Facing the Third Hokage's question, Orochimaru shook his head and said slowly, as the other man watched in surprise, "If Nagato had come this time, he would have failed even faster."
Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, and his physical condition was perfected through transplant surgery, leading to a sky-high increase in his strength. However, to be precise, he was still a bit short of true Sage-level power, barely on par with the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
Against ordinary Kage-level threats, he would dominate completely, but if he were to fight against me, those awe-inspiring moves would basically pose no fatal threat.
Of course, if Nagato had another ten years of dedicated effort to cross that threshold, he might pose a fatal threat to me now.
Orochimaru hoped he would recognize himself and adopt this approach. The current ninja world could not afford much more internal conflict.
"..."
Hearing Orochimaru say this, the Third Hokage's anxiety over what Nagato had done in the Hidden Cloud Village eased slightly. But as reason reasserted itself, many doubts surfaced in his mind.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Orochimaru, frowning slightly, "What have you been doing lately? Your strength has increased so much?"
Nagato's strength was already beyond his reach, but for Orochimaru to have surpassed him by so much was almost unbelievable.
"I know what you're thinking, old man, but unfortunately, the method I used cannot be spread widely at present."
Orochimaru grinned and said, "There's only one Roran dragon vein in the ninja world, and I've already digested all of it."
"You truly are..."
The Third Hokage stopped speaking, put aside his previous thoughts, and his expression suddenly became serious. He said solemnly, "Since you are confident you can deal with Nagato, then Konoha must strike first. We absolutely cannot let the battlefield be in the village again."
The area of effect from battles between strong individuals is far too great. Just like the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara in the past, they directly altered a landscape.
That we avoided so much damage last time was purely by luck. If another fight were to break out, it absolutely must be outside the village.
But Orochimaru shook his head and said, "That's not important."
As soon as he said this, the Third Hokage's brows furrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "If this is not important, then what is?"
Even with his most prized disciple, the Third Hokage was somewhat displeased with his casual attitude.
"You want me to help you deal with Nagato, but what happens after that?"
Orochimaru's smile remained unchanged. "Although the Akatsuki organization is now opposed to Konoha, to be honest, the ninja world is still in a relatively peaceful state. What maintains this situation is us and the Akatsuki organization. But if one pole is lost, it will instantly lead to great chaos."
The Third Hokage could imagine the scene Orochimaru described, as he had personally witnessed the collapse of peace once in his youth. But... there was still a gap between the two. What the Third Hokage didn't understand was why Orochimaru was saying this now.
Facing the Third Hokage's confused gaze, Orochimaru said slowly, "External chaos may not be any better for Konoha than now... To put it plainly, old man, do you have any intention of ruling the entire ninja world?"
As he said this, Orochimaru's gaze was sharp, with a dazzling golden light flashing within it. Meeting such a gaze, the Third Hokage's heart pounded.
Not Konoha, not the Land of Fire... but the entire ninja world. The Third Hokage suddenly had a feeling that if his answer to his disciple at this moment were affirmative, then in the near future, the ninja world would be handed over to him.
Immense power, within reach, he had never been so close.
But before the Third Hokage's blood could boil, it had already cooled in his veins.
He was, after all, old...
The Third Hokage sighed in his heart. If it were thirty years ago, when his strength and energy were at their peak, and with the help of his old friend Danzo, he might have agreed without hesitation.
But he... was ultimately old.
Let alone the entire ninja world, even just making Konoha Village stand tall was already a struggle.
However, even though he could not achieve this himself, it did not mean anything. Such old guys were meant to be phased out.
Sensing the expectant gaze from the Third Hokage, Orochimaru shook his head without hesitation and laughed, "Neither the position of Hokage nor the ruler of the entire ninja world is my goal."
Stepping to the threshold of eternal life, Orochimaru was not satisfied. Instead, he became increasingly aware of the hardships and allure of the path ahead. In comparison, vanity and power were just empty illusions.
"You guy..." The Third Hokage's expression was very complex.
Minato was dead, and none of the younger generation had grown up in the village. Among the existing strong individuals, Jiraiya, Tsunade... were not suited to be Hokage. Even Danzo was more suitable than them.
The position of Hokage was already difficult to determine, let alone the position of a leader of the ninja world.
Konoha was, after all, just a military organization that trained talents for war. If the goal was to manage the entire ninja world, neither the quality nor the quantity of personnel would be sufficient.
At this moment, the Third Hokage also understood Orochimaru's feelings from before. There were simply too few usable talents.
If the ninja world were a chessboard, they would be the pieces stabilizing each node. Without them, even if the ninja world were forcibly controlled, it would only lead to all contradictions being suppressed internally.
Yet, even so, the Third Hokage's consideration was still to defeat the Akatsuki organization. A chaotic ninja world would help Konoha expand and consume slowly.
"Old man, do you know why the core members of the Akatsuki organization are so hostile towards Konoha?"
Before the Third Hokage could speak, Orochimaru answered himself, "The First Hokage's might was unparalleled in the ninja world, but in the end, he only established a ninja village and did not rule the entire ninja world. There are many reasons that can be listed for this..."
"Things like 'you can't get fat with one bite,' the Senju and other ninja clans lacked sufficient capability, and forced unification would only lead to division..."
"But these youngsters couldn't think of this, or they thought of it but needed to vent their negative emotions... so they resented Konoha, which drew a lot of attention."
Orochimaru licked his lips. "A chaotic ninja world will only amplify this destructive desire. Last time, a monster like Nagato was born, what will appear next?"
"Don't forget, the Akatsuki organization now also possesses body enhancement surgery. This, in a sense, can give people limitless possibilities..."
"Want to take a gamble?"
The soft voice reached his ears. The Third Hokage couldn't help but shiver. At the beginning, he had known that the so-called body enhancement surgery was a path of chaos, but it was too late to say these things now.
"That's why I suggest that until Konoha has enough capability, we maintain a state of military standoff with the Akatsuki organization for the time being."
Orochimaru said earnestly, "This would be a good thing for the ninja world and for Konoha."
The comprehensive deduction made above was logical, but it actually had a premise: I, who had already attained immortality, would not interfere. So, to be honest, it was just a lie to fool the old man.
Orochimaru did not want to completely control the ninja world either. Wasn't centralized power appealing? But as he explained to the Third Hokage earlier, he did not have enough pieces.
Rather than obtaining a physically weak giant, it was more advantageous to have several sub-healthy small figures for now.
"As for the leader of the Akatsuki organization, Nagato..."
Orochimaru licked his lips and smiled, "The village doesn't need to act. I will dispel his desire to attack next."
Since achieving a complete transformation, he hadn't experienced a proper battle. Nagato was clearly the best whetstone in the ninja world right now, allowing him to see his own improvements clearly.
Hearing Orochimaru say this, the Third Hokage could only nod.
H e should have been happy to have such an outstanding disciple. But as the Shadow of Konoha Village, he couldn't help but ponder what kind of person the Fifth Hokage should be, so as not to fall out with Orochimaru after he retired from the position of Hokage.
A Kage-level powerhouse's influence on the village was already undeniable. And with strength reaching the level of the First Hokage, it could even influence the overall development direction of the village.
The Third Hokage decided to seriously consider this matter.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
After receiving the Third Hokage's permission, an Anbu ninja stepped in, bowed to both of them, and reported, "Sir, when the priestess Shion of the Land of Demons was purifying the Box of Paradise, a strange thing ran out from it."
"Oh?" A hint of solemnity flashed in the Third Hokage's eyes. "What are the details?"
The Box of Paradise was a tool for creating 'enlightenment,' and no one in Konoha took it lightly. That's why after the Kappa incident, Orochimaru left the young priestess behind, hoping to use her to gain insight.
But in the current situation, it might have the opposite effect.
The Anbu ninja looked troubled. "It seems to be some kind of ghost... it's difficult to describe. None of the ninjas present could discern its origin..."
The Third Hokage pondered for a moment and turned his gaze to Orochimaru, who also had a look of curiosity on his face. He smiled and said, "Very well, I'll go take a look."
...
The sun blazed fiercely, and even the summer wind carried a heavy heat.
Orochimaru followed the Anbu ninja who was leading the way to the shaded side of the Sealing Squad building, his gaze falling on the foreign object surrounding the little girl, his eyes flickering slightly.
The sunlight today was very harsh, with a clear dividing line between light and shadow on the ground. Stepping across it allowed one to feel the weight of solar energy within.
Light has power.
But unlike the searing heat of sunlight, the light emanating from the foreign object around Priestess Shion had no offensive power. He could even feel a gentle touch within it.
"This is that monster."
The Anbu ninja explained, "Today, as usual, we asked this priestess to purify the evil spirits within the Box of Paradise, but this thing suddenly came out of it."
Orochimaru nodded slightly. He ignored Priestess Shion and her worried and flustered guards, and first went to investigate the Box of Paradise.
This thing was carved with ferocious beast faces of a bull, sheep, dog, and monkey on its four sides, and its origin was most likely related to the Sage of Six Paths. Genie Lamp had even speculated that this thing might have existed as a substitute for the Tailed Beasts in the past, carrying the negative emotions of humans tempered in the Pure Land.
This speculation had some merit, but it was just speculation, lacking proper evidence. However, it was an objective fact that it carried a massive amount of negative emotions.
Orochimaru's gaze fell on the sheep-shaped beast face. He keenly sensed the changes within and nodded to himself, "It was indeed the right choice to have this little priestess purify the Box of Paradise back then."
"Orochimaru-sama, did you discover any problems?"
The speaker was not the Anbu ninja, but Shion's guard, Ashiho. Entrusted by the priestess of the Land of Demons, he dared not be careless about Shion's safety.
"The evil spirits within the Box of Paradise have diminished greatly. The priestess's purification ability is indeed very valuable..."
Orochimaru smiled. "As for the thing on the little girl, it's unlikely to have any negative effects. I'll give you a specific explanation after I investigate."
"Then I'll trouble you." Ashiho felt a little relieved and bowed deeply.
He had been somewhat apprehensive about speaking up so rashly before, given Orochimaru's notorious reputation. He hadn't expected him to be so easy to talk to, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of goodwill.
In fact, the previous Orochimaru would never have given such an impression.
But after a complete transformation from the inside out, his bloody and chilling aura had been completely washed away, replaced by a touch of warmth from solar energy. It was much easier to gain others' favor with this kind of demeanor.
However, Orochimaru didn't care about such things. His gaze turned to Priestess Shion. She, sensing something, panicked and took several steps back.
This reaction was quite amusing to Orochimaru, so he went directly to the young girl and asked, "Why are you backing away? What did you see?"
"...A snake, you have so many White Snakes on you..."
Priestess Shion shrunk her neck, looking timid, and that transparent, ghost-like mist retreated behind her.
"Interesting."
Orochimaru extended one hand in front of the child, no longer suppressing the corrosive effect of the White Snake-like natural energy, and smiled, "The snake you saw, is it this one?"
"Ah..."
The little girl let out a shriek and stumbled while retreating, almost tripping over a stone. Fortunately, a hand appeared out of thin air to help her maintain her balance.
"So timid."
Orochimaru extended his other hand further in front of the little girl and smiled, "Just like purifying the evil spirits in the Box of Paradise, can you purify these snakes?"
"...Yes." Shion nodded cautiously, and a white light suddenly emanated from her palm.
Under the illumination of that light, Orochimaru immediately felt the characteristics of the White Snake slowly receding. However, compared to his own digestive speed, it was really unsatisfactory.
But Orochimaru was not disappointed by this, instead showing a smile of finding a treasure.
After all, he himself was at the Sage level, and it was only with the pressure of his rank that he could achieve this much. How could the priestess's technique achieve this?
"Little priestess, would you be willing to teach me how to perform your technique?"
Orochimaru looked at the timid little girl in front of him and grinned, "Of course, I won't take your technique for nothing."
As he spoke, he flipped his hand and took out a paper cut of a human figure, then injected natural energy into the incantation. Instantly, a strong wind began to blow.