Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

It was Onoki's sudden inspiration to instigate the Konoha civil war.

But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

Yes, Orochimaru was a student of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. When Tsunade left and Jiraiya went into exile, Orochimaru stayed by Hiruzen Sarutobi's side, obeyed the Hokage's orders, and fought for Konoha.

The ninja world widely acknowledges that the master and disciple had a very close relationship.

But Onoki was no ordinary person; he was a cunning and treacherous figure in the ninja world.

Onoki had long realized that although Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared to be on good terms as master and disciple, they actually had irreconcilable differences on the future direction of Konoha, the philosophy of ninjutsu, and the path to achieving peace.

Hiruzen Sarutobi believed in "balance and protection," while Orochimaru advocated "power above all else" and was willing to break ethical taboos in pursuit of ninjutsu.

The election drama for the Fourth Hokage exposed the pretense of the master-disciple relationship, but did not fully reveal the conflict between the two.

During the battle against Kumogakure, in order to oppose the Third Hokage's compromise with Kumogakure, Orochimaru tore off his veil of sentimentality and chose to go it alone.

However, Orochimaru, with only four thousand Konoha ninja, conquered Kumogakure and forced the Fourth Raikage to surrender.

Konoha Village won big, but the Third Hokage was completely wiped out.

An enemy that could be wiped out with just four thousand men, yet the Hokage, who commands over twenty thousand ninjas, is single-mindedly inclined to compromise, even at the cost of the Hyuga clan leader's life.

Immediately afterwards, Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi clashed again over their treatment of Kirigakure.

Orochimaru didn't even argue; he bypassed the Hokage's orders and used his personal prestige to pull 7500 Konoha ninjas from the village to the eastern front.

As a result, they won all three battles and successfully conquered Kirigakure again, even taking over the Land of Water.

The Third Hokage completely lost face, being thrown to the ground by Orochimaru and brutally crushed under his feet.

Onoki believed that Hiruzen Sarutobi would not give up so easily and that he would definitely do something to Orochimaru.

Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't do it, and Danzo Shimura could tolerate it, could the Sarutobi clan refrain from doing it?

After much deliberation, Onoki finally realized that this was the breakthrough he could exploit.

So he summoned his most trusted Jonin and gave him an unquestionable order: "Closely monitor Konoha's movements, especially the actions of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and Orochimaru."

"Once it is discovered that their conflict does exist, we will secretly fan the flames, spread rumors, and sow discord, making sure that Konoha falls into internal strife and destroys itself."

The Iwagakure Jonin didn't ask why, but bowed and accepted the order, then quietly withdrew.

Onoki's lips curled into a helpless smile. These were the stubborn Iwagakure ninjas. They were incredibly reliable when in command, but finding a successor for Onoki among them was extremely difficult.

"Wait a little longer, and a good child will surely appear."

Onoki murmured, "What I need to do is protect Iwagakure and create a safe environment for the children to grow up in."

"The most important thing right now is to weaken the overly powerful Konoha Village."

Under Onoki's manipulation, Iwagakure began to quietly intensify the internal conflicts within Konoha.

If Orochimaru's victory shook the ninja world, then the one who felt the greatest pressure must have been Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Konoha Village, Hokage Building, Hokage's Office.

The atmosphere was so heavy it was suffocating.

The office windows were tightly closed, and only one light bulb provided illumination. Under the dim yellow light, everyone looked like vengeful ghosts from hell.

Their expressions were solemn, their long shadows swaying uneasily, filled with repression, unease, panic, and helplessness.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat in his seat, his brows furrowed, the pipe in his hand glowing intermittently, his entire being enveloped in wisps of smoke.

The wrinkles around his eyes deepened, and even his back seemed to hunch over a bit.

Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi's prized disciple, led the Konoha ninja to victory against Kirigakure, ending the Third Shinobi World War and becoming the undisputed hero in the hearts of the villagers.

But he was not happy at all, because although Orochimaru's victory relieved Konoha of the risk of war, it put unimaginable pressure on him, the Third Hokage, and almost crushed him.

Danzo Shimura revealed a cold and sinister eye, emanating an aura that kept strangers at bay. His gaze occasionally swept towards Hiruzen Sarutobi, concealing a hint of barely perceptible covetousness.

Mitokado and Koharu Utatane both had different expressions, but neither could hide their shock and anxiety.

This period has been incredibly difficult.

First, the Uchiha clan caused trouble, then the Hyuga clan turned against them, and finally even the four clans of Ino-Shika-Cho-Mushi from Tekkamansu distanced themselves from them.

The Inuzuka clan remained obedient, but they still wouldn't do anything on their own initiative, much less do dirty work for the Third Hokage.

While they were busy dealing with the conflicts within the village, Orochimaru suddenly launched an attack, inciting the village's young ninjas to ignore the Third Hokage's orders and follow him to the eastern front to fight the Hidden Mist ninjas.

No matter how you look at it, this is betrayal!

But Orochimaru won, annihilating the Hidden Mist army, conquering the Hidden Mist Village, and occupying the Land of Water.

The first elder and master of Kirigakure, and the only survivor of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Suigetsu Hozuki, both chose to surrender and obey Orochimaru's orders.

The victors are not to be blamed!

The Third Hokage, who was not giving Orochimaru orders, has now become the target of criticism from the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

Third Hokage, were you really Hokage?

You thought the Cloud Village ninjas were invincible, but Orochimaru defeated them; you thought the Mist Village ninjas were troublesome, but Orochimaru completely annihilated them.

How could the Hokage make such a wrong judgment?

An enemy we could easily defeat in a single, hard-fought battle, yet you forced us to bow our heads in humiliation, sacrificing the interests of Konoha and our ninjas to the enemy, begging for their magnanimity to grant us peace...

Hiruzen Sarutobi, are you stupid or evil?

This wasn't a rumor spread by Orochimaru; rather, it was a thought that naturally arose in the minds of every Konoha villager and ninja after the stark contrast between the glorious victory and Hiruzen Sarutobi's policy of compromise.

Many people even think: if Orochimaru had been put in power earlier, Konoha might have achieved a glorious victory in the Second Shinobi World War, and the Third Shinobi World War might not have even broken out.

Whether Shimura Danzo secretly played a role in the formation of such a consensus within just two days is anyone's guess.

The Konoha F4 were well aware that Orochimaru's threat was imminent, and as long as he lived, they, the Konoha high-ranking officials, would never have a moment's peace.

But no one was willing to say "kill Orochimaru" because it directly conflicted with Hiruzen Sarutobi's ideology and was suspected of sowing discord between them.

The person who speaks first will be Orochimaru's mortal enemy.

Once Orochimaru successfully becomes the Fifth Hokage, he will inevitably face the most brutal purge.

Even if the Third Hokage's group defeated Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi would still consider him the culprit behind the internal strife in Konoha and make him take the blame for it.

Even if they don't die, they can forget about keeping their current power, status, and wealth.

So Danzo and the others were waiting, waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi to speak up.