Orochimaru's Request!

He would sideline him and chip away at the power in his hands. More precisely, he would reduce the authority and control held by the Shimura Clan. Bit by bit, without making it too obvious—each time, a small cut, a light touch, then nothing more. The next time, he would continue.

Danzo desperately wanted to rise to power. Only once he was in power would he have the authority to start cutting Hikaru down. But by now, he was practically a joke throughout Konoha, with no chance of climbing back up. So he could only choose someone to support.

Yet there were only a few people capable of competing with Hikaru. Tsunade could not be drawn into the fight, Jiraiya could not care less about Danzo, and the younger generation was still far too green. Competing with Hikaru would be nothing but self-inflicted suffering. Orochimaru was qualified, but would he compete?

"Tempted? Perhaps. But it would be meaningless." Hearing Danzo's words, Orochimaru continued with his work, clearly not taking them to heart. At first, he had felt a brief surge of excitement, but it quickly faded away.

He knew exactly what he was capable of, and he also knew Hikaru's standing in the Third Hokage's eyes. There was not much hope of winning such a contest. Even with help, it would be difficult.

Just look at the original story. Danzo had supported Orochimaru in hopes of getting him into power, so the two of them could collude in their schemes. But what had happened? The Third Hokage had seen everything clearly and directly chosen Namikaze Minato.

Even though at the time, he and the other higher-ups had set their sights on Tsunade and Jiraiya.

Unfortunately, Tsunade had already become completely disillusioned with the village, while Jiraiya had never wanted to