As the prompt tone faded,
Kyo's gaze stirred slightly, a trace of a smile appearing involuntarily.
'Not bad.'
He hadn't expected this Konoha Crush Plan,
To be considered successfully concluded simply after defeating Hiruzen.
However,
Thinking carefully, it made sense.
After all, in the original work, this Konoha Crush Plan used Hiruzen's downfall as its watershed moment.
The subsequent plot could be considered the Konoha Pursuit arc.
Thinking this,
Kyo immediately looked at the system panel, waiting for the rewards to be distributed.
He naturally also knew,
That the remaining two branch missions, "Ultimate Showdown: Shinigami vs Hokage" and "Fated Battle Showdown: Shinigami vs Shinigami", had both been successfully completed.
If nothing unexpected happened,
His Spiritual Pressure... would undoubtedly undergo another major breakthrough!
Thinking this,
Kyo's gaze involuntarily flickered, revealing a faint smile.
Currently,
Compared to when he first left the hidden territory, his Spiritual Pressure had naturally grown significantly, reaching LV.6 as marked in the system.
And once this main mission reward was distributed, it would probably be just enough to successfully advance to LV.7...
He wondered,
Just how strong would the system's marked LV.7 Spiritual Pressure be...?
Kyo pondered with a light smile.
But just then,
Suddenly,
A line of black text abruptly appeared on the system screen.
[Ding,]
[Friendly reminder-]
[The rewards for this mission can only be distributed after the Host safely leaves the mission execution location.]
"...Eh?"
Kyo was momentarily stunned.
'Wait,'
'Leaving the mission execution location... did that mean Konoha?'
A moment later,
He suddenly realized...
Just like with the main mission during the Night of the Massacre back then,
The rewards for that main mission were also only successfully distributed after Kyo left Konoha and returned to Amegakure.
This time was slightly different, that's all.
Thinking this,
Kyo naturally immediately set aside his curiosity about the rewards, deciding to deal with the current matters first.
After all, there were quite a few miscellaneous tasks at hand.
Turning around slowly,
Kyo folded his arms,
Looking down at Orochimaru before him with a half-smile, he said:
"Orochimaru-san,"
"You seem somewhat disheveled."
"It appears the Uzumaki Clan's Dead Demon Consuming Seal isn't within the scope of forbidden techniques you know."
Kyo spoke with a light smile.
He remembered,
In the original work, it was precisely because Orochimaru was hit by Hiruzen's Dead Demon Consuming Seal during the Konoha Crush Plan that his arms were rendered useless,
Which led to him being forced into hiding and eventually being killed by the turncoat Sasuke.
It wasn't until the Fourth Shinobi World War period that he successfully reclaimed his arms through the method of cutting open the Shinigami's stomach.
And this time,
Kyo directly saved him, which could be considered cleverly altering the plot.
And at this moment,
Hearing Kyo's words,
Orochimaru snapped back from his thoughts, then reluctantly curled his lips, sweating as he wryly smiled and said:
"Sa...Sarutobi-sensei, he was still hiding... this technique..."
"It truly was... something I didn't anticipate..."
"This time,"
"I truly owe... your assistance... Kyo-san..."
Saying this,
Orochimaru actually bowed his head slightly for the first time, showing an attitude of utmost respect.
He seemed to be expressing sincere gratitude.
Seeing this scene,
Kyo's gaze involuntarily raised slightly, amused inside.
'Oh?'
'From the looks of it,'
'This guy Orochimaru, because I saved him, seemed to be starting to feel some heartfelt admiration...?'
'Heh,'
'Not bad.'
Kyo chuckled lightly.
Although he wasn't interested in sword fighting,
He was very interested in recruiting a loyal worker.
Probably,
From now on,
Orochimaru would be even more obedient to Kyo's commands.
It had to be said,
This was also a good thing.
Thinking this, Kyo raised his chin slightly and said with a light smile:
"Save the thanks."
"However,"
"It seems... the battle outside the Four Violet Flames Formation is about to wrap up too."
"Have you forgotten that you still have a plan to execute?"
"...?"
At these words, Orochimaru was momentarily stunned.
His thoughts were entirely focused on the Dead Demon Consuming Seal from just now, momentarily forgetting about his other plans.
After a few seconds, he suddenly realized, his gaze narrowing sharply.
"Hmm?"
"You mean... Uchiha Sasuke...?"
Orochimaru suddenly remembered,
Before tonight's plan began, Kyo seemed to have mentioned that Sasuke had been hospitalized and had no strength to resist at all...
"Correct."
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Kyo nodded casually, then said flatly:
"Since you helped me initiate this Crush Plan in advance, now it's my turn to help you a little."
Saying this,
Kyo slightly raised his hand and waved it lightly.
Whoosh!
The next moment, countless white ribbons appeared, soaring high, completely enveloping the area around both Orochimaru and Kyo, spinning at high speed.
"...?!"
Seeing this scene, Orochimaru was momentarily stunned.
Kyo explained calmly:
"This is a Space-Time secret technique, Sentan Hakuja."
"It can instantly transport anyone or anything across space to a pre-marked location."
"Before coming here, I already inscribed the technique on the rooftop of Konoha Hospital."
"Let's go, heading there now-"
As the words fell,
Before Orochimaru could react, Kyo directly pulled the ribbons in his hand.
Sentan Hakuja was activated instantly!
Shwoosh!
The white ribbons spun at high speed, completely concealing their figures!
The next moment, all the ribbons began to slowly turn transparent, as if materializing into Spirit Particles, finally... disappearing completely.
And within the barrier, their bodies vanished!
"-?!"
Seeing this scene,
The Sound Four maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation were stunned.
That Dead Demon Consuming Seal battle just now, in fact, as outsiders, the four of them,
Actually saw nothing.
They only saw that man named Kyo swing his sword, wave his hand,
And then... Hiruzen over there just dropped dead.
However,
What surprised them even more,
Was that now, Orochimaru... had left with that man!
"Ah, this..."
"What's going on... O-Orochimaru-sama... will he be alright...?"
The several Otogakure's Shinobi instantly started discussing across the distance.
"Hmm, probably not..."
"Although I don't know what just happened, from Orochimaru-sama's words, it seems that Kyo saved him... And now, they're probably heading to Konoha Hospital..."
"Yeah, indeed... that's what I think too."
"Then, let's temporarily continue maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation. We can't let Konoha's Shinobi discover that Orochimaru-sama has already left!"
"Agreed!"
After a brief discussion,
They immediately settled their minds and continued maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation.
And they roughly understood that Orochimaru had probably gone with that Kyo to find the so-called perfect container, Uchiha Sasuke...
...
On this side, on the rooftop of Konoha Hospital.
A swirling white ribbon suddenly appeared, and the next moment, two figures emerged from it.
They were Kyo and Orochimaru.
And at this moment,
Orochimaru looked at the surroundings, his pupils slightly contracting.
The vast Four Violet Flames Formation was now... already a thousand meters away in the distance!
And he hadn't even reacted...!
Orochimaru's heart skipped a beat.
'This...'
'Could it be... this was the scenery that the Fourth, who mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, could see...?'
At this moment,
Orochimaru couldn't help but compare this Sentan Hakuja to the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He never imagined,
That Kyo possessed so many bizarre secret techniques...
'Could it be,'
'Was this the foundation of Las Noches...?'
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, glinting secretly.
And a moment later,
Kyo beside him spoke flatly, expressionless:
"Stop dawdling."
"Go down. Sasuke should still be in a hospital bed downstairs."
"What you do next is your own business."
Saying this,
Kyo calmly turned around, hands in his pockets, seemingly preparing to leave directly.
Seeing this scene,
Orochimaru was first startled,
Then he came to his senses. Suddenly, he slowly lowered his head, grinned, and said to Kyo with a smile:
"Kyo-san, my sincerest thanks... for your assistance this time."
"It must be said..."
"From today onwards, I truly have my eyes opened to your power."
"However, please rest assured,"
"I will not mention your involvement this time to anyone else. I will also have those four keep silent."
"And, I look forward to..."
"The day I can see your strength when you get serious!"
Orochimaru spoke with a smile, his gaze flickering.
He naturally knew,
That currently, Kyo still preferred not to be noticed by Konoha.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have used that special Ninjutsu called "Kyokko" inside the Four Violet Flames Formation back then.
Therefore, he naturally assured Kyo that he would keep it secret.
As for the last sentence,
It was purely his personal selfish desire.
That's right.
Even as the scientist Orochimaru, he also pursued ultimate and pure powerful force.
And the Kyo before him,
Although he seemed never to have fought seriously,
Was without a doubt, absolutely the strongest person he had ever seen...!
Not someone like Hiruzen, the 'Strongest Hokage', but someone who truly possessed the power to overwhelm everything in the Shinobi World, the truly strongest!
Precisely because of this,
He was even more eager to see,
Just how powerful this golden-eyed man would be, once he got serious...
"..."
And at this moment,
Hearing Orochimaru's words,
Kyo simply walked forward leisurely and said very casually:
"Want me to get serious?"
"Then why not just wait for the Fourth War."
As the words fell,
Kyo used Shunpo and disappeared under the moonlight, vanishing swiftly.
While Orochimaru was momentarily stunned.
'The Fourth War...?'
'Did he mean... the Fourth Shinobi World War...?!'
'Hiss-'
Orochimaru couldn't help but lightly suck in a cold breath.
'It seemed,'
'The future Shinobi World was about to completely change...'
'Well...'
'It probably didn't have much to do with me...'
Thinking this,
Orochimaru slowly turned his head, looking down towards the hospital below.
Then,
He suddenly revealed a sinister smile, extended his tongue, and licked his lips.
An alluring gleam appeared in his eyes.
"Hehe~"
"Sasuke-kun, sorry to keep you waiting..."