Naruto Birdcage

In the Hokage building's office,

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, looked at Orochimaru, who had returned to report, holding a detailed inventory of supplies and military equipment.

It was half more than the originally agreed-upon amount.

"You've worked hard, Orochimaru."

Orochimaru, dressed in a green combat uniform, gave a light smile at Hiruzen's words of thanks.

"It's just delivering some supplies. If there's nothing to do, even a person will start to go stale."

Hiruzen, upon hearing this, said, "But wasn't it a big deal that you handled this time?"

Orochimaru replied, "Since I encountered it, naturally I couldn't stand by and do nothing."

Hiruzen looked up at Orochimaru, then picked up a letter and gestured.

"The Daimyo sent a letter. It mostly praises you, saying that Konoha highly values talents like you, and that with people like you, the war will surely end in victory soon."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru remained calm and said, "I saw Minato at the frontlines. His leadership is strong, and with him leading us, Konoha will surely achieve victory."

Hiruzen smiled. "So you think highly of him?"

Orochimaru replied, "Jiraiya truly has a great disciple."

Hiruzen's gaze shifted slightly, and he looked at Orochimaru, then suddenly asked, "What do you think about Minato becoming the Fourth Hokage?"

Orochimaru responded, his expression unchanged, "The war isn't over yet, and you're already thinking about stepping down?"

"We must always think about the future. The Daimyo has such high hopes for you, and you think so highly of Minato. There's no way we can lose this war."

"The Hokage position should go to the most capable. Minato does indeed have that ability."

Hiruzen continued to watch Orochimaru's eyes, waiting for a reaction.

But when he spoke these words, there was no emotion in those snake-like eyes, exactly as he had expected.

He spoke slowly, "Orochimaru, you too once had such a student. If you could put yourself in his shoes, he would surely be very pleased."

Orochimaru's gaze grew cold. "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving."

Once Orochimaru left, the office returned to silence.

Hiruzen's hand searched under the desk, pulling out a smoking pipe.

As he lit it, his eyes briefly glanced at the letter from the Daimyo on the desk.

In the letter, aside from praising Orochimaru, the Daimyo also expressed dissatisfaction with Konoha's border defenses, criticizing how an Iwa-nin team had managed to infiltrate so easily.

However, as soon as Hiruzen received the news, he had sent people to investigate the Land of Fire's border entries.

During wartime, Land of Fire and Konoha had tight control over their borders, and the report returned that there had been no irregularities.

Hiruzen sensed something was off but soon realized that investigating further would be pointless.

If the investigation uncovered something unfavorable, there was no way to report it to the Daimyo.

Could he really tell the Daimyo that Konoha was currently embroiled in a power struggle over the Hokage position?

Orochimaru... You have underestimated your ruthlessness and ambition...

Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke, the thick mist swirling in front of him, hard to dissipate.

....

The first thing Orochimaru did upon returning to his residence was to instruct Anko to fetch Makoto.

After Anko quickly left, Orochimaru calmed down, sitting motionless in the living room by himself.

How pathetic, Orochimaru, still unable to let go of these useless emotions?

After a long silence with his eyes closed, a ninja dressed in Anbu attire suddenly appeared in the living room, wearing a patterned mask and kneeling before him.

"Lord Orochimaru." the ninja said, handing over a scroll with both hands.

Orochimaru seemed not to hear, sitting there without raising his eyelids.

From his sleeve, a snake slowly crawled out and made its way to the Anbu ninja, taking the scroll in its mouth.

"Lord Danzo sends his regards."

The Anbu ninja bowed his head, then instantly disappeared from the spot.

Half an hour later, Anko finally returned with Makoto, albeit a little late.

The moment Makoto stepped into the living room, he immediately felt the cold aura surrounding Orochimaru.

Anko, however, seemed unaware, skipping over to Orochimaru's side to take credit. "Lord Orochimaru, I brought Makoto here!"

Orochimaru smiled faintly and patted her on the head.

"Makoto and I have some things to discuss. You can go play outside for a while."

"Eh?" Anko's little face showed confusion as she turned to look at Makoto, wondering when Makotoand Lord Orochimaru had become so close.

In Anko's memory, she only needed to avoid the area when Lord Orochimaru was talking to other adults, and she would obediently leave without disturbing them.

But why would they want to avoid her now...?

"Got it." Anko obediently left, but before she went, she couldn't help but glance at Makoto again.

Makoto didn't ask about Orochimaru's strange mood, but instead spoke up.

"The village has been talking about how Lord Orochimaru saved the Daimyo these past two days."

Orochimaru didn't respond verbally but tossed a scroll to him.

Makoto unrolled it, and the contents revealed correspondence between certain Royal officials of the Land of Fire, indicating that these officials had accepted benefits sent by the Root division.

These officials must not be fools; if they dared to accept bribes, it's likely that the benefits sent by the Root division weren't entirely out of goodwill.

Looking at the shocking content, Makoto remained calm and said, "The war is almost over."

Orochimaru glanced at him: "How do you know?"

"Konoha is about to run out of steam, and Iwagakure is the same."

Orochimaru replied, "Even so, what then? Do you think Iwagakure will back down?"

The war between the Fire and Earth countries had been extremely brutal, and by now, it had almost lost its original purpose.

Most of the people on the battlefield were fighting driven by hatred.

"So, a catalyst is needed to bring the two countries to a ceasefire, at which point Konoha will present a peace treaty."

Orochimaru furrowed his brows slightly upon hearing this. "Doesn't that sound like admitting defeat?"

Makoto replied, "It just needs a little adjustment, and the villagers won't think that way. The Hokage can take this opportunity to step down and ensure the Fourth Hokage to succeed."

Orochimaru's gaze flickered, and he continued to ask, "What kind of opportunity are you talking about?"

"Did you forget what started this Great Ninja War?" Makoto asked.

Orochimaru's thoughts quickly turned: "Sunagakure!"

Makoto smoothly added, "The Fourth Kazekage has been in power for a while now, and Sunagakure should be stable internally. With their alliance, Iwagakure will surely back down."

"Would Sunagakure agree?"

"Sunagakure also needs peace. They won't allow the balance between the Fire, Earth, and Wind countries to be disrupted."

Orochimaru fell silent, deep in thought.

"Lord Orochimaru, you need to go to the Land of Wind to secure this ally for Konoha."

"No!" Orochimaru suddenly interjected, cutting off Makoto's words.

"Even that won't be enough!"

Makoto was momentarily stunned, but then noticed Orochimaru smirking as he continued, "It must be at a time when Konoha's survival is at stake, and I lead the reinforcements. Only then can I gain enough prestige."

Makoto's expression grew calm as he replied, "Right now, Iwagakure probably doesn't have the strength to push Konoha to that point."

"If Iwagakure doesn't have the strength, we can give them that strength!" Orochimaru retorted.

"Lord Orochimaru, if you become the Hokage, those ninjas on the front lines will all become your family."

Orochimaru remained unmoved: "If they want to crown another Hokage, doesn't that count as a betrayal to me?"

He had already realized that the hearts of those ninjas couldn't possibly turn toward him in such a short time, no matter what he did.

So, he must pave a bloody path.

"Doing so will plunge Konoha, and the entire Land of Fire, into chaos," Makoto continued.

Orochimaru calmed down, his voice hoarse as he said, "Chaos is a ladder!"

A ladder to clear everything away and ascend to the peak!

End of chapter

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