Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

The gates of Konoha Village were packed with people.

Sunlight streamed through the crowd, refracted by thousands of Konoha headbands, shimmering like ripples on water.

The villagers and ninjas of Konoha gathered spontaneously, their faces filled with fervor, their eyes brimming with reverence and anticipation as they gazed at the gates of Konoha Village.

Orochimaru is coming back as the hero who defeated the terrifying Fourth Raikage, forced the Hidden Cloud Village to surrender, and handed over a huge amount of war reparations.

When the grand procession appeared at the end of the road, cheers erupted from the crowd, rising and falling like waves, shaking even the leaves on the trees.

Orochimaru, dressed in a plain white robe, walked at the head of the procession.

The eruption of cheers had no effect on him; he remained calm with a smile on his lips.

As expected of the cold-blooded Orochimaru.

Behind Orochimaru stood squads of Konoha ninja, full of high spirits and boundless pride.

In just two months, they first faced off against the invading Cloud Village ninjas, suffering more than half of their casualties without collapsing.

Under the command of Yamanaka Chukyu, the attack of the Cloud Village army was thwarted, forcing the Cloud Village to take the initiative to negotiate.

When the Cloud Village ninjas acted like scoundrels in Konoha, forcing the Hyuga clan into a corner.

With only four thousand men, they followed Orochimaru on his expedition, traversing three thousand kilometers to invade the Land of Lightning, capture the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, conquer the Hidden Cloud Village, surround six thousand in the Thunder Valley with four thousand men, and finally force the Fourth Raikage to surrender.

Having endured the baptism of blood and fire, their eyes were firm, their momentum was unstoppable, and every step they took was steady and powerful, with the lingering scent of battle still clinging to their bodies.

They certainly have reason and right to be proud!

The convoy, protected by four thousand Konoha ninja, was loaded with cash, gold, chakra metal, weapons, explosive tags, and rare ninja tools.

Almost everything of value in Kumogakure is here.

Yamanaka Chukyu was very wicked; he secretly had the ninja open the box and expose the gold to the sunlight.

The golden luster was dazzling and mesmerizing, sparking even more enthusiastic cheers.

Good heavens, this is the first time Konoha has ever seen war reparations.

That golden radiance is truly mesmerizing!

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd instantly erupted in cheers.

The ninjas were so excited that tears welled up in their eyes, and they shouted Orochimaru's name.

"Long live Lord Orochimaru!"

"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru, for winning honor for Konoha!"

"The Hidden Cloud Village has gone too far! Orochimaru-sama's actions were so satisfying!"

The sounds of discussion and cheers mingled together, echoing throughout the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

Although Orochimaru was cold and aloof, he proved himself with his strength, bringing honor and wealth to Konoha and saving its fate.

He is the hero of Konoha!

Some of the older Konoha ninjas, in particular, paid little attention to Orochimaru's cold and sinister aura.

Even if Orochimaru is cunning, can he be more cunning than the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju?

Yamanaka Hatsukyu habitually hid himself, but he was quite satisfied with the Konoha ninja's reaction and whispered, "Orochimaru-sensei, it seems the Konoha ninja are very pleased with their victory."

Orochimaru's smile widened, a smug glint in his golden vertical pupils: "We defeated Kumogakure, obtained war reparations, and compared to Sarutobi-sensei's frustration, how can the Konoha ninja not be ecstatic?"

"Hehehe, even if it's only for a short while, they already idolize me, which is very useful to us."

Yamanaka Chukyu nodded; he understood Orochimaru's meaning.

The widespread admiration among Konoha ninjas is their strongest asset, which can be used to counter the inevitable suppression by the Third Hokage and avoid the loss of four thousand core Konoha ninjas.

"Orochimaru-sensei, I've transported the war reparations to Konoha's warehouse. You should go see the Third Hokage. I think he's probably already waiting anxiously at the Hokage Building."

Orochimaru nodded slightly: "Okay, go ahead."

"Remember to settle our Konoha ninja first, and leave Sarutobi-sensei to me."

The convoy slowly drove into Konoha Village, passed through the cheering crowd, and headed towards the Konoha warehouse.

More villagers lined the road to welcome them, watching the convoy with curiosity and eagerness to see what treasures it carried.

Under Yamanaka Hatsukyu's command, the four thousand Konoha ninjas unloaded the boxes from the vehicles in an orderly manner.

Before being transported to the warehouse, the Konoha ninja would open the boxes and show their contents to onlookers.

Whether it was gold or chakra metal, the ninjas could recognize it and instantly calculate its value, with the huge figures sparking even more frenzied cheers.

The Konoha ninja in charge of registering the mountain of wealth were stunned, and the ninjas and villagers watching were going crazy.

Such a massive amount of wealth is enough to make up for the losses suffered by Konoha during the eight-year war, make up for the various expenses owed for many years, quickly restore the village's strength, and even elevate it to a higher level.

Konoha Village will undoubtedly occupy a more advantageous position in the future ninja world landscape as a result.

While settling war reparations in the mountains on the ninth day, Orochimaru walked alone toward the Hokage Building.

Along the way, Konoha ninjas greeted him and expressed their respect.

Orochimaru merely nodded slightly, his face devoid of any smile, for a power struggle, though fought without bloodshed, lay ahead.

The Konoha ninjas didn't find Orochimaru impolite. How could a strong person be impolite? This was ruthlessness, style, and the unique demeanor of a strong person!

On the top floor of the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood by the window, overlooking the bustling Konoha Village.

The pipe in his hand was shrouded in smoke, and his eyes flickered with complex emotions, including admiration and pride for his favorite student, as well as anger and fear at the student's defiance.

Hiruzen Sarutobi mistakenly believed that he was worried about the future of Konoha, but in reality, he was terrified of the uncertainty of the future of the Sarutobi clan.

He knows Orochimaru too well.

This disciple is exceptionally gifted and talented, but also ambitious and ruthless in his thirst for power.

Two years ago, he chose to suppress this and instead supported Jiraiya's disciple, Minato Namikaze.

It was thought that Orochimaru would be suppressed by the younger and more dazzling Minato, and would no longer threaten the power structure of Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi never expected that Minato Namikaze, who was being sidelined, would die from the Nine-Tails' attack.

After the Fourth Hokage's death, the Fourth Raikage immediately restarted the war, and Kirigakure also joined in the fun, completely ignoring their own Third Hokage.

What he didn't expect was that Orochimaru defeated the Fourth Raikage in just one month, forced the Hidden Cloud Village to submit, and even brought back war reparations.

This makes Hiruzen Sarutobi appear extremely incompetent.

The fervor of the cheers downstairs revealed a kind of adoration he had never experienced before.

Orochimaru replacing him as the new Hokage is unstoppable; it's only a matter of time.

"Lord Hokage, Lord Orochimaru has arrived."

The voice of an Anbu ninja came from outside the door, and there was an uncontrollable excitement in his voice!

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, forced a smile, and said, "Let him in."

The door was pushed open, and Orochimaru walked in, his gaze falling on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He said calmly, "Sarutobi-sensei, I'm here."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's forced smile vanished.