Konoha: The Soul King from the Uchiha Clan

Chapter 169 Master and Disciple's Reaction

Two days later, on the morning of the same day, Uchiha Gensei was handling military affairs as usual.

"Lord Xuan, urgent message from Konoha."

Outside the tent, the squad leader of the Konoha front-line communications squad bowed slightly.

"Come in."

Inside the tent, Uchiha Gen slightly raised his head and said calmly.

After entering the tent, the communications squad leader walked to the desk and handed over the scroll with the translated secret message. Uchiha Gen took the scroll and opened it to read.

Hmph, he thought it was something urgent, but it's just this?

That's some pretty ugly eating manners!

"Go and summon the Jonin. There's something important to announce. I'm going to see Orochimaru-sensei."

"Yes, Lord Xuan."

Although the ninja in front of me is the leader of the communications squad, I don't know the specific contents of the scroll.

Only the ninja responsible for translating the coded messages knew about it, making it easier to hold those responsible accountable if the information was leaked.

After the communications squad leader left, Uchiha Gen disappeared from the tent with the scroll in his hand, and reappeared inside a research base.

Following the dimly lit corridor with practiced ease, they arrived at a brightly lit laboratory, where Orochimaru was wearing a white lab coat and rubber gloves, preparing a drug.

"Is there something you need?"

"Someone's trying to pick the peaches."

Uchiha Gen leaned against the door frame and casually tossed the scroll over.

With a hiss, Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and wrapped it around the scroll. After patiently preparing the medicine, he took off his rubber gloves, removed the scroll, and began to read.

"Heh heh... they really came here to pick the peaches."

"That's quite a high-sounding excuse," Orochimaru sneered.

Although he no longer had much of an obsession with the position of Hokage, the deeper meaning behind this action was that he did not want him to become Hokage.

He had risked his life for his teacher and for Konoha for so many years, and this was the final outcome. It was truly disheartening!

"Indeed, he sounds like a high-ranking official, all talk and no action," Uchiha Gen said sarcastically, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

The scroll is filled with praise for Orochimaru and himself, giving them great recognition for their abilities, thus giving them more responsibilities and encouraging them to achieve new successes.

A ninja with little common sense might actually be fooled by the lavish praise on the scroll and think that the Hokage and the Konoha leadership truly value them, which is why they've been transferred to a place where they can make great contributions again.

However, Orochimaru and Uchiha Gen, while not necessarily exceptionally intelligent, were certainly not stupid. No matter how they tried to cover it up, they couldn't change the fact that they were essentially reaping the benefits.

"Orochimaru-sensei, what are your thoughts?"

"To comply, or...?"

"Heh heh...you've got guts, kid."

"Do you still want to disobey the orders of the Hokage?" Orochimaru said, winking.

Uchiha Gen crossed his arms, a half-smile playing on his lips, and said meaningfully, "The Hokage's orders are naturally unavoidable, but we can make a fuss about the new commander."

"If he can't come, then the order is naturally null and void."

"As long as you're willing, teacher, I'll immediately go to the gold exchange and spend a fortune."

"There are still some strong individuals in the black market. They might hesitate to take the new commander's life, but they're willing to beat him half to death."

Orochimaru smiled with satisfaction and said, "I appreciate your kindness, but I'll pass."

"Shinnosuke and I have a pretty good relationship, and this is also to give the teacher face one last time. There's no need to make a scene like that."

"So we just suffered this loss for nothing?"

"In my opinion, the Sarutobi clan is trying to gain political capital for Shinnosuke so that he can become Hokage."

"Although I don't think he's capable of becoming Hokage, I'm definitely not going to let him suffer a loss for nothing," Uchiha Gen said, his face full of displeasure.

He has always scoffed at the saying "suffering a loss is a blessing," believing it to be nothing more than a lie fabricated by the ancient ruling class to maintain their rule.

It's easy for them to say, but when their interests are harmed, they'll jump on the bandwagon like the fiercest of all!

"Shinnosuke's abilities are alright, but his strength is just average."

This generally refers to the fact that compared to Kage-level powerhouses like Orochimaru, Sarutobi Shinnosuke actually possesses the strength of an elite Jonin; otherwise, he wouldn't be qualified to be the head of the Anbu.

"The Sarutobi clan is daydreaming."

"Even if Shinnosuke ends the wars against Kirigakure and Kumogakure consecutively and his reputation soars, he's still not quite qualified."

"His abilities are simply not convincing enough to convince the public!"

Uchiha Gen nodded slightly.

The leaders of the five great ninja villages—no, all ninja villages—even if they aren't the strongest in their respective villages, must at least be among the top experts in their villages.

Elite Jonin in Konoha can only be considered the second batch. The reason for calling it "barely" is that there are still a few people in Konoha whose strength is between Kage level and elite Jonin.

For example, Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuga are stronger than elite Jonin, but not quite Kage level.

Elite Jonin aren't much stronger than ordinary Jonin; there's no significant difference in strength.

A ninja like this who becomes Hokage is simply not on par with other Kage; he is inherently inferior.

Although ninjas follow various rules and regulations, they are, after all, a group with extraordinary power, and they also adhere to the principle of respecting the strong.

In the original manga, Naruto's ability to become Hokage was more important than his reputation!

If Naruto isn't strong enough, and Sasuke says, "He wants to be Hokage, who will support him and who will oppose him?", who would dare to say a word?

Kakashi?

Sakura even got a heart-stopping punch from Sasuke!

Naruto's talk-no-jutsu is incredibly effective, but it's still based on strength. Without enough strength, people won't even bother listening to your nonsense.

Naruto is like this, and so is reality. The saying "a person of low status has little influence" is simply because they lack the strength.

"But you're right, we can't let our losses go unpunished, so we can live a more carefree life after we're transferred to the Land of Fields."

Uchiha Gen will naturally be transferred away.

As a rising vice commander and Orochimaru's disciple, if he hadn't been transferred, he would definitely have hindered Sarutobi Shinnosuke, and might even have sidelined him.

Sarutobi Gounaga and others would naturally not make such a mistake.

"You mean to give up?"

"Give up?"

After carefully considering the wording, Orochimaru's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Precise word choice, you always manage to surprise me from time to time."

"That's right, it's just giving up!"

"If we gain the upper hand in Kumogakure, it's very likely that the victory will be snatched away again."

Uchiha Genshin agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "That's right, they have absolutely no bottom line!"

Orochimaru said with a half-smile, "So all we need to do is maintain the situation we had when Shinnosuke left."

"Neither increasing nor decreasing, neither good nor bad, neither advancing nor retreating!"

Uchiha Gen gave a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "Brilliant!"

"Before Shinnosuke leads the charge to defeat Kirigakure, the old guys won't be able to find a replacement for us."

"In our free time, we can do whatever we want..."

"How about this: when we get to the Land of Fields, you handle military affairs for twenty days, and I'll handle military affairs for ten days. We'll rest together on the extra day."

Uchiha Gen spread his hands and said, "Alright, what can I do? I'm young and I'm his disciple, so I'll take on more of the burden."

"The capable should do more," Orochimaru said with a faint smile.

"That's what they think too."

"Hahaha……"

Orochimaru couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this, but there was a hint of sadness in his laughter.

"The transfer order gives us one day off. Would the teacher like to go back to the village to rest?"

"I'm too lazy to go back. You want to go back?"

"Yeah, my birthday is coming up soon, I want to go back and relax."

"Okay, shall I prepare a gift for you?"

"We, master and apprentice, don't need to stand on ceremony. We can just have a drink and a meal together when we get to the front lines."

"Okay, let's go."

(End of this chapter)