"The Root must preserve its strength to prepare for the other Ninja Villages' retaliation."
Without a moment's hesitation, Danzo gave his answer.
At that, Orochimaru's hands paused.
Had Danzo brainwashed so many people that he'd brainwashed himself, too?
"I think you're hoping Hiruzen Sarutobi dies at that monster's hands, so you'll have a chance to become Hokage."
Orochimaru glanced at Danzo and spoke with an amused expression.
Danzo responded with a cold snort.
"Then why don't you go help?"
Faced with Danzo's retort, Orochimaru gave a couple of cold laughs and continued his experiments.
Ever since he'd watched Nawaki get blown to pieces by an Explosive Tag right before his eyes during the Second Shinobi World War,
his obsession with immortality had only grown stronger.
So, ever since the war ended, he'd buried himself in the laboratory and rarely showed himself in public.
He'd even begun to consider leaving Konoha.
It was difficult to pursue his dream of eternal life while staying in Konoha.
But this was still the place where Orochimaru had grown up, and he couldn't bring himself to make the decision to leave so easily.
Danzo dropped the subject and focused on the progress of the Wood Style experiments.
As someone who'd joined Konoha back when the village was first founded, he knew how powerful Wood Style was.
Invincible!
Those two simple words said more than anything else.
So, in Danzo's eyes, as long as he gained the power of Wood Style, he could easily do more than claim the Hokage Position—even unify the Ninja World.
"We're out of funds."
That was all Orochimaru said.
Research required a lot of money. That was why he was willing to work with Danzo, even though he looked down on him.
"I've given you so much money, and yet you