Ever since Konoha was built, the Uchiha, this clan of strong people, has always been a group that needed to be watched.
They were strong, but also emotional, and very easily went to extremes.
Such ninja, not to mention becoming Hokage, even holding a high position in the village, was unlikely.
So, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, put them in the police force, and also tried to avoid the Uchiha having command in foreign wars.
But now, with the development of ninja skills, and a deeper understanding of Chakra and inherited bloodlines, his best student had an explanation for the Uchiha's unusual personality.
He defined it as a sickness, and he had ways to cure this sickness.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, immediately got interested.
Of course, making this decision wasn't easy.
Because to cure the Uchiha, they would first need to do First Hokage cells transplant experiments, and human experiments could cause a lot of victims.
Also, after the Uchiha patients were cured, they would definitely get much stronger, and it was impossible to know what effect this would have on the village's stability.
Most importantly, putting a lot of resources into one clan went against the village policy of weakening clans, and could easily cause dissatisfaction from both clans and common people.
With so many downsides, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, didn't have to do this at all. It was almost like gambling his reputation of the past few decades.
One wrong step and he would get blamed for everything.
Why consider the Uchiha? Weren't there easier ways?
As long as the Hokage line's strength was greater than the Uchiha's, even if the Uchiha were unhappy, they could only keep it inside.
Like when the Fourth Hokage took over, he took high positions and comforted and won over people. There would always be some Uchiha whose sickness wasn't that bad who would believe and obey. This could easily split the Uchiha into two groups, keeping the internal clan struggles.
When he was young, Sarutobi Hiruzen took over as Hokage when he was in danger, didn't have enough strength, and didn't have enough fame. This is how he dealt with the situation of Konoha's many clans and the fear of battle.
He spent more than ten years getting rid of dozens of Konoha clans, like the Shimura clan, the Mitarashi clan... Because of this, his friend Shimura Danzo got his hands covered in blood, bore the dark side of the village, and built the Root organization that was related to the Anbu.
But why would he choose such an unwise approach when he was old?
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sighed in his heart.
Maybe it was because the methods against the Uchiha didn't solve the root of the problem and would leave a bomb for the next Hokage...
Maybe it was because he also wanted to fulfill his student's dream...
Maybe it was because he was old, and a bit sentimental, and felt that the Uchiha shouldn't have to keep suffering this fate...
In any case, when the Third Hokage started speaking, he had decided to solve the Uchiha problem during his term and get rid of this big bomb.
But unexpectedly, the voice he heard was not what he wanted.
"Wait... Old man, are you misunderstanding something?"
A smile suddenly appeared on Orochimaru's face. "I refuse this."
"Orochimaru, you..." Jiraiya was about to speak, but someone stopped him with their hand.
"I promised at the meeting that I would no longer do surgery on the Uchiha. This is not a lie."...
Orochimaru picked up the teacup, drank a sip, and said slowly, "After three surgeries, I've gotten almost all the data I wanted from the Uchiha. I'm not interested in taking over the First Hokage cells transplant experiment again in the short term."
As Orochimaru refused without mercy, the atmosphere in the Hokage's room changed again. It was no longer teacher and student, but Hokage and Orochimaru, with only a bare exchange of benefits in between.
And the man named Orochimaru wasn't planning to accept this deal.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, frowned, his eyes sharp, carefully looking at Orochimaru's expression, wanting to see if he was playing hard to get, wanting to get more benefits.
But Orochimaru was just smiling, his expression not at all forced.
In other words, Orochimaru really didn't want to continue the First Hokage cells transplant experiment.
How could that be? How could Orochimaru not want the First Hokage's power? This didn't match his usual behavior.
Or was there something about the First Hokage cells research that he didn't know?
Orochimaru didn't let the Third Hokage be confused for long. He curled his lips and said unhurriedly, "To make the First Hokage cells transplant succeed, one needs to increase Chakra strength, specifically mental strength, and the other is to reduce the First Hokage cells' invasiveness."
"Only the strong can do the former, and increasing Chakra strength is what I'm working on. As for the latter... you need to use human lives to get there."
Orochimaru looked at the two and smiled. "It's not only troublesome to do, but it's no use to improving my own strength, and it will make my reputation in the village even worse."
"Why should I do it? Why would I do it?"
In Orochimaru's series of questions, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled bitterly. He had thought of Orochimaru too simply.
Orochimaru's goal has always been clear. Human experiments are just a way to reach the goal, and he isn't willing to do extra things after reaching the goal.
"But, although I can't do it, someone can."
Orochimaru licked his lips, a playful look on his face. "Isn't it good to give this kind of thing that's only convenient to do in the dark corners to Danzo?"
"Old man, you should have noticed Danzo's little actions."
Hearing this, the Third Hokage's face turned a bit unnatural, and for a moment, he felt very emotional.
It wasn't that there was really something strange about the Hokage's library. Even Danzo, in such a short time, couldn't have gotten the First Hokage cells transplant scroll from him. He would be too useless.
But after Orochimaru's reminder, Danzo did seem like a very good choice.
Just like Orochimaru would never waste time on surgery, Danzo, driven by ambition, would definitely find a way to make the transplant succeed.
He had the ambition and the ruthlessness to do this.
The Third Hokage thought to himself that what he had to do was to keep a close eye on the Root organization's actions, and keep the ninja used for experiments confined outside Konoha, outside the Land of Fire.
Then it would be okay.
...
After the First Hokage cells transplant surgery, Uchiha Jinsuke's new eye skill inherited bloodline... after these things came to an end, Orochimaru left the Hokage's room.
Jiraiya went with him.
At this time, it was getting late, and the stars were about to rise in the night sky.
In the village, countless lights had already lit up, and the bright or dim light shone through the windows into the darkness.
Jiraiya followed behind Orochimaru, his figure moving between the houses, and his face was sometimes bright and sometimes dark.
"Say what you have to say quickly." At some point, Orochimaru stopped and turned around. "Keeping it in your heart isn't like you."
"Why aren't you willing to help the old man?"
Jiraiya leaned against the light, a shadow covering the side of his face. When he asked this question, his tone had a bit of complaint.
He knew that the reason Orochimaru gave was very reasonable, but the most basic thing was that Orochimaru wasn't willing to help the old man.
And facing Orochimaru's refusal, the old man's silence, the old man turning to use Danzo... all of these were a bit awkward in Jiraiya's eyes, making it hard to watch.
"Unwilling to help the old man?"
Orochimaru took two steps forward and put his hand on Jiraiya's shoulder. He faced the light, a smile on his lips.
"I'm just like you, following my own path."
"And on this path, I don't leave much room for the old man, for my partners, for the village. You, aren't you the same?"
"Besides, the old man is also following his path as Hokage. Dilemmas, choices, using people, scheming... It hasn't been a day or two of doing this."
"Or are you saying that before today, you couldn't see his awkwardness, and you thought of him as all-powerful?"
"If that's the case, you need to think about it again."
Orochimaru patted Jiraiya's shoulder. "Besides, instead of asking me for help, you should go to another person. She doesn't have any goals, and is just wandering around now."
"It's been long enough, so many years."
After speaking, Orochimaru jumped lightly and disappeared into the darkness, leaving Jiraiya struggling in his heart.
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