Talks in the Tent

"If you want to secure your position, you need virtue and propriety. You need to win over the noble clans and ninja clans, treat the village's jōnin with respect, marry and use your wife's family influence, and win over the Hokage's wife..."

These were things any crown prince should do.

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Orochimaru hadn't done a single one of them.

Looking at it this way, Zhengyi was starting to feel a little crushed. How had Orochimaru managed to play such a strong hand so badly?

Meanwhile, Minato had married a Jinchūriki.

And his achievements were so great that he overshadowed his teacher; in the military, people knew Minato, not his teacher.

He'd also used his personality to win the Hokage's affection and favoritism, leading the Hokage to pass over his eldest and choose the younger successor.

Minato also had Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, as his teacher. Jiraiya maintained good relations with every clan head, remembered the names of ninjas big and small throughout the village, and was even said to be friends with Uchiha Fugaku.

Such a perfect man, without a single flaw.

And his teacher...

Damn, if he were Hiruzen Sarutobi, he'd probably like Minato too.

Never mind. Let's not talk about it.

After hearing Zhengyi's analysis,

Danzo suddenly felt like throwing in the towel. He might as well settle for being the leader of Root.

Maybe he could consider the Hokage position after Minato died?

But Minato was so young! By the time the grass on Danzo's grave was ten meters tall, Minato might still not have stepped down. He was in his prime.

Orochimaru was genuinely unwilling to give up. Hiruzen Sarutobi had fooled him earlier.

But after Zhengyi's analysis, the situation did seem much clearer.

The strengths and weaknesses of both sides were laid bare.

Orochimaru's advantage was that he could fight dirty. Given Minato's personality and public image, he could play tricks with the Yin Nine-Tails, but he couldn't bring himself to use truly underhanded tactics.

That was also Minato's greatest weakness. When Orochimaru played dirty, everyone thought it was par for the course. If Minato did it, his image would crumble, and they could use it against him in an instant. Konoha's villagers were good at making heroes, but just as good at tearing them down.

"Should we just kill Minato?" Danzo asked viciously.

"Tsk." That single sound from Zhengyi seemed to say a lot.

There was no chance of doing that now.

Even if they could kill Minato at this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi would probably be so furious that he'd pass over them three pieces of trash and groom Kakashi instead.

"Stage a coup. I still have twelve hundred ninjas, plus Root," Orochimaru said. He thought he might as well bring his forces back from Kumogakure!

"It's too late, Sensei. If so many of our troops suddenly return to Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi will notice and stop us."

Still, it wasn't out of the question. They'd just need some time and a plan.

"Then what should we do?"

Orochimaru and Danzo turned their eyes toward the only man present with any political sense.

At a time like this, Zhengyi didn't bother holding back.

"Both sides have nearly laid their cards on the table. There's no need to keep yielding at every turn. We have to win over every ninja we can."

Orochimaru and Danzo both nodded repeatedly.

Indeed, there was no need for them to keep yielding.

Whether either of them wanted to laugh was another matter.

For the next half hour, Zhengyi carefully went over what they should and shouldn't do.

In theory, they shouldn't need to be told what not to do.

But Danzo was standing right there. If he hadn't joined forces with Hanzo and gotten Yahiko killed, Konoha wouldn't have ended up being steamrolled later.

Who knew what else Danzo had done beyond what the story showed?

Zhengyi thought the most important thing for them now was to find an international ally.

Having an ally backing them and cheering them on would help their reputation and everything else.

"Oh, Sensei, I still have Obito's Sharingan here. Sorry for the trouble, but could you study it for me?"

The front line at Kumogakure.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had transferred all the ninja clan members away to serve under Minato, so only civilians remained here.

With a steady supply of Yeast Protein Powder, along with supplements delivered every few days as production increased, Orochimaru's subordinates were all tall and burly.

Everywhere you looked, there were muscle-bound men like A.

Of course, their muscles weren't nearly as impressive as A's.

Orochimaru had ordered the entire army to spend three hours shirtless in the sun every day to get enough vitamin D. As a result, Konoha's ninjas, who had once been fair-skinned or yellow, had all turned a wheatish shade.

Once Zhengyi had recovered from his injuries, Orochimaru issued him an order, and he rushed here day and night.

Hayakawa Rin, Kurosaki Ren, and Tsukishima Yoru were all middle-aged men and trusted confidants of Orochimaru. They were in charge of this ninja army.

Naturally, the three trusted confidants ranked below him, Orochimaru's self-proclaimed beloved disciple.

"What?! The Third Hokage wants to strip Lord Orochimaru of his military authority?" Hayakawa Rin paced back and forth in the wilderness, frantic.

Kurosaki Ren and Tsukishima Yoru also stared anxiously at Zhengyi.

It had happened while Zhengyi was recovering from his injuries. What was coming had finally come. Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't find an excuse to directly suppress Orochimaru, so he could only strip him of his military authority.

As it happened, Iwagakure had just reached a peace agreement with Konoha.

With the pressure from the northwest easing, Jiraiya could lead ninjas to resist Kumogakure. Minato could then take an elite force to the front line at Kirigakure. Once Minato resolved the crisis at Kirigakure, he could be sent to reinforce the forces at Kumogakure.

That would give Minato a clean sweep in the Third Shinobi World War. With his record maxed out, who else could claim the Hokage position?

So Orochimaru's influence at Kumogakure had to be cut down.

In response, the three of them came up with a particularly ruthless scheme.

Sell out an ally!

They planned to sell out Jiraiya.

If Jiraiya dared to come, they'd dare to sell him out.

Before long, a muscular dark-skinned man arrived, escorted by the Raikage's guards.

"An alliance?" A had come here after receiving Orochimaru's letter.

"Yes." Zhengyi nodded. "You probably know the situation in Konoha. They're passing over the eldest for the younger, and the Third Hokage plans to discard my teacher."

"Is that so? Hiruzen Sarutobi really is a terrible person," A replied casually.

Although A didn't want to get involved in all these schemes, he had reached an agreement with Orochimaru. Once Orochimaru became Hokage, he would give Kumogakure what it wanted. In return, during the fighting between their armies, Kumogakure's forces would focus on Jiraiya's ninja force.

A wanted two Byakugan. Perhaps because he trusted Zhengyi, who had once fought him for an entire afternoon for the sake of his teacher's honor, A didn't ask Orochimaru for anything in writing.

He figured that someone who had once held the position of acting Hokage should at least have basic political credibility, right? Otherwise, who would work with him next time?