Back at the village gates, the Uchiha clan members on guard bowed respectfully to Sarutobi Hiruzen and Orochimaru.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Hiruzen smiled and nodded. "You've worked hard."
He turned to Orochimaru. "How's your abdomen?"
Orochimaru gave a faint smile. "It's fine, sensei—provided you don't press me about what happened earlier."
"Hmph. So you do understand the seriousness of the matter?"
Orochimaru shook his head. "Sensei… I don't think he's connected to the First Hokage."
Hiruzen's eyes turned cold. "Don't speak nonsense. If that were the case, the Uzumaki clan would never have allowed him to stay in Konoha for so long."
"But now," Hiruzen continued, "Lady Mito treats him as if he were family. Starting tomorrow, he'll be moving back to live with her. That makes my position… complicated."
Orochimaru smirked. "So that's how it is. Don't worry, sensei. I held back earlier—I didn't harm him at all."
Hiruzen gave him a doubtful look.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru's mind lingered on the fight with Ryoma. He hadn't gone all out, but he could tell Ryoma was holding back as well… hiding something.
What could those hidden cards be? If I could just capture him for study…
Hiruzen interrupted his thoughts. "Who told you that?"
"When I rescued Hatake Sakumo and Namikaze Minato, they mentioned it."
Hiruzen's gaze dropped briefly to the blood still seeping from Orochimaru's abdomen. "Even so, you shouldn't have been tempted. The First Hokage's cells have long been off-limits."
Orochimaru's smile returned. "Sensei… I believe it's still worth pursuing."
"No. Absolutely not." Hiruzen's tone hardened. "And don't even think about experimenting with the Senju clan's only remaining awakened kekkei genkai. That would be suicide."
"I only need a small sample of blood," Orochimaru countered. "For the Senju clan, it's nothing."
"If I say no, it's no," Hiruzen said firmly.
Orochimaru sighed. "Understood, sensei. I was merely curious. Nothing more. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"Wait. Rest for two days, then resume monitoring Kumogakure's movements."
"Sensei… I'm seriously injured. I'll need at least half a year to recover."
Hiruzen frowned. Half a year? With an injury like that, he'll be fine in a month.
"You can recuperate in Kumogakure. It's not as if you're defenseless."
"My presence there today exposed my chakra signature," Orochimaru replied. "I'm afraid the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki won't forget me anytime soon. Do you intend to send me to my death, sensei?"
Hiruzen took a deep breath. "Don't give me excuses. A Sannin of Konoha doesn't falter over such things."
"And don't meddle with Ryoma. My eyes aren't the only ones on him. If you cause trouble, I may not be able to protect you."
Orochimaru's lips curled. "Rest assured, sensei, I won't do anything reckless. But I do recommend sending Ryoma to Kumogakure instead. He has the ability to protect himself, and neither Konoha nor other villages know much about him."
With that, Orochimaru turned and walked away without looking back.
Hiruzen called after him, "I haven't agreed to that yet—come back!"
But Orochimaru was already gone.
Hiruzen sighed. "Forget it. Let him rest. He's worked hard…"
Still, the Sannin's parting words echoed in his mind.
Ryoma going to Kumogakure… He's right. The boy would have an advantage. But… he also carries the last inheritance of the Senju clan. If something happens, I can't face my first teacher…
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window as Ryoma yawned.
"Why are you here so early?"
He rubbed his eyes just as the door swung open. A thick wooden root snaked into the room, dragging in a masked ninja, bound tight.
The ninja stared at Ryoma in shock.
I checked his file beforehand… how could a genin bind me, a chūnin, like this? And my chakra… it's draining away!
"What's going on?" Ryoma asked.
The restrained man—Root operative—spoke quickly. "Ryoma, Lord Danzō requests your presence at his residence."
[Given the current situation, the host has three options:]
Go to Danzō's residence and join Konoha's Root organization.
Reward: B-rank Ninjutsu – Wind Release: Vacuum Wave.
Go to the Hokage's office, meet Hiruzen Sarutobi, and rise as Konoha's new star.
Reward: C-rank Ninjutsu – Telescope Technique.
Do nothing—be a salted fish and let the upgrades come to you.
Reward: Tenfold fusion speed for the Hashirama character card, and tenfold experience gain for all ninjutsu (excluding character cards).
Does this even need to be decided?
Of course, Option 3!
Be a salted fish—upgrade automatically!
Ryoma promptly tossed the bound chūnin out the door, then flopped back down on his bed.
"Courting death!"
(TN:He said that line~😏)
The Root operative was livid. To disregard both Root and Danzō like this was beyond insulting.
He thought about retaliating—but in the end, he restrained himself and hurried back to report.
Ryoma, meanwhile, checked the fusion progress of his Hashirama character card. Since waking up that morning, it had risen from 5% to 5.1%.
An hour later, he peeked again—5.2%.
"Damn… an increase every single hour?"
"Being a salted fish really does have a future."
The only problem was… it was boring.
So, he decided to kill time by practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique. He marked a kunai, threw it across the room, and instantly appeared beside it.
"Huh… this might actually be a fast way to level up my skills."
He began teleporting back and forth, refining his control until his movements became fluid. Experience points surged upward.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face had darkened.
It was already past ten in the morning—and Ryoma still hadn't arrived.
Uzumaki Mito, Kushina, and Orochimaru were also present.
Ryoma had completely stood them up.