Orochimaru probably thought Genya wanted to discuss the fight for the Hokage's seat and secure his support for the Uchiha.
Orochimaru might have lost the race to become the Fourth Hokage, but that was only because Sarutobi Hiruzen had taken sides.
During the Third Great Ninja War, Orochimaru had commanded large-scale forces too. His achievements were certainly no less impressive than Namikaze Minato's.
The fact that Orochimaru had even been a candidate for Fourth Hokage showed how far he stood above Fugaku, who had never been in the running.
Orochimaru was no longer particularly interested in becoming Hokage, which was why he had ignored Genya's invitation.
But that was fine. Before long, Orochimaru would come to him on his own.
Uchiha Genya was absolutely certain of that.
Meanwhile, although Shimura Danzō had suffered a setback at Sarutobi Hiruzen's hands, he had not given up.
But for some reason, every notable ninja clan in Konoha had rejected his demands.
They would not assign any jōnin to Root. They would not even hand over their gifted children.
Only a few small clans had buckled under Shimura Danzō's pressure and reluctantly sent Root a handful of rejects.
Given how little standing those clans had, the strength of the Shinobi within them was easy to imagine.
They were probably only a little better than ordinary cannon fodder.
Shimura Danzō flew into a rage and swore that once he became Hokage, he would make every clan that had snubbed him pay!
Especially Ino-Shika-Cho. Did they really think calling themselves part of the Hokage Faction meant they had nothing to worry about?
Once he became Hokage, he would send every last one of them to the front lines as cannon fodder!
Root's elimination rate was extremely high. To produce capable tools, it needed a constant influx of fresh recruits.
Shimura Danzō had originally set his sights on war orphans, but the Uchiha Security Force was riding high, and its members always went out in teams of three.
Danzō had sent people to the Konoha Orphanage more than once, but somehow, the Uchiha showed up every time and stopped Root.
He claimed everything he did was for the village, but taking the orphaned children of those who had died for Konoha to a place as notorious as Root was something he could only do in secret.
If it came to light, the public outrage would be enormous. Even Sarutobi Hiruzen might not be able to protect him then.
Who could accept risking their life for the village, only to have their child sent to Root's laboratory for human experimentation after they died?
The entire village's credibility could be shaken.
Now that the Uchiha held the moral high ground, Shimura Danzō had no choice but to back off for the time being.
But Danzō absolutely refused to go without subordinates.
After turning the problem over in his mind, he had the clever idea of targeting the Mitokado and Utatane families.
He did not dare go after the Sarutobi Clan yet, but he showed his other old comrades no such consideration. Shimura Danzō went straight to their doors and demanded people.
The matter even reached Sarutobi Hiruzen.
When Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu came to the Hokage's office building, red-faced and complaining, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a wave of exhaustion. He immediately summoned Shimura Danzō back.
"What the hell are you doing? Didn't I tell you to lie low for a while?"
"Today you demand people from the Mitokado and Utatane families. Are you going to show up at my Sarutobi Clan's compound tomorrow and demand people from me?!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed the table and roared, nearly spraying spit in Shimura Danzō's face.
So the Uchiha were too tough to bite, and now you're going after easier targets.
First you offended Ino-Shika-Cho and the other ninja clans. Now you won't even spare your old comrades' families!
Sarutobi Hiruzen knew what kind of place Root was, perhaps even better than Danzō, its leader.
Its elimination rate was terrifying. If one out of ten recruits became a qualified Root Shinobi, that was already a good result.
What happened to the rest went without saying. Even if they barely survived the brutal selection process, they could still end up as subjects for human experimentation.
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had made their position perfectly clear.
We followed you for the benefits. We put up with some of Danzō's excesses, but now you're letting him treat our own people as tools, no differently from the other ninja clans.
If that's how it is, why should we keep following you?
Danzō was trying to take the strongest and most talented members of every ninja clan in Konoha without discrimination.
No one could put up with that.
His old comrades had brought their complaints straight to him. How could he continue to stand by?
Danzō was furious too. "Then what do you expect me to do? I can't recruit from the major clans, and the Uchiha keep interfering at the orphanage. You can't expect me to go outside the village and grab people, can you?"
Danzō certainly did not want to seize people outside the village, much less from other small ninja villages.
How could those rejects compare to the quality of Shinobi from a major village?
If he poured time and resources into them and got no capable tools in return, Danzō would be furious.
As for training his subordinates by conventional means, Danzō had never even considered it.
Root's defining trait was its cold-blooded ruthlessness. Completing the mission came first; everything else, even a comrade's life or death, was secondary.
Without that training, Root would be nothing more than a weaker Anbu. Shimura Danzō's ambition would never let him accept that.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was so angry he almost laughed. He pointed a finger at Shimura Danzō's nose and said:
"Drop the act. I'm warning you: Namikaze Minato is the Hokage now!"
"At Minato's age, with his fighting ability, he could hold that seat for another twenty years—maybe even thirty!"
"So let me make this clear: as long as I'm alive, you will never become Hokage!!"
That was the final blow. Danzō's lips trembled with rage, and his grip tightened desperately around his cane.
But none of it could suppress the fury in Danzō's eyes—or the cold, murderous intent beneath it.
You say I can't become Hokage while you're alive?
Then I just have to kill you, don't I?
Namikaze Minato sensed Shimura Danzō's killing intent. Without changing his expression, he took out a strangely shaped Tri-Pronged Kunai, ready to stop Danzō if he lost control.
Minato was confident he could. With the Flying Thunder God and Rasengan at his disposal, he had both speed and offensive power.
There were few people in the entire Ninja World who could be certain of defeating him.
And even if he could not win, he could run. With the Flying Thunder God, no one could catch him.