"..."
The meeting room fell silent. The Third Hokage stroked his beard, his eyes narrowed slightly, a look of satisfaction on his face.
This time, Orochimaru wasn't throwing in any personal stuff. He was actually analyzing the village's situation.
Others didn't think so. While they understood Orochimaru's concerns, they also felt that he was being alarmist.
The Land of Iron was destroyed because Kusagakure attacked unexpectedly. The remaining countries, fearing the same fate, might not just sit and wait for death. For example, the Land of Hot Water would likely ask Konoha and Kumogakure for help.
Compared to attacking proactively now, it would be better to fight a defensive war in places like the Land of Hot Water, engaging in a back-and-forth battle with the Kusagakure Ninja. This was more in line with what everyone in the room wanted.
As ninjas, they could accept missions and get paid employment fees.
War leads to death, and not everyone has Orochimaru's strength.
Of course, it wasn't that they were afraid of death. Which ninja here hadn't been through countless battles, risking their lives for the village?
But if they could avoid or reduce the conflict, there's no reason not to. What Orochimaru said was clearly telling them to charge in now and fight with Kusagakure head-on.
It had only been a little over a year since the Nine Tails attack, and there had been many conflicts in between. Most of the clan leaders in the room preferred a conservative strategy of resting and recovering.
Orochimaru glanced at everyone in the room, roughly understood what they were thinking, chuckled, and said no more.
It was rare for him to come up with a good idea, but not many people supported it.
But that was fine. If they didn't want to solve it quickly, then they would have to experience getting cut slowly by a dull knife.
Orochimaru licked his lips. This was better for his needs.
"..."
Seeing that Orochimaru didn't insist to the end, the Third Hokage and Danzo frowned at the same time.
Without Orochimaru's hard stance, the meeting room's decision leaned towards the conservative side.
This was naturally not what the Third Hokage wanted to see, so after a moment of silence, he simply announced the end of the meeting.
After the clan leaders left, the remaining upper-level team leaders, the three advisor elders, as well as Orochimaru and Jiraiya, continued with a smaller meeting.
Utatane Koharu naturally understood the meaning behind the Third Hokage not making a decision. So, after the others left, she directly said to Orochimaru, "Your method is too aggressive. It's far from that point yet."
"Are we going to wait for Kusagakure Ninja to attack Konoha before we fight back?"
Orochimaru asked, a hint of mockery in his smile, "Kusagakure chose to become enemies with Konoha, so they should pay the price."
"Although Kusagakure destroyed the Land of Iron, that was just a neutral country. Konoha has no reason to attack them," Utatane Koharu frowned. "You're too extreme."
"Heh..."
Orochimaru chuckled, licked his lips, and didn't continue to explain.
A bad person can still be cured, but there's no cure for a stupid person.
Conflict between ninja villages is different from personal struggles. There is no objective third party—laws or a strong military organization—to control things.
Worrying about reasons or morals is meaningless. No one will uphold justice, and the leader of a ninja village must make protecting the village's interests the top priority.
Right now, Kusagakure is choosing to get closer to the Land of Earth, and even the Land of Thunder in the future. This clearly hurts Konoha's interests. It would be ridiculous not to take decisive action to strike them down. …
If they wanted a so-called 'just cause,' they could easily create a conflict or provocation. If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a reason.
But there was no need to say these things. Forcing a war isn't a job many want. Danzo used to do it, but now Danzo doesn't want to, and the old man doesn't want to take responsibility either. Why should he rush up and take the blame? It wasn't necessary.
Pretending to think for a moment, Orochimaru gave a sinister smile. "If you don't want to directly start a war with Kusagakure, but also want to contain their expansion, there are other ways."
Orochimaru pointed to the Land of Iron and said calmly,
"Although the Box of Ultimate Bliss destroyed the samurai's village, there are still a considerable number of samurai who escaped. We can give them some support."
Utatane Koharu frowned, not very satisfied with this method.
The samurai who dare to oppose Kusagakure now are undoubtedly the hardcore fans of the Land of Iron. Spending Konoha's money to build up their fighting power would be worse than Konoha doing it themselves.
The Third Hokage glanced at Orochimaru, also not agreeing. Who knows how long it would take to train those samurai. By then, it would be too late.
"Don't misunderstand, the support I'm talking about isn't what you think."
The corners of Orochimaru's mouth turned up, his smile looking very sinister. "Remember the previous 'body strengthening surgery'?"
Everyone in the room was shocked. In particular, Danzo glanced at Orochimaru, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Utatane Koharu was stunned for a moment, then said coldly, "Orochimaru, are you secretly researching this forbidden surgery again?"
"I'm not."
Orochimaru didn't even look at her. He met the Third Hokage's gaze, then turned to Danzo, his smile becoming playful,
"I don't, but some people couldn't resist. Danzo-sama, you have traces of body strengthening surgery on you."
"Shut up, Orochimaru, you're talking nonsense again."
Facing the suspicious gazes of the crowd, Danzo flatly denied it, angrily saying, "Don't say things without evidence."
"Tsk tsk... Are you forcing me to produce evidence?"
Orochimaru said meaningfully, "Don't forget who you got these techniques from. I can reveal the evidence, but it won't look good on the surface."
"Hmph... I don't know what you're talking about."
Danzo said expressionlessly, indifferently saying, "I had some surgeries to treat the injuries caused by Yakushi Kabuto, but it definitely has nothing to do with your so-called body strengthening surgery."
"Is that so…" Orochimaru smiled, no longer bothering to argue with Danzo. He smiled at everyone and said,
"Body strengthening surgery is a bit too dangerous to use on non-Uchiha, but those samurai who are focused on revenge probably won't refuse."
That made sense. With these willing 'volunteers' participating, Orochimaru might be able to reduce the risks in the future.
In terms of efficiency and results, it would be the best solution that accomplished three things at once. But everyone, including the Third Hokage, hesitated, feeling as if they were indulging a fierce beast.
However, Orochimaru wasn't asking for their agreement, just informing them.
Even without the village's help, he would find the samurai himself and convince them to undergo the experiment.
And using people outside the village for human experimentation, to be honest, isn't that big of a deal.
The intelligence team uses interrogation ninja skills to play with people's minds and memories. To be honest, that's a hundred times more cruel than physical pain.
The Third Hokage saw through Orochimaru's thoughts. After thinking for a moment, he chose to agree. "The village will give you some support."
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