Hokage Building, conference room.
"What do you all think about grooming Orochimaru to become the Fourth Hokage?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, with a pipe in his mouth, thought of Orochimaru teaching the children of the Sealing Team and shared his idea with Danzo Shimura, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado.
After seeing how popular Orochimaru was with the children, he increasingly believed that Orochimaru becoming the Fourth Hokage would be best for Konoha.
"Hiruzen, first, you need to get Orochimaru interested in the Hokage position."
Danzo Shimura truly didn't want to pour cold water on the fiercely burning Will of Fire within Hiruzen Sarutobi. The idea was good, but one had to face reality, and the reality was that Orochimaru disdained the Hokage position. He had never considered being Hokage, nor did he want to be.
He had already subtly asked Orochimaru about this.
If Orochimaru wanted to be Hokage, he would definitely support him wholeheartedly.
He used to really want to be Hokage, but now... Hiruzen Sarutobi could sit in that rotten Hokage position until he died. He didn't want to be Hokage, no matter who it was.
Danzo Shimura felt that his past self was obsessed, as if under a Genjutsu, believing that Hiruzen Sarutobi was unworthy of being Hokage and only he was.
"That's also why I called this meeting. How can we get Orochimaru interested in the Hokage position? That's the key."
Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that if they all brainstormed, they might be able to change Orochimaru's mind.
"Orochimaru is still so young, Hiruzen, what's the rush? Besides, you're still very young yourself. Shouldn't you consider this matter at least 10 years from now?"
Utatane Koharu didn't understand why Hiruzen Sarutobi was in such a hurry.
"We can take our time training Orochimaru, but if she's not interested in the Hokage position, we can't force her to be Hokage, can we?"
Homura Mitokado had never heard of a Kage in any Village who needed to be forced into the position. It was simply unheard of and unseen.
The Kage of a Village, such an important position, there were countless people who dreamed of becoming Hokage.
If Orochimaru was unwilling, then wouldn't it be better to cultivate a suitable person? They might not be as good as Orochimaru in all aspects, but it would be better than forcing someone unwilling to sit in the Hokage position.
"You don't understand..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep puff from his pipe, thinking of the various pressures he had faced since becoming Hokage. He wanted to retire early!
If Orochimaru had no interest in being Hokage, then who would he pass the Hokage position to?
The child Biwako might give birth to at an unknown time?
To Jiraiya?
To Tsunade?
Those two were both unreliable.
Lord Tobirama made him Hokage; he couldn't just hand the Hokage position to someone who couldn't bear the heavy responsibility, could he?
Hiruzen Sarutobi quickly went through the clan heads of the various great families in his mind. There was no one suitable. No, it wasn't that there was no one, but rather that he simply wasn't interested in power.
Akimichi Torifu, with his wife and children at home, was an existence he envied.
Danzo, who used to want to be Hokage, now had no such thoughts. He just guarded his small plot of land in Root, and even the method of recruiting new members had changed.
Before, it was: The Village needs you. Join Root and give your all for Konoha. Disagree? You'll agree anyway!
Now it was: The Village needs you. Join Root to clear out hidden dangers for Konoha. Your monthly compensation will be this much... Disagree? Then forget it.
The Ninja of Root lived more comfortably than ANBU Ninja, and their work efficiency had increased significantly.
---
Orochimaru walked down the street, feeling physically and mentally exhausted. Dealing with so many children was truly draining.
Yellowed leaves swirled and fell; it was late autumn once again.
Winter was coming soon... Orochimaru reached out and caught a flying yellowed leaf, a hint of emotion in her eyes. Her figure vanished the next moment.
Returning to the Laboratory, Orochimaru immediately dispelled her Shadow Clone. After receiving the Shadow Clone's memories, she looked at the blood vessel tentacles in the cultivation tank, which had Zero-Tails Cells implanted but showed no change, and frowned slightly.
"Did it fail?"
"Orochimaru, the experiment hasn't failed yet."
Hyuga Mio's veins bulged around her eyes as she used her Byakugan to observe the blood vessel tentacles in the cultivation tank, noticing their changes.
Suddenly, the blood vessel tentacles began to grow wildly, and the culture fluid decreased at a visible rate.
Orochimaru watched the cultivation tank with a hint of excitement, urging, "Imu, add more culture fluid!"
"Yes, Lady Orochimaru!"
Imu quickly operated the equipment, and culture fluid was continuously added to the cultivation tank. Her face showed surprise as she watched the wildly growing blood vessel tentacles in the tank.
The growth of the blood vessel tentacles continued. It seemed that because Kakuzu's consciousness was not in the blood vessel tentacles, the blood vessel tentacles with Zero-Tails Cells implanted eventually stopped growing and gathered, coiling together, resembling a curled-up infant.
"Orochimaru, did the experiment succeed?"
The veins around Hyuga Mio's eyes receded, and she let out a long sigh of relief.
"It succeeded."
Orochimaru looked at the infant-shaped blood vessel tentacles formed in the cultivation tank. The fact that they formed this posture without Kakuzu's control was enough to prove that her experiment was very successful!
The Zero-Tails Cells implanted in the blood vessel tentacles did not devour Kakuzu's genetic information.
Otherwise, what would have appeared in the cultivation tank would have been snake-shaped blood vessel tentacles.
Whether this was due to the unique nature of Jiongu still required more experiments to determine.
After all, Kakuzu's Jiongu allowed him to have five hearts without experiencing rejection.
"Imu, observe it for a while."
Orochimaru was not yet sure if the blood vessel tentacles in the cultivation tank were stable. She needed to observe them before she could confirm, at least for a few days. If there were no problems, then she would proceed with the next step of the experiment.
"Yes, Lady Orochimaru."
Imu replied respectfully.
"You don't need to keep staring at it. Just use the equipment to record the changes of the experimental subject in the cultivation tank."
Orochimaru added. She remembered that during a previous cloning experiment, Imu, simply because of a single sentence from her, had stared at the cultivation tank in the room all night.
It was as if she treated her words as a sacred decree; she was simply too obedient.
Sometimes, having an overly obedient subordinate could also be a headache.
For example, the person who mistakenly said 'rape order' instead of 'pursuit order,' and whose subordinate still carried it out—that truly caused a huge scandal.
Therefore, one still needed to be careful with their words when speaking in front of an especially obedient subordinate.
"Yes, Lady Orochimaru!"
Imu felt Lady Orochimaru's concern for her, and a happy smile appeared on her face.
"Mio, let's go back to Konoha."
Orochimaru walked to Hyuga Mio's side, placed her hand on her shoulder, and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to return to her home in Konoha.
Counting the time, Tsunade had been training in Shikkotsu Forest for half a year, hadn't she?
Orochimaru walked into her room, picked up the photo frame on her desk, and looked at the picture of Tsunade in a nurse's uniform. She had to admit, she missed that noisy fellow a little.
She wondered when Tsunade would return, how her training in Shikkotsu Forest was going, and if she had encountered any danger... Orochimaru put down the photo frame and walked out. This was the first time she had been separated from Tsunade for so long, and she truly missed her.
"Mio, what do you want for dinner?"
Orochimaru walked into the living room and saw Hyuga Mio watching today's "Konoha Every Day" program.
"Fish dish? Not too spicy."
Hyuga Mio remembered the explosively spicy stir-fried chicken she had before. The taste was unforgettable to this day, and the feeling in the bathroom the next day was even more unforgettable. It was the first time in her life she experienced what it felt like for her backside to be on fire.
It was like a Fire Release Ninja skilled in Fire Release Ninjutsu was roasting her backside with the Dragon Fire Technique.
"Fish dish, huh... Mio, you're really easy to please."
Orochimaru walked towards the kitchen. It was a good thing Hyuga Mio hadn't said "whatever." She knew that among all dishes, "whatever" was the hardest to make, and she hated "whatever" the most.
"Oh, right. Tonight it's bluefin tuna. When I bought it, I heard it was just caught and delivered not long ago."
"Do you want to eat sashimi?"
Hyuga Mio asked curiously. In her memory, Orochimaru hardly ever bought bluefin tuna.
"No, I hate eating raw food. For dinner, I'll make pan-seared bluefin tuna."
Orochimaru couldn't accept barbaric dishes like sushi and sashimi.
"Even if you don't like it, you have to eat it all, understood?"
Orochimaru looked at Hyuga Mio with a hint of warning in her eyes.
"Mm..."
Hyuga Mio subconsciously sat up straight and nodded repeatedly.
The cold, biting rain of late autumn, yet it failed to extinguish the enthusiasm of the gamblers in the Casino, who clamored that they would definitely win this round, placing their bets with abandon.
Orochimaru walked down the streets of Tanzaku Street, holding a white paper umbrella. She stopped in front of a Casino, raised her hand, and a Kikaichu landed on her finger.
Is it here?
You've really grown bolder, Tsunade!
Orochimaru narrowed her eyes as she looked at the Casino's signboard and walked inside.
She had received news that Tsunade appeared in Tanzaku Street not long ago, and she thought the intelligence gatherers had made a mistake.
Turns out, it really was Tsunade.
That girl, after finishing her training in Shikkotsu Forest, immediately ran to the Casino in Tanzaku Street.
"Win... won?!"
Tsunade looked at the chips in front of her in disbelief. She couldn't believe she had actually won money.
Even if it was just winning back the money she had lost, it was too unusual.
"Yes, you won money. That's really great, isn't it? Should we mark today as a special holiday?"
A cold voice, tinged with chill, sounded from behind her. Tsunade's pupils sharply contracted, and she instinctively recoiled her neck, slowly turning her head to look at the person standing behind her, her heart sinking.
It's... it's over!
"Um... how... how did you get here?"
Tsunade gave a forced smile, frantically trying to come up with an excuse.
But no excuse could explain her behavior of not returning to Konoha after finishing her training in Shikkotsu Forest and directly coming to the Casino in Tanzaku Street.
"Who are you? Don't interfere with us!"
"Whatever you have to say, wait until we're done gambling!"
"Hey! Is that lady going to continue or not?!"
The gamblers who had just lost all the money they had won looked at Orochimaru, who was standing behind Tsunade, with dissatisfaction, and urged Tsunade to continue gambling.
They had finally encountered a woman with astonishingly bad luck, a bringer of wealth, so how could they be willing to let her go?
"Am I interfering with you?"
Orochimaru looked coldly at these desperate gamblers.
The gamblers stared at by Orochimaru felt a chill run through their bodies, as if a large white snake was coiling around them, opening its mouth to reveal sharp fangs.
"No, no! You're not interfering with us!"
"You, you must have something urgent to discuss with her!"
"We won't disturb you anymore!"
The gamblers rose one after another and fled in a panic.
-------------------------------
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