Traveling through three generations: Making Konoha great again!

Chapter 148 Orochimaru! You're just a defeated opponent of Hanzo, what gives you the right to swagger around like this?

Three days later.

Konoha Research Department.

Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Hiruzen stood beside Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The efficacy and production of "Holy Land Pill" have increased by fifty percent.

"The samples of the Holy Land beauty products have been completed and are ready for production. We have selected a group of ninjas with some medical ninjutsu skills and are training them to use chakra slow release technology, with experienced ninjas mentoring new ones."

Orochimaru explained to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "In terms of cloning technology, we can now produce prosthetic bodies with relatively high efficiency and without rejection reactions, but the chakra content issue is still unresolved."

"Tsunade has also compiled the technique used for suturing internal organs in Earth Grudge Fear. As long as there is no excessive blood loss or damage to multiple organs, it can be used for effective first aid—"

"The Oni-Garurugi prepared for Hizashi is also being completed with all our efforts. We are just waiting for news from him."

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction.

Being able to see research progress immediately after investing money is incredibly gratifying.

It's very profitable.

"teacher--"

"Aren't you going to hold a meeting to set the tone for village affairs?"

Orochimaru said tactfully, "I feel that if this drags on any longer, the nobles will become very dissatisfied, and the ninjas will also have other ideas—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled. "What kind of tone are you setting? Let everyone talk it out first, see what the other side thinks—can I cast genjutsu on all the Konoha ninjas? Make them all think I'm right?"

"The village has been arguing these past few days, and I've roughly figured out what the ninjas are thinking."

This can be summarized in two points.

Firstly, influenced by the Will of Fire, many ninjas believed that saving people was the right thing to do, and in Konoha, where freedom of speech was gradually opening up, there were quite a few who held this view.

Secondly, there is the old-fashioned view that if ninjas are not required to complete missions, some people will inevitably take advantage of loopholes, which will weaken the ninjas' will and affect their combat effectiveness.

Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that what they said made sense.

A compromise can be reached by including the extreme example of the Eighth Hokage Uchiha.

"How do you know what the ninjas are thinking?" Tsunade asked curiously.

"You'll understand when you become Hokage—"

What other options are there?

Using the crystal ball, shadow, and root set together, the village becomes transparent to him.

"What should we do with the enemy mentioned in Uchiha Hachiho's report?"

Orochimaru continued to ask.

"An enemy? Let's just call him an enemy for now—" Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled.

He had been thinking about how to create a limited conflict between the ninja code and the Will of Fire, using the event to push for further reforms to the village's system.

And then this happened right to our doorstep!

It also came with an opportunity to purge the opposition nobles—

A double whammy!

As for who this person was, Hiruzen Sarutobi had no idea.

Even if he had personally orchestrated it, it wouldn't have turned out this well—

It's practically like his shadow clone—

"Old rules have strong inertia, and it is difficult to convince the public to change them rashly with authority."

"Crisis events are always a window of opportunity for reform. You must remember that consensus can only be formed in conflict, not by instilling it out of thin air. You must learn to leverage external forces against them."

Orochimaru listened intently.

The teacher has finally shown us something truly special!

Just as Orochimaru was silently reciting the words in his mind to memorize them, he heard a "swish" sound beside him.

Hiruko's eyes lit up as he quickly jotted down notes in a notebook.

"Heh, that's convenient. I can borrow it to review whenever I want in the future—" Orochimaru thought to himself, but he gradually came to accept Hiruko's actions.

This is not deliberate flattery.

Rather, some of the teacher's words need to be carefully considered—

"I don't think the Eighth Generation is lying. I've seen his resume. He was a responsible member of the guard unit, and after transferring to the ninja ranks, he had a very good reputation in the village."

"Then, I need to analyze what this enemy's purpose is in order to deal with him—"

Orochimaru listened intently.

The same applies to Hiruko and Tsunade.

"The probability of it being a coincidence that they acted at this critical juncture is extremely low."

"We can conclude that this mysterious person has been paying close attention to Konoha for a long time, knows about the series of events that have recently occurred in the village, and most likely has a deep connection with the village."

"To be able to suppress the Eighth Hokage of Uchiha so easily, without revealing even a trace of his systematic ninjutsu throughout, his combat strength far surpasses that of Kakuzu. Even I might not be able to handle it with such ease. He is an unparalleled master."

"A person with such power would not lack wealth and resources for survival in the ninja world; his self-worth would definitely not be based on material things—"

"In my opinion, he wanted to test whether the Will of Fire had kept pace with the rapid development of Konoha's material level, but he used a scheming method."

Orochimaru followed Hiruzen Sarutobi's line of thought and analyzed, "You're right! If it were an outside force, there would be no need to be so secretive. What they want is nothing more than intelligence, resources, and bloodline limits. They would act directly and ruthlessly, and would never hide their strength like this."

"At the very least, they should have taken the Eighth Hokage's Sharingan with them—"

Tsunade muttered to herself, "What kind of mental illness is this? But in the ninja world, it seems quite reasonable to me; there are many people like this—"

Hiruko wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "There are too many stubborn ninjas! When someone is stubborn, they are prone to going to extremes and doing things that others can't understand—"

Tsunade and Orochimaru glanced at him simultaneously.

So, long-term illness makes one a good doctor, right?

Hiruko looked at them with suspicion, then said matter-of-factly, "Why are you looking at me? I'm not prejudiced!"

Tsunade's lips twitched: "Fine, fine—you're not paranoid!"

"So, who could he be?"

"A remnant of the Senju clan when they disbanded? Or a member of the Uchiha clan who left when they founded the village? Or perhaps a powerful figure from the Land of Whirlpools who harbors resentment towards Konoha—"

Orochimaru frowned as he recalled the history of Konoha; he had read a vast amount of classical texts.

Even before the village was founded, during the peace talks between the Uchiha and Senju clans, some members chose to leave.

After Madara Uchiha left, a very small number of Uchiha belatedly followed him.

He never returned after Madara's death, and his whereabouts remain unknown.

When the second generation disbanded the Senju clan, some members strongly resisted, and a small portion of them fled.

Then there's the matter of the Land of Whirlpools.

To this day, rumors of sightings of the Uzumaki lineage circulate throughout the ninja world, but these are all just legends; the Anbu (Anti-Japanese Military and Political Units) have never seen them before.

"It might not be one of those ninja clans. Perhaps it's a ninja who didn't return to their village after a war and got some rare opportunity—"

Tsunade said hesitantly.

Tsunade is projecting herself onto the character.

If her teacher hadn't suddenly become so wise and powerful, she would have actually planned to take her niece, Dan, and wander the ninja world for two years, leaving behind the village, this place of sorrow.

If she really did that, she would probably pay close attention to information about Konoha.

However, it's not worth choosing such an extreme method to test the village.

"Our Konoha's history is practically half a history of desertions—" Orochimaru thought to himself, then couldn't help but mutter, "Where did all these rogue ninja come from? Isn't Konoha good enough?!"

This time it was Tsunade and Hiruko's turn to look at him with longing.

You used to be a disciple of the Hokage, and you were hanging out with Danzo. How did you manage to do so?

"Why are you looking at me like that? I was taken in as a disciple by my teacher when I was young, I have impeccable credentials!"

"I did that to gather evidence of the group's illegal activities and to relieve the teacher's burden!" Orochimaru coughed lightly, unable to suppress a laugh himself.

"Alright, that's all in the past—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand: "We must objectively admit that the village took a wrong turn before—Konoha has many powerful ninja clans."

"The strong have their own temperament, and they inevitably have their own principles in doing things."

"Ultimately, it's because we haven't been thorough enough in the past, and we need to look at this dialectically."

Hiruko unconsciously took a deep breath.

The Hokage has a great character!

"Although this mysterious person is very powerful, he also has his concerns."

"The fact that he doesn't dare to reveal his own combat system means that his techniques and methods are iconic, and there are people and things in Konoha that he fears."

"His motives were also quite subtle: he wouldn't kill anyone, injure anyone, destroy the village, or declare war. He was there to see Konoha make a fool of itself."

"Testing the will of fire, stirring up internal conflicts—"

"There is actually room for us to win over people like this."

Hiruzen Sarutobi changed the subject: "Besides, it's pointless to put in so much effort to investigate a lone wolf like this—"

"Once things have calmed down, I will ask Lord Mito and the intelligence team to retrieve Yashiro's memories and analyze the information frame by frame—"

"If he continues his sabotage, he will inevitably expose more of his tracks. With more points of focus, the investigation will be much more effective."

As the director of the largest mental hospital in the ninja world—

Hiruzen Sarutobi sensed the patient's presence in the mysterious man's movements—

And it was an extremely serious case!

Orochimaru nodded in agreement and said, "I understand, Master!"

"What about the nobles? Their protests are very loud now—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand dismissively: "Loud? That's just because a minority of people made the majority of the noise!"

"The Daimyo sent me an urgent letter immediately, stating that those who condemned Konoha were not his faction, and that at least 80% of the nobles in the Land of Fire had closely aligned themselves with him because of the Holy Land Pill, in other words, they were also people who were loyal to Konoha."

"That Masamune Mason was his greatest political enemy in terms of clan law."

"The reason it hasn't been suppressed yet is because I instructed him to do so."

Tsunade asked in confusion, "Why, Sensei? Shouldn't it be better to resolve this sooner rather than later?"

"Is the teacher trying to get the Daimyo to further clarify the situation regarding the nobles who oppose Konoha? To let them step forward and clean things up once and for all, thus strengthening the cohesion of the Land of Fire—"

Orochimaru chuckled and said, "Those nobles always hide themselves, so they're not easy to find."

Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Orochimaru on the shoulder: "As expected of my student, I've seen your potential as Hokage since you were a child, and now it seems it is indeed true—"

Orochimaru's lips curled up slightly.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi made a surprising move.

He removed the Hokage hat from his head and placed it on Orochimaru's head, squinting as he said, "Not bad—it suits you quite well, doesn't it? What do you guys think? Tsunade, Hiruko—"

Even the usually composed Orochimaru was stunned at this moment.

Teacher, didn't we agree to work for another fifty years?

I'm not ready to be Hokage yet!

"It suits me, but it doesn't suit me as well as you do—" Hiruko replied fluently and without hesitation.

"Teacher, is it too early to pass on the mantle now? I think you should serve for at least another ten years before I'm fit to take the throne!"

Tsunade casually took the Hokage hat and put it on her head.

Strangely enough, Orochimaru did not feel any anger after Tsunade took away the Hokage's hat.

Instead, I breathed a long sigh of relief!

He wants to become Hokage, but not now.

"It looks alright on you!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile, taking the Hokage hat over.

"I'm not asking you to become Hokage right now, but you'll need to manage the village temporarily for a few days."

"Since we can't solve the problem of this mysterious enemy, let's solve the problems we can first—"

"I'm going to the capital of the Land of Fire. As the eldest brother, I still need to support my younger brother—" Hiruzen Sarutobi joked, and continued, "On the other hand, I also need to talk to the nobles about the future development of the Land of Fire, further bind the bureaucratic system with Konoha, and take this opportunity to promote the latest products of the research department."

"These next few days, take my straw hat and practice holding a few meetings of the Konoha committee members, gather their opinions, and then summarize them."

Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Orochimaru on the shoulder and squeezed it slightly to encourage him: "Kid, be bold and don't be afraid of making mistakes! But remember, you have to conduct the meeting with the mindset of a Hokage, not like you're standing in the audience openly challenging Danzo—"

"Besides being a skilled fighter, the Hokage's duties include coordinating and organizing the resources and ideas of various forces, and bringing them together into a force that can be used by the village."

"This is not easy. It's a good training opportunity for you. You're still young, so don't be too arrogant—" Hiruzen Sarutobi carefully advised.

Orochimaru felt a long-lost surge of excitement.

He looked at the straw hat in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand and slowly raised his hand.

It wasn't a long distance, yet even taking a small step forward felt heavy—

The obsession hidden in his heart was like a mist, clouding Orochimaru's vision.

Even the Hokage's hat, which fell into the snake's eyes, became strangely blurry, as if it were dazzled—

"Alright, it's not like I'm making you the Hokage forever. I still have to serve for a few more years!" Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and chuckled as he saw Orochimaru's state.

He placed the straw hat in the crook of his arm.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, in the ninja world, obsession is the strongest genjutsu—

Even powerful ninjas like Hashirama and Madara would find it difficult to break free from the influence of obsession.

"Hiruko, detailed reports and test results for the production of Holy Land Dan—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned and gave the order.

"Everything is prepared for you, Hokage! There are also production capacity and instructions for the Holy Land series of beauty products, prosthetic body repair kits, Earth Grudge Fear kits, and more—"

Hiruzen casually produced a document and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi with both hands: "I thought you might ask, so I prepared a copy in advance!"

"You're going to demonstrate this to the nobles, right? I'll go prepare a few samples for you right away."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was taken aback. What a thoughtful person!

Seeing the Hokage's gaze, Hiruko ran over to prepare, using the Body Flicker Technique he had learned throughout his life, and returned in an instant.

"You really understand me—"

"Thank you for your hard work, Hiruko!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said earnestly.

"It's no trouble at all, Hokage-sama, it's all part of my job!"

Hiruko coughed lightly: "However, there's something I'd like to ask you. How should I teach Asuma?"

"You've already contacted Asuma? I was thinking of having a formal apprenticeship ceremony with him after he graduates—"

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with some surprise, "But it can be supplemented—how exactly to teach it is up to you, I trust you."

A glint flashed in Hiruko's eyes.

The Hokage said he could rest assured!

Recently, Hiruko has reached a new conclusion regarding the situation in Konoha—

If you want to prosper and live a good life, aligning yourself with the current Hokage is not a safe bet!

The most reliable one was the one who stood firmly beside Hiruzen Sarutobi!

Given Konoha's development trend, when Hiruzen Sarutobi steps down, his prestige will undoubtedly be unimaginably astonishing.

As long as he gains the approval of three generations of masters, it's like having a protective charm; as long as he doesn't make any major mistakes, no one can touch him.

Hiruko sees herself as someone who strives to be a part of the research department, with Koharu and Mitokado working together.

"I will certainly pass on all my knowledge to Asma!" Hiruko solemnly promised.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi left.

Orochimaru slowly put the Hokage hat on his head.

It's essentially just an ordinary decoration, but it gives off an extremely complex feeling—

"Do a good job, Orochimaru."

Tsunade stretched: "I don't really feel like this will be very relaxing?"

Orochimaru shook his head noncommittally.

What could be so difficult?

#

The next day.

Orochimaru convened a meeting of the Konoha committee at Hiruzen Sarutobi's request.

However, the various Konoha committee members who arrived didn't seem to be as obedient as they had been when Hiruzen Sarutobi was in charge—

"What's the meaning behind Orochimaru calling this meeting?"

Outside the Hokage Building, Tenzo approached Danzo and whispered, "Could it be that he was talking to the Third Hokage about something?"

In any case, it's not his turn to speak—"

"You've been through thick and thin with the Hokage!"

Uchiha Isshin also walked over, adding fuel to the fire, "Yes, sir, you said Orochimaru did a good job, but he's still a junior—sigh, although Aokiji was a bit rude to you, I personally support old-school ninjas like you—"

"You'd better cheer up!"

The other committee members also shared their opinions, such as Sakumo, Hizashi, and Inoshikacho, who were the iron bars of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

They weren't against Orochimaru, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had indeed taken into account the interests of all parties.

Even if one is to abdicate, it shouldn't be now!

Besides, this is a delicate matter; supporting Orochimaru now feels rather strange.

A new Hokage brings a new confidant; if the Hokage is replaced, it could disrupt the current favorable situation.

After all, if it were a different Hokage, with such a huge public opinion in the village, how could they possibly maintain a situation of fighting without breaking apart if it weren't for Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting there?

No one else has that prestige!

Danzo listened to the committee members' words, his heart gradually stirring—

He seemed to be mistaking the support everyone was giving to Hiruzen Sarutobi for his own.

Danzo immediately straightened his chest and strode into the Hokage Building, becoming the first to push open the conference room door!

Upon entering the room, Danzo's expression immediately changed.

He discovered that Orochimaru was in the highest position.

The usual assistant seat to the left of the main seat has been removed; there is no chair for him there.

Danzo glanced around to make sure Hiruzen Sarutobi was indeed not there, and immediately got into position.

Pointing his finger at Orochimaru's nose, he angrily cursed, "Orochimaru, you damned loser of Hanzo, a useless coward who has spent ten years researching the First Hokage's cells without any results, what gives you the right to swagger around here?!"

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