I Also Want to Live a Little Longer

Sen Chisato returned to the underground laboratory and instinctively sensed his surroundings. Then, a look of surprise crossed his face.

Following what he had sensed, he came to a room.

He pushed open the door and entered.

Orochimaru sat at the table, holding a file in his hand, his expression grim.

"Lord Orochimaru."

Sen Chisato walked over and asked curiously, "You look unhappy?"

Orochimaru snorted and tossed the file onto the table. "The old man is pressuring me to go to the battlefield again."

He had been in a fairly good mood after bringing Sen Chisato back to life that day. But now, the Third's order had ruined it completely.

Sen Chisato picked up the mission file from the table, looked it over, then read through the other files, seemingly deep in thought.

Before long, he looked up and said, "Lord Orochimaru, the situation seems rather unfavorable for the village."

The Third Shinobi World War had begun the previous year, in Year 47 of Konoha. It started when the Kazekage of the Land of Wind disappeared without a trace.

Sunagakure had sent out a large number of shinobi to search for him, but they had never found any trace of the Third Kazekage. On top of that, Sunagakure had suffered badly in the first two Shinobi World Wars, and the daimyo of the Land of Wind had begun to lose faith in the village, continually cutting its military funding.

Now the Third Kazekage had disappeared as well. Sunagakure was facing trouble both at home and abroad, and its people were in a state of panic.

After the Second Shinobi World War, the villages had spent several years recovering, and their strength had mostly returned. Now, with this happening in Sunagakure, the village had declared war on Konoha under the pretext that "the Third Kazekage was killed by Konoha," hoping to divert internal tensions and redistribute their share of the spoils.

Soon, the entire Shinobi World was thrown into chaos.

Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning and Iwagakure in the Land of Earth began massing troops along the borders of the Land of Fire, then invaded it outright.

Konoha was already fighting on three fronts, and now there were even reports that Kirigakure was itching to make a move.

Konoha was struggling to hold on.

The old man in the Hokage Building was getting anxious. Otherwise, he wouldn't have issued an order to pressure Orochimaru.

A glance at Orochimaru's expression told Sen Chisato that he couldn't care less about any of this.

That wouldn't do, Lord Orochimaru.

How were you ever going to become Hokage like this?

Did you have no ambition at all?

You didn't want to lose the Hokage Position, be cut off from experimental support, and end up driven out of the village in disgrace, did you?

"If the White Fang of the Leaf were still around, he could hold off Sunagakure all by himself. And if Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya hadn't left the village, the war wouldn't be so difficult." Sen Chisato sighed and shook his head. "What a shame."

At that, a faintly mocking smile appeared on Orochimaru's face.

"That was their own choice."

As a student of the Third and one of the Konoha Sannin, renowned throughout the Shinobi World, Orochimaru naturally knew about some of the things going on among Konoha's higher-ups.

The Third seemed to have no involvement in some of those utterly filthy affairs, but he was the Hokage. Without his approval and tacit consent, how could they have succeeded?

Still, it didn't matter. None of it meant anything to him.

Konoha had already begun to rot, and he no longer had much hope of becoming Hokage.

So he ruffled Sen Chisato's hair and warned him, "Don't say these things in front of anyone else. They have nothing to do with us. The old man and the others will handle it themselves, so don't concern yourself with it."

Orochimaru stood up to leave.

He had been working himself to the bone for half a month. Even as an elite shinobi, he was exhausted.

He needed to rest.

But he had barely taken a couple of steps when Sen Chisato's childish voice rang out. "Lord Orochimaru, I think you should go to the battlefield!"

Orochimaru turned around and asked with an amused smile, "Senri, do you have a different take on this?"

He was proud, but not arrogant. He wasn't the sort to dismiss other people's opinions.

Besides, he thought Sen Chisato was a clever child. He wouldn't look down on him just because of his age.

"Lord Orochimaru, we've run out of experimental materials." Sen Chisato looked at him with earnest eyes. "Now you can only wait for Shimura Danzō to send more. But if he never does, won't that hold up your experiments?"

Orochimaru's eyes shifted slightly. He raised his chin to prompt him. "Go on."

Encouraged by Orochimaru, Sen Chisato put on an eager smile. "Shimura Danzō doesn't have your best interests at heart. He might even be waiting until he's finished using you before making a move against you!"

"There are too many people holding you back in the village. But on the battlefield, he'd never dare act rashly against you!"

Orochimaru nodded.

He had, of course, noticed the threat Shimura Danzō posed to him. He simply didn't care.

He understood Sen Chisato's reasoning, too.

In the village, if Shimura Danzō made a move against him, it would cause trouble. But on the battlefield, no matter how much Shimura Danzō disliked him, he wouldn't dare attack him!

Otherwise, if he defected—or even joined another village... it would deal Konoha a blow both physically and psychologically!

And the battlefield was full of test subjects.

Orochimaru flicked out his tongue and licked his lips. He had to admit, he was tempted.

Sen Chisato saw it and pressed on. "Besides, if you continue to distinguish yourself in this war, it'll help you get elected Hokage!"

"Heh." Orochimaru made no comment.

That held too little appeal for him. If that was all, it wouldn't be enough to persuade him.

Sen Chisato knew that, of course, and continued, "If you become Hokage, you won't have to be so secretive about your experiments. You could at least use the village's funds, and you wouldn't have to deal with Shimura Danzō at all."

"Shimura Danzō has always coveted the Hokage Position, but that's precisely what you don't care about. If you used that to strike a deal with him, you could hand him a lot of the Hokage's duties and focus on your research."

"With how badly he wants the Hokage Position, he'd never refuse. That way, you could free yourself from his control and even use the arrangement to keep him in check!"

Orochimaru was completely sold.

If everything went according to Sen Chisato's plan, there was an enormous amount to gain.

But...

Orochimaru looked at Sen Chisato, his gaze meaningful. "It's a wonderful vision. But what if, after I become Hokage, Shimura Danzō's ambitions grow too great and he tries to blackmail me over the Wood Release experiments?"

Sen Chisato smiled. "Lord Orochimaru, by then... you'll be the Hokage!"

Orochimaru smiled as well.

That was right. If it came to that, he would be the Hokage!

Orochimaru nodded, then suddenly asked, "Senri, why are you doing all this?"

He wasn't a fool. Of course he could tell Sen Chisato was steering him toward a particular course of action.

"For Lord Orochimaru, of course!"

Sen Chisato declared his loyalty without hesitation. Then, after a brief pause, he clutched his shoulder and lowered his head with a smile. "Of course, I also want to live a little longer."