Those With Bitter Hearts Only Need a Little Sweetness

On the commercial street of Konoha, Kei felt happy watching Oboro, who stood before him, eating a three-colored dango with a look of pure bliss.

Noticing Kei's gaze, Oboro hesitated slightly, but eventually held out the skewer in her hand, tentatively asking, "Does My Lord want to eat some too?"

While it appeared she was offering the dango to Kei, her tone and expression betrayed her; she had no intention of sharing at all.

Watching this girl who loved to hoard food like a child, Kei could only feel helpless.

He had to speak like an adult coaxing a child: "You eat it, I don't care for dango."

Oboro could not understand this: "How could anyone not like sweet dango!"

Looking at the incredulous Oboro, Kei smiled and ruffled her hair with doting affection: "Because only those with bitterness in their hearts truly crave sweets!"

This left Oboro even more confused.

She didn't feel bitter at all. She was incredibly happy; in a few years, she would become Gennosuke's bride—could there be anything more blissful in the world?

Little did she know, Kei wasn't referring to her, but to the two groups of people who had blocked his party on the commercial street from both front and back.

In front stood the master and apprentice, Orochimaru and Anko Mitarashi.

Behind stood the father and son, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi.

Both Anko Mitarashi and Itachi loved three-colored dango, yet their lives were filled with tragedy.

Uchiha Kei looked at this scene of "virtuous master and filial student" and "kind father and dutiful son," and couldn't help but sigh as he thought of their future fates.

That sighing expression made Orochimaru, who was facing Kei, feel a sense of desolation in his heart.

As expected, someone who holds a high position at such a young age is no simple matter. Does even this child see the awkwardness of my current situation?

As a ninja who rose to fame by fighting against the demigods of the ninja world in his youth, and who led Konoha to victory in the Second Great Ninja War across multiple fronts, he had not been forgotten by the village, yet few remembered his contributions anymore.

Nowadays, even the staged battles meant for mutual benefit between villages were being praised by everyone. It was clear that peace had made people forget who had brought it to them.

He, Orochimaru, a war hero from commoner roots, was now expected to stand on equal footing with Minato Namikaze.

Although he admitted the brat had some skill, in terms of merit, what right did he have to be mentioned in the same breath as him?

Ever since his good friend's younger brother and his own subordinate, Nawaki Senju, died before his eyes, he had become more obsessed with the research of immortality than with the position of Hokage.

But that did not mean Konoha could treat him this way. Orochimaru's demands were simple; even if Konoha just gave him a shred of dignity, he could accept his current predicament.

Yet, Konoha wouldn't even grant him that.

Orochimaru knew that he, with his prestige but gloomy temperament, was not the candidate for Hokage in the heart of his teacher, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen. Jiraiya was the ideal Hokage in the teacher's eyes.

A "dead-last" commoner, hot-blooded and foolishly kind, yet possessing formidable strength—what better propaganda could there be if such a person became Hokage? It would give the growing number of commoner ninjas in the village, thanks to the Ninja Academy, a greater sense of identification with the village.

It would give the cannon fodder an illusion: As long as I work hard and risk my life for the village, I am the future successor.

What a bright future Sarutobi Hiruzen had planned for everyone.

But unfortunately, before the Hokage could even begin his deception, Jiraiya—already "crippled" by the influence of the three great sage lands of Mount Myoboku—had no interest in the Hokage position, pinning his hopes for world peace on the so-called Child of Prophecy.

This forced the Third to choose a new candidate.

Thus, Minato Namikaze—equally hot-blooded, equally a commoner, equally sunny in personality, and equally capable of commanding respect through strength—was fast-tracked to the position.

Now, all Minato lacked was merit, and that was easily solved.

Didn't every village lack merit for their rising stars? They just needed to tacitly agree to "grind" it out for each other.

That was not a problem.

In truth, Orochimaru could accept this; he was more broad-minded than Danzo, who was obsessed with the Hokage seat.

Or perhaps, having earned his status through his own merit and prestige, Orochimaru understood better than Danzo—who relied on the power granted by the Hokage—that power never trickles down; it rises from the bottom up.

If your subordinates acknowledge you as their leader, then you are the leader. If they do not, then even if you sit in the seat of power, your orders won't even make it past your own front door.

A future Hokage with no foundation? So what if he married into the Uzumaki clan? He still had no one to use.

What if he became Hokage? He would still be nothing more than a puppet in everyone else's hands.

Perhaps that was the difference between Orochimaru and Danzo.

No matter where Orochimaru went, he had enough followers, whereas if Danzo didn't have his mind-control jutsu, few would listen to him.

Therefore, Orochimaru didn't care about the Hokage position, but they shouldn't have—they absolutely shouldn't have—dragged that fool Jiraiya into the village's political mess.

Jiraiya was brainless; he had no idea that whether he was involved or not, the village's Elder Council, Danzo, and the heads of the various ninja clans would all push Minato Namikaze to become Hokage.

Who wouldn't want their leader to be a hot-blooded, easily manipulated fool?

Minato Namikaze's rise was the collective desire of all the powers in the village. But Jiraiya's interference made things very awkward for Orochimaru.

Deep down, the "Cold-Blooded" Orochimaru still harbored a sliver of softness, and a large part of that softness was occupied by his comrades who had lived and died with him: Tsunade and Jiraiya.

However, Jiraiya's act of taking his disciple Minato Namikaze around to pull strings stabbed a deep wound into that soft spot in Orochimaru's heart.

Orochimaru knew someone was using the fool as a weapon, so he was willing to forgive him, but the people who treated Jiraiya like a fool made Orochimaru's heart turn completely cold.

Orochimaru, holding Anko Mitarashi's hand, had pondered much due to a single look from Uchiha Kei, even going so far as to block Uchiha Kei's path.

Kei was accompanied not only by his personal guards but also by his scattered subordinates. Although they belonged to the Uchiha Police Force, they wore entirely different black uniforms, with the characters "Shinsengumi" written on their armbands.

At this moment, seeing their Lord being surrounded from front and back, regardless of the reason, and regardless of whether one of them was their own clan head, they could not sit idly by.

And so, a multitude of dark silhouettes appeared atop the walls of the commercial district.

The Shinsengumi had seized the high ground, their thumbs already resting on the guards of their katanas and wakizashis, ready to clash at a moment's notice.

It couldn't be helped; their leader was simply too reckless. He was always clamoring during clan meetings that if Konoha wouldn't grant the Uchiha fairness, then they should fight—fight to the death, fight a grand war, and fight until the Uchiha's prestige was established.

With a leader like that, everyone was forced to be prepared for battle at all times.

However, they were truly overthinking things. Kei had no intention of risking his life for the Uchiha; he was merely putting on a show to cater to the Uchiha masses.

Until he could figure out how Uchiha Itachi, along with a Uchiha Obito who might or might not exist, had managed to silently wipe out over a thousand Uchiha, all of Kei's war rhetoric was nothing more than verbal intimidation.

That is why one should not look at what a person says, but what they do. In this day and age, who isn't full of high-minded principles while their hearts are set on profit?

Yet, who dared to take Kei's threats lightly?

Just like now, no one knew what the true situation was. It wasn't just the Shinsengumi under Kei who had grown tense; Orochimaru's subordinates on the perimeter had also begun to stand guard, even driving away the Anbu who had arrived on the scene.

The once-bustling commercial district, and indeed the lively village of Konoha, instantly turned desolate.

Until the clear purpose of these two meeting today was revealed, no one was in the mood for levity.

And all of this was simply because Oboro, Uchiha Kei's bodyguard, loved eating dango and happened to run into Orochimaru, who had come to buy dango for his student.