The Life of Su Mao, the Disliked

If there were no further developments, Uchiha Kei felt that the course of events might soon spiral beyond any individual's control.

It was much like how, back in the day, no one expected a foolish Serbian youth to fire a single shot in Sarajevo, ultimately leading to the deaths of tens of millions.

Kei, who was bold in appearance but cautious at heart, certainly could not allow such a thing to happen.

Thus, the silent standoff with Orochimaru finally came to an end, and it was Kei who spoke first.

"Long time no see, Mr. Orochimaru."

Hearing Uchiha Kei's words, Orochimaru's eyes, which were becoming increasingly serpentine, narrowed.

Although he had not met Uchiha Kei many times, his subordinates regularly gathered intelligence for him. He was well aware that the Sannin, whom the village's ninjas addressed as "Lord," received no such respect from Kei.

To Kei, Lord Jiraiya was merely the Jonin Jiraiya, and Tsunade was nothing more than Lady Tsunade. Even the honorific "Lady" was not given out of respect for her, but rather as a nod to the Senju Clan.

Yet, Kei was willing to address him as "Mr." This simple title gave Orochimaru much to ponder.

"So, there are still those who have not forgotten my contributions to the Leaf!"

The proud Orochimaru clearly could not control public opinion, and currently, the tide of sentiment in the Leaf was certainly not in his favor. Even if Orochimaru did not care much, who would want to be the one misunderstood?

He had battled Hanzo of the Salamander, commanded the campaign against the Sunagakure Ninja alongside the White Fang of the Leaf, and assisted Master Sarutobi in fighting Ohnoki.

To have such a record compared against a newcomer was insulting.

Anyone would be unhappy in his position.

Although Orochimaru, as a high-ranking official of the Leaf and a disciple of Sarutobi, understood the machinations behind the scenes better than the average person.

For instance, this newcomer was originally intended to be the counterpart to the White Fang of the Leaf.

One was the Yellow Flash of the Leaf, the other the White Fang of the Leaf; they were the next generation of superstars following the Sannin, proving that the Leaf had worthy successors.

The political narrative had been set up perfectly.

However, as fate would have it, no one expected that while a person's strength might be formidable, their mental fortitude might not be.

Who said that talented people must have a strong mindset? Such a notion was merely the self-delusion of the untalented.

Talent had always been far more important than hard work.

Just as the White Fang of the Leaf, Hatake Sakumo, could effortlessly crush most of those who had clawed their way to the top through life-and-death struggles, simply by practicing casually.

Yet, the people of the Leaf felt that someone so powerful must surely have a heart as sturdy as a mountain.

And so, for the sake of so-called balance—because the organization could not allow one person to dominate, and since one of the twin stars needed time to mature, the other had to be suppressed—Sarutobi took action.

Danzo felt that such a powerful individual, if not controlled by his Root, would eventually cause Sarutobi to regret it, so he had to be suppressed.

As for the others, including Orochimaru himself, the motive was even simpler: it was merely the jealousy of mediocre people toward a genius.

What you can obtain with ease is something we have to risk our lives to strive for. Anyone would feel bitter about that.

"It's not against the law to gossip about you behind your back!"

At the beginning, perhaps there was no deep malice in everyone's hearts! It was just jealousy of a genius.

And so, in the 44th year of the Leaf, something happened that everyone was willing to see.

A ninja as powerful as him finally had a "failure" on his record.

This man had actually abandoned a mission for the sake of his subordinates' safety.

The perfect person finally had a flaw.

This became the talk of the town that year.

Recalling it now, Orochimaru felt a different kind of emotion.

"Back then, no matter how dangerous the mission, Sakumo could ensure his subordinates returned unscathed. Such a record is something even I cannot achieve."

Thinking of Hatake Sakumo, he could not help but think of the deaths of his own former subordinates, Nawaki and Dan Kato. Orochimaru understood deeply that no matter how much the enemy touted his own strength and cruelty, when compared to Hatake Sakumo, he was clearly inferior.

He could only bring death to his enemies, while that man could prevent death for his teammates.

That year, everyone miscalculated one thing: a powerful ninja, against whom the enemy had no recourse, was killed by the idle chatter of the masses.

"Sakumo was just a gentle person, after all!"

Just like that, the entire Leaf was left in an awkward position.

The village's political benchmark had died just like that!

And he died by suicide!

Suicide forced by the pressure of rumors and gossip.

What kind of divine operation was this!

The advisors of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, Chiyo and Ebizo, silently gave the villagers of the Leaf a thumbs up.

At first, no one believed it, but once it was confirmed as reality, they began to accept it, and guilt began to stir in their hearts.

But this guilt quickly transformed into resentment.

After all, no one is willing to admit that they were wrong.

If everyone is at fault in a matter, people will quickly shift the blame onto the very thing that caused the error.

It is said that big issues are handled in small meetings, while small issues are handled in large ones.

At a small, high-level meeting of several Konoha officials, the village leader, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stated clearly:

"The impact of this incident is far too severe. Regardless of the cost, we must divert public attention. We cannot allow those with ulterior motives or external forces to seize this opportunity and make an issue of it."

"Now is not the time to assign blame, but to eliminate the fallout. Konoha needs a new benchmark! Orochimaru, I must wrong you in this; you shall take the place of the White Fang of the Leaf, and we will elevate a newcomer. This will stop the public from digging further and show outsiders that Konoha's foundation remains strong. We can afford the loss of one Kage-level combatant."

Initially, Sarutobi feared this would be difficult to execute. He had prepared various contingency plans for when the village ninjas wouldn't buy it, and others to appease the Hatake Clan.

To his surprise, after many years, Konoha was once again of one mind.

Whether out of guilt and an inability to face the truth, or out of resentment—believing it was all the fault of Hatake Sakumo's weakness—and aided by the subtle guidance of Konoha's leadership, the ninjas chose to ignore the matter.

Only the Hatake Clan saw the truth, but the strongest member of this small clan was now just a child, incapable of stirring up any waves.

The Hatake family soon vanished from the village, and new legends occupied everyone's vision.

Word spread that a new, powerful ninja had appeared in the village, an existence as formidable as Lord Orochimaru.

He was known as the Yellow Flash of the Leaf.

He was recognized by other ninja villages as someone one could abandon a mission to avoid.

What? You say that was the treatment reserved for the White Fang?

Don't talk nonsense. That man was a coward; how could he ever receive such treatment? That person simply does not exist in this village.

The matter passed by with such nonchalance.

And so, the White Fang became a legend no more.

The only one who felt wronged was Orochimaru himself.

"Minato Namikaze, what a lucky man! He didn't even have to do anything, and his reputation is already soaring to the heavens."

Watching the bustling village, Orochimaru's heart was filled with memories of the past.

But clearly, Orochimaru was overthinking things.

Uchiha Kei's respect for Orochimaru was merely because he revered science and thus respected the scientist.

Even if he knew Orochimaru's thoughts, Kei wouldn't take them to heart.

What did the messy affairs of Konoha's past have to do with him?

Besides, in Uchiha Kei's eyes, a Konoha ninja who was noble, loyal, and powerful was only a "good" existence once he was dead.

Once the Sannin left and Minato died, that would be the golden age for Kei.

Kei was very clear about who was on his side and who was an outsider.

As for a great ninja who could never walk the same path as him, he would wait until the man was dead to praise him.

Just as if Sarutobi Hiruzen were willing to die right now, Uchiha Kei would certainly heap high praise upon his achievements in ruling Konoha over the past few decades at his funeral.

Alas, the old thief was still young at heart and had no desire to die; sooner or later, heaven would strike him down.

Regardless, at this moment, Uchiha Kei's respect had earned him Orochimaru's goodwill.

"Indeed, it has been a long time, Kei-kun."

With the leaders of both groups showing goodwill, the murderous atmosphere in the surroundings immediately eased.

However, the Third Hokage, observing through his Telescope Technique, became even more tense.

A pleasant atmosphere made for better conversation.

"Is Mr. Orochimaru taking his student out for a stroll?"

Having received Orochimaru's goodwill, Uchiha Kei hoped to steer the atmosphere toward a casual chat about a chance encounter.

"Yes, indeed. Anko is still as gluttonous as a child! I'm afraid you've seen a shameful display, Kei-kun!"

Such a comment clearly left Anko dissatisfied, but since her master was speaking, a child could not interrupt. Anko could only pout, looking with dissatisfaction at Uchiha Kei, who was not much older than her.

She was the only one who took this dissatisfaction seriously.

Because a child's emotions could not affect the superficial friendship between adults.

Yet, as Kei looked at Anko Mitarashi, who could be so recklessly willful before him, he felt a twinge of anxiety.

This was the drawback of having the eye of foresight.

Poor little Anko, all your current willfulness and the tolerance of others exist only because you are Orochimaru's student.

When the day comes that you no longer enjoy these privileges, I fear you will have to sell much more of yourself just to survive.

He must make sure he never falls to such a state.

"Mr. Orochimaru is joking. Isn't the very reason Konoha was founded to keep children off the battlefield and allow them to have a happy childhood? We have Mr. Orochimaru to thank for the peace brought to Konoha during the Second Great Ninja War!"

Such flattery satisfied Orochimaru greatly.

As Orochimaru was about to return the pleasantry, Fugaku hurried over, holding Itachi by the hand.

Honestly, the Uchiha of today were treating their clan head with less and less regard.

Sigh! If the mountain will not come to me, I must go to the mountain. There is no help for it; everything is for the sake of the Uchiha.

Fugaku stepped forward quickly, never expecting Kei to smooth over his entrance, and did not wait for an invitation. He spoke on his own initiative, "We meet again, Lord Orochimaru."

Faced with the Uchiha clan head, who was adopting such a humble posture, Orochimaru had no choice but to shift his attention away from Uchiha Kei, who had piqued his interest so greatly.

"Indeed, Clan Head Fugaku, we meet again."

As he spoke, he glanced at Uchiha Itachi, who still bore tear tracks on his face; though he was clearly just a child, he carried himself like an adult.

"Oh, so this is the Itachi who possesses the Hokage-level mindset from birth? Truly a genius."

This groundless praise was a political task assigned by Teacher Sarutobi, and Orochimaru had his own speculations as to its purpose.

It was nothing more than an empty promise.

A nebulous, ethereal vow that could appease the Uchiha clan for now; as for whether it could be fulfilled in the future, that would depend on how much the Uchiha were willing to pay.

For Orochimaru, it made no difference whether it succeeded or not. A few casual words to build a bit of goodwill was fine by him.

Who would actually take such a promise seriously?

Orochimaru had seen it clearly now: these people playing politics were incredibly dirty. What you think is always just what you think; they were merely going with the flow.

Hearing Orochimaru say this, Fugaku felt immense pride. After all, as a novice parent—especially one in a position of power—he did not understand what psychological health meant for a child's development.

Fugaku hurriedly demurred, "Not at all, Lord Orochimaru, you flatter him. He is, after all, still just a child, and he still lacks an excellent teacher to guide him."

Fugaku's intent was clear: he hoped his brilliant son, Itachi, would become Orochimaru's disciple, but Orochimaru clearly did not accept this message.

"Indeed, one must always give children time to grow."

This statement was neither an affirmation nor a denial. It could be taken as an acknowledgment of Fugaku, or it could be interpreted as Orochimaru's concern regarding the coming war.

To the bystander Uchiha Kei, the meaning was actually quite clear.

A lack of direct affirmation was a denial.

The reason those involved are often blinded is that they already harbor certain expectations when facing a situation; even if there is only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, they will find a reason to make themselves believe with one hundred percent certainty that there is still hope.

Did Orochimaru not fail to explicitly refuse?

Fugaku wanted to continue pestering Orochimaru, but to everyone's utter shock, a kunai embedded itself in the ground. After a flash of light, Konoha's Yellow Flash made his entrance.

"Hi, Lord Orochimaru, Lord Fugaku, you're both here."

Konoha's Little Lightning was always full of enthusiasm. With his innate charisma, it seemed impossible for anyone to feel even a shred of animosity toward him, whether they were friend or foe.

This, perhaps, is what they call personal magnetism.