He's in the Marvel universe, and his first step is marrying Scarlet Witch.

Chapter 153 Enemy or Friend? (Third Update)

"Third Generation, grab my shoulder, I'll take you out of this barrier!"

After Li Chuan finished speaking, he quickly made hand gestures to cast a spell again.

Upon hearing this, the Third Generation hesitated for a moment, but ultimately placed his hands on Li Chuan's shoulders.

He did indeed want to die together with Orochimaru.

Firstly, it was to make up for the mistake he made back then when he was too soft-hearted. Secondly, if they didn't perish together, the result today would be his death, and Orochimaru would use the Edo Tensei to resurrect the First and Second Hokage and wreak havoc on the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

However, if there is a chance to escape this barrier, I would still choose to save my life first.

He is not afraid of death. If he were afraid of death, he would not have stepped forward to act as bait when he and the second generation were surrounded and killed by Jinjiao and Yinjiao. He would not hesitate to die for the village.

Just as he did many things against his own will for the benefit of the village.

However, there are still many things that haven't been arranged in the village. The next Hokage has not yet been appointed, and Danzo's side has not been properly dealt with. Since neither Danzo nor any of the Root ninjas have shown up so far, he knows that Danzo is definitely involved in this matter.

If Danzo were to become the next Hokage after his death, given Danzo's personality, the peace of the village would be shattered.

He doesn't oppose some of Danzo's actions, and might even help him clean up the mess, but the position of Hokage must be held by someone who is in the light.

That's why he didn't choose Orochimaru back then, but instead chose Minato Namikaze. Actually, Jiraiya would have been a better fit, but he didn't want to.

Moreover, after today's incident, Konoha has suffered a major blow, and other ninja villages will surely be eyeing it covetously. If he lives, he can continue to deter them, so if he can live now, he will still choose to live first.

Even if we defeat Orochimaru, there will still be opportunities in the future.

On the other side, Orochimaru raised his hand as if to stop them, but then lowered it.

He knew Li Chuan's strength. Now that Li Chuan had intervened, it was unlikely that he could keep the Third Generation alive. Moreover, to be honest, he was also very wary of the Third Generation using the Corpse Demon Sealing Technique.

In the end, he kept saying he wanted to kill the Third Hokage and destroy Konoha, but was that really the truth?

He was born after the death of both his parents. After graduating from the Ninja Academy at the age of six, he became a disciple of the Third Hokage along with Jiraiya and Tsunade, forging a rare friendship and teacher-student bond.

Later, witnessing too much death in the war, especially the deaths of Tsunade's lover and younger brother, gave him the idea that he had to find a way to achieve immortality no matter what.

Furthermore, having served as Danzo's bodyguard within the Root organization for a period, he was influenced by many of Danzo's dark ideas.

This led to the subsequent kidnapping of children from neighboring villages and the establishment of secret laboratories in various places to conduct various human experiments.

As for the fact that the Third Hokage chose Minato, Raiya's disciple, instead of him as the Fourth Hokage, he harbored resentment, but it wouldn't be to say that he hated his teacher to the point of wanting to kill him.

On the contrary, after leaving Konoha, he was able to shed all constraints and truly research various forbidden techniques without any worries, for which he should thank the Third Hokage.

Today's plan to destroy Konoha has two purposes: first, to plant a cursed seal on Sasuke so that he can take over Sasuke's body in the future; and second, to unite with the Sand Village to destroy Konoha as much as possible, weaken the power of both the Sand Village and Konoha, and cause the "windmill" of the entire ninja world to turn.

Konoha cannot be destroyed. With Jiraiya, Danzo, and the Root ninja hidden there, it's impossible for the Sand and Sound ninjas to win with their combined strength. He even killed the Fourth Kazekage of Sand.

As for killing the third brother, it was less about killing the third generation and more about showing his teacher the results of his research over the years, letting the third generation understand that his method of immortality was not a pipe dream, but a success.

Now that these tasks have been largely completed, it seems unnecessary for him to stop Li Chuan from rescuing three more generations.

What he doesn't understand now is whether Prince Li Chuan's sudden rescue of the Third Generation, and his somewhat deliberate reminder just now, were truly to save the Third Generation, or to save him. He can't quite figure it out.

"They didn't stop us. Did they understand what I meant, or did they never intend to kill the third generation in the first place?"

When Li Chuan used the Third Hokage's Phantom Shift technique, he was surprised to find Orochimaru standing there without making a move, nor did he intend to have the First and Second Hokage, who were reanimated, take action.

"Lord Hokage, are you alright?!"

As soon as Li Chuan and the Third Generation appeared on the golden-tiled rooftops outside, the Dark Guards stationed outside the barrier immediately surrounded them.

The third generation breathed a slight sigh of relief:

"I'm fine. How's the village now?"

Chakra is a combination of physical and mental energy. He is 69 years old this year, and his body is aging. His taijutsu and chakra reserves are far less than in his prime. After that fight, he has almost no chakra left in his body.

A masked ANBU ninja reports:

"Large numbers of Sand Ninja and Sound Ninja have invaded all four gates, with the South Gate being the most powerful. A giant summoning beast, the three-headed serpent, is wreaking havoc, but fortunately, Jiraiya arrived and stabilized the situation."

There were also many hidden ninjas from other villages causing trouble in the village, and all the Jonin went to intercept them.

In any case, although the overall situation is quite severe, Konoha's strength has gradually given them the upper hand, and it won't be long before they defeat these invading Sound Ninja and Sand Ninja.

Of course, some casualties are inevitable.

"Hokage-sama!"

Meanwhile, at the Chunin Exams venue, all the Sand Ninja and Sound Ninja who had been hiding among the villagers and suddenly launched an attack were dealt with. Even the powerful Sand Ninja leader, Jonin Baki, was defeated and brought over by Kakashi and Guy working together.

"You guys are lucky this time, let's go!"

Orochimaru, controlling the reanimated First and Second Hokage, coldly snorted and left a single sentence before leading the Sound Four to flee out of Konoha.

The Sand Village's Jinchuriki did not cause a riot in the village, and the Third Hokage was always thinking of taking him down with him. It was also unclear whether Prince Li Chuan was an enemy or a friend.

Most importantly, the giant snake he summoned couldn't hold Jiraiya off for long, and he didn't want to see Jiraiya; that guy was a real nuisance to him.

"Don't even think about leaving!"

At this moment, the leader of the ANBU guard saw Orochimaru escape and immediately wanted to chase after him in anger, but was stopped by the Third Hokage.

"Stop chasing. Go support the others, repel the Sand Ninja, and reduce casualties in the village."

The Third Hokage knew very well that if they concentrated their efforts on killing Orochimaru at this time, not only would they likely fail, but they might also be outmaneuvered by Orochimaru. It would be better to play it safe, preserve their strength, and deal with their ally, the Sand Village, first.

This could salvage some of their reputation and could also provide an opportunity to completely deprive the Sand Village of its ability to oppose Konoha.

(End of this chapter)