Orochimaru's Plan

"Teacher, let's go. Leave this to Orochimaru!"

"Jiraiya?"

The Third Hokage looked at the tall disciple before him.

"Old man, you're retired now, so stop meddling here. Go do what you're supposed to do, why bother with all this extra effort? You'd be better off taking a stroll in the bathhouse."

Jiraiya walked by in his wooden clogs, the sound of them landing on the wooden corridor was muffled and leisurely.

"Old man, since you've already handed over your robes, why are you still clinging to them? Orochimaru has never had a good temper. You'd better not ruin our friendship. I've never seen that kid Orochimaru angry. I've always wondered what he'd be like when he gets Orochimaru."

Bending down, Jiraiya whispered in the Third Hokage's ear Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who were a few steps away, stared wide-eyed, their ears practically pressed against his, but they still couldn't hear what Jiraiya said.

She simply glared at the tall, white-haired man, her face showing displeasure.

This cover-up is really infuriating!

"Really... I'm unlucky to have taken you all as disciples." The Third Hokage sighed heavily.

His three disciples were all exceptional individuals. Even Jiraiya, Jiraiya was once considered the least intelligent, was actually the strongest of the three. Of course, the other two were not far behind. The difference between the three was not significant. However, these three good disciples each had their own eccentricities, which caused him, their teacher, a lot of trouble and effort.

"Like teacher, like student; we have inherited your will!" Jiraiya puffed out his chest, somewhat proud.

"Come on, let's go to the public bathhouse for a soak. There are lots of pretty girls there!"

The Third Hokage was burdened with worries and wanted to control everything to feel at ease, but in the end he chose to let go and he Jiraiya made a swift escape, so fast that the two Hokage Advisors didn't even have time to stop them.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance.

The two advisors exchanged a glance, then tacitly rose to take their leave. They exchanged a few polite words with the host, Minato, before their figures quickly disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

"Um... shall I take my leave too?"

Otoha cautiously peeked out and asked a question.

Standing here made him quite uneasy. In terms of personal fighting strength, he was at the bottom. In terms of status, he was also at the bottom... Oh no, there was Jiraiya, who was a commoner. But Jiraiya was strong and had big fists, so he didn't seem out of place sitting among this group of people.

In short, it's frustrating.

"Let's go, let's go together, there's nothing for me to do here." Katsuki strode over and pulled Otoha along, leading her outside.

Orochimaru gently shook his head and remained silent.

Soon, the courtyard was empty. Tsunade and Nawaki also left. Today's meeting confirmed that Madara Uchiha was still alive and was manipulating disciples of both clans to make swords. It would take time to digest this.

I'm not going to concern myself with the affairs of the Land of Rain for now; the Lord Hokage can handle that.

Without Hanzō, the Land of Rain is just a lump of mud that can be molded and kneaded at will, easily dealt with, and not worth the effort of so many of them.

"Lord Hokage, should we proceed with the Land of Rain according to the original plan?" Minato silently walked to Orochimaru's side.

"The plan remains the same, but let your fellow apprentices spend a couple of days in the village, getting to know each other better, before we start working."

Orochimaru stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky with a faint smile. Madara Uchiha was still alive. This was truly... exciting! It would be really interesting to fight against such a legendary and powerful figure!

Now, he enjoys studying Ninjutsu, figuring out people's hearts, and outsmarting and outmaneuvering others. He is not afraid of enemies with powerful backgrounds, but he fears those who are outwardly strong but inwardly weak, making it difficult for him to fully exert his abilities.

What he fears most is a life as mundane as still water; he hates stagnant water the most!

Fortunately, Konoha is still full of vitality. The Yuki and Kaguya clans have injected new blood into the village, causing ripples in this behemoth.

Now another Madara Uchiha has appeared; he's really enjoying being Hokage!

"Lord Hokage, aren't you leaving? I don't provide meals here."

Having received Orochimaru's confirmation, Minato also had the leisure to make a joke.

"You're kicking me out so soon?" Orochimaru glanced at his trusted subordinate with his golden eyes, a smile playing on his lips. "Oh right, I almost forgot you always eat elsewhere. Looks like my idea of freeloading is out of the question."

The phrase "elsewhere" was emphasized heavily, making the mockery blatant.

"It's not possible now, but inviting the Lord Hokage to dinner in the future is no problem." Minato replied frankly. He could let Katsuki's teasing go, since he was her future brother-in-law, he had to at least pretend to be a little uneasy. But Orochimaru... well, he was a complete idiot, so there was no need to be reserved.

Orochimaru shook his head and tapped Minato with his finger, but in the end he didn't say anything. He simply changed the subject and got back to business.

"I want to reorganize the Anbu and Root, Minato, what do you think?"

"Of course I'm all for it. The Root just a handful of people, and we really don't have enough manpower. Especially now that there's more and more to do, many of my subordinates are working non-stop for a month. I, their boss, am almost too ashamed to face anyone now," Minato complained.

The root is a small team organized by Danzo, and the number of people is limited. In the past, when there was less work, it was not a problem to do it, but now the workload is getting bigger and bigger, and if we don't add more people, we will not be able to keep up.

Even if Orochimaru doesn't mention it, Minato has recently been thinking about filing a report.

"Yes, I know how hard you've worked. That's why I'm thinking of making some changes. The Anbu is too big now, and Katsuki- kun is too lazy to manage things. It's all thanks to Kiyokai that it's being held up. But Kiyokai's strength is a bit lacking, and he can only barely control this behemoth of Anbu. So I'm thinking of establishing the Root's brand properly."

"Then how about splitting some people from the Anbu to fill positions in the Root? We can also change the name of Root, how about calling it... Root? Their rank will be equal to that of the Anbu. We can clarify their specific functions when we sit down together, so that the Anbu doesn't end up with a bunch of messy accounts, meddling in everything, big or small, making a complete mess."

Orochimaru spoke fluently, without any hesitation, clearly having prepared his speech beforehand.

Now that an opportunity has been found, it has been released.

Minato listened intently, not uttering a single word.

Then, he quickly made a decision.

"I think it's a good idea, Lord Hokage. I absolutely agree with it."

Minato wouldn't possibly disagree, since this matter is beneficial and harmless to him. The ones who suffer are the Anbu, and the ones who benefit are the Root... no, it should be called Root now!

Roots!

A knowing smile appeared on his handsome face. He liked the name very much; it sounded quite ninja-like.