Uchiha's personal opinion

The purge of Konoha resulted in the most devastating losses at Mount Myōboku since the Warring States period, something that Fukasaku could not tolerate.

"Great Immortal!"

Fukasaku bowed to the toad sage reclining on his throne, saying, "The defeat in Konoha has resulted in heavy casualties among our clansmen. We beg the great sage to avenge us!"

"...Was the one who carried out this task Minato Namikaze?"

The toad sage remained in a half-asleep, half-awake state, and only when Fukasaku thought it had fallen asleep did it slowly speak.

Fukasaku's gaze fell upon Gamabunta Kosuke, whose face was filled with resentment.

"Yes, at that time I was hiding inside Senior Chung's stomach when I overheard the person in charge of this matter introduce himself as Namikaze Minato, a so-called Konoha Police Department ninja! In other words, an vassal of those evil Uchiha!"

Kosuke Gamabunta immediately nodded in reply.

"...What are you going to do?"

The toad sage turned his gaze toward the Fukasaku sage.

It's impossible not to seek revenge. Otherwise, if this matter gets out, Ryuchi-dong will probably think that their arch-enemy, Myoboku-san, is in trouble, and it's even possible that they will break the temporary contract again and continue to fight.

"They must be retaliated against in kind!"

"Immortal Fukasaku said through gritted teeth."

"...Can we take down Konoha?"

The Toad Immortal countered with a question.

"It's not possible..."

Fukasaku replied somewhat dejectedly.

"The Holy Land has stood firm in the ninja world for thousands of years because it does not interfere with worldly affairs... Therefore, even though many powerful ninjas have emerged in the ninja world, they will not harbor any evil thoughts or dissent towards the Holy Land..."

"But……"

The Immortal Fukasaku was about to speak but stopped.

It remembered very clearly that it was the Toad Sage who advocated entering the world and supporting Jiraiya with all his might. Even the casualties caused to the Myoboku lineage by the recent Konoha purge were due to the fact that they chose to support Jiraiya against the descendants of Indra.

But judging from what he's saying now... could it be that the great immortal is going to change his mind again?

The immortal couldn't help but mutter to himself, full of complaints.

"Jiraiya is in the Land of Rain..."

The toad sage still looked drowsy. "Even if it's revenge, we should target Indra's forces outside the village..."

"Indra's descendants, those evil Uchiha, and a shogunate, and they're right here in the Land of Grass!"

Fukasaku immediately realized: "If we start from the Land of Rain, it's not far to reach the Land of Grass!"

"...We must strike at the weakest link in the power of Indra's descendants."

The Great Toad Immortal slowly closed his eyes.

"Then... Great Sage, shall I go and prepare to gather the Greninjas?"

The immortal asked tentatively.

"Think things through carefully before you act... I won't object to any of your opinions, but you also need to take responsibility..."

As he spoke, the Toad Immortal's voice grew softer and softer until he finally began to snore.

Fukasaku stood quietly for a while, and only after confirming that the Great Sage had fallen asleep did he quietly retreat and leave.

"Notify Jiraiya... Kousuke, thank you for making this trip again!"

After walking around with his hands behind his back for a while, Fukasaku finally made up his mind.

"I see!"

Kosuke the toad's mouth was wide open in a frog-like grin.

Chapter 312 Strange Movement: Orochimaru's Ingenious Idea

Orochimaru is a person who is very good at judging the situation.

His flexibility even surpassed that of the snakes in Ryuchi Cave.

Therefore, before Minato Namikaze carried out the extermination of the strange summoning beasts, he visited Orochimaru's residence and spoke to him in a friendly manner. Orochimaru then happily accepted all of his opinions.

Thus, the Myoboku toads lurking underground in Konoha were completely wiped out, while the Ryuchi Cave snakes, who had been sent back ahead of time, were unharmed.

As a cunning and treacherous "remnant of Sarutobi," Orochimaru actually felt very unsafe staying in the village, so he paid close attention to all kinds of strange occurrences in the village, especially those involving intense chakra fluctuations.

Therefore, when Minato Namikaze led his troops to clear out the flood discharge channel where the toads of Mount Myōboku lived, he had already seen the entire process of the battle through a highly secretive gray water snake.

In this battle, the Uchiha ninjas of the police department were as brave and fierce as ever, yet also skillful and agile. The newly promoted star of the police department, Minato Namikaze, commanded the battle with great skill and ease, and the coordination of the bloodline secret techniques of the various ninja clans was also remarkable.

Overall, although it was only a small-scale cleanup operation, at most a preliminary skirmish compared to the bloody battles of the Fourth Shinobi World War, the new tactics it demonstrated were truly impressive.

But Orochimaru didn't care about any of that.

He only noticed what the Uzumaki ninja said to Minato Namikaze: "The giant toad was captured alive" and "It has Sage Chakra!"

If it weren't for the difference in combat power between an individual and a police squadron, and the fact that he wasn't confident he could kill so many ninja units while controlling the commotion, Orochimaru would have almost lost his urge to seize them.

This is a toad from Mount Myōboku that possesses Sage Chakra!

After sneaking home from the battlefield, Orochimaru lost his appetite and couldn't sleep. Even his favorite foods, eggs and apples, lost their appeal. His chakra experiments, which he usually indulged in, suddenly became boring.

"The toad, a spirit beast of Mount Myōboku..."

"Sage Chakra..."

In the dead of night, Orochimaru habitually hid inside a small snake and slept on the roof beam, leaving a shadow clone on the bed as a disguise. But tonight, neither the shadow clone on the bed nor the little white snake hiding on the beam could fall asleep no matter how much they tossed and turned.

His mind was filled with the chakra of the Sage Mode from Mount Myōboku!

Sage Chakra!

Magical arts!

It feels like countless ants are crawling and biting inside your body, causing an intense, tingling itch that makes it impossible to fall asleep.

"Bastard!"

The little white snake, hiding there, tossed and turned uncomfortably for a long time, until Orochimaru finally couldn't take it anymore.

After crawling out of the snake's belly, Orochimaru immediately changed his clothes, went into the laboratory under the artificial mountain, and then, with bloodshot eyes, grabbed a monkey, pressed it onto the experimental table, and dismembered it. Only after being stimulated by the blood did he gradually regain his composure.

"What's wrong with me...?"

Orochimaru then realized that his mind was in trouble.

His obsession began to shift inexplicably.

Otherwise, given his temperament, he wouldn't be so concerned about a mere stinky toad with Sage Chakra.

But when exactly did the problem begin?

After Orochimaru calmed down completely through meditation to correct his obsession, he still couldn't help but let his mind wander and try to recall exactly when he had experienced the phenomenon of obsession shifting.

Was it from the moment I learned of my teacher's death?

Was it the beginning of Konoha eradicating the so-called "residual poison of the Third Hokage"?

Or does it start from the time when Jiraiya was forced to flee the ninja village?

But in any case, it couldn't have come to this because of a toad!

After a silent self-analysis, Orochimaru finally stood at the root of the problem—

"Uchiha Tokumitsu!"

He killed his own teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi!

He framed the Will of Fire as Konoha's poison!

He was the one who orchestrated the transformation of his friend Jiraiya into a rogue ninja!

He changed everything!

Otherwise, Orochimaru would at least be a disciple of the Third Hokage and one of the candidates for the next Hokage!

It was precisely because Uchiha Tokumitsu was so powerful that even Orochimaru, who boasted of being the most intelligent person in the ninja world, was helpless against him!

There is absolutely no possibility of revenge!

Orochimaru suddenly remembered what the White Snake Sage of Ryuchi Cave had said not long ago—

"You just need to do things according to your own heart."

"Your existence is nothing more than a stick that stirs up the stagnant waters of the ninja world."

Although these words initially displeased Orochimaru, recalling them now, in this context, they seemed to carry a different flavor...

"To muddy the waters of the ninja world with your own conscience..."

Orochimaru gave a self-deprecating laugh, looking at his pale, blood-stained hands.

"Teacher...you didn't teach me this!"

……

"call……"

Although the problem of mental obsession was not completely resolved in the end, it was fortunate that the problem was discovered in time.

After washing his face, Orochimaru regained his composure, slowly changed his clothes, and then walked out of the laboratory. After moving the artificial hill back to its original position, he looked up at the full moon in the sky.

The bright moonlight seemed particularly cold, and when it fell on Orochimaru, it was like a long-forgotten maternal love soothing the wounds in his heart.

Orochimaru couldn't help but raise his hands, as if to embrace the moon in the sky.

"……What are you doing?"

Suddenly, a soft, rustling sound came from the corner.

Orochimaru abruptly lowered his hands, his face as cold as frost, a blush rising to his ears. Then, he surveyed the area, pulled a kunai from his sleeve, and flung it in the direction from which the sound came.

"Damn it! It's me!"

A small, spiky snake dodged Orochimaru's kunai attack while cursing and swearing. Another snake, its tongue flicking in and out, continued to grumble and swear like a shrew.