Guroya, Hyuga Hiashi.
One was a normal ninja killed with one move, the other was the Clan leader of a famous ninja family, with special eye powers, and overall strength approaching Kage level.
Their strength and status were very different, and no one thought the two were equal in value.
But, when this person wore the political halo of 'peace envoy,' the situation was very different.
'A life for a life' was hard to accept, but actually, it wasn't too far off.
Even if Kumogakure was stronger than Konoha, it wouldn't just be talks, but using this as an excuse to start a war.
After all, Guroya, as a peace envoy, did die in Hyuga territory, and he was caught red-handed by the envoy group.
Scandal, this was a huge scandal between the ninja villages.
What Guroya desired the Byakugan bloodline, actively invaded Hyuga territory, and kidnapped Main family members... none of that matters at all.
The other ninja villages only knew this: Your Konoha, known as the top of the five great ninja villages, can't even fully control your own village, you're truly useless.
--In his own village, making him wish he was dead, that's how it's supposed to work.
If Konoha hadn't slightly proved its strength in the previous war, they wouldn't just be facing questions from Kumogakure now.
"So, what do you want me to do?"
In an pub, Orochimaru put down his cup and smiled at Jiraiya,
"This kind of thing should be handled by the old man, you should spend your energy on training instead."
After finishing healing his soul, he reported to the Third Hokage and went back to his old schedule.
Besides studying White Zetsu clones and training Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru also added some body training to help his soul fit his body and to develop his power as much as possible.
And in the village, the only ones who could pressure him in body training were Tsunade and Jiraiya when he used sage mode.
He had gained a lot this month, and Orochimaru was in a good mood, so he accepted Jiraiya's invitation for a few drinks, but now it seemed he wasn't just here for drinks.
"I just can't stand it."
Jiraiya slammed his empty cup on the table, frowning, his expression unusually serious, "The village hasn't made a final decision yet, but they're leaning in one direction, they've decided to agree to Kumogakure's request."
Orochimaru was surprised, "Is the old man getting senile?"
Kumogakure's request was a life for a life, to hand over the Clan leader of a powerful ninja family from their own village, no matter the reason, it was a disgrace.
And Orochimaru couldn't figure out why it was necessary to hand over Hyuga Hiashi.
"This isn't the old man's idea."
Jiraiya sighed and sneered, "This is what the Hyuga Main family elders want, they say it's for the family honor."
Disrupting the peace talks and causing the village to lose a large sum of money that was about to be in their hands, even for a powerful ninja family, would be a major stain.
With Hatake Sakumo's example, the Hyuga Main family elders wouldn't let their family fall into such a bad situation.
Of course, whether they had thoughts of fighting for power, that's unknown...
"Isn't this great?"
Orochimaru smiled, but the mockery on his face grew stronger,
"The Hyuga kept their honor, the village gained a lot of money, and it didn't damage the village's reputation, after all, the Hyuga took the initiative."
"Ha... This is winning three times."
Forcing someone to sacrifice themselves as a group would look bad to outsiders, but if that person took the initiative, then there's no problem.
Even their family and friends couldn't say anything, after all, it was their own choice.
Not respecting their choice means not respecting them, and if you don't respect them, then there's nothing to talk about.
--Perfect, a logical closed loop.
But so-called personal will is the hardest thing to figure out, it's mostly controlled by the group and the environment.
Like the Hyuga clan, saying they're protecting their honor is just to occupy the high ground of morality, to avoid the village's cold treatment.
Orochimaru didn't have any opinions on this, reality is like this, there's no right or wrong, it's just different choices.
Besides, he didn't like Hyuga Hiashi, and he didn't like the Hyuga Main family.
The snake who seeks eternal life is most disgusted by these things that give off a rotten smell of death.
Living is just being a living dead person, dying sooner is helping Pure Land by contributing pure soul energy.
"It's not as simple as you think."
Jiraiya looked at Orochimaru and sighed, "The Hyuga Main family elders want Hizashi to die in place of Hiashi."
His view was similar to Orochimaru's, he didn't care so much about life and death, it was just their own choice, and they had to deal with it.
But Hyuga Hizashi was a comrade of the village, he didn't die on the battlefield, but he was being forced to die by the Main family elders, it was just unacceptable.
Jiraiya didn't believe at all that Hizashi was taking the initiative to replace Hiashi.
But this matter was the decision of the Hyuga clan, and even had the support of the village elders, he couldn't think of a good solution, so he came to find Orochimaru.
Orochimaru raised his head, his tone somewhat cold, "So, it's not Hyuga Hiashi who's going to die, but Hyuga Hizashi?"
"That's right."
Jiraiya thought Orochimaru didn't hear clearly, and repeated, "Although they haven't made a decision yet, the solution given by the Hyuga Main family is like this, Hizashi even showed up once and said he agreed."
Orochimaru frowned.
Actually, he didn't care much about whether the Hyuga clan lived or died, but Hyuga Hizashi was different, he was carrying a wish for the genie.
"Actually, you don't have to worry about that."
The genie stuck his head out from behind him, smiled,
"His wish has already been made, as long as he's not completely destroyed, after the wish is fulfilled, the reward he should get will definitely be there, no one can buy on credit without my permission."
The genie's words were as treacherous and greedy as always, but it relieved his worries.
It wouldn't be a loss to ignore this matter.
But watching those rotten guys benefit, it was really annoying.
"The old man didn't say anything?"
Orochimaru raised his eyebrows, "The Hyuga clan's affairs are hard to manage, but Hyuga Hizashi is also a ninja of the village, he fought in many wars and made many contributions, is the old man just going to watch as the Hokage?"
"The old man naturally doesn't agree, but Hizashi agreed for some reason, and the two advisor elders also support it."
Jiraiya sighed, "Letting the Branch family die in place of the Main family, after this happens, the Hyuga clan's conflicts will become even greater."
"The Branch family's dissatisfaction with the Main family will become even greater, and they'll be more dependent on the village."
"And the Main family elders will be even more reliant on the village, they occupy the family's moral high ground, and also rely on the village's power to suppress the Branch family."
"This is a win-win for the village."
Jiraiya tapped the table and said in a deep voice,
"If the old man and Danzo didn't disagree, this matter might have already been decided."
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