Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

"For example, my previous goal was to end this war, then become the Fourth Mizukage, and then let the Shinigami and the Seireitei be born in this world, step by step, step by step... So Orochimaru, I'm curious, to what extent have you achieved that ultimate goal you set in your heart?"

"..."

The white snake's vertical eyes trembled, and it fell silent.

"The struggle for the Hokage position failed, scientific experiments were restricted by the village, and the ninjutsu for pursuing the truth has not yet been perfected."

"Your path is not easy, Orochimaru."

Ye gazed at the small white snake, his calm voice like sharp needles, even 'Leng Jun' could not remain calm.

"In this situation, instead of dealing with all that mess in Konoha, you've come to my island..."

"If you want to find help with your life's direction from me, you'll have to pay a considerable price."

Orochimaru had a complicated expression.

He didn't know how Minazuki Yoru knew so much about Konoha's situation, including his own.

Even Danzo was completely unaware of the progress of those secret techniques and the troubles he himself had encountered, while Minazuki Yoru, who lived on a remote island in the deep sea, seemed to know everything about him.

Even...he understands himself better than he understands himself.

"What do you want?" the white snake asked slowly.

"That depends on what you can offer me," Ye Dan said with a smile. "I've extracted a lot of good stuff from the minds of the deceased—forbidden techniques, secret techniques, and unspeakable secrets. So Orochimaru, it won't be easy for you to offer me something that satisfies me."

"But you don't need to rush. Many things don't happen overnight. You're at a turning point in your life, and you need a strong wind to propel you forward. Before you stir up that wind, I have a question for you."

"...What's the problem?"

"Did you come here to pursue immortality, or were you forced to pursue immortality in order to seek more truth?"

Looking at the white snake in front of him, Ye said softly, "Don't rush to answer me. If you are really ready, you can go to Wave City. Someone there will come to meet you."

"Also, don't wander around the Land of Water again before you make a decision."

As soon as the words were spoken, the white snake felt the world spinning before its eyes.

When he regained consciousness, he was already in a thicket of trees.

The white snake felt a tremor in its heart and quickly looked around, only to find that it was already in the Land of Fire!

"Water without a moonlit night..."

The white snake murmured, then transformed into a wisp of white smoke and vanished from the spot.

Orochimaru, who was instructing Anko, suddenly trembled at this moment, and even made a mistake in the technique he was using on Anko.

A swarm of highly venomous snakes lunged at Orochimaru, who was stunned and was bitten by the snake.

Although the snake was killed by Orochimaru and turned into white smoke, Orochimaru's pale skin began to turn dark purple very quickly.

"teacher!"

Even Anko herself was caught off guard by this situation and was somewhat at a loss, but soon, the black and purple toxins on Orochimaru's body dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"This kind of poison won't affect me, Red Bean. You need to concoct a potent poison that only you can cure, instead of constantly using my old, discarded toys."

"Lord Orochimaru."

A detached voice rang out, and several figures from the Anbu appeared in the courtyard: "The Fourth Hokage has important matters that require your attention."

Anko's face showed obvious panic. Orochimaru frowned slightly, slowly stood up, and walked towards the outside: "That's enough for today's practice. If you're going out, remember to close the door."

"teacher……"

……

"It feels like a lot has been going on in the village lately. The teacher keeps getting called by those secret agents."

Hongdou gulped down a bowl of red bean soup, and her depressed mood turned into a voracious appetite. She ate and drank heartily, and even picked up a string of her best friend 'Hong's' meatballs and stuffed them into her mouth.

With a helpless expression, Hong ordered several more skewers of meatballs and a bowl of red bean soup, and gently comforted him, "Lord Orochimaru is a high-ranking official in the village and the commander-in-chief on the battlefield. The war has only just ended and the Fourth Hokage has only just taken office. There must be many things that Lord Orochimaru needs to handle."

"But the teacher hasn't been handling any official business at all during this period..."

Hongdou muttered a rebuttal subconsciously, but seemingly noticing that these words might involve some political secrets, she pursed her lips and said nothing more: "I've been feeling a bit off lately, you know, I even had a nightmare last night!"

"You're under too much pressure. It's normal to feel this way as a disciple of the Sannin." Kurenai Yuhi ruffled Anko Mitarashi's hair and comforted her with an envious tone, "You're a disciple of the Sannin, so it's natural to feel pressure. You're going to become Hokage like the Fourth Hokage in the future!"

"Forget it, the teacher said all I can think about is dumplings and red bean soup, I can't be Hokage..."

"Uh, your ability to fight meatballs and red bean soup is indeed quite formidable." Hong looked at the red bean soup bowls piled up like a small mountain in front of Hongdou, and then at Hongdou's belly, which was not bulging at all, and thought to herself that it was unscientific.

"Okay, okay, you're just under too much pressure," Hong said, adjusting her thoughts and continuing to comfort her.

In her opinion, Anko was under pressure simply because the fourth generation was elected.

Both were disciples of the Legendary Sannin, but one had become the Kage of a village, while the other spent his days showing off his dumplings and red bean soup.

If she were Red Bean, the pressure on her would probably be even greater!

……

"I can acknowledge the existence of the 'roots,' but those things also need to be addressed!"

Inside the Hokage's office, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, looked at the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, whose face was full of worry, and growled, "Third Hokage, tell me the truth, does that guy who appeared on Mount Higashimatsu have anything to do with our village?"

To be honest, under normal circumstances, Minato wouldn't have gotten this angry.

After he succeeded as Hokage, Konoha did not undergo any significant changes. As a young man, he did not have enough experience to manage such a large village, so he would consult the Third Hokage on many matters. With the Third Hokage's support, he gradually solidified his position.

After all, he was only a newcomer to the position and was only twenty-four years old. Although the name "Golden Flash" was well-known and his achievements were remarkable, some of the major clans and powerful figures in Konoha might not necessarily respect him.

Therefore, when dealing with these 'sensitive issues,' Minato Namikaze would often remain silent and listen to the Third Hokage's advice.

Therefore, he didn't even bother with Root, and completely acquiesced to the Third Hokage's act of exchanging Root with Danzo before his abdication.

The problem is, just as he was taking his time, he learned of a piece of news that made Minato Namikaze unable to remain calm any longer.

He discovered a living Wood Release test subject.

Moreover, it was within the Anbu, which was under the control of the Third Hokage himself!

He knew that after becoming Hokage, Konoha would not be entirely the same as he had previously known, including the things hidden in the shadows, the relationships between the major clans and the Hokage, the compromises and conflicts among the higher-ups, and so on.

He can learn slowly and take his time.

Because he is still young.

But he couldn't tolerate that even after he became the Shadow, there were still people who would do things behind his back, using the villagers as pawns!

"That guy on Mount Higashimatsu really has nothing to do with us, and Tenzo's appearance was just an accident too!"

"An accident resulting from experimenting with Konoha's future!" Minato Namikaze roared. "Third Hokage, the village can have darkness, but that darkness exists so that Konoha can better absorb nutrients, not to break the new shoots of Konoha!"

"Third Lord, do you really think I don't know what happened during your reign? Human experimentation, development of forbidden techniques, brainwashing methods, one thing after another..."

"enough!"

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, roared angrily, instinctively wanting to blurt out the words "I am the Hokage," but the Hokage hat and robe on Minato's body forced him to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

He suddenly realized that the fourth generation leader he had chosen was not as easy to control as he had imagined.

Even the gentle little sun can have a blindingly scorching side.

But when exactly did this change begin?

"I'll take care of everything."

Hiruzen Sarutobi banished the jumbled thoughts from his mind, looked at Minato Namikaze's angry face, and said in a low voice, "I will deal with the darkness that arose from my incompetence one by one, but please give me a little time."

"Can you really do it?" Minato Namikaze said in a deep voice, "Third Hokage, can you really make a decisive judgment on those matters?"

"Don't joke around, Minato!"

The Third Hokage took a deep breath, took a scroll from his robes, tossed it to Minato Namikaze, and then turned and walked out of the Hokage's office.

"I will leave Tianzang to you to handle. Also, please believe in the importance of Konoha to me."

"I... I was Hokage for thirty years!"

……

"So, you've come to settle scores with me because of Jiraiya's disciple, old man?"

Sitting in his open laboratory seat, Orochimaru calmly turned around, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group of ANBU who had stormed in fully armed. His tone was enigmatic, as if he had been prepared for this day to come.

"Orochimaru……"

His cloudy eyes met those golden vertical pupils, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart clenched, his fists clenching tightly.

How did things get to this point!

Is it because of my indulgence of Danzo, my control over power, my incompetence, and my neglect of my disciples?

No, it is not.

The fault doesn't lie with him, but with those ambitious, uncontrollable guys!

Orochimaru, have you completely fallen into darkness?

"I'm curious, if you really can judge darkness and evil, shouldn't you have dealt with Danzo before stepping down as Hokage, so as to pave the way for the Fourth Hokage?"

Orochimaru looked at his teacher, seemingly not nervous at all: "But you didn't do that. You didn't hold Danzo accountable at all, and you even returned Root to him... I originally thought you wanted to use Danzo to give the Fourth Hokage some achievements, but now it seems that I'm the naive one?"

These words were practically a direct question to Hiruzen Sarutobi: You actually abandoned your disciple for Danzo?!

"...When exactly did you start conducting those forbidden experiments?!"

Speechless, Hiruzen Sarutobi growled, but all he got in return was Orochimaru's mocking sneer.

"You really don't know? I thought you had already thoroughly searched through everything when you took over Gen, after all, you even managed Jia, oh, now it should be called Tianzang."

“You even took Tianzang. Don’t you know about these things?”

Hiruzen Sarutobi's fists were clenched so tightly they turned white.

He knew, of course, that during the time he controlled Root, he had read through all of Danzo's experimental logs and naturally understood the various collaborations between Danzo and Orochimaru.

In his heart, he had already let go of these things long ago.

After all, one was his sworn brother, and the other was his disciple.

However, the Fourth Hokage's relentless pressure left him with no other option.

"Orochimaru, come with me to the Fourth Hokage. I can guarantee you won't get into any trouble. The Fourth Hokage couldn't have caused these scandals right after he took office!"

Using the sound of the cicada's song, Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly spoke to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru, however, remained unmoved as he stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Orochimaru! Orochimaru!"

"teacher."

Orochimaru suddenly spoke up.

"You've really gotten old."

In the next instant, several giant snakes burst forth from Orochimaru's hands, attacking the Anbu members who had followed Hiruzen Sarutobi...

Chapter 131 Orochimaru's Defection! Kisame: "Water Release! Who's going to build the dam?!"

"Fourth Hokage, this matter must be thoroughly investigated!"

"I know that the Uchiha clan is a vital part of the village, and the Sharingan's bloodline limit is a powerful weapon for Konoha. I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly!"

Seeing Minato Namikaze's serious expression, Fugaku Uchiha's anger gradually subsided, and he sighed softly, saying, "Minato, I must take responsibility for the Uchiha clan. What happened to that guy on Mount Higashimatsu must not happen again."

"Moreover, the two missing children were both elite members of the clan, and they had only recently returned from the battlefield, but..."

"I see."

Minato Namikaze clenched his fists, and Orochimaru's cold, stern face flashed into his mind: "I hope it's not you..."

"The Yondaime!"

The door to the Hokage's office was suddenly pushed open, and Hiashi Hyuga's expression was full of solemnity and panic, completely unlike his usual demeanor of adhering to the main family's etiquette.

Seeing Hiashi Hyuga's expression, Minato's heart skipped a beat.

"What's wrong, Chief Rizu?"

"Qing, Kang Jie's child is missing!"