Hokage?

Cultivating chakra was not the path he intended to take.

Although the so-called Otsutsuki Clan could indeed achieve immortality after consuming the Divine Tree's fruit, and the more they ate, the stronger they became, there was no need to think about it to know that such a wicked path had countless restrictions. The further one went, the harder it became to improve, until one ultimately lost oneself and completely transformed into a "demon."

However, after briefly sensing his own body, Sun Xiaolong sighed in relief.

As long as he abandoned this chakra and used that energy to nourish himself, he could slowly restore his body.

Talent? It was not important at all. As long as there was spiritual energy, there was hope! Having struggled for decades in the Age of Dharma Decline, Sun Xiaolong had a good mindset.

It was like fishing. No matter how good or expensive your rod and bait were, or how skilled your technique was, if there were no fish in the water, it was all bullshit!

On the other hand, if the waters were rich in resources, you could catch fish with anything!

The abundant spiritual energy in the Shinobi World gave Sun Xiaolong great confidence.

Then Sun Xiaolong frowned.

His current identity was the leader of a village.

Not to mention that there were quite a few villains in the Shinobi World, and many of them wanted to destroy the world.

If he abandoned all his chakra, none of his Kage Level strength would remain.

At that point, it would definitely be noticed immediately. Forget the Shinobi World—even within this village alone, there were plenty of people who wanted him dead.

Sun Xiaolong could sense that the ANBU Hiruzen Sarutobi had sent away had already returned and were lying in wait in the shadows. There were also quite a few strong individuals moving about the village.

He could not rush this!

Fortunately, Sun Xiaolong was highly composed. Cultivation was inherently a step-by-step process, and he still had plenty of time.

Sun Xiaolong quickly made his decision. He would remain Hokage, but Konoha's policies had to change.

Power, clans—Sun Xiaolong considered all of it bullshit. Chakra itself was false. Even if one cultivated it to the limit, without an Ōtsutsuki Bloodline, one could only become a wedding dress for the Otsutsuki Clan. As a transmigrator, he felt even less attachment to the Sarutobi Household.

Without an Ōtsutsuki Bloodline, at best one could become a Kage Level powerhouse. Super-Kage Level and the Six Paths Realm were simply impossible.

After all, chakra had originally been passed down from the Ōtsutsuki. The ninja clans active during the Warring States Era all possessed some degree of Ōtsutsuki Bloodline, with the Senju Clan and Uchiha Clan being the most conspicuous among them.

Though the other clans each had their own secret techniques, they were still far inferior to the direct descendants of the Ōtsutsuki.

By this point in its development, this world had gone down a crooked path because of the existence of ninja.

The overall technology of the Naruto World had developed to a certain extent. Refrigerators and electrical appliances both existed.

Yet almost no one used firearms. Ninja still primarily fought with cold weapons and ninjutsu.

There was nothing that could be done about it. During the technologically backward Warring States Era, ninja had replaced samurai. What should have replaced samurai in the first place were firearms.

Furthermore, ninja themselves were rather resistant toward all kinds of technology and firearms, resulting in this world's lopsided technological development.

More importantly, the chakra of Indra and Asura continued to influence the world after their deaths. Their reincarnations were still the greatest geniuses in the Shinobi World.

Naruto? It would be more accurate to call it The Legend of Ōtsutsuki.

But regardless of whether he remained Hokage, chakra had to be abandoned.

Besides, Konoha currently had no suitable successor.

Kakashi?

No. He did not yet possess the Will of Fire!

Danzo?

Thinking of his close friend and all his loved ones, Sun Xiaolong instinctively shook his head again. Danzo was far too dark; his heart had already been completely blinded by power.

Jiraiya? He might be a good choice, but would Jiraiya agree? Jiraiya, known as the "Gallant," enjoyed wandering the Shinobi World in search of inspiration and could not sit still at all. Even if he agreed, Jiraiya would not be a qualified leader.

Tsunade? The First Hokage's granddaughter, with powerful medical ninjutsu and the Senju Clan's only remaining bloodline.

Suddenly, Sun Xiaolong's heart skipped a beat. He realized that he had actually been thinking according to Hiruzen Sarutobi's habitual thought patterns.

Was it the memories in his mind influencing him?

Sun Xiaolong then shook his head. It no longer mattered. After changing bodies, he would definitely suffer a severe loss of vitality. Both his body and soul needed rest and recovery.

At this moment, he was Hiruzen Sarutobi!

It was simply that with different choices, both the Shinobi World's future and his own would change accordingly.

Once he became a Nascent Soul cultivator, he could just give himself a Daoist name. For now, he would live under the name Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Having lived for over a hundred years in his previous life, he was very patient.

Hiruzen Sarutobi began pondering again how he should change this battered and broken ninja world.

Orochimaru?

Orochimaru!

Without question, Orochimaru had the highest talent among his three disciples—not merely in cultivation and ninjutsu, but even more so in scientific research.

It was no exaggeration to say that Orochimaru's talent was no less than that of his teacher, Tobirama Senju!

After all, Tobirama Senju had the Senju Bloodline, while Orochimaru was merely the son of civilians.

Of course Hiruzen Sarutobi knew about Orochimaru's human experiments. He had merely turned a blind eye.

If not for Minato Namikaze, the position of Fourth Hokage would most likely have gone to Orochimaru.

But Minato Namikaze was more "naive," and comparatively easier to control. It was precisely the choice of Hokage that changed Orochimaru's heart.

Now, calling their relationship as master and disciple complete strangers would not be an exaggeration.

It was not only Orochimaru. Tsunade and Jiraiya had both chosen to leave Konoha as well.

He truly was a failure as their teacher.

Come to think of it, Orochimaru should be defecting soon, right?

No matter what, he could not allow a talent like Orochimaru to be lost.

He picked up his pipe, took a deep puff, then exhaled.

Amid the swirling smoke, his gaze became profound.

"Have Orochimaru come see me."

As soon as he spoke, a figure flashed past the door. Having received the order, an ANBU left using the Body Flicker Technique.

This feeling really was intoxicating.

That ANBU who had just left was at least a Special Jonin, while Orochimaru's strength was infinitely close to Kage Level.

Anywhere else, they would be figures capable of dominating a region, existences beyond the reach of ordinary people. Yet with a single word from him, they came when summoned and left when dismissed.

No wonder the original Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had become obsessed with it.

His talent had stopped there; no matter what he did, he could never catch up to Hashirama Senju. It was only natural that he would lose himself in power.

"Orochimaru, the Hokage wants to see you."

The ANBU's tone was not very friendly, mainly because Orochimaru's reputation was far too poor.

Upon hearing that Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to see him, Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.

Interesting.

"I understand. I'll go see Teacher in a moment."

Seeing Orochimaru's movement, the ANBU frowned even more deeply.

That snake-like gesture was truly difficult to accept.

Konoha's public opinion was controlled by Root, and Orochimaru's reputation had always been poor. Danzo had put in quite a bit of effort behind the scenes.