Jiraiya Returned to Vie for the Hokage Seat! The Scapegoat's Son Was Still a Scapegoat! [Two-in-One]

So the civilians were unhappy with him banning the sale of ninjutsu. But because of the favors he had done for them in the past, they only complained a little, and even then, only in private. They wouldn't say it in front of outsiders.

Second, the Anbu had received intelligence from his eldest son: Amegakure had been attacked by the Akatsuki, and Hanzo of the Salamander was believed to be dead. Shimura Danzō, who had also been in Amegakure, had lost contact, and only some Root members whose identities had been erased remained. The information had been extracted from captured Amegakure escapees.

It was the internal troubles combined with the external threat that gave Sarutobi Hiruzen the biggest headache.

"Then let's begin the meeting."

Sarutobi Hiruzen announced directly.

No matter how much of a headache it was, the work still had to get done.

At first, they went through the regular reports, in order: the border, the Anbu, Root, and the Military Police Force.

It was all quite routine: a few spies had been caught, the neighboring villages had been getting restless and were put in their place, the number of completed missions, changes within the surrounding minor countries, and so on. Much the same as usual.

After much hesitation, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided not to discuss Amegakure at the meeting. The Uchiha couldn't clear themselves of their connection to Uchiha Madara, and the Akatsuki couldn't be disentangled from him either.

"Then, is there anything else to report?"

As soon as those words were spoken, it was as if the horn of war had been sounded.

"Third Hokage, the Uchiha Clan is selling ninjutsu without authorization, exposing Konoha's secrets. I suspect the Uchiha Clan has been bribed by another village!"

"Ninjutsu is confidential. It can't be sold at will. Doing something like this is practically cutting off their own escape route!"

"Please punish the Uchiha Clan, permanently forbid them from selling ninjutsu, and stop them from obtaining any new techniques from Konoha, to prevent them from leaking them!"

The ones shouting were mostly members of small and medium-sized clans. The major clans, such as Ino-Shika-Cho, stayed silent, but not one of them spoke up in the Uchiha's defense.

If they weren't afraid of drawing the Uchiha Clan's attention, they might have joined in and kicked them while they were down.

"Oh, is that so?"

"Fugaku, do you have anything to say?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked surprised, then turned to Fugaku in confusion.

He acted as if this were the first he'd heard of it.

Even though he was the one who had issued the ban.

"Gin is in charge of this matter, so I'll let him explain."

Fugaku stepped aside without hesitation, giving Uchiha Gin the floor.

Uchiha Gin didn't stand on ceremony either. He went straight to Fugaku's spot.

"You're saying the Uchiha Clan is selling confidential techniques?"

"These are all ordinary ninjutsu, C-rank and D-rank, and they're ordinary techniques from the five basic nature transformations. What's confidential about them?"

Uchiha Gin asked, looking puzzled.

"These techniques are the ones the Konoha Mission Office uses to reward ninjas who complete dangerous missions. According to the information we've collected, more than sixty percent of them match the techniques being offered as rewards!"

"The Uchiha are selling Konoha's interests and secrets. Isn't that a transgression?"

Someone stood up and challenged him directly.

They even produced statistics, clearly prepared in advance.

"?"

"The ninjutsu at the Mission Office originally belonged to the Uchiha, and some of it belonged to the Senju Clan."

"When Konoha was founded, the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan made an agreement to exchange ninjutsu. They exchanged all techniques below B-rank. Those techniques belonged to the Uchiha and the Senju from the start."

"You could say Konoha has been using the techniques provided by the Uchiha and the Senju over the years to reward everyone for free. Now the Uchiha Clan has simply put some of them up for sale on their own. What's wrong with that?"

Uchiha Gin's answer left the room utterly silent.

The Uchiha wouldn't sell any ninjutsu that was genuinely troublesome. They were selling techniques from the Uchiha and the Senju, along with some they had seized on the battlefield or copied.

Back then, the Sarutobi Clan had been weaker than Ino-Shika-Cho. Without the Second Hokage and Sarutobi Hiruzen becoming Hokage, they would have been no more than a mid-sized clan, let alone one with a large stockpile of ninjutsu.

It was no exaggeration to say that the Senju and the Uchiha had supplied more than half of the ninjutsu in Konoha's five basic nature transformations.

That answer, grounded in history, left many people at a loss for words.

"That's just the Uchiha's side of the story. Maybe it's a lie!"

The speaker was from the Shimura Clan. Their clan leader, Danzō, had been driven out, so they already hated the Uchiha. Now that they'd found an opportunity, they had to fire off a retort, even if they didn't have a good reason.

"Lady Tsunade, the head of the Senju Clan, should still be alive, right? Bring her back to face us. If this is a lie, then the Uchiha Clan will let everyone here learn all its ninjutsu without conditions. How's that?"

Uchiha Gin sneered and shot back.

Go ahead and bring Tsunade back. Let's see who'd dare.

The civilians didn't know the Senju Clan's situation, but the people at the top did.

If they went to find Tsunade, they'd be lucky if she only beat them up.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression darkened. He could tell the Uchiha had come well prepared. It seemed they were determined to push this through.

So he had to stop them. He signaled to Nara Shikaku with his eyes.

Nara Shikaku sighed inwardly, but stepped forward all the same.

"Captain Gin, this matter involves a lot of things. Ever since the First Hokage, these ninjutsu have been part of the rewards for completing missions. Selling them now would undoubtedly harm the village's interests."

"If people can buy ninjutsu with money, who'll bother putting their all into completing missions in the future?"

Nara Shikaku didn't threaten them. Instead, he took a conciliatory approach, making Konoha seem hard-pressed and emphasizing that it was all for everyone's sake.

"Huh?"

"The Uchiha Clan isn't selling ninjutsu for its own benefit. The money from these sales will go toward developing new Scientific Ninja Tools."

"Everyone saw the other day that Orochimaru, the leader of Root, used the latest cutting-edge Scientific Ninja Tool. It could form a chakra shield for defense, and it could even fly. Every last bit of money earned from selling these techniques will go into developing new Scientific Ninja Tools, lowering their cost and adding new functions."

"These new Scientific Ninja Tools can reduce ninja casualties and improve mobility. Money can buy fewer ninja deaths in the future. The Uchiha Clan is selling ninjutsu for Konoha's sake, too."

"There's no other way. The village has no funds, and the Uchiha Clan has no money left to provide. Next month's salaries are due soon, and we're still short by over ten million ryo. We need to keep this up for a long time and buy materials. We're really out of options."

Listening to Nara Shikaku, Uchiha Gin felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.

It was just like hearing experts in his previous life say, "If everyone could afford a house, who'd work hard anymore?"

It was disgusting.

If these people had the guts to fight without ninjutsu from now on, using only kunai and shuriken, and to send their young clan members and newly graduated civilian Genin to the battlefield as human bombs, just like in the Third Shinobi World War, then he'd have nothing to say.

So Uchiha Gin started playing the victim too. Everyone was doing it for Konoha; they couldn't say he was in the wrong.

"Scientific Ninja Tools are certainly useful, but compared with the investment, their returns don't seem all that great. And won't the Uchiha Clan be the ones earning the profits from these tools in the future?"

Hyuga Hiashi spoke up.

He hadn't been the first to stick his neck out. After Nara Shikaku stepped in, he understood what Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted, so he took the role of the second speaker. More importantly, he had to help out when it came to dealing with the Uchiha.

"Scientific Ninja Tools do have practical value. According to intelligence gathered by the Root Organization, Kumogakure is also developing Scientific Ninja Tools, incorporating all sorts of technological functions."

"Also, selling ninjutsu has another purpose besides raising funds."

Orochimaru was the one who spoke. His voice was one that most people would never forget after hearing it once.

Everyone stared at Orochimaru in surprise.

They all knew this was connected to Orochimaru, but they'd deliberately ignored him and focused their hostility on the Uchiha Clan.

They hadn't expected Orochimaru to step in himself. Couldn't he see this was a mess?

"What other purpose could there be? It's just for money, at the expense of Konoha's interests!"

The speaker was from the Shimura Clan again.

Their clan leader was gone, but they were still defiant. The Third Hokage had once visited the Shimura Clan to comfort them.

He had made no promises when he left, though. He'd only told them to go ahead and do what they wanted, without offering any guarantees.

"These are the figures from the Third Shinobi World War. The death rate for civilian ninjas was ten times that of ninjas from clans. Most died because they lacked experience. The next most common cause was that they had only their ninja tools to attack with and couldn't stand against the enemy's ninjutsu."

"On ordinary missions, the death rate for civilian ninjas was four times that of clan ninjas. The most common cause of death was insufficient strength: they didn't understand the enemy's ninjutsu and lacked suitable techniques to counterattack with."

Orochimaru took out a stack of papers and began listing the death rates of civilian ninjas.

The words made many clan leaders tense up.

Who didn't know this? But what did it have to do with them?

You were a civilian without a clan to back you. It served you right if you died!

Sarutobi Hiruzen, however, sensed something was wrong. It seemed... this was aimed at him!

"Next are the figures for something else: civilian ninjas who knew a few low-level techniques had more than twice the survival rate of those who knew none."

"Just a few low-level techniques could double their survival rate."

Orochimaru's words left everyone bewildered.

At the same time, some people in the crowd looked eager.

Now all the clan members realized what Orochimaru was planning: opening up low-level ninjutsu to civilians.

"More than fifty percent of the techniques the Uchiha Clan is selling are already known to the minor villages around us, and the other four of the Five Great Villages have mastered eighty percent of them. They're not confidential at all."

"But if civilian ninjas could learn a few low-level techniques, their death rate would fall by at least half. The ninjas who survived battle would have greater potential, more of them could become Jonin, and they could complete more missions, increasing Konoha's income."

"If the Uchiha aren't allowed to sell these low-level techniques, then I think the Mission Office should make it easier to receive low-level ninjutsu as a reward. They should grant one after a ninja completes a certain number of D-rank and C-rank missions."

Orochimaru concluded by laying out his proposal.

The room fell completely silent.

They wanted to stop him, but couldn't bring themselves to speak up. Favoring civilian ninjas was, after all, the Third Hokage's policy.

"If that's the case, then the Uchiha Clan will stop selling ninjutsu. This is, after all, for Konoha's interests."

Fugaku finally spoke.

Many people wanted to bite his head off.

"Orochimaru, I never imagined you cared so much about Konoha."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sounded surprised.

But he couldn't hide the anger in his voice, and many people could hear it.

"Of course. I'm doing everything I can because I want to become Hokage!"

Orochimaru smiled at his teacher, then said it in a perfectly calm voice.

In an instant, many people's pupils contracted sharply.

If a kid like Naruto said something like that, no one would take it seriously. They'd only encourage him.

But when someone of Orochimaru's standing said it, that was different. He was genuinely going to vie for the Hokage's seat.

Not a single clan leader from any of the major clans present would dare say such a thing.

At that moment, Orochimaru was like the sole crown prince declaring that he wanted to become emperor. Other than someone like Zhu Yuanzhang, which emperor could tolerate that?

The crown prince was rebelling!

"Hahaha!"

"I never imagined you had such grand ambitions."

"Then we'll end the matter here. The Uchiha Clan is forbidden from selling ninjutsu, and the requirements for obtaining C-rank and D-rank techniques will be lowered. Completing C-rank and D-rank missions will earn them a technique. I'll discuss the specifics with the two Hokage Assistants."

"That's all for today."

After Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking, he got up and left.

It was impossible to stop low-level ninjutsu from being given to civilians, so at the very least, he could stop the Uchiha Clan from selling it. That would at least earn him a little goodwill. It wouldn't affect him much, but it would cause trouble for those small and mid-sized clans. He could leave that to Orochimaru, the one who'd caused this mess!

He couldn't keep the coldness off his face as he left. Many people noticed.

"Things are about to change!"

Many people had the same thought.

Some of them also began to wonder whether they should support Orochimaru.