A comic book journey to see the Eye of Antiquity

"Clap."

"Clap."

On the arena, a series of soft sounds rang out continuously. Gaara's surrounding sand wall was constantly condensing and dissipating, and a blurry figure was launching attacks around Gaara.

"It's time."

Just then, Guan Xingxi turned to leave, but after taking only two steps, he stopped, hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't resist grabbing Xiaoying's hand. He then whispered to Ino, "Don't say anything, come with me."

While the other spectators were still reeling from the shock and confusion, Yang Lei acted before anyone else, leading the three women through a large crowd of onlookers.

"Humph."

Hiashi Hyuga originally wanted to turn around and say a few words to Hinata, after all, her performance off the field had been quite commendable, but seeing Yang Lei holding the hands of the two women made him let out a cold snort.

"Cough cough."

Seeing his father-in-law's face grow darker and darker, Yang Lei knew exactly what was going on. He quickly let go of the two women's hands, not even daring to hold Hinata's hand anymore.

However, now is not the time for idle chatter or fooling around. Yang Lei stepped forward and squatted down next to Hiashi's ear, whispering, "Uncle Hiashi, I think something is wrong. Please pay attention to your surroundings and try to protect Hinata and the others."

"Ok?"

Hiashi Hyuga was so shocked that he almost cried out involuntarily.

This is inside Konoha Village. If anyone tries to harm Konoha Village, the damage and threat they cause will be enormous.

... ...

Moreover, since it's currently the Chunin Exams period, there are quite a few outsiders in the village. If Yang Lei's discovery is true, Konoha's situation would be quite dire.

Thinking of this, Hyuga Hiashi broke out in a cold sweat. He dared not be negligent. He preferred to believe it rather than not. He raised his hand and made a gesture. Suddenly, he saw that the twenty or so Hyuga clan members had all been summoned by him.

"You all stay here for now, I'll go check on the Third Hokage."

Just as Hiashi Hyuga made a gesture to summon his clansmen, Yang Lei strode away. His smiling face betrayed nothing to others. While watching the battle below, which was nearing its end, he arrived at the high platform where the Third Hokage and the 'Kazekage' were located.

At this time, the Third Hokage was unaware that the person sitting next to him was not the Kazekage but Orochimaru, so he was completely unprepared. When he saw Yang Lei arrive, he even smiled and talked to him, asking what Hyuga Hiashi was doing and why there was such a large group of people gathered there.

"Action."

Just then, the 'Kazekage' suddenly sprang into action. He first shouted loudly, and then, with lightning speed, he kidnapped the Third Hokage.

"The Konoha Collapse Plan begins here!"

(PS: Regarding the Chunin Exams, I only briefly described some of the battles between Shikamaru and Temari, and Naruto and Shino, because I had some new ideas. As for the battles between Hinata and Neji, and Sasuke and Gaara, I didn't have any new ideas, so I didn't write about them. After all, I'm a conscientious author who doesn't pad out my writing...)

0162 Orochimaru Appears

"The Konoha Collapse Plan begins here."

With a loud shout from the 'Wind Shadow,' the people below began to move. First, some people disguised as ANBU members appeared, forming hand seals and unleashing a massive genjutsu that instantly obliterated all observers except the ninjas.

Then, Gaara, who had been constantly at a disadvantage, also erupted, roaring and activating the One-Tailed Chakra. He had not been injured by Sasuke's Chidori as in the original story, so he could still fight.

Chapter 173

"That's a Jinchūriki of the One-Tailed Beast."

Yang Lei turned his head and first briefly looked through the characteristics of the One-Tailed Beast's chakra, then loudly reminded, "We can't let him explode in the village. We need to find a way to either use a decapitation tactic on him or drive him out of the village."

Because Yang Lei wasn't wearing goggles, he couldn't use his Byakugan effectively. He hadn't explored the One-Tailed Beast within Gaara's body until now, when it erupted, and he finally obtained the characteristics of the One-Tailed Beast's chakra.

After shouting, Yang Lei ignored everything else. He saw 'Kazekage' holding the Third Hokage hostage with his kunai, and the two of them jumped up to the roof of the arena.

"Whoosh."

Yang Lei didn't dare to be negligent. He first took out a specially made kunai with his right hand and threw it behind him without looking back. It hit a Sand Ninja in the forehead. Then he pushed off the ground with both feet and jumped into the air. He arrived at the roof with the 'Kazekage' and the Third Hokage.

"Don't act rashly."

'Wind Shadow' gestured to Yang Lei with the kunai in his hand, threatening, "You'd better leave here, or else..."

"Oh."

Yang Lei interrupted him with a cold laugh, about to reveal the identity of the 'Kazekage', but was interrupted by the Third Hokage raising his hand. Looking at the chaotic battlefield below, he couldn't help but sigh with concern and asked, "Kazekage, is this worth it for your Sunagakure Village?"

Who knows?

'Wind Shadow' shrugged and said irresponsibly, "I'm not Wind Shadow, so who cares if it's worth it or not."

"Varied?"

The Third Hokage's eyes widened. He had always thought this was the Kazekage, but he hadn't realized he was wrong from the start.

Could Konoha Village be unaware of Sunagakure Village's ill intentions?

Although they didn't know about the so-called Konoha Collapse Plan, Konoha Village could still sense something and knew that Sunagakure Village had come with ill intentions. Coupled with the news of Orochimaru brought back by Jiraiya, the Third Hokage had no choice but to be cautious.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. It was originally just a Chunin Exam, but the Third Hokage sent a large number of Anbu to prepare around the arena, as well as many high-ranking ninjas, which shows that he had already noticed it.

He only gave 'Kazekage' the opportunity to kidnap him because he wanted a peaceful resolution, with the aim of negotiating with him.

But then he realized that all his preparations had been in vain, because this was not the Wind Shadow.

"Teacher, it really hurts me that you didn't recognize me."

The Kazekage couldn't be bothered to keep up the act any longer. He lifted the Kazekage cloak on his head to reveal his true form, which was indeed Orochimaru.

"Kid, are you sure you're not leaving?"

Orochimaru released the Third Hokage without hesitation, twirled the kunai in his hand and pointed it at Yang Lei, his face showing a nonchalant expression. It seemed that although Yang Lei looked like he was fifteen years old because he was 1.7 meters tall, he was still not taken seriously by him.

That's true. Orochimaru is a well-established and powerful figure. Even now, the name of the Legendary Sannin is still a prestigious one. Why would he care about a little kid?

Yang Lei shrugged, drew his Kusanagi sword from his waist, and stepped behind the Third Hokage, making it clear that he intended to stand with the Third Hokage.

He had received a lot of kindness from the Third Hokage and Asuma and his son before, so he would do everything in his power to save the old man's life.

"very good."

Orochimaru nodded with a cold smile, then turned to look down. He saw that his two henchmen had split in two, becoming four people, and with a powerful leap, they had also jumped up, standing in the four corners of the rooftop, simultaneously forming hand seals and using ninjutsu.

"Ninjutsu, barrier, four purple flame formation."

These four people were none other than the Sound Four, and the barrier ninjutsu Four Purple Flame Formation from the original work was used by them. Moreover, they used two of them right from the start, sandwiching the four of them in the middle to make them the safest.

Originally, Yang Lei's speed was enough to stop the Sound Four. However, he did so because he, the Third Hokage, and Orochimaru all wanted to resolve some matters here. It could be said that their tacit approval allowed the Sound Four to escape.

Yang Lei's purpose, as he just stated, was to repay a debt of gratitude; he wanted to return what he could.

Orochimaru and the Third Hokage, however, wanted to resolve their differences.

Besides this reason, there was actually a second reason why Yang Lei couldn't stop him: if it weren't for the restraint of the Four Purple Flame Formation, the village would be in trouble once Orochimaru used the Impure World Reincarnation technique to summon the First and Second Hokage.

Whether it's the First Hokage's Wood Release or the Second Hokage's Water Release, as well as secret techniques and forbidden techniques, if they were to unleash their full power in the village, even Konoha, the number one ninja village in the ninja world, wouldn't be able to withstand it; they would be destroyed in an instant.

Therefore, Yang Lei watched helplessly as the Sound Four managed to hold up the evil world without making a move. That's the rule: you can only fight Orochimaru here. Otherwise, don't blame him for being ruthless.

Speaking of this, Yang Lei was actually a little puzzled as to why Orochimaru didn't send the First and Second Hokage out to cause trouble from the very beginning.

Perhaps his only target is the Third Hokage?

Orochimaru.

While the Sound Four were arranging their way through the world, the Third Hokage wasn't just sitting idly by. He first took off his Hokage hat, then untied his robe, revealing the combat uniform he had specially worn that morning.

Therefore, the Third Hokage actually knew that there might be a major battle today, otherwise he wouldn't be dressed like this.

"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have let you leave in the first place."

The Third Hokage, with a mere 0.2 eye, sighed and looked at Orochimaru with disappointed eyes. The look in his eyes, filled with disappointment and the pain of seeing his master and disciple turn against each other, made Orochimaru's heart clench.

"cut."

Gritting his teeth, Orochimaru suddenly stabbed the palm of his other hand with the kunai in his hand, using the pain to counteract his emotions, and said nonchalantly, "Let's not bring up things from years ago. Aren't I back here to give you another chance?"

"It seems that you still acknowledge me as your teacher."

The Third Hokage sighed again, then stopped talking. He and Orochimaru stared at each other for a while, and suddenly, the master and disciple moved in unison, forming hand seals at lightning speed and shouting together.

"Spiritual communication, lend me a hand, Ape Demon King."

"The technique of reincarnation in the filthy earth, drink it."

0163 Responses from all sides!

Chapter 174

While the Third Hokage and Orochimaru were confronting each other, Yang Lei glanced at a group of Anbu members gathered outside the Four Purple Flame Formation, pretended to put his hand into the ninja tool pouch behind his leg and rummage around, but actually took out goggles from his personal space.

"Spiritualization technique, come forth, Ape Demon King."

"The art of reincarnation in the defiled land".

Just as Yang Lei put on his goggles, the two of them used their respective methods. The Third Hokage formed hand seals to summon Enma, while Orochimaru summoned three coffins in succession.

"Oh no, he's summoned the third coffin too."

Seeing that the three coffins were inscribed with the words "First," "Second," and "Fourth" respectively, the Third Generation couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"?"

Yang Lei glanced at the Third Hokage with some puzzlement, thinking to himself, "Don't you know how to seal the corpse? Then you should know that Minato Namikaze's soul is still inside the Grim Reaper's belly. What's so bad about that?"

Sure enough, after the coffin was opened, the first two people to walk out were the first Hashirama Senju and the second Tobirama Senju, both in a daze. The third person was not the fourth Minato Namikaze, but the fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, Rasa, who was the father of Gaara and his siblings.

"The Fourth Kazekage was actually killed by Orochimaru?"

A cry of alarm rang out outside the Four Purple Flame Formation. The nominal leader of the team, Jonin Maki, had somehow arrived nearby. He had intended to hide and find an opportunity to help the Fourth Hokage, but instead of seeing the Fourth Hokage alive, he saw the Fourth Hokage already dead, and immediately cried out in alarm.

Upon hearing Maki's voice, the entire battlefield suddenly froze.

"withdraw."

Finally, it was Maki who reacted first. He glared at Orochimaru hatefully and shouted, "Everyone in Konoha, we in Sunagakure have been bewitched by Orochimaru. This operation was all ordered by him, who was impersonating our Kazekage. Please let us leave."

Maki was capable enough to be entrusted with such an important task; he immediately conveyed to the people of Konoha that they were not enemies.

But things can't be that simple.

"In that case, you may surrender."

Outside, Kakashi stepped forward and said to the Sand Ninja, "You can stop fighting if you don't want to, but don't think you can just leave as you please. Only surrender will prove your loyalty."

How could Maki possibly agree? At the very least, the One-Tailed Jinchuriki couldn't fall into Konoha's hands. So, he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Protect Gaara with all your might! Break through!"

As he spoke, Maki gathered the Sand Shinobi and rushed towards the center of the arena, where Gaara had already shown his half-tailed beast form and was currently fighting fiercely with Naruto and Sasuke.

. . . . . .

Leaving aside the Sand Village's breakout operation, on the other side, the ninjas of the Sound Village, which Orochimaru had secretly established, were causing a huge disturbance, and several giant pythons were rampaging through the village. At this moment, Konoha Village was no longer peaceful as usual; the sky was filled with the sounds of fighting and helpless screams.

"Are you really not going to help?"

At that moment, in a corner of the village, Danzo looked at Jiraiya, who was sitting in front of his house drinking alone with a bottle of shochu, and pointed outside, saying, "I don't need your protection here. You should go outside and help those in need."

"I'm not here to protect you."

Jiraiya put down the sake bottle in his hand and said with a serious expression, "This is a task assigned to me by my teacher. The village is currently at war with the enemy, and he doesn't want to see you doing anything underhanded behind the scenes."

After the assassination attempt by Root many years ago, the Third Hokage did not do anything to Danzo, but he was still wary of him. He finally realized that although they both wanted to make the village better, they were not on the same path, but rather the biggest political enemies.

Therefore, when the Third Hokage learned that Konoha Village was likely to be attacked, he secretly made many preparations, one of which was to send people to protect valuable items, such as the Book of Seals, ninja data, and mission data.

In addition, the Third Hokage had given Jiraiya a secret mission: if a battle broke out, he was to come here immediately to keep an eye on Danzo, not to let him leave Root's headquarters or summon any Root members.

It seems that Danzo's assassination attempt back then really hurt the Third Hokage, otherwise he wouldn't be so wary of Danzo.

The Third Hokage might even have thought that Danzo might have been involved in the Konoha Collapse Plan.

"That guy, Rizhan."

Danzo squinted his left eye, which wasn't bandaged, looking quite displeased.

Whether he participated in the Konoha Collapse Plan is still unknown, but one thing is certain: Danzo knew about Orochimaru's plan, because he and Orochimaru had always been in contact, as can be seen from the incident in the original work where he sent Sai to steal Orochimaru's old correspondence.

In other words, his original plan was indeed to accomplish some of his own schemes during this incident, such as going to the Hokage's office to find something, checking if the Third Hokage was dead, or deliberately showing up to gain some credit for himself.

It's just a pity that Jiraiya's presence prevented him from doing anything, and he couldn't even summon his subordinates unless he wanted to break off relations and die trying.

"never mind."

Finally, Danzo let out a soft sigh, slowly sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and quietly waited with Jiraiya for the incident to end.

. . . . . .

The view returns to the roof of the arena.