After the Anbu dragged Hiruzen Sarutobi away, Shimura Danzō sat down in the chair reserved for the Hokage.
His expression gleamed with satisfaction, his mood soaring higher than it had in his entire life.
Years ago, a single moment of hesitation cost him the Hokage's seat. But after so many years of work, he was finally going to realize his dream.
With both Tsunade and Orochimaru having defected, and with Konoha suffering countless losses, the people had completely lost faith in Hiruzen.
Even if Hiruzen were saved, he would have no choice but to temporarily step aside under the pretense of recovery to avoid being held accountable.
And in that time, Danzō could rightfully assume control of Konoha as the Acting Hokage.
Although Hiruzen had been forced to "kill" him in public to quell outrage—preventing him from appearing before the public ever since—what did that matter?
A shadow in darkness was still a shadow.
From today onward, Konoha would enter a new era under his rule.
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Cloud Village.
Tōdai, Mabuma, A, and the Third Raikage stared in shock at the newly defected Orochimaru, nearly falling to their knees before Yuzuru.
There was no need to ask. Orochimaru defecting could only be because of Yuzuru.
The three disciples of Hiruzen Sarutobi—the legendary Sannin of Konoha—now had two who had come to seek refuge in the Cloud.
Calling this insane wasn't enough. It was utterly deranged.
If this continued, wouldn't Yuzuru eventually hollow out Konoha completely?
Even Yuzuru was a little surprised.
Based on his predictions, with Konoha plagued by internal and external crises, Orochimaru shouldn't have become a discarded pawn of Hiruzen and Danzō like in the original timeline.
Yet somehow, those two had still driven Orochimaru into becoming a rogue ninja…
The title of greatest internal-strife champions was truly well-earned.
Fortunately, he had led the Uchiha away early. Otherwise, the clan would never have experienced such rapid population growth.
But while he was surprised, Yuzuru appeared calm and relaxed on the surface, as though everything were unfolding exactly as he desired.
The Third Raikage, smiling warmly, looked at Orochimaru and asked, "Orochimaru, tell us what you want. We can give you anything."
Orochimaru returned the smile, replying in his raspy voice, "All I want is a laboratory where I can conduct my research in peace."
"I don't care for fighting. What I love is scientific study."
Hearing that, the Third Raikage's smile grew even gentler.
For the Cloud right now, someone like Orochimaru was beyond precious.
He immediately thumped his chest and promised, "Think about what you need and write a list for Yuzuru. We'll do our best to provide everything."
Orochimaru nodded without hesitation. "I will."
Once the familiar routine was completed, Yuzuru walked out of the Raikage Building with Orochimaru, who now wore a Cloud forehead protector.
As they walked down the bustling street, Orochimaru couldn't help but marvel. "The Land of Lightning has developed tremendously. It's already far ahead of the Land of Fire."
All the way here, he felt like he was walking through a dream.
Within the Land of Lightning, there were no wandering beggars, no highway bandits, no wild dogs gnawing on human bones…
Everything looked harmonious, like a paradise from legend.
Compared to the last time he visited, the changes were nothing short of earth-shaking.
Beside him, Yuzuru said calmly, "My goal is to make the entire shinobi world look like the Land of Lightning."
Orochimaru paused, then replied, "Yuzuru-kun, even if you really do unify the shinobi world, something like that won't be easy."
Yuzuru shrugged, not arguing further, and instead asked, "So why did you suddenly run over to me?"
"Because I've lost everything in Konoha," Orochimaru said quietly, as though speaking of something unrelated to himself. "Just as you once said—Not only did I fail to become Hokage, I ended up as a rat everyone wants to beat to death."
"I was never naïve, but I didn't expect I would truly fall this far one day."
"So I came to you." Orochimaru stuck out his tongue and licked his face once, speaking with faint excitement. "Yuzuru-kun, can you fulfill the promise you made me?"
"Give me equipment and materials—let me conduct my research in peace."
Yuzuru nodded. "As long as you can complete the tasks I assign you, that won't be a problem."
"That's hardly a demanding condition." Orochimaru smiled elegantly. "What do you want me to do?"
"Human experimentation."
"…"
"What's wrong?"
Meeting Yuzuru's gaze, Orochimaru's smile became sincere. "Yuzuru-kun, I should have defected to you sooner."
Ever since Yuzuru defeated him last time, Orochimaru had been carrying out human experiments—partly to pursue immortality, and partly to give himself more ways to survive.
Now that Yuzuru was asking him to conduct human experiments, it felt like having no restrictions at all.
With that thought, Orochimaru spat out a scroll. "Yuzuru-kun, these are some of my research findings. Consider them a gift."
Seeing the slime-coated scroll, Yuzuru waved a hand dismissively. "Orochimaru, I'm not interested in that. You can hand things off to Fugaku later when you have time."
Orochimaru didn't mind the reaction. He simply swallowed the scroll back into his body.
At that moment, footsteps sounded behind them.
Yuzuru and Orochimaru turned to find Tsunade approaching quickly.
Orochimaru greeted her first. "Tsunade. Long time no see."
Tsunade let out a short huff and raised a brow. "Orochimaru, I didn't expect you to leave Konoha too."
Orochimaru chuckled. "I should be the one saying that. You, a descendant of the Senju clan, leaving Konoha is far more surprising."
"No matter what, for the three of us Sannin to meet in a place like this—it's quite unbelievable." Tsunade shook her head with a smile. "Come on, I'll treat you both to barbecue."
"No problem."
Orochimaru wasn't fond of such social things, but he hadn't seen Tsunade in ages, so he accepted.
Yuzuru naturally had no objections either.
Watching Orochimaru and Tsunade walk ahead, Yuzuru's lips curved slightly.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu—Yuzuru Uchiha gladly recognized them as the strongest support team he could ever hope for.
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