The Reason for Change

Hokage Residence.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the head of the table, with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru seated below him.

Biwako bustled back and forth. After learning that Jiraiya and Tsunade had come, she rushed into the kitchen and quickly prepared several fine dishes.

Tender chicken, grilled meat, dumplings, and refreshing little snacks to go with the drinks.

They were all things the children had loved in her memories.

Asuma huffed and puffed as he carried over several jars of alcohol and set them beside the table.

Tsunade and Jiraiya both enjoyed drinking. The moment they arrived, the two had insisted that Team Hiruzen had not reunited in a long time and that they absolutely had to have a few proper drinks.

"Asuma, why are you apologizing to me?" Seeing his youngest son eagerly currying favor while furtively avoiding his gaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi teased him.

He could more or less guess why.

It was probably nothing more than complaints about him being old-fashioned.

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi had once been a classic father from the late Warring States era. As far as his attitude toward his sons went, keeping them alive was enough; heartfelt talks and casual chats practically did not exist.

Because in his era, surviving was the best kind of upbringing.

That was simply how old-school ninja family education worked.

"I said something about you at school..." Asuma's face immediately flushed red. He was too embarrassed to say it aloud, and he suddenly bowed deeply. "Father, I'm sorry!"

"Probably something like 'that old man is really boring,' right?" Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled and shook his head. "You aren't the first to say that..."

Asuma raised his head in confusion, his gaze drifting toward his elder brother.

Shinnosuke's face darkened. "Brat, I've always respected Father!"

Asuma was baffled. Then who else would say something like that?

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked meaningfully at his three disciples.

Jiraiya pretended to be innocent as he looked all around at the sky, whistling through his teeth.

Tsunade rubbed her hands together and chuckled. "Ah, well, wasn't I young and ignorant back then, Sensei?"

Only Orochimaru sat steady and composed.

Though he had indeed never called Hiruzen Sarutobi an old man, if things had continued as they once had...

He probably would have cursed him in far less affectionate terms.

Asuma could not help but complain, "Heh heh, Sister Tsunade and Brother Jiraiya are really heartless. Father taught you so many ninjutsu, yet you actually talked behind your own teacher's back!"

Tsunade rolled her pretty eyes. "Hey, hey, you little brat, that old man is still your dad!"

Jiraiya crossed his arms. "Sensei, I think this brat needs a beating!"

Orochimaru silently watched the scene.

He could actually empathize with Asuma a little.

What this boy lacked was Hiruzen Sarutobi's recognition and care.

And so did he—perhaps even more so.

"Asuma, your old man didn't spend much time with you before..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi cleared his throat. "From now on, if anything happens at the Ninja Academy, you can come share it with me."

Asuma's eyes immediately lit up when he heard that, and he said excitedly, "Really?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

"Dad, I won't be eating with you today. I'm on Anbu duty..." Shinnosuke put on his mask and raised a thumbs-up.

"I can't drag you down!"

With that, Shinnosuke turned and left without hesitation.

"It's fine, it's fine, I'll keep you company!" Asuma grinned as he moved to sit at the table.

After Biwako brought out the final dish, a stewed soup, she asked softly, "Hiruzen, do you need to discuss business?"

"Mm."

Hiruzen Sarutobi blinked. "You've worked hard."

Biwako smiled faintly. Understanding at once, she grabbed the scruff of Asuma's fated neck and hauled him away from the dining table.

Hiruzen Sarutobi secretly found it amusing.

When it came to who could sit at the table for meals, the Sarutobi family was very traditional.

As for why Tsunade could sit at the table—

Because she was not merely a woman. She was also a powerful Jonin, Konoha's number one female medical ninja, Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple, the biological granddaughter of Senju Hashirama and Mito Uzumaki, and the princess of the Land of Fire...

In terms of strength.

"Eat first. Help yourselves, don't make me serve you..." Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed at Orochimaru. "You've gotten thinner again. Eat more meat and build yourself back up."

"I think it's because Sensei beat so much Chakra out of him that he's overexhausted!" Jiraiya stuffed meat into his mouth by the handful, speaking in a muffled, sarcastic tone as he ate:

"What did he care whether he was fat or thin? Whether he was yin or yang, maybe Stinky Snake could change that too..."

Orochimaru's heart stirred, though his expression remained calm as he elegantly ate an egg. "Idiots truly cannot understand geniuses. The toad should just focus on eating."

But inwardly, he was somewhat surprised.

Was that idiot's intuition really that accurate?

The Living Corpse Reincarnation technique he had been researching could indeed seize another person's body, and he truly had fantasized in the dead of night...

If one day he parted ways with Konoha, he could try switching genders. It might even be interesting.

But now...

Orochimaru glanced at his teacher and smiled faintly.

There probably would be no need for that anymore.

Tsunade ate with her usual abandon.

To her, after the tragic deaths of her lover and younger brother, the few people still important to her—aside from Mito Uzumaki—were those seated at this table.

After watching Team Hiruzen gradually drift apart and lose its former atmosphere, Tsunade had originally planned to leave the village for a while to clear her mind.

Out of sight, out of mind.

But now... that plan would have to be put on hold.

Her teacher was about to carry out reforms, and somehow, he had repaired his relationship with Orochimaru...

She had to stay and help her teacher, help the village!

What Hiruzen Sarutobi had said today had also greatly lifted the spirits of the three of them.

After three rounds of drinks and five courses of food.

Hiruzen Sarutobi clinked cups with his beloved students and drained his drink.

"Did I do all right today?" Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, lighting his Tobacco Pipe. "What do you make of everyone's reactions?"

"Now that had style!" Jiraiya gave him a thumbs-up. "I think today's Emergency Drill was very meaningful!"

"My student Minato told me that the village's security is a little lax. Sometimes he can spot the Anbu, but the Anbu can't spot him..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised a brow, considering that name.

The one who had rescued Kushina, a Commoner Ninja, Jiraiya's newly accepted student.

"The Anbu can't spot him?" Tsunade frowned. "The Anbu's performance today was decent enough. Could they really have grown this lax?"

"That's not quite how it is... Minato is a top-tier genius!" Jiraiya became excited, gesturing animatedly. "I think he'll become an incredible shinobi!"

"My student Minato has the makings of a Hokage!"

Tsunade gave a hoarse laugh. "A brat who just graduated already has the makings of a Hokage? Honestly, Jiraiya."

Jiraiya immediately retorted, "You don't understand, Tsunade! He's a true genius!"

Tsunade jerked her chin toward Orochimaru. "Well, there's a genius you've known since childhood. Why don't you ask what he thinks..."

Jiraiya fell silent, but still stubbornly argued, "What's so great about Stinky Snake? Minato is better than he was at that age!"

"A real genius can grow up in three to five years. Maybe he'll even be able to compete with Stinky Snake!"

Tsunade waved him off as though shooing away a fly. "I can't be bothered with you."

Tsunade only had one thing to say about Jiraiya's claim: what nonsense!

As long as Orochimaru did not give up on himself, Tsunade did not think anyone else had any chance of taking the Hokage's position from Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Orochimaru took a sip of wine. He did not take Namikaze Minato to heart, thinking only that Jiraiya was talking big.

Interesting. Who wasn't a genius?

"How pathetic, Jiraiya. Have you placed all your hopes on your student?"

"Well, against a genius like me, such an outcome was inevitable."

"Damn Stinky Snake! What are you so smug about?!" Jiraiya yelled. "You don't understand Minato!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took in the entire scene.

In this cruel Shinobi World, bonds cultivated from childhood were exceptionally different... When the three of them were together, the ease and happiness that came from the heart could not be faked.

And he now understood why, despite having grown up together, Jiraiya had never managed to win over Tsunade.

That mouth of his was truly something, and his emotional intelligence was truly abysmal!

"All you do is talk about your student. Why don't you work hard yourself and become the Fourth Hokage?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi flicked a peanut at Jiraiya's forehead. "My grandstudent is only a Chunin, right?"

Jiraiya repeatedly waved his hands. "Hey, I'm willing to work for the village! But I really can't be Hokage. You should keep doing that job, Old Man... It takes way too much thinking!"

"You hopeless fool." Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed as he scolded him, then took out a scroll and handed it to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru accepted it. "Teacher, what is this?"

"These are the materials Danzo used to report you—secretly conducting forbidden Wood Release Experiments, stealing important village ninjutsu, embezzling Konoha's research funds, forming cliques..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke softly.

The harmonious atmosphere instantly froze.

Orochimaru's snake-like pupils involuntarily narrowed into slits. He took the materials, his emotions rising and plunging like a roller coaster!

"Heh heh..."

Orochimaru rapidly flipped through the scroll. He inwardly cursed, but did his best to remain calm on the surface.

Although Danzō had embellished quite a bit, he had not gotten the major points wrong.

Orochimaru had indeed done these things.

Orochimaru's mind raced. Why had Danzō betrayed him?

Danzō had been involved in these matters too. If he dragged Orochimaru down with him, could he really remain untouched?

"Teacher, you don't actually think this is true, do you?" Orochimaru's voice had unconsciously turned hoarse.

"Let me see!" Tsunade leaned over and took the scroll.

Jiraiya read it with her, and both their expressions gradually grew complicated.

This was bad. It really looked convincing—the chain of evidence was detailed enough to withstand scrutiny...

"Based on what I know of you, nine parts true and one part false?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently lit his pipe and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "Danzō must have pinned some of his own deeds on you as well, especially the funding issue."

"You've swindled plenty of research funds from him over the years, haven't you? I can tell he holds quite a grudge..."

Orochimaru's eyes flickered.

He could not figure out what his teacher was thinking.

Was that tone meant to warn him? It did not seem like he intended to punish him harshly.

"Stinky Snake, what exactly are you trying to do?" Jiraiya held his forehead, his eyes full of confusion. "Are you planning to betray the village?"

Could he really be a genius?

According to Shimura Danzō, Konoha already had a small group of Orochimaru's loyal followers, and he had both money and ninjutsu resources in hand.

If this continued, he might even establish his own Hidden Village one day!

"Teacher, Orochimaru may have gone too far, but he definitely didn't do it on purpose. There must be some misunderstanding here!" Jiraiya hurriedly explained on behalf of his friend. "You can't trust everything Danzō says!"

Tsunade echoed him. "Teacher, we absolutely cannot listen to Danzō's side alone. Orochimaru may have been framed by him!"

Warmth flowed through Orochimaru's heart.

Though they bickered with each other all the time, when something truly happened, Jiraiya and Tsunade were still willing to speak for him.

"Enough. Orochimaru hasn't committed any fundamental wrongdoing."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, setting the tone for the matter. "Ever since the Second Shinobi World War, the bond between us as teacher and student has gradually grown distant."

Weariness showed on his face.

And with it, the performance began.

"After the Kushina incident, I began to think about a question I had been unwilling to face."

"What you did was certainly wrong in that you hid it from me, the Hokage, but your overall direction wasn't wrong."

"You thought I was too conservative and inflexible, so you went and did it privately instead, didn't you?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a sip of wine. "The three of you are here today, so let's speak frankly behind closed doors."

"Why was I so conservative in the past?"

Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya met Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze and lightly shook their heads.

"Because change always comes at a cost, and change is not necessarily always a good thing."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe. "I was clearly only of average talent, yet by sheer luck, I took on the responsibility of the Third. So I was lost from the very day I became Hokage."

"I was afraid as well. I worried that I wouldn't be able to do this job as Hokage... I possessed neither the First's mighty power nor the Second's wisdom, yet I became Hokage."

"So I was unwilling to alter the Second's policy framework. All I could do was work desperately, handling everything personally, terrified of betraying the will of my predecessors."

"But the village did not develop well."

"During the Second Shinobi World War, I even thought of running away... I wanted nothing more than to become a Jonin charging at the front lines, taking down one Konoha enemy after another, dying on the battlefield as a hero, so I would no longer have to bear this pressure."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a self-mocking laugh.

"Someone must have noticed, right? When I was young, I had the same sturdy build as Jiraiya. After serving as Hokage for a few years, even my height started shrinking. I was clearly still middle-aged, yet I had become like an old man."

Tsunade's expression gradually turned grave. Being the more emotional one, she could better feel the suffocating pressure in her teacher's words.

Jiraiya felt the same. He already loathed administrative affairs, and merely listening to this account made it hard for him to breathe.

Orochimaru listened silently, his eyes fixed firmly on his teacher. Some of the resentment buried in his heart gradually began to dissipate.

His teacher had his own difficulties too.

"After what happened with Kumogakure, I dreamed of the Second Hokage. In that dream, he gave me a thorough dressing-down."

"He said, 'Monkey, how could you be so cowardly? If each generation of Konoha lacks the confidence to surpass the last, then the village is bound to perish sooner or later!'"

"After I woke up, I thought about it for a long time... Rather than the Second Hokage appearing to me, it was probably just my subconscious."

"It's not too late to make amends! From this moment on, I'll change Konoha. Whatever benefits the village, I'll do it. Whatever stands in my way, I'll remove it!"

"Including my own cowardly self."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was calm, but his eyes seemed to flicker with raging fire.

The Sannin had never seen Hiruzen Sarutobi like this before.

Forceful, stern, resolute.

Like a man forged from steel.