The Great Name Heir

"Have you heard? The Daimyō's long-lost grandson has finally been found!"

The streets and alleys of the Land of Sound were buzzing with this topic.

In the teahouses, merchants huddled together, whispering over their tea; the owner of the general store stood in his doorway, sharing secrets with the woman who sold fabrics next door; even the soldiers guarding the city gates took advantage of the quiet moments to discuss it in hushed tones.

"It's not a grandson, it's a son," an elderly man with graying hair set down his teacup and corrected them. "The Daimyō had a child when he was young, but the boy went missing during a civil disturbance when he was only a year old. After searching for decades, he's finally been found."

"Is that for real? After all these decades, he can still be found?"

"Why wouldn't he be? The Daimyō never gave up. Think about it: the Daimyō's eldest son is already over thirty and has several children of his own, yet he has refused to name an heir. Outsiders say he's greedy for power, but that's not it—he was waiting for that child to return."

"Who is that child, then?"

The old man looked left and right before lowering his voice: "I heard... it's Orochimaru, one of the former Legendary Sannin of Konoha."

"Orochimaru?!" Several people gasped in unison. "That rogue ninja from Konoha?"

"Shh—keep it down! Don't let anyone hear you." The old man glared at them, terrified that their loose lips might bring trouble upon him. "He's not a rogue ninja anymore. The Daimyō of the Land of Fire has already declared the Konoha arrest warrant void. Orochimaru is now a citizen of the Land of Sound and the son of the Daimyō."

The group looked at each other, at a loss for words.

In the corner of the teahouse, a figure in a gray cloak finished their tea in silence, left a few copper coins on the table, and rose to leave.

The news spread rapidly.

In less than a day, the entire ninja world knew—Orochimaru, one of the former Legendary Sannin of Konoha, was actually the long-lost son of the Daimyō of the Land of Sound. Furthermore, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had rescinded his status as a rogue ninja, and he was now officially a citizen of the Land of Sound.

Moreover, Orochimaru himself announced to the world that he would no longer be a ninja from this day forward.

And then, he did something that no ninja would ever dream of doing: he released his mission intelligence reports from Konoha during non-wartime periods!

Orochimaru proved his determination to abandon the ninja identity to the world, but he also proved something else: that the evidence once used to label him a Konoha rogue was, in fact, largely fabricated!

The mission intelligence Orochimaru released clearly indicated that the inhumane human experiments he conducted in Konoha were actually ordered by the upper echelons of Konoha. Every single mission report was signed either by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, or the Hokage Assistant, Shimura Danzō.

It wasn't that no one suspected these reports were forged by Orochimaru, but the intelligence he released clearly listed the various forms of support Konoha had provided for his experiments.

Without the consent of the higher-ups, how could there have been equipment support worth two or three hundred million ryō? How could there have been access to Konoha's forbidden knowledge? How could there have been human subjects provided from Konoha's death row? How could there have been...

With one piece of evidence after another, it became difficult for anyone to find any more excuses for Konoha's leadership.

With this, Orochimaru was thoroughly whitewashed. He was merely a victim forced to take the fall for the high-ranking officials of Konoha Hidden Village; he was a martyr who had endured humiliation for the greater good.

If not for his father finding him, giving him the long-lost warmth of family and restoring the reputation he had lost for so long, he would never have released these documents, just to ensure his father wouldn't be forced to bear the shame of his past.

Everyone understood Orochimaru, and everyone supported him, especially the four great ninja villages outside of Konoha.

The Land of Sound, Orochimaru's base.

No, it was no longer called a base. At the Daimyō's strong insistence, this underground stronghold had been renovated into a research institute for Orochimaru's use.

The walls were painted white, the floors were covered in wood, and assistants bustled back and forth; even the laboratory benches had been replaced with new ones. The only things that remained unchanged were the dense rows of scrolls and culture dishes on the bookshelves.

Orochimaru stood before the window, watching the fields outside. He had been standing there for a long time.

This was the first time he had applied the knowledge from the inheritance given by Uchiha Naro to reality—truly, individual power could never compare to the power of a nation.

No matter how strong a ninja he had been before, once Sarutobi Hiruzen gave an order, everyone obeyed him and treated him as a rogue ninja.

Now, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had merely shared a meal with the Daimyō of the Land of Sound, followed by a single written order, and he had transformed from a rogue ninja back into a citizen of the Land of Sound. Even his experiments, which he thought he would have to hide forever, had become legitimate research under the Daimyō's decree...

A few days ago, after making some deals with the White Snake Sage, he had come to the Land of Sound to wait.

The day after he left Ryūchi Cave, the Daimyō of the Land of Sound had come to find him personally.

The old man stood before him, his hair white as snow, the wrinkles on his face like a dried-up riverbed. His eyes were red, and his lips were trembling.

"You are my child," the old man said with a firm tone. "The birthmark on your shoulder is exactly the same as your mother's. I could never mistake it."

Orochimaru did not speak.

Although this was something he and the White Snake Sage had plotted together, when it actually happened, he still felt a bit dazed.

He had long since forgotten his parents. Back in Konoha, when people asked, he would say his parents were dead. It wasn't a lie—they were already gone by the time he could remember anything, leaving him only a dilapidated house and a yellowed photograph.

He did not recognize the woman in the photo held by Fujiwara No, the Daimyō of the Land of Sound.

But he knew—she would be his mother in name from now on, the first wife of the Daimyō of the Land of Sound, who had passed away from illness shortly after Orochimaru's birth, entrusting the child to her husband before she died.

Later, civil war broke out in the Land of Sound, and Fujiwara No had ordered a guard to take the child in the swaddling clothes and flee.

The guard died, the child went missing, and Fujiwara No had spent decades searching, never stopping.

It wasn't a particularly touching story. War, civil strife, the separation of flesh and blood—such stories happened every day in the ninja world; his was no exception. And yet, when the old man stood before him, saying "You are my child" in a trembling voice, Orochimaru found that he felt no revulsion.

For him, that was already quite remarkable.

The day after their meeting, the man, already nearing his sixties or seventies, did not fear the hardship. He personally led five full carts of generous gifts—gold, silk, rare treasures, medicinal herbs, and several fine steeds—and set out on the road to the Land of Fire.

The Daimyō of the Land of Fire sat in his study, looking at the Daimyō of the Land of Sound, who had arrived covered in the dust of travel, despite being roughly his own age.

"Please, sit," the Daimyō of the Land of Fire gestured to the chair opposite him.

Fujiwara No, the Daimyō of the Land of Sound, sat down. His back was slightly hunched, but he sat very straight, clearly a man who valued etiquette.

The Daimyō of the Land of Fire picked up the gift list, glanced at it, and set it aside.

"Do you know what Orochimaru has done?"

"I know." Fujiwara No did not evade the question. "Human experimentation, defecting from the ninja village... he has done many wrong things. But he is my son, a son I have owed for decades. As a father, I failed to take good care of him or guide him during those years. Now that I have the chance, I must do something."

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire remained silent for a moment.

"I will cancel the arrest warrant, and I will have someone notify Konoha, but he must never again use his status as a Konoha ninja to do anything detrimental to the Land of Fire."

"He has promised me he will no longer be a ninja." A hint of happiness seeped into Fujiwara No's voice. "He wants to live a peaceful life and fulfill his filial duties by my side."

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire nodded, picked up his brush, wrote a few lines on the official document, and stamped it with his seal.

"Take it."

Fujiwara No took the document, his hands trembling slightly, and bowed deeply to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. "Thank you for your magnanimity."

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire waved his hand, signaling that he could leave.

The Daimyo of the Land of Sound walked to the door, paused, turned around, bowed once more, and then departed.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire sat in his study, looking out the window. In the courtyard, his grandchildren were chasing each other, their laughter as crisp as bells.

He picked up the gift list, read it over once more, and then set it down.

"When a man grows old, his heart softens," he muttered to himself.

Orochimaru returned to the capital of the Land of Sound with Fujiwara No. Following Orochimaru's request, no ceremony was held; the carriage entered the capital quietly, passing through the crowd without stopping.

The Daimyo's Mansion was in the north of the city, occupying a vast area, though its walls were not as high as those of the Sarutobi clan in Konoha. Several soldiers stood at the entrance, their backs straight, eyes fixed forward.

The carriage stopped before the main gate. The members of the Fujiwara family and the ministers of the Land of Sound were waiting there to welcome Daimyo Fujiwara No, and incidentally, to welcome the legendary eldest son.

Orochimaru stepped out of the carriage and followed Fujiwara No into the mansion. They passed through several gates and walked along long corridors until they reached the main hall.

Fujiwara No was dressed in dark formal attire, his hair combed neatly. He kept his hand linked with Orochimaru's, leading him to the seat of honor at the front left of the hall before taking his own seat in the center as the Daimyo.

The other members of the Fujiwara family sat in their usual places according to seniority. Judging by their practiced movements, the seat Orochimaru now occupied had always been left vacant; otherwise, someone surely would have been searching for a seat in confusion.

"I have returned today, and beyond the usual state affairs, there is another matter to announce." Fujiwara No's voice was not loud, but it was clearly audible throughout the hall.

All eyes were fixed upon him.

"Orochimaru is my eldest son, whom I have sought for many years. You should have all received the news by now. He has suffered much out there, and I, as his father, have owed him too much. Therefore, I wish to compensate him."

Fujiwara No paused, observed the expressions of those below him, and then said, "From today on, Fujiwara Orochimaru is my heir. For the remainder of this year, I will teach him how to handle government affairs and govern the country. On the first day of the New Year, he will officially succeed as the Daimyo of the Land of Sound. I ask that you all cooperate with him fully."

The hall erupted in an uproar. They had all assumed the Daimyo was merely acknowledging a child, and they were initially happy that a powerhouse had joined the Land of Sound, but they never expected him to become the heir to the throne!

A minister stood up, his face flushed red. "Lord Daimyo, this is inappropriate! Orochimaru was a Konoha ninja, a traitor to Konoha, and he is still..."

"He is no longer a traitor," Fujiwara No interrupted the minister coldly. "The Daimyo of the Land of Fire has already canceled his arrest warrant. He is now just an ordinary person, and my son."

"But the things he did before..."

"Who hasn't made mistakes in their youth?" Fujiwara No's tone grew even colder, and he stared at the minister with an unfriendly gaze. "Do you wish to dig up old accounts? Shall we also calculate the military funds you embezzled?"

The minister's face turned pale instantly. He opened his mouth, but said nothing more, and sat back down.

Others wanted to speak, but seeing Fujiwara No's dark expression, they wisely kept their mouths shut.

Fujiwara No scanned the room, and seeing no further opposition, he nodded and finalized the decision. "Then it is settled. I am tired; you are dismissed."

Seeing that Fujiwara No was determined to have his way, the ministers rose and left one by one. The other children of Fujiwara No glanced at their father, then at Orochimaru, who had remained silent from start to finish, and ultimately said nothing as they withdrew from the hall.

"You trust us that much?" Orochimaru asked, looking at Fujiwara No, who had obtained the promise of the White Snake Sage.

"Yes." Fujiwara No nodded. "A new war in the ninja world is coming soon. No matter what choice I make, the worst outcome is simply continuing as a vassal to the Land of Fire, just as we are now."

He stood up, walked over to Orochimaru, and leaned in to look at him.

"I know many nobles look down on you ninjas, thinking of you merely as tools in their hands, but I see an opportunity in you. No matter what you achieve, you will always bear the name Fujiwara."

Orochimaru looked up at Fujiwara No, his golden vertical pupils filled with appreciation.

A moment later, both men smiled.

"Father, are you not afraid that I will turn the Land of Sound into a second Konoha?"

Fujiwara No laughed. "You will not. Konoha can no longer satisfy you."

"Oh? Did the White Snake tell you that?"

"I saw it in your eyes." Fujiwara No shook his head. "There are many forces stronger than the Fujiwara family in the hands of the White Snake Sage, who has existed for a thousand years, but since you chose this place, then surely what you intend to do..."

Orochimaru fell silent, surprised that this old man, who clung to power and refused to abdicate, could be so perceptive at times. "Then you still dare to hand the Land of Sound over to us?"

Hearing Orochimaru's retort, Fujiwara No stopped probing. He straightened his body and walked slowly toward the back hall. "When a man grows old, the closer he gets to death, the more he fears it. The Land of Sound is yours now; do not forget what you promised me."

Orochimaru's memory lingered on Fujiwara No's departing figure. If not for the Method of National Fortune from Uchiha Naro, he suspected that he, too, would have made the same decision for that goal when he reached old age.

"Lord Orochimaru, subordinates report that ninjas of unknown identity have appeared within the capital." Footsteps came from behind, and a guard of the Land of Sound dutifully reported the situation to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru turned around and picked up his teacup, taking a sip. The tea was fragrant—a specialty of the Land of Sound, produced in such small quantities each year that it was reserved exclusively for the Daimyo's Mansion. He had never cared for such things before, but now that he was the Daimyo's son, these things appeared before him automatically.

Not because he wanted them, but because of who he was.

This was power. This was status. This was fortune.

"Just keep an eye on them. Do not let them disturb the merchants coming to do business in our country."

"Understood." The guard bowed and retreated.

"Oh, and continue to send people to contact the merchants of the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Iron. Tell them that the Land of Sound will reduce taxes by thirty percent, and do your best to lobby them to come and develop in our land..."