The appointment to Root was not public.
In truth, there was no official organization called Root. There was only an Anbu training division.
So almost no one knew Homura Mitokado had become Root's new leader.
But on the second day after Orochimaru returned, the Third Hokage appointed him as "Jōnin Commander," causing a huge sensation throughout Konoha.
Who was the previous Jōnin Commander?
It was Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake.
The hero who had carved through Sunagakure with one man and one blade.
The strongest warrior who had won half a war by himself.
What?
Sakumo Hatake was a coward who abandoned a mission, was despised by Konoha's villagers, and was forced to commit suicide?
Bastard.
Were you one of the people who insulted our hero back then and forced him to die with injustice?
Beat him to death!
The memories of Konoha's people were truly strange.
When war ended, they could mock a hero without restraint, feeling no guilt for driving him to death.
But when war descended again, especially when Konoha's war situation became unfavorable, the people of Konoha would remember their hero without the slightest guilt and vent their anger on anyone who had caused that hero's death.
They would completely forget that they themselves had once been part of it.
Half a month later, the Third Hokage was shocked to discover that the title of Jōnin Commander, a post with no concrete authority, had not frightened the jōnin away from Orochimaru because of Sakumo Hatake's story.
Instead, it had become the final certification that Orochimaru's status stood above all jōnin.
Aside from the Third Hokage's own direct faction, all jōnin acknowledged Orochimaru's position as Konoha's deputy leader, second only to the Third Hokage, and were very willing to accept his leadership.
What shocked, even frightened, the Third Hokage most was that Orochimaru had used the opportunity to establish a temporary organization.
This nameless organization had, in just half a month, hollowed out half of his authority as Hokage.
Could you believe that?
Yet that was the truth.
Aside from finances and personnel appointments, Orochimaru had already replaced the Third Hokage in operating all of Konoha's affairs.
Even the deployment and strategic arrangement of Konoha's ninja forces could now be decided by Orochimaru's word.
There was no helping it.
When a matter that required superior judgment was reported upward, the Third Hokage always handled it slowly. It would take at least three or four days before he gave a "carefully considered" decision.
What frustrated people was that these decisions often proved unsatisfactory, and everyone could only grit their teeth and carry them out.
But when the same matter was reported to Orochimaru, this experienced commander could give a result almost instantly. Including the time required to deliver the documents, it would not take more than half an hour.
Most importantly, Orochimaru's decisions often made people's eyes light up, making ninja sincerely admire his wisdom.
Especially for those high-risk missions, Orochimaru could shoulder responsibility without hesitation, allowing the executors to carry them out boldly.
This leadership style of "you go risk your life, I'll carry the blame" was enough to move Konoha's ninja to tears.
In the past, they had both risked their lives and carried the blame.
It had truly been miserable.
After Orochimaru hollowed out his teacher's authority, Konoha's operating efficiency instantly increased tenfold.
Powerful strength was effectively transmitted inward and outward, erupting into astonishing battle results. Clearly nothing had changed, yet Konoha now showed an aggressive offensive posture on every battlefield, pressuring Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure until their hearts trembled.
In just half a month, the slogan shouted by Konoha's jōnin and chūnin had already become "Long live Orochimaru-sama," and they enthusiastically discussed when Orochimaru would wear the Hokage hat and become the Fourth Hokage.
Because the finances and personnel appointments controlled by the Third Hokage had clearly become bottlenecks in Konoha's entire system, leaving countless people stuck in uncomfortable positions.
When Homura Mitokado finally took over Root and discovered this situation through Root's intelligence network, he hurriedly reported it to the Third Hokage. The remaining Konoha F3 were shocked to realize they could do nothing.
Could the Third Hokage say that a mission's execution plan was wrong after Konoha ninja successfully completed it?
Doing so would be equivalent to slapping himself hard in the face. Hiruzen Sarutobi was not that stupid.
Homura Mitokado was so anxious that he paced in circles, muttering nonstop, "We can't let Orochimaru seize power like this. We must do something. We must do something!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Koharu Utatane agreed, but they soon discovered they could do nothing.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been Third Hokage for over twenty years. He had long been tempered into a qualified politician. What had he not seen? What methods did he not know?
But the problem was speed.
Orochimaru's side operated too quickly. No matter what the Third Hokage's side did, they faced the awkward situation where before they had time to implement anything, the matter was already over.
Fire Cloud Evil God's famous saying was: "All martial arts under heaven can be broken. Only speed cannot be broken."
Placed into political struggle, this sentence was actually just as true.
Thus, the Third Hokage's group found itself completely helpless against Orochimaru. They did not even dare to tear off the mask and speak ill of him.
With Orochimaru's current boiling reputation, even if the Third Hokage dared to deny his own disciple, he might be denied by Konoha's ninja instead.
Homura Mitokado did not even dare spread rumors about Orochimaru, because after seeing Orochimaru's strength and fairness, the Uchiha clan shamelessly leaned toward him and was working hard to strike down anything and anyone unfavorable to Orochimaru.
After several days of effort, Homura Mitokado was completely out of ideas. Dejected, he reported his helplessness to the Third Hokage.
Koharu Utatane was uneasy and looked at the Third Hokage. "What should we do?"
But the Third Hokage had already regained his calm. He smoked his pipe with an old godly composure and said unhurriedly, "No rush. Wait. Opportunities will always come."
"I am Orochimaru's teacher. I am the sitting Third Hokage. As long as I don't make a mistake on my own, will there really be any danger?"
"If I am not in danger, the two of you will not be in danger either. After all, you are not someone like Shimura Danzō, who acted recklessly."
"Relax. No matter how well Orochimaru does, as long as he does things, he will make mistakes. We only need to wait. No hurry. No hurry."
As the Third Hokage settled down, Konoha's political undercurrents faded, and Konoha's war situation quickly stabilized.
By early August, Orochimaru had already begun discussing with Konoha's jōnin which battlefield Konoha should launch its counterattack from first, and which ninja village should be forced out of the war first.
At the same time, Uchiha Yoru brought Shisui, Junpei, Chino, and the other younger brothers to Konoha Hospital.
Uchiha Ichiki, who had suffered severe injuries in the Land of Rain, had finally recovered enough to be discharged.
The war in the Land of Rain had been too brutal.
Of the twenty-two study group members from the Uchiha clan, all had been wiped out in just two months. Only the severely injured Uchiha Ichiki survived.
And Ichiki had truly brushed past death.
His injuries were so severe that he had been treated for over eight months before he could finally leave the hospital.
Uchiha Ayumi, who had also been heavily injured, had been discharged as early as February.
But if possible, Ayumi would certainly have been willing to stay for another half year, because he had lost both legs and his right hand. The day he was discharged was the day he was forced to retire.
Today, Ayumi came in a wheelchair too.
The moment Uchiha Yoru saw Uchiha Ichiki, his heart sank.
This younger brother had fully recovered. He had even completed basic rehabilitation training. His movements had regained their agility and sharpness. Only his strength had not recovered enough.
But the problem was that his ocular power was too strong.
Although Ichiki had not activated his Sharingan and his eyes still had black pupils, Yoru saw through his foundation at a glance.
Behind those black pupils, his ocular power surged like a tide, almost completely out of control, without the slightest sign of stability.
Without question, under the push of terrible emotions, Uchiha Ichiki's Sharingan had awakened to the peak level of the three-tomoe.
He had completely strayed from the path.
Uchiha Ichiki's talent was not top-tier. Using emotions to forcefully upgrade his Sharingan had brought a backlash he could not endure. His body's source had suffered serious damage.
Although his potential was not completely exhausted, he could no longer switch paths. He could not return to the path Yoru had opened, where the Sharingan awakened through the accumulation of spiritual power.
Yoru looked at the gloomy Uchiha Ichiki and felt no intention of blaming him.
Being able to return alive from the battlefield was enough.
Enough.
When Uchiha Ichiki saw his clansmen, a little light appeared in his eyes. He called out everyone's name one by one and greeted them politely.
He even smiled and comforted Uchiha Ayumi, joking that after staying in the hospital for half a year longer, he had become stupid from being hospitalized, and so on. Not a trace of abnormal emotion could be seen.
Until he finally saw Uchiha Yoru.
Uchiha Ichiki could no longer control his emotions. His eyes reddened instantly, tears rolling down his face.
He cried.
"Brother Yoru, I didn't protect the younger brothers. They all died…"
This sentence had been stuck inside Uchiha Ichiki for more than half a year. It had blocked his chest and made him unable to breathe.
Now, at the moment of his discharge, he finally said it.
This tall and thin nineteen-year-old ninja completely lost control of his emotions. His eyes turned scarlet. His knees hit the ground, and he began sobbing.
The instant before he cried out, Yoru snapped his fingers, instantly hypnotizing everyone at the hospital entrance and making them ignore all of Uchiha Ichiki's abnormal behavior. Only then did it avoid causing a disturbance.
At the same time, it prevented Uchiha Ichiki from losing face completely.
He had now walked onto the old path of the Uchiha clan. Emotional instability was a huge problem.
The current Uchiha Ichiki was like a PTSD patient. In a peaceful place like Konoha, stimulation had to be avoided as much as possible, lest an even greater accident occur.
Yoru tucked him under his arm and quickly returned to his small courtyard.
He and Miwa Masayo worked together, using natural energy as the framework, chakra as the raw material, and sealing techniques as bricks to construct a temporary barrier specifically for blocking sight and sound.
Inside this sealed small environment, Uchiha Ichiki cried loudly for a long time.
All the madness, gloom, hatred, resentment, world-weariness, and other negative emotions he had accumulated in the Land of Rain were released through this great crying.
After his emotions finally stabilized, Yoru pulled everyone together for a meal.
No comfort.
No persuasion.
As the older brother of this generation of Uchiha, Uchiha Yoru had already done well enough by reaching out to pull him up. There was no need, nor was it necessary, to carefully look after the younger brothers like in his previous life.
Unfortunately born in a chaotic world like the ninja world, there would always be times when one had to face danger alone. If a ninja could not resolve his own emotions, then that ninja deserved to die.
Besides, in the culinary desert that was the ninja world, the best way to comfort ninja was good food.
Especially Uchiha Yoru's food.
Not only did its flavor surpass things like ramen and barbecue, but there was also freshly arrived East Sea octopus leg meat.
This food rich in chakra, after Yoru's careful cooking, could bring supreme satisfaction with just one bite, filling the Uchiha younger brothers' hearts with happiness.
After a full meal, they chatted happily until late at night. The younger Uchiha brothers could not hold on anymore and slept in Yoru's house.
After his disability, Uchiha Ayumi's blood and life source had been badly damaged, and his energy was greatly reduced. After even he could not hold on anymore and fell asleep, Uchiha Ichiki quietly left Konoha, heading to the Land of Hot Water to report to the Tiger Unit.
He deliberately left at night to avoid meeting the younger Uchiha brothers and avoid stirring up his emotions again.
Of course, Uchiha Ichiki could not possibly avoid Uchiha Yoru.
Not only was Yoru far stronger than Ichiki, he was also an immortal who only slept one hour a day.
Trying to slip away in front of him was impossible.
But Yoru did not speak either. He simply held Miwa Masayo and stood beside the courtyard gate, silently watching Uchiha Ichiki bow, then leave without a word.
Only after his figure had completely disappeared did Yoru suddenly speak.
"Rika-chan."
Miwa Masayo heard that her human's mood was poor and asked doubtfully, "What is it, meow?"
Yoru sighed softly. "My mood isn't very good. I want to leave Konoha and go for a walk."
"Then go, meow. Who can stop us, meow?"
"But I've been back for less than three months. If I can't sit still this quickly, can I really cultivate immortality?"
"What does that have to do with anything, meow?"
"Look at the Slug Sage, the Toad Sage, and the White Snake Sage. They casually stay indoors for hundreds of years."
"And those immortals in my memories are all like, 'there is no calendar in the mountains; the passing of winter and summer goes unknown.' Sigh, with me like this, where's the immortal style?"
"You're so annoying, meow."
"Ah?"
"Yoru, do you really think you've become an immortal already?"
"Ah! Rika-chan, you're right!"
Yoru's mood suddenly improved. He smiled and said, "I've decided. Once I finish what's in my hands, I'll go out and play."
Miwa Masayo's mood improved along with her human's. She asked curiously, "Aside from teaching Shisui cultivation, what else do you still have to do, meow?"
Yoru curled his lips. "One is the matter of the study group. I've left them hanging for dozens of days, and those dozen team leaders have already quarreled beyond repair. I've also caught more than enough handles. The timing is almost mature, and I can act at any time."
"But that matter's priority isn't high. I'll wait until I've truly guided Shisui through the door before dealing with it. No rush."
"But there is one more matter that is rather urgent. I need to treat Uchiha Ayumi's disability."
Yoru's voice was not loud. At first, Miwa Masayo did not take it seriously, but she soon understood what her human meant and jumped three feet high in shock.
"Yoru! You can treat lost limbs now? You can make severed limbs regrow?"
"Yes. I experimented on dogs. There were no problems at all. It's time for human trials."
"…Trials, huh."
Early the next morning, the Uchiha younger brothers woke up and left one after another.
Even Shisui was deliberately sent away by Yoru and told to go home and cultivate on his own.
But Yoru stopped Ayumi.
After everyone left, he looked into Uchiha Ayumi's eyes and asked, "Ayumi, if I said your broken legs and severed hand could grow back, and that after serious training, you could fully recover, would you believe me?"
Uchiha Ayumi's eyes instantly went straight.
His remaining left hand tightly gripped the wheelchair's handle, and his whole body trembled with tension.
After gathering himself for several minutes, he finally asked shakily, "Brother Yoru, can you really help me?"
Yoru patiently waited for him to finish asking, then answered with absolute certainty, "I can. But there are risks."
The moment Ayumi heard Yoru's words, his pale face flushed with blood. He answered without hesitation, "It's fine, Brother Yoru! I'm not afraid of risks!"
Yoru nodded. "I know you definitely aren't afraid of risks, but I still have to explain clearly."
"Right now, I've only experimented on dogs. The results were very successful, and you all experienced the result yesterday."
Uchiha Ayumi: "…"
Yoru chuckled. "Yes, it was yesterday's dog meat hot pot. There were seven dog legs in it. Three of them had grown fresh within three days."
Uchiha Ayumi was shocked. "That fast?"
Yoru said, "Those were experimental dogs. I deliberately used some methods to speed things up."
"When I perform the limb regeneration technique on you, it definitely won't grow that quickly. I want you to recover as a ninja, not become an ordinary person who can only take care of himself."
Uchiha Ayumi nodded repeatedly. "Mm, mm, slower is good. I have patience. Brother Yoru, don't worry."
"Also, dogs and humans are different. The first time using the limb regeneration technique on a human will most likely have problems. You must endure all kinds of discomfort. In the most serious case, we might have to start over."
"Do you think there's a problem?"
"No problem. I have no problem!"
Uchiha Ayumi loudly made his pledge. "I will definitely endure until the end, until the moment it succeeds. I promise! Brother Yoru, please believe me!"
Yoru looked into Ayumi's eyes. After confirming his will was firm, he finally nodded and said, "I believe you."
"I know you're impatient, so we'll start now."
Uchiha Ayumi, like Uchiha Yoru, was an orphan whose parents had died in the previous war, so there was no need to notify family.
Yoru pushed him into the house and brought him to the medical room converted from the underground storage room.
After changing into surgical clothes, cleaning the uneven severed stumps, and finishing all preparations for the procedure, he asked Uchiha Ayumi, "Do you have anything else to say?"
Ayumi said firmly, "Brother Yoru, start. I can't wait anymore."
"Good. We begin."
After speaking, Yoru opened his three-tomoe Sharingan and guided Uchiha Ayumi into a deep coma.
Then he picked up the sharp scalpel.
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