And at this moment,
Unlike the people of Konoha,
On the side of Sunagakure and Otogakure, after seeing this scene, almost everyone was stunned.
But they were not stunned because of Hiruzen's corpse.
But because,
Here... there was only his corpse!!
Almost instantly, including Kabuto and Baki and the others, all their pupils contracted!
'Huh?!'
'What the hell is going on here??!'
'Why...'
'Why is there only the corpse of Sarutobi Hiruzen...?!'
'Was he defeated!?'
'By the Fourth Kazekage...?!'
'But now, inside the barrier, where is the Kazekage...?!?!'
Baki and the other Sunagakure's members, in an instant, all had grim expressions!
The Kazekage disappeared at a time like this?!
Inside the Otogakure barrier!?
This...
For a moment, no one could figure out the reason!
And just then,
Suddenly, a Sunagakure's Shinobi beside Baki gritted his teeth and looked towards the four Otogakure's Shinobi maintaining the Four Violet Flames Formation!
Then, he shouted angrily at one of the Otogakure's Shinobi:
"Hey!! Otogakure!!"
"What... is the meaning of this?! Where is our Fourth Kazekage, Rasa-sama?!"
"Speak up!!"
This Sunagakure's Shinobi had always regarded Rasa as a teacher, and was naturally very anxious at this moment!
However,
The other Otogakure's Shinobi nearby,
Upon hearing this, immediately had equally strange expressions.
They naturally knew.
From the very beginning, there was no Kazekage Rasa...
The one who came to Konoha and launched this attack was, from the start, Orochimaru disguised as the Kazekage...
But no matter what,
Everyone had witnessed Orochimaru and Hiruzen being sealed together inside the barrier...
But now,
Why was only Hiruzen's corpse left...
Even if they had destroyed each other,
There should at least be some trace left...
At this moment,
Kabuto gritted his teeth slightly, his gaze complicated behind his glasses.
'Logically,'
'Orochimaru-sama choosing to seal Sarutobi Hiruzen inside the Four Violet Flames Formation should have been a sure win!'
'Furthermore, he also mastered the strongest forbidden technique... Impure World Reincarnation!'
'This tactic of using the undead,'
'Should have been impossible to lose, right?'
'But how exactly did he disappear directly from within the Four Violet Flames Formation...'
'Could there have been intervention from another force...?'
Thinking this,
Kabuto's expression darkened slightly,
He also couldn't help but look towards the four Otogakure's Shinobi over there.
As the only ones present at the scene, they might be the only ones who knew what happened.
At this moment, they really needed to be questioned.
'Perhaps,'
'Orochimaru-sama hadn't been gone long, and there might still be a chance to find his trail!'
Kabuto thought to himself.
However,
What he didn't know at this moment...
Was that inside this sealed Four Violet Flames Formation, the battle between Orochimaru and Hiruzen had actually ended long ago...
But because the four Otogakure's Shinobi had continuously maintained the barrier,
And due to the power of Kyo's Kyokko, they still had no idea what had transpired from beginning to end...
And just then,
The four Otogakure's Shinobi of the Four Violet Flames Formation, hearing the voices from outside,
Suddenly realized...
That technique of distorting light had, at some point... already disappeared!
"?!"
The four exchanged glances, all startled!
'Not good!'
'In this situation, then everyone would know Orochimaru-sama has disappeared...?!'
Thinking this,
In an instant, cold sweat appeared on the foreheads of the Sound Four.
Suddenly, they were at a loss.
After all, if the Sunagakure's Shinobi now found out that the Kazekage was impersonated by Orochimaru, and that Rasa had long been dead...
Probably next...
These guys would no longer cooperate with Otogakure against Konoha!
Perhaps,
They would even unite with Konoha to attack Otogakure!
If that happened...
Then things would be really screwed!
You have to understand, although Otogakure was strong... it wasn't strong enough to compare with two great Shinobi Villages!
For a moment, the Sound Four... none dared to speak!
The atmosphere instantly became extremely silent!
"..."
But just then,
Suddenly, an explosion came from the distance!!
Boom!!!
The deafening sound suddenly rang out, instantly shattering the surrounding silence, almost making the very ground of Konoha tremble!!
"-?!"
Everyone present was suddenly stunned!
'Huh?!'
'What... is this?!'
However,
Before they could react, suddenly...
From the direction of the explosion, emerging from the darkness, a Shinobi wearing Konoha's Anbu uniform appeared!
He rushed over from that direction!
He was covered in blood, his mask mostly shattered, gasping for breath as he shouted sternly:
"No... good!!"
"Terrible news!! We... we were tricked!! Hokage-sama!!"
This Anbu's member seemed covered in wounds of various sizes, blood flowing continuously!!
And at this moment, he was still shouting hoarsely with all his might, his expression twisted!!
Seeing this terrifying scene,
In an instant,
Everyone present froze!!
'What's going on...?!'
'A Konoha's Anbu... was injured so severely!?'
'And that direction is...'
'Konoha Hospital!?'
Everyone was completely frozen!
And Kakashi, upon seeing this person, instantly recognized his identity!
His name was Igarashi, a young subordinate Kakashi had once interacted with during his time in the Anbu!
Seeing this, Kakashi gritted his teeth, his expression grim.
With a step, he leaped forward rapidly!
Immediately rushing over, he quickly supported that person!
Thud!
The two landed on the ground, and Kakashi immediately looked grimly at this Anbu, saying solemnly:
"Igarashi... over there... what exactly happened?!"
"Ca... Captain Kakashi...!?"
Seeing Kakashi before him, this Anbu instinctively addressed him as captain.
However,
A moment later,
He focused his gaze again, gritting his teeth with a grim expression:
"When our Anbu was passing by Konoha Hospital..."
"We suddenly discovered, in the darkness, a man wearing the Kazekage's robe... attempting to forcibly abduct the injured Uchiha Clan's survivor... Uchiha Sasuke!!"
"...?!"
As these words fell, in an instant, the entire scene fell silent!
Not only Kakashi, but all the Shinobi of Sunagakure and Konoha present were almost completely dumbfounded!
Each one looked as if they had seen a ghost!
'Wait!'
'What did he say?!?'
'The Fourth Kazekage, who disappeared from the barrier... appeared at Konoha Hospital!?'
'And is trying to abduct the last Uchiha!?!'
Hearing this,
All of Konoha's Shinobi looked incredulously towards the people of Sunagakure, their gazes shocked!
'Could it be... the Kazekage's true purpose in this invasion was to obtain the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan?!'
And at this moment,
What they didn't know,
Was that upon hearing this,
The people of Sunagakure were equally dumbfounded!
'This...'
'What's going on!?'
'No way...'
'The disappeared Kazekage-sama... really went to abduct someone???'
'But the orders we had received previously were purely to attack Konoha!'
'There was no plan to seize the Sharingan!'
'No!'
'There was definitely something fishy here!'
Just as everyone present was stunned,
The injured Anbu, as if catching his breath, gritted his teeth with a grim expression and continued:
"However..."
"After a brief skirmish just now, we discovered..."
"That man wearing the Kazekage's robe wasn't the real Fourth Kazekage Rasa at all, but..."
"The former Konoha's Missing-nin... Orochimaru!!"
"It was him just now... disguised as the Kazekage, who attacked us..."
"-!!!?"
As the words fell,
Once again, the entire scene was completely silent!
A plot point that no one present had expected suddenly... surfaced!
Konoha was shocked!
Sunagakure was horrified!
And Kabuto and the Otogakure's Shinobi... were completely dumbfounded!
'What the hell...'
'It's exposed just like that??!!'
Everyone was stunned!
And the people of Sunagakure, upon hearing the familiar name Orochimaru, suddenly couldn't help but feel a chill down their spines...
For some reason,
They suddenly remembered...
Since that time,
After their Kazekage met with Orochimaru,
It seemed he had never appeared together with Orochimaru again...!!
"...!"
Realizing this,
Even the usually composed Baki and the others couldn't help but have their pupils contract, their hair standing on end!
They finally began to realize...
Just how wrong this plan really was!!!
And the Shinobi of Konoha,
Also quickly began to realize... a terrifying possibility...
...
However, at this moment,
What they didn't know,
Was that high up in the night sky,
Kyo was quietly watching everything below with his untraceable Spiritual Pressure Perception.
When he heard that Anbu named Igarashi say everything,
Kyo's lips slowly curled into a smile.
"Success."
Kyo chuckled with satisfaction.
That's right.
This Anbu who came to report... certainly didn't appear by accident!
In fact,
After Kyo left Orochimaru, he cleverly disguised himself and tipped off the Anbu!
Thus, he ensured that an Anbu Team would, just by chance, witness Orochimaru abducting someone from the hospital!
This way, a confrontation between them was inevitable!
Then,
Kyo could directly use this Anbu's mouth to tell Konoha the truth!
And afterwards, he could very smoothly blame all the Anbu's members who died near the Amegakure's residence that night while on surveillance duty, as well as the Gillian that destroyed the Hokage Rock, directly onto Orochimaru!
This way,
The attention of everyone in Konoha and Sunagakure would completely turn towards Orochimaru and his Otogakure.
Amegakure and Kyo would no longer be under any suspicion!
Not just perfect,
It was simply Too Perfect!
Kyo stood smiling in the sky, his hands leisurely in his pockets, his long hair and the hem of his clothes fluttering in the wind.
His golden eyes glimmered, a slight smile on his lips as he muttered to himself:
"Orochimaru-san, my apologies."
"Although I was helping you before, that doesn't stop me from setting you up a little in the end..."
"After all, having only one King of the Scapegoat in the Shinobi World isn't enough."
"Tonight's blame, even that King of the Scapegoat, Shimura Danzo, wouldn't be able to carry very well."
"So..."
"Let's have you help carry it for now."