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In the study, Orochimaru seemed to have transformed into an entirely different person, a shrewd politician with a clear understanding of the Konoha situation.
Uchiha Yoru was inwardly shocked. Yes, everyone had overlooked one crucial point: how could someone who was a strong contender for Hokage be ignorant of politics? After all, the Fourth Hokage's failure to secure the position was due to the Third Hokage's strategic move; otherwise, the Fourth Hokage title wouldn't have so easily fallen to Minato Namikaze.
"The initiative has never been in our hands. After all, this is still the final peak of the king's reign. At this time, anyone who dares to cross the king's bottom line is the most dangerous."
As he said this, Orochimaru looked at the Forbidden Scroll in his hand with a mocking smile. Teacher, is this your choice? You have abandoned me once again. So, what will you do next? Will you transfer me like last time, or something else?
The first time, Orochimaru chose silence and accepted everything.
Thinking about this, Orochimaru's face suddenly showed his trademark terrifying smile, and his hoarse laughter echoed in the dim study.
"Heh heh, I, Orochimaru, may not be the White Fang, but I have my own Ninja Way. And isn't this what you, teacher, tacitly allowed me to find, the Ninja Way buried deep in my heart?"
As his hoarse laughter echoed, Uchiha Yoru understood his teacher's meaning. All political maneuvers were, in essence, futile.
If the Third Hokage chose to remain a spectator, the odds would be in their favor, but if the Third Hokage stepped forward, it would be nearly impossible to challenge him.
The Third Hokage's decades of governance, his reputation for steering the village through the Fourth Hokage's death, and his current standing made him unshakable.
The Third Hokage may appear to be a kind old man, but in politics, he is a dictator. More importantly, he still possesses the terrifying power of his final peak.
In this distorted history of the ninja world, any leader is a political dictator. For example, the First Hokage, who imposed his vision of peace, even Madara Uchiha could not defy him.
Truly, it is a twisted and perverse world. Thinking of this, Uchiha Yoru smiled, but the glory and power brought by his noble lineage also filled him with intoxication.
"Lord Yoru, your strength has improved rapidly, but you still lack the refinement. However, if you refine it a bit more, you might become the new Windmill of this decaying village."
Orochimaru said this with a disturbingly twisted smile, as if he had found an interesting toy, making Uchiha Yoru's scalp tingle.
"Teacher." Before Uchiha Yoru could finish, Orochimaru's hoarse laughter interrupted him.
"Lord Yoru, from the beginning, I have seen the ambition in your eyes, the arrogance in your bones that sets you apart from other Uchihas. You have always been so confident, and you have ambition! Though you hide it well, I see the enjoyment you derive from the power you wield."
After Orochimaru bluntly exposed his facade, Uchiha Yoru couldn't help but smile. The fake smile on his face slowly faded, and his current smile was three parts arrogance and three parts overbearing.
"Teacher Orochimaru, if the supreme position were held by someone with immense power, a legendary life, and endless life, what do you think the ninja world would be like?"
As he said this, Uchiha Yoru paused, seemingly thinking of something, and then added with a playful smile, "And if there were only one village, one voice in the ninja world, wouldn't there be no cruel ninja wars? Wouldn't I become a savior of the ninja world?"
Listening to Uchiha Yoru's unmasked and unbridled ambition, Orochimaru's smile grew more intense, and he finally burst into hoarse laughter in the dim study.
"Heh heh, I didn't expect your ambition to be so great, Lord Yoru, but!" As he said this, Orochimaru slowly narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with longing and desire for the future.
"At that time, the ninja world will welcome a legendary Sage of Six Paths, no! The sages have long disappeared into the annals of history; instead, a true sage will emerge."
Looking at Orochimaru, Uchiha Yoru smiled, "No, it should be two sages, or perhaps these two sages will usher in an era ruled by sages!"
Two sages, of course, referred to the two of them. If they were to rule the ninja world, wouldn't it imply the existence of other immortal sages?
Thinking of this, Orochimaru's smile became even more twisted and fanatical, "Yes, when the outliers become numerous, they are no longer outliers."
Immortal sages are outliers, but if these outliers form a powerful group, they will become the norm. On his lonely path, more interesting things will be born, and he will no longer be the terrifying outlier in the eyes of others.
Thinking of this, Orochimaru burst into hoarse laughter, and Uchiha Yoru also revealed his heart's desires.
"No one starts at the top, not you or me, not even the Sage of Six Paths. But the empty throne of heaven will no longer be tolerated. From now on, the two of us will stand at the apex."
Under Uchiha Yoru's noble smile, Orochimaru also smiled. This was an ambitious man with the same goal as him.
Both pursued immortality, but Uchiha Yoru wanted to rule the entire ninja world, while Orochimaru wanted to live forever and learn all the jutsu in the world. He also wanted to see how far his disciple would go and what impact he would have on the world.
Windmill! Perhaps when he succeeds, it won't just be a Windmill in Konoha, but a Windmill that moves the entire ninja world.
To others, the words of these two madmen would be dismissed as nonsense, the ravings of lunatics. After all, there must be a first before there can be a second, and now, there is nothing but their wild ambitions and a direction.
But in Orochimaru's eyes, it was different. Without ambition, there is no power, and power always follows ambition.
Immortality! Others might dismiss it as nonsense, even his teacher, the legendary Sarutobi Hiruzen, would denounce such unrealistic thoughts.
Stagnant! This was what he found incompatible with everyone else; their thinking was too narrow.
Before ninjas, did the Onmyoji (Yin-Yang Practitioners) and Samurai know that the appearance of chakra would bring a revolution to the world? Did they imagine that chakra and ninjas would replace them?
No!
This was narrow thinking. Orochimaru laughed hoarsely, but his face showed hope. He was no longer alone on his path, and new people would join him in the future.
As the snow fell heavily, Konoha was peaceful, as if the war had ended.
Hyuga Clan.
In the warm main family training hall, a dull sound echoed continuously. Those familiar with it knew it was the sound of Gentle Fist strikes, but it seemed too immature.
The current heir of the main family, amidst the falling snow, was just three years old.
Hinata Hyuga, at just three years old, was being personally taught Gentle Fist by her father, Hiashi Hyuga, under the strict family rules.
In the center of the hall, Hiashi Hyuga looked at his daughter during her first training session, his eyes filled with disappointment and a deep sense of shame.
From her first attempt at Gentle Fist, it was clear that his eldest daughter, Hinata Hyuga, had very poor talent. In fact, she wasn't that bad, but there was another child in the room whose talent completely overshadowed his daughter's.
On the side of the indoor training ground, Hizashi Hyuga sat on a tatami mat, his face calm as he watched his older brother and niece training. For some reason, this scene felt ironic to him.
"Listen well, Neji. You were born to protect Lady Hinata and the Hyuga clan."
"Yes, Father."
In the father-son conversation, the father was indifferent, while the child was full of sunshine.
Neji Hyuga, who had just been branded with the Caged Bird seal and had a white bandage on his head, didn't know his fate. His innocent and pure white eyes watched the small figure training in the hall, and at that moment, the young Neji smiled genuinely.
Is this the main family sister I am supposed to protect?
But Hizashi Hyuga saw Neji's innocent smile as a bitter irony. Turning his head to look at the training figures, he felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction.
Why should his son, with such talent, be controlled by fate, branded with the Caged Bird seal at such a young age, and not even know his own destiny? Why should the main family children, with such poor talent, enjoy the protection of the branch family? It's unfair!
Under the long-standing resentment between the main and branch families, Hizashi Hyuga lost his composure for the first time, or perhaps he could accept his own fate, but for his child, he felt deep resentment!
The veins around his Byakugan eyes bulged uncontrollably. At that moment, Hiashi Hyuga, who was teaching Hinata Gentle Fist, suddenly tensed and flashed in front of his daughter.
There was a killing intent!
Protecting his daughter, when he saw it was his younger brother, Hiashi Hyuga, angry, clenched the seal and roared, causing a scream to echo in the training room.
Even the elite upper-nin, Hizashi Hyuga, screamed in pain as the sudden curse mark corrosion overwhelmed him, his pitiful cries echoing in the room.
This also frightened the two young children, one being the young Hinata Hyuga, whose innocent white eyes looked at everything in horror, filled with panic, not knowing what was happening.
The other was Neji Hyuga, who looked at his father in terror, the usually brave and great father now screaming in such a pitiful state.
"My head..."
"Father, what's wrong!" Seeing his father clutching his head and screaming in pain, Neji Hyuga was filled with panic.
At this moment, Hiashi Hyuga, who was pinching the curse mark, walked over, his face full of coldness, "Go back, I will forgive you, this shameless one, only today, you must not forget your fate."
The cold voice filled the young Neji's eyes with unfamiliarity. The uncle in front of him, a stranger, controlled his father's fate. He seemed to understand something, but the young him could not yet articulate this answer.
Hiashi Hyuga, seeing his brother's painful cries, turned his head indifferently, as if saying something trivial, even leaving as if it were a form of charity.
Hiashi Hyuga left with Hinata, the two adults, one leaving coldly, the other holding his head in pain, while the two young figures seemed to have a crack appear between them at that moment.
Hinata Hyuga looked at the scene in horror, while Neji Hyuga watched his uncle leave, tears streaming down his face, no longer the innocent child he once was.
"Father!" The terror of the curse mark filled Hizashi Hyuga with humiliation, especially seeing his child's worried gaze, he was filled with pain. He was not ashamed of losing face in front of his child, but hated himself for bringing him into this world.
No father wants their child to bear the shackles of fate from a young age. Every father sees their child as the best, but his child's fate seemed to be to protect the main family.
"Neji! Help me, let's go back."
Biting his teeth and enduring the pain in his head, Hizashi Hyuga had never hated the main family so much, never hated the curse mark so much! At the same time, he recalled the figure of the Uchiha, and those pale golden snake eyes.
Orochimaru!
At this moment, Hizashi Hyuga's heart was moved. Under his child Neji's worried gaze, his eyes became more determined. He could not let his child continue down his old path.
He could sacrifice his life for the main family, but he did not want his child to do the same.
While Hiashi Hyuga, who left, had a blank expression, he was clearly filled with anger. He was angry that his brother had shown killing intent, not knowing the consequences if other main family members had discovered it.
Anger! He understood the grievances between the branch and main families, but he also cared for his brother. Although his way of protecting was somewhat distorted, it was the only way he could protect.
Because of this, he even resented his daughter more, thinking that it was her low talent that made his brother have such bad thoughts.
Young Hinata Hyuga was frightened and uneasy, not knowing that she was being blamed for this. Hiashi Hyuga, with a cold snort, returned to the manor, while Hinata, scared, slowly walked out of the Hyuga manor in the falling snow.
...
Snowflakes danced in the air, and a young figure appeared in the snow, it was the young Hinata Hyuga. At this moment, her white eyes seemed filled with innocence.
"You're from the Hyuga clan? Show us your Byakugan. If you don't want to, don't look at us, those eyes are so creepy."
"Yeah, that's right, those eyes are like monsters."
"Byakugan monster."
In the snow, three children were loudly mocking Hinata Hyuga. Perhaps they did not understand, but they had been taught by their parents.
Hierarchy always exists. The young boys, knowing about the Byakugan, mocked her so brazenly, showing their ignorance of the bloodline's superiority and their own youth.
Starting today, the chapters will be around 4,000 words, and the editor has informed me that we will make another push for the Three Rivers next week. I ask for your support on Monday and Tuesday, and if we fail, we will go straight to the paid chapters.
Thank you: 'Book Friend 20230119112157703' for the 200 points donation, 'Zhangmu Yiyeqiu' for the 100 points donation, and 'Hochfartd' for the 100 points donation. Thank you.
(End of Chapter)