Rending with Orochimaru

"Easy, easy, that hurts, Kazashiro." Obito sat on the ground, baring his teeth as he watched Kazashiro's little hands poke around all over his face.

"Tch, what a wimp. Aren't you always shouting about becoming Hokage? You can't even handle this much pain?" With a scornful look, Kazashiro increased the force in his hands.

Hmm, that should be about right.

Once he saw that the ointment had been applied to every injury on Obito's face without missing a spot, Kazashiro finally walked over to the nearby river and rinsed his hands in the water.

It had to be said, Kakashi really was a considerate guy. He actually carried injury ointment around with him.

"Would a Hokage need someone else to apply medicine? A medical ninja would've come over and used that palm-turns-green-whatever jutsu to heal me in no time." Obito pouted as he fiddled with his crooked goggles.

"Yes, yes, future Lord Hokage. So where is your medical ninja right now?" Kazashiro walked over to Obito and pressed his dripping wet hands against Obito's clothes, rubbing them hard and leaving all the water stains on him.

"A medical ninja... Hehe, well, ah~" Whatever Obito had thought of made his cheeks flush slightly, and he failed to notice that Kazashiro had already started using him as a hand towel.

Judging by that lovestruck look, this idiot had probably already met Rin.

As Kazashiro looked at Obito's besotted expression, the image of Obito's one true love also surfaced in his mind.

"If there's nothing else, I'm going back to training." Not wanting to watch these two clowns interact any longer, Kakashi clasped his hands behind his head and spoke in a lazy tone.

"You're so sly, Kakashi. You're leaving this low-IQ guy for me to look after? He's the product of both our hard work." Seeing Kakashi about to slip away, Kazashiro lunged forward and grabbed his arm, refusing to let him leave.

"Hey, you bastard, what do you mean, the product of our hard work?" Kakashi's dead-fish eyes widened as he struggled to break free from Kazashiro's grip.

Obito, standing nearby, was stunned at first, then quickly understood. "Damn it, Kazashiro! What do you mean, low IQ? I'll kill you!"

With that, Obito pounced like a starving dog and threw himself into the fray.

The three became tangled together. No one knew whose footing gave way, but after a stumble, they were all forced to tumble into the nearby grass, rolling farther and farther away.

"So Fugaku hasn't taken any measures at all? He doesn't even intend to gather the clan for a meeting?" Having finally gotten his hands on his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly lit it and put it in his mouth. Only after taking a deep drag and exhaling a thick cloud of smoke did he reveal a satisfied expression.

Chatting up women and smoking were Hiruzen Sarutobi's two greatest hobbies.

That was why he appeared on the streets of Konoha every day.

After all, most paperwork was handled by the advisory council, while Danzo took care of military matters and intelligence. As Hokage, all he needed to do was steer the overall direction, and Konoha's little boat could sail steadily through the ninja world.

"Yes, Lord Third Hokage."

"In that case, we adults shouldn't interfere in children's disputes. Konoha is so large, and little scuffles between children happen all the time. If the Military Police Force had to step in and stop every fight, the Uchiha Clan would be far too busy." After exhaling one final puff of smoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and patted the ANBU before him on the shoulder, making his stance clear.

Anyone with eyes could see the Uchiha Clan's problem, but Hiruzen Sarutobi had no good way of resolving it.

All he could do was ensure that this massive bomb, one capable of destroying Konoha, did not explode too early—until the village's next generation, or the generation after that, produced an inheritor of the Will of Fire capable of completely eliminating this hidden danger without resorting to force.

"Let the Uchiha suffer; let Danzo bear the blame."

That was Hiruzen Sarutobi's universal solution for dealing with the Uchiha Clan.

Having confirmed that the Uchiha Clan would not make any extreme moves for the time being, Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to Konoha's streets with a smile, ready to chat up young, pretty girls.

Meanwhile, Danzo brought his people back to the Root base, where he met Orochimaru.

"Lord Danzo." Orochimaru greeted Danzo in his signature sinister voice.

Seeing Orochimaru arrive, Danzo, who had long expected this, instructed the subordinates behind him, "You may leave first."

"Orochimaru, what is it? Why have you come to see me at this hour?" Only after confirming there was no one nearby did Danzo feign ignorance and question Orochimaru before him.

"Hehe, I merely wished to inform Lord Danzo that the experiments involving Hashirama Cells have made some new progress..." Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.

What a dark, white snake.

Danzo raised his brows ever so slightly.

Orochimaru was trying to use Wood Release as bait to draw his attention, so he could take control of the situation.

Unfortunately, if it had been the old him, he probably would have agreed by now.

But...

"Is that so, Orochimaru? If I recall correctly, Hiruzen Sarutobi—your teacher—issued an explicit order completely banning experiments related to Wood Release. What you are doing is truly showing no respect for the Hokage." Danzo spoke coldly.

That old bastard!

Orochimaru's expression instantly darkened.

If this old bastard had not approached him first to propose working together, he would have long since found a way to pursue immortality. Why would he have wasted so much time on Hashirama Cells?

And now, not only had Danzo inexplicably cut off his research funding, but he was also preparing to deny everything and distance himself from him.

Stunned by Danzo's shamelessness, Orochimaru did not know what to say for a moment. The two of them remained awkwardly rooted where they stood.

"I can pretend I know nothing about what happened today. Leave." Having long decided to sever all ties with Orochimaru, Danzo no longer intended to deal with him. He turned and headed deeper into the Root base.

"Lord Danzo..." Unable to give up Danzo's funding, Orochimaru could not help but speak again.

"Oh, right. I will explain to Hiruzen that someone of your ability is too wasted in Root. You should return to working under Hiruzen." Danzo did not stop at Orochimaru's call, and his next words directly expelled Orochimaru from Root.

"Is that so? I understand." Orochimaru had a temper too. Since Danzo was determined to draw a line between them, he would not keep groveling to press himself against Danzo's cold backside.

Seeing that Danzo's attitude was indeed resolute, Orochimaru simply stopped pretending. His gaze at Danzo's retreating back was like that of a venomous snake.

"I hope you do not regret today's decision, Lord Danzo."