Orochimaru is Cheerful and Sunny

Danzo was furious.

He knew there were spies from Orochimaru within Root, just as there were his own spies among Orochimaru's subordinates.

The test subject Kinoe was nothing of note; having been in Root for years, the experiments he needed to cooperate with and the data he needed to collect had long since been squeezed dry.

What truly enraged Danzo was Orochimaru's undisguised attitude; being so blatant clearly showed that he did not hold him in any regard.

Orochimaru was also furious.

That fool Danzo simply did not understand what a test subject that symbolized the success of a bloodline transplant experiment meant to him.

Mathematically speaking, the breakthrough from zero to one was far more significant than the breakthrough from one to one hundred.

If he had known of the existence of the Wood Release boy earlier, he would not have turned to researching Living Corpse Reincarnation and embarked on the misguided path of seizing the bodies of other bloodline ninjas; wouldn't strengthening his original body have been better?

Communication between two angry people is low-quality and ineffective, so the Genie had replaced Orochimaru's consciousness from the very beginning.

The arrogance was meant to provoke Danzo; firstly, to cater to Orochimaru's emotions, and secondly, an angry person is furthest from reason, and even if they suppress their emotions, their own judgment will be affected.

"Orochimaru" took his legs off the table, sat up straight, and just as Danzo was about to lose his temper, he spoke.

"Tonight, the Fourth died, and the position of Hokage is vacant once again."

Danzo's expression froze abruptly, his withered right hand gripping his cane tightly.

"Jiraiya will be back soon."

"Orochimaru" wore a playful smile on his face. "Who do you think is most likely to succeed as Hokage? Is it Jiraiya, is it you, or is it me?"

Danzo said coldly, "There will not be a next Hokage."

Because the village had suffered a major upheaval, everything would be done for stability, and the most likely outcome was that the Third would take office again.

"Oh, you mean the old man."

"Orochimaru" shook his head. "But that is only a stopgap measure; the village needs a Hokage, a Hokage who is in the prime of life and at the peak of their martial strength."

Danzo's gaze sharpened; the words "prime of life" stung his nerves.

Having experienced the departure of Tsunade, the suicide of the White Fang, and the death of Minato tonight, the village's Kage-level combat power at its peak consisted only of two of the Sannin: Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

As for the younger generation of ninjas—Kakashi, Asuma, Shisui... would they need five or ten years to grow up?

The Third could not serve as interim Hokage for that long.

And since Jiraiya had no interest in it, Orochimaru was indeed the most likely candidate to become Hokage.

Danzo's complexion finally changed, and he said coldly, "Orochimaru, you want to be Hokage? It's wishful thinking; Hiruzen and Jiraiya would never support you."

"No, they will."

The expression on "Orochimaru" melted away like ice, revealing a warm, sunny smile, and his sinister aura vanished completely.

"Because I will deceive them."

This... such a move was actually possible!

The expression on Danzo's face could no longer hold; he widened his eyes like a small fry, and the cane in his hand was crushed to pieces with a snap.

Orochimaru, that "Orochimaru" who always wore his malice on his face, had actually learned to act?

And this acting was so exquisite.

Even though he knew the other party was faking it, his perception of Orochimaru was shaken, and Danzo did not doubt for a second whether he could deceive the Third and the others.

This was troublesome; an Orochimaru like this was too difficult to deal with.

"Orochimaru" was very satisfied with Danzo's expression; copying was his specialty as a Genie.

And as for Tanjiro Kamado, the saintly host from the previous world, if he put on his expression and temperament, who would dare to say with certainty that Orochimaru was black-hearted?

Danzo's gaze gradually grew gloomy.

Setting aside martial strength for a moment, Orochimaru's contributions to the village were obvious to all. The reason he failed back then was, in the final analysis, because the kid had a villainous look on his face and never held back; he couldn't compare to Minato's cheerful and sunny disposition, and few ninjas at the level of Special Jonin or above chose to cast their vote of trust for him.

If Orochimaru could reverse his image with his current state, he might truly obtain the position of Hokage in the future.

After a brief silence, Danzo asked, "Orochimaru, state your conditions."

Danzo was not stupid; he knew that Orochimaru mentioning the Hokage position at this time was not because he really wanted to fight for it, but to show his bargaining chips and force him to compromise.

But Danzo could not afford not to compromise; a bargaining chip is a bargaining chip because it truly carries weight.

"Orochimaru" held up a finger. "First, you must hand over that Wood Release boy to me, and remove all traces of him from Root."

Danzo nodded expressionlessly; this request was within his expectations. He didn't feel much pain in losing a ninja whose value had been mostly squeezed out.

"Second, I want all of Root's research data on the First Hokage Cells."

Danzo hesitated for a moment, but agreed. The replication of knowledge would not cause him any loss, and being able to eliminate Orochimaru's threat to the Hokage position with this was worth it!

As for aiding the enemy?

Danzo understood Orochimaru's scientific talent; with his ability, he would soon research something more valuable, and these materials just saved him some time.

"Finally, give me two hundred million ryo."

Danzo's face changed drastically. "You are asking for the moon; that is impossible."

"Orochimaru" laughed. "Wood Release boy, if you hadn't hidden the research data on the First Hokage Cells back then, I would have all of this now. These two demands are simply taking back what is rightfully mine."

"The last one is compensation. Two hundred million ryo shouldn't be much for Lord Danzo, who controls Root."

Danzo flatly refused. "Root does not have that much money, and I cannot produce two hundred million ryo."

"Then, exactly how much can you produce?"

"Orochimaru" tilted his head, the smile on his face fading as his gaze turned as cold as ice. "Danzo, you don't think you can just send me away without paying any price, do you?"

Danzo's face darkened, and he remained silent. A dangerous atmosphere began to permeate the Root conference room.

After a long while, Danzo took a step back and spoke slowly. "I cannot produce two hundred million ryo. I can give you one hundred million at most."

A sharp glint flashed in "Orochimaru's" eyes. "Cutting it in half right off the bat—Danzo, you really are something. I can agree to that, but this one hundred million must be delivered to me in full within three days."

Danzo said in a deep voice, "In exchange, you cannot participate in the Hokage election in any form."

"Orochimaru" agreed instantly. "No problem."

The deal was struck, and the air fell silent once more.

Having achieved his goal, "Orochimaru" stood up immediately and left without a moment's hesitation.

As one foot crossed the threshold, "Orochimaru" suddenly spoke.

"Danzo, I know you have dirt on me."

"But you had better not have any crooked ideas."

"Once you destroy the foundation I have in Konoha, I will cast aside all shame and beg the Third, beg my teacher to protect me."

"I will offer to become the shadow of the next Hokage as my condition."

"Don't doubt whether I can do it. You're so corrupt, yet you're still living just fine in Konoha."

"And with you as a cautionary tale, I will do it even better than you."

"Heh, when that time comes, this Konoha will have a second Root. Guess whether there will still be a place for you."

"..."

The voice gradually faded until it disappeared entirely.

Danzo stared in the direction where Orochimaru had left, his expression sinking.

He had no intention, nor did he dare, to expose Orochimaru's sins; that would be equivalent to exposing himself, especially since Orochimaru didn't care about the position of Hokage—the only one who would lose out would be himself.

But even so, he could not take this loss for nothing.

Danzo pressed a mechanism on his desk, and a Root ninja entered in response. Danzo gave his orders.

"Investigate for me. Check everyone who knows of Kinoe's existence, and pull out every single nail Orochimaru has left behind."