"Orochimaru! What exactly are you trying to do?"
In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Orochimaru from the next room to reprimand him.
Ever since Orochimaru had returned from the front lines at Iwagakure, he'd been squatting in the office like a stubborn snake, refusing to leave.
He didn't want to go, and Hiruzen Sarutobi could do nothing about it.
The infuriating thing was that Orochimaru wasn't alone. He had subordinates from Kumogakure and the support of Root.
With Orochimaru as their leader, Root turned into the Anbu, Zhengyi assisting from the sidelines, and twelve hundred ninja—one-seventh of Konoha's total—didn't that amount to a small country?
In Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind, that lineup was even stronger than an ordinary small country.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that the situation had become tricky. He could keep Danzo and Orochimaru firmly in check on his own, but the two of them now had a strategist.
Looking at Orochimaru, who sat silently before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't have felt more exasperated.
If Zhengyi stayed in Konoha, Danzo and Orochimaru would have a brain on their side.
If Zhengyi was sent away, that bastard could help Orochimaru put together an army of missing-nin in no time. Why was he so sure? Because Zhengyi had started recruiting missing-nin in the Northeast Land of Fire!!
In the end, Zhengyi knew how to get his hands on money.
The village's finances had been in the red.
But Zhengyi had advised Orochimaru to take a few measures.
Now Konoha's accounts held more than enough to see the Third Shinobi World War through, with perhaps a few million ryo to spare.
"What's wrong, Teacher Sarutobi? What have I done wrong?" Orochimaru gave a faintly sinister smile. "Or can Teacher Sarutobi conjure money out of thin air? Or does he want the ninja on the front lines to go without compensation, fighting the enemy with substandard Kunai and Explosive Tags?"
"We can make the ninja clans suffer, but we mustn't make the countless civilians of Konoha suffer."
"You!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was so choked up that he could barely breathe. A wad of phlegm seemed stuck in his throat, neither going up nor down.
Watching his furious teacher, Orochimaru privately marveled at how effective Zhengyi's tactic of slapping people with accusations was. Who in the village would dare stand against the people of Konoha?
"Cough, cough, cough..." Hiruzen Sarutobi broke into a violent coughing fit, thoroughly riled by Orochimaru.
Suddenly, he found himself missing the boy who used to call him "Teacher Sarutobi" at every turn.
"Would you like some water, Teacher? Don't let yourself get worked up."
Orochimaru poured Hiruzen Sarutobi a glass of water, the gesture dripping with sarcasm.
"Hmph. Who'd dare drink anything you gave them?" Hiruzen Sarutobi shot back.
Orochimaru didn't get angry. He only smiled at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Get out!"
"Yes... yes..." Orochimaru drawled as he sauntered out of the Hokage Office.
The contest between Orochimaru and Minato for the Hokage seat began!
Madara slept for two days. After waking, he was busy plotting a grand scheme to make Obito lose faith in the Shinobi World, so he no longer stoked tensions between the great nations.
The wars between several villages had actually halted again, with only a few local skirmishes continuing.
During this brief period of peace in the Shinobi World,
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't even bother pretending. He lavished Minato with resources, assigned him the most difficult missions, and paired him with elite Konoha Jonin so they could build rapport.
Minato was the team leader. His teammates were Choza Akimichi, Aburame Shibi, and Kakashi.
Today, they had traveled to a country called the Country of Roran. Their mission was to protect its princess.
There, he met a blond boy who claimed to be from Konoha's future, as well as Yamato, an Anbu Ninja from the future. Together, they foiled the coup planned by a minister named Anrokuzan!
At the Dragon Vein, before they parted ways, sixteen-year-old Naruto had a bellyful of questions for the Fourth Hokage before him, a man who looked a little like him.
Minato looked at the Konoha ninja from the future, and he, too, had a bellyful of questions.
In the past, Minato would never have wanted to know about the future. He would have cared only about doing his duty.
But Konoha now... seemed to be on the verge of splitting apart.
Orochimaru wasn't Hokage, but back then the Third had said he had high hopes for him and all that, granting Orochimaru the authority of a "successor."
Two different sets of orders were being issued from the Hokage building every day.
The two sets of orders often clashed like opposing forces.
Minato wasn't stupid. He knew the Third was doing all of this for his sake,
but if this struggle continued, Konoha would be the only one to suffer.
Minato had a bit of a gentlemanly streak. He felt he was still young and could give up his rivalry with Orochimaru, so he wanted to hear how Orochimaru had done in the future.
If Orochimaru had done well,
then... he might find it easier to give up the Hokage seat.
After all, when a childhood dream was within reach, whoever gave it up would feel as though a piece of their heart were missing.
Naruto wanted to ask, We look so much alike. Could you be my dad?
Minato, however, overlooked the boy's resemblance to him and their matching hair color.
He asked, "Naruto, Yamato, how did Orochimaru do as Hokage in the future?"
"Orochimaru? Hokage?" Naruto and Yamato looked at each other. They didn't know how Orochimaru had done as Hokage, but he had certainly killed the Third.
"Minato! The future isn't at all what you think!"
"Captain Yamato's right. We've got to tell you!"
The two of them took turns explaining the Konoha Crush.
Minato and Kakashi's group all looked grave!
One day in the future, Orochimaru joined forces with Sunagakure to destroy Konoha? Even the Third died defending the village?
And... Minato?
"Hey, when you say 'Minato,' you mean..." Kakashi looked at Minato, then at Naruto and Yamato.
"Yes. The Fourth Hokage of the future is Minato Namikaze." Yamato confirmed Kakashi's guess.
"I'm... the Fourth Hokage?" Minato's heart surged. Had he achieved his dream?
So Orochimaru had launched the Konoha Crush because he couldn't accept that the Fourth Hokage had been taken from him?
Minato didn't blame Orochimaru. He only thought that if he'd noticed Orochimaru's extreme tendencies sooner and talked to him properly, things might have turned out differently.
"Then in the future, did I stop Orochimaru and bring him back?"
Yamato stared at Minato in surprise. Your kind, airheaded goodness really is just like Naruto's. And you're talking about bringing back Orochimaru, that heinous criminal?
"No. You died during the Nine-Tails Incident in October of Year Forty-Eight of Konoha."
Naruto knew nothing at all about the Nine-Tails Incident. Yamato had once served in the Anbu, so he knew a little.
On October 10, Year Forty-Eight of Konoha, someone attacked Kushina while she was giving birth...
The attack was only Konoha's theory, since everyone involved—including the Third's wife—had died that night.
October of Year Forty-Eight of Konoha? That was only a year away!
"Was it Orochimaru?" Kakashi didn't know how he'd face Zhengyi after returning. What if Zhengyi had been involved, too?
"Orochimaru hadn't defected yet, had he?" Yamato muttered. He wasn't good with history and didn't know.
"Orochimaru defected?!" all four of them exclaimed.
"Yeah. The Third discovered that he was secretly experimenting on human subjects." Yamato knew this! He knew it very well! He had once been one of Orochimaru's test subjects.
"That's not all! He also tried to steal Sasuke's body!!" Naruto said indignantly. When it came to Orochimaru's crimes, even he, usually so careless, could list a whole bunch.
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