Sarutobi Hiruzen's mobilization of the ANBU had an obvious purpose—he was finally preparing to make a move against certain people.
Natsuhiko had already given him plenty of time to prepare. At the same time, he had continuously displayed overwhelming confidence and strength, leaving Hiruzen with very few options.
Especially after that meeting between Natsuhiko and Nara Shikaku, Hiruzen realized that Natsuhiko had already resolved every possible issue that could threaten Konoha afterward.
Only then did he truly understand just how determined Natsuhiko was to eliminate these hidden dangers completely.
And honestly, those former followers of his only had themselves to blame. They never should have entertained crooked ambitions in the first place. The moment they crossed that line, no one could save them anymore.
Under the sparse moonlight, Hiruzen stood atop the Hokage Rock, silently gazing at the Hidden Leaf Village shrouded in darkness.
Kakashi was now the Commander of the Konoha ANBU. Hiruzen had already contacted him and obtained his support.
Now, there was only one final thing left for him to do—the very thing he least wanted to do, yet could no longer avoid.
After a long silence, Hiruzen let out a deep sigh and slowly closed his eyes.
In name, he was still one of Konoha's elders. But in reality, he could only be considered Natsuhiko's advisor now, because after tonight, the Elder Council would likely exist in name only.
Still, if it disappeared, then so be it.
As a former Hokage, Hiruzen understood perfectly why the Elder Council had existed in the first place.
Its purpose was to restrain a misguided Hokage from making disastrous decisions that could drag Konoha into ruin.
But when the abilities of the Elder Council no longer matched the abilities of the Hokage, the council itself became nothing more than dead weight holding the Hokage back.
And now, the current Elder Council was even preparing to do things that would harm Konoha itself. That was something Hiruzen simply could not accept or understand.
At first, Hiruzen had never paid much attention to Natsuhiko's abilities. Back then, he had only been an ordinary squad captain.
But after Natsuhiko seized the position of division commander, Hiruzen began paying closer attention to this young man from the Senju Clan.
At the beginning, the boy had hidden himself extremely well, and his outward performance had been equally impressive.
However, as time passed, Hiruzen gradually realized that this young man was impossible to control.
Especially after Natsuhiko completely secured the position of ANBU Commander, Hiruzen finally understood just how terrifying his methods truly were.
Unfortunately, by the time he realized it, it was already far too late. Natsuhiko had become someone nobody could interfere with anymore.
It wasn't as though Hiruzen had never considered bringing Natsuhiko over to his side. He had even extended an olive branch before, only for Natsuhiko to reject him without the slightest hesitation.
At the time, Hiruzen had found it regrettable.
But now, he could only sigh at how foolish his past self had been.
Someone like Natsuhiko—a man with ambition, ability, and overwhelming strength—would he ever willingly obey someone else's arrangements and patiently inherit their position?
Obviously not.
And now, Hiruzen was actually glad Natsuhiko had refused him back then.
After all, had Natsuhiko chosen his side, he could have walked a much easier path.
But if that had happened, would Natsuhiko still possess the same sharpness he did now?
Hiruzen did not know the answer to that question.
But what he did know was that the current Natsuhiko had brought him unimaginable surprise.
He was old now. His way of thinking could no longer keep up with young people like Natsuhiko, and his methods lacked the vigor and momentum of youth.
But that did not mean he was incapable of recognizing the value of Natsuhiko's policies, his capabilities, or his political skill.
The policies Natsuhiko proposed might have seemed somewhat radical in Hiruzen's eyes, but within that radicalism, he had still managed to protect the interests of every faction involved.
No one would believe such methods came from a boy barely fifteen or sixteen years old.
Even more impressive was how every one of Natsuhiko's subsequent policies targeted Konoha's weaknesses directly.
At the same time, he used those weaknesses as leverage to push forward the reforms he needed.
That kind of sharp insight and political skill made Hiruzen feel that even if he were thirty years younger, he still might not have been capable of accomplishing the same thing.
There was already an enormous gap between Hiruzen's way of thinking and Natsuhiko's. If compared through the lens of shinobi strength, the difference between them was practically on the level of entirely different dimensions.
Hiruzen truly could not understand how Natsuhiko had developed such a mindset.
The boy was obviously still so young, yet those methods and schemes were absolutely not something a young person should have been capable of.
"Perhaps… this is what true genius looks like."
Hiruzen took a deep breath. Chakra slowly stirred within his body as he finally prepared to move.
He was old, yes, but his chakra had only become more refined with age. Even ten years later, he would still be capable of fighting Orochimaru head-on.
Right now, he had not yet declined to that extent.
His strength was still there.
Even if he no longer possessed the glory of the "Professor" from his prime, he was still not someone others could afford to underestimate.
Moving swiftly through the night while using the Body Flicker Technique, Hiruzen silently infiltrated Mitokado Homura's residence.
According to the ANBU investigation, his two old classmates would be meeting here tonight, so all he needed to do was wait.
After avoiding every guard and confirming that the ANBU had fully surrounded the area, Hiruzen slowly stepped into the familiar house.
Homura was both his old friend and former classmate. Hiruzen had visited this place countless times in the past, so he remained deeply familiar with everything here.
At this moment, the reception hall was empty.
Only pale moonlight filtered through the darkness of the room.
Hiruzen slowly walked over to a seat and quietly sat down.
The bright moonlight fell across his body, making him appear both lonely and cold.
Here, in this place, he found himself unable to stop recalling their past together—the experiences they had shared and everything they had gone through side by side.
Because he knew very clearly that after tonight, his old classmates would likely cease to exist.
In a sense, his coming here tonight was also a farewell.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The crisp sound of wooden sandals striking the floor instantly pulled Hiruzen back to reality.
He knew his two old friends had returned.
Sure enough, the moment the door slowly opened, the two of them immediately sensed someone inside the room.
They instantly assumed defensive stances.
But when they saw clearly who was sitting there beneath the cold moonlight, shock appeared on both their faces.
"Hiruzen? Why are you here?" Utatane Koharu asked in disbelief, but her expression quickly changed. "You came here because…"
"Yes. I think you've already guessed," Hiruzen replied with a faint sigh. His eyes were filled with loneliness. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do, and nothing I can change."
"You're betraying us! Betraying the Third Hokage's faction! Betraying Konoha itself!"
Homura practically roared those words through gritted teeth, clearly hoping to alert everyone outside.
"I've actually been trying this whole time," Hiruzen said softly as he slowly shook his head. Rising to his feet, his voice became heavy and desolate. "I tried to persuade him not to do this, but you two…"
"You shouldn't have done this. You really shouldn't have."
"You think we're just going to surrender without resistance?"
Homura sneered coldly.
"Keep dreaming, Hiruzen. You and your clan already have a way out. After all, you were Hokage—he wouldn't dare do anything to you. But we're different!"
Different?
Did being different justify creating turmoil within Konoha?
Hiruzen slowly closed his eyes.
At this moment, he no longer wished to say anything else.
Because now, he had truly made up his mind.
If before this he had merely been pressured by Natsuhiko into taking action, then now he was willingly choosing to do it himself.
He was alone now.
His friends were dead.
His wife was dead as well.
At this point, the only thing he had left… was Konoha.
For the ordinary shinobi and civilians of Konoha, this was merely another ordinary night.
But for Konoha itself, this night carried extraordinary significance.
Hiruzen had chosen the timing of his move perfectly.
He struck precisely when his old classmates had begun making preparations, yet before those preparations were fully complete.
The result of all this was that Konoha not only obtained all the evidence it needed, but also swept every hidden danger into the trash heap of history.
The next day, after receiving the report, Natsuhiko personally burned the entire document to ashes.
After all, that report recorded the disappearance of more than a thousand lives.
Natsuhiko had also heard that when the ANBU and the Military Police Force worked together to dispose of the bodies, it had taken tremendous effort to complete the task.
The corpses of over a thousand people were no small matter.
At the same time, the incident still created a noticeable stir within Konoha.
It had to be said that now that Natsuhiko held the ANBU, Root, and the newspaper agency in his hands simultaneously, his control over public opinion within Konoha had reached its peak.
Back then, he had been able to manipulate the ANBU and the press alone to target Hiruzen because Hiruzen had merely been an acting Hokage.
In the eyes of the public, Natsuhiko had always belonged to the Fourth Hokage's faction, so Hiruzen had no legitimate reason to move against him.
But now, Natsuhiko had officially become Hokage through proper selection and examination. Naturally, those institutions were now firmly under his control as well.
As a result, despite the fact that many of those purged had lived in densely populated areas, the combined efforts of the three organizations ensured that very little information leaked out.
Only the lingering stench of blood remained in the air for a long time, as though silently proving those people had once existed.
Aside from that, only a small number of shinobi knew what had happened, and even they were shocked by Natsuhiko's methods.
To be honest, even if Natsuhiko had allowed the matter to spread publicly, it would not have caused much trouble.
After all, he had prepared in advance.
Most Konoha residents already had a rough understanding of what those mysteriously vanished people had intended to do.
However, after that night, Hiruzen requested a one-week leave of absence from Natsuhiko.
He never explained what he planned to do during that time, and Natsuhiko did not ask.
Instead, he readily granted the old man time to rest and recover.
Natsuhiko understood very clearly that Hiruzen truly had nothing left now.
More accurately speaking, among Hiruzen's generation, there were probably very few old friends still remaining.
As for his sons, Natsuhiko knew one of them was already dead, while the other—Asuma—was definitely not someone who gave people peace of mind.
Only Hiruzen himself truly understood the loneliness in his heart.
Because of that, Natsuhiko had no intention of making things difficult for him. After all, the pressure Hiruzen was currently bearing was already immense.
Following the ruthless purge of Konoha's unstable elements, Hiruzen also had to continue carrying the blame.
As newspaper reports regarding the matter increased—especially those concerning the Special Jonin issue, which Natsuhiko had quietly allowed the press to investigate more deeply—the criticism directed toward Hiruzen from the Special Jonin grew louder and louder.
According to the information being uncovered, their chances of being demoted to Chunin in the future were actually greater than their chances of becoming full Jonin.
Originally, they had imagined that since the benefits for Jonin had increased so dramatically, Special Jonin like themselves should also receive at least some share of those advantages.
But now that the truth had been exposed, they realized they would gain absolutely nothing.
Worse still, they might even be reduced back to Chunin.
Under such circumstances, how could they not be furious?
However, the target of their anger was not Natsuhiko—it was Hiruzen.
After all, Natsuhiko had only just dealt with over a thousand people.
Even though his actions had been justified and backed by evidence, they still left people with a sense of awe and caution.
Of course, the feeling of respect was far stronger than fear.
And that was precisely the effect Natsuhiko wanted.
On top of that, Natsuhiko was vigorously pushing forward reforms to Jonin welfare, and there were even reports proving that he intended to improve the welfare systems for shinobi of every rank.
Because of this, it became even more impossible for people to curse Natsuhiko.
The only person they resented and blamed was Hiruzen.
...
"So, after resting for a week, how do you feel?"
No matter how loud the rumors outside became, they could not affect the true decision-makers.
On the final day of Hiruzen's leave, Natsuhiko personally visited his home.
"Not bad. I'm old now, so I find myself constantly reminiscing about the past."
Hiruzen personally brewed a pot of tea. As he slowly filled Natsuhiko's cup, he spoke in an unhurried tone.
"Being old doesn't mean you're useless. There's an old saying—having an elder in the family is like possessing a treasure. And honestly, you've proven to be quite valuable at times."
Natsuhiko picked up the tea Hiruzen had poured for him. Smelling the fragrant aroma rising from the cup, he spoke with a faint smile.
"In terms of taking the blame for you, I really am quite important, aren't I?"
Hiruzen sighed softly. After taking a small sip of tea, he looked at Natsuhiko seriously and said, "I'm willing to shoulder this kind of responsibility, and I can continue carrying it, just like Danzo once did.
"But I only have one request. Before I die, I want to see Konoha standing at the peak of the shinobi world. You must accomplish that."
"You have my word," Natsuhiko answered calmly. "And you'll live to see it."
He was extremely confident about this matter.
After all, it was directly tied to his system missions.
Besides, now that he had truly become Hokage, Natsuhiko felt that if he failed to accomplish something significant, it would honestly be a waste.
The values and experiences from his previous life were deeply engraved into his DNA.
While Natsuhiko might not necessarily be capable of creating complete unification across the shinobi world, establishing a multinational alliance based on shared interests did not seem impossible.
After all, Naruto had practically achieved something similar already.
"By the way, when you have time, call Asuma back," Natsuhiko suddenly said. "Konoha lacks talent right now. Carrying the identity of a Konoha shinobi while doing absolutely nothing outside the village isn't reasonable—neither emotionally nor legally."
"That's true. That child should come back as well." Hiruzen nodded slowly before suddenly asking, "What about Tsunade and Jiraiya? Do you need me to bring them back too?"
"Hmph. Konoha went to war against Kumogakure, and neither of them returned. The only reason I've tolerated it is because they're part of the Legendary Sannin—and one of them is even from the Senju Clan."
"It seems your dissatisfaction toward them is quite deep," Hiruzen remarked quietly. "But what if they return in the future?"
"Jiraiya already came back once," Natsuhiko replied indifferently. "I gave him a mission to investigate Orochimaru. As for Tsunade… we'll deal with that when the time comes."
To be honest, Natsuhiko truly did not care much about whether Tsunade and Jiraiya returned or not.
While their return would certainly boost Konoha's morale and strengthen the village overall, they had stayed away for far too long.
When Konoha was facing its greatest dangers, neither of them had considered returning.
Since that was the case, then in Natsuhiko's view, if they did not want to come back, they might as well stay away permanently.
With Natsuhiko currently supporting the village, Konoha truly had little reason to fear major threats.
At least for now, no one in the shinobi world dared provoke Konoha casually.
Natsuhiko knew their unwillingness to return had its own reasons.
But if they still refused to return even when Konoha was in danger, did they truly consider Konoha their home?
Perhaps they did.
Perhaps they had intended to return only when things reached a truly critical point, choosing whether to intervene depending on the situation. Given their personalities, they probably were capable of doing something like that.
But Natsuhiko had never personally seen it happen, so naturally he would not acknowledge it.
In fact, the mission he had given Jiraiya carried exactly that meaning.
It was a very clear signal.
He was essentially telling Jiraiya—and through Jiraiya, Tsunade as well—that if they were unwilling to return, then Konoha would not welcome them back either.
Natsuhiko was absolutely a strong-willed Hokage.
And he did not believe that being forceful as a Kage was a bad thing.
After all, a Kage represented the attitude and will of an entire village.
Natsuhiko was not the current Hiruzen.
People should remember that even Hiruzen himself had once been an extremely domineering figure in his youth.
As for calling Asuma back, the meaning behind that was very obvious.
It was to prepare a suitable successor for the Sarutobi Clan.
Hiruzen's support had helped Natsuhiko tremendously, and during Hiruzen's time as Hokage, the Sarutobi Clan had already developed into a fairly powerful clan.
Moreover, the Sarutobi Clan's shift toward Natsuhiko's side had been relatively quick, especially since they had not participated in the earlier messes.
Since that was the case, allowing the clan some room for development could also serve as a form of political messaging.
It was essentially telling everyone:
"Look—even the Sarutobi Clan, a clan I should theoretically dislike, can still develop under me. Following me is absolutely the right choice."
Of course, Natsuhiko would still keep the Sarutobi Clan's growth under control.
If necessary, he would even make them spit out quite a bit of what they had gained.
After all, the slice of the cake they had swallowed back then had truly not been small.
...
Time passed quickly.
During the following days, Natsuhiko had Nara Shikaku continue overseeing the progress of the Jonin reform while simultaneously preparing for negotiations with Kumogakure.
The Jonin reforms were progressing smoothly. However, regarding Natsuhiko's earlier proposal that the major clans contribute their privately collected ninjutsu, he never brought the matter up again.
It was not because the clans refused, nor because Natsuhiko had forgotten about it.
There was simply no longer any need.
After wiping out the clans that had once followed Hiruzen, Natsuhiko had already gained enormous benefits.
The ninjutsu confiscated from those clans, combined with Konoha's original ninjutsu archives, were already more than enough for the Jonin to use.
There was, however, one rather interesting development.
The Sarutobi Clan had voluntarily contributed a massive number of ninjutsu.
Naturally, Natsuhiko had no reason to reject such generosity.
After all, the foundation of the Sarutobi Clan's strength had always been their vast collection of techniques.
Now that the clan had completely submitted to him, they were willing to offer up even more resources to demonstrate their loyalty, and Natsuhiko naturally accepted without hesitation.
With such an enormous reserve of resources, combined with the ninjutsu Kumogakure would soon deliver, the situation among Konoha's Jonin could practically be described as flourishing.
According to Shikaku's evaluation, Konoha would soon be able to begin attempting welfare reforms for Chunin as well.
For Natsuhiko, this was unquestionably good news.
The hardest hurdle had already been overcome, meaning everything afterward would become significantly easier.
Unfortunately, Shikaku himself was nearly collapsing from exhaustion.
The success of the reforms was certainly a good thing, but all the follow-up matters still required him personally to handle them.
Not only was he responsible for this entire reform project, but he also had to coordinate countless governmental affairs throughout Konoha.
Most importantly, he still needed to cooperate with the Foreign Affairs Department in handling negotiations with Kumogakure.
Although the negotiations were officially under the Foreign Affairs Department's responsibility, they were ultimately still newcomers without much confidence in themselves.
As a result, they also needed Shikaku's assistance.
As for the countless miscellaneous problems scattered everywhere else, the Administrative Department had to coordinate with nearly all of them.
The pressure on Shikaku had become unimaginably heavy, and his workload continued rising at a terrifying pace.
Although he knew these problems were temporary, Konoha's current rate of development meant that the Administrative Department—as the village's central coordinating hub—would only become busier in the future.
Because of this, Natsuhiko naturally introduced the idea of a Secretariat Office to Shikaku.
After all, Natsuhiko fully intended to eventually expand it into an official Secretariat Department.
Shikaku had long heard about the unique secretarial system Natsuhiko established during his time in the ANBU, and how he had relied on that department to continuously reduce his own workload.
However, Shikaku did have concerns.
If such a department expanded too much, would it eventually end up hollowing out the authority of the department head himself?
Although Natsuhiko had explained that secretaries possessed no real executive authority, they still held the power to make recommendations.
More importantly, every document passed through their hands before being submitted upward.
That alone allowed them to subtly influence the inclinations of decision-makers without anyone noticing.
It had to be said that Shikaku truly was sharp.
The reason figures like Humphrey could manipulate ministers and even prime ministers so thoroughly was precisely because they controlled document submission authority.
Of course, that was not the entirety of it.
More importantly, they controlled meeting schedules and the itineraries of decision-makers, allowing them to arrange countless things behind the scenes.
For example, waiting until lunchtime or the end of the workday before suddenly presenting the most important proposal.
Under such circumstances, how much time would those decision-makers really have left to carefully discuss things?
Moreover, ministers and prime ministers rarely remained in office for very long, making it impossible for them to outplay experienced secretaries.
But this world was different.
After all, there were no fixed term limits here.
Perhaps Shikaku had realized this point as well, because afterward, he accepted Natsuhiko's proposal.
And thus, this became Natsuhiko's first step toward expanding the future Secretariat Department.
After arranging all of that, however, Natsuhiko stopped paying attention to the matter.
Leaving a Shadow Clone behind in Konoha, he quietly departed from the village.
...
Deep within a dense forest in the Land of Fire, Natsuhiko silently appeared before quickly heading deeper inside.
This place was one of Orochimaru's hidden bases within the Land of Fire.
Natsuhiko had only met with Orochimaru a few months ago, so he honestly had not expected Orochimaru to contact him again so soon.
Still, he knew very well that Orochimaru would never disturb him without a reason.
Especially now that Natsuhiko had become Hokage, his workload had only grown heavier than before.
Moreover, Konoha's reforms were not being hidden from anyone.
These reforms had practically been placed right in front of the entire shinobi world.
Under such circumstances, Orochimaru naturally understood that Natsuhiko must be incredibly busy right now.
Therefore, unless something truly important had happened, he would never have summoned Natsuhiko here.
Quickly passing through the dense underground tunnels Orochimaru had constructed, Natsuhiko soon arrived at the laboratory itself.
At this moment, Orochimaru's face was filled with excitement, making him appear especially eerie.
However, seeing that expression caused Natsuhiko's eyelids to twitch slightly.
He already seemed to have guessed why Orochimaru had called him here.
"Hokage-sama, you've arrived."
Orochimaru had long since sensed Natsuhiko's presence.
After all, this was his territory.
Turning around with a smile, he gave Natsuhiko a slight bow.
"It seems my teacher truly lost in the end. Though losing to Hokage-sama is only natural. After all… he really is old now."
"Thank you for the congratulations," Natsuhiko replied calmly while looking at Orochimaru. A gentle smile appeared at the corner of his lips. "But I doubt you brought me here just to discuss something so boring."
"Judging from Orochimaru-sama's expression, perhaps you've made some kind of new breakthrough?"
"That's right. There has indeed been a new breakthrough."
Orochimaru smiled as he licked his lips, excitement flickering in his eyes.
"After all, now that Commander Natsuhiko has become the Fifth Hokage, the resources in your hands far surpass what you had before.
"So if I fail to demonstrate greater value, perhaps Hokage-sama will eventually abandon me.
"Fortunately, fate seems to have favored me this time. I've made quite a few discoveries… and all of them are extremely promising."
Hearing that, Natsuhiko lightly nodded.
Although Orochimaru's words sounded somewhat too realistic, Natsuhiko himself understood perfectly well that he was also a realist.
Now that he was Hokage, he practically controlled the entirety of Konoha's resources.
If he truly increased his investment in research, it was difficult to say whether Orochimaru would still remain indispensable.
Back when he had still been in the ANBU, Natsuhiko had already separated part of the Medical Department and integrated it into the ANBU itself.
Now that he was Hokage, although he had neither restored the Medical Department nor even mentioned it among the Eight Major Departments, the Medical Department still existed.
It had simply been downgraded into a Medical Division directly under the Hokage's authority.
In other words, if Natsuhiko truly wanted to do something, he could fully mobilize the Medical Division at any time.
Even if their skill level was inferior to Orochimaru's, sheer manpower and resources alone could make up for a great deal.
Orochimaru himself had come from Konoha, so he naturally understood just how terrifying Konoha's resource pool truly was.
His concerns were completely understandable.
However, Natsuhiko had never taken such actions.
Even Kakashi, who now oversaw the ANBU, had not acted recklessly either.
Although Kakashi desperately wanted to revive the people he had lost, he still understood that such matters were less important than stabilizing Konoha itself.
So from beginning to end, he had never acted impulsively.
The experiments within Konoha had always proceeded at an extremely slow pace.
Now that Orochimaru had produced results, Natsuhiko was honestly quite pleased internally.
Because obtaining this technique was equivalent to acquiring another hidden trump card.
After all, this was a resurrection technique.
With it, Natsuhiko could win over even more people while simultaneously creating an ultimate safeguard for himself.
As the saying goes, better safe than sorry.
If something unexpected ever happened to him in the future, wouldn't this technique allow others to revive him as well?
"It seems Orochimaru-sama has truly given me a pleasant surprise."
Although inwardly delighted, Natsuhiko maintained perfect restraint outwardly, merely keeping his usual gentle smile.
"I wonder what kind of breakthrough Orochimaru-sama has achieved. Also… where exactly did you obtain your experimental materials?"
"Rest assured," Orochimaru replied with a grin while licking his lips. "Since Hokage-sama is now in power and we are partners, there's no way I would recklessly cause trouble within the Land of Fire.
"Speaking of which, Hokage-sama might even owe me a commission fee.
"After all, I've cleaned out quite a few bandit strongholds throughout the Land of Fire.
"Most of those people were refugees who could no longer survive in neighboring small countries. After entering the Land of Fire, they repeatedly targeted merchants and civilians.
"Besides that, I also captured quite a few enemy shinobi who infiltrated the Land of Fire, along with several Konoha missing-nin."
To obtain experimental materials, Orochimaru had indeed gone through considerable effort.
After all, he and Natsuhiko had already reached an agreement, and Natsuhiko had also proven that he truly could protect him.
Because of this, Orochimaru genuinely had not touched any "normal residents" of the Land of Fire.
Anyone he targeted was either a bandit, an enemy shinobi, or a Konoha missing-nin.
One could say he had secretly helped Konoha quite a bit.
However, after hearing this, Natsuhiko could not help rolling his eyes.
And this bastard actually had the nerve to ask him for a commission fee.
By privately handling those threats himself, Orochimaru had prevented Konoha from issuing missions related to them.
Without missions, shinobi could not earn money.
Likewise, Konoha could not take its commission cut.
In other words, Orochimaru had secretly cost Konoha a significant amount of income.
In the shinobi world, vigilante justice had no future, because the hidden villages depended on those criminals becoming mission quotas.
"As for the breakthrough regarding the technique itself…"
Orochimaru didn't dwell on the mission rewards. Instead, he quickly pulled out a scroll.
The moment the scroll opened, a pale-skinned Uchiha shinobi appeared before Natsuhiko.
Afterward, Orochimaru walked over to a prison cell and casually dragged out a prisoner whose mind had already been shattered by torture.
Judging by his clothing, Natsuhiko immediately realized this person was most likely a bandit.
Without the slightest hesitation, Orochimaru rapidly formed hand seals.
One hand pressed against the bandit's body, while the other rested on the corpse of the Uchiha, who had been dead for an unknown amount of time.
In an instant, Natsuhiko clearly sensed the flow of life force.
Most importantly…
That flowing vitality did not belong to Orochimaru at all.
...
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