Danzo's words tempted Orochimaru. Konoha had produced one prodigy after another in recent years, and plenty of them could compete with him.
The war over the past two years, in particular, had brought many outstanding Ninja to prominence.
Hatake Sakumo alone was someone Orochimaru could not be certain of defeating.
"All right. I'll speak to my teacher, but he's always made decisions on his own. Once he's decided something, it's hard to change his mind.
"And this time, many of Konoha's major clans have probably already made moves behind the scenes. Don't get your hopes up, sir."
Danzo nodded. He knew Orochimaru had little chance of succeeding. He was using this as a way to draw Orochimaru closer.
After all, of Konoha's prodigies, Orochimaru had the best relationship with him and did not care how he got things done.
After meeting Danzo, Orochimaru took two days to think it over before heading to the Hokage's Office.
But if he supported Danzo, he would likely put himself at odds with many of Konoha's clans.
None of the clans had spoken publicly about the matter, but they had surely been busy behind the scenes.
In Konoha, he had only two real rivals now: Hatake Sakumo and Fugaku Uchiha.
Neither belonged to the Senju faction, and the Konoha leadership's policy was to exclude the Uchiha.
Orochimaru did not consider Jiraiya or Tsunade rivals. They had been companions for years and knew one another too well.
Besides, his chances of success this time were slim. If he failed, he would still be one of the few remaining candidates for Hokage from the Senju faction.
If he succeeded, Danzo could keep his position as Advisor, and the support Orochimaru received then would far exceed what he had now.
Inside the Hokage's Office, Orochimaru pushed open