As it turned out, Shimura Danzo was quite methodical in his actions. He first sent someone to report Orochimaru's deeds to the Hokage. After the Hokage "confirmed" the matter, he then announced it to the entire world, solidifying Orochimaru's status as a rogue ninja.
One could say that aside from not being able to become Hokage, Shimura Danzo was an expert in internal strife. He had completely cut off Orochimaru's path.
Want Orochimaru to become Hokage? Dream on. However, Danzo didn't seem to consider the impact of the defection of a ninja of the "Sannin" level.
A long time ago, Tsunade had started wandering the ninja world. Now, Orochimaru had become a rogue ninja, and soon after, Jiraiya would also leave Konoha, pursuing Orochimaru while traveling the ninja world... After Konoha lost the "Sannin," its entire high-end combat strength structure collapsed.
For fifty years since the founding of the village, Konoha had never been so weak. One could only say it was fortunate that the Great Ninja War had ended; otherwise, it was hard to say what would become of Konoha.
To minimize the negative impact, the best way to handle Orochimaru's defection would have been to downplay it. However, Shimura Danzo detonated it in the worst possible way... Orochimaru's defection from Konoha was an event that shocked the ninja world.
Honestly, Habara couldn't quite understand what Danzo was aiming for. He felt that Danzo wasn't even benefiting himself by harming others... Even if Orochimaru was down and out, could Danzo become Hokage next?
Or did Danzo believe that what he couldn't have should be destroyed? Was he acting out a romance drama? Uh, it seemed so. He was the one forever yearning for what he couldn't have, while the favored ones were always fearless.
If Habara were Hokage, he would have killed Danzo long ago. Fortunately, he wasn't Hokage, so having a Danzo in Konoha was actually a good thing.
In a Konoha hospital room, two beds were occupied by Tenzo and Mitarashi Anko, who were now enjoying a moment of peace amidst the chaos.
"Why were you bitten by a venomous snake? Look at Habara, he was attacked by the same technique, yet he's completely unharmed..." Kakashi was responsible for looking after Tenzo, and the moment Tenzo woke up, Kakashi began criticizing his carelessness.
If possible, Kakashi would have preferred to see Habara lying in the hospital bed. There was no particular reason; it was just that there were some people whose misfortune brought joy to those around them.
"Kakashi-senpai, you have to understand that my opponent yesterday was the Orochimaru. And there's still a gap in defensive power between Habara and me... My defense is at most equivalent to a shield, while Habara is like a turtle shell covering his entire body," Tenzo felt very wronged.
Faced with Orochimaru's "sea of snakes," the only defense Tenzo could manage was to use Wood Release to create two "large bowls" to cover himself. During the process, he might have accidentally let a few snakes slip in.
After thinking for a moment, Tenzo continued, "Why don't you go take a look at the battlefield from last night?"
"No, no need," Kakashi immediately shook his head.
Tenzo was still too naive. He was trying to trick Kakashi, but Kakashi wouldn't fall for such an obvious trap... Whoever went to see that garbage dump would immediately be tasked with cleaning it up.
Just as the two were chatting, another voice abruptly interjected:
"Where is Lord Orochimaru now?"
It was Mitarashi Anko. She had also woken up.
Kakashi glanced at her and said, "Lord Orochimaru escaped. This morning, the village officially declared him an S-rank rogue ninja... If any Konoha ninja encounters him again, they can try to kill him."
This order was more of a statement of the village's attitude. Ordinary ninjas didn't have the ability to deal with Orochimaru.
These words plunged Mitarashi Anko into silence. After all, she had always admired Orochimaru, to the point that she habitually imitated his behavior. This habit persisted for more than a decade after Orochimaru's defection from Konoha... For example, she also liked to stick out her long tongue and lick things.
She hadn't learned much of Orochimaru's strength, but she had learned quite a few of his bad habits, demonstrating the harm of "idol worship."
"When we encountered Orochimaru yesterday, he was already very weak. It was originally a good opportunity to eliminate him... In fact, Habara did stab him to death. However, who could have imagined he had such a method," Tenzo said.
Strangely, although Tenzo felt a slight regret that Orochimaru had escaped, he wasn't particularly upset. This might be because some of his deep-seated emotions had been released by this operation and Orochimaru's downfall, so he now felt relaxed, with a sense of detachment that "the past is in the past."
"Reincarnation? That kind of forbidden jutsu is also beyond my understanding," Kakashi said. It was estimated that he would no longer think he had the ability to take Orochimaru down with him.
Orochimaru was truly too strange.
"Lord Orochimaru... actually escaped from the Hokage-sama's pursuit?" Mitarashi Anko asked again.
It was indeed true. It was just that the main reason Orochimaru was able to escape this time wasn't because he was incredibly strong, but because the Third Hokage was too soft-hearted.
"Yes, he really escaped. It's said that he was still alive and kicking when he finally got away," Kakashi said. Then, he felt that there was a certain hidden implication in the question Mitarashi Anko asked, so he continued, "You're not thinking of going after Orochimaru, are you? I advise you not to have such unrealistic thoughts. The curse mark he left on you is a very dangerous thing. The fact that you're still alive just means you're lucky."
Mitarashi Anko clenched her fists with difficulty. The intense pain throughout her body proved that everything Kakashi said was true.
After a moment of silence, she spoke, "No, I won't leave the village. And... one day, I will personally eliminate Orochimaru."
"..."
Theoretically, this change in her emotions should be considered love turning into hate. This ambition was also quite good. However, that day would ultimately never come, because the gap in talent between Mitarashi Anko and Orochimaru as ninjas was too great.
"The curse mark... Kakashi, do you know what Orochimaru left on me?" Mitarashi Anko then asked.
"Yes, I know a little. Do you know a person named Habara?" Kakashi asked in return.
Mitarashi Anko shook her head. She had seen Habara, but she didn't know him. Perhaps she knew that there was a very powerful ninja in Konoha who carried a "coffin board," but she might not necessarily be able to connect that ninja with the name Habara.
"Habara is one of the sources of the curse mark."
"..."
Habara was mercilessly sold out by Kakashi.
According to Habara, he had nothing to do with curse marks. However, in common understanding, Jugo was considered the external source of infection, while Habara was the first internal source of infection. He was indeed considered a "source."
"Source... Do you know that Habara?"
"Me, Tenzo lying here, and Habara, we all belong to the same village organization."
"What organization?"
"What organization? I can only tell you that the members of this organization have two characteristics..." Saying this, Kakashi pointed to his forehead protector. "They wear a black metal piece like this on the side of their forehead protector, and..."
Then he pulled open the folds of his sleeve. "They have this three-legged bird emblem somewhere on their clothes."
Kakashi didn't explain much about what kind of organization "Akakammuri" was. He just mentioned the external characteristics of its members. Then he continued to explain about the curse mark, "Once you recover a bit, the curse mark on you needs to be sealed. Otherwise, it will continue to erode your body. Not everyone can withstand this erosion... Don't worry, Kushina-sama will help with that."
......
The day after Orochimaru's defection, Konoha held a Jonin meeting. The main topic of the meeting was, of course, to discuss how to pursue and capture Orochimaru... For a rogue ninja of Orochimaru's strength, sending too few ninjas to pursue him would be like sending lambs to the slaughter. Sending too many ninjas would affect the normal operation of Konoha.
Just as the Third Hokage was in a dilemma, Jiraiya stepped forward. He decided to take on the task of pursuing Orochimaru alone... He was the most suitable candidate.
In the battle last night, Jiraiya had lost to Orochimaru, but this defeat was basically a "giveaway"... When facing Orochimaru, Jiraiya couldn't bring out his full strength.
After a night of reflection, Jiraiya realized that Orochimaru had gone astray. Therefore, beating him half to death and bringing him back to Konoha was the only correct course of action.
Habara's focus, however, wasn't on this matter. During the meeting, he kept observing the Third Hokage's appearance, and he noticed that the Hokage-sama's spirit seemed to have vanished overnight. The Hokage at this time looked just like an old man, even a bit dejected.
From this, it could be seen that the blow Orochimaru had dealt him was truly significant. Then there was Jiraiya's departure. It was conceivable that for the next ten years or so, it would be difficult for the Third Hokage to regain his former spirited state.
The "Sannin" were the successors carefully cultivated by the Third Hokage. The betrayal or departure of the "Sannin" was in a sense more stinging than being backstabbed by his own son.
So, what changes would this blow bring to Konoha? First, the Third Hokage would place more emphasis on the education of young ninjas, especially their ideological education. Second, the Third Hokage, who was good at delegating power, might become even better at delegating power.
Both of these points were good things for Habara.
After the pursuit plan was determined, the remaining Jonin had nothing more to do. Jiraiya would take on this matter single-handedly.
Orochimaru's departure had caused a series of effects. Externally, other ninja villages were aware of Konoha's significant loss of power. Internally, with the loss of a suppressing force, certain unstable factors objectively increased.
In short, the era of the "Sannin" dominating the ninja world seemed to have truly ended.
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