"Going to the front...?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's smile froze.
The pipe in his hand stopped in midair. His gaze slowly swept over Orochimaru's face, calm and resolute.
Sarutobi Hiruzen opened his mouth, but the words of rebuttal that came to him instinctively caught in his throat. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't say them.
Are you still going to fight for it...?
Even after being pulled away from the front for so long, even though everyone thinks you've accepted your fate, you still won't give up?
Orochimaru...
Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his eyes and brought the pipe to his lips, taking a deep drag.
The decision to transfer Orochimaru from the front back to the village had been discussed with the higher-ups long ago. Even Jiraiya had agreed with it.
Only Orochimaru himself and Shimura Danzō didn't know.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had once imagined a perfect ending.
Orochimaru would give up competing to become the Fourth Hokage and settle down, becoming one of the bricks in Konoha's technological foundation. Along with Tsunade and Jiraiya, he would take up an important position in Konoha and retreat behind the scenes of history.
But now, Orochimaru still hadn't let it go...
"Orochimaru," Sarutobi Hiruzen said after a moment's silence, letting out a faint sigh. "This mission may be simple, but handling both matters at once... isn't that too hasty?"
"Hehehe..."
Orochimaru chuckled and licked the corner of his mouth with his tongue.
"There's no other choice, Teacher Sarutobi. My influence in the village is now less than that of the younger generation..."
"..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes.
He knew that Orochimaru had made up his mind.
He was determined to fight for the position of Hokage, even if it meant being bloodied, even if everyone turned against him.
Thoughts surged through his mind.
As Hokage, and as his teacher, he wanted to reject Orochimaru's proposal outright.
But he feared Orochimaru would lose all faith in him. He feared that Orochimaru, who had once stood behind him like a son, would become a stranger to him from then on.
He wanted to tell Orochimaru to stop competing. He wanted to tell him that the position wasn't right for him, that he should simply focus on his research.
But he couldn't bring himself to say it.
After a long while, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally gave in.
"If that's what you've decided... then go."
He waved a hand and sighed wearily.
"As for the front, we'll discuss it after you've completed this mission..."
He paused and looked up at Orochimaru, his gaze complicated.
"Don't go too far, Orochimaru."
"Teacher," Orochimaru suddenly said, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I already have someone in mind for this mission."
"Let's talk about the Cloud Battlefield instead."
"I see."
Hyuga Hiashi's voice was calm, but the tremor in his words revealed his disappointment. Still, he couldn't afford to lose his composure in front of a junior.
"Lord Hiashi, is there something wrong with that scroll?"
Hyuga Qinglan tilted his head slightly, his expression innocent and guileless. "Or was the scroll forged by someone else?"
"No... there's nothing wrong with it."
Hyuga Hiashi forced a smile. How could he tell Hyuga Qinglan that the scroll had been stolen, and that Shimura Danzō was the culprit?
Let alone that the contents of the scroll weren't something a Branch Family member was entitled to know.
"That's good." Hyuga Qinglan nodded, seeming relieved. Then he looked puzzled as he gazed at Hyuga Hiashi, who was still standing before him. "Lord Hiashi, is there anything else?"
"...Nothing."
In the end, Hyuga Hiashi followed the elders' advice and asked Hyuga Qinglan about it.
The child before him was gentle and refined, polite, and talented. Though he was a member of the Branch Family, he never complained.
Among all the Branch Family members in the Hyuga Clan, he alone was like a piece of smooth jade: never fighting or vying for anything, quietly doing everything well.
He couldn't bear to interrogate a child like that.
"Then I'll be on my way."
Hyuga Qinglan bowed, then left with small steps.
Sunlight slipped through the clouds and crossed the shadows, dividing Hyuga Hiashi in two.
"Send people to investigate the ancient tomb Hyuga Qinglan found. Search it thoroughly."
His voice suddenly turned low and hard, as if he had become someone else.
"Report even the slightest clue."
"Yes!"
A faint rustling came from the shadows, then silence returned.
Hyuga Hiashi stood alone on the flagstone path, staring toward the place where Hyuga Qinglan had disappeared. He didn't move for a long time.
The sunlight still slanted across him, shrouding half his face in shadow and obscuring his expression.
"...Qinglan."
"Don't disappoint me."
"The side effects really are severe..."
Hyuga Qinglan slowly rolled up his sleeve, revealing skin so pale it was almost translucent.
At that moment, his arm was covered in countless fine, deep marks, like incantations carved into his skin by lightning.
"With a constitution like mine, I ought to be more than capable of training in Lightning Release Armor."
Hyuga Qinglan lowered his sleeve and mocked himself inwardly.
He had spent all of yesterday training in this technique. It could be considered Lightning Release, but it also couldn't.
It was a skill he had learned in his previous life by replicating one used by Otsutsuki Kinshiki.
Divine Extermination.
Unlike Lightning Release Armor, the lightning produced by training in this technique was purple. It was also more powerful and faster.
In the original story, Otsutsuki Kinshiki had used this technique to briefly suppress Sasuke's Rinnegan.
The only strict requirements for this technique were that the user had to be an Otsutsuki or possess Otsutsuki chakra, as well as have a sufficiently powerful body.
Hyuga Qinglan clearly only just met those conditions, and didn't fully satisfy them.
He might not be as capable as Orochimaru, but... this was close enough.
Just then, a small white snake suddenly emerged from his sleeve and flicked its tongue a few times.
"The Son of the Daimyo? Leaving now?"
"I understand."
Hyuga Qinglan stroked the little white snake's head. It twisted around and slithered into the grass, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Yugakure...
What a nostalgic place.
Hyuga Qinglan sighed inwardly and looked toward the Hokage Building.
Having someone powerful backing you really makes all the difference...
At last, he had a chance to reclaim what was his...
"Someone from the Hyuga Clan?"
"Not bad-looking."
The Son of the Daimyo lifted the curtain of his palanquin and lazily glanced at Hyuga Qinglan, who followed behind him, along with several Konoha Ninja.
"There's fighting everywhere these days. Since Konoha accepted this mission, I assume you have the strength to protect me, right?"
"Since Your Highness posted the mission in Konoha," Hyuga Qinglan replied expressionlessly, his tone flat, "the village will see it through to the end."
"Good. I'm satisfied. Let's go."
"The weather's been nice these past few days. When we get there, everyone from Konoha should come soak in the hot springs with me..."
The Son of the Daimyo's voice drifted lazily out of the palanquin. The guards around him seemed to have long since grown used to this.
He looked nothing like someone caught up in a Shinobi World War, as if the war had nothing to do with him.
Or rather, it really had nothing to do with him.
That was simply how the shinobi world worked.
The Feudal Lord was the Feudal Lord, and the Hokage was the Hokage.
The village might be at war, and the Land of Fire might be at war, but that didn't mean those who reaped the benefits had to fight too.
As nobles, all they had to do was enjoy themselves.
As for the shinobi, samurai, and soldiers left to worry about everything else...
They had plenty to worry about.
Before you continue