Hearing this, Minato was even more confused. From what Kushina had just told him, Naruto had only recently graduated from the Academy—he was just twelve or thirteen. How could he possibly know someone this strong from another village?
Could this man have revived them to use them to control Naruto? After all, Naruto was the jinchūriki of the strongest tailed beast, the Nine-Tails.
That thought made Minato even more cautious.
Yang Tao noticed Minato's wary expression and understood the misunderstanding, but he didn't bother explaining. Once Minato saw Naruto, everything would become clear.
At last, he had fulfilled his promise to Naruto. But instead of telling Naruto right away, he decided to surprise him.
Since he was already in this world, he might as well go all the way and finish the job properly.
"Orochimaru, I need you to handle something for me."
Orochimaru immediately nodded respectfully.
"Whatever you need!"
It wasn't that he had no pride—it was just that he still had three Totems of Undying and several enchanted golden apples on him.
"You still need to go through with your Konoha Collapse Plan. But change your target—forget the Third Hokage and focus on taking down Danzo instead. With the Fourth Hokage back, there's no need to kill the Third."
Orochimaru agreed without hesitation.
His real reason for launching the Konoha Collapse Plan in the first place was to give the Third Hokage a dignified end.
He didn't want to see his former teacher, the great shinobi hero, slowly decay under the weight of power. He wanted Sarutobi-sensei to leave without any regrets.
Otherwise, attacking Konoha wouldn't have benefited him in any way.
Some might say it was for Sasuke, but back then, Sasuke had already set his sights on getting stronger and would've come to Orochimaru on his own. There was no real need for the Konoha Collapse Plan.
But now, with the Fourth Hokage back, the Third Hokage had no reason to stay in power.
If he refused to step down… well, Yang Tao was sure there were ways to handle that.
He wasn't sure if Sarutobi really clung to power in this world, but if he did…
If he wouldn't leave with dignity, then they would make sure he did.
Hearing their conversation, Minato immediately spoke up.
"Konoha Collapse Plan? Orochimaru-sama, why would you betray Konoha? I can't let this happen!"
"Minato, you've been dead for too long. You don't know what's happened. I've already been labeled a rogue ninja. What's wrong with launching the Konoha Collapse Plan?"
Minato looked stunned.
"How is that possible? Orochimaru-sama, why would you betray the village? You were the Third Hokage's most prized student!"
From what he remembered, Orochimaru had been incredibly popular in Konoha. Most of the shinobi had supported him becoming Hokage. Even Minato himself had felt he had no chance against him.
And as the Third Hokage's personal student, Orochimaru had no reason to betray the village.
But Orochimaru simply shrugged.
"Konoha isn't what it used to be. The great tree that once protected everyone is now rotting away. And for a new tree to grow, it needs nourishment. I'm just the one holding the axe."
Minato shook his head in disbelief.
"No way!"
At this moment, Yang Tao spoke up. "Minato, Konohagakure isn't as simple as it looks. The once-powerful Senju and Uchiha clans have almost disappeared, and the Uzumaki clan, Konohagakure's ally, has been completely wiped out from history."
Namikaze Minato just stared at Yang Tao without any expression, saying nothing.
"You've been dead for over ten years, and the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, is still in power. Are you telling me they really couldn't choose a Fifth Hokage? And then there's Danzo, the leader of Root. He drove White Fang and Uchiha Shisui to their deaths, worked with outsiders to cause the Uchiha Massacre, and even on the night you died, it was his men who stopped the Uchiha clan from coming to help! Do you still think Konohagakure isn't rotten to the core?"
Hearing all this, Minato was at a loss for words.
"I will find out the truth myself!"
"Fine, but the plan to shake up Konohagakure is happening no matter what. You can't stop it! The village has been too comfortable for too long—it needs a wake-up call! And Danzo must die!"
Anyone who has watched Naruto knows that Danzo and Black Zetsu were behind most of the tragedies in the series.
Namikaze Minato asked, "Can you tell me your plan?"
Orochimaru explained the general idea to him, except this time, instead of the Third Hokage, the target was Danzo.
"I'll go with you. But if things aren't the way you claim, I'll stop you with my life!"
Yang Tao nodded and turned to the others. "Alright! You'll see it for yourself soon enough. Let's go—we're heading to Konohagakure!"
After briefly saying goodbye to Chiyo and Ebizo, who had already gone back inside, they took off toward Konohagakure.
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