After getting approval from Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, Danzō didn't linger in the office. He turned and left, heading back to prepare to launch his new project.
After Danzō left the office, Hiruzen looked at the document in his hand, feeling a bit hesitant and conflicted. He knew that once this plan was activated, it would cost many lives, but if it succeeded, it would greatly enhance Konohagakure's power. This was a difficult choice for him, and even though he had made a decision, he was still a little hesitant...
This was Hiruzen's 'only' weakness. Unlike his teacher, Tobirama, the Second Hokage, who was able to maintain a 'ruthless' attitude during his tenure, Hiruzen was too sentimental and often unable to be 'ruthless.' This was one of the root causes of many tragedies during his time as Hokage.
The plan submitted by Danzō was the 'ambitious' Wood Release kekkei genkai research project.
What did Hashirama, the First Hokage, use to subdue the entire shinobi world? It was his Wood Release. Now, Hashirama was old, and his body could no longer support him in using powerful jutsu.
The final point was that he had basically already retired from the Konohagakure circle. Although he still cared for the village, for the sake of Konoha and the Senju clan, he had already begun to move to the capital.
Therefore, Konoha had essentially lost Hashirama as a powerful combatant and lost the Wood Release. Since Hibari had always treated his Wood Release as one of his trump cards, not many people knew that he had mastered it. The Senju clan knew, Hiruzen knew, a few of Konoha's higher-ups knew, but no one else did.
And Hibari's current Wood Release had not yet reached Hashirama's level. He couldn't create anything like the Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
And even if Hibari's Wood Release was on par with Hashirama's, wouldn't it still be a great thing for Konoha if this plan succeeded? Two were always better than one. A power like the Wood Release was something Konoha could never have enough of!
So, after Danzō proposed this plan, Hashirama hesitated for a moment, but when faced with the entire Konoha, he still chose the 'greater good' and selflessly agreed for Konohagakure to begin researching his Wood Release kekkei genkai.
Thinking about it from another angle, he was also afraid that in the future, Hibari's Wood Release kekkei genkai would be like his and couldn't be passed down. At that point, they couldn't just hope that the Senju clan would be lucky enough to produce another genius like Hibari.
If the village could spend a few years, or even more than a decade, to successfully research the Wood Release kekkei genkai, wouldn't that be good news?
As for Tobirama, the former Second Hokage, research was a normal thing. He naturally knew the power of the Wood Release. Now that the village wanted to uncover the secrets of this power through research, even if he could foresee many casualties, he could still 'ruthlessly' agree to it without any hesitation.
Because of all these reasons, Danzō smoothly obtained authorization from the first two Hokage, who were also from the Senju clan, to legally and reasonably research the Wood Release kekkei genkai.
The reason Hiruzen agreed so quickly was because the decisions of the first two Hokage had greatly influenced him; otherwise, he would have likely hesitated for a long time.
And just as Danzō said, if Hibari had been in the village, he would have definitely gone to discuss it with him.
Looking at the document in his hand, Hiruzen murmured softly, "If you were here, you would definitely agree, right?"
Hiruzen was right. If Hibari were there, he would definitely agree to the proposal. Firstly, as the head of the Anbu and a member of the Senju clan, he enjoyed a very high status in Konohagakure. He had to pay a certain price for enjoying these benefits, so in terms of position, he had no reason to refuse anything that was good for Konoha.
Secondly, he believed he was broad-minded enough. Although the Wood Release kekkei genkai was very secretive, since Hashirama and Tobirama had already agreed, there was no need for him to go against them. Otherwise, it would just make him seem petty.
The final point was that Hibari was very aware that this plan was a complete waste of money and lives. While it did lead to many other derived results, they didn't even scratch the surface of the Wood Release's power.
In the past, everyone knew that the Wood Release kekkei genkai was hard to obtain, but no one knew exactly how difficult it was. If the entire Konoha, with the power of the whole village, spent several years researching the Wood Release kekkei genkai and still failed, then everyone would naturally have a better idea and would understand that compared to other kekkei genkai, the Wood Release was in a league of its own and couldn't be researched.
At that time, Hibari, who would be the 'only' one to have mastered the Wood Release, would surely see his value in Konohagakure rise, wouldn't he?
So, this was also subtly beneficial to Hibari. To put it irresponsibly, it wasn't his money or his life that was being spent on this plan, and it wouldn't have any major results in the end, so he might as well just do them a favor!
Although he still felt a bit uneasy, Hiruzen eventually hardened his heart and put the matter out of his mind. He just hoped that everything would go smoothly and that they would be successful with minimal sacrifices.
After this, he started to deal with the other documents. Looking at some reports submitted by Shikajin Nara, which also contained information about Hibari's actions after he had been missing for over a month, Hiruzen became interested. After reading it carefully, his heavy mood also changed, and the gloomy look on his face dissipated a little.
"A Necro Cult? What in the world is this kid up to? He's not doing his job as a proper shinobi or head of the Anbu, but he ran off to the Land of Hot Water to do charity work? He even built a city?" Hiruzen murmured softly, a mix of helplessness and amusement in his voice.
He suddenly remembered that the Mitsumine Group also had a plan to invest in and build an important city recently. As one of the three major bosses of the Mitsumine Group, Hiruzen naturally knew about it. It seemed that it was being prepared at the request of the First Hokage. Later, Hibari revised the plan in detail, planning to build a casino or something, and he didn't know if it had been launched yet. He had heard that people had been sent out to investigate suitable locations not long ago...
But it was just a random thought. Don't be fooled by the fact that he and Hitenn Hyuga were both major bosses, and that together, they had more influence in the Mitsumine Group than Hibari. The two of them were the kind of people who were in the same boat as Hibari and would never do anything to harm him. Plus, they didn't have the talent, so Hibari was basically in charge of the entire Mitsumine Group.
They just received their monthly dividends, reaped the rewards, and made sure that the Sarutobi clan and Hyuga clan gradually aligned themselves with the Senju clan and provided convenience for the Mitsumine Group in various aspects.
Although Hiruzen didn't quite understand what this guy Hibari was doing in the Land of Hot Water or why he was starting a cult, he also knew that Hibari wasn't the kind of person who would act recklessly. Plus, there was nothing major that needed Hibari to come back and help the village, so he just smiled and didn't worry about it too much.
Just then, there was a knock on his office door. Hiruzen put down the document he was holding, then looked up at the door and said, "Come in."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened, and a slender figure walked in. He had long black hair that reached his shoulders, a pale complexion, purple markings around his eyes, and irises that were like the vertical pupils of a reptile, making him look a little uncomfortable...
The figure's age wasn't that old; he looked to be about eleven or twelve years old. He was Orochimaru, the disciple whom the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, greatly valued.
Hiruzen currently had only three disciples: Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. The one he valued and liked the most was not Tsunade, whom he had watched grow up, nor was it Jiraiya, who was always causing trouble, but Orochimaru, who had lost his parents in the war and was very talented!
Orochimaru was simply too outstanding. Aside from his somewhat cold personality, Hiruzen could vaguely see some of Hibari's shadow in him.
He was also 'prematurely wise.' When Hibari was young, he was as mature as an adult. Even though there was a huge age gap between them, the two of them were like friends and brothers, and Hiruzen himself would sometimes forget their uncle-nephew relationship.
Orochimaru was also like this now. Although he was young, he was exceptionally mature. Hiruzen had never once seen the childishness that should have belonged to his age.
However, Orochimaru's personality was different from Hibari's; he was too cold, so his relationship with Hiruzen couldn't really become that of friends. They were still master and student.
On the other hand, just like Hibari, Orochimaru's talent in ninjutsu was also very impressive to Hiruzen. No matter what ninjutsu it was, Orochimaru could master it very quickly. This also made Hiruzen believe that Orochimaru would become a new leader of the younger generation, a figure like Hibari once was. He might not be as good as Hibari, but he was still very amazing.
The final point that made Hiruzen feel that Orochimaru was walking in the footsteps left by Hibari was that Orochimaru was also very interested in the development and research of ninjutsu and other related systematic knowledge.
Other shinobi would just learn a technique until they could use it and wouldn't delve any deeper, but every time Orochimaru learned a ninjutsu, he would study it until he understood it thoroughly, and even extended it, before he considered himself finished.
And at a young age, he had already started developing his own ninjutsu, and it seemed like he was also planning to follow in Hibari's footsteps of researching Shiryōjutsu and creating a whole new style. If it had a name, it could perhaps be called 'Serpent Style Ninjutsu.'
It was because Orochimaru was, in every aspect except his personality, a lot like Hibari that Hiruzen seemed to naturally have a good impression of him. This was also one of the reasons why Jiraiya always felt that his teacher was biased towards Orochimaru.
This was also the truth. Hiruzen might not have even realized it himself. Compared to Orochimaru, the little girl Tsunade, although also extraordinarily talented, seemed to have no interest in the thousands of ninjutsu he had mastered. Moreover, as the little princess of the Senju clan, she had received a good foundational education and didn't need him to teach her much in all aspects; all he had to do was guide her.
And Jiraiya... this guy just felt like a pain for Hiruzen. But even though he always caused some kind of trouble, Hiruzen could naturally see the effort and perseverance hidden beneath it. So he also liked Jiraiya, but there would always be a distinction of who was better. He was indeed biased towards Orochimaru.
Therefore, when he saw Orochimaru walk in, a smile appeared on Hiruzen's face, and he asked, "Orochimaru, you're here..."
"Third Hokage-sama, I have passed this year's Chunin exams..." Orochimaru nodded, his eyes still very cold as he spoke, as if passing the Chunin exams was nothing to be happy or proud of for him.
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