Orochimaru: Giving It Everything to Become Hokage! [Part Two]

"We could turn Hanzo into Pain and keep him in the public eye, claiming that he won while the Akatsuki continued operating in secret. That might be better."

Konan said from the side.

It was the backup plan they had discussed earlier, one they hadn't intended to use.

After all, Hanzo was the culprit behind Yahiko's death. But for the sake of the bigger picture, they had no choice.

"We can only do that. Use the Preta Path in his place."

Nagato nodded and made the decision.

Next came the cleanup. It would take some time to deal with everything.

Amegakure was practically in ruins. The giant beasts summoned by the Animal Path had wrecked many buildings just by moving around.

But they could repair them gradually with manpower later. There was no need to rush.

Then he used the Deva Path to summon Biwa Juzo and Shisui. There was also his enemy Danzo. He wanted to see him dead.

Shisui and Biwa Juzo arrived soon after.

"Where's Shimura Danzo?"

Seeing only the two of them, with no body or head in sight, the Deva Path frowned.

Biwa Juzo glanced at Shisui, too. He had killed all of Danzo's subordinates. Could that kid have been too young and let the old fox Danzo get away?

He wondered if he should help take the blame. A furious Pain seemed like a lot of trouble.

"Madara took him."

Shisui said calmly.

"?"

Biwa Juzo's eyes widened.

He thought he'd heard a name he really shouldn't have.

The Deva Path furrowed his brow.

"Don't tell anyone about this."

Then he reminded Biwa Juzo.

He assumed Shisui was on Uchiha Madara's side, but Shisui's expression now made it seem as though he was dissatisfied with Uchiha Madara.

Nagato hadn't completely trusted Uchiha Madara either, but there was no way to break free of him for now. Besides, Nagato wanted to make use of his strength.

Biwa Juzo nodded without complaint.

He had only defected from Kirigakure because he wanted to find work. He didn't want to get mixed up in trouble.

"Go keep order and help Sasori and Kakuzu. If anyone causes trouble or tries to escape, execute them on the spot."

The Deva Path assigned the two of them their next task.

Neither objected. They went straight to work.

"I hope I can get the information back safely!"

Shisui had taken advantage of the chaos to successfully send out a Shadow Clone to carry out the mission.

He had prepared in advance. Zetsu had an exceptionally strong sensory ability, and a Shadow Clone's chakra signature was identical to its original's. If the clone simply ran off, it would be detected. So Shisui had deliberately made a clone with the smallest possible amount of chakra. He had also used genjutsu to control a shinobi from Amegakure and had them inject their chakra into the clone, disrupting Shisui's own chakra signature.

The clone could last for ten minutes at most. If it couldn't escape in that time, the mission would fail—and it risked being discovered and exposed!

Uchiha Gin, meanwhile, wasn't under nearly as much pressure. He already knew this information and didn't care about it. The main reason he'd sent Shisui out was to give him a chance to test his wits against others and keep him from focusing on his own family.

"What did you say?"

"The Uchiha Clan is selling ninjutsu!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked utterly disbelieving.

After all, ninjutsu was what gave these clans their strength. Aside from bloodline clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga, and secret-technique clans like Ino-Shika-Cho and the Aburame, the strength of the other clans came from the ninjutsu they had collected.

Those techniques made their members stronger and more versatile than shinobi of the same rank. That was where clan shinobi had an advantage over civilian shinobi.

Civilian shinobi could either risk their lives on dangerous missions for Konoha in exchange for the chance to learn ninjutsu, or obtain techniques from enemies they killed. Those were essentially the only ways civilian shinobi in the Ninja World could get their hands on ninjutsu.

And now the Uchiha Clan was making ninjutsu available for purchase?

Wasn't that picking a fight with all the countless small and medium-sized clans?

Not to mention the biggest supplier of ninjutsu of all: Konoha!

"This is the flyer they handed out to shinobi at Konoha's entrance. They're selling around a hundred C- and D-rank techniques across the five nature types."

A member of Anbu handed Sarutobi Hiruzen a black-and-white flyer.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen picked it up, he automatically took his reading glasses out of his desk drawer and put them on.

After reading it, he saw that it was real.

The Uchiha Clan Crest was printed prominently on it.

"C- and D-rank?"

"But Orochimaru's involved, too?"

When Sarutobi Hiruzen saw Orochimaru's name on the flyer, his brow furrowed at once.

He didn't think his former student was a fool. In fact, Orochimaru was the smartest of his three students.

Doing something like this was tantamount to opposing all the small and medium-sized clans!

Although a technique's rank didn't represent its power, but rather its difficulty to learn, C- and D-rank techniques were generally free of nature and shape transformations. They were still more than sufficient for most Genin and Chunin.

They were also the trump cards of most small and medium-sized clans.

"What are they really after? Is it just money?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a dull ache between his brows.

Being Hokage was no easy job!

"Lord Hokage, should we stop them?"

The Anbu member asked.

He was clearly furious, too. Most people joined Anbu for the ninjutsu.

Otherwise, life as a regular shinobi would be much easier, with far less pressure. Anbu missions came with a high chance of running into Jonin, after all.

They worked so hard for the techniques the village rewarded them with!

Anbu techniques were better, of course. They could choose B-rank techniques, and those with outstanding records could even get A-rank ones. The Uchiha were only selling C-rank techniques at most. But that didn't mean he was willing to see something like this happen.

Most people thought that since they'd been left out in the rain, they should tear away everyone else's umbrellas, too.

Help someone hold their umbrella?

Just seeing someone else with one made them uncomfortable!

"Order them to stop. Inform the Uchiha and Orochimaru that this matter will be discussed at the Konoha meeting one week from now."

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave the order decisively.

He didn't know what they were up to, but stopping them was the right move!

This absolutely couldn't be allowed to spread.

If it weren't the Uchiha and Orochimaru, he would have ordered their arrest long ago.

This time, he would make the Uchiha and Orochimaru kneel and apologize at the meeting!

"They moved faster than I expected."

Orochimaru and Uchiha Gin stood on the roof of the Military Police Force building, watching as Anbu brought Sarutobi Hiruzen's ban. Neither showed the slightest sign of alarm.

"This really does threaten the interests of those in power."

"How's the new development coming along?"

Uchiha Gin said without concern.

What they were doing was like giving everyone the right to read in a feudal dynasty. They were bound to face obstacles. And Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't an emperor, just a village chief.

When the village chief and the landlords realized that every villager could read, how could they not panic?

Who would work the fields and risk their lives for them then?

It had never occurred to them that these educated people could create even greater benefits.

"It succeeded. We developed an Enhancement Serum from a newly discovered gene in those three test subjects. It can repair the Uchiha Clan's genes."

Orochimaru answered.

The genes of the Uchiha and Senju combined to form a complete set of genes.

The newly extracted gene made the Uchiha Clan's bodies more adaptable, and they were almost never rejected.

But the improvement it offered was inferior to using Senju cells directly. It also ruled out the possibility of using First Hokage Cells for further enhancement. It was like getting a vaccine: once you gained resistance, the effects weakened or even disappeared if you contracted the virus later.

"If we had Uchiha Madara's genes and could combine them with First Hokage Cells, the two together would be perfect."

Uchiha Gin wasn't surprised. After all, in Boruto, even First Hokage Cells could be developed into ninja tools and used to make prosthetic limbs.

Ordinary people could handle them. How could the Uchiha Clan possibly have a problem?

"Is it the power of Indra and Ashura?"

Orochimaru asked.

"Itachi told you? That's right. That's the power I yearn for."

Uchiha Gin nodded, unsurprised, then said with a smile.

That was indeed one of his goals, though only one of them.

Itachi wouldn't be stupid enough to tell Orochimaru that Sasuke was Indra's reincarnation, would he?

"Things are getting more and more interesting."

Orochimaru replied with a smile, still as sinister as ever.

He didn't mind having information kept from him. He thoroughly enjoyed the process of gradually unraveling the mysteries.

Now he was already looking forward to the troubles they would encounter next.

Chapter 57: Orochimaru: Giving It Everything to Become Hokage! [Part Two]

The day of the Konoha meeting arrived.

Shinobi throughout the village were discussing the Uchiha Clan's plan to sell ninjutsu a few days earlier.

Although Orochimaru's name was on it, hardly anyone seemed to notice. Their attention was fixed on the Uchiha Clan.

Perhaps someone had deliberately steered things that way.

The meeting hall was already filling with attendees.

The Uchiha Clan's representatives were still Fugaku, Gin, and Tekka. Shisui's place had been taken by Hyuga Himon.

The poor guy had been exhausted lately. Besides his work as a civil enforcer, he was also responsible for investigating the Military Police Force's secrets. But the Military Police Force had no secrets to investigate. The Uchiha Clan members spent their shifts looking forward to clocking out. Apart from their regular duties, they mostly slacked off. Some trained, but none of them seemed to be preparing for battle.

Dark circles surrounded his Byakugan, making him look worn out.

He could also feel hostile gazes constantly coming his way.

He knew why. The Uchiha Clan's plan to sell ninjutsu had angered everyone. But he really wanted to say that he wasn't Uchiha. Could they stop targeting him?

Sarutobi Hiruzen soon entered with the two elders. The three of them sat in a triangular arrangement, with Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura seated behind Sarutobi Hiruzen, one to either side.

Looking at the Uchiha and Root contingents below, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt irritated.

After he issued the ban, many civilians had grown resentful. Some civilian shinobi had already bought the techniques before the ban. There weren't many—just over twenty—but those who hadn't managed to buy any were furious.

They didn't dare say anything openly, but the private complaints wouldn't stop.

Those at the bottom wanted to climb higher, while those at the top blocked the way. That was reality.