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Haori's attitude towards the investigation mission assigned by the Third Hokage went beyond just slacking off. It was more like paying lip service while acting against his orders. In fact, he had interfered with the entire investigation to a certain extent, making it more difficult for Orochimaru's actions to be discovered.
But Haori couldn't just revolve his life around this one thing. And in reality, Orochimaru didn't need him to do that.
Orochimaru had adopted a "laissez-faire" attitude towards staying in Konoha.
A ninja leaving the village without any reason is considered a rogue ninja. But from a certain point in time, Haori would occasionally disappear from Konoha.
Of course, at this stage, the number of high-level missions had dropped from the peak during the most intense part of the war. Things like invading Kumogakure or scouting Hanzo were practically nonexistent.
Haori disappearing from Konoha was obviously far from being a rogue ninja. Although he didn't make a detailed report, he did give a simple explanation to the Hokage.
Going to Shikkotsu Forest to train. These few words were enough for the Hokage to understand what Haori was doing.
As for Haori's actions, the Third Hokage's attitude was probably quite complex. It was hard to put into words. The Third Hokage turned a blind eye to Haori's slacking off on his current mission. There were quite a few ninjas who were assigned missions but didn't carry them out. With so many ninjas who couldn't find any leads, adding one more Haori wouldn't make a difference… High combat strength doesn't mean Haori can do the work of a new ninja.
In a way, the Third Hokage was happy not to see Haori.
Haori's change in attitude after the Nine-Tails incident wasn't deliberately concealed. The Third Hokage naturally sensed it. To put it simply, he felt somewhat detached from Konoha's system…
Although this attitude made the Hokage a little worried, it wasn't his top priority right now. Haori's matter was just one person's matter. The Hokage was concerned with the affairs of the entire village… The missing ninja incident, the Uchiha's instability, and so on. These were the things that were truly giving the Third Hokage a headache.
So, to talk about taking any disciplinary measures against Haori, it wouldn't go that far. Haori was just not interested in participating in certain Konoha affairs. He wasn't going to plant a bomb and blow up Konoha.
The Uchiha were the ones who wanted to plant a bomb. Orochimaru was the one who wanted to defect from Konoha. Not Haori. Konoha couldn't find a proper solution for the former two. How could they have time to pay attention to Haori?
Furthermore, power is a mutual constraint. Great power is a threat. It would be a blessing if someone like Haori didn't cause any trouble. So, the smart thing to do is to avoid forcing him to cause trouble.
But no matter what, as long as they continue to investigate, Orochimaru's matter will eventually be exposed.
The reason is that, at this point, Orochimaru no longer needs Konoha. Or rather, Konoha has become an obstacle for him, a hindrance to his various actions. Leaving Konoha completely is his only way out.
He's not deliberately concealing his forbidden jutsu research. He's actually becoming more and more blatant… He needs more and more subjects for his experiments.
During Haori's intermittent fourth departure from Konoha, Orochimaru's whereabouts were finally discovered by the ANBU.
After the ANBU investigated the possibilities and estimated the severity of the situation, they directly reported it to the Third Hokage. And the latter even personally went out.
The Third Hokage also appeared in the place where Haori had initially found Orochimaru.
When the Third Hokage appeared, Orochimaru didn't react at all in terms of shock or horror. He had anticipated being discovered.
If you could find this place, Haori, then the Third Hokage had no reason not to find it. It was just like Haori suddenly appearing here. Even when the Third Hokage arrived, Orochimaru was still focused on his work.
But for the Third Hokage, it was obviously not the case. Orochimaru could stay calm, but the Third Hokage couldn't.
Orochimaru was the most talented of his three disciples. So, the Hokage couldn't understand why he would do this. What happened to the heir of the Will of Fire?
The reason is simple. Orochimaru is a talented ninja. He has this research ability. Why not let him research freely?
Whether it was out of shock at the sudden situation or a moment of hesitation to attack his disciple, the Third Hokage actually didn't do anything. He just let Orochimaru leave.
They passed each other, completely different now.
The Third Hokage's reaction was something that the ANBU hadn't anticipated, something that Orochimaru hadn't anticipated, and even something that the Hokage himself hadn't anticipated…
Patricide is a fine tradition of this world. Orochimaru had actually prepared to fight to the death. Could he defeat the Third Hokage? He wasn't sure, but he had to escape Konoha as quickly as possible.
Orochimaru didn't intend to die here.
Perhaps if Orochimaru's defection had happened before the Fourth Hokage's death… If the Fourth Hokage was still alive… the Third Hokage's response would probably have been different. But now, things were different from the hypothetical past.
Orochimaru even had time to have a warm farewell with his underage female disciple before starting his escape from Konoha.
And it was at this point that the ANBU's actions and pursuit truly began… The Third Hokage had let things go too far.
The main force of the pursuit wasn't the Third Hokage, who was 250% traumatized. It was Jiraiya, another Sannin who had just returned from the front lines and was in Konoha.
Mediocre people are prone to waver, while smart ninjas always stick to their own ideas. Orochimaru is like that, and Haori is like that. So, why do people with personalities like Jiraiya and Naruto get liked by the Hokage? Results speak for themselves. In the end, the ninjas who can inherit the Hokage's will are mostly those with personalities like Jiraiya's. These people are accustomed to sticking to "the ninja way." Whatever color they were initially dyed, that's the color they end up sticking to.
...
There once was a Peach Blossom Forest, hundreds of steps wide on both sides. Strange snakes lived there, biting people. There was no one to defend against them.
Haori had this feeling when he returned to Konoha. When he was on the outskirts of Konoha, he sensed the ongoing battle. He thought for a moment and guessed what was going on.
Konoha is ultimately a powerful ninja village. Although its strength has been greatly reduced by now, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. With Orochimaru in his current state, after escaping from Konoha, he couldn't possibly be unscathed. In fact, he had suffered quite a few injuries.
Behind Orochimaru, Jiraiya and some ANBU were in pursuit, making it impossible for him to calmly deal with his injuries.
From Haori's perspective, he could see the confrontation between the two Sannin, and… the advice that Orochimaru considered to be nonsense.
Jiraiya's words meant that Orochimaru had to stay in Konoha no matter what.
Orochimaru's response was, "It's already the end of July. Please stop saying that only friendship can last forever."
The ship of friendship had already capsized. Or rather, it no longer needed to exist.
Jiraiya wanted the ship to keep sailing. Even the oldest driver couldn't do that… Orochimaru didn't need a small boat. He needed a good ship, a big ship.
So, in the end, it wasn't Orochimaru's fault, nor was it Jiraiya's fault. Whether it was Saiyōn-ji or not, the world was always wrong.
With Jiraiya, who was strong enough to match him, plus the ANBU surrounding him, Orochimaru was indeed in a crisis.
"Unfortunately, Orochimaru, you can't escape no matter what."
Jiraiya also had injuries, but he was in better shape than Orochimaru, who was under attack. As for why he said that, it was obvious that he felt the arrival of reinforcements.
Haori arrived.
"Is that so? Heh."
Orochimaru laughed inexplicably.
Jiraiya had misjudged the situation. He naturally assumed that Haori would participate in stopping Orochimaru. But… would Haori?
Haori did stop him, but he stood between Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
Actually, Haori had never fought Jiraiya before…
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