I Am the Hokage

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was unable to calm down for a long time.

Yet he ultimately recovered from the shock. After all, he was a martial arts grandmaster with a heart devoted to the Dao and the pursuit of martial arts. He would not be so easily discouraged, nor would he stray from his own path because of it.

Of course, he was indeed interested in the power of ninjutsu.

With that thought, he formed a hand seal, and a ball of fire immediately rose from his hand.

He stared at the flame, lost in thought.

"Orochimaru!!!"

In the Hokage's office, Shimura Danzō had come once again. But this time, he had lost his previous composure. His face was utterly twisted, as vicious as a demon's.

"What is it, Senior Shimura?" Orochimaru asked calmly.

"Look what you've done!"

"Everything was carried out through legitimate procedures."

Shimura Danzō's breathing immediately grew ragged. He clenched his fists, his entire body trembling.

But what could he do? He could do nothing, unless he wished to betray the village.

But he truly could not accept this! The opportunity had been right before him, yet...

"What kind of spell did you cast on Hiruzen to make him support you like this?"

I'd like to know that too.

Orochimaru mocked inwardly.

With a smile on his face, he said, "Isn't it only natural that my teacher supports me?"

"Hiruzen has changed!"

Indeed, his teacher had changed.

It could only be said that the Nine-Tails' Rampage had dealt him too great a blow.

"Senior Shimura, if you intend to keep saying such meaningless things, then I will not keep you company. I still have work to do."

As he spoke, Orochimaru looked helplessly at the documents piled before him.

That helpless attitude only stoked Danzo's fury further.

That should have been mine!!!

"Orochimaru, return Kinoe to me."

"Kinoe is a valuable asset of the village. Senior Shimura, I have yet to hold you accountable for concealing such a valuable asset, and yet you dare question me here?"

"...Only in Root can Kinoe's power be put to better use."

"Then let me ask you, Senior Shimura: during the Nine-Tails' Rampage, why did you not have Kinoe use Wood Release to help suppress the Nine-Tails? If Kinoe had joined the battle, perhaps Yondaime would not have died."

Shimura Danzō was immediately speechless.

"Since you failed to make proper use of Kinoe's abilities, the village will make new arrangements for him."

As he spoke, Orochimaru recalled how Kinoe had tried his best to appear calm upon seeing him again, only for Orochimaru to still see the undisguised fear in his eyes.

That was only natural. Orochimaru had been responsible for the experiments back then, leaving Kinoe with an indelible psychological scar.

If he personally took care of him, he certainly had ways to brainwash him and make him serve loyally.

But he truly had no time for that now.

Moreover, as a Wood Release Ninja, such an important asset—his teacher would certainly not want Kinoe to be loyal to him personally, but to the village.

In that case, he would find someone dependable to care for Kinoe and soothe the psychological trauma that had haunted him for so long.

And he had indeed thought of a suitable person.

It also happened to be connected to the prospective disciple he had his eye on.

"Orochimaru, you will regret this!"

Apparently unable to think of anything else to say, Shimura Danzō gritted his teeth and left behind that threat.

Seeing Danzo in such a stifled state, Orochimaru thought of the desire Danzo had always harbored.

He suddenly reached out and picked up the Hokage Hat his teacher had left on the desk.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage."

As he spoke, he placed the Hokage Hat on his head.

Danzo's body hunched, every muscle tightening as though he could barely restrain himself.

In the end, he took a deep breath, snorted, and turned away.

Just you wait, Orochimaru!

Danzo was still full of confidence.

Because he knew that both Hiruzen and Orochimaru needed him.

Not because he himself was truly important, but because of the Uchiha.

There had to be someone like him willing to target the Uchiha. As long as that value remained, what could Orochimaru do to him?

As he watched Danzo leave with his head held high, Orochimaru frowned.

Of course he knew where Danzo's confidence came from.

After all, the Uchiha Clan...

After the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Uchiha Clan, already at odds with the village, had fallen into an extremely passive position.

After all, when the Nine-Tails had run rampant, the Sharingan pattern in those enormous eyes had been all too conspicuous.

Too many ninja had fought the Nine-Tails and seen it with their own eyes. Naturally, it could not be concealed. Moreover, Konoha's higher-ups had fanned the flames behind the scenes, and before long, Konoha's residents had learned that the Nine-Tails' rampage might be connected to the Uchiha Clan.

This only deepened the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village.

After all, too many people had died in the Nine-Tails' Rampage, and the losses had been unbearable.

Orochimaru also knew that his teacher held some opinions about the Uchiha Clan.

He was simply not as extreme as Danzo. Still, his teacher had surely tacitly approved of Danzo's actions against the Uchiha Clan.

So, as his teacher's successor, would he also need to use Danzo as a blade against the Uchiha Clan?

Orochimaru pondered this, then quickly set the matter aside and buried himself in official work.

It was not because the matter was unimportant, but because it was too important.

So he would find an opportunity to discuss it with his teacher.

He needed to see exactly what his teacher's stance was toward the Uchiha Clan.

Only then could he make the final decision.

Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, Hai.

Nine-Character Protective Method.

Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Zai, Qian.

The ninja's Twelve Time Seals had clearly evolved from the Nine-Character Mantra Seal of the Nine-Character Protective Method.

A certain National Martial Arts grandmaster was quite familiar with forming hand seals. After all, he had practiced both Buddhist and Daoist cultivation, where seal formulas and hand signs were indispensable.

But in this world, hand seals guided the flow of Chakra.

Ninjutsu required hand seals to perform, along with visualization and comprehension to complete its structure.

Chakra was then consumed to cast ninjutsu.

It was quite miraculous. In particular, as the Professor of Ninjutsu, "Hiruzen Sarutobi" knew a great many ninjutsu, including countless secret techniques. As the Third Hokage, he could also access Konoha's hidden ninjutsu archives, including all manner of forbidden techniques.

The effects of these ninjutsu were wondrous and ever-changing.

In his eyes, they truly were excellent means of "protecting the Dao."

But they were only means of protecting the Dao.

What he truly valued were Medical Ninjutsu, genjutsu, and other secret techniques involving the two attributes of "Yin" and "Yang."

In this world's terms, they involved physical energy and spiritual energy.

These secret techniques essentially concealed the mysteries of the human body's hidden treasures in this world.

They could help him thoroughly understand this body as quickly as possible, allowing him to return to the realm of a Hua Jin grandmaster, where the force of intent could penetrate every part of the body.

Yes, the Medical Ninjutsu among them would definitely be of great help to him.