Orochimaru Questions, Orochimaru Relents.

Returning to Konoha after several months away.

Zhengyi stood at the village gate, taking a deep breath; as expected, the air in Konoha smelled much sweeter.

Although the newspapers did not heavily publicize his existence.

Zhengyi's personal resume was quite extensive, and the files recorded his various deeds without missing a single one, all of which Orochimaru had used his authority to document for him.

The period during the defense of Kikyo Pass had truly filled his resume to the brim.

Konoha Year X, Month X, Day X, Hour X, Zhengyi followed the team to recapture the XX position...

Konoha Year X, Month X, Day X, Hour X, Zhengyi followed the team to seize the XX position...

Konoha Year X, Month X, Day X, Hour X, Zhengyi followed the team to hold the XX position...

Kikyo Pass was constantly being lost and then recaptured, which was how he obtained his glorious file!

"Killua, Yuji, go to the gym, find Master Dai, and get a membership card. Practice for a few days first."

"Understood, Teacher." What kind of behavior was this from their teacher? They had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy and earned a bit of hard-earned money!

"Remember to do your shrugs."

"Yes!!"

As expected of their teacher, he really cared about them.

"Teacher!"

"Impossible."

Now, all it took was one look between Zhengyi and Orochimaru, and a single sentence was enough for them to understand each other's meaning.

It was nothing more than Zhengyi urging Orochimaru to compete for the position.

Orochimaru remained obsessed and stubborn, refusing to believe that Hiruzen Sarutobi would be so biased.

The two were in Zhengyi's dormitory; Orochimaru had come to visit in person, mainly because he was tired and wanted to go conduct research, so he wanted Zhengyi to cover his shifts for a few days.

He had thought that after not seeing each other for so long, Zhengyi would have something to say to him.

Orochimaru felt a bit weary. That was his teacher, Hiruzen; forget it, Zhengyi was not him, he would never understand the weight of the words "Teacher Hiruzen," nor would he ever understand what Teacher Hiruzen meant to him.

However, the good news was that after several months, the things Hiruzen Sarutobi had done could not withstand close scrutiny. If one looked closely, the clues were evident; surely all these things added together could convince his teacher, right?

"He had Jiraiya assist Minato!"

"Jiraiya is Minato's teacher, Zhengyi. That point doesn't seem to hold up."

"..."

"..."

"He gave Minato military power! He let Minato act as the representative of Konoha to accept the surrender of Sunagakure!!"

"He's practically letting Minato move into the Hokage office to replace you, Teacher!"

"Teacher! Don't you think the Third Hokage is grooming you like a Double Flower Staff?"

"What does Double Flower Staff mean?"

"A top-tier thug."

"Teacher, where are you going?!"

"Teacher! You had Jiraiya assist Minato, you gave Minato military power, and even the surrender ceremony for Sunagakure was handled by Minato!"

"Teacher! Are you trying to let Minato enter the Hokage office?"

For the first time, Orochimaru used a questioning tone toward Hiruzen Sarutobi.

His heart had gone cold.

Looking back over these years, how much had he done for his teacher?

Teacher: Orochimaru, you handle this matter.

Teacher: Orochimaru, Jiraiya is not up to the task; as expected, I have to rely on you. I'm entrusting this to you.

Teacher: Orochimaru, Tsunade just proposed a medical ninja system and then ran off to date. Her... sigh, the First Hokage and I spoiled her too much. I'll leave the remaining work for you to wrap up.

Zhengyi was right; in the end, he was just a thug.

From the moment Zhengyi stepped through the gates of Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that Orochimaru was coming to question him.

Looking at Orochimaru, who was accusing him of bias like a child throwing a tantrum, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a sliver of guilt in his heart.

But...

It's just that you ran into Minato, Orochimaru.

The one who, in Teacher's heart, was a better choice than you.

"Jiraiya is Minato's teacher, Orochimaru; that point doesn't seem to hold up," Hiruzen Sarutobi explained after taking a drag of his pipe.

Orochimaru couldn't help but feel he had heard that line somewhere before.

"Teacher giving Minato military authority was also for your sake," Hiruzen Sarutobi looked like a benevolent old man at this moment.

Orochimaru watched Hiruzen Sarutobi quietly, as if observing how he would spin this tale.

"Once you become Hokage, you can no longer step onto the battlefield yourself. Jiraiya has such a lackadaisical temperament, so the front lines of Konoha need someone capable of holding the fort to share the burden for you."

"You could hand the military authority to Zhengyi. He is my student; I feel at ease using him, and he is quite handy."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was only afraid that Orochimaru wouldn't bring up Zhengyi; mentioning him was for the best.

He suddenly leaned back in his chair, looking weary. "Zhengyi slaughtered a group of local nobles in the Land of Lightning. We ninjas are at war, but involving nobles—you should know how public opinion works. Those people in the Land of Fire have been putting constant pressure on me."

"Zhengyi's affairs cannot be over-publicized; it wouldn't be good for him."

Looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who grew more aged with each passing year.

Orochimaru's heart softened. "Is that truly the case?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was extremely patient. "Of course."

"In Teacher's heart, am I also more important than Minato?" Orochimaru didn't know how he managed to ask such a mushy question, but he desperately needed Hiruzen Sarutobi to answer him.

"Of course. In Teacher's heart, you are more important than Minato. We have been master and student for over thirty years, after all," Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed with emotion.

I am sorry, Orochimaru, this is the last time.

I truly cannot give you the Hokage position.

You are simply not suited for it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi believed he favored Orochimaru more; it was just that the position of Hokage was truly better suited for Minato. He was doing this for the sake of Konoha.

"Is that so?" Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged, but judging by the 0.5-degree rise in his body temperature, he was happy.

Seeing that Orochimaru was about to ask something else, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly chuckled. "Thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye; I never imagined you would already be middle-aged. Actually, Teacher would like to see you get married and have children."

"When will you find a girlfriend?"

"Heh, let's talk about that later, Teacher Hiruzen."

A move from an elder pressuring one to marry—well, even Orochimaru couldn't parry that.

"Shall I have Jiraiya introduce you to someone?"

"Have him introduce me to a woman of ill repute?"

Orochimaru left in a rather pleasant mood.

To him, the Hokage position was not important.

What mattered was the bond between him and Hiruzen Sarutobi as master and student.

Ever since Nawaki died, he had treated everyone as a tool for utilization; only those with value were worthy of his concern.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the only exception—the one Orochimaru protected from the bottom of his heart.