Orochimaru's Hiruzen Sarutobi Theory

For a time, no large-scale battles broke out in the Ninja World.

Konoha was enjoying a rare period of peace.

On Konoha's streets, a skateboard shop quietly opened. The skateboards it sold had sparked a brawl not long ago, commonly known as the Great War Caused by a Single Skateboard.

Recently, Masaichi had nothing to do after working out, so he opened several factories.

With his teacher Orochimaru providing the core technology, he had established himself in Konoha in no time.

One kind was a chakra-storage skateboard. The craftsmanship was exquisite, and it even incorporated ninja tools, so naturally it cost more. It was sold to nobles as a plaything, and they were willing to pay four hundred thousand for one.

Masaichi understood all too well. A few days later, some villagers complained that it was too expensive and hoped for a price cut. He ignored them and raised the price by another twenty thousand instead.

Once it became more expensive, sales actually improved, exactly as he had expected.

There was also a more affordable kind that moved as long as chakra was attached to one's feet. Pretty useless, right? But honestly, it looked damn cool! It became wildly popular among the children at the ninja academy.

Those factories also produced some childhood toys on the side.

For example, the bamboo copters children loved. As long as he bragged that the wood used to make them was Hashirama Wood, an utterly ordinary piece of junk wood could be sold for dozens of times its value.

The high-end brand he had built from scratch was called Lin Justice, while its low-end sub-brand was called Justice.

Not because his surname was Lin, but because there was someone named Little "Lin."

Anyone who had played with Obito as a child was bound to have a bit of money. Masaichi prided himself on being Konoha's most devoted man.

As long as he got the chance! He would definitely kill Wang Wenwang!

He dared set his sights on my little Rin? He'd scatter even his ashes!

Looking at batch after batch of orders from the Land of Fire, Masaichi was in high spirits.

This was his capital for becoming the Fifth and helping his teacher compete for the position of Fourth Hokage!

Ninjas doing business...

What a joke...

Konoha would never dare allow another project in the same category as Masaichi's.

The gyms and toy factories had all been monopolized by Masaichi.

So when he opened for business, Masaichi dared to shout, "For projects in the same category, no factory owner is more conscientious than me."

"Audit the accounts."

Before he could celebrate for more than a few days, the arrival of someone from Root wiped the smile off his face.

Since Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to raise taxes,

they would do it themselves.

With Acting Hokage Orochimaru, Root leader Danzo, and dog-headed strategist Masaichi, why couldn't they clash with Hiruzen Sarutobi and his ANBU?

If Orochimaru agreed, they could even set up their own little faction.

What Masaichi had not expected was that Danzo would be so ruthless that he even audited his own people's businesses.

This Root member was Nara Jingren, whom Danzo had squeezed out of the Nara Clan. He had a sharp mind and was highly sensitive to numbers.

After tallying everything, he classified Masaichi as a high-income earner.

That was right.

Sixty percent of Masaichi's business income would also be withheld as tax.

???

Fine, so this was how they wanted to play it.

Masaichi was also afraid that Nara Jingren might show favoritism and classify Danzo's clan businesses as low-income, so he followed him the entire time.

With Masaichi keeping watch over him, the progress sped up by more than double.

By the time Hiruzen Sarutobi found out, the Sarutobi Clan's accounts had already been audited, and they too had been classified as high-income earners.

There was no time to hold anyone accountable.

Because the climax of the Third Shinobi World War was about to arrive.

Far away, in an underground chamber.

An old man with white hair and a face covered in wrinkles watched the Ninja World's temporary ceasefire.

He could no longer sit still.

The Moon's Eye Plan still needed an Uchiha capable of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan to be drawn in!

Konoha was still too relaxed. It needed more pressure.

White Zetsu moved out in full force, disguising themselves as ninjas from the Five Great Ninja Villages.

The border between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire had been peaceful for a long time.

The arrival of several groups of White Zetsu shattered all of that. They disguised themselves as Konoha ninjas to assassinate Cloud Shinobi, then disguised themselves as Cloud Shinobi to assassinate Konoha ninjas.

The workers' movement within the Land of Lightning had been easily suppressed by the Cloud Shinobi and was already winding down.

After White Zetsu infiltrated it, the workers' movement was stirred up once more! It created the illusion that Konoha was secretly causing trouble behind the scenes.

The method of sowing discord was crude.

But who would have thought that the Ninja World's players included an old man from beneath the earth?

The Fourth Raikage, A, did not want to go to war with Konoha.

But everything happening within his country and along the border pointed to Konoha stirring up trouble.

Did they think that because they could defeat Sand Village, they could defeat them too?!

Then war it was!

Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki: Did they think that because they could defeat Sand Village, they could defeat us too?!

Third Mizukage: Then war it was!

Fourth Kazekage Rasa: Who drained all the water that brought us back from Kikyo Mountain?!

White Zetsu committed who knew how many vile deeds throughout the Ninja World.

In the end, Konoha could only take the blame for all of them.

At the beginning of Konoha's forty-seventh year.

Masaichi had just celebrated his thirteenth birthday when disaster-plagued Konoha once again faced a great war.

Hidden Rock Village, Hidden Cloud Village, and Hidden Mist Village focused their combined assault on Konoha.

A believed he was a qualified adult! Compared to the village's greater cause, avenging his father's death seemed to amount to nothing.

Sorry, Konoha, but you are simply too powerful. We cannot allow you to keep growing stronger.

When Hidden Rock Village stopped wasting strength against Hidden Cloud Village and both villages turned all their ninjas toward Konoha, Konoha's pressure exploded in less than a few days.

To the east stood Hidden Mist Village, specializing in assassinating Konoha's prodigies.

To the west was an ally that loafed around the entire time without accomplishing anything.

The two small villages, Hidden Rain Village and Hidden Grass Village, also shouted encouragement, wanting to tear a piece of flesh from Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was so anxious that he had no idea how many hairs he had lost.

Minato rushed between every battlefield until his legs nearly gave out.

Only then did Orochimaru realize that something was wrong. Konoha was already on the verge of life and death, yet he was still being made to process documents in the rear?

He remembered the story Masaichi had told him.

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!

Orochimaru applied to Hiruzen Sarutobi for permission to fight. Could Hiruzen Sarutobi possibly agree? Minato had only just caught up, so if Orochimaru was allowed to show his capabilities too, how would Minato be used?

Denied.

Inside the laboratory.

Colder than the temperature was Orochimaru's heart.

Only research data that could be proven would never lie or deceive. That was the truth of the world.

So this was what it felt like to be stabbed in the back by the person most important to him.

Since his parents' deaths, this was the second time Orochimaru had felt what it was like to choke up.

One foot had already stepped into the shadows of darkness, yet he was pulled back by a child named "Little Orochimaru." His memories drifted back to that rainy day years ago, when Teacher Hiruzen held an umbrella for him.

What if he had misunderstood?

Orochimaru was like a spouse who suspected their partner of cheating but lacked any concrete evidence.

Before actually catching them in bed, every conclusion was merely speculation.

Orochimaru's current state: suspicion, no hard evidence, and the other party seemed both loyal and treacherous.

As he pondered, Orochimaru proposed a famous theory: Orochimaru's Hiruzen Sarutobi Theory.

Before obtaining irrefutable evidence of "catching them in bed,"

Hiruzen Sarutobi existed, to Orochimaru, in a superposition of "loyalty" and "betrayal."

Either was possible!

Orochimaru could not help fantasizing again.

Perhaps in some timeline, he had become the Fourth Hokage long ago.

Or perhaps in some timeline, Teacher Hiruzen had supported Minato early on and neglected him. He had defected, entered another ninja village, and that village's leader had been willing to strongly support his research.

Science truly was marvelous.