Orochimaru Took the Bait / The Akatsuki Take the Blame

Chapter 9: Orochimaru Took the Bait

Orochimaru wondered if the Uchiha before him had gone out of his mind. How else could he say something like that?

Still, the offer had stirred something in him for a moment, but the ripples quickly faded.

As for becoming Hokage, aside from a lingering grudge against old man Sarutobi for choosing Minato over him as the Fourth Hokage, Orochimaru had lost interest in the position. Immortality was what he truly wanted.

"So you're saying the Uchiha will help me become the Fifth Hokage?"

Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Gin with mockery.

If any other clan in the village had said this, he would have at least given it some thought!

But the Uchiha?

These days, even the dogs in Konoha knew what kind of standing the Uchiha Clan had in the village.

Help him become Hokage?

Orochimaru had a feeling that would only get him killed faster.

"Konoha was founded by the Senju and the Uchiha. Don't underestimate the Uchiha's strength."

Uchiha Gin said this without batting an eye.

If the Uchiha weren't in their current predicament, he wouldn't have had time to come looking for Orochimaru. Wouldn't it be better to put one of their own in the Hokage's seat?

He'd chosen Orochimaru because he belonged to the Hokage faction, was at least somewhat sane, and was less hostile to the Uchiha than the others.

Tsunade was out of commission, and Jiraiya was off wandering around. Even if Jiraiya had stayed in the village, he probably wouldn't have been able to reach an agreement with this guy. He was brainwashed by the Will of Fire, after all.

"Sorry, but I've lost interest in becoming Hokage."

"Let's make a different deal."

Orochimaru sneered.

Clearly, he found Uchiha Gin's words amusing.

But he knew this wasn't the time to fall out with him. His human experiments couldn't be exposed yet, so he would have to keep Uchiha Gin placated for now.

Once he understood the situation, he could decide what to do next. For now, Orochimaru wanted to bluff Uchiha Gin into staying put.

At the same time, he wondered if he could swindle some resources from the Uchiha. A little extra money would come in handy when he eventually fled.

"Wouldn't the research you're doing become much easier if you became Hokage?"

"For example, you could use the resources of the entire village to help you do whatever you want."

Uchiha Gin naturally wasn't going to give up so easily.

He was a hundred percent certain Orochimaru wouldn't turn him down.

Sure enough, that one sentence was all it took to change Orochimaru's expression.

Greed and excitement flashed across his face, but he soon composed himself.

"Hmph. If my human research were exposed, I'd be dragged down from the Hokage's seat all the same!"

"Konoha isn't as peaceful as it looks on the surface. There are plenty of ambitious people here. The Uchiha, for example."

Orochimaru quickly shot back with a sarcastic remark.

He thought Uchiha Gin's approach was too crude. He'd seen through his intentions at a glance.

Whether Uchiha Gin genuinely wanted to support him as Hokage or was trying to build him up so he could expose his human experiments along the way and use them to undermine old man Sarutobi's authority—

Or even dismantle Root!

In an instant, Orochimaru came up with all sorts of ways the Uchiha might use his bid for Hokage to make trouble.

He wasn't foolish enough to think the Uchiha Clan were a bunch of saints!

"No, no. People with screws loose aren't part of this discussion."

"Of all the people in Konoha, I chose to support you not only because you're the Third's student, but also because you understand science."

Uchiha Gin shook his head gently, then continued.

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow without saying anything, as if to say, Go on, then. Let's see what you've got.

He thought Uchiha Gin had brought up his scientific knowledge because he'd prepared in advance, using this cheap trick to lure him in. He wouldn't be fooled by a few flattering words.

He wasn't like a fool such as Danzo!

"For example, after you become the Fifth Hokage, you could introduce a new policy."

"In addition to becoming a Genin by passing the Ninja Academy exam, you could establish a special department where people become Genin by passing an exam that tests their intellect. You could call them Scientific Ninjas. To be promoted from Scientific Genin to Chunin, they would need to independently improve a C-rank or higher jutsu."

"Improvements could include simplifying hand seals, researching data on special applications of shape transformation, or developing techniques with others. Complete five improvements to C-rank or higher jutsu, pass a practical test, and they'd be promoted to Chunin."

"To advance from Chunin to Jonin, they would need to independently improve five B-rank or higher jutsu, develop an A-rank jutsu on their own, or work with others to develop twenty B-rank jutsu."

"With this system, an ordinary jutsu might be developed to a level no one could imagine."

"Of course, I'm only talking about jutsu here. The same approach could be applied elsewhere: Medical Ninjutsu, physical enhancement, special applications of chakra, or Kekkei Genkai created by combining chakra natures. As long as enough people were assigned to research these areas, there should be a lot to gain."

"For example, a research project that one person couldn't complete might become easy once enough people were assigned to it. Isn't that right?"

"After all, in many scientific studies, ninety-nine percent of the work is simple calculations. Only the remaining one percent involves the core problem that requires genuine talent."

"These jutsu wouldn't be sealed away. They'd be made public. People could earn access by completing missions and contributing to Konoha, or by proving themselves to be specialists. They could then further refine the jutsu, which would be cataloged again and improved by these Scientific Ninjas, until the techniques were developed to their fullest potential."

Uchiha Gin recited the pitch he'd spent a long time preparing.

He didn't need to spell everything out. A general outline was enough. There was no point trying to outthink someone like Orochimaru. If he told him what he wanted to hear, Orochimaru would fill in the rest himself.

Sure enough, as soon as Uchiha Gin explained that researchers could improve jutsu to earn promotions, Orochimaru's breathing quickened.

If dozens or even hundreds of researchers could handle the tedious, boring calculations for him, leaving him to focus only on the most critical parts, then his research wouldn't keep hitting dead ends like it did now.

He could feel that countless pointless calculations and tests were wasting his time. If he could truly live forever, perhaps it wouldn't matter—but he couldn't.

"What does the Uchiha want in return?"

Orochimaru's voice was raspier than usual.

Clearly, he was tempted.

He'd underestimated the Uchiha. Could it really be as the Second Hokage had concluded—that the Uchiha Clan possessed eyes capable of seeing through people's hearts?

But he knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. Any gain came with a price. As long as he could bear the cost, he was determined to become Hokage!

A moment ago, he hadn't even considered making a deal. He'd thought the whole thing would be a waste of time. But now he felt that becoming Hokage might actually save him a great deal of time.

So he couldn't afford to miss this opportunity.

Chapter 10: The Akatsuki Take the Blame

"Make those few morons who were the Second Hokage's students back off and stop bothering the Uchiha. Better yet, make them shut up forever."

Uchiha Gin said this with some irritation.

And he meant it. Though that was only one of his goals.

Having these hyenas hounding them was a pain.

The Uchiha's biggest conflict had always been with the Senju, but now that there was no one left from the Senju to speak up, these petty thieves had stepped in to stir up trouble.

If those four students of the Second Hokage hadn't caused so much trouble, he wouldn't have had to go through all this. He could have taken his time developing the clan.

Orochimaru's expression stiffened. After all, he was one of the morons Uchiha Gin had just mentioned.

"That's all?"

Orochimaru thought the price was far too low.

If he became Hokage, those four would unquestionably be obstacles in his way—targets he'd have to deal with.

Uchiha Gin had to know that, so Orochimaru suspected he had another motive, perhaps to secure more power for the Uchiha.

"The Uchiha want to use science to make the Uchiha great again."

Uchiha Gin lifted his head slightly and looked straight at Orochimaru as he spoke.

"?"

Orochimaru was clearly taken aback.

He'd assumed Uchiha Gin had brought up the Scientific Ninja program simply to win him over. To hear him say that out of the blue was a surprise.

"Don't look at me like that. I have a lot of respect for people in science."

"Science is the future."

Uchiha Gin saw the astonishment on Orochimaru's face and explained.

The main reason he'd chosen Orochimaru was still his scientific expertise.

There were other people he could have chosen. There were other ways to deal with the four Konoha elders hostile to the Uchiha. But backing Orochimaru offered the greatest returns and the best chance of keeping things safe.

Uchiha Gin had no intention of stopping at the Mangekyō Sharingan. He also wanted to evolve it into the Rinnegan, but doing so required the chakra of Indra and Ashura.

Having watched Boruto, Uchiha Gin knew that Ashura and Indra's reincarnations were essentially a kind of data transfer, similar to Karma. Ashura and Indra hadn't possessed the complete Six Paths Body. One had inherited the Six Paths Eyes, the other the Six Paths Body, but neither had received a complete Karma. As a result, they couldn't be resurrected through that data.

But Uchiha Gin suspected this might have been a kind of experiment by the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo. After all, Hagoromo hadn't inherited the complete Otsutsuki legacy. He'd only been the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki. But Uchiha Gin didn't waste any more brainpower on it. He could gradually tell Orochimaru about these matters and let him investigate.

The reincarnations of Indra and Ashura in this generation were both alive. Once Orochimaru's research progressed far enough to obtain genetic data from both of them, Uchiha Gin thought he'd be able to try evolving the Sharingan into the Rinnegan.

"Interesting."

Orochimaru was quite surprised by that answer.

He'd actually been considering all sorts of things, such as breaking their agreement and stabbing Gin in the back later.

But it seemed this partner might be more trustworthy than a fool like Danzo.

"Root is closing in."

Orochimaru's expression changed, and he immediately warned Uchiha Gin.

"That's enough for today, then. If you're interested in the deal, come find me."

"As a gift for our first meeting, I'll share an important piece of information about your research."

"The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan descended from the same bloodline. There are more secrets hidden in that bloodline than you can imagine."

Before leaving, Uchiha Gin gave Orochimaru one last piece of information.

Today was only their first meeting. His goal was to get Orochimaru's attention and make him willing to go through with the deal. This wasn't the place to discuss the details.

Uchiha Gin had left the five-year plan at home. He planned to show it to Orochimaru when they entered formal negotiations. There was no way he'd reveal all his cards at once.

"What!"

Orochimaru froze at the words, then immediately looked startled.

He couldn't imagine such a thing being true.

The Uchiha and Senju Clans had been enemies for a thousand years, constantly fighting and spilling each other's blood. And yet their ancestors had been the same?

Then Orochimaru remembered how his test subjects had rejected the First Hokage's cells. Would that rejection disappear if he used Uchiha subjects instead?

A chill ran through Orochimaru as he realized why Uchiha Gin had told him this.

Gin knew exactly what kind of research he was doing!

Orochimaru had thought Uchiha Gin only knew he was conducting human experiments. He hadn't expected him to know the exact kind of research he was doing as well. For a moment, Orochimaru had no idea how the information had leaked.

"Handle things on your end. I'll take care of confusing Root."

As he spoke, Uchiha Gin put on the Tiger-Skin Mask.

"Don't you need my help?"

Orochimaru realized Uchiha Gin might be a good partner.

He was looking forward to working with him and didn't want him to get into trouble here.

If Gin were discovered, the Uchiha Clan might truly have no place left in the village.

"If you can't handle something this small, there's no point in working together."

Uchiha Gin sounded relaxed.

When dealing with the natives of this world, the most important thing was not to think of yourself as one of them. You had to find another way to handle things.