Seeing that the attack had been going on for a long time without success and the opponent Mizuki was simply trying to delay time, Yakushi Kabuto didn't have any better solution.

"I've been dodging, Senior. This is completely different from your arrogant words just now."

"You're still using this childish provocation? Do you think I'm that stupid?" Mizuki said, "We're all adults now, so stop being so naive, okay? Have you lost your mind after spending so much time with a bunch of Genin kids?"

"It doesn't work?" Yakushi Kabuto felt a little regretful. It seemed that Mizuki was not as easy to fool as the Genin brat.

Just when Kabuto Yakushi was in a dilemma, several kunai were shot towards him. The sudden change ended the fight between the two, and then two Anbu wearing animal masks appeared.

"You came quite quickly. It seems that I have been targeted for a long time?" Even when facing three people, Yakushi Kabuto was not afraid.

Faced with such a situation, Kabuto Yakushi did not retreat but advanced, rushing directly towards the Hokage Rock. The Anbu who was blocking him missed him and had his wrist cut. Then Kabuto Yakushi did not even look back, and jumped directly from the Hokage Rock, disappearing into the woods below.

"Should we continue to chase?" Shuimu asked, "Yakushi Kabuto is quite powerful, and he is very good at using Palm Immortal Technique and Chakra Scalpel. You guys are careless."

"No need. Our Anbu has already launched an investigation into him, and a special ninja will take over this matter from now on." One of them said as he applied medicine to the other.

"From the looks of their bodies and appearance, they don't look like the ninjas I'm familiar with, so there's no need to try to get close to them." Mizuki sized up the two unfamiliar ANBU. They were probably more useless supporting roles than himself, the villain at the beginning.

"Why are you fighting here?"

"This Kabuto Yakushi came to recruit me on behalf of Orochimaru, and you saw the result." Mizuki said indifferently. After all, he had been cleared of all charges, and his half-truth should be believable to everyone. "In addition, he also revealed that he might take action against Uchiha Sasuke."

"Is that so?" Mizuki's words did not leave much room for doubt. It was already known that Orochimaru coveted Uchiha Sasuke, and as an S-rank rebel ninja from Konoha, it was conceivable that he would plant spies in the village to recruit people. "We will report the information, and we will come back to you if there are any questions."

After saying that, the two of them left, leaving Mizuki alone at the Hokage Rock.

"Let's go back. This is such a bummer. I came here to relax and ended up fighting with someone."

It's almost noon, the weather is getting hotter, it's time to go back and eat~

In a beautifully landscaped courtyard in Konoha, Orochimaru listened to Kabuto Yakushi's report.

"Did Mizuki really say that?" Orochimaru said in surprise.

"Yes." Yakushi Kabuto confirmed, "I was also shocked at the time."

"This is really unexpected. It seems that many things have happened recently that I don't know about." There have been too many unexpected things recently. I was tricked by an unknown person in the Death Forest and was almost seriously injured. Originally, the three Sound Ninjas were supposed to test Sasuke's level after the curse seal was cast, but they almost couldn't find him. Mizuki, who was originally not worth mentioning, dared to negotiate with me. "Does it mean that my name, Orochimaru, is no longer useful in Konoha?"

"Lord Orochimaru's reputation remains as great as ever. Just look at Konoha's nervous attitude."

"Let's not talk about this, Kabuto, I didn't ask you to kill Sasuke." Orochimaru said to Kabuto Yakushi with a playful look.

Hearing what Orochimaru said, Kabuto Yakushi was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat, but he didn't know how to answer.

"Forget it, do as you like. However, this is your only chance to stop me from getting Uchiha Sasuke." Orochimaru said with a little interest, "Let me see how magnanimous you are. I'm leaving soon, so you'd better prepare for your next action as soon as possible. By then, there will be no chance to regret it." After saying that, Orochimaru left with a teleportation technique.

"It's really tiring to serve such a moody master."

Seeing Orochimaru leave, Kabuto Yakushi also breathed a sigh of relief.

In the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage and two advisors were also there, along with Danzo, listening to the report from the Anbu.

"What should we do? Orochimaru's hands are getting longer and longer, he's too unscrupulous." Utane Koharu spoke first.

"What should we do with Mizuki?" asked Mizutomon Yan, who seemed a little calm.

The Sandai thought for a moment and said, "It's not surprising that Orochimaru came to Mizuki, a ninja with a criminal record and bad deeds. Mizuki is lucky that he refused to recruit him. Orochimaru is not a good person. However, we only know about Mizuki. Are there other ninjas in the village who are secretly involved with Orochimaru?"

Although Orochimaru is a traitor to the village, his image and popularity are not good in the eyes of ordinary villagers, and he is notorious for using his compatriots for human experiments. However, among the middle and upper-level ninjas, there are still many comrades and subordinates who used to follow Orochimaru to fight in the ninja world, and there is no shortage of supporters in the ninja community. If it weren't for the fact that his human experiments were so bad, I don't know how many people would choose to follow Orochimaru when he left.

However, the question asked by the third generation was something that no one present could answer.

"Is there nothing we can do?" asked Utane Koharu unwillingly.

"There's no need for that. Kakashi is responsible for protecting Uchiha Sasuke. As long as Orochimaru doesn't do it himself, there should be no problem." After a pause, the Third Hokage continued, "If Orochimaru does it himself, no one in Konoha can stop him at the moment. I will have to do it myself." The Third Hokage said with a serious face.

If the Hokage, as the head of a village, goes into battle personally, it will convey no other message to others except that the village appears weak and his subordinates are incompetent.

"What about the security of the Chunin Exam?" Danzo asked.

"I have already arranged the security for the venue." The Sandaime replied, "We have no idea what Orochimaru is going to do. There is no need to go through so much trouble just to get Uchiha Sasuke's Sharingan. In the absence of accurate intelligence, we can only choose to focus on protecting the key personnel and disperse the rest."

"This method requires too much manpower, and we simply don't have that many people."

"Do you have any idea?"

Danzo remained silent. Although he and Orochimaru had a deep connection, that was in the past, and they only used each other. Danzo did not agree with Orochimaru's behavior of endangering the village. His protection of the village's interests even exceeded his desire for the position of Hokage. Otherwise, he would not have silently endured the pain brought by the war and hidden behind the scenes as a scavenger behind the village.

"Protect the ninja school and give orders to the school teachers. We need to arrange more evacuation training courses recently." As the leader, the Third Generation prepared for the worst. Preserving the fire is Konoha's last hope.