I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

Orochimaru's alliance with Sunagakure to attack Konoha also solidified his position as Hokage to some extent. After becoming Hokage, he never had any other notable achievements.

But why would Orochimaru help him? This is completely against Orochimaru's interests.

Orochimaru saw through Jiraiya's thoughts and said with a smile, "Jiraiya, you've changed a lot since becoming Hokage. You're starting to look more and more like an old man in his youth."

Like the Third Hokage… Jiraiya frowned; this was not a compliment.

The Third Hokage led Konoha to its peak in his youth, but as he aged, he became increasingly senile, almost causing Konoha to fall into an abyss.

“I don’t resemble the old man at all, and if I were the old man, wouldn’t you be Danzo?”

After a moment's hesitation, Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru and said, "However, if you are willing to return to the village, I will accept you in the name of Hokage, provided that you cease those human experiments."

Faced with Jiraiya's persistent invitation, Orochimaru gently shook his head: "I'm sorry, I'm not used to the rules and regulations of Konoha. Wandering in the ninja world is more suitable for me."

"Although we can't return to Konoha, we can still cooperate privately. Also, to congratulate you on becoming the Fifth Hokage, I've prepared some gifts for you."

"A gift?" Jiraiya asked, his eyes filled with doubt and confusion.

"Some trivial things, but they will be of great help to your future path to Hokage..."

Jiraiya's gaze turned dangerous: "What exactly is this gift you're talking about? Why can't you give it to me in person? Have you attacked the village's ninjas again?"

"You'll see when you get back."

Orochimaru deliberately kept everyone in suspense, then continued, "Or do you want to fight me? I've created more than just the Fourth Kazekage from Edo Tensei. Konoha is still being invaded by Sunagakure. Are you sure you want to make a move now?"

Jiraiya's expression changed as he sensed several massive chakra streams nearby.

If it were just Orochimaru alone, he would naturally be confident of victory, but with the other reanimated bodies added, it's hard to say. The rest of the village is currently facing a crisis...

After a moment's thought, Jiraiya said coldly, "Orochimaru, if you threaten Konoha, even if we were once friends, I will never let you go."

With that, Jiraiya used the Body Flicker Technique and headed towards the village.

Orochimaru said wistfully, his eyes filled with nostalgia, "You really are becoming more and more like me. But I hope you'll like the gift I gave you; it will keep you alert at all times."

"After all, once the Hokage, who leads a village, becomes arrogant, he is not far from death."

After Jiraiya left, Kabuto Yakushi emerged from the bushes nearby.

After escaping from Kakashi and the others, he rushed here to meet Lord Orochimaru, only to unexpectedly witness Lord Orochimaru and Lord Jiraiya exchanging words.

"Lord Orochimaru, I never expected you to actually cooperate with the Hokage. It seems the Third Hokage's death was not in vain."

Orochimaru glanced at his capable assistant, Kabuto Yakushi, and said casually, "No, Jiraiya doesn't know that I've made a move against the old man yet, but he'll find out soon enough."

Kabuto nodded in agreement, then asked, "Lord Orochimaru, what is our next step?"

Orochimaru glanced at the distant sky and said absentmindedly, "Of course, we will accept Danzo's legacy in Konoha. However, someone has already taken over this legacy. As for you, I have a special task for you to carry out."

"Lord Orochimaru, please give your orders."

"Go and make contact with Sasori, the rogue ninja of Sunagakure, and find a way to infiltrate the Akatsuki organization to gather intelligence on them for me."

Joining the Akatsuki... Kabuto Yakushi had heard of the Akatsuki, a mercenary organization active in the black market, but its true identity was probably a rogue ninja organization that gathered many S-rank rogue ninjas, and Lord Orochimaru was once a member of it.

The chances of returning alive after completing a mission of this caliber are extremely slim.

However, he would never refuse a task, no matter how difficult, because only with Lord Orochimaru could he find meaning in his existence and avoid losing his purpose in life again.

……

the other side.

After traveling for several minutes, Jiraiya arrived near Konoha City. Upon seeing the surrounding buildings reduced to ruins, he felt a strange sense of unease, as if it were some kind of premonition.

With a dark expression, Jiraiya continued on his way and found Tsunade in the ruins.

Tsunade didn't look well; her face was pale as she directed the encirclement and annihilation of the remaining Sunagakure forces. Not far away, Naruto and Shisui were sitting with their legs crossed, enjoying the scenery.

"Tsunade, I just encountered Orochimaru. Did the old man defeat Orochimaru?"

Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya, shook her head and said, "The teacher is dead. He died at Orochimaru's hands. Orochimaru used Edo Tensei to summon my great-grandfather and great-grandfather, who joined forces to kill Sarutobi-sensei."

"Orochimaru killed the old man!"

Jiraiya was struck dumb. He immediately understood what Orochimaru meant by "gift": Orochimaru had killed the Third Hokage and given him his body as a congratulatory gift for becoming Hokage.

Orochimaru is absolutely insane!

Recalling Orochimaru's smiling face, Jiraiya's face turned ashen, regretting that he hadn't attacked Orochimaru earlier.

Chapter 247 Obito and Black Zetsu's Other Plan

The battle between Kakashi and Obito continues.

After using Hollowfication to dodge Kakashi's Lightning Blade, Obito's eyes showed a hint of apprehension. He had thought he could easily defeat Kakashi, but he hadn't expected the battle to drag on for so long.

Kakashi's strength was also greater than he had imagined.

The combination of Flying Thunder God Technique and Lightning Blade provides Kakashi with incredible speed, while the Sharingan helps him see through his own attacks.

With Might Guy watching him from the sidelines, Obito even risked a major setback and losing face in front of this good-for-nothing. At this moment, Obito suddenly realized that it was a mistake not to listen to Black Zetsu's advice to take back the Kamui Sharingan.

As he gradually created distance, the moment he dispelled his intangibility, Obito raised his hand and unleashed the Wood Release: Wood Piercing Technique at Kakashi.

Kakashi, without changing his expression, sliced ​​the wooden spike in half, threw the special kunai in his hand that was crackling with lightning, and once again teleported to Obito's vicinity to begin close combat.

Faced with Obito's bizarre space-time abilities, ordinary ninjutsu and genjutsu are ineffective; close-quarters combat is the only option.

However, close combat has always been Obito's weakness, even more than a decade later.

After using the Flying Thunder God Technique again to close the distance, Kakashi's chakra was almost depleted. He was panting heavily as he looked at Obito not far away. The burden of the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Sharingan was simply too great for him.

Obito saw through Kakashi's weakness and sneered, "That eye is a burden to you. It seems you haven't made much progress since you killed Rin."

Kakashi paused for a moment, then vehemently denied it, saying, "There was a reason for what happened with Rin; she was used by Kirigakure."

Obito said without changing his expression, "Of course I know she was used. I killed all the Kirigakure ninja who participated in that incident back then. I hate this cruel world. You're such a piece of trash, you'll never realize that."

"I will never let you destroy the world..."

As if he had made up his mind, Kakashi gathered his chakra into his Sharingan and looked at where Obito was. There, a vortex appeared in the space where Obito was, tearing at Obito's body.

The next moment, Kakashi entered the Kamui dimension and looked at Obito in the alternate dimension.

"I didn't expect that the other eye would record eye techniques related to attack..." Seeing Kakashi using his Mangekyou Sharingan against him, Obito's expression turned ugly, but he still picked up his weapon.

If Kakashi were to experience despair, he would probably choose to join him.

Obito was somewhat uncertain, but he was already prepared to take back the eyes. If Menma got his hands on the Kamui Eyes, he wouldn't even have a chance to escape.

However, Obito's enemies are not only Kakashi, but also Might Guy from the outside world.

This means that the ability to become intangible is completely ineffective. After being hit by Might Guy's Leaf Whirlwind, Obito showed a pained expression, and then a sharp Chidori pierced through Obito's chest.

While still holding the piercing pose, Kakashi said with great anticipation, "Surrender, and I can persuade Lord Jiraiya not to kill you. From now on, I will atone for our sins together."

"Aton for your sins?" Obito's gaze was icy. He used his piercing technique to pierce Kakashi's palm, then activated Kamui to leave the Kamui dimension. With Black Zetsu's help, he burrowed into the ground and disappeared from the surface.

Kakashi was about to use Earth Release ninjutsu to give chase, but his path was blocked by the Wood Release vines underground.

After arriving at the Kamui Space, he still couldn't find Obito. His expression immediately turned grim. He had almost forgotten that Obito wasn't acting alone; besides Obito, there were also those mysterious white creatures.

Upon returning to the ninja world, Might Guy leaned over and asked, "Kakashi, did you subdue Obito?"

Kakashi looked at his pierced hand and shook his head slightly: "I severely injured Obito, but I won't be able to use ninjutsu for a while. Obito's strength is stronger than I imagined. I suspect he voluntarily let me pierce him."

After a pause, Kakashi looked towards Konoha City, sighed, and said, "However, I'm more worried about Obito's safety. I really don't want anything to happen to him."

Might Guy looked puzzled: "Obito is a rogue ninja, why are you still worried about him?"

Kakashi said in a low voice, "If I capture him alive, he still has a chance to live, or at the very least, to die a quick and painless death. But someone wants to torture him to death, and as his best friend, I can only give him a quick death."

Might Guy didn't press Kakashi further. Instead, he looked at the still chaotic Konoha and turned to say, "Kakashi, we've driven away Obito, that masked man. We shouldn't need to carry out any other missions now, right?"

Kakashi was silent for a moment, then nodded; he understood Guy's thoughts.

Kai is a pure person who doesn't want to get involved in the internal war in Konoha, nor does he want to become a pawn in the hands of powerful figures. The only people he wants to protect are Konoha and his companions.

……

It is located dozens of kilometers away from Konoha Village.

Obito was hiding in a cave treating his wounds. Although Kakashi's Chidori pierced through his body, that part of his body belonged to a White Zetsu and could be replaced at any time, so it was not a fatal injury for him.

In comparison, losing to Kakashi and Might Guy was even more frustrating for him.

After capturing a White Zetsu and having it fill the gap in his body, Obito gazed at the cave entrance, pondering his future plans.

His purpose in infiltrating Konoha was to observe the Jonin of Amegakure and learn about Nagato's thoughts.

But unexpectedly, he ran into Kakashi and Might Guy, and Kakashi even pierced his body, causing his plan to use Chidori to destroy the spell to fail.

With a rustling sound of earth moving, Black Zetsu emerged from the ground and looked at Obito, who was healing his wounds:

"Obito, I'm very disappointed with your actions this time. I told you long ago to take the Mangekyou Sharingan from Kakashi, but you always made excuses to refuse. Now you're reaping the consequences!"

Obito remained silent, only staring coldly at Black Zetsu.

Black Zetsu said expressionlessly, "I won't bring this up again, but you'd better not get close to Kakashi again. You won't be so lucky to escape next time."

"Besides that, in order to control Nagato who is gradually slipping out of your control, it's time for you to consider that plan!"

Upon hearing this, Obito's expression changed repeatedly. He knew very well that Black Zetsu's plan was to revive Madara Uchiha and have Madara Uchiha take the lead in collecting the Tailed Beasts.

However, neither Black Zetsu nor Obito had intended to carry out this plan before.

They all wanted Madara Uchiha to remain in a perpetual slumber, but not only did a Jinchuriki who perfectly controlled the Nine-Tails emerge in the ninja world, but even Nagato showed signs of breaking free from control.

After a moment's thought, Obito said in a low voice, "I will consider this plan."

Chapter 248 Chunin Exams Closing Meeting

Konoha Village.

With Orochimaru, the mastermind behind the Konoha Collapse Plan, defeated, the remaining Sand Village and Sound Village forces could no longer cause much trouble. Surrounded by Konoha's elite troops, most of the invaders chose to surrender and were taken to the interrogation room for torture.

Inside the office, Jiraiya picked up the report compiled by the Anbu and began to read it carefully.

This attack from Sunagakure and Orochimaru was far smaller in scale than the Nine-Tails' attack years ago. Most of the fighting took place outside the village, with only a small portion affecting the streets in the core area.

For the few buildings that were destroyed, it will be much easier to resettle residents and rebuild the structures.