Naruto: Did i Just Get Reincarnated as Gojo?

Chapter 122: Tsunade: Orochimaru, How Did You End Up Like This?

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"Tsk, Lord Hiruzen, your Adamantine Staff isn't fast enough, nor ruthless enough~"

"Ugh, cough-"

Hiruzen Sarutobi clutched his abdomen, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, kneeling on one knee.

The Triple Barrier Seal faded as the shadow clones disappeared.

Yes, he had softened.

Having been Hokage for half his life, believing in the Will of Fire all his life, yet at the moment when he most needed to uphold it, he softened toward his unworthy disciple.

Orochimaru... would never be his match.

Hiruzen was certain. Even though he hadn't summoned Enma to avoid making too much noise and had split into three shadow clones to use the Triple Barrier Seal, he still had the upper hand.

He could have drowned Orochimaru with a combo of Five Nature Transformations.

But at the moment he was about to strike, Hiruzen recalled the past with the three Sannin...

Back then, they were all young and inexperienced, and he was just a pervy old man.

Orochimaru was his most proud disciple, the one most recognized and reliable in the eyes of others.

Now, Jiraiya and Tsunade were gone, and Asuma was an unpromising kid, always harboring rebellious thoughts. Only Orochimaru occasionally kept him company over tea and conversation...

Not a son, but closer than a son.

Humans are not devoid of emotion; choosing between the Will of Fire, a lifetime of reputation, and this teacher-student bond was too cruel.

At the moment when he should have delivered the fatal blow, Orochimaru counterattacked.

With a combo, he injured his teacher, knocking him to the ground.

He also didn't continue to kill; firstly, he wasn't certain of success, and secondly, the bond between teacher and student was mutual.

Turning his back to Hiruzen, Orochimaru coldly said:

"Lord Hiruzen, I will prove that I am right."

"The Will of Fire is meaningless; only immortality is the path a ninja should pursue."

"When I return, I will show you the power of the forbidden in Konoha."

Leaving these harsh words, Orochimaru leaned forward, arms back, and dashed away in a ninja run.

"Cough-Orochimaru, come back!"

Hiruzen watched as Orochimaru became a small black dot at the edge of his vision, eyes filled with reluctance.

Konoha... the Will of Fire... what had it done to him? That he would defect from Konoha at any cost.

Fighting him within the Triple Barrier might not have led to death; perhaps he would have just lost his ninja abilities.

But exposed outside the barrier... he would surely die.

"Orochimaru... won't survive."

Hiruzen closed his eyes in despair and pain.

He truly wanted to kill Orochimaru, but he also genuinely wished to spare him. With his influence, he could have pleaded with Minato to have Orochimaru spend the rest of his life in prison.