In Leaf Village: Starting Out by Slapping White Fang

The other ninja clans would also begin to stir.

They would fear that the higher-ups' next target might be themselves.

But what if rebellions kept breaking out one after another?

The Uchiha Clan's current strength was not enough to be feared, but they were like a powder keg.

Once they lit the fuse, the massive barrel of gunpowder known as the "Leaf Village ninja clans" behind them would explode in its entirety.

"Hiruzen, don't lose your cool."

Danzo, standing off to the side, spoke leisurely.

"You can still stay calm at a time like this, Danzo?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and said:

"I told you the experiments had to be handled with the utmost care! The other test subjects would have been one thing, but you actually involved someone from the Uchiha Clan... How am I supposed to explain this to the Uchiha!?"

Danzo replied calmly:

"Why should we be the ones explaining anything to them? We can simply change who has to give the explanation."

"What did you say?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression changed dramatically.

"Two methods."

Danzo raised two fingers on his left hand and said unhurriedly:

"Announce that Shisui Uchiha died during a mission, and that the one who ambushed him was a ninja from the Land of Wind, intending to seize the secrets of the Sharingan. Redirect the Uchiha's hatred toward the Land of Wind."

"Are you joking?"

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi was startled by Danzo's proposal.

They had only recently signed a Ceasefire Agreement with the Land of Wind, and now he wanted to dump this filth on them?

"Of course, it could be another country as well. But when picking persimmons, you pick the soft ones. The Land of Wind is the weakest of the five great nations. Don't you think that makes it suitable?"

Danzo said as calmly as ever.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath and barely calmed down before asking:

"And what is your second method?"

Unless absolutely necessary, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want to adopt that plan.

Wouldn't that mean starting the Third Great Ninja War?

"Then your beloved disciple Orochimaru will have to suffer a little."

The corner of Danzo's mouth curled into an almost imperceptible smile as he continued:

"Say that it was all his mistake. Declare him a rogue ninja, and the Uchiha's hatred will naturally shift onto him."

"This!?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely dumbfounded.

Wasn't this going too far?!

Leaning back on the sofa, Danzo said calmly:

"Your bond as master and disciple has already grown thin, hasn't it? Compared to going to war with the Land of Wind, I think this method minimizes the losses."

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into a long silence.

Seeing that the other man had remained silent for quite some time, Danzo rose and left the office. Before departing, he said:

"Let me know once you've made your decision."

After Hiruzen Sarutobi was left alone in the office, he sat by himself in his chair.

No one knew how long he pondered.

From the blazing morning sun to the setting dusk, then until the full moon appeared, and finally until the first sun rose again.

At last, Hiruzen Sarutobi gritted his teeth and said, word by word, in a tone of compromise:

"Anbu! Go bring Orochimaru... here!"

On the outskirts of Leaf Village, beside a stream.

Nohara Rin, Yūhi Kurenai, and Kato Shizune—three Big Lolis—knelt on the grass.

In front of each of them lay a large fish nearing death from severe dehydration.

The three girls rested their little hands on the fish, faint green light shining from their palms.

This was a form of Medical Ninjutsu that only a small number of medical ninja could master—

The Mystical Palm Technique.

At that moment, Tsunade, who was supervising them, stood beside the three girls and yawned boredly.

I really want to go to the casino...

Tsunade muttered inwardly.

"Ahahahaha!"

Just then, a burst of laughter from nearby, sounding like Stephen Chow's, startled the three girls practicing the Mystical Palm Technique.

Their disrupted Chakra struck the fish that were already on the verge of death, wiping out all three at once.

Nohara Rin and the other two turned to look.

By the farmland, Genetsu and Orochimaru sat facing each other.

And Genetsu was laughing exaggeratedly.

"What kind of nonsense is that guy pulling now?"

Tsunade raised an annoyed brow, then barked at the three lolis:

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and catch more fish to practice on!"

Startled by Tsunade's tigress-like demeanor, the three delicate little girls could only roll up their pant legs and head into the stream to catch fish.

Yet they could not help but feel curious.

What could possibly make Genetsu so happy?

"Wonderful, wonderful! Sure enough, staying in Leaf Village brings new surprises every day!"

Genetsu clapped and cheered.

Orochimaru, seated across from him, wore a rare speechless expression as he said:

"Genetsu-kun, I'm discussing something serious with you, not telling you a joke."

Two hours earlier.

His teacher, the Third Hokage, had summoned him to the office.

And informed him of news that even Orochimaru himself found shocking—

He wanted him to defect.

But to be precise, it was not a real defection.

He was simply to leave Leaf Village.

As for Shisui Uchiha's "death," Hiruzen Sarutobi was doing his best to keep it hidden for the time being.

But the Uchiha would find out sooner or later.

When that happened, unable to give them an explanation, Hiruzen Sarutobi would inevitably enter into a direct conflict with the Uchiha Clan.

And the Uchiha, this fuse, would become the rope that ignited the entire Leaf Village powder keg.

Therefore, Hiruzen Sarutobi needed to redirect the Uchiha Clan's hatred.

He had summoned Orochimaru because he wanted Orochimaru to shoulder that responsibility.

He would announce to the Uchiha that Orochimaru's illegal human experiments had caused Shisui Uchiha's accidental death, after which he had defected from Leaf Village.

That would redirect the Uchiha's hatred.

Of course, although Orochimaru would be listed as a rogue ninja, they would not truly pursue him.

They merely wanted Orochimaru to operate somewhere else.

In short, they were making him take the fall.

When Orochimaru heard Hiruzen Sarutobi's plan.

He had been completely stunned, all right?

Although he had long known what kind of man his teacher was.

He had never expected him to pull off something this outrageous.

He had been more than willing to conduct experiments on the First Hokage's cells.

But from beginning to end, hadn't he been following their orders?

Now that something had gone wrong, they wanted him to take the blame.

They said that once the cunning rabbit died, the hunting dog was cooked—but that rabbit was not even dead yet. Danzo had it hidden in a Root base.

However, Orochimaru knew very well that even if he revealed the truth, Danzo would never admit it.

Besides, he knew the pair of cronies, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō, all too well.

He was definitely taking the fall for this.

Genetsu found it so amusing because he had never expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to be capable of such a move.

Making Orochimaru, the disciple he loved most—or once loved most—take the blame.

He suddenly felt that this guy was a little pitiful.

"But you don't need to be this depressed, do you? You were going to defect anyway, weren't you?"

Genetsu said with a smile:

"Sooner or later, it's all the same."

Orochimaru's pupils shrank slightly.

Ever since the last Ninja War, he had found Leaf Village increasingly dull. It was not as if he had never considered the path of defecting from the village.

The shock on his face now did not come from worrying about the future, but from being startled that his teacher could abandon him so decisively.

Orochimaru felt miserable. What had he done wrong?

Hadn't they told him to do all of it?!

Genetsu found it amusing inwardly.

Under normal circumstances, Hiruzen Sarutobi would not have so decisively abandoned the disciple he had once treasured most.

But now, he had Minato Namikaze, a more obedient replacement, while his relationship with Orochimaru had grown increasingly distant.

On top of that, this time the mess was simply too enormous. They had to find a way to patch it up.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could not possibly step forward himself, nor could he let Danzo take responsibility.

So Orochimaru was the only one who could be made to take the fall.