Hokage I Choose Orochimaru, Ten Years to Ascend the Moon

Once the meeting concluded, the news regarding the relaxation of restrictions on low-level ninjutsu could not be kept under wraps.

At that meeting, over one-fifth of the members were of civilian origin. The previous leader of the civilian ninja faction had been the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who had promoted a large number of civilian ninjas during his brief tenure.

After the death of Minato Namikaze, the civilian ninjas with the most leadership potential were undoubtedly Orochimaru and Jiraiya. However, with Jiraiya having left the village, Orochimaru remained the sole leader for the civilian ninjas.

Just as clan-based ninjas tend to band together, civilian ninjas do the same; after all, humans are social animals who understand that unity is the key to survival, and leaders naturally emerge within such groups.

Therefore, since their leader, Orochimaru, had secured benefits for them, the civilian ninjas naturally spread the word.

"So that's it. Orochimaru is getting involved with the Uchiha Clan—is his ultimate goal the position of Hokage?"

"Orochimaru is undoubtedly dealing with a tiger; he has no idea how dangerous the Uchiha Clan truly is. If he actually becomes Hokage, he might just end up as a puppet for the Uchiha."

"If we try to stop him, it will very likely trigger a civil war."

"The position of Hokage must never be given to Orochimaru. A civil war is still better than the collapse of Konoha."

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were engaged in a heated discussion.

They had intended to go in and reprimand the Uchiha today, but they hadn't expected the Uchiha to invoke tradition. Since the ninjutsu used for rewards in Konoha originally belonged to them, it was difficult to justify forbidding them from selling their own techniques.

Then, Orochimaru stepped forward, causing a sensation. He stood up for the interests and lives of the civilian ninjas, and the Uchiha, in turn, relinquished their own profits.

Most importantly, Sarutobi Hiruzen had always used the civilian ninjas as a talking point. Now that a real issue had arisen, if he were to forbid this, he would undoubtedly be abandoned by the civilian ninjas, who would then support Orochimaru even more—and these civilian ninjas were Sarutobi Hiruzen's political base.

Danzo had used the authority of the Hokage to suppress many large clans. How could these clans not see that Danzo would never have dared to treat them this way without Sarutobi Hiruzen's permission? Thus, these large clans were eager to see Sarutobi Hiruzen suffer a setback.

The source of this confidence was the massive number of civilian ninjas who could replace the Chunin-level members of these large clans at any time. Meanwhile, small and medium-sized clans could produce Jonin—if you don't want to do the work, there are plenty of others who will!

The only ones suffering now were the small and medium-sized clans. Ninjas from these clans made up about thirty percent of the Chunin base, and Chunin was their limit. The first step in the rise of civilian ninjas was to steal their livelihood.

Although they held some power, it was limited, as their proportion of Jonin was not high. The gap between them and the civilian ninjas was less than twofold, whereas the large clans held the real strength.

"The trouble now is the Akatsuki."

"If Amegakure has truly been occupied by them, and if Uchiha Madara is indeed hiding within that organization, there is a high possibility that the Fourth Great Ninja War will break out."

Sarutobi Hiruzen was reviewing the intelligence sent back by the Anbu.

They had already captured five ninjas fleeing from Amegakure, and the intelligence they provided was consistent: Hanzo was likely dead.

The renowned ninja of the Second Great Ninja War, the Demigod of the Shinobi World, had fallen just like that?

"Hiruzen, I believe it is time to bring Jiraiya back."

"He was unwilling to shoulder this responsibility back then, leaving it to his student, Minato Namikaze, but now Konoha is in a moment of crisis."

"The situation with Orochimaru and the Uchiha is relatively stable for now. They want internal competition, so we can use Jiraiya to compete with them and buy time for peace. If a war does break out, we can have the two of them lead teams to the front lines. We can arrange for Orochimaru to lead the Uchiha Clan to the most dangerous areas, which will also give Jiraiya an opportunity."

"Rather than a civil war, it is better to direct our strength against external enemies. That is best for Konoha."

Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses and stated his thoughts directly.

This strategy was quite familiar; it was how they had dealt with the Senju Clan back in the day. Without the permission of the higher-ups, such a thing could never have been accomplished.

"Indeed. Regardless, we cannot sit by and watch Orochimaru continue to win people over. We need someone to compete with him, and the final power of decision rests with us, doesn't it?"

Utatane Koharu agreed with this approach.

Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered for a moment, then nodded, deciding to proceed as planned.

The external situation was indeed more pressing than the internal one. As long as Orochimaru and the Uchiha did not openly revolt, things could be handled slowly. Moreover, as Hokage, he could maneuver more effectively during wartime.

"Have the Anbu contact Jiraiya and have him return to Konoha at full speed."

"At the same time, dispatch more ninjas to the border of the Land of Rain, and send an Anbu squad to confirm whether Hanzo is truly dead."

Sarutobi Hiruzen issued his orders.

He had considered sending Uchiha Gin to execute this mission, but after much hesitation, he gave up on the idea.

One Mangekyo user had already run off, and there was still that old monster potentially lurking out there. If another Mangekyo user left, Konoha would be in real trouble. The Uchiha were currently like a cat being stroked the right way; it was better not to provoke them.

"These old fossils are truly out of touch with the times."

Orochimaru and Uchiha Gin were enjoying a meal in a private room at an Uchiha restaurant.

Three days had passed since the meeting, and there was quite a stir in the village.

However, the news about lowering the barriers for civilian ninjas to learn ninjutsu had already been spun as a joint effort between Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen, with the Uchiha being completely ignored.

If Danzo were still around, he might have turned it into a total victory for Sarutobi Hiruzen; Danzo was always more skilled at spreading rumors.

"Their thinking has simply solidified."

"Now, we can start to let go and act."

Uchiha Gin said.

This was merely the beginning of the prologue.

Yesterday, he had received intelligence from Shisui, delivered through the Ninja Cat network.

He knew that the Akatsuki had caused quite a commotion and that Danzo had fallen into the hands of Obito.

Uchiha Gin was not in a hurry. He felt that Konoha would be even more anxious soon, and this situation was more suitable for the Uchiha's next moves. He couldn't send a message back to Shisui, but as long as Shisui didn't die, it would be fine.

"Being a mere commoner isn't enough to shake the position of the Hokage."

"Are you confident about the Hyuga Clan?"

Orochimaru took a bite of his Molecular Ice Cream, looking satisfied, before asking.

"A meeting is already set for tonight. The commoner status is just a pretext; the final decision on the Hokage position rests with the great nobles and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. Everything has already been planned out."

"The Uchiha Clan is undergoing large-scale genetic completion. Once that's done, their strength will increase significantly, likely reaching the level where the Uchiha Clan held a third of the village's power back in the time of the First."

Uchiha Gin nodded.

He had found an opportunity these past few days to have Blue Star control a member of Hyuga Hiashi's guard, successfully passing on the message for a private meeting.

The reason Uchiha Gin didn't care about the other clans was that he was prepared to drag the Hyuga Clan into this. Besides, these were all just preventive measures; he primarily relied on his own strength.

"You clearly handle these matters better than anyone, yet you cannot hold the position of Hokage yourself."

Orochimaru truly felt this way.

He was currently more interested in obtaining the cells of Uchiha Madara to study them thoroughly. To think that a soul could be reincarnated, bringing forth such immense power.

Uchiha Gin had made him pay closer attention to the analysis of chakra. It turned out that chakra could act as a vessel for a reincarnated soul, containing vast amounts of information and data. He had vaguely entertained this idea before; the reincarnation method of the Heavenly Cursed Seal was somewhat similar to the Karma, though it used soul fragments directly as a medium for reincarnation.

However, his recent research had become increasingly arduous. The sheer volume of tedious, repetitive verification was a waste of his time. Reforming scientific research as Hokage was exactly what he wanted to do now.

"The position of Hokage should continue to be inherited by you disciples of the Hokage."

Uchiha Gin felt a bit disgusted; Hokage was just a synonym for hypocrisy.

Once the Uchiha genetic completion was finished, they would actually have the strength to just run away. But Konoha was, after all, the ancestral property of the Uchiha—why should they run?

He was still waiting for Konoha to make money so he could get his share to buy gemstones!

He hadn't even gathered half the manufacturing costs for his Mystic Code yet, but he could start working on it now.

Orochimaru shrugged, preparing to return to his tedious verification experiments. He had already begun parsing the information contained within the chakra of the First Hokage Cells.

That night, within the courtyard where Hyuga Hiashi resided, Hyuga Hiashi pushed open the door to the tea room and knelt on the tatami, eyes closed as if in deep thought.

Suddenly, Hyuga Hiashi opened his eyes, a look of shock crossing his face as he saw Uchiha Gin appear before him out of nowhere.

"I believe I arrived on time."

Uchiha Gin said as he sat down without ceremony.

At the same time, the pattern in his pupils caught Hyuga Hiashi's attention: the Mangekyō Sharingan!

In truth, he had been hesitant about meeting Uchiha Gin, ultimately choosing to wait and see if Uchiha Gin could actually reach him.

He was surrounded by a squad of branch family members from the Hyuga Clan, taking turns using their Byakugan to observe the surroundings, covering a hundred-meter radius around the courtyard. Yet, Uchiha Gin had entered just like that, without causing the slightest stir.

"The relationship between the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan has never been good. I wonder what important matter requires such a meeting."

Hyuga Hiashi was a big shot in his own right. Though he felt a flicker of panic—reasoning that Uchiha Gin likely wasn't here to assassinate him, as his previous remarks were merely a verbal jab—this was a reasonable question.

Meanwhile, his hands began preparing tea to mask his inner agitation.

"You must have noticed what the Uchiha have been doing lately."

Uchiha Gin asked directly.

Hyuga Hiashi felt a toothache. He could roughly guess the situation. Did the Uchiha want them, the Hyuga, to support Orochimaru as well?

He had no interest in such things. For a major clan like his, aside from the Ino-Shika-Cho who relied entirely on Sarutobi, the other major clans preferred chaos, as it allowed them to reap greater benefits.

When the Senju Clan fell, it was Sarutobi and the Ino-Shika-Cho who feasted the most, followed by the other major clans. Only the Uchiha were restricted and left to watch from the sidelines.

Therefore, this time, he intended to do as he had before: stay neutral and wait to lap up the scraps.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Uchiha want to help Orochimaru become Hokage, right?"

However, Uchiha Gin's intimidation remained, and he dared not gamble, so he answered honestly.

"I want the Hyuga Clan to support Orochimaru at the critical moment."

Uchiha Gin stated his intentions plainly.

He didn't expect the Hyuga Clan to support Orochimaru with all their heart; it would be enough if they simply turned the tide at the crucial moment.

For instance, when a new Hokage needed to be selected after the death of Sarutobi Hiruzen, they could offer their support to Orochimaru.

"Why should we?"

"The Hyuga Clan has always remained neutral and has no desire to intervene in these matters."

Hyuga Hiashi's attitude was somewhat firm.

Though he feared Uchiha Gin might strike at him, he still possessed a sense of responsibility when it came to the interests of his entire clan.

This was the main reason the Hyuga Clan had been able to endure until now: just make money, find ways to sustain the clan, and ignore everything else.

They had joined Konoha back then only because they felt the benefits it provided.

"Just because the Hyuga are currently nothing but Konoha's dogs. You talk about staying neutral, but when they need a scapegoat, you become the scapegoat. When they need someone to act as a dog, you have no choice but to send your clansmen to serve under Danzo."

Uchiha Gin tore away Hyuga Hiashi's facade without mercy.

Claiming neutrality is just a fancy way of saying you're completely helpless.

"What did you say!"

Hyuga Hiashi was furious.

This was an insult to him, an insult to the Hyuga Clan.

"Back during the Nine-Tails Incident, the Uchiha were suppressed, and you thought it was time for the Hyuga Clan to rise and become the number one clan in Konoha."

"And then?"

"You were easily outmaneuvered by Sarutobi Hiruzen, forced to let your own brother die in your stead as a scapegoat!"

"It was nothing more than a backroom deal between Sarutobi Hiruzen and the current Fourth Raikage. He helped the Fourth Raikage A eliminate a rival for the Raikage position in exchange for a period of peace, while simultaneously screwing over your Hyuga Clan, forcing you to bow your head and sacrifice your brother as a scapegoat!"

Uchiha Gin laid out the truth about the death of the Kumogakure envoy that had occurred less than a year ago.

That envoy had a certain level of support within Kumogakure and could rival the Fourth Raikage A, giving him a chance to vie for the position of Raikage. Thus, the Fourth Raikage and Sarutobi Hiruzen traded interests to have the man killed while he was in Konoha.

The reason the envoy had been so arrogant when he first arrived in Konoha was likely due to A setting a trap, perhaps promising that whoever could reclaim face for the village in Konoha would return to become the Raikage.

Hyuga Hiashi fell silent. He had actually suspected this himself; after all, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo had constantly pressured him, claiming that if he didn't provide an explanation, a new war would likely break out.

"The son of a scapegoat can only ever be a scapegoat. Unless you make a change, the Hyuga Clan will forever be leashed like dogs."

Uchiha Gin might as well have been pointing his finger in Hyuga Hiashi's face.

Hyuga Hiashi clenched his fists. He desperately wanted to grab Uchiha Gin and unleash the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms on him, to let him experience the power of the Gentle Fist.

But in the end, his expression collapsed, revealing a look of sorrow.

"Will choosing Orochimaru change any of this?"

Hyuga Hiashi asked.

"I can't explain the specifics to you, but Sarutobi Hiruzen killed your brother. So, will you betray him at the critical moment?"

Uchiha Gin's answer left Hyuga Hiashi feeling somewhat dissatisfied.