Both start in hell: but their talents are multiplied a hundredfold.

Mao Xuan's figure froze the moment Shen Jue appeared.

She froze in mid-air, her fist still in the throwing posture.

The golden arcs of electricity wrapped around his arm went out one by one, like candle flames blown out by the wind.

Her pupils reflected the figure that was walking through the air in the distance.

Shen Jue's lips curled into a gentle smile that she had seen countless times but still couldn't get enough of.

"Father."

Her voice was soft, but electromagnetic chakra erupted from the soles of Nekogen's feet.

Her figure traced an arc of electricity across the sky, faster than anyone could follow.

Matt Kai's punch missed its mark.

He didn't pursue, but simply maintained his punching stance, watching Mao Xuan's figure fly away into the distance.

The deep green chakra flames on his body were still burning, but his brows were slightly furrowed, and his gaze passed over Mao Xuan's back and landed on a figure further away.

Then he saw the two people following behind Shen Jue.

Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi.

Matt Kai's pupils suddenly contracted.

The moment Mao Xuan crashed heavily into Shen Jue's arms, the entire ruins of the Death Forest seemed to tremble.

The shockwave from the impact spread outward from the point of contact between the two, scattering the rubble beneath their feet. The already precarious semi-molten rock pillar on the ground finally collapsed completely, emitting a dull roar.

If the object of this collision was an adult blue whale.

In Shen Jue's previous life, the largest deep-sea creature was a blue whale. Its spine would break into several pieces the moment it made contact with the whale, its internal organs would be turned into mush by the impact, and its massive body would be cut in half.

But Shen Jue's body did not move an inch; he did not even take a single step back.

His Chunin robes were unaffected by the shockwave from the impact; only his long black hair fluttered behind him.

Shen Jue's feet remained firmly planted in the void, as if the creature that had just crashed into his arms was not a taijutsu monster with all eight gates open, but a fledgling returning to its nest.

Mao Xuan wrapped her arms around Shen Jue's waist and tightened them with all her might.

She could exert all the strength that would break an alloy steel pillar into this embrace, her face buried deep in Shen Jue's chest, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Shen Jue lowered his head and looked at the girl in his arms.

His expression changed.

That was an expression none of the ninjas present had ever seen before.

He was not the cold-blooded ninja from the Forest of Death, nor the ruthless ninja who killed without hesitation when completing his missions.

Shen Jue's face held a gentle, helpless, and doting smile.

He raised his hand and gently placed it on Mao Xuan's head, his fingers running through her hair, which was disheveled from the battle, and gently stroking it as if soothing a cat with its fur standing on end.

"Good boy," he said softly, but his voice was clearly audible amidst the silent ruins.

Mao Xuan didn't reply, but simply buried his face even deeper.

The remaining golden arcs of electricity around her body were extinguished the moment they touched Shen Jue's body, as if the electromagnetic chakra that had raged wildly during the battle had never existed.

On the distant ruins, Matt Kai watched this scene and slowly exhaled.

The deep green chakra flames around him began to subside, retreating from the seventh gate, the Gate of Shock, to the sixth gate, the Gate of View, and then to the fifth gate, the Gate of Blockage, layer by layer, steadily and restrained.

His body was covered with marks from the Eight Gates Formation, but those damages were instantly repaired by his powerful physique.

Matt Kai stood very straight, his gaze fixed on Shen Jue.

He neither questioned nor roared.

Might Guy, a Konoha ninja, simply closed the Eight Gates and stood there, waiting.

Because he knew that Shen Jue would provide an answer.

On the other side, the wrinkles on the face of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, seemed to deepen in an instant.

His gaze passed over Shen Jue and Mao Xuan, fixing intently on the two figures behind Shen Jue.

Orochimaru wore his most familiar beige robe, his purple eyeshadow gleaming eerily in the sunlight, and a faint smile playing on his lips.

The moment those snake-like eyes met the Third Hokage's gaze, he even nodded slightly, as if greeting his former teacher.

Kabuto Yakushi stood beside Orochimaru, pushing up his glasses on the bridge of his nose. The lenses reflected the light, obscuring the expression in his eyes.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, knew all along that Orochimaru was operating in the shadows, and that his disciple had never truly given up his covetousness for Konoha.

But he never imagined that he would see Orochimaru and Shen Jue standing side by side here, in this way, and at the same time.

One was his former disciple, a rogue ninja from Konoha.

One was a promising young ninja from Konoha, a junior on whom he had placed high hopes.

Both of them stood on the opposite side of him.

Naruto stood beside the Third Hokage, staring blankly at the smiling figure in the sky, his lips parted but no sound came out.

He still remembered the words Shen Jue had spoken to him in the past, and the care and concern she had shown him.

But Naruto doesn't believe that Shen Jue's past actions and care were all lies.

Even during such a high-intensity battle, Naruto kept the ninja tool given to him by Shen Jue at his waist in excellent condition.

Naruto was unwilling to believe that Shen Jue would truly stand against Konoha.

It wasn't until that woman called Shen Jue "father" that he truly realized what it meant.

The third generation took a deep breath and then stepped forward.

His aged body appeared frail in the wind, and his Hokage robe was torn in one corner by the aftershocks of the battle.

But every step he took was steady and powerful, as if the ruins beneath his feet were still Konoha's land.

The Vajra Prison Wall that the ape demon had transformed into had dissipated, and the spirit beast's true form landed beside him, transforming into a long, black iron staff, which he held in his wrinkled hand.

He stopped a few dozen meters away from Shen Jue, standing on the ruins of the Death Forest that had been completely destroyed by the battle between Might Guy and Cat Xuan.

The once lush forests are gone, replaced by scorched earth.

The surface soil was eroded away layer by layer, revealing the rock beneath that had been melted into a glassy state by high temperatures.

The black crust formed after the magma solidified spread across the ground, and the air was filled with a pungent, acrid smell and the residual ionized aura of the original magnetic chakra.

This place was once the testing ground for the second round of the Konoha Chunin Exams, a place where countless young ninjas poured out their sweat and passion.

Now only a wasteland remains.

The third generation looked up at Shen Jue. His voice was old and deep, yet it pierced through the wind and sand and the residual energy fluctuations, echoing clearly across the ruins.

"Shen Jue".

When he uttered that name, a torrent of complex emotions surged in his throat.

He once thought that although this young man appeared indifferent, he had his own principles.

Why?

The third generation's voice was hoarse, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from the depths of his chest.

Why betray Konoha?

His fingers, gripping the golden staff, trembled slightly with the force, a complex mix of anger and sorrow surging through his aged body.

"Tell me, what exactly is your purpose?"