Kakashi's Confusion

Walking along the road, Orochimaru watched the pedestrians coming and going through Konoha. His mood was completely different from what it had been a few days ago.

A few days earlier, he had still been struggling with whether to flee the village. Now, he was about to become Hokage.

Orochimaru now fully believed that his teacher truly intended to pass the position of Hokage on to him.

If nothing else, simply dealing with Danzo was enough to prove that Hiruzen Sarutobi was genuinely clearing away obstacles for him.

"Kakashi, have you adjusted to your work in the ANBU?"

"?"

Kakashi's expression beneath his mask was somewhat stunned. Was this really Orochimaru, or was someone impersonating him?

Lord Orochimaru actually cared about a junior?

Orochimaru smiled. He could see Kakashi's doubts.

Orochimaru definitely would not be satisfied with becoming one of Konoha's elders. If he could truly settle down, he still wanted to fight to become the next Hokage after Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped down. He would certainly need his own people, and Kakashi was a good choice.

He was also very interested in Kakashi's Blood Wheel Eye and wanted to know exactly what effects transplanting it would have on the body.

Even after the two arrived at the Hokage Building, Kakashi did not answer Orochimaru's question.

Kakashi knew that Orochimaru had worked with Danzo, and that it involved human experiments. There was even a child in Root who had inherited Wood Release.

But Danzo had already been taken down. The Hokage summoning Orochimaru should have meant he was going to take this guy down too, right?

Hiruzen Sarutobi was still puffing hard on his pipe.

The habits left behind by his predecessor could not be changed in a short time. There were only a few days left. Once Orochimaru became Hokage, he would use this chakra to nourish his body.

When he saw Kakashi enter the room together with Orochimaru, he paid it no mind.

"Orochimaru, I need the village to undergo some changes. Before long, I may enter seclusion to train for a while. When that happens, you and Shikaku Nara will help me manage Konoha temporarily."

Kakashi: "?"

Kakashi was full of questions, though no one could see them behind his mask. He suspected that he had not woken up yet. What had happened today was simply too unbelievable.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had actually asked Orochimaru to help him temporarily manage Konoha.

What exactly had happened for Hiruzen Sarutobi to do this? Did he intend to groom Orochimaru as the next Hokage?

"Hiruzen, what exactly happened?!"

At that moment, two people pushed open the door and walked straight in.

They were Konoha's two advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, former teammates of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo.

Advisors? What an absurd position. Neither of them was as strong as Danzo, and with their advancing age, they could at best fight an ordinary jonin to a draw.

Yet because of their old relationship with Hiruzen Sarutobi, they had become Konoha's upper brass.

After throwing their weight around for so many years, they had long forgotten that they, too, had risen from commoners.

"What happened to Danzo and Root?"

The two advisors stared fixedly at Hiruzen Sarutobi, wanting an answer from their former friend.

"Isn't it already clear? He attempted rebellion, so I took him down."

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head and looked at the two advisors.

"You came at the right time. Let me inform you: the two of you will relinquish all your current positions. The ANBU will investigate you."

The few remaining uses of these two old fools were the large amount of Konoha's resources they had embezzled over the years. It was time for those resources to return to Konoha.

"What? I refuse!"

Homura Mitokado shook his head repeatedly, looking as though he wanted to leap up in objection.

Ordinarily, he had been closer to Orochimaru as well. And now Hiruzen Sarutobi had taken down Danzo just like that, and even wanted to take down the two of them as well. Had Hiruzen Sarutobi become this utterly deranged?

"Hiruzen, how can you do something like this without discussing it first?"

Koharu Utatane was also very dissatisfied, though her tone was clearly much gentler.

"I am the Hokage, and the strongest Hokage at that. Everything in Konoha must change according to my will."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words left everyone present silent.

What he said was indeed true. Konoha really was like that. If not for the consideration he had shown their former bond as teammates, Danzo and the other two would never have reached their current positions.

But now, Hiruzen Sarutobi was actually preparing to monopolize all authority by himself. Had he truly become more unhinged with age?

He was even planning to have Orochimaru temporarily help manage Konoha. Could Hiruzen Sarutobi have been controlled by genjutsu? Did Orochimaru possess the Will of Fire?

Kakashi, however, truly believed that Orochimaru did not possess the Will of Fire.

His father, the White Fang, had saved his teammates only to be blamed by the people of the village and eventually take his own life. It had left Kakashi deeply pained and twisted.

In his view, Orochimaru's experiments were unforgivable.

Their wills and beliefs could not affect Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision.

"The matter has already been decided. Surrender the power in your hands. Konoha will soon investigate you..."

"But..."

Homura Mitokado still wanted to struggle.

"No buts! I am Konoha's Hokage! My decision is the village's decision, and my will is the village's will."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not hesitate in the slightest as he decided the futures of the two advisors.

Konoha no longer needed these rotten old relics.

The leaves bathed in sunlight should dance in the wind, while the roots buried deep in the soil also needed their rotten parts cut away.

"This..."

"If there is nothing else, leave."

Ignoring the complicated looks in his two old friends' eyes, Hiruzen Sarutobi directly ordered them out.

His words, I am the Hokage, had dealt the two old friends no small shock. Back when Hiruzen Sarutobi had been in his prime, he had been just as decisive and ruthless.

They had never expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to harden up again only to turn against the two of them.

After the two advisors left, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked toward Orochimaru and Kakashi.

"Orochimaru, word of this will spread very soon. You need to be prepared."

After speaking, he looked at Kakashi again.

"Kakashi, do not take any missions for the time being. Help Orochimaru properly."

"Lord Third..."

Kakashi had many questions, but for a moment, he did not know how to ask them.

"I know you have many questions. But you only need to follow my arrangements. Would I ever harm Konoha?"

When he left the Hokage Building, Kakashi was still confused. The world was changing too quickly; he could not keep up at all.

In just one day, Konoha had been turned upside down!

"Kakashi, come with me. Let's go see those two children."

Orochimaru's words snapped Kakashi back to his senses.

Perhaps because Hiruzen Sarutobi had removed Danzo and the two advisors had chosen Orochimaru as one of Konoha's new high-ranking elders, Kakashi felt that even Orochimaru's tone was no longer as cold as before.

Of course, it was not Kakashi's imagination. If he had not been left with no choice, who would choose to leave their homeland?

Becoming an elder advisor of Konoha and protecting Konoha's glory was certainly far better than becoming a rogue ninja.

A few days ago, Orochimaru had wanted to destroy Konoha. Now, he only wanted this village to flourish with a different kind of vitality in his hands.

Of the children Orochimaru spoke of, one was Naruto Uzumaki, while the other was Tenzō, the inheritor of Wood Release.

These two children would both affect Konoha's future.