In Konoha, they wiped out the Sarutobi clan at the start.

Chapter 168 The battle is finally over; the old monkey dies with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

"What do you mean? It means exactly what it says. Orochimaru, you wantonly toyed with the dead and insulted the previous Hokage. Now, I will clean house."

With his hands still in hand seals, Hiruzen Sarutobi charged towards Orochimaru and the two Hokage at breakneck speed.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if he had returned to his spirited youth, a time when he was not yet corrupt.

It was still for Konoha that Hiruzen Sarutobi was willing to sacrifice his life.

Meanwhile, the Konoha citizens outside who were cursing, hurling insults, and mocking him seemed to be moved by him, and stopped their tirade, instead cheering him on as the Hokage.

Of course, these were all just his fantasies.

Because it involves the Nine-Tails' rampage, one's own deceased family members, and personal interests, no one would be as saintly as Naruto to forgive their mortal enemy.

To most people present, especially those who had lost family members due to the Nine-Tails' attack, Hiruzen Sarutobi was nothing more than killing to silence witnesses.

Instead, as if they had overcome their fear of Orochimaru, the crowd began to cheer on the First and Second Hokage, who were already under his control.

"Don't come any closer! Stop him!" Orochimaru finally felt fear as the Third Hokage charged towards him. He could tell that Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't just putting on a brave face. Moreover, a corpse could be faked, but a soul couldn't be faked.

If what Hiruzen Sarutobi said is not true, then Chiya's soul might really have been sealed away.

Having been completely controlled, the First and Second Hokage, upon receiving Orochimaru's orders, showed no mercy and charged towards Hiruzen Sarutobi.

A battle between the 'weakest' Hokage has officially begun.

Meanwhile, outside Konoha Village.

The battle between Sasuke and Gaara, who is gradually losing control, has begun.

Sakura, Shino Aburame, and Pakkun, who went to chase after Sasuke, happened to run into Jiraiya, Tsunade, Naruto, Hayate Gekko, and their group who were returning on a giant toad.

Hyuga Neji and Nara Shikamaru stayed behind to cover the rear and engage the pursuing Sound Ninja.

"Naruto, come with us to find Sasuke! Otherwise... if this continues, Sasuke will die!"

As soon as Sakura saw Naruto, she burst into tears as if she had grasped a lifeline. Shikamaru and Neji, who were covering their retreat, ignored her and their habit of "asking for help if needed, and giving it to Sasuke if not" resurfaced.

"What's wrong with Sasuke?" Naruto asked, startled.

Jiraiya added from the side, "What's the situation in Konoha now?"

The ninja dog Pakkun explained from the side, "Orochimaru impersonated the Fourth Kazekage and used the Sand Ninja to launch a surprise attack, but Kakashi saw through his disguise, and the Sand Ninja abandoned their invasion of Konoha."

"But Sasuke still went after that Sand Ninja brat with orange hair. Kakashi said that the Sand Ninja is very likely a Sand Ninja Jinchuriki and could go berserk at any time, so we need to hurry up and bring Sasuke back."

"Oh, right, Neji and Shikamaru are currently fighting against more than a dozen Sound Ninja to cover our retreat. The situation is probably extremely critical. Please go and reinforce them as soon as possible. Woof."

"Orochimaru, that guy," Jiraiya clicked his tongue, then heard Tsunade say, "And what about Chiya Fujiwara? Has he shown up yet?"

As Tsunade finished speaking, Karin and her daughter, as well as Shizune and Chinatsu, who were standing behind them, also showed expressions of worry.

Ninja Dog Pakkun shook his head. "I don't know. We didn't see Fujiwara Chiya when we left the village."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade and the other four women breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiraiya was the same; as Chiya said, he knew Orochimaru's purpose in this operation and Hiruzen Sarutobi's intentions.

If Fujiwara no Chiya hadn't interfered halfway through, he wouldn't have wanted to meddle in the life-or-death duel between Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi, a duel that was a mutual agreement between them.

"There's no time to lose. Tsunade, I'm going to rescue those two brats named Neji and Shikamaru. You're the future Fifth Hokage, so you should hurry over to the Chunin Exams arena with Hayate and Shizune to take charge. Naruto, you go with Pakkun and the others."

Jiraiya quickly assigned tasks.

The group split into three groups and set off.

Heading towards different destinations.

By the time Tsunade and her group arrived at the Chunin Exams arena, the battle within the Four Purple Flame Formation was nearing its end.

Just like in the original work.

Hiruzen Sarutobi is using two shadow clones to seal the First Hokage and the Second Hokage.

His true form was sealing Orochimaru, but during the sealing process, Hiruzen Sarutobi was unfortunately stabbed in from behind by Orochimaru's Kusanagi sword, forcing Hiruzen to be unable to extract Orochimaru's soul.

The two were locked in a difficult tug-of-war.

Because of the illusion of a mirage, the crowd did not witness the tragic battle that took place during Hiruzen Sarutobi's reign. The vast majority of people were still cheering for the First and Second Hokage.

The arrival of Tsunade finally broke the eerie atmosphere. She called out, "Grandfather! Second Grandfather!"

At this moment, the souls of the two Hokage were about to be pulled out, and they finally regained consciousness.

The reanimated body gradually collapsed, and dust began to fall. The First Hokage let out an "Oh," and a relieved smile appeared on his face, which was covered with dust and cracks: "So it's Tsuna. You've grown up. I never thought I would see you again before I left."

The Second Hokage also wore a faint smile. "Then, I'll leave Konoha to you."

After saying that, the souls of the two Hokage were extracted and sealed inside the stomach of the Shinigami.

"Grandfathers, rest assured, I will protect Konoha." Tsunade wiped away her tears, looked around, and saw the ground covered with extremely offensive photos of the Konoha F4. She asked loudly, "Can anyone tell me what exactly happened here?"

Kakashi heard this and came over.

"Lady Tsunade, here's what happened." As he spoke, he recounted everything from the evidence of the Kazekage's murder that Chiya had given him to the sealing of the two Hokage.

As the two were talking, Hiruzen Sarutobi was already at his limit.

He berated Orochimaru, saying, "Orochimaru, it seems I'm destined not to be able to take you away today. But your obsession with ninjutsu and your pride in it make this punishment most suitable for you. I will take away all your techniques."

"What did you say?" Orochimaru exclaimed in shock, his long, golden pupils widening instantly. "Ah, no!"

In his horrified and terrified gaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi controlled the Shinigami summoned by the "Reaper Death Seal" and severed the souls of his arms.

Just as Orochimaru's arms were severed, Chiya suddenly stood up. "Wow, what a touching master-disciple relationship. To go to such lengths to kill the other."

Before his death, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who wanted to give his disciple Orochimaru one last lesson, suddenly widened his eyes, his pupils gradually dimmed, and he fell to the ground with his eyes wide open in death.

P.S.: Fourth update. Please vote with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)