Orochimaru: It's Not That I Want to Become Hokage; Konoha Needs Me to Become Hokage! [Two-in-One]

The Scientific Ninja Tool project was progressing quickly. They weren't developing anything from scratch; they were looking for cheaper, inferior materials to use instead. People had researched all these things before, and in the end, Chakra Metal had proved the most effective, which was why it had always been used to make special ninja tools.

But there were materials that worked worse and cost less, and now they were just what the project needed as substitutes.

They had already produced plenty of prototypes, and the Chakra Blades were being tested. Once they confirmed that the finished product closest to Uchiha Gin's specifications worked, they could mass-produce it.

Recently, though, there had been a lot more spies from other villages. They had their eyes on the flying Chakra Armor, but the Uchiha Clan didn't bother doing anything about them, leaving the Anbu to handle it all. Sarutobi Hiruzen had wondered more than once whether the Ninja Tool Development Department existed just to drain Anbu manpower. After all, with blue pills bringing in revenue, the department's external trade volume could already rival that of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans.

Still, the place really had produced something valuable.

Uchiha Gin didn't care. The ability to fly posed a threat to a country and a ninja village, but it didn't pose much of one to the Uchiha Clan. After all, the Uchiha weren't even allowed to leave the village, so they weren't likely to run into enemies who could fly.

Besides, the Uchiha Clan could manufacture the tools themselves, so they had nothing to worry about. Konoha was the only one that needed to panic. It really did put pressure on Konoha, so they could see how worried the village got. At the same time, it let the Uchiha gauge Konoha's movements. If the Anbu stationed outside to protect the department were still there, then Konoha probably wouldn't make a move. But if the Anbu were withdrawn, something major had definitely happened, and the Uchiha Clan would need to be on its guard too.

"Long time no see!"

Jiraiya entered the village after registering at the gate. Looking at the familiar place, he let out a sigh of emotion.

He soon noticed some changes, though. They were probably new buildings erected to replace the damage caused on the night of the Nine-Tails Incident.

"Minato."

Jiraiya looked up at his student's face on Kage Rock, his expression sorrowful.

"Lord Jiraiya, the Third Hokage is waiting for you at the Hokage Building," an Anbu beside him reminded him quietly.

Jiraiya nodded. He didn't linger and headed straight for the Hokage Building.

Before long, he met his teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

When he saw Jiraiya, Hiruzen looked relieved. After all, of his three students, one had left the village, another had designs on the Hokage Position, and only this one remained—his student who, like him, enjoyed watching beautiful women bathe.

"Third Hokage, what do you mean by asking me to come back and compete with Orochimaru for the Hokage Position?"

Jiraiya got straight to the point.

Hiruzen hadn't given him much information, just that one short message. He had added the word "urgent," telling Jiraiya to return as quickly as possible.

"Take a look at these reports first. Then I'll explain everything in detail."

Hiruzen handed him a thick stack of documents.

Jiraiya hesitated, then took them and began reading through them one by one.

"All this happened over the past few months?"

Jiraiya looked surprised after reading them.

"Yes. And it all has to do with the Uchiha."

"They may be using Orochimaru to seize power as Hokage."

"Between the Nine-Tails Incident and the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha has lost a great deal of strength. We're no longer able to keep the Uchiha Clan in check. Two young members of their clan have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. One has defected, but Uchiha Madara is still out there, watching us. The village urgently needs capable people to hold the line."

Hiruzen looked exhausted as he spoke.

Jiraiya pursed his lips. Even while traveling outside the village, he had heard about Konoha's treatment of the Uchiha. And he knew what had happened to the Senju Clan, too.

But Uchiha Madara?

"Has it been confirmed that it's really Uchiha Madara?"

Jiraiya asked doubtfully.

According to the reports, that man should have been killed by the First Hokage.

"Not completely. But the reports suggest he may be hiding in an organization called Akatsuki. After Danzo left the village, he went to investigate the organization as well, but we've lost contact with him recently."

Hiruzen's expression darkened.

Jiraiya also recalled the reports about Amegakure. He hadn't expected that Hanzo of the Salamander—the man he, Tsunade, and Orochimaru had struggled so hard to deal with back then—might already be dead. It left him wondering if he was getting too old.

"Let me make this clear first: I'm not suited to being Hokage."

Jiraiya realized he might not be able to slip away from this so easily.

So he spoke frankly. He really had no interest in becoming Hokage. Hiruzen had asked him about it once before.

"The village has no suitable candidates left. Orochimaru... really isn't suited to being Hokage," Hiruzen said seriously.

There were hardly any people left among the younger generation who belonged to the Hokage's faction.

Of Minato's students, only Kakashi remained. Orochimaru's students were all dead. Tsunade had left with her student, and Jiraiya's students had died as well.

He couldn't very well choose Kakashi. Hiruzen didn't think Kakashi was ready to shoulder that responsibility.

He hadn't expected all three of his students to still be alive while almost all of his grand-students had died.

"I'll go talk to him and see what he really thinks."

Jiraiya's expression turned serious.

He thought Orochimaru might have been misled, or that a rift had grown between him and the Third Hokage. He wanted to mend it.

Hiruzen hadn't been able to convince Tsunade to stay, and Jiraiya didn't want something to happen to Orochimaru too.

"If that's what you want to do, go ahead and try."

Hiruzen didn't think it would work.

He had tried speaking with Orochimaru himself, but he'd noticed that Orochimaru no longer looked at him with the respect he once had. Now, his gaze was indifferent.

When Hiruzen advised Orochimaru not to associate with the Uchiha, Orochimaru had retorted that Hiruzen was using the Uchiha. That was when Hiruzen realized there was no point trying to reason with him gently.

If Jiraiya succeeded, all the better. If not, at least he would see Orochimaru's true intentions and stop hesitating.

Jiraiya nodded, then turned and left to find Orochimaru.

As he watched Jiraiya walk away, Hiruzen furrowed his brow. He truly wanted to find someone to succeed him as Hokage. Though he knew Jiraiya wasn't the most suitable candidate, no matter what, the Hokage Position couldn't fall into Uchiha hands.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Jiraiya planned to head to Root Base to look for Orochimaru. But when he passed the bathhouse, his feet carried him toward it of their own accord. After enjoying the view for a while, he left feeling satisfied.

"Hey, brat! Get lost! You're not welcome here!"

As Jiraiya crossed the shopping district and headed toward the Anbu base, he suddenly heard a commotion.

He frowned and looked over. A little boy, only a few years old and filthy from head to toe, was lying on the ground. It looked as though someone had shoved him down.

Naruto Uzumaki climbed to his feet and bit his lower lip to keep himself from crying. Under the hostile stares of those around him, he held back his tears and walked away.

Jiraiya froze at the sight.

An idea surfaced in his mind, but he hoped he was wrong.

After hesitating for a long while, he found he couldn't bring himself to follow the boy. He continued toward the Anbu base, but the pleasure he'd felt after visiting the women's bathhouse was gone. His mood had turned heavy.

Soon, he learned where Root Base was from the Anbu. About half an hour later, he found Orochimaru there.

"Long time no see."

Orochimaru greeted Jiraiya in a hoarse voice.

He was wearing a white lab coat and was clearly in the middle of an experiment.

"You're still experimenting?"

Jiraiya frowned.

After the Second Great Ninja War, under Sarutobi Hiruzen's direction, Konoha had once carried out the Wood Release Reproduction Project.

That was when Danzo's obsession with the First Hokage Cells had begun.

"Yes. The secrets of the human body are truly endless."

Orochimaru nodded, his expression entranced.

He had already obtained Fugaku's genes after the First Hokage Cells had been integrated into his body. His research had revealed that the defects in the Uchiha Clan's bloodline seemed to have been perfectly filled in. The genetic flaws he had gone to great lengths to identify had all disappeared. And when he tried combining his own cells with them, then weakened Fugaku's cells several times over, there was actually a chance of successful fusion. The resulting fusion quickly collapsed, but even that made Orochimaru ecstatic.

If he could pinpoint the reason, Orochimaru believed he might be able to reproduce the First Hokage's Wood Release and the Uchiha's Sharingan, and create a body with genes perfected to his own specifications!

"You don't look anything like someone who wants to become Hokage!"

Jiraiya was puzzled.

Orochimaru was clearly more fascinated by research. He didn't seem to care much about power.

As his close friend, Jiraiya could tell at a glance that Orochimaru cared more about scientific research than power right now.

"Becoming Hokage will let me serve the villagers better," Orochimaru replied with a sinister smile.

It gave Jiraiya goosebumps.

Chapter 62: Orochimaru: It's Not That I Want to Become Hokage; Konoha Needs Me to Become Hokage! [Two-in-One]

"Are you really going to join forces with the Uchiha just to get the Hokage Position?"

Jiraiya asked outright, his expression grave.

He wanted a definite answer.

"It's not that I need to become Hokage. It's that this village needs me to become its next Hokage."

Orochimaru shook his head and spoke.

"?"

Jiraiya stared at him in confusion, as if to say, What the hell are you talking about?

"Do you know how little the village has changed since the Second Hokage's time?"

"The current system has already become a burden to Konoha. You've experienced it yourself: you were born a commoner, so you know how difficult it was to get where you are. And that was with us being disciples of the Third Hokage. For other commoners, climbing the ranks is even harder—almost hopeless."

"Meanwhile, the great clans have stagnated. Their shinobi are nowhere near as powerful as those from the older generations. Konoha's strength is declining rapidly."

Orochimaru turned the question back on Jiraiya.

"That..."

"Teacher is doing his best. He took commoners like us as his students, and he chose Minato, who was born a commoner, to become Hokage. Isn't that enough?"

Jiraiya couldn't answer for himself, but he believed Sarutobi Hiruzen was doing everything he could.

And for that matter, Hiruzen had even secretly acted against the village's strongest clan, the Senju. Or perhaps "acted against" wasn't quite right; he had simply taken advantage of that clan's desire to protect the village.

"So how many Jonin are commoners?"

"How many commoners get to take part in Konoha's meetings?"

"We succeeded because we belonged to the Hokage's faction, and no one dared stand in our way. But other people don't have that advantage. They have to fight with everything they have just to get their hands on a single jutsu. Meanwhile, shinobi from the great clans don't make use of their advantages to grow stronger. Didn't the casualties in the last Ninja War teach you anything?"

"Konoha is in decline!"

Orochimaru spoke gravely to Jiraiya.

"You..."

Jiraiya hadn't expected Orochimaru to have actually made preparations.

But he had to admit he agreed with what Orochimaru was saying.

"But why the Uchiha?"

Jiraiya felt that if Orochimaru hadn't gotten involved with the Uchiha, the Third Hokage wouldn't have tried to stop him.

Though he didn't understand why the Uchiha had been suppressed so harshly in the first place.

"The Uchiha will help me withstand the pressure from the other clans. They're willing to lift the restrictions on commoners, and they won't obstruct this."

Orochimaru's answer left Jiraiya silent.

That was certainly important. And the Uchiha Clan had the strength to do it. If they had to choose the strongest clan in Konoha at present, there was no doubt it was the Uchiha. The only clan capable of standing against them, the Senju, had already disappeared.

"Besides, the young Uchiha who awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan recognizes the value of science. That matters too."

"Jiraiya, you came back this time to compete with me for the Hokage Position, didn't you? Then show me how far you can go."

Orochimaru was blunt, challenging Jiraiya to a contest.