Raijin's Sword

In Orochimaru's basement, Orochimaru was holding a hammer, tinkering and banging away.

He planned to clear out the rubble and check if any instruments had survived. Even if they were broken, he'd see if they could be repaired. If not, he'd salvage the parts and cobble together whatever he could from the scraps.

At the very least, next time he'd only need to buy the necessary components. After all, every piece of experimental equipment here was exorbitantly priced, and doing this would save him at least several million ryo.

Mito Uzumaki walked over.

"Orochimaru-sama, after the Anbu ninja left just now, Root ninja came to conduct a search. I blocked them and refused entry."

The commotion from Orochimaru blowing up the Particle Accelerator had been considerable, carrying an extremely high energy reaction. Combined with the power of the Cosmic Cube, it had nearly caused a small earthquake in the surrounding area.

Fortunately, when Orochimaru bought this house, aside from living in it, he had also considered the need to conceal some of his secret experiments. He had chosen a remote location, so the damage wasn't extensive.

This was also why Hiruzen Sarutobi had let the matter slide so easily. In fact, even if it had been closer to the center, given the value of the Rasengan, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't have made too big a deal of it.

"Root... Danzo's people, huh. His talent is mediocre at best. His mind isn't broad, and his brain isn't particularly sharp, but he loves playing dirty, underhanded schemes. Don't let him get any leverage over you."

Mito Uzumaki knew what Orochimaru meant by "leverage." He had vaguely sensed the previous embezzlement incident, but he had wisely not only kept it to himself but also secretly cleaned up some of the less obvious traces for Orochimaru.

After that, Orochimaru had revealed a portion of his less critical secrets to Mito Uzumaki and made him his deputy.

Mito Uzumaki nodded, indicating his understanding.

"By the way, there's something you need to know."

Orochimaru set down the disassembled instrument in his hand, his golden pupils fixed on Mito Uzumaki.

"My biggest rival for the Hokage position isn't Sakumo, nor the other two of the Three Ninja. It's Danzo."

Mito Uzumaki looked puzzled.

"Tsunade has already stated she will fully support my rise to power. Jiraiya is a wanderer; the position of Hokage would be a shackle to him. As for Sakumo... he's not part of the Hokage faction. Between him and me, all the higher-ups would choose me.

If I take the top spot, they can at least rely on their connection to Teacher Sarutobi to preserve some power and status. He lacks a sufficiently powerful backing—one strong enough to contend with the Hokage faction."

Orochimaru continued his analysis: "The Hyuga appear strong on the surface, but internally they're rotten and rigid in their ways. They'll only remain neutral, because no matter who becomes Hokage, the village will need the Hyuga's power in war.

The Uchiha seem thriving, with talented members emerging one after another, hailed as the strongest clan in Konoha. But in truth, they're suppressed by the higher-ups who were disciples of the Second Hokage. There's a rift between them and the village—outward harmony, inward discord. If Sakumo were to form an alliance with them, he'd likely face a full-scale counterattack from Teacher Sarutobi and the others."

"But Danzo is different. In terms of connections, as a fellow disciple of the Third Hokage and the other elders, his relationship with Teacher Sarutobi is no worse than mine.

In terms of merit, his greatest achievement over the years has been helping Teacher Sarutobi solidify his position as Hokage.

In terms of power, the Root he commands has been established for years. That's what we need to worry about."

"But Orochimaru-sama, the Third Hokage won't let Elder Danzo become Hokage."

The Hokage is the light of Konoha, and Danzo chose to become Hiruzen Sarutobi's shadow, becoming the village's darkness. The Third Hokage would never allow the Hokage to become the darkness of Konoha.

"But he will do everything in his power to suppress, marginalize, and even force the death of anyone who could become the Fourth Hokage. That way, the Fourth's seat can only be his."

Mito Uzumaki found it hard to believe that Danzo, an elder, would do such a thing.

"Counting this time, he's already made two moves against me. Both were blocked. The next time he finds an opportunity, it'll likely be Sakumo who suffers. Just wait and see..."

Mito Uzumaki began to understand Orochimaru's intent.

As Orochimaru had said before, whether in connections or power, Danzo was a top-tier figure in Konoha. Confronting him head-on would not only yield no benefit but could also intensify internal strife within the village.

But letting Danzo make a move against Sakumo would not only strike at a rival candidate but also clip Danzo's wings. After all, the White Fang's reputation was earned blade by blade—he was not to be underestimated.

Orochimaru wasn't sure if the White Fang would still be driven to suicide this time, since this world had already changed somewhat because of him.

Though the White Fang was his rival, Orochimaru held a fair amount of respect for such a figure.

If the opportunity arose, he would try to save him.

Distracted by the matter of Danzo, Orochimaru almost forgot the main business. He pulled out two scrolls and tossed them to Mito Uzumaki.

"Orochimaru-sama, these are..."

"The smaller one is the Flying Thunder God Technique. The larger one is my analysis of space-time and a detailed explanation of the Flying Thunder God's formula. It should be quite helpful for you in learning the technique."

Hearing Orochimaru's words, Mito Uzumaki was startled. Orochimaru had truly treated him well. He had no right to learn this S-rank forbidden technique.

But since Orochimaru had given it to him, it would be a waste not to learn it.

Orochimaru saw his hesitation, licked his lips, and said:

"Don't worry. Start learning it in advance. I'll arrange a major achievement for you, one that will earn you the chance to view the Scroll of Seals."

Orochimaru had already received word that Kakuzu had successfully obtained Raijin's Sword.

However, he had demanded more money.

To get the sword, he had fought Hanzō.

For Mito Uzumaki, the merit of retrieving Raijin's Sword was just right.

The sword had been stolen by a rogue ninja and its whereabouts were unknown. Now that it was recovered, given Mito Uzumaki's strength, killing a ninja who was only a chūnin when he defected was no problem. He just needed to find an opportunity soon to take a mission that would send him out of the village to the Land of Rain.

Raijin's Sword was made entirely of Chakra Metal, making it extremely valuable.

If the Second Hokage hadn't been the second-in-command of the Senju Clan—and the first-in-command had a gambling habit that kept losing money, forcing Tobirama Senju to take over financial management—he probably couldn't have produced such an expensive weapon made entirely of Chakra Metal.

Hatake Sakumo was different; his White Fang blade was inherited from his ancestors.

Raijin's Sword wasn't just immensely valuable; as the personal blade of the Second Hokage, it held great symbolic significance for Konoha. It was arguably the most iconic item after the First Hokage's Wood Release and the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique.

The Third Hokage would certainly credit Mito Uzumaki with a major achievement—after all, the Third was a disciple of the Second Hokage, and his very life was saved by the Second.

Mito Uzumaki departed with the scroll Orochimaru had copied.

Orochimaru hoped that he would learn the Flying Thunder God Technique before leaving Konoha, as it would greatly enhance his ability to survive.

As for why Orochimaru was so certain Mito Uzumaki could master Flying Thunder God, it was because after being transformed by the energy of the Cosmic Cube, he already felt that if he wanted to, he could teleport through space on his own.

All he lacked now was a coordinate, and the Flying Thunder God formula was exactly the coordinate he needed.

Mito Uzumaki's transformation was not complete, but having been reshaped by the Cosmic Cube's space-attribute energy, his talent in time-space techniques would be elevated to a very high level.

Coupled with Orochimaru's notes, if he still couldn't learn it, then Orochimaru wouldn't have taken him on as a disciple.

Several months later.

Orochimaru took out a Kunai, preparing to inscribe the Flying Thunder God formula.

He had essentially completed his modification of the technique; his Flying Thunder God pattern was an Ouroboros.

But in truth, he was only at the beginner level, still unable to inscribe the formula the instant he touched an object like Minato Namikaze did in his later years.

Orochimaru currently had to pre-draw the formula on special paper with good Chakra conductivity, then fix the paper onto a Kunai for use.

This paper was the same material used for Explosive Tags, but far cheaper than them, because the difficulty in making Explosive Tags lay not in the material, but in the people who could draw them.

It often took nearly half an hour to draw one, and in a single day, not many could be produced—only slowly accumulated over time.

This was a matter of proficiency and Sealing Jutsu skill. Proficiency could be trained, but to instantly inscribe a formula required a very high level of mastery in sealing.

Using Flying Thunder God was not simple either. Though he was also a top-tier powerhouse in the ninja world, his dynamic vision, while decent, could not compare to someone like Minato, who was born for this craft.

To improve in this area in the short term, the Sharingan would be an excellent choice, but it would greatly impact the Chakra of someone without an Uchiha constitution—not to mention that seeking to acquire a fellow villager's Kekkei Genkai was a grave crime.