As a teacher, when I don't consider those experiments, my political vision is still very vicious.
"Well, my sister and I both know." Senju Chen nodded, "The news in the newspaper spreads very quickly."
"You Senju Clan really need someone to come out and 'stand on the table' at this time." Then Orochimaru let out a disdainful sneer.
"But what is written in those newspapers is what those people want others to see. Do you really think that the teacher was forced to abdicate because of some 'bad decision-making' or 'popular resentment'?"
Senju Chen's heart moved, and he asked pretending to be puzzled, "Isn't it true? Lord White Fang's matter, and my sister's matter, have indeed made many people dissatisfied with Lord Hokage."
"Those are just fuses, just oil poured on dry firewood." Orochimaru walked to the console, poured himself a cup of unknown purple liquid, and said slowly, "What really cuts down the big tree is the ax hidden in the dark."
He took a sip of the strange liquid, with a playful smile on his face.
"Spread rumors that you and Tsunade were squeezed out, reopen the old case of Hatake Sakumo, incite the emotions of the families of those who died in the war, and then contact those families and elders who have long been dissatisfied with Teacher Sarutobi's monopoly of power... This combination of punches, linked together, accurately hit the teacher's most vulnerable place."
"The teacher cares too much about Hokage's reputation."
Orochimaru's voice was plain, but it seemed as if he had witnessed all this happening.
I have read the original work, so I know some details.
But Senju Chen didn't expect that he, a teacher who seemed obsessed with experiments, would actually have a clear and thorough understanding of the political storm in the village.
"Teacher, who do you think is behind all this?" Senju Chen asked tentatively.
"Other than Shimura Danzō, who else can be so skilled in the tricks in the gutter?" Orochimaru's lips curled up with a sarcastic arc, "He has been holding back for so many years, waiting for just such an opportunity. Yes. Once Teacher Sarutobi retires, he will be the happiest person. Of course, there are also other big families behind him, and the shadows of those people are eager for Konoha's power to be reshuffled so that they can get a piece of the pie."
"But Danzo is old. He thinks he can become Hokage just by relying on some intrigues? Hahaha..."
These words brought Senju Chen's understanding of Orochimaru to a new level.
He is not only a mad scientist, but also a political animal with a keen sense of smell and amazing insight. He just disdains to play what he considers to be "low-level" political tactics, but it does not mean that he cannot understand it.
"Since the teacher knows it well, as for the next Fourth project..." Senju Chen took advantage of the situation and brought the topic to the core.
"Huh?" Orochimaru seemed a little surprised by this question. He put down the cup, looked at Senju Chen with his golden vertical pupils, and said matter-of-factly, "Besides me, who else is qualified to sit in that position?"
His tone was calm, but full of unquestionable arrogance.
"I am a disciple of Third Hokage, the legendary Sannin, and one of the commanders-in-chief of Third Shinobi World War. In terms of qualifications, achievements, and strength, Shimura Danzō and Minato Namikaze, the little brats who have gained some credit on the battlefield with a little speed and Flying Thunder God Technique, how can they compare with me?"
Orochimaru didn't even mention asking Senju Chen and Senju Faction to support him.
Because in his mind, this is not an issue that needs to be discussed at all. If he becomes Hokage, Senju Chen, as his most proud disciple, will naturally get the greatest benefits. This is a tacit understanding, a strong man's absolute confidence in the situation.
"..."
Looking at the charming and confident teacher in front of him, Senju Chen was speechless for a moment.
Yes, judging from the paper strength and resume, Orochimaru really crushes Minato Namikaze.
But politics is never a simple math problem.
Senju Chen felt a sense of absurdity in his heart. He was an extremely smart teacher who could see through all Danzo's conspiracies and understand Konoha's complex political structure, but he could only... not see himself clearly.
He couldn't see clearly that the villagers respected him more than they loved him.
He couldn't see clearly the senior officials' fear of his ambition and madness.
He couldn't even see clearly, deep down in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart, the complex and contradictory feelings towards him, the disciple who was most like him, but also least like him.
After a moment of silence, Senju Chen decided that he still had to click again.
He raised his head, met Orochimaru's confident gaze, and asked a question he had already prepared.
"Teacher, let me ask a hypothetical question."
"Well, you say."
"If... I mean if, the elders in the village, or in other words, Lord Third, they put forward a condition - let you become Fourth Hokage, but the price is that you must give up all your current research, destroy everything here, and become a pure 'Hokage'. Will you... agree?"
The voice fell.
The blazing atmosphere in the laboratory seemed to be drained out instantly, and the temperature suddenly dropped to freezing point.
The smile on Orochimaru's face solidified.
His golden vertical pupils looked a little dazed and stunned for the first time, as if he had heard some completely incomprehensible fantasy.
He was stunned.
He had never thought about this problem.
Hokage Position, how could there be a conflict with my own research?
Becoming Hokage, he will have greater power, more resources, and can explore the truth of life more freely. The two should complement each other and achieve each other.
"Why... did you ask that?" Orochimaru's voice was filled with doubts, or he actually already knew why Senju Chen asked that.
Senju Chen lowered his eyes and said in a very tactful tone, "Teacher, your research is at the forefront of the entire Shinobi World. But... in the eyes of ordinary people, in the eyes of those senior officials with rigid ideas, these may be 'taboos' and 'evil'. I am worried that someone will use this as a weapon to attack you and prevent you from sitting in that position."
Orochimaru was silent.
He looked at the huge cultivation tank in front of him, looking at the "masterpiece" created by his own hands inside, and the light flickered in his golden pupils.
Senju Chen's words were like a needle, piercing his shell of absolute self-confidence, forcing him to think about a problem he had never faced squarely - worldly perspective.
After a long time, he suddenly laughed softly.
That laughter was full of pride and disdain.
"Hmm... stupid shortsightedness."
He picked up the glass of purple liquid again and drank it in one gulp, his face regaining the arrogance of taking control of everything.
"They will understand. When I lead Konoha and stand at the top of Shinobi World, when I take control of eternal life and make them no longer afraid of death, they will understand that everything I do today is the real "Will of Fire"."
He turned his head and looked at Senju Chen, with a serious arc at the corner of his mouth.
"What I'm researching is something that can really make Konoha powerful in the future. They have no reason to refuse."
The meaning of Orochimaru is very obvious. Why, Hokage can't have some hobbies of his own?
Seeing that his advice completely fell on deaf ears, and even felt that those who could not understand him were just ordinary people, Senju Chen sighed softly in his heart.
My teacher has gone too far on his path called "truth".
He was so far away that he no longer cared whether anyone could follow him.