I have a bunch of relatives who want to become Hokage.

This big shot hasn't been here for a long time, and he almost thought his shop wasn't the best in Konoha anymore.

Anyone in this line of work knows that Master Shingen would pass by a shop without entering, and there's only one reason for that—it's utterly rubbish.

Business will plummet.

Conversely, the business will experience explosive growth.

Therefore, all the izakayas in Konoha that offer diverse services have a love-hate relationship with Master Shingen, a mixture of respect and fear.

If you love him, respect him, and invite him to your shop, but hate him or fear him and refuse to enter, then you will die unjustly.

After all, Master Shingen was actually quite classy; he just wanted to create an atmosphere, not actually do anything inappropriate.

Even though he did do something a few times, he couldn't bear to refuse the girls' excessive enthusiasm. After all, the girls loved Master Shingen's artistic style and felt a sense of first love when they were with him, which was very exciting.

But today's Uchiha Shingen is truly part of the atmosphere group.

The boss respectfully invited them into the best private room, where the most beautiful dancers were brought over. Uchiha Shingen and his friends began to drink heartily, occasionally telling jokes or making literary remarks, making the dancers happier than the last.

Looking at the girls who seemed to want to shove themselves right into Uchiha Shingen's arms, Uchiha Tekka and the others felt both envious and admiring.

People with artistic talents are truly remarkable.

Unlike them, who are all rough men who only know how to fight, Uchiha Shingen was famous throughout the Land of Fire for his sculpting art, in addition to his fighting skills.

A while ago, a nobleman from Daming Prefecture even offered a large sum of money to commission my work.

Comparing yourself to others is just infuriating!

Uchiha Shingen didn't care about his friends' fragile hearts. Anyway, these people would only be fragile for a short while, and soon they would be carefree again. He would just have fun as he pleased.

Drink today's wine and be merry today; worry about tomorrow's troubles tomorrow.

Anyway, he'll only get stronger in the future!

One day, he will be stronger than anyone else!

Chapter 4 Orochimaru Prepares for Action

The conditions in the secret police's prisons are actually not very good.

The facilities at Konoha Prison, which is managed by the Uchiha clan, are not as good. The food at Konoha Prison alone is worse than the basic food standards of many ninja villages.

There's nothing we can do about it; we don't have enough funding.

The Uchiha are quite meticulous; if they're put in charge of the prison, they'll manage it very seriously. They also have obsessive-compulsive tendencies; they won't feel comfortable unless it's done properly.

Orochimaru didn't mind these things.

Having lost both parents at a young age and endured all kinds of hardship, I don't care about these things at all.

Of the three legendary Sannin, Tsunade enjoyed gambling and drinking, Jiraiya liked young women, but he had no interest in enjoying life and didn't care about food, clothing, shelter, or transportation.

His only hobby was studying ninjutsu, not to fight people, but to obtain the truth.

His sole pursuit is to one day unravel all the truths of the world.

This was his obsession, deeply rooted in his heart, which he had since he was very young. When he was young, he pursued ninjutsu with the simple idea that he could see his parents if he could unravel the truth of everything.

His parents were killed by Konoha ninjas, so strictly speaking, Konoha was actually his enemy.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed his talent and the dark side in his heart, and took him in as his disciple. He taught and cared for him like a father, and with the company of Tsunade and Jiraiya, he had long since lost his hatred.

At the time, I did indeed consider these people as my companions.

But the cruelty of war made him realize the fragility of life. In order to uncover all the truths and to avoid pain, he deliberately severed all ties and began to pursue immortality, which was a necessary condition for studying ninjutsu.

That ultimate goal requires time most of all.

When he no longer had companions, he poured all his passion into the study of ninjutsu.

Orochimaru also hated fighting, as it was a waste of his time. His dream was to conduct his research in peace, away from all external distractions.

Konoha Village is becoming increasingly unsuitable for him to focus on his research.

The power struggle between the Hokage Building and the ninja clans always drained his energy, making him feel annoyed and like he was wasting his life.

When Shimura Danzo nominated him to be Hokage, he found it incredibly boring, but he couldn't very well refuse, since he needed Shimura Danzo's help to research ninjutsu as much as possible without any restrictions.

He tried to think of things in a positive light. He remembered the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju—when Tobirama Senju conducted experiments, no one dared to say a word against it. He could do whatever he wanted.

Actually, Orochimaru's idol was Tobirama Senju, not because Tobirama had been Hokage, but because he felt that if he and Tobirama had lived in the same era, they would have had a lot in common.

Finally, with the support of the Jonin, Minato Namikaze became Hokage. Although he was a little unhappy, he was still satisfied.

Someone's gone to be that lousy Hokage, so there's no need to bother him anymore.

But he found it still annoying.

Danzo Shimura was very generous with money, but he was probably getting old and liked to nag. He would often drag me away from my experiments and start rambling on and on about the same old trivial things. If Danzo Shimura hadn't been my benefactor, I would have stabbed him with a Kusanagi long ago.

At that time, he decided that from then on, if anyone who liked to nag when cooperating with him, regardless of whether they were a major investor or not, he would eliminate them!

In the Dark Guard's prison, day and night were indistinguishable, but Orochimaru didn't feel like he was locked in a dark room. On the contrary, he found the quiet quite pleasant, allowing him to think things through fully.

Minato Namikaze's seal remained secure, but Orochimaru wasn't worried about it.

Many of his snake-ninjutsu techniques were developed by taking advantage of the fact that Ryuchi Cave Sage Techniques could alter the physiological abilities of the human body.

Even without ninjutsu, just those two skills alone would make him an opponent that most people couldn't defeat.

The secret service kept all news from getting in, but that didn't stop him from gathering intelligence.

During his time in prison, he was fully aware of what was happening outside.

Danzo Shimura is dead.

Although this old man was always up to no good, he was indeed a cunning old fox, and Orochimaru was quite surprised that he died like this.

Minato Namikaze was more decisive than he had imagined; Jiraiya's apprentice was quite good.

Not only did he gather intelligence, but Orochimaru had also basically calculated all the escape routes during this period.

However, Orochimaru has recently toned it down and stopped releasing his miniature snakes to gather intelligence, because Uchiha Shingen, who is also a descendant of Ryuchi Cave, has returned to the village.

But in Orochimaru's mind, Uchiha Shingen was not an enemy, and his escape would be beneficial to the Uchiha clan.

The Hidden Cloud Village suffered relatively few losses in the last great war, and the collapse of the Sannin group will likely tempt them.

Once the war started, Konoha wouldn't have time to bother him anymore.

Moreover, war always gives the Uchiha clan the opportunity to become stronger and once again challenge Konoha's existing distribution of interests. The military confrontation between Konoha and Kumogakure will also arouse the covetousness of Iwagakure.

In the last great war, Konoha, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure suffered heavy losses. As the victor, Konoha will not be able to recover its strength in a short time. After dealing with Kumogakure and Iwagakure, and having lost Danzo Shimura, it will not have much power to devote to external forces. Therefore, it will pay more attention to the strength of its allies.

Orochimaru has already made up his mind; he's going to develop his career in the Land of Rice Fields.

That country's geographical location perfectly avoids the battleground between the five great nations, and it is next to the Land of Iron, a closed-off country. The only powerful country in the vicinity is the Land of Fire. As long as it doesn't expose itself, it can easily establish a village and obtain peace as an ally of Konoha.

Everything was almost ready; it was time for him to leave.

In the dimly lit cell, faint footsteps could be heard.

Orochimaru already knew exactly when the sound would appear.

During this period, he kept a close eye on the patrol intervals of the Konoha ninjas. According to his estimation, he would not be discovered until he left the North District.

At that time, he could use the woods in the western district as cover to quickly approach the city wall and force his way through.

Once outside the village, the sky is high enough for birds to fly freely, and the sea is wide enough for fish to leap freely.

In this village, there are only a handful of people who can stop him now.

Sarutobi-sensei, you can't do it!

Minato, don't think that only the Flying Thunder God Technique can make you appear and disappear without a trace.

Jiraiya, go ahead and try to stop me!

The Uchiha clan is a waste of time coming here; at worst, we can just play along with their act.

Outside the cell door, the undercover officers glanced into the cell.

Orochimaru sat motionless in the same spot, his hair disheveled.

The eyes behind the mask were not cold; rather, they were somewhat evasive.

"Lord Orochimaru," the Anbu voice said, devoid of emotion, "is there anything you need?"

“I really want a test subject because I have a new idea.” Orochimaru raised his head, his snake-like eyes fixed on the ANBU, the greed in them making the ANBU stiffen.

"You're joking..." The ANBU member avoided Orochimaru's gaze and turned to leave.

Tranquility returned to the prison.

The assassin quickened his pace, rounded a corner, and emerged from another location a while later.

After passing through the access control, he left the prison area and returned to his office.

Upon seeing him enter, another member of the secret service stood up.

"Ren, what's the situation with Orochimaru?"

"No."

The secret agent codenamed "Ren" replied, "He's just a little off."

The secret agent who was handing over the duties glanced at him, but he understood perfectly.

Few people can remain unaffected by Orochimaru's presence. Even the ANBU ninjas are human; who wouldn't be terrified of someone like him?

Every ninja on patrol is subjected to various forms of mental manipulation by Orochimaru, which everyone considers to be a sign of Orochimaru's perverse sense of humor.

They also admired Orochimaru for coming up with so many ways to pass the time.

"You've worked hard." He patted his colleague on the shoulder and noticed that the other person's clothes were a little wet.

He'd really been through a lot; he was sweating profusely.

"What's wrong?" The captain of the secret service team walked in and looked at the two of them.

"Captain, Ren just returned from Orochimaru's place."

"I see. Ren, you should go back and rest today. You've worked hard."

To the captain and another member of the ANBU, the ANBU codenamed "Ren" seemed somewhat numb. He appeared to be lost in thought, and after softly replying "Yes," he left with somewhat weak steps.