Orochimaru's Different Path of Development

Orochimaru and Nawaki have a very good relationship. Yes, there is an age gap between them, but their relationship is surprisingly strong.

This initially terrified Katsuki so much that his eyes almost popped out. After confirming it repeatedly, he discovered that Orochimaru and Nawaki were indeed good friends, and their relationship was probably even stronger than that with Jiraiya. This shocked Katsuki, but it also reminded him of Orochimaru's journey to darkness in his previous life.

Orochimaru's initial understanding of life and death stemmed from the deaths of his parents, but what truly spurred his pursuit of immortality was witnessing the successive deaths of Nawaki and Dan, which made him acutely aware of the fragility of human life. From then on, he embarked on a path of developing advanced technology in an attempt to defy fate.

However, the problem is quite obvious. As a ninja, Orochimaru participated in Second Shinobi War and Third Shinobi War and witnessed too much death. Why was it Nawaki and Dan's deaths that touched his heartstrings? Katsuki pondered this for a long time without any clue until he unexpectedly discovered that Orochimaru and Nawaki had a brotherly relationship, which gave him a guess.

Nawaki and Orochimaru were friends, and the kind of friends who were very close. That's why Nawaki's death shook Orochimaru's inner world. Dan's death was more about causing Tsunade to break down and also made Orochimaru recall the scene of Nawaki's death once again.

Therefore, Orochimaru also broke down, but unlike Tsunade, he was more gripped by the fear of death. He still had his reason, but his moral compass collapsed.

Orochimaru, a scientist indifferent to the life and death of others, obsessed with human modification, and willing to do anything for immortality, has appeared.

In fact, a large part of the reason why Minato was able to successfully run for the Fourth Hokage was that Orochimaru, the number one candidate, made a fatal mistake by secretly conducting human experiments on his own people, which was discovered by the Third Hokage, leading to his defection. Otherwise, it would have been hard to say who would have won.

Orochimaru remains the Third Hokage's beloved disciple, Nawaki did not die in the Second Shinobi War, and Orochimaru's behavior has not changed. Under these circumstances, no one can compete with Orochimaru, who has the full support of the Third Hokage, for the position of Fourth Hokage.

"Nawaki? He's no good. His personality wouldn't even get him into the Anbu, let alone eradicate him. Expecting him to do these things is like sending a pig over; at least a pig won't cause me a lot of trouble."

Orochimaru shook his head vigorously and immediately eliminated Nawaki.

Upon Katsuki this, Nawaki grimaced. It seemed that Nawaki's true nature had been exposed.

"I'm sorry, Orochimaru- senpai, but my focus will be on my clan from now on, and I cannot agree to work with Root." Katsuki considered for a moment, thinking of the deafening roar of the Thunderclap Chariot, and ultimately declined. "I'm not exactly a stealthy fighter; neither the Anbu nor Root suits me."

"Is that so? That's a real shame." Orochimaru sighed regretfully, clearly showing his genuine desire to win Katsuki over.

"However, I can recommend someone; he will definitely not disappoint you, senior."

"Oh... who is it?"

"Minato Namikaze, a disciple of Jiraiya- senpai."

As for recommending Minato to Root, Katsuki didn't take it to heart. Whether it would work out or not was still uncertain. Even if it did, he believed that Minato would thrive even within Root.

After all, he was capable of becoming Hokage. How could a mere Root possibly stop Minato's progress? To be honest, Minato was the most perfect male friend Katsuki knew. He was intelligent, athletic, handsome, and had a great personality. Finding fault with him was like nitpicking.

Understanding the darkness of the world, he strives for the light, like the rising sun, warming people without being too scorching. Minato Namikaze is such a person.

He quickly put that matter aside; he now had more pressing concerns: the destination of the two thousand people from the three major families had been reached.

Konoha is very large, truly very large. In addition to the central area of the village, the hill to the west is carved with the Hokage Rock, the east side leads directly to the village gate, and the north and south sides have great depth, which was also reserved for expansion when the village was first established. The Konoha of today is completely different from the Konoha of twenty years ago.

Development work in the north and south has never stopped. Konoha is now at its zenith. In addition, there is no birth control policy in the Shinobi World. Since the end of Second Shinobi War, Konoha's population has been increasing. Back then, there were too many pregnant women in Konoha Hospital, and the obstetrics department was short-staffed. As a result, nearly half of the surgeons took on the work of obstetrics.

Katsuki was almost pulled along too, but Tsunade intervened in time, saving him from a close call. He was definitely not prepared to help deliver a baby.

The three clans' settlements are all located in the north of the village. The Uzumaki Clan's territory is centered around the courtyard of Katsuki, encompassing all the surrounding land. The settlements of the Yuki and Kaguya clans are connected to the Uzumaki Clan's territory, covering a large area enough to support a thousand or eight hundred people, with ample reserved land for future population expansion. Even the Uzumaki Clan, which now has fewer than fifty members, possesses a territory capable of accommodating over a thousand clan members.

Land is worthless in this world. If it's near the center of a village, it can be considered extremely valuable, but the three races' settlements are practically worthless. They are surrounded by vast forests, and it's quite a walk to get to town. This area is undeveloped, and if the three races don't properly develop the surrounding area, it might cause some trouble for them to live here, as there are quite a few tigers, leopards, and other ferocious beasts in the forest.

Fortunately, this was no big deal for the Yuki and Kaguya families. They immediately dispatched more than ten Jonin to patrol around the base and clean up all the harmful things in and around the base.

Within the designated encampment, a series of houses have been built. Although they are just simple wooden huts, their sheer number makes up for it. This act of kindness is truly commendable. Not only have houses been built, but a month's worth of basic necessities such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea have also been prepared.

"This favor still needs to be repaid..."

Kaguya Clan Head sighed, gazing at the tall, brand-new house before her, and let out a heavy sigh.

"There's no need to worry about that. These things are just side effects. Compared to what the Senju Clan can obtain, these things... are meaningless." Katsuki said dismissively.

Kaguya Clan Head glanced at Katsuki with surprise, blinked his old eyes, chuckled, and said nothing more, quietly watching Rokuro Kaguya direct the clansmen to allocate houses.

The Senju Clan put a lot of thought into building their house; they didn't just do it half-heartedly. Rokuro Kaguya and Yuki Yoizuki were invited to be consultants, and their opinions were taken into consideration. As a result, today's arrangements went quite smoothly, without many hiccups.