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 about. Once she learned 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 drinks.

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

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

Tsunade and Jiraiya both enjoyed drinking. The moment they arrived, they clamored that Team Hiruzen had not reunited in ages and absolutely had to share a few drinks.

"Asuma, why are you apologizing to me?" Seeing his younger son's overly attentive yet evasive gaze, Hiruzen Sarutobi teased him.

He could roughly guess why.

It was probably because Asuma had complained about him being old-fashioned or something.

After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi had once been a classic father from the final years of the Warring States period. His attitude toward his sons had basically been that keeping them alive was enough; heart-to-heart talks and casual chats were almost nonexistent.

In his era, surviving was the best upbringing there was.

That was how old-school ninja family education worked.

"I said something about you at school..." Asuma's face immediately turned red. Too ashamed to say it aloud, he abruptly bowed. "Father, I'm sorry!"

"Probably something like, 'That old man is such a bore,' right?" Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled and shook his head. "You weren't the first one to say that..."

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

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

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

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave his three disciples a meaningful look.

Jiraiya pretended to be absentmindedly looking all over the sky, whistling through his teeth.

Tsunade rubbed her hands together and grinned. "Come on, I was young and foolish back then, Sensei!"

Only Orochimaru remained as steady as a mountain.

Still, although he had never actually called Hiruzen Sarutobi an old man, if things had continued as they once had...

He probably would have said something even less affectionate.

Asuma could not help but complain, "Heh, Sister Tsunade and Brother Jiraiya really have no conscience. Father taught you so many ninjutsu, yet you talked about your own teacher behind his back!"

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

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 the boy lacked was Hiruzen Sarutobi's recognition and care.

And he was the same, perhaps even more so.

"Asuma, your old man hasn't spent 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, and he said excitedly, "Really?!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded.

"Old man, I won't eat with you today. I'm on Anbu duty..." Shinnosuke put on his mask and gave a thumbs-up.

"I can't hold you back!"

With that, Shinnosuke turned and left without hesitation.

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

After Biwako brought over the last dish, a stewed soup, she softly asked, "Hiruzen, do you need to discuss something?"

"Yeah."

Hiruzen Sarutobi blinked. "Thanks for the effort."

Biwako smiled faintly. Understanding his meaning, she grabbed Asuma by the scruff of his neck and hauled him away from the dining table.

Hiruzen Sarutobi inwardly laughed.

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

As for why Tsunade could sit at the table—

Because she was not just a woman. She was also a formidable Jonin, Konoha's foremost female medical ninja, Hiruzen Sarutobi's disciple, the granddaughter of Senju Hashirama and Mito Uzumaki, and the princess of the Land of Fire...

When it came to 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'd say Sensei beat him so badly that he used up too much Chakra!" Jiraiya stuffed meat into his mouth as he spoke through a mouthful, his tone dripping with mockery.

"What does he care about being fat or thin? Neither yin nor yang, maybe Stinky Snake could change that too..."

Orochimaru's heart stirred, though his expression remained calm as he elegantly ate an egg. "An idiot truly cannot understand a genius. Toad, just focus on eating."

But he was actually rather surprised.

Was that idiot's intuition really so accurate?

The Living Corpse Reincarnation technique he had researched truly could seize another person's body, and he had indeed fantasized during quiet nights...

If one day he parted ways with Konoha, he could try changing sexes. It might be rather interesting.

But now...

Orochimaru glanced at his teacher and smiled faintly.

There was probably no need for that anymore.

Tsunade ate heartily.

To her, after the tragic deaths of her lover and younger brother, the few important people left in her heart besides Mito Uzumaki were those sitting at this table.

After watching Team Hiruzen gradually grow distant and lose its former atmosphere, Tsunade had originally planned to leave the village in a few days to clear her head.

Out of sight, out of mind.

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

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

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

The three of them had also found Hiruzen Sarutobi's speech today especially stirring.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food.

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

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

"That was really something!" Jiraiya gave a thumbs-up. "I think today's Emergency Drill was very meaningful!"

"My disciple Minato told me that the village's security was a little lax. Sometimes he could spot Anbu, but the Anbu couldn't spot him..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised a brow as he considered the name.

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

"The Anbu couldn't spot him?" Tsunade frowned. "The Anbu performed fairly well today. Could things really be that lax?"

"You can't put it that way... Minato is a top-tier genius!" Jiraiya grew excited, gesturing wildly. "I think he'll become an incredible ninja!"

"My disciple Minato has what it takes to become Hokage!"

Tsunade chuckled. "A brat who just graduated already has what it takes to become Hokage? Honestly, Jiraiya."

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

Tsunade gestured at Orochimaru with her chin. "Well, there's a genius you've known since childhood. Ask him what he thinks..."

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

"A real genius can grow strong within three to five years. Who knows, maybe he could even compete with Stinky Snake!"

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

All Tsunade wanted to say in response to Jiraiya's remarks was: What nonsense!

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

Orochimaru sipped his wine. He did not take Namikaze Minato to heart, merely assuming Jiraiya was talking big.

Interesting. Who wasn't a genius?

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

"Fine. Opposing a genius like me, such an ending is inevitable."

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

Hiruzen Sarutobi took in the entire scene.

In this cruel Shinobi World, bonds cultivated from childhood were utterly different... The ease and joy the three felt together came from the heart and could not be faked.

And he finally understood why, despite growing up together, Jiraiya had never managed to win Tsunade over.

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

"Instead of only talking about your disciple, why don't you think about working hard and becoming the Fourth Hokage?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi flicked a peanut at Jiraiya's forehead. "My granddisciple is only a Chunin, isn't he?"

Jiraiya repeatedly waved his hands. "Oh, 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 too much brainpower!"

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

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

"These are materials Danzo submitted to accuse you—privately conducting prohibited Wood Release Experiments, stealing important village ninjutsu, embezzling Konoha's research funds, forming factions..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke softly.

The harmonious atmosphere instantly froze.

Orochimaru's snake-like pupils narrowed involuntarily. As he took the materials, his emotions rose and fell like a roller coaster.

"Heh..."

Orochimaru rapidly flipped through the scroll. He inwardly realized things were bad, but outwardly tried to remain calm.

Although Danzo had embellished quite a bit, he had not gotten the broad details wrong.

Orochimaru had indeed done those things.

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

Danzo had participated in these matters too. If he dragged Orochimaru down with him, could he really remain untouched?

"Sensei, you don't actually think these are true, do you?" Orochimaru's voice unconsciously became hoarse.

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

Jiraiya looked over it with her, and both of their expressions gradually became complicated.

This was bad. It was all disturbingly convincing, and the chain of evidence was detailed enough to withstand scrutiny...

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

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently lit his Tobacco Pipe and exhaled a thick plume of smoke. "Danzo must have pinned some of his own deeds on you too, especially the funding."

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

Orochimaru's eyes flickered.

He could not read his teacher's intentions.

Was this tone meant to warn him? It did not seem like Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to punish him severely.

"Stinky Snake, what exactly are you trying to do?" Jiraiya held his forehead, his eyes full of confusion. "Are you trying 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. With money and ninjutsu resources in his hands—

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

"Sensei, Orochimaru may have gone too far, but he definitely didn't mean it! There must be some misunderstanding here!" Jiraiya hurriedly defended his friend.

"You can't believe everything Danzo says!"

Tsunade echoed him. "Sensei, you absolutely can't take Danzo's word alone. Orochimaru may have been framed by him!"

Warmth flowed through Orochimaru's heart.

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

"All right, 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 teacher and disciple has gradually grown distant between us."

Weariness appeared on his face.

And with it, the performance began.

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

"What you did was certainly wrong because 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 in secret, right?"

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

"Why was I so conservative before?"

Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya met Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes and gently shook their heads.

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

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his Tobacco Pipe. "I was only an ordinary man, yet by sheer luck I inherited the duties of the Third. So I was lost from the day I became Hokage."

"I was afraid too. I worried that I would fail as Hokage... I had neither the First's great power nor the Second's wisdom, yet I became Hokage."

"So I was unwilling to alter the Second's policy framework. I could only work desperately and handle everything myself, terrified of failing the previous Hokage's will."

"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 be a Jonin charging at the front, 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 laughed self-mockingly.

"Someone probably 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 began to shrink. Though I was still middle-aged, I already looked like an old man."

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

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

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

His teacher had his own difficulties too.

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

"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 doomed 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 is not too late to make amends! From now on, I will change Konoha. Whatever benefits the village, I will do. Whatever stands in my way, I will eliminate!"

"Including my cowardly self."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's tone was calm, but fury seemed to dance in his eyes.

None of the Sannin had ever seen Hiruzen Sarutobi like this.

Forceful, stern, resolute.

Like a man of steel.