Only I can make Konoha Village great again.

Orochimaru's words struck Hiruzen Sarutobi like a thunderbolt, leaving him completely frozen in place.

The Hokage betrayed the village—what a vicious curse!

But what Hiruzen Sarutobi found hard to accept was that he couldn't find a reason to refute it.

Orochimaru was using his own words, and yet, at the very moment when the whole village was enthusiastically cheering "Long live Lord Orochimaru," it was actually possible for this to happen.

Orochimaru looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with great anticipation, waiting for a very long time.

Only after Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long breath and said, "Orochimaru, you are dark-hearted, greedy, and unscrupulous. I will not let you succeed."

Orochimaru was utterly disappointed. His golden snake eyes dimmed instantly, and he turned and headed towards the office door.

"Since Sarutobi-sensei refuses to reason with me, there's no need for me to waste any more time here."

"stop!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, unleashing a powerful burst of chakra that surged like a giant wave towards Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru, if you continue to covet the Hokage position that doesn't belong to you, I will mobilize all of Konoha's resources to expel you from the village!"

Orochimaru paused, then slowly turned around.

The pain hidden in his golden snake eyes was completely concealed, and the powerful chakra fluctuations combined with the cold killing intent collided head-on with Hiruzen Sarutobi's aura.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was shocked to discover that he had actually lost to Orochimaru in terms of momentum.

"Oh dear, Sarutobi-sensei, how long has it been since you killed someone? How long has it been since you were on the battlefield?"

"Don't overestimate your strength, Sarutobi-sensei."

Orochimaru warned coldly, "Sensei, you don't actually think you can defeat me, do you?"

"And, to expel me from Konoha?"

"What arrogance!"

"Now all the ninjas in Konoha worship me and regard me as a hero."

"If I were to walk out of the Hokage's office right now and announce in the plaza in front of the Hokage Building, 'You, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, ordered my arrest, and I have been identified as a rogue ninja...'"

"Teacher, do you think the Konoha ninja will immediately forget about me, their hero, and wholeheartedly support all your decisions as the Third Hokage?"

"Or did you instantly lose all the support of the people, causing the Konoha ninja to immediately take up arms and resist, plunging the village into unprecedented chaos?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's body stiffened, and his powerful aura suddenly vanished.

He knew that Orochimaru was right.

Although he wanted to wait for this wave of enthusiasm to cool down before taking action to suppress Orochimaru's reputation.

But if Orochimaru were to fabricate a story and falsely accuse Hiruzen Sarutobi of labeling him a rogue ninja.

Given his fervent reputation among the Konoha ninja, no one would seriously consider whether it was true or not; everyone would subconsciously believe it.

Orochimaru was indeed suppressed, Danzo Shimura really spread rumors about Sakumo Hatake, and Hiruzen Sarutobi really forced Hiashi Hyuga to his death.

All the Konoha ninja would agree that it was Hiruzen Sarutobi's fault!

By then...

Orochimaru sneered in a hoarse voice, "Then I'll say, everyone go see for yourselves what the Third Hokage's Sarutobi clan has become!"

"The Sarutobi clan is no longer a ninja clan, but rather the Sarutobi Village within Konoha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was struck dumb, abruptly standing up and loudly retorting, "You're talking nonsense!"

Orochimaru laughed: "I'm talking nonsense?"

"Sarutobi-sensei, do you even know how many people are in your Sarutobi clan? And how many ninjas are there?"

"You may not really know, you only know that the Sarutobi clan has flourished and grown much stronger."

"Let me tell you, the Sarutobi clan has swelled to a total population of 20,000, and the number of Sarutobi ninjas has reached as many as 1800!"

"Sarutobi is already six times stronger than the Uchiha!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly lost all strength, slumped into his chair, his eyes glazed over, and muttered, "How could there be so many?"

He no longer had the confidence to stop Orochimaru, and could only watch helplessly as Orochimaru turned and walked out of the office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat alone for a long time before asking in a low voice, "Shin-no-suke, is what Orochimaru said about the Sarutobi clan true?"

His eldest son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the head of the Anbu (Anbu headquarters), appeared at the desk and stammered, "Father..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger suddenly erupted: "In the office, you should refer to plants!"

The head of the Anbu brigade suddenly stood up straight: "Yes, Third Hokage!"

"What Orochimaru said... is basically true!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes in agony, even shaking his head from side to side: "How could this happen?"

The Sarutobi clan has too many people, and the number of ninjas is even more excessive.

If Orochimaru were to say it, everyone would question, "Why?"

Why has the Sarutobi clan become so powerful?

Why is it that although the number of Sarutobi ninjas is close to one-tenth of the total number of Konoha ninjas, they are rarely seen fighting on the battlefield?

The Hyuga clan has 240 ninjas, and wherever there is war, there will always be Byakugan watching.

The Uchiha clan had 300 ninjas, and almost all of them fought with Sharingan on the entire eastern front.

Where are the 1800 ninjas of the Sarutobi clan?

Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a moment and was surprised to find that all the Sarutobi ninjas were in Konoha Village.

They are in the Logistics Department, Mission Department, Administration Department, Intelligence Department, Barrier Class Research Group, Sealing Class Warehouse Management, Hospital Administration Group...

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at his eldest son. At least the head of the Anbu was in the combat ranks. Were there any other Sarutobi ninjas in the combat ranks?

Yes, for example, his youngest son, Sarutobi Asuma, is the guardian daimyo in the Land of Fire.

There are also some Sarutobi ninjas on the front lines, but their numbers are far too small to be proportional to the sheer size of the Sarutobi ninja force.

Hiruzen Sarutobi made up his mind that he had to reform his clan, otherwise he would not be able to open his mouth when facing Orochimaru again.

However, his anger did not diminish, and his worry about Orochimaru intensified.

"Orochimaru is too extreme. He doesn't understand unity at all. Konoha Village must not be handed over to someone like him!"

"I will definitely stop your ambitions and make you pay for your rudeness today!"

"I'm not doing this for the Sarutobi clan, I'm doing this for Konoha!"

Danzo Shimura:?

As Orochimaru stepped out of the Hokage Building, he was once again surrounded by fanatical Konoha ninja.

Orochimaru was so imposing that the Konoha ninjas dared not crowd around him, but they all asked him how he had defeated the Fourth Raikage and loudly expressed their admiration.

More Konoha ninjas couldn't squeeze in, so they shouted from afar: "We are willing to follow Orochimaru, grow stronger, and create new glories!"

Orochimaru, unusually patient, nodded slightly to the ninjas around him, his golden snake eyes gleaming with smugness.

He didn't like being surrounded by the world's attention, but being worshipped wasn't bad either.

Orochimaru glanced back at the Hokage's office, then suddenly grinned wickedly at the Konoha ninja around him and said, "Everyone, I will lead you to even greater victories and make Konoha even stronger!"

The Konoha ninjas were in an uproar:

"Long live Lord Orochimaru!"