Chapter 43
Just as he felt safe, Orochimaru allowed himself to fall to the ground. He was feeling a bit tired. He had already exerted more energy getting rid of this scum than he had expected. Being nice by asking them to leave first was already a bit too much for him, and he even gave them a couple more chances until he had no choice.
For scum of the earth, they were quite tenacious in protecting what they thought was theirs. Greed was a strong driving force; they just wouldn't let go of the gold mine. Ultimately, they had to give up. If seeing one hundred of them die so powerlessly wasn't enough, witnessing a couple of hundred more fall surely convinced them.
He didn't expect to be attacked soon after by one of the orphans Jiraiya had mentioned, and not by the Hero of Suna. Their abilities were impressive, but it was a pity they used them in such a destructive way. It felt like the way they were using them limited their ability to be creative. Is that how Sensei felt watching him?
After years of killing and destruction, if anyone knew the value of life, it was probably Sensei. He likely saw everything as Orochimaru sees it now. Using the wonderful gift of ninjutsu for destruction felt so meaningless. There were many ways to utilize their gifts, but they were restricted by the constraints of the system into which they were born.
But if they don't change it, who will? Sensei might be too old and too restricted by the system. However, Orochimaru still had many years to achieve what no one else had, and nothing was holding him back. He would destroy the shinobi system and create a world where jutsu would be freely used by everyone, outside the constraints and limitations of shinobi. And he would start with this village, where everyone would learn how to use ninjutsu to connect and create bonds rather than causing harm or destruction. With this, he would immortalize himself in this world. And finally step out of Sensei's shadow.
…
Problems keep piling up, one after another. Hiruzen was already overworked with the Chunin Exams, and now this had been added to his plate. How was he supposed to deal with it? His stress level was rising too rapidly; his hair was starting to turn gray, and he just wanted to rip the report to pieces and forget about it.
"I need something stronger," Hiruzen muttered as he exhaled the smoke, but it didn't calm him down. "Shizune, please place an order with Yamanaka's store. I want their strongest tobacco."
"Yes, sir," Shizune responded, looking at Hiruzen with pity.
"When will the man from the capital arrive?"
"In three days, sir, if nothing goes wrong."
"Tempting," Hiruzen thought of many ways it could go awry. "But no, we are professionals. Still, he will be tired from the long journey, so make sure he gets a good rest."
"Yes, sir, I will reserve the hot springs and have the Akimichi clan accommodate him."
"That means a big meal," Hiruzen smiled wickedly. "Make sure he has the best drink to go with the meal, of course, at my expense."
"Of course, sir," Shizune smiled back. "I'm sure Tsunade-sama wouldn't mind parting with one or two bottles of her prized possession for such an important guest. Should I arrange an early morning meeting for you, sir?"
"Do so," Hiruzen agreed. "Since I will be busy for the rest of the day, if he can't make it to the meeting in time, have him understand that it isn't his fault, and I will arrange to meet him another day."
"Of course, sir."
What was Orochimaru doing? Wasn't he a good guy now? Why would he kill a Daimyo in another country? Now Hiruzen had to clean up this mess. People in high places were breathing heavily on his back. Not only was Orochimaru a shinobi from Konoha, but he was also Hiruzen's student, and he had been captured and imprisoned. So now the blame would fall upon him as he had failed as the Hokage, as a teacher, and as a warden.
Hiruzen was already swamped with work. Most of his time was dedicated to the Chunin Exams, but he also had to devise a way to stop the Akatsuki. On top of that, he worked hard to ensure that refugees from the Land of Water were settled in the Land of Fire, all while trying to recruit children with unique Kekkei Genkai to join the academy and later the village.
But he might need to cut it short. Jiraiya was having trouble deceiving the Daimyo of the Land of Water, and if the entire operation were discovered, he would have another huge problem breathing heavily on his back. Jiraiya had been gone for too long; Hiruzen would need him if Kumo were scheming something.
"Hokage-sama, the meeting with the Hyuga elder will be soon. Should I postpone it?"
"No, call him when he arrives," Hiruzen let out a sigh. "It is better to see what he wants before it becomes another problem."
It was probably another complaint. The Hyuga did like complaining, and it was better to listen to their rant for half an hour and then just ignore it. In times like these, Hiruzen had no time or energy even to entertain their absurd demands. Other clans also sought better opportunities, duties, and resources for themselves. But the Hyuga clan was the only one bold enough to demand it.
"I am sorry to barge in," As Hiruzen cleaned up his desk to prepare for the meeting, the man entered. "It seems I came a bit too early, but since I am already here, I don't see a reason not to start now. Especially when I know how busy you are."
"Shizune, you are free for the day," Hiruzen said, ignoring the blind Hyuga elder for a moment.
The elder didn't mind and took his seat. Hiruzen didn't know much about the man. He had retired a long time ago after blinding himself so the Hyuga eyes wouldn't fall to the enemy. Since then, he mostly stayed within his clan and assisted his son, Hiashi, in managing the clan. Hiruzen had nothing on him. Not from his memories or archives that he could use.
"I will take the liberty of expressing my dissatisfaction with how you are treating our clan," the elder began, his white, pupilless eyes staring at Hiruzen. "My son is too timid to say it himself, but I will not hold anything back. I do not appreciate how you have pushed our clan into various duties without appropriate reward."
"They have duties over the places they excel at." The elder's brazenness didn't shake Hiruzen. "There are holes in our defenses that need to be filled, and every shinobi must do their duty without expecting anything in return."
"Holes created by you lifting the Uchiha clan to higher positions," the elder countered. "And we of the Hyuga clan are left taking the positions that were left behind. Getting scraps from them isn't appealing to us. The Hyuga aren't for you to push around as you wish."
"Are you accusing me of mistreating your clan?" Hiruzen asked, getting a bit aggravated.
"Yes, our clan is one of the strongest and oldest. We have our pride, and we have the power to back it up," the elder replied. "I, along with the rest of my clan, do not appreciate your thoughtless actions towards us, and we suspect that you don't see our value."
"Value?" Hiruzen didn't like the elder's tone. "I don't see any value in forcing your clan members into servitude. Strongest? Perhaps I would agree if I didn't know that a quarter of your clan is forced to act as maids and servants for your main family. Proud shinobi who trained for years are humiliated like that, and my actions bring you dissatisfaction?"
"Our clan's traditions are older than most clans in this village," the elder replied. "They span hundreds of years. It might seem unfortunate from an outsider's perspective, but our clan follows its rules and is willing to make sacrifices to uphold them."
"Willing, you say. Are they really?" Hiruzen knew he needed to calm down, but the smoke didn't help. "You talk about traditions, but times change. The Uchiha and Senju clans likely fought for longer than your clan has existed. And yet, both sought a truce for a better future. Look where that brought us."
"The Senju clan is gone," the elder spoke without reservation. "Left only with a useless head who can't even face blood. We shall not follow their footsteps."
"What do you want?" If the elder could see Hiruzen's expression, he would have long since apologized for his words.
"We demand what we deserve," the elder continued. "I think Hiashi deserves a position equal to his abilities, like an ANBU commander. That's all. I will leave it at that, and I hope you will consider my words carefully."
"I will."
As the elder left. Hiruzen took a long puff from his pipe. Then, after a long moment, he calmly broke his desk, smoothly threw his chair out of the window, and composedly punched a hole in the wall. Then, after cursing everyone to hell, he took in the serenity of the silence in his office and peacefully planned to destroy them all.
Since they wanted to act that way, he was done playing games as well. He was a fake, but so what? If they wanted to poke the bear, they would feel the consequences. Since everything was already falling apart, he had no reason to hold anything back anymore. He could worry about the future later; now it was time to deal with the present problems.
Did the Akatsuki and those who hired them think they could do as they wished? Kusagakure were Konoha's allies; if they thought they could touch their allies, they would burn. It was time to use the new Root. Let's see how Fugaku would handle it and how the Akatsuki would like to mess with them.
Hiruzen would handle Kumo himself. He would ensure they signed the peace treaty one way or another. Even if he had no idea how to do it now, he would not rest until he found a way. He would make them regret coming here. They would see why it was better to be allies than enemies with him.
If the capital big shots thought Hiruzen would just roll over and accept the blame for Orochimaru's actions, they would be right. Hiruzen would accept it all; he would let them walk over him. But Hiruzen would make them crawl back to him on their knees when he raised the price to hire his shinobi for missions. They would have no choice but to hire them because their shinobi would excel in the Chunin exams and prove themselves to be the best in the world.
The Hyuga clan could think as highly of themselves as they wished. But Hiruzen would have to see how they could claim to be the strongest when he broke their traditions and freed the branch family. They would have no words against Hiruzen or anyone else once they were divided. Let's see what they would do then.
"Ding! New quest. Have Kumogakure agree to a peace treaty on your terms. Ding!"
Reward: Elemental nature transformation- Black Lightning
Failure: Increased animosity with Kumogakure and increased chance of war.
"Ding! New quest. Demonstrate Konoha's might to the world in the Chunin Exams. Ding!"
Reward: Random increase in random stat.
Failure: Decreased morality in the village and the increased number of shinobi questioning your leadership
"Ding! New quest. Break the Hyuga traditions and change the fate of the branch family. Ding!"
Reward: Random Fuinjutsu skill.
Failure: Hyuga clan rebellion.
Hiruzen glanced at the new messages from the system, and he sensed that it was playing tricks on him as well. He dismissed the rewards momentarily, recognizing that each failure would be far too overwhelming for him to handle. Failure wasn't an option; while he hadn't considered it before, now the pressure was on.
A.N. Thanks for reading. If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852.