Three hours later, Orochimaru finally set down his chopsticks in satisfaction and praised, "I never expected your cooking skills to be this good, Uchiha Yoru. It was so irresistible that I accidentally ate too much."
Miwa Masayo angrily slapped the table. "Too much, meow! Orochimaru, you even ate all of my cat food!"
Orochimaru laughed loudly and apologized, "I'm sorry, Sage Miwa Masayo. Your cat food was simply too delicious as well. I ate it all before I noticed."
"I'm willing to compensate you. Whatever you want, there will be no problem."
"Really, meow?"
"Really. My promises never come with discounts."
"I want—mmph…"
Before Miwa Masayo could finish speaking, Uchiha Yoru pulled her into his arms and stuffed a dried fish into the little cat's mouth, cutting her off.
Holding the tabby cat, he said to Orochimaru, "Orochimaru-sama, isn't it a little improper to trick my Cat Sage like this?"
Orochimaru's smile did not fade. He said to Yoru, "My guess was right. Between the two of you, you are the one who makes the decisions."
Uchiha Yoru smiled without answering.
Orochimaru knew that although this Uchiha was only nineteen years old, there was a true old fox living inside him. He was a ninja who could not be controlled at all.
Otherwise, Orochimaru would not have deliberately eaten the Cat Sage's food, used her anger as an opportunity to probe her, and attempted to obtain information about Uchiha Yoru through an indirect route.
Now the attempt had failed. Uchiha Yoru had blocked the Cat Sage's mouth in time.
So Orochimaru stopped wasting time and said, "I came to find you because I want your help. Also, there is one piece of information I need to confirm."
"Shimura Danzo was killed by you, wasn't he?"
"Mm. It was me."
"Hiss…"
When Orochimaru received the Third Hokage's order and learned that Shimura Danzo was dead, he had already guessed that Uchiha Yoru did it. After all, he himself had contributed to the matter.
But after learning that Shimura Danzo had been killed by a Wood Release ninja, and after understanding what kind of consequences a conflict between a Wood Release ninja and Konoha would bring, Orochimaru was completely stunned.
He could not see how frightened he looked, but he saw clearly how badly the jonin qualified to know the truth were frightened.
So Orochimaru subconsciously overturned his own judgment.
After all, it was Wood Release. How could an Uchiha ninja possibly possess Wood Release?
However, as the genuine shock gradually passed, Orochimaru still ruled out the other possibilities and ultimately connected the Wood Release ninja with Uchiha Yoru.
He still held onto a sliver of hope.
Perhaps the killing of Shimura Danzo had been done through cooperation between a Senju ninja who had awakened Wood Release and Uchiha Yoru, just like the alliance between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara in the past.
Because of this suspicion, Orochimaru deliberately returned early.
He had to understand the specific intelligence before he could determine his next strategy.
Whether his political ally before becoming Hokage was Uchiha Yoru alone, or an alliance between the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan, made an enormous difference to Orochimaru. He could not afford to be careless.
Now Orochimaru finally knew.
It was Uchiha Yoru who had mastered Wood Release and then killed Shimura Danzo.
While shocked by Uchiha Yoru's strength, Orochimaru also breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Uchiha Yoru combined the advantages of the Senju and Uchiha into one body and possessed strength beyond expectation, this also proved that he was not a spokesperson pushed out by some alliance.
If he were the spokesperson of a Senju-Uchiha alliance, then he would have to serve the alliance's interests.
And an alliance itself was synonymous with instability. Even the point where interests gathered could change at any time.
In Orochimaru's eyes, Uchiha Yoru's mind was unmatched. Add his overwhelming strength, and he would absolutely be able to firmly control the Uchiha clan.
That meant he possessed powerful stability. As an ally, he would be extremely reliable.
Orochimaru smiled in satisfaction.
After smiling for a while, he put away his expression and asked seriously, "Uchiha Yoru, I hope to invite you to support me in becoming the Fourth Hokage. Do you agree?"
Yoru also straightened his posture and answered seriously, "I promise: I will support Orochimaru, and support him in becoming the Fourth Hokage, even if the Third Hokage opposes it."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. He murmured, "Even if Sensei opposes it? You believe Sarutobi-sensei will oppose me becoming the Fourth…"
After a brief hesitation, Orochimaru's gaze regained its firmness. He continued, "I promise: after I become the Fourth Hokage, I will take an Uchiha as my disciple."
"My first disciple after Senju Nawaki."
Uchiha Yoru raised his right hand, stared straight at Orochimaru, and asked in a questioning tone, "Alliance formed?"
Orochimaru also raised his right hand and calmly met Uchiha Yoru's gaze.
Their hands clapped together with a crisp sound.
Then he said in a definite tone, "Alliance formed!"
These two people, one the new-generation leader of the Hokage faction, the other the new-generation leader of the Uchiha clan, ignored both the Third Hokage and Uchiha Fugaku and formed an alliance in their own names.
This alliance could roughly be called an alliance of usurpers.
Of course, after they each replaced the current leaders of their respective factions, this alliance could also be called the Fourth Hokage Alliance.
With the alliance formed and the meal finished, Orochimaru took his leave.
He had secretly returned to Konoha alone, slipping in through a gap in the barrier to meet Uchiha Yoru in secret.
The reason Orochimaru went through so much trouble was so that he could hide from the Third Hokage and make substantial contact with Uchiha Yoru.
From this, it was clear that deep down, he was extremely guarded against his teacher. That was why he chose to act in secret.
So after the matter was settled and the alliance confirmed, Orochimaru had to leave Konoha as soon as possible before anyone discovered him, return to the Land of Hot Water camp, and continue completing the handover of his work.
After that, he would follow normal procedure and return to Konoha openly.
Three hours later, Uchiha Yoru once again stood at the gate to see someone off.
He watched Orochimaru's figure disappear into the darkness and smiled. "Tonight, Orochimaru will be exhausted from rushing around."
Miwa Masayo yawned and complained, "I hate listening to conversations between you two the most, meow. Neither of you ever speaks fully. Listening made me sleepy, meow."
"Sorry for delaying your cultivation time."
"Sorry… Yoru, I remembered! Orochimaru ate my cat food. He was supposed to compensate me, but you interrupted it. You have to compensate me, meow!"
"Fine. What does Masayo-chan want?"
"Dried fish. Ten. No, twenty, meow."
"No problem."
"Meow? Did I ask for too little, meow?"
Uchiha Yoru laughed loudly.
He closed the courtyard gate, paid the compensation, and prepared to begin his night cultivation.
After putting away the delicious dried fish, Miwa Masayo immediately ate one. The delicious taste defeated all her doubts and unhappiness.
The Cat Sage happily walked toward the door. She also had her moon-howling cultivation at night and still needed to try entering the Moonlit Night Sky state. Her time was very precious.
When she reached the doorway, Miwa Masayo remembered a question, so she turned back and asked, "Yoru, have you already thought of how to help Orochimaru become Hokage?"
Uchiha Yoru was stunned and asked back, "Why ask that?"
"I'm just curious, meow. From your perspective, I don't know what should be done at all, so I'm curious what kind of plan you have, meow."
"Masayo-chan, you're overthinking it. I don't have a plan."
"Meow? Aren't you the kind who has a plan at all times, meow?"
"That's too exaggerated. I'm not some all-calculating strategist. Besides, I won't interfere in Orochimaru's affairs. He is my ally, not my subordinate."
"Ah? But what if Orochimaru fails, meow?"
"Hehe. What does Orochimaru failing have to do with me? I support him becoming the Fourth Hokage, but I'm not guaranteeing that he becomes the Fourth Hokage. In the end, it depends on his own effort and determination."
Miwa Masayo could not help turning back and walking over. She stared carefully at Yoru's face for a long while before saying with certainty, "So Yoru thinks Orochimaru might fail, meow."
"How is that possible, meow?"
"It is possible. Orochimaru seems cold and heartless, but in truth, his emotions are quite delicate. He is extremely protective toward those closest to him, even to the point of being willing to sacrifice himself."
"I can't tell at all, meow."
"That is because too few people can enter his heart. Counting everyone, there are only four: Jiraiya, Tsunade, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Senju Nawaki."
"Oh, one is already dead. So only three remain."
"If these three people firmly infringe on Orochimaru's interests, he will put on a vicious performance of resistance, then obediently give up the benefits."
"I can't understand that. But what do we do, meow?"
"Simple. I just need to place bets on multiple sides."
"Minato Namikaze, meow?"
"Mm. Him."
"So complicated. I don't want to think about it anymore, meow."
Miwa Masayo had solved one question, only to gain several more questions she could not understand. In the end, she decided to give up on using her brain and honestly follow her instincts to cultivate.
Meow. Maybe once I transform into a human, my brain will be enough, meow. For now, I shouldn't waste time, meow.
Deep into the night, the tabby cat's shrill cries echoed through the sky, gradually rising higher as the full moon ascended.
Who knew how many neighbors had nightmares because of it?
…
Before dawn, Uchiha Yoru opened the door and stood with Miwa Masayo on the treetop in the courtyard, facing east to absorb the morning purple qi.
After sunrise, Miwa Masayo found a place to sleep, while Uchiha Yoru headed to Uchiha Shisui's home.
After being away for nearly a year, the Uchiha clan had also changed quite a bit. He did not know where the Ninjutsu and Tactics Study Group was now, nor who the person in charge was.
Yoru could only go find Uchiha Shisui. After all, Shisui had not yet entered the Ninja Academy, and had spent the entire year in the Study Group. He definitely understood the situation very well.
On the way, he greeted his early-rising neighbors and received quite a few complaints about the cat cries. He smiled apologetically many times and bought extra breakfast as compensation.
Yoru ate all the breakfast and began calculating in his heart whether he should buy another house specifically for Miwa Masayo to make noise at night.
Just like I thought before, buy one near the Sarutobi clan and cause a little trouble.
Previously, this idea might have been a joke.
But now, Uchiha Yoru was seriously considering it.
When Yoru killed Shimura Danzo this time, because he worried Danzo might have special countermeasures, he mercifully gave him a quick death.
But unexpectedly, even such a major incident was easily handled by the Third Hokage.
As a result, the incident did not ferment enough and failed to implicate Yoru's first target, the Sarutobi clan.
This true number-one wealthy clan of Konoha still remained like a giant crocodile beneath the water, quietly hiding underwater and perfectly concealing its massive, fat body without exposing the slightest flaw.
Seeing his plan fail, Yoru felt it was truly a pity. He wanted to use moving houses as a way to provoke the Sarutobi clan a little.
It was not because his bounty was lower than Sarutobi Asuma's.
Absolutely not!
Uchiha Yoru was doing this for the sake of the future Fourth Hokage!
Only by constantly causing trouble and continuously lowering the Third Hokage's prestige could the Fourth Hokage fully grasp the Hokage's authority after ascending, avoiding being turned into a puppet or even replaced by a restoration.
Actually, the best method was for Sarutobi Hiruzen's prestige to fall into negative numbers, fail the confidence vote at the jonin meeting, lose face all the way to his grandmother's house, and have no choice but to resign voluntarily.
In that case, the ninja who supported Sarutobi Hiruzen would take the initiative to cut ties with him.
Their stance would become opposition to the Third Hokage continuing to hold power, and they would become the most radical and determined group.
With such political enemies who understood the Third Hokage best, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had lost Shimura Danzo and lacked the strength to suppress the village alone, would never have a chance to turn things around again.
Even if something happened to the Fourth Hokage, everyone would only elect the Fifth Hokage afterward. In any case, there would be nothing left for the Third Hokage.
When Yoru arrived at Shisui's home, the gate was already open. The hired servants were cleaning the ground outside.
These servants were all lower-level members of the Uchiha clan and were very familiar with Yoru.
They told him that Young Master Shisui had already gone out for his morning run and would take a while to return.
"Yoru, you can go find Old Steward Nobutada. He's drinking tea in the courtyard."
As the person spoke, he kept blinking and sending Yoru hints with his eyes, implying that Old Man Nobutada had been in a bad mood these past few days, and it was because of him.
Yoru understood.
The old man was blaming him for clashing with the clan head at the banquet without warning, getting himself confined, and disrupting their plan to take over the Study Group.
Before last night, Yoru had indeed been worried about how to explain things to Uchiha Nobutada.
But after Fugaku's messenger came, the plan had already been accomplished ahead of schedule. Naturally, there was no need to explain anything.
So he easily walked into Shisui's home.
After seeing Uchiha Nobutada, he sat down opposite him without the slightest politeness, picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank a big mouthful without fearing the heat.
Old Man Nobutada was stunned when he saw Yoru. By the time Yoru finished drinking a cup of tea, the old man guessed what had happened.
His gloomy mood quickly improved, and he happily asked, "The clan head lifted your confinement?"
Yoru nodded. "He sent someone to notify me last night."
"Also, Clan Head Fugaku appointed me president of the Study Group. I'll take office today."
"What?" Nobutada leapt up from his reclining chair in excitement and pressed, "Is that true?"
"True." Yoru hurriedly pulled the old man back and made him sit down again.
When they first met last year, this old man had already been over eighty. Even though Yoru had helped him recover his health with medicine and dried fish, he still could not be allowed to jump around recklessly.
Uchiha Nobutada's mood could no longer be described as good. It was clear skies, blazing sun, and bubbles of joy.
Ever since Yoru returned from the Land of Hot Water, he and the two elders had worried for several days but could not think of a way to persuade the clan head to allow Uchiha Yoru to take control of the Study Group again.
In the end, Yoru and Fugaku had a huge fight at the banquet, fiercely contradicted the clan head, got confined for seven days, and somehow the problem was solved.
Suddenly, the old man sucked in a cold breath. He looked at Yoru and asked, "Yoru brat, was this part of your plan too?"
This question stunned even Uchiha Yoru. He hurriedly shook his head in denial. "Of course not. How could that be? I'm not a god."
"At the time, Uchiha Setsuna forced the issue right up to my face. What I thought was that I'm already the leader of many people, so I had to stand firm and couldn't back down and embarrass you all. That was why I acted against Setsuna."
"My method was very concealed. I originally thought Uchiha Setsuna and the others wouldn't be able to find evidence and could only swallow the loss, then the matter would pass."
"I never expected Setsuna's youngest son to be that stupid. Just because he suspected me, he dared to shout at me directly, completely blowing the matter up."
"You should have already heard what happened afterward from Ryūnosuke and Yūichirō, right?"
"I have."
After hearing Yoru's explanation and description, and combining it with the intelligence he already knew, Uchiha Nobutada confirmed that Yoru had not planned this beforehand.
Only then did he finally relax.
As Uchiha Yoru's battlefield achievements were sent back, that exaggerated record made both elders and Nobutada unable to stop worrying over whether Uchiha Yoru would become arrogant.
Fortunately, after his return, his behavior was the same as before he left, which made the three of them feel much more at ease.
But his sudden eruption a few days ago made them worry about Yoru's mental state again.
Now they were finally completely relieved.
Then Old Man Nobutada sighed and said, "Setsuna's son is indeed terribly stupid. He has absolutely no sense of the situation. Truly disappointing."
Yoru shook his head. "It is not stupidity, but the special arrogance and naivety of a second-generation power holder."
"But I think this is far more terrifying than simple stupidity. It is even incurable."
"Old man, I'll tell you in advance. In the future, for those hopeless second-generation power holders in the elders' families, I will be ruthless."
Uchiha Nobutada froze. Uncertain, he asked, "You mean you will kill them?"
Yoru answered, "For the safety and future of the Uchiha clan, I will have no choice but to be ruthless."
"Why? What reason could force you to such an extreme degree?"
"Old man, considering that your strength is not high enough, I cannot tell you the reason."
"Please believe that I am not a bloodthirsty bastard. If the level of future threat decreases, I will spare them."
Uchiha Nobutada remained silent for a long time.
Only then did he say, "I believe you."
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