"Nice!" Seeing Kushina erupt with fury, Sora cheered for her in his heart.
When dealing with an old schemer like this, there was only one correct response—shut him down with raw power. Anything else was a waste of time.
Knock knock knock!
Just then, a series of knocks on the door broke the tension and drew everyone's attention.
"Come in," Minato said.
"Lord Hokage! Anbu has discovered Lord Orochimaru conducting human experiments! We've also found the location of his lab!"
The Anbu operative who entered didn't even raise his head. He rapidly reported everything in a flurry of disbelief and urgency.
Everyone in the office was stunned. None of them had expected this—one of the Legendary Sannin, the Third Hokage's own student, doing something so horrific?
Of course, who was genuinely surprised and who was faking it… only they knew. Every single one of them was an expert actor.
"Orochimaru is my student. I'll take care of this personally," Hiruzen said, recovering first and quickly making his stance clear.
Sora, still pretending to be shocked, immediately frowned at those words. If Hiruzen had asked, that would've been one thing. But giving orders like he was still in charge?
Add that to the frustration he'd been bottling up, and Sora spoke out without hesitation.
"Lord Hiruzen, you've already stepped down. I believe that decision should be made by the Fourth Hokage."
He emphasized "stepped down" and "Fourth Hokage" particularly hard, making Hiruzen's face darken on the spot.
If it were just a private gathering, Hiruzen could've come up with a dozen excuses. But with the Anbu present?
How was he supposed to save face now?
"…Very well. Minato, the decision is yours. But since Orochimaru is my student, I believe I'm still the best choice to bring him in."
The seasoned old fox gracefully took the opportunity to back down, but in his heart, he was already cursing Sora to hell and back.
This little brat is a major obstacle if I want to suppress Minato. I'll have to get rid of him eventually.
A six-year-old kid, no matter how talented, was still just a child. Talent was not the same as power.
What he didn't know, however, was that Sora already had the strength of a true jōnin—perhaps even beyond—and not even elite jōnin could take him down now. That's why he wasn't afraid to provoke Hiruzen directly.
"Lord Hokage," Sora said, "Orochimaru is one of the Sannin—he's a symbol of Konoha's strength. The fewer people who know about this, the better. Why don't we keep the team small?"
Seeing Minato hesitate, Sora quickly continued and shot a meaningful look at Kushina.
Though she didn't know what Sora was planning, Kushina still trusted him unconditionally. "Orochimaru's strength is no joke. Minato, you and I should go together. Otherwise, he might escape."
As the two spoke, Hiruzen's expression turned so dark it was practically charcoal.
He'd known about Orochimaru's experiments for a long time—hell, he was involved in planting the First Hokage's cells for experimentation.
Even if it wasn't about protecting Orochimaru, he had to ensure the man wasn't captured alive—for his own sake, if nothing else.
And now, with over ten Anbu arriving on the scene, what could he do? Was he supposed to suppress Minato in front of everyone?
Sora had clearly counted on the fact that Hiruzen wouldn't dare make a public move. That's why he'd said it out loud.
Some things can be done in secret—but never openly.
Even if Hiruzen flipped the table now, he'd never win against Minato and Kushina together.
And as for reinforcements—Orochimaru was the only one he could count on, and clearly not an option anymore.
Tsunade and Jiraiya were both away from the village. Even if they were present, there was no guarantee they'd take his side.
Jiraiya was both Minato's master and Hiruzen's student.
As for Tsunade—her relationship with Kushina was incredibly close, and the destruction of the Senju Clan had Hiruzen's fingerprints all over it.
That's what had driven her to wander the shinobi world and refuse to return to Konoha.
Hell, she might come back just to punch him harder than Kushina ever could.
Even Kakashi, standing silently to the side—his father's death had been caused by Hiruzen's quiet manipulations behind the scenes.
All these thoughts flashed through Hiruzen's mind. In an instant, he realized the tide had turned against him—and he fell silent.
Before, he could rely on his status as the Third Hokage, Minato's mentor, and former leader.
But now? That brat Sora had dragged everything into the open. That game was over.
Hiruzen stared at Sora like a predator sizing up prey—but Sora didn't care in the slightest.
If Hiruzen couldn't stop him today, he'd never be able to stop him again.
"Very well. Let's all go together. If Lord Third insists on coming… then come along."
Minato hesitated briefly but didn't outright refuse Hiruzen's request.
Sigh… Minato, you're too soft. No wonder you died just two years into your term as Hokage, Sora thought with mixed emotions.
But that only made him more excited.
If they wanted to completely silence Hiruzen, they'd have to show him overwhelming strength—right to his face.
Today, he'd show the old man just how terrifying Minato, Kushina, himself, and Kakashi could be.
With that, the group—led by several Anbu—headed toward Orochimaru's laboratory.
As soon as the door opened, everyone's faces turned grim.
Inside row upon row of glass tanks filled with pale green formalin, naked human bodies floated in eerie silence.
The lab tables were covered in corpses—lifeless, discarded.
"Ahahaha…" Orochimaru chuckled from within, completely ignoring the others as his golden eyes locked onto Hiruzen. "So, sensei… you've finally found this place."
Sora had thought he'd be fine—but the moment he saw the scene, a wave of nausea rose in his chest.
Not hatred for the experiments. Just disgust. Pure disgust.
He glanced at the others—everyone looked visibly disturbed. Everyone except Kushina, who remained oddly calm.
Tch. Born and raised in a world like this, did anyone really expect them to feel moral outrage at Orochimaru? No way. They're just good at acting, Sora thought.
But he didn't care for any dramatic teacher-student showdowns.
"Minato! Grab him alive!" he barked. "Kushina, help him! Kakashi, you're with me—long-range harassment!"
As soon as he spoke, Sora used Body Flicker to widen the distance and began forming hand seals.
He wasn't stupid. With Orochimaru's stats—his speed, strength, and endurance were likely over a thousand. Compared to his measly two hundred? Charging in head-on would be suicide.
Seeing Sora take action, Minato and Kushina dashed forward together.
Clang clang clang! Minato scattered dozens of kunai marked with Flying Thunder God seals around the lab—setting up his teleportation field.
Kushina was even more direct. Eight glowing golden chains burst from her back and shot toward Orochimaru like vipers—this was the Adamantine Sealing Chains of the Uzumaki Clan, powerful enough to restrain even Tailed Beasts.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Sora completed the 44-seal sequence in six seconds and unleashed the technique. A massive water dragon roared and lunged toward Orochimaru, its body nearly filling the entire lab.
"Summoning Jutsu: Triple Rashōmon!"
Boom! Boom!
The dragon tore through the first gate and smashed into the second, warping its shape before dissipating.
After launching that attack, Sora retreated to the side to recover—and kept one eye locked on Hiruzen.
He was just getting started.