"Sometimes lies are for their own good. It's not yet the right time for Xin's squad to be sent to the border."
"Are you afraid Usagi Xin will steal your glory?" Danzo asked, narrowing his eyes. "That's because you have no idea how terrifying Xin really is," Orochimaru replied. "In a way, you're lucky. Lucky that Xin's mother holds a deep sense of loyalty to Konoha. Otherwise, with what you've done, dying ten times over wouldn't be enough."
"Hmph!" Danzo snorted, clearly not in the mood for a philosophical debate. He refused to believe that Xin would dare to kill him, even though he knew that Xin had covertly dealt with members of both Root and the Anbu.
Danzo was a village elder, an advisor to the Hokage.
With such status, no ordinary person would dare touch him.
You can go ahead and rely on your status. One day you'll run into Xin, and that's when you'll realize he's not afraid of you.
Orochimaru knew better. He didn't believe for a second that Xin would hesitate because of Danzo's position.
If given the right opportunity, Xin would definitely make his move.
"Since you're determined to become the Fourth Hokage, some plans will have to be advanced sooner than anticipated. Sakumo Hatake is an obstacle in your path," Danzo said.
"That's your business, not mine," Orochimaru replied indifferently. "Don't think I don't know about your ambition to become Hokage, Danzo. I'll take what I want by defeating my competition fair and square. I don't need to smear my opponents."
"Stubborn fool!" Danzo huffed, storming off, clearly displeased by Orochimaru's unwillingness to participate in his schemes.
After Danzo left, Orochimaru chuckled coldly before returning to his work.
Xin wasn't wrong, nor were his suspicions misplaced-Orochimaru indeed had a growing interest in becoming the Fourth Hokage.
The root of this sudden ambition lay in being pushed too far by Tsunade.
In the original timeline, Danzo had used the cells of Hashirama Senju as bait to lure Orochimaru into collaboration. Together, they shared resources-money, equipment, and most importantly, human subjects.
Under these conditions, Orochimaru had no desire for the Hokage position. He would have been happy to be the Hokage, but not getting it wasn't a big deal.
But now things were different. With Tsunade serving as the head of logistics, she had severely restricted the supply chain that Danzo and his fellow elders relied on.
Even the Third Hokage would occasionally audit the treasury, leaving Danzo with neither funds nor equipment.
The losses sustained by Root had yet to be fully recovered, leaving them even more vulnerable.
This meant Danzo's underground research facility was lacking everything-funds, equipment, supplies, and even human test subjects.
This infuriated Orochimaru.
He had projects he was obsessed with, things that fascinated him-possibly the secret to immortality itself-but all of it was hindered by a lack of resources.
Whenever he sought Danzo's help, Danzo would simply brush him off.
Over time, Orochimaru decided that the only way to get what he wanted was to aim for the position of Hokage.
As the Hokage, he would have free rein over his research-funds, supplies, and human subjects would be limitless.
Relying on Danzo?
Impossible. Tsunade had the elders cornered.
...
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