Over this period, these Konoha Ninja had fought alongside Orochimaru and won who knew how many battles. They could be called an undefeated army, and their morale was at its peak.
"Orochimaru-sensei has already begun using this war to gather support for himself."
Watching this scene, such a thought suddenly arose in Uchiha Gen's mind.
When it came to prestige, the Third Hokage was unquestionably first. He had firmly held the position of Hokage for twenty years, and under his tenure, Konoha had developed into its current golden age. Danzo hid in the shadows, while the other elders lacked ability; all of them fell far short of him.
Below the Hokage, the two men with the greatest prestige at present were Hatake Sakumo and Orochimaru.
The former had single-handedly slaughtered Sunagakure's forces on the western battlefield until they trembled at the mention of his name. In one battle, he had killed two Sunagakure higher-ups, his might shaking the Ninja World. He always led from the front in battle, brave and powerful.
Gentle in temperament yet resolute at heart, he cared for his companions and possessed tremendous personal charisma. Aside from being a little reservedly flirtatious, he was nearly the perfect embodiment of the upright samurai people imagined, and he had always faithfully upheld the principles of a samurai.
A man of such strength, willing to share hardship and joy with those beneath him and possessed of excellent character, naturally had countless people willing to follow him.
Orochimaru was no worse.
He was equally powerful. Through battle after battle, he had proven both his strength and extraordinary wisdom, using serpentine patience
and decisiveness, along with absolute rationality and superb command ability, to lead the Konoha Ninja to near-unbroken victory.
Orochimaru was also highly skilled at winning people over. One only had