Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

Was the Third Hokage's policy of "peaceful coexistence" wrong?

Actually, no, because Hiruzen Sarutobi was no match for the Fourth Raikage, and he was not capable of commanding the Leaf Village ninja to defeat the combined attack of the four great ninja villages.

If we can't win, then we need to be more cautious and minimize the losses to Konoha Village through compromise.

The Third Hokage was not wrong, so was Orochimaru wrong?

of course not!

Orochimaru took the initiative to challenge the powerful Fourth Raikage, and led four thousand Konoha ninja to a brilliant victory, bringing huge benefits to Konoha Village.

If he's wrong, then there's no one right in the ninja world.

The difference between the two is actually just one thing: courage!

Orochimaru is strong, resilient, and virtually immortal, and has the courage to face any challenge.

The third Hokage might be able to fight, but he couldn't guarantee his own survival and lacked the courage to personally confront the crisis.

But the ninja world only believes in strength, not courage.

Before Orochimaru achieves any significant results, his courage is merely a matter of personal bravado.

The Konoha ninjas found Orochimaru very charismatic and were willing to entrust their lives to him, but they could not entrust their own fate and that of Konoha to him.

But now that news of the victory has reached Konoha, Orochimaru has not only proven his courage, but also his strength.

Strength is the only condition for gaining the approval of a ninja, and victory is proof that needs no explanation.

After the huge shock, many Konoha ninja who had supported the Third Hokage's prudent policies changed their attitudes and began to question them.

Some have publicly stated that Orochimaru should be immediately promoted to the position of Hokage, allowing a truly powerful Hokage to lead Konoha to greater victories and make it even stronger.

Those ninjas who already harbored resentment towards the Third Hokage were naturally overjoyed, believing that their grievances were about to end.

Among them, the Hyuga and Uchiha clans reacted the most strongly.

The Hyuga clan is so calm and reserved that it is almost decadent. They have always supported the policies of the Third Hokage, acted discreetly, and never took the initiative to participate in the conflicts of the ninja world.

Until Hiruzen Sarutobi forced Hiashi Hyuga to give an explanation to the Cloud Village ninja, they were seriously considering having Hizashi Hyuga die in place of Hiashi Hyuga.

Of course, Yamanaka Hatsukyu intervened and persuaded Hyuga Hiashi to stand up for himself, reveal the whole story, and lay all his schemes bare in the sunlight.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's prestige was severely damaged as a result. He was busy for several days but failed to solve any problems. In the end, he had to slap himself in the face, apologize to the Hyuga clan, and arrest the Cloud Village ninja to settle the matter.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi has yet to give a clear conclusion to this matter, instead deliberately or unintentionally dragging it out.

This is clearly a delaying tactic, to be brought up at the right time, using the excuse that the Hyuga clan is disregarding the overall interests of Konoha to suppress the Hyuga clan.

However, Orochimaru and Yamanaka Hatsukyu's victory thwarted Hiruzen Sarutobi's plans.

The delay in resolving the incident of the murder of the Cloud Village became clear evidence of Hiruzen Sarutobi's subservience to the Cloud Village, making him infamous yet impossible to shake off.

After all, Danzo Shimura no longer had any power in name and could not interfere with the Third Hokage's decisions.

Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, though obedient, are like slippery, non-stick pans; they'd rather feign illness than take the blame for Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiashi Hyuga held a clan meeting, and the entire clan decided to side with Orochimaru and publicly support Orochimaru and Hatsukyu Yamanaka.

They must proactively sever ties with the Third Hokage, participate more actively in the war, and strive for greater prestige and benefits for their clan in the process of victory.

After the clan meeting, the Hyuga clan ninjas were full of fighting spirit and high morale, ready to follow Orochimaru to conquer the ninja world and show their strength.

Overall, the Hyuga clan's reaction was relatively calm, but the Uchiha clan was a different story; the Uchiha were extremely excited.

The Uchiha clan has always revered strength and had long been dissatisfied with the Third Hokage's cowardice and conservatism.

They believed that the Third Hokage had dragged down Konoha and limited the development of the Uchiha clan.

They had always hoped that a powerful Hokage could lead Konoha and allow the Uchiha clan to shine on the battlefield.

Moreover, the Uchiha clan, the original shareholders of Konoha Village, possessed powerful bloodline limits, yet they were constantly suspected and suppressed by the Hokage.

Starting with the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, the Uchiha clan was marginalized from the power center of Konoha, with the entire clan crammed into the Konoha Police Department.

These suppressive policies caused considerable losses to the Uchiha clan, but these fools were completely oblivious and even idolized Tobirama Senju because of his strength.

It wasn't until the Third Hokage came to power and allowed Danzo Shimura to escalate the suppression, turning the intangible policies into real threats, that the Uchiha were truly heartbroken, and the conflict reached an irreconcilable point.

Even though the conflict was irreconcilable, the Uchiha clan did not consider rebellion, but instead placed their hopes for change on the Fourth Hokage.

During the Fourth Hokage's reign, the Uchiha clan did indeed feel more relaxed and even looked forward to having another Hokage disciple.

As a result, the Fourth Hokage died, the Third Hokage was restored, and the Uchiha clan returned to a state of severe oppression.

Orochimaru's victory fulfilled all the expectations of the Uchiha clan, giving them hope again!

Orochimaru disregarded the authority of the Third Hokage, defied the Hokage's suppression, challenged the powerful Hidden Cloud Village, and achieved a glorious victory, bringing enormous benefits to the Hidden Leaf Village as well.

The Uchiha believed that as long as they followed Orochimaru, they could easily escape the Third Hokage's oppression and restore their clan's glory.

While the Hyuga clan was holding a family meeting, Fugaku Uchiha also convened an emergency clan meeting with the elders of the Uchiha clan.

At the meeting, Fugaku Uchiha excitedly exclaimed, "Everyone, you don't know, Yamanaka Hatsukyu has been in contact with our Uchiha clan for a long time!"

"What?"

A group of old men were ecstatic: "So, does that mean our Uchiha clan has been on Orochimaru's ship for a long time?"

Fugaku Uchiha shouted excitedly, "Yes!"

"Elders, Lord Orochimaru's victory tells us that we don't need to care about the Third Hokage's authority, nor do we need to grovel before Shimura Danzo. As long as we have the courage to take the initiative, we can escape the fate of being suppressed!"

The Uchiha elders stared at Fugaku, hardly believing their eyes.

Is this still the timid and hesitant clan leader who dares not make any decisions?

Fugaku went from being a conservative to a radical, and even the so-called hawkish elders were afraid: "Clan leader, it's not a good look to directly confront the Hokage."

Fugaku Uchiha waved his hand: "It's alright!"

"Our Uchiha clan will not be enemies with the Third Hokage. We simply support Lord Orochimaru and support him in becoming the Fifth Hokage."

"Haha, once Orochimaru-sama becomes the Fifth Hokage, the Third Hokage's evil rule will end, and our Uchiha clan can finally hold our heads high and live freely!"

So it turns out they weren't fighting against the Third Hokage, but were fully supporting Orochimaru. That makes sense.

Fugaku Uchiha's strategy received unanimous approval from the elders of the Uchiha clan.