Becoming the Tsuchikage in the Naruto World

Chapter 234: The Aftermath

For Iwagakure, the death of the Third Raikage was neither good nor bad.

The Third Raikage was perhaps one of the strongest enemies in the eyes of Konoha's higher-ups, perhaps even the strongest. From this perspective, the Third Raikage's existence was naturally a good thing for Iwagakure. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all.

But from another perspective, the Third Raikage had led the Cloud Village into its golden age, posing a significant threat to the Land of Earth, which was closest to the Land of Lightning and just across the sea.

Ishiro had once speculated that in the original story, Ōnoki's move against the Third Raikage was likely for the same reason as the Mist's now: fear that the Cloud's aggressiveness was too strong and that they coveted their own territory.

So, whether the Third Raikage's death was more beneficial or detrimental to Iwagakure was something neither the ninjas nor the civilians of the Land of Earth could say for sure. Everyone was just watching the event with the mentality of an onlooker.

However, for Konoha, the impact of this matter was immense. Firstly, Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze, who carried out this mission, became heroes in the eyes of Konoha's civilians.

As for Orochimaru's actions, they were initially suppressed by Hiruzen Sarutobi and not widely spread within Konoha Village.

However, the ninjas of Konoha still began to harbor some resentment towards Orochimaru. And Orochimaru himself didn't even do the face-saving work of returning to the village to explain. Orochimaru even gave the cold shoulder to the messenger Hiruzen sent to summon him.

Outsiders like Ishiro naturally couldn't perceive this, but as the Hokage's Advisor, Danzō naturally knew everything clearly.

Thus, Danzō, who had been lying low ever since suffering a great loss at the hands of the Cloud ninjas, started to make moves again.

In the original story, Danzō's power in Konoha at this time was considerable. Even after suffering a setback at Nagato's hands, he still hadn't given up on the position of Fourth Hokage. So at that time, Danzō's attitude towards Orochimaru was one of recruitment and cooperation.

Whether it was recruitment or cooperation, Danzō held the initiative in his dealings with Orochimaru. It was because of this that after the human experimentation incident was exposed later, Danzō was able to pin all the blame on Orochimaru and then hide himself behind the scenes again.

But this time period was different. Danzō's forces had been almost completely wiped out by the Cloud ninjas; he had already lost the initiative to cooperate with Orochimaru.

If it were an ordinary person, they might give up cooperation, or perhaps endure for a while and wait for a mature opportunity to regain the initiative. But Danzō was no ordinary person!

Danzō chose to give Orochimaru a push.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was Orochimaru's teacher and should have understood him thoroughly. This was indeed the case; it was said that Hiruzen didn't choose Orochimaru to succeed him because he saw ambition in Orochimaru's eyes.

But in terms of understanding Orochimaru's heart, Hiruzen couldn't compare to Danzō, who, like Orochimaru, was not content with the status quo. Danzō might not have expected that Orochimaru had long wanted to break away from Konoha, but Danzō had keenly discovered the change in Orochimaru's attitude towards Hiruzen and Konoha.

Thus, Danzō made his move against Orochimaru.

The method Danzō adopted was to spread rumors about Orochimaru. After all, this move had a successful precedent; White Fang had fallen to this very tactic.

To say it was spreading rumors wasn't quite right, because the rumors Danzō spread within Konoha about Orochimaru were all true. Some of the content even involved projects Danzō and Orochimaru had collaborated on before and during the Third Great Ninja War.

For Danzō, producing some half-true evidence was all too easy.

And so, Konoha became lively.

Not only was the ambush incident that Hiruzen had tried so hard to cover up exposed by Danzō, but rumors were also spreading within Konoha that Orochimaru was using the bodies of ninjas and civilians for experiments. The various rumors were told in vivid detail, with pictures as proof. Whether others believed them or not, Danzō himself did.

Orochimaru instantly went from a hero to an executioner. This matter spread very quickly under Danzō's guidance. The ninjas and civilians of Konoha discussed this matter with an enthusiasm that far surpassed that of the Third Raikage's death.

Of course, the direction of the discussion was not one-sided. Orochimaru still had many loyal subordinates who firmly believed that Orochimaru was being wronged.

In addition, some people remembered the White Fang of yesteryear. Their attitude was relatively cautious; they didn't fully believe it, nor did they directly refute it. They were waiting for the Hokage's voice.

But unfortunately, this time Danzō had evidence, so the mainstream of the rumors was still quite unfavorable to Orochimaru.

Such rumors naturally couldn't be hidden from Jiraiya, who went to the hot springs every day to "gather material." Upon learning that his best buddy might be on the wrong path, Jiraiya's first reaction was disbelief.

Feeling that someone was targeting Orochimaru, Jiraiya shattered the glass window of the Hokage's office and jumped directly in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was smoking with his head down.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at Jiraiya, didn't stop smoking, but just waved his hand at the Anbu who followed him in.

After the Anbu left, Jiraiya said impatiently, "Old man, what's going on with Orochimaru? Who on earth is targeting him? Is it the Cloud ninjas retaliating against us? Why aren't you stopping it?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Jiraiya again, took a deep drag from his pipe, and then said, "Orochimaru didn't make a move against the Cloud ninjas. If the Cloud wanted to retaliate, they should be coming for you. On the contrary, Orochimaru ambushed Kirigakure and helped the Cloud get some payback. Why would the Cloud target Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya thought about it and agreed. He had been confused because he cared too much. Now, reminded by Hiruzen, he felt that this matter indeed didn't seem to be the work of the Cloud ninjas. He thought for a moment and said, "Is it Danzō?"

In Jiraiya's heart, his best buddy was naturally his most reliable companion. Although the two often had their squabbles, Jiraiya felt that this was also a kind of fun.

But what Jiraiya didn't know was that in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart, Danzō was also the companion he considered most reliable. Although Hiruzen also suspected that there was a high possibility Danzō was behind this, Hiruzen didn't want Danzō's image in Jiraiya's heart to be too malicious. Besides, Hiruzen had no evidence to prove that Danzō did it.

On the contrary, Hiruzen had a detailed file of evidence regarding Orochimaru's series of human experiments.

Pointing with his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi gestured for Jiraiya to look at the documents himself.

Jiraiya snatched the documents from Hiruzen and, ignoring the smoke in the Hokage's office, immediately began to read. But the more he read, the deeper his brows furrowed, because based on his judgment, he also felt that this evidence was real.

After finishing the documents, Jiraiya, with reddened eyes, stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi without speaking.

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at by Jiraiya. After waiting for a while, he finally said, "Go to the Land of Whirlpools and bring him back."

"Alright." Upon hearing this, Jiraiya jumped out of the window without another word. In fact, even if Hiruzen hadn't said it, he was going to the Land of Whirlpools anyway. He wanted to ask Orochimaru in person if there was some hidden story, some tragic loyalty behind it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi got up and walked to the window, watching Jiraiya's figure disappear straight in the direction of the Land of Whirlpools, and sighed. He knew that Jiraiya would definitely not go through the main gate at this time; he would have to register there, and Jiraiya probably didn't want to wait for even a second.

Coughing once, Hiruzen Sarutobi called an Anbu and had him inform the barrier team not to make a fuss about Jiraiya leaving without permission through the barrier team's警戒 (jǐngjiè - guarded/alert) area.

After a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi said to another Anbu, "Go and get Danzō."

Although he hadn't responded to Jiraiya's words earlier, he himself also felt that Danzō was the biggest suspect behind this matter. He wanted to ask Danzō face to face.

What Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't know was that Danzō had been waiting for him for a long time. When Danzō spread the rumors, he had already prepared for all possible subsequent developments.

Long before Jiraiya set out, Danzō had already notified one of Orochimaru's loyal subordinates. That subordinate of Orochimaru had already left Konoha under the pretext of a mission and was probably already close to the Land of Whirlpools by now.

Danzō was naturally not kind enough to remind Orochimaru to destroy the evidence. Danzō no longer needed evidence; the evidence he had spread within Konoha was enough to confirm Orochimaru's crimes.

Danzō understood Orochimaru's personality. If Orochimaru didn't know the matter was exposed, he might have concealed it a little in front of Jiraiya. But if Orochimaru knew in advance that the matter was exposed, he would, on the contrary, not conceal it in front of Jiraiya.

Danzō's prediction was correct. Not only did Orochimaru not destroy the evidence before Jiraiya found him, but he also demonstrated the process of human experimentation in front of Jiraiya, nearly causing Jiraiya to doubt his own life.

As a result, the two naturally parted on bad terms. Jiraiya and Orochimaru had a big fight, which ended with Orochimaru's victory. During the battle, Orochimaru used some of the results of his human experiments and taught Jiraiya a lesson.

However, Orochimaru didn't deal a killing blow. Jiraiya and Konoha were both his bonds. At this time, he had no intention of destroying Konoha.

After defeating Jiraiya, Orochimaru returned to Konoha Village alone, leaving Jiraiya, who thought he was still in the Land of Whirlpools, to turn the country upside down searching for him.

After returning to Konoha, Orochimaru took the items he had placed in Konoha and some surrounding experimental labs, and then planted the newly developed, immature Cursed Seal on his dear disciple, Anko.

After everything was handled, he leisurely went to a training ground and waited quietly. This was a place he often came to in his youth when he was still in the squad led by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

After a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with his Kage Guard. The moment he saw Orochimaru, Hiruzen knew that this disciple had made up his mind.

The day before, he had called Danzō to his office wanting to question him, only to be ruthlessly rebuffed. Hiruzen was full of resentment and had originally wanted to have a good talk with Orochimaru, but at this moment, he couldn't say a single word.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's appearance, Orochimaru's mouth curved into an exaggerated arc. He smiled silently, then turned and left Konoha without looking back.

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Orochimaru leave, remaining silent, turning a deaf ear to the urgent prompts from his Kage Guard and his summoning animal, Monkey King Enma.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was immersed in grief and unable to extricate himself, until a cold voice interrupted him.

"Hiruzen, list Orochimaru as an S-rank rogue ninja. Otherwise, anything he does in the future, we in Konoha will have to bear the responsibility for."

Hiruzen Sarutobi came back to his senses upon hearing this. He took a deep breath, then turned his head, looked at the three approaching advisors, his gaze sweeping over Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, finally landing on Danzō, who had spoken.

Word by word, he ordered the Anbu beside him, "List Orochimaru as an S-rank rogue ninja, then announce it to the entire ninja world."

After speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to leave, but how could Danzō let him leave so easily? He took a step forward and said, "Hiruzen, the confidants Orochimaru left in the village must be dealt with. These people are all future troubles."

Hiruzen was furious and shouted, "Danzō, these people are ninjas of the village, they are our comrades!"

Danzō, however, was unmoved and retorted sharply, "Hiruzen, don't show misplaced mercy. You must make a Hokage's decision."

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