, his analysis more and more incisive, each word striking Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart like a hammer blow, shattering the last vestiges of his unrealistic hope.

This only proves one thing!

"Monkey!" Tobirama Senju turned around and faced Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose face was pale and whose eyes were unfocused.

"You have lost the people's hearts!"