The Uchiha Under Watch—Please Keep Reading

The Uchiha Under Watch—Please Keep Reading

Hokage's Office.

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the furious Danzo and the expressionless Orochimaru, and his head began to ache.

"Hiruzen, are you really going to let Orochimaru hollow out Root?" Danzo forcefully tapped the cane in his hand against the floor, his chest heaving as he roared.

"I merely took some research materials! Those things would have been wasted in Root's hands anyway." Ignoring Danzo's murderous glare beside him, Orochimaru retorted tit-for-tat.

"Orochimaru! You should show some respect for your elders! Danzo is, after all, your teacher's comrade and has rendered great service to the village." A rebuke came from outside the door as the village's two Advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, entered.

"Hiruzen, Danzo may indeed have been negligent in his actions, but your punishment cannot be to let his Root be hollowed out." Mitokado Homura stood before Danzo and spoke.

"No. I only took some materials that were completely useless, along with two people I needed. It was entirely within the authority my teacher granted me. Root's strength has not declined." Orochimaru cut him off.

"Hiruzen, although the village's economy has improved, you know that we simply cannot afford to establish and invest in a new department." Utatane Koharu did not argue with Orochimaru, merely reminding the Third Hokage.

"That's right. A new department needs to cultivate new talent and new ninja from the ground up, not to mention all sorts of necessary investments. This is a long-term commitment. The village must consider the future, must it not?" Mitokado Homura also tried to persuade him.

"And what are your opinions?" The Third Hokage looked at Danzo and the other two standing together, then at the expressionless Orochimaru, and asked in a deep voice.

"Keep everything as it was. It would be better to have Orochimaru continue cooperating with Root," Mitokado Homura said.

"You know about those experiments too, Hiruzen. They truly cannot be exposed. Once a new department is established, it will certainly draw the attention of everyone in the village. At that point, many things can no longer be concealed." Utatane Koharu tried to persuade him from another angle.

Hearing the two Advisors, the corners of Danzo's lips unconsciously curled into a faint smile. Just as he understood Hiruzen, these two former classmates who spent every day with Hiruzen understood him as well. They knew better how to shake Hiruzen's resolve.

Sure enough, the Third Hokage revealed a hesitant expression after hearing Utatane Koharu's words. At that moment, he increasingly felt the frailty of old age catching up to him. The decisiveness with which he had once made judgments in his youth had gradually lost its sharpness and firmness.

Considering his age, in a ninja world perpetually shrouded by the shadow of war, and in the ninja profession with its low mission survival rate, he could already be considered long-lived. Among the Kage older than him, after counting them all, there seemed to be only Ōnoki of Iwagakure.

At this moment, all he wanted was for the village to develop steadily, without upheaval. Utatane Koharu's words had undoubtedly shaken his heart.

"Then shouldn't we set things right all the more?" Seeing that his teacher was wavering, disappointment flashed through Orochimaru's eyes as he took the initiative to speak. "It was precisely Root's cold-blooded and unregulated methods that led to all these tragedies! The establishment of the Technology Development Department is meant to establish rules and reduce the village's needless sacrifices. Only then can these tragedies cease to continue."

Danzo abruptly looked at Orochimaru.

Root was cold and merciless?

He certainly admitted that!

But weren't you, Orochimaru, the one overseeing experiments such as Wood Release? Even if I was at fault, does that make you, Orochimaru, some kind of good person?

How could someone who was equally cold and merciless toward those Test Subjects say such things?

Were you really the Orochimaru I knew?

"Orochimaru!" Mitokado Homura frowned.

"Senior Mito, the one responsible for all this is Danzo at your side! When he acted against my disciple, did he care about the village, about me, about the Nara Clan, or about my teacher?

I recall that the Ino-Shika-Cho clans were allied clans that wholeheartedly supported Teacher Hiruzen and helped him stabilize the village, were they not? Otherwise, should I invite Senior Torifu Akimichi over to discuss this as well?" Orochimaru coldly cut off what Mitokado Homura had intended to say next.

Stung by Orochimaru's words, Mitokado Homura glared at Danzo and inwardly cursed him for being far too unscrupulous in his methods.

Danzo, who had merely wanted to use Kagetsu to threaten Orochimaru into behaving himself and seriously conducting experiments so that he could at least see some results, looked even darker now. He had never expected something so trivial in his eyes to trigger so many changes.

If I'd known, I would have sent a Root Jonin that time.

"Enough. I have already promised Orochimaru and Shikaji the personnel transfers and the establishment of the Technology Development Department." The Third Hokage finally made up his mind. Almost displaying the vigor of his younger days, he swiftly ended the dispute and made his decision.

Once the Hokage had reached a conclusion, the two Advisors could only fall silent. Fortunately, the Third Hokage gave them a somewhat face-saving consolation in the next moment.

"However, the village's economy truly cannot afford the establishment of a new department for the time being. Other than providing an initial sum of funding, the Technology Development Department must raise its own subsequent operating funds." The Third Hokage added.

"Hmph!" Having failed to obtain the result he wanted, Danzo snorted coldly and turned to leave the Hokage's Office with his cane, a place that had thoroughly embarrassed him. At the same time, the flames in his heart for that position burned more fiercely than ever before.

Seeing Danzo leave, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu sighed as well and said no more.

Back Mountain Grove.

The place where Orochimaru's Team often trained.

As a puff of smoke dissipated, the fierce battle on the field finally came to an end.

"It seems none of you have stopped training during this time." Orochimaru's somewhat pleased voice rang across the field.

Uchiha Shisui, Anko, and Kagetsu stood somewhat disheveled across from Orochimaru, supporting one another.

"Damn it, we couldn't even defeat one of Sensei's Shadow Clones!" Anko huffed as she watched the Orochimaru serving as their opponent turn into a cloud of smoke and vanish, revealing Orochimaru's true body standing outside the field.

"We are still only Genin. We need to face the gap between ourselves and Orochimaru-sama," Shisui said helplessly in response to Anko's complaint. He did not dare speak as carelessly as Anko did.

"Your performance has already pleasantly surprised me. Shisui, I have seen your talent. You excel at the Body Flicker Technique, so I will organize a set of analytical principles involving the Body Flicker Technique for you later."

Orochimaru was indeed pleasantly surprised by the talent Shisui had displayed, but he did not mention teaching him any ninjutsu.

"Kagetsu, has your Shadow Secret Technique already begun to involve shape transformation and nature transformation? It seems you have mastered what I taught you quite well." Orochimaru's gaze fell upon Kagetsu, clearly pleased with his rate of progress as well.

"What about me?" Anko pouted, hands on her hips and her face full of displeasure.

"You have mastered my Orochimaru-style taijutsu the best." Orochimaru spread his praise evenly. His kindergarten principal nature immediately brought a brilliant smile to Anko's face.

Kagetsu and Shisui exchanged a glance. They came to a mutual understanding that every team seemed to need one carefree teammate. Let Anko be happy. Her happiness was simple enough.

During their break, one request Orochimaru made caused Shisui's eyes to widen instantly.

"You wish to visit the Clan Head?" Shisui was caught off guard.

"Yes," Orochimaru said.

"The Clan Head will certainly be pleased by your visit." Shisui took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. He knew very well that he was merely delivering a message, but that did not stop him from saying this based on his understanding of the Clan Head.

At least in Shisui's view, this marked the beginning of the village's higher-ups being willing to communicate with the clan. Even if Orochimaru was, for the moment, the only one showing such an attitude.

"Tomorrow. I will go tomorrow evening." Orochimaru gave him the time, then dismissed the team.

He was busy as well. The Technology Development Department currently had only a skeleton framework, and countless matters needed his attention. He had already planned to find an Advisor from the Nara Clan specifically to handle daily affairs.

"That suggestion you made last time was quite interesting. Although Wood Release is a Kekkei Genkai composed of the two Chakra natures of water and earth, its vigorous vitality is practically overflowing with Yang Release.

To curb the devouring and expansion of the First Hokage Cells, we must first find another force capable of opposing and balancing them."

Orochimaru led Kagetsu through the underground Laboratory inherited from Root and currently serving as the Technology Development Department's Laboratory. He said slowly, "I have gone through every Konoha book involving Wood Release, as well as the historical records of the Senju Clan. I believe there is a strong possibility that this force can be found within the Uchiha Clan.

If the power within the First Hokage Cells is regarded as a manifestation of Yang Release, then the Uchiha Clan, which represents Yin nature, should be able to balance that power."

"You want to use the Uchiha as Test Subjects?" Kagetsu asked sharply.

"Of course not. The current Uchiha have no one capable of opposing the First Hokage Cells. I have heard that above the Three Tomoe, the Uchiha Clan possesses eyes known as Mangekyo. The representative of those eyes was the legendary Uchiha Madara, who was said to rival the First Hokage.

If we want to counter the devouring and assimilation power of the First Hokage Cells, then the Uchiha used as a Test Subject must at least possess the strength to awaken the Mangekyo.

Otherwise, I do not think the Uchiha are any different from other Test Subjects." Orochimaru shook his head. He had not yet become completely unconstrained and unscrupulous in his experiments, especially when it involved the sensitive and troublesome Uchiha Clan.

"Is that why your attitude toward Shisui changed so quickly?" Kagetsu recalled Orochimaru's change in attitude toward Shisui.

"He is merely an alternative candidate." Orochimaru licked the corner of his lips. "He still has some way to go before he grows to a stage that satisfies me."

"The Uchiha Clan is a stubborn clan! If they believe we are researching their Kekkei Genkai, it is hard to say what they might do." Thinking of the Uchiha Clan's increasingly unstable emotional traits as their eyes awakened, Kagetsu felt somewhat worried.

"Are you worried that I will use violent methods?" Orochimaru keenly noticed something in Kagetsu's emotions. He smiled. "That thing you said was quite good: inheriting the Hokage position grants one the resources of an entire village.

Although I am not sure what my teacher is truly thinking, all I need to do is tie more people to my ship, right? As one of Konoha's great clans, the Uchiha's wealth is second only to the Hyuga. Tomorrow, I merely intend to discuss funding with Fugaku."

"Using a project to help the Uchiha properly awaken their eyes?" Kagetsu had not expected Orochimaru to remember some of the things they had discussed before.

"It is a good excuse." Orochimaru nodded. He felt it was easier to fleece the Ninja Clans than to get anything out of Danzo, so long as he could produce results the other party needed.

This was a technological advantage!

"I recall asking you about your dream. You said you wanted to research every Kekkei Genkai and the origin of Chakra." Orochimaru suddenly spoke. "The origin of Chakra can be set aside for now, but Konoha has three great Kekkei Genkai Clans with legacies spanning a thousand years!"

PS: At this crucial moment, please keep reading!