"Where did this come from?"
Hiruzen toyed with the severed tentacle of the Eight-Tails in his hand. "Quite capable, aren't you—bringing back a bit of Kumogakure's local specialty as well. Looks not much different from an octopus leg…"
Orochimaru felt his heart settle.
Sensei hadn't asked, right away, why he hadn't reported it…
That alone meant things were already half-secured.
"When the Eight-Tails was caught in Kurama Genshin's genjutsu, I used the Kusanagi Sword to cut some off from a distance…" Orochimaru added softly. "It's not just this—there's another piece as well."
He gestured roughly to indicate its length.
"You little brat…" Hiruzen said with a chuckle. "If you'd kept quiet about it, probably no one would ever have known."
Orochimaru smiled as well. "It's a tailed beast, after all. How could I not tell you, sensei?"
"I was only unsure of your stance. This thing is, in the end, a dangerous item. I was thinking of keeping a small portion as experimental data—to get a taste of it, so to speak—but overall, I'll follow your judgment."
Hiruzen felt a trace of surprise in his heart.
Worthy of being his most outstanding student… already adept at using the conversational tactic of advancing by retreating.
It really did sound quite pleasing to the ear.
But so-called routines and techniques, at their core, could never conjure something out of nothing. At most, they improved the feel of the exchange and reduced frictional loss.
The crux lay in whether both sides' "bottom lines did not conflict, and their interests could be aligned."
Hiruzen knew full well that, for a shinobi like Orochimaru, it was basically impossible to make him obey rules one hundred percent.
That kind of self-awareness was, at times, precisely the source of the value they could create.
As long as the bottom line was not touched, a certain degree of freedom had to be granted.
"That's your ingrained impression…"
Hiruzen said with a sigh, taking out his pipe. "The shinobi world's history of wars, in a sense, can also be seen as a history of ninjutsu iteration. I've never held any aversion to research."
"It's just that research and development often comes with bloodshed. In the past, what I worried about was that the results wouldn't even be put into practice yet, while the cost would already make the village unable to bear it."
"Now I've come around as well. Just find a way to shift the cost elsewhere—that's all. The village can provide you with assistance."
Hiruzen exhaled a mouthful of smoke.
"But things like half-deceiving and half-coaxing your way into taking away members of the Iburi and Tsuchigumo clans, and using their bodily traits to research the First Hokage's cells—don't let that happen again in the future."
"They may not be Konoha's shinobi, but they have, after all, lived long-term within the Land of Fire's borders. Once our finances are more comfortable, you and I will draw up a set of regulations and bring this matter to a close."
A light flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. "I understand, sensei!"
Shifting the cost, village assistance—how could he not understand what that meant?
And Hiruzen's bottom line was also very clear: without authorization, he was not allowed to lay hands on members of the village, or even of the Land of Fire.
That was not excessive.
"We're all Konoha's shinobi. I grew up under the shelter of Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sensei."
"You as well—you were brought along bit by bit by me, poring over Konoha's ninjutsu texts and relying on the village's resources…"
"Once you've grown up and become strong, you should, in the end, think about giving back to the village. As long as you have that intention, what does researching tailed beasts even amount to?"
Hiruzen said this to Orochimaru with an expression that was both reflective and earnest.
"Sensei, with words like these from you—if anything similar happens again, I'll definitely report it at the first opportunity…" Orochimaru grinned broadly.
Hiruzen shook his head in apparent helplessness and scolded with a smile, "You little brat!"
"Take this list and have a look."
Orochimaru accepted it, an eyebrow lifting.
It was clearly a list of the "Konoha committee," with several names on it marked in red for emphasis.
At the top was his own name, followed by Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the heads of the Ino–Shika–Chō clans.
Next came the clan heads of Inuzuka, Aburame, and Kurama, as well as Hatake Sakumo and Yūhi Shinku.
"These eleven people are the ones that overlapped among the lists separately drawn up by Koharu, Homura, and Danzō—and they're also the ones I approve of," Hiruzen said.
Orochimaru nodded. What caught his attention more were two pairs of names.
Namely, Hyūga Hizashi and Hyūga Tenzō; and Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Isshin.
He gave the rest a cursory glance—those were mostly non–clan shinobi, like Shirakumo Hayama and the like.
There was even a name he didn't recognize—Maruboshi Kosuke. 'This one… probably isn't a jōnin, right?'
Orochimaru raised his brows slightly, noticing that two slots were still unfilled.
"Do you have any candidates in mind? I'd like to hear your opinion," Hiruzen said with a smile.
Orochimaru's heart stirred.
'Oh—what is sensei trying to do here?'
He was nothing more than a jōnin himself, merely one member of the so-called "Konoha committee." How could he possibly be involved in something as significant as major personnel authority?
That didn't seem appropriate at all!
Yet his body was very honest, splitting into a grin, as if a voice were telling him: 'This is crown-prince treatment!'
"Mm… I have a friend, also a jōnin, named Hiruko," Orochimaru said after pondering for a moment, speaking slowly.
"His combat ability isn't outstanding among jōnin, but he has considerable insight into ninjutsu, and his understanding of research surpasses that of ordinary shinobi by quite a bit."
Hiruzen recalled him for a moment and found that this shinobi hadn't left much of an impression in his memory.
In all aspects, he was relatively average.
But after thinking it over, that was only natural. After all, not every research-oriented talent could be like Orochimaru—having the status of the Hokage's disciple as well as abundant resources.
Even gold, when buried in a pile of sand, gives off no light—let alone research-oriented talents who require long-term development.
"Very well. Have him come see me tomorrow," Hiruzen said, lifting his brush and writing Hiruko's name onto the paper.
Orochimaru felt deeply gratified.
Regardless of whether Hiruko would ultimately be selected, being personally written onto the candidate list was already a form of recognition.
"This piece of the Eight-Tails—I'll keep it with me…"
"As for the remaining Eight-Tails tissue, pay close attention to safety during your research. If you have any ideas, come discuss them with me. I'm also quite interested in the peculiarities displayed by tailed beasts."
Tailed beasts were something Hiruzen still could not fully fathom.
At times they existed as pure chakra forms; at other times they were living organisms, or seemed like aggregates of resentment.
Some records state that after a tailed beast dies, it will be reborn a few years later—almost as if it were a creation of heaven and earth, operating under rules distinct from those governing ordinary living beings.
There must certainly be a great secret hidden within.
"I understand, sensei. I also very much need your wisdom…" Orochimaru replied with a smile.
"You noticed Isshin and Fugaku, Hizashi and Tenzō, and felt puzzled by their names—you were wondering why I wrote them into the list, weren't you?"
"I had Hizashi enter the Anbu. The core purpose was not to suppress the main house, but to ensure that the Hyūga serve the village…"
"By giving the main house a seat, it preserves their dignity and avoids driving them to extremes, while also confining the framework of struggle to between the branch house and the main house. The front line of conflict will not be between the village and the Hyūga."
"As for Uchiha Isshin and Fugaku, that is another situation…"
Hiruzen broke it down for Orochimaru: "Uchiha Isshin is actually somewhat like my former self—or rather, like Homura and Koharu. In essence, he is an extreme conservative."
"Making him a committee member will not change his mindset. It is meant to create a numerical balance between the Uchiha and the Hyūga."
"From Sakumo's reports, Uchiha Fugaku's attitude toward having clan members participate in the patrol force has been quite proactive from the very beginning. This is the difference between him and Isshin—he is someone who can be won over."
"Setting up a preemptive channel of communication is beneficial for the relationship between the village and the Uchiha."
"You probably already had a vague sense of all this. As your sensei, I'm just helping you sort it out—this will be useful for your future work."
Hiruzen patted his disciple on the shoulder and said with emotion, "I'm no longer young. The future will still depend on you all…"
The Hokage is already declining—should you not strive all the more?
"Sensei, don't say that…" Orochimaru's pupils constricted slightly as he worked to steady his emotions and offered auspicious words instead. "You can still lead Konoha for another hundred years!"
"Still joking around, are you? I'm afraid only a sage could work for a hundred years without growing weary," Hiruzen said, waving his hand.
And in his heart, the Hokage was in fact thinking that he might not truly lack the possibility of long life and enduring vision…
If that were the case, he wondered whether Orochimaru might someday cry out, "Has there ever been a crown prince who waited fifty years?"
The thought was a little amusing.
But that possibility would ultimately have to be grounded in the practical matters at hand—allowing the village and his talent to grow strong together.
So he only let such thoughts pass through his mind on occasion, careful not to let them distract him.
"How is the research into the Tobirama-sensei's notes coming along?" As if to change the subject, Hiruzen asked casually.
"I've found many very interesting points. I'm close to completing a kinjutsu."
"When I finish it completely, I'll give you a surprise—though it might also be a fright…" Orochimaru joked teasingly.
In the past, Orochimaru had felt some hesitation. A technique capable of achieving a "body-seizing" effect was, after all, rather shocking, and it seemed best not to let sensei know about it.
But after reading through the techniques and concepts researched by Senju Tobirama, Orochimaru felt relieved.
Compared to that, he himself was really just average—if one wanted true boldness, one had to look to this member of the Senju who truly loved his craft.
Sensei was the Second Hokage's disciple; his capacity for acceptance should be quite strong!
"All right, then I'll look forward to your technique…"
"There are no wrong techniques—only places where they're used incorrectly." Hiruzen seemed to see through Orochimaru's thoughts. "Don't burden yourself. At worst, we can just place it in the Scroll of Seals."
Orochimaru listened, feeling thoroughly at ease.
After Orochimaru took his leave, Hiruzen began considering his next move.
Once Kushina and Tsunade finished visiting Uzumaki Mito, it would be his turn to pay a visit.
The Administrative Department had already begun fanning the flames toward the Land of Fire. The daimyō had shown extremely strong interest in the so-called "miracle elixirs" and had repeatedly expressed a desire for Hiruzen to come see him.
This steady stream of cash flow needed to be established…
"I should go take another look at sensei's hidden vault," Hiruzen's eyes flashed.
If Orochimaru's line of thinking was similar to his own, then it was time to begin preparing a new identity—and a new body—for sensei.
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