Danzo arrived at Orochimaru's hideout, found him, and directly told him that he intended to recommend Orochimaru as the Fourth Hokage.
Orochimaru responded with indifference. Whether he became Hokage or not was irrelevant—he only cared about his research now.
Had this occurred before he figured out what he truly wanted, he might have been interested in the Hokage position.
But now, it simply didn't matter one way or the other.
Upon hearing Orochimaru's response, Danzo curled his lips into a smile, his eyes gleaming with greed.
This kind of indifferent attitude from Orochimaru was exactly what he liked most. Once Orochimaru became Hokage, he would definitely avoid administrative duties.
That meant all responsibilities would fall on Danzo himself, the Hokage's advisor.
His power would reach its peak, allowing him to replace every high-ranking official in Konoha with his own men.
Then, when the timing was right, he could arrange for Orochimaru to step down, naturally becoming the next Hokage himself.
Danzo said to Orochimaru, "Then we'll consider it settled. You don't need to worry about anything—I'll handle everything myself. All you need to do is make an appearance on your succession day, stay in the Hokage Tower for a few days, then after that, you can do whatever you like.
I will also prepare any experimental materials you require and allow you to resume previously banned experiments."
Danzo was already certain that the next Hokage would be Orochimaru and had begun making plans beyond that point.
Orochimaru glanced calmly at Danzo and simply replied, "Fine."
Danzo left Orochimaru's base.
Not long after, Chinya arrived at the hideout.
Orochimaru happened to be resting and looked toward him, asking, "Hmm? Have time to visit today?"
Chinya gave an awkward smile. During this period, Tenten had been spending time with Kushina Uzumaki and hadn't come to visit Orochimaru either.
Sitting across from Orochimaru, Chinya asked, "Orochimaru, how are the experiments going? Are the materials sufficient?"
Orochimaru answered, "The materials are enough. But the research has hit a bottleneck—it's not progressing much, whether it's the [Impure World Reincarnation] technique or the immortality jutsu."
He spoke in an unusually calm tone, as if the topic had nothing to do with him at all.
Chinya poured himself a cup of tea and sipped it. He suddenly recalled that Orochimaru's success with [Impure World Reincarnation] wouldn't happen until several years after Naruto Uzumaki was born.
At that time, a young boy would be resurrected by Orochimaru using the [Impure World Reincarnation] technique and used as an experimental subject in Konoha.
As for the immortality jutsu,
It should have been during the time of Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha that he finally succeeded in developing [Living Corpse Reincarnation], the forbidden technique for achieving immortality.
Chinya said, "We still have plenty of time. I believe you'll surely succeed in your research, Orochimaru. If you ever need more test subjects, just let me know—I'll make sure you get them."
Orochimaru gave a slight nod. "Yes, I'll count on you then. Right now, many people are watching me closely. If my supply of test subjects runs out, I won't be able to replenish them immediately, which could easily cause problems."
Chinya sighed, "After all, Master Orochimaru's reputation in Konoha is currently at its peak. Most people consider him the top candidate for the next Hokage. By the way, Master Orochimaru, what are your thoughts about succeeding as Hokage?"
Chinya was curious to know what Orochimaru was thinking right now.
Without his interference, Orochimaru should have been quite interested in becoming Hokage.
When it came to selecting the next Hokage, Danzo had planned to recommend Orochimaru to strengthen his own position. However, the Third Hokage believed Orochimaru concealed evil and ambition in his eyes, so he had no intention of entrusting the heavy responsibility of Hokage to Orochimaru. Thus, the Konoha elites jointly supported Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya's disciple.
This deepened Orochimaru's hatred toward the Third Hokage.
But since his interference, Orochimaru has become entirely consumed by his experiments and likely no longer cares about becoming Hokage.
Still, having followed Orochimaru for many years, Chinya couldn't really understand what he was thinking.
Orochimaru said, "Danzo came to see me before you arrived..."
Chinya raised his eyebrows, surprised that Danzo approached Orochimaru so hastily.
But then again, Danzo did have a very deep obsession with the Hokage position.
Orochimaru continued, "I personally don't care much about the Hokage position, but Danzo mentioned that if I became Hokage, some of my research would be more convenient. So I just let him handle it."
It seemed Orochimaru truly didn't care about the Hokage seat. Chinya spoke frankly, "Master Orochimaru, I hope you won't mind me saying this, but the position of Hokage probably won't go to you."
Orochimaru was intrigued by Chinya's judgment, "Why do you think that?"
Chinya analyzed, "Because Master Orochimaru's file seems to belong to Root—Danzo's covert faction within Konoha. To put it bluntly, the Third Hokage probably hasn't completely trusted you. After all, you always act mysteriously, and he already knows about your secret cooperation with Danzo, though he doesn't know exactly what you're working on.
The Third stepping down now—Konoha clearly won the war but received little compensation from other ninja villages—seems like him making amends to the village.
However, the Third won't completely abandon power. Therefore, he needs the Fourth Hokage to be a ninja belonging to his faction who has little connection with other factions and shares similar thinking patterns to himself.
You, Master Orochimaru, are too mysterious. Your experiments have certainly raised some suspicions in the Third's mind. After all, the Anbu—the Hokage's elite personal forces—are far from ineffective.
So if Danzo recommends you for the Hokage position, the Third would certainly reject it."
Orochimaru tilted his head slightly, then nodded after a moment's thought, "What you said indeed makes sense. My values are completely opposed to those of the Third. In their eyes, I'm an extremely radical person. If I become Hokage, he definitely won't feel secure. He needs someone, like himself, who will pursue moderate policies both domestically and abroad.
Now that the war has just ended, it's highly likely, as you said, that I'm not among the candidates in the Third's mind for the Hokage position.
Then tell me, who do you think will be the next Hokage?"
"Jiraiya?"
Chinya shook his head. "Unlikely. Jiraiya's just a wanderer who never puts down roots. He's always been pretty laid-back. I don't think even The Third would trust him with the leadership of Konoha. That's why I think the next Hokage will be Minato Namikaze."
Orochimaru pinched his chin, surprised. "Oh? Minato Namikaze. That's unexpected—Jiraiya's pupil and, indirectly, a disciple of The Third. Why do you believe The Third would want to hand the title of Hokage to Minato Namikaze?"
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