Although Orochimaru was powerful, neither Minato nor Kushina was any weaker than him. With both attacking together, Orochimaru was completely suppressed, barely able to hold his ground.
Had they gone all-out, Orochimaru would've died two or three times over already. Even now, he was at his limit. One more minute, and defeat was inevitable.
At this point in time, Orochimaru hadn't yet developed many of his signature techniques, such as the Orochi-style Substitution or the Soft Physique Modification. Without them, his ability to hold out was even more limited.
Orochimaru himself was utterly baffled. In his plan, only Hiruzen should have come. Minato shouldn't have been able to outplay that old fox so easily.
But what the hell was this situation? Why did everyone show up?
"You ungrateful disciple! How dare you conduct human experiments? I'll deal with you personally today!"
Just as Kushina was about to finish sealing Orochimaru, Hiruzen suddenly summoned Enma and prepared to smash Orochimaru to death with a single blow.
It would be ideal if Orochimaru died on his own. But if not, he couldn't be allowed to be captured alive.
However, from the very beginning, Sora had kept a close eye on him. There was no way he'd let Hiruzen succeed so easily.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
Without hesitation, Sora unleashed his most powerful technique.
None of his other jutsu, not even the highest-level Water Dragon Bullet, posed a threat to Hiruzen. But this one did.
As the Tailed Beast Bomb began to form, over two thousand chakra points rapidly drained from Sora's body, gathering before him.
Because his chakra pool was relatively limited, it took only a moment for the Tailed Beast Bomb to fully condense—though it ended up only the size of a fist.
Compared to the massive, multi-meter Tailed Beast Bombs the Nine-Tails could produce, it looked comically small.
Still, if it hit its mark, it would be enough to kill Hiruzen.
Even more deviously, Sora subtly shifted his position, aligning Hiruzen and Orochimaru in a straight line.
If Hiruzen so much as twitched the wrong way, Sora would fire the bomb without hesitation and blow him to kingdom come.
Sensing the terrifying chakra fluctuation behind him, Hiruzen froze. He turned his head sharply and saw Sora's cold, watchful eyes.
In that single instant, his body moved on reflex. He flickered away to the side at high speed.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
That slight delay cost him everything.
Kushina's sealing chains lashed out and restrained Orochimaru. Several sealing tags followed, locking down all his chakra. Only then did Minato and Kushina halt their attacks.
Seeing that the battle was over, Sora slowly dispersed his miniature Tailed Beast Bomb and called out, "Kakashi! Help me up—I can't stand without chakra!"
"You brat! Were you trying to attack me? Do you intend to betray the village?!"
Furious and humiliated, Hiruzen immediately tried to frame Sora with a serious accusation.
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone froze—Minato, Kushina, and Kakashi all wore expressions of concern.
They had seen it too—Sora's Tailed Beast Bomb had been aimed directly at Hiruzen.
Worse, over ten Anbu had witnessed the whole thing. There was no way to talk their way out of this.
But before Minato or Kushina could speak up, the supposedly drained and exhausted Sora—still leaning weakly on Kakashi—looked up with wide, innocent eyes.
"I was clearly aiming at Orochimaru," he said sweetly. "Lord Hiruzen, you jumped in the way yourself. I even held my fire just to avoid hitting you!"
Everyone paused.
Now that they thought about it… that actually did seem to be the case.
Sora's attack was indeed aimed at Orochimaru, and Hiruzen had definitely rushed in of his own accord. Everyone saw it.
So what was Hiruzen doing now? Seeking petty revenge?
The strange glances directed at him made Hiruzen feel like coughing up blood.
In the end, under Minato's diplomatic handling, the matter was set aside, and Sora didn't push it any further.
His anger had been vented, and there was no point in pushing things. He couldn't kill Hiruzen here anyway.
After all, the man had been Hokage for many years and still held considerable prestige. Killing him outright wasn't an option.
Once Kakashi brought him home, Sora flopped onto the couch and sighed contentedly.
"Ah… nothing's more satisfying than slapping an old schemer like that in the face."
While Sora rested, Minato and the others headed back to the Hokage's office.
"That kid earlier—Sora, right? He's only six, and he's already stronger than us."
"Speak for yourself. Could you have blocked that final move of his?"
"Ugh… true. Six years old and already jōnin level… what a terrifying genius."
To keep things quiet, Minato had the Anbu dismissed early. As they dispersed, a few remained behind to chat.
Then one Anbu who had stayed silent the whole time finally spoke.
"Do you think… that kid might grow up to be the Second First Hokage?"
No one responded.
Though their hearts resisted the idea—there could only ever be one Hashirama—logic said otherwise.
A six-year-old with jōnin-level strength? It wasn't impossible at all.
Back at the Hokage's office, Hiruzen demanded the right to interrogate Orochimaru personally.
Minato and Kushina exchanged a glance, their expressions saying, Just as expected.
But this time, the always-deferential Minato flatly refused Hiruzen's request and added politely, "If you've got nothing else, you should probably head out."
Fuming, Hiruzen had no choice but to leave. The door nearly shattered behind him as he slammed it shut.
After he was gone, Minato and Kushina didn't interrogate Orochimaru at all.
Instead, they talked with him.
The three of them sat in the Hokage's office, murmuring in hushed tones for nearly three hours.
Finally, as the sun dipped toward the horizon, Kushina lifted the seal on Orochimaru's body.
Surprisingly, Orochimaru didn't try to flee. Instead, he gave them a friendly nod and quietly slipped away. No one even noticed his departure.
After he was gone, Kushina checked the surroundings several times to confirm no one was eavesdropping.
"Minato," she said, "how do you think Sora knew Hiruzen would try to kill Orochimaru… and that Orochimaru would actually agree to help us?"
That's right. Everything Minato and Kushina had said earlier—those were instructions given by Sora.
"Everyone has their secrets," Minato replied with a soft smile. "Sora's just happen to be a little bigger than most. We don't need to ask—as long as we know he'll never harm Konoha."
"Yeah. And for all his mystery, he's still just our cute little brother."
Kushina beamed back at Minato. Her dazzling smile made him completely lose his focus, eyes glued to her face.