Chapter 30: Respect For Teachers, Orochimaru
During this period, something strange happened among Konoha's leadership.
Orochimaru, who had always been at odds with the Third Hokage, suddenly began to show concern for his former teacher.
The high ranking officials who knew the inside story could only look at one another in confusion. None of them could figure out what had happened.
After all, the relationship between the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and his disciple Orochimaru could hardly be called harmonious. It was closer to open hostility, with a long history of resentment and disappointment between them.
Especially after the selection of the Fourth Hokage, everyone could see that Orochimaru had completely drifted away from Hiruzen.
Some clan heads were even worried that Orochimaru, the legendary Sannin whose name resounded throughout the ninja world, might one day defect from the village. Given his personality, that possibility did not seem far fetched at all.
Yet for some reason, Orochimaru suddenly began showing concern for his teacher, sending him cigarettes from time to time, and not just any cigarettes, but the expensive, high quality kind.
Who was Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Even if some people no longer regarded him as a qualified active duty ninja, his many years in politics had long since sharpened his wariness. He was extremely suspicious of this sudden "filial piety" from his disciple.
However, no matter how they investigated, every batch of tobacco turned out to be perfectly fine. There were no hidden tricks at all. They were just ordinary high end products.
On one occasion, Orochimaru even brought Hiruzen to the tobacco shop in person and bought the cigarettes on the spot.
Furthermore, as if he were deliberately responding to the rumors, Orochimaru often smoked together with his teacher, as though to prove that there was nothing wrong with the cigarettes at all.
For a time, the Third Hokage's house was filled with smoke.
Sarutobi Biwako scolded her old man for it more times than anyone could count.
Even so, nobody could deny that Orochimaru had changed.
Rumors that he had "repented" and was now "respecting his teacher" began to spread.
Hiruzen immediately knew whose handiwork that was. It was most likely that old fox Danzo, stirring the pot from the shadows.
"Heh, so now they are trying to make me look like the villain."
Hiruzen sat heavily in his chair with a displeased look, then took another drag on his cigarette.
"Third Hokage, maybe Lord Orochimaru really has had a change of heart. That would not necessarily be a bad thing, would it?"
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, pinched the bridge of his nose helplessly and offered a wry smile as he tried to comfort his senior.
Minato himself was not exactly carefree.
Although he had successfully become the Fourth Hokage, Hiruzen and the other elders showed no intention of truly stepping back.
They would constantly offer "suggestions," frequently come to the Hokage Building to sit in on discussions, and Danzo in particular would whisper in his ear at every opportunity about how the Uchiha clan was inherently rebellious and would inevitably harm Konoha one day.
This left Minato deeply troubled.
He even began to suspect that the Third Hokage had chosen him precisely because he did not have Orochimaru's network and prestige, and would therefore be easier to control.
Yet at the same time, Hiruzen often gave genuine respect to Minato's opinions.
Occasionally, however, the former Hokage would display the composure and skill of someone seasoned in handling state affairs, and Minato could not help feeling ashamed of his own inexperience.
Even so, overall, things could still be considered barely under control.
"Ah, Orochimaru… he could have become an outstanding ninja back then."
Hiruzen took another puff of his cigarette, this time not from the brand Orochimaru had given him.
Even though there was nothing suspicious about the cigarettes on the surface and every test had come back clean, Hiruzen still chose not to use them. He secretly sold them off instead.
He simply could not shake the feeling that his disciple harbored some hidden intention. He just could not pinpoint what it was.
Minato glanced sideways at Hiruzen.
"Back then?"
He caught that subtle phrasing.
Minato was no fool. After spending some time as Hokage, he had improved a lot. It was easy for him to hear that the Third Hokage's words carried deeper meaning.
But since Hiruzen did not elaborate, Minato could not exactly press him.
"By the way, Fourth Hokage, your wife's due date is in about a month, correct? You must keep this matter absolutely secret for now," Hiruzen said, his gaze turning much more serious.
He might no longer be a pure front line ninja, but he was still the former Hokage of Konoha, and he was prepared to dedicate everything he had for the village.
The Nine Tails' Jinchuriki could not be lost.
If anything happened to the Nine Tails, Konoha would at the very least lose a chunk of its strength, and at worst suffer a devastating blow.
"I understand. I would also like to ask the Third Hokage to look after her," Minato said, his expression hardening as soon as his wife was mentioned.
"I know."
Hiruzen nodded and took another long drag on his cigarette.
Kushina was Konoha's Jinchuriki. That identity was both a blessing and a curse.
During this period, Minato had lost count of how many times he had wished, in his dreams, that his wife was not a Jinchuriki.
A Jinchuriki was the pillar of a village, but a Jinchuriki in labor was incredibly vulnerable. Her defenses were so low they might as well not exist.
If anyone were to target the Jinchuriki at that exact time, the consequences would be unimaginable.
But Minato was more worried about Kushina herself, and their unborn child.
What if something happened to them?
Minato shook his head sharply, as if trying to throw the thought away.
The possibility was slim.
Even Danzo, the Konoha elder who frequently clashed with him, understood how critical the Jinchuriki was. Surely no one in the village would be foolish enough to gamble with something like that.
Kushina would be fine.
"Teacher, everything in the village seems normal lately," Kenichi Amamiya said quietly.
He was assisting his teacher with an extraction. The experimental subject lying in front of them had already begun to turn pale at the neck.
The initial test cells had passed the rejection check in the host's body, but the real transplant still failed, and now the host was hovering on the edge of death.
"Hm."
Orochimaru wiped his hands and stopped what he was doing.
This particular consumable would definitely die.
Experience told him that. Years of experiments had sharpened his instincts.
It was not hard to imagine how much Danzo craved the First Hokage's cells.
Orochimaru knew very well that Danzo's goal was to master Hashirama's Wood Release.
Wood Release held an almost mythical reputation in Konoha, which was why Danzo had taken the one successful subject and was now nurturing it in secret.
Kenichi snuck a glance at his teacher.
Lately, Orochimaru had been smoking a lot.
Kenichi could clearly sense that a few cancer cells had already started to form in his teacher's lungs, but they were quickly wiped out.
Kenichi had no intention of targeting his teacher.
He understood very well that even if he actually succeeded in pushing Orochimaru into the terminal stage, the man could simply use his Reincarnation technique to switch bodies.
On top of that, he genuinely got along with his teacher at the moment.
"The more normal things look, the more abnormal they really are," Orochimaru said with a faint smile. "If I count the days, it should be soon."
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