Anko was actually not the first person to report Orochimaru's whereabouts.
Konoha possesses a variety of methods, ranging from the Byakugan to ninja dogs' sense of smell to insect surveillance... and even some ANBU members have their own unique tricks.
No matter how Orochimaru hid, he would always leave traces, because he was simply too powerful; there were already very few people in the ninja world with such strength.
Regarding Orochimaru, although Hiruzen Sarutobi outwardly maintained an attitude of zero tolerance, his actual operations were to let things slide.
As for the reason, on one hand, when Orochimaru conducted Wood Release human experiments in Konoha back in the day, Hiruzen Sarutobi was aware of it—of course, afterwards, Hiruzen Sarutobi halted the experiments due to the high mortality rate, and the part where Danzo instructed Orochimaru to continue the experiments was indeed something he was unaware of.
On the other hand, Hiruzen Sarutobi currently didn't think he could keep Orochimaru there anymore, even if he mobilized ANBU members and jōnin.
In the end, Orochimaru would most likely still escape.
That being the case, it was better not to act.
Moreover, now was a critical period for Konoha's Chūnin Exams; Sunagakure's ninja, including the Kazekage Rasa and the jinchūriki Gaara, had arrived. At such a time, it was even less advisable to rashly make any major moves.
What if they ended up not capturing Orochimaru and also caused a misunderstanding with Sunagakure, leading to conflict? That would completely tear apart Konoha's glamorous facade.
Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered everything to proceed as usual, hoping this Chūnin Exam could end smoothly. Even if Orochimaru had targeted Sasuke and placed the Curse Mark of Heaven on him, they could only let Sasuke suffer for now; he, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would bear the blame.
He thought this was a prudent and steady approach, yet he failed to realize that such actions were the habitual compromises and retreats of an aging man.
Moreover, Hiruzen Sarutobi was even less willing to contemplate what had led Konoha and himself into such an isolated and helpless situation.
Placing the hope of peace on the kindness of others, where was the slightest trace of the "Hero of the Shinobi" in Hiruzen Sarutobi now?
"Hiruzen, it's time to act."
Danzo appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi and said, "My men informed me that Orochimaru has come. Facing such a fellow, we should annihilate him completely. Letting him go back then was the biggest mistake of your life."
"I suspect he's targeting you. If he causes trouble during the Chūnin Exams, provoking conflict between us and Sunagakure, the situation will become uncontrollable."
"Give me your ANBU members. I'll lead them and Root to kill Orochimaru."
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned at Danzo, but this time he didn't immediately, habitually tell Danzo to shut up. Instead, he considered the feasibility of Danzo's proposal.
Danzo appeared younger and stronger than him, but in reality, Danzo was four years older.
He didn't know that Danzo's arm had been replaced with Hashirama's cells; he merely thought Danzo's body was stronger and that his current combat ability might indeed surpass his own.
Yet this instead put Hiruzen Sarutobi on guard.
Danzo had a prior record of attempting to assassinate him, and now he wanted to take the ANBU directly under the Hokage's command. If Danzo were to do the same thing again, he himself, in his current state, wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi put on his habitual expression and said, "Danzo, I am the Hokage. I don't need you to teach me how to handle matters."
Danzo stared coldly at Hiruzen Sarutobi, squeezing out a few words from between his teeth, "Hiruzen, you will regret this."
Then, without looking back, he left the Hokage's office. This was probably the last time the two of them would ever meet, wasn't it?
A cold smile curled at the corner of Danzo's mouth. Since Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to die obediently, then they would just have to let the ANBU directly under the Hokage be buried with him.
It was just a pity that many people would die in this Konoha Crushing Plan—but it didn't matter, it was all for the sake of Konoha!
Outside the exam venue, the situation was changing; inside the venue, the battles continued.
Sasuke had fallen unconscious after being implanted with the Curse Mark of Heaven, and the responsibility of protecting him fell on Sakura and Naruto.
Otogakure ninja attempted to attack Sakura and Naruto to seize their scrolls, but were instead taken down by Sakura's genjutsu.
It was just a pity that when Naruto tried to defeat them in close combat, he was repelled by their strange Sound Release ninjutsu.
After assessing each other's strength, both sides retreated. The Oto-nin went to find new prey, while Naruto and Sakura continued to wait for Sasuke to wake up.
At that moment, Tenten's team and Ino's team also arrived, and coincidentally encountered Sasuke awakening to Cursed Seal State One.
Under the influence of Cursed Seal State One, Sasuke felt he was the unrivaled master of the world, beckoned to Lee and Neji, who had previously locked eyes with him, and then was met with a multi-person beating.
In the end, Shikamaru used the Shadow Imitation Technique to control Sasuke, and Sakura knocked Sasuke out with a punch, forcing him out of Cursed Seal State One.
Then, the group seriously discussed whether to make Sasuke withdraw from the exam. Finally, Naruto woke Sasuke up with a punch, confirming Sasuke had returned to normal. Only then did the others disperse to continue searching for their respective targets.
By this time, Anko had also returned to the central tower and started working, and she was surprised to find that Gaara's team had already passed the exam.
Subsequently, more and more teams passed the exam. Even the severely battered Team 7 slowly regained combat effectiveness after Sakura's treatment.
With their current strength as a trio, passing the exam naturally wasn't an issue; it just meant they became one of the last few teams to finish. It was worth mentioning that although there were 7 teams in the end, only 20 people passed the exam.
And this led to Yakushi Kabuto, who should have withdrawn from the exam, having to choose to continue participating—though in terms of the outcome, it didn't make much difference. He would most likely find an opportunity to pretend to fail and retreat.
Nojuro Ryun had also arrived inside the competition venue. There was no need to find this strange, because Ryun still held the position of a data manager, allowing him to reasonably and legitimately collect data for writing his novel.
Yesterday, he had submitted an application to the Hokage's office, hoping for the opportunity to observe the detailed process of the Chūnin Exams to use in his future writing.
Ryun didn't get to see the Hokage, but he received approval from Hiruzen Sarutobi to watch this Chūnin Exam, which was already destined to be different, as a spectator.
The moment Ryun appeared, almost everyone turned their gaze towards him, because he was clearly not a ninja and was wearing a white kimono.
Upon seeing Ryun, Tenten and several other girls immediately enthusiastically greeted him. Only when they noticed the stares of others did they realize it was inappropriate; their expressions turned shy, and they pretended not to care about Ryun anymore.
But this only made those who didn't know Ryun even more curious about his identity.
After some inquiries, Ryun's identity as an author was spread around, and everyone showed expressions of sudden realization—so he was here to collect material.
Only the Oto-nin disguised as Orochimaru glanced suspiciously at Ryun from the stands, feeling that the aura on Ryun seemed somewhat familiar.
Orochimaru wasn't a sensory-type ninja, so he couldn't determine Ryun's identity, and then he turned his attention back to Sasuke.
Ryun, for his part, took out his notebook and began recording. Although his data manager position was nominal, since he had come under the guise of work, he needed to put up a sufficient front.
Seeing Ryun enter a working state, no one paid him any further attention; everyone was waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi to begin his pre-exam speech.
"Thus, the true purpose of the Chūnin Exams is a microcosm of war between allied nations!"
"In order to prevent the various countries from wasting unnecessary military power and to avoid the outcome of both sides suffering, this place was chosen as the battlefield."
"Therefore, you are not just fighting for yourselves, but also bearing the prestige of your nations and villages. This is also the test for you to become chūnin..."
"So, for your nations and villages, and for yourselves, you must risk your lives and fight to the death."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's lengthy speech clarified the significance of the Chūnin Exams and also explained his hope that the outcome of the Exams could quell Sunagakure's unrest.
Ryun looked at the twelve rookies below. No wonder the Chūnin Exams, suspended for five years, had suddenly restarted—it was because a new generation of Konoha talent had all graduated, and it was time for Konoha to flex its muscles.
It was just a pity that Hiruzen Sarutobi's calculations were doomed to fail.
Seeing the tense atmosphere on-site, Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed lightly and said, "Though that's how it is said, however, now—"
Hiruzen Sarutobi changed his tone. Those in Konoha familiar with him almost knew what he was going to say next.
After that lengthy explanation of the Exams' meaning, was he, still not content, going to talk about the Will of Fire for another hour?
At this critical moment, Gekkō Hayate jumped out.
"Lord Hokage, please forgive my impertinence."
"Allow me, as the referee, to explain the rules next."