Chapter 013: The Adamantine Staff Counts as a Weapon?

Chapter 013: The Adamantine Staff Counts as a Weapon?

Orochimaru retreated swiftly, and since the Leaf Village was in chaos at the moment, no one really stopped him. Besides, even though Orochimaru's hands were incapacitated, he was still quite powerful.

After Orochimaru left, the Leaf Village quickly returned to calm. At this point, Orochimaru also entered the livestream room, where the deceased Third Hokage was already present.

[Third Hokage: Orochimaru, why did you attack the Leaf Village?]

[Orochimaru: To prove myself!]

[Tsunade: Orochimaru, are you insane? That was Lord Sarutobi! You actually killed Lord Sarutobi!!!]

[Jiraiya: Orochimaru, I never thought you'd kill Lord Sarutobi. If I had known, Lord Sarutobi should have never let you go back then; he should have killed you outright.]

[Orochimaru: I didn't actually intend to kill him. I was just trying to protect myself, but he insisted on using the Reaper Death Seal. I had no choice but to attack, and with his skill, he should have been able to dodge. But he chose to complete the seal instead. Besides, I paid a price too—my hands are now sealed by the jutsu!]

[Fourth Raikage: I swear, what the heck? Third Hokage, why sacrifice your life just to seal Orochimaru's hands? The cost was too high, and the gain wasn't worth it. You should have used that Reaper Death Seal back when the Nine Tails attacked. When young and promising Fourth Hokage used it, why didn't you? After all, you knew the jutsu too, right? If you had done it back then, the Fourth would have surpassed you by now, and Orochimaru wouldn't dare invade the Leaf Village!]

[Third Hokage: Fourth Raikage, what do you mean? I died for the Leaf Village, and now you're criticizing me?]

[Fourth Raikage: Heh, I'm not criticizing you. Just think about it: with the Leaf's strength, the Nine Tails shouldn't have been such a big deal. Why did it cost the Fourth Hokage his life? The Eight Tails has broken loose countless times in our village, and we've always managed to seal it without sacrificing a Raikage. And then, instead of the old stepping up, you let the young Hokage sacrifice himself. Can you honestly say there was no personal agenda? And after the Fourth died, Naruto was left in a terrible situation, not even knowing who his father was. If not for this Golden List Room, would Naruto have ever known his own identity?]

The Fourth Raikage was clearly enjoying himself, stirring the pot. He was more than happy to see internal conflicts arise within the Leaf Village. Besides, he wasn't necessarily wrong in his criticism.

[Fourth Hokage: Lord Third Hokage, I believe in your integrity!]

Even though he said this, Namikaze Minato couldn't help but feel conflicted, and Naruto, who had just finished his battle with Gaara and entered the livestream room, was also deeply affected by what he saw and heard.

At this moment, the Third Hokage was the most troubled. He had sacrificed himself for the Leaf Village, and yet even in death, he was being criticized.

[Mei Terumi: Let's focus on the weapon ranking instead. Fifty weapons have already been revealed.]

[Orochimaru: My Kusanagi Sword will definitely make it onto the list. It hasn't shown up yet, so it must be ranked quite high. Perhaps I'll even get a reward from the Golden List Room to heal my hands.]

[Uchiha Madara: The Kusanagi Sword is indeed a fine weapon. I believe it could rank within the top twenty.]

[Third Tsuchikage: This weapon ranking will likely expose many hidden weapons.]

[Orochimaru: I'm only interested in finding out who currently possesses the Totsuka Blade. I've been searching for it for years, but never found it. This ranking will undoubtedly reveal its whereabouts.]

Soon, the weapon ranking reached the fortieth place.

[Weapon Ranking No. 40: Broken White Light Blade, User: Kakashi]

When this ranking was announced, Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, immediately questioned Kakashi.

[Sakumo Hatake: @Kakashi, son, did my White Light Blade break?]

[Kakashi: Father, the blade broke during a major battle. I never mentioned it to you.]

[Sakumo Hatake: It's fine if it broke. As long as you're still alive. If the blade were still intact, it would have ranked much higher.]

Kakashi nodded, knowing well the value of the complete White Light Blade. Even broken, it could still unleash considerable power. However, he didn't dare use it anymore for fear of further damaging it and letting his father down.

[Third Hokage: What a pity about the White Light Blade. Sakumo was unstoppable with it.]

[Fourth Raikage: Third Hokage, you bear much of the responsibility for Sakumo's death. Your emphasis on the mission above all led to his downfall. After he saved someone but failed the mission, Konoha turned against him, driving him to suicide. Haha, when I first heard about it, I couldn't stop laughing. The strength of Konoha's White Fang wasn't far from yours. How many other warriors like him did Konoha have? Was one mission worth more than the White Fang?]

[Mei Terumi: The story of the White Fang is indeed laughable. A nearly Kage-level fighter driven to suicide—only in the Leaf Village could something so absurd happen among the Five Great Shinobi Nations.]

[Hashirama Senju: What? A Kage-level ninja driven to suicide? Little Monkey, how have you been managing the Leaf Village?]

[Tobirama Senju: The White Fang was indeed a loss. He had great potential, and I had high hopes for him. But we can't blame Sarutobi. The times were harsh, with constant warfare and the mission being paramount. It's just the nature of that era.]

[Uchiha Madara: Blame the times? Nonsense. If anyone dared insult me, I would kill them all. Weaklings have no right to mock the strong.]

Time passed, and more weapons were revealed.

[Weapon Ranking No. 30: Adamantine Staff, User: Hiruzen Sarutobi]

[Orochimaru: Isn't the Adamantine Staff just Enma transformed? How can that be considered a weapon?]

[Hashirama Senju: Interesting, can a living being also be considered a weapon?]

[Kakashi: Enma might not be a weapon, but once transformed into the Adamantine Staff, it certainly counts as one. Nothing wrong with that!]

[Mei Terumi: The Third Hokage was just killed, so the Adamantine Staff no longer belongs to him. But since it was listed under his name, it seems that unowned weapons still belong to their previous users until claimed by someone new.]

[Third Hokage: Since I've passed on, any reward I receive will go to the Leaf Village. Consider it my final contribution!]

[Tsunade: Lord Third Hokage is truly benevolent!]

Soon, the twenty-ninth ranked weapon appeared.