"Weren't Shisui's eyes already destroyed by the elder? Hehehe…"
Orochimaru laughed, the mockery in his voice unrestrained.
"You!?"
Koharu tried to shout back, but the words stuck in her throat. Cold sweat poured down her back, soaking her robes.
There was anger, yes—but even more, there was fear.
If Orochimaru hadn't taken out another tank just now, then the story would have ended with her being the one who destroyed Shisui's eyes.
And while she was busy convincing herself that she had sacrificed for the village, Orochimaru might have been laughing behind her back, holding the real eyes the whole time.
Koharu was not afraid of sacrifice. What she feared was sacrifice that meant nothing.
After the fear came shame, and then rage again. Her emotions spun in a cycle. She glared at Orochimaru, eyes almost spitting fire.
This bastard, toying with her like that.
But Orochimaru wasn't about to let the old woman off easy. He chuckled.
"What's wrong? Destroying one pair of Shisui's eyes wasn't enough? Do you want another go at the second pair?"
"No problem, I've got plenty."
Orochimaru reached into his robe and pulled out two small nutrient tubes from a scroll, placed them on the table for everyone to see, then put them back again.
It made people wonder just how many pairs of eyes he had sealed in that scroll.
And did that scroll really contain Shisui's eyes?
After what just happened, everyone in the room was full of doubt.
At this point, arguing about the Mangekyou Sharingan had lost all meaning.
Even if Orochimaru took out Shisui's real eyes and destroyed them in front of everyone, they wouldn't believe it anymore.
Knowing his nature, Orochimaru would never give up the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Smashing them in front of everyone would just be an act. Real or fake didn't matter—it all came down to whether they were willing to fool themselves for some peace of mind.
Koharu wasn't stupid. After getting hit hard by Orochimaru several times, her mind was sharper than before. It didn't take long for her to realize the truth.
At this point, trying to rally the village's top brass, including the Third Hokage, to pressure Orochimaru was pointless.
Besides, not everyone in the higher-ups shared her opinion.
Koharu glared at Danzo and Orochimaru with pure hatred, then stood up and stormed out.
Homura gave the silent Third Hokage a helpless look, then followed after her.
Soon, the Hokage's meeting room was quiet again, leaving only the three of them and Danzo.
Danzo, as the head of the Foundation, had a face thick enough to withstand anything. Even after losing his composure earlier, he now sat there like nothing happened.
But with him there, some things between teacher and students couldn't be said.
So the three of them stayed silent, all throwing annoyed looks at Danzo.
The mood turned awkward.
Danzo couldn't sit still anymore.
Not because he lacked patience, but because he didn't want to waste time.
It was clear that with him here, these three wouldn't open their mouths.
So Danzo stood up, shot Orochimaru a cold look, and said with a snort, "Orochimaru, you'd better take care of yourself…"
Just like the Uchiha, he felt this fight was meaningless. After all, it was just a pair of useless eyes.
He came here only to make sure Shisui's eyes weren't destroyed. Everything else didn't matter.
Yes, that was it.
Danzo believed he could still get those eyes, as long as he was willing to pay the price.
Orochimaru… hmph, just a greedy man. Give him enough benefits, and he'd give in.
With that thought in mind, Danzo left the Hokage's office.
After watching him leave, the Third Hokage turned to Orochimaru and sighed, "Orochimaru, what you did today was too much. You shouldn't have mocked Koharu like that."
"I didn't expect things to go this way either."
Orochimaru shrugged, showing his earlier surprise wasn't an act, then sneered,
"Maybe it's because that elder has been a Hokage advisor for so long that power and obedience blinded her. She forgot she's still human."
A cruel smile crept across his face. "And if she's human, she can be fooled and tricked. Why can't I play with her?
Koharu takes her position as Hokage advisor way too seriously."
The Third Hokage didn't comment on Orochimaru's sarcasm. He just said quietly, "What surprises me is that you didn't go along and keep acting."
Compared to others, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew this student far better. From the start, he had wondered what Orochimaru would do if he produced a fake pair of eyes.
When Koharu smashed the eyes earlier, Hiruzen was ready to point that out to pressure Orochimaru, but instead, Orochimaru revealed the truth himself.
Maybe there was some twisted sense of humor in that, but clearly, Orochimaru had no plan to build this up with lies.
Jiraiya, who had been silent all this time, was just as curious and looked over.
This wasn't the Orochimaru he remembered.
"Tsk tsk tsk… the reason is simple. I realized that in this matter, most of the village is, at least on the surface, on my side."
Orochimaru gave a chilling laugh. "On the contrary, you're the ones being timid."
The Third Hokage sighed without speaking, but Orochimaru smiled and went on,
"The two advisors are part of the village leadership, yet they show baseless hostility toward a clan. It makes no sense."
"At first, I thought they were just bad people, acting out of spite. But after what they did today, I've changed my mind."
Orochimaru glanced in the direction they left, a mocking smile curling on his lips.
"They're not bad. They're stupid. And that's even harder to put up with. Stupidity is more disgusting than malice."
Hearing Orochimaru's harsh mockery, Sarutobi Hiruzen said nothing. Jiraiya felt it was a bit extreme, but deep down, he agreed with Orochimaru's point.
The hostility those two advisors had toward the Uchiha really was hard to understand.
Seeing the Third Hokage remain silent, Orochimaru chuckled. "What's wrong, old man? Don't tell me you're thinking of destroying Shisui's eyes too? That's not like a Hokage."
"Let's not talk about that now."
Faced with his student's pressing tone, the Third Hokage shot him a glare and said in a deep voice,
"As for the Kumogakure war, you didn't do what you promised me."
Hearing this, Orochimaru's smile faded and his brows furrowed slightly.
The Third Hokage kept his eyes on him, waiting for an answer.
The reason Orochimaru was able to take command in the Kumogakure war was because the Third Hokage pulled the strings.
And in return, the deal was to drive back Kumogakure while making sure the Uchiha suffered heavy losses, clearing them of suspicion.
But what happened was, Orochimaru did too well.
Kumogakure was driven back, the Uchiha only lost a pair of Mangekyou Sharingan, and the suspicion on them was gone.
What was supposed to be Orochimaru deliberately letting his own forces take losses never happened at all.
On the contrary, thanks to his performance in the Kumogakure war, Orochimaru's reputation in the village skyrocketed.
If someone suggested making him the Fifth Hokage now, the consequences would be unimaginable…
After the Hokage's reminder, Orochimaru realized this too, and his face darkened.
Becoming Hokage as Jiraiya's student? He didn't even want to think about it.
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