But the stronger Orochimaru's power grew, the more he saw through Konoha's darkness.
Hiruzen Sarutobi might someday choose a new Hokage—
but he would never choose someone with their own mind.
He would choose someone obedient.
Not someone like Orochimaru.
So, no matter how much Hiruzen praised him now, Orochimaru knew the truth.
The Hokage's seat would never belong to him.
"Indeed," Aoyama Ryuyun said with a knowing smile, "you're the only one in Konoha who truly sees this."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed.
He didn't expect such recognition from Ryuyun.
"Then… about our cooperation?" he asked softly, voice full of expectation.
Ryuyun didn't answer directly.
Instead, he brought up another matter.
"I recall there's a Sealing Technique known as the Living Corpse Reincarnation, isn't there?"
"Living Corpse Reincarnation?" Orochimaru repeated, puzzled at first.
But in the next moment, realization struck him.
His snake-like eyes lit up. "Could it be…?"
"Exactly." Ryuyun nodded. "It's a forbidden jutsu designed to grant immortality. But the Second Hokage died before it was ever completed."
Orochimaru's lips curved.
So that was it.
A half-finished forbidden jutsu—left behind by the genius Tobirama Senju himself.
"No problem at all," he said with quiet confidence.
"A half-finished product is fine. As long as it exists, I—Orochimaru—can perfect it."
Ryuyun smiled faintly.
He didn't doubt that confidence.
After all, in another path of history, Orochimaru would perfect that very technique.
"Then I congratulate you in advance, Orochimaru," he said lightly.
Orochimaru chuckled. "Before that, let's first help Lady Tsunade become Hokage."
Of course, he wasn't reckless.
The Sealing Techniques were Hokage-only secrets—Konoha's most tightly guarded heritage.
To access them, he needed the Hokage's authorization.
Hiruzen would never allow it.
But Tsunade… she was different.
"Then, to our cooperation," Ryuyun said, raising his cup.
"To our cooperation," Orochimaru echoed, smiling thinly.
The two men exchanged a glance and drank, sealing a partnership that could shake Konoha's foundations.
"Hey! Orochimaru! Ryuyun! You two are being unfair—drinking without the rest of us!"
Jiraiya, already tipsy, slammed his cup on the table and protested loudly.
Ryuyun and Orochimaru exchanged a silent look of amusement and said nothing.
Some things didn't need words between men like them.
Tsunade, meanwhile, was chatting happily with Kushina, the two women laughing softly over personal stories and gossip.
Then, after a glance at Minato, Orochimaru spoke again, voice dripping with quiet mischief.
"I seem to recall that Minato has successfully mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique."
The table went silent.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had tried to keep that fact secret,
nothing escaped the notice of someone like Orochimaru.
"Huh?" Minato scratched his head awkwardly. "Ah—it was… just a fluke!"
Jiraiya immediately slapped him on the shoulder, pride bursting from his grin.
"See? My disciple! He even mastered the Second Hokage's space-time jutsu! Brilliant, isn't he?"
But Tsunade's smile faded.
Her eyes hardened.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique… Grandpa Second's jutsu?"
Her tone was calm, but there was a chill in it that made Minato's stomach tighten.
Without the Senju clan's consent, Tobirama's personal techniques were not to be passed down lightly.
No matter who he was, to learn it without permission was—
"Lady Tsunade?" Minato called out nervously.
"Bang!"
The table cracked under Tsunade's fist.
Jiraiya sobered instantly. Minato's cup nearly flew from his hand.
"Are you trying to show off to me?" she snapped.
"You secretly learned Grandpa Second's jutsu—and you want me to congratulate you for it?"
In her eyes, it wasn't genius. It was theft.
And beneath her anger lay something deeper—shame.
The Senju had declined so far that even their own inheritance could no longer be protected.
"I—I'm sorry!" Minato said quickly, bowing his head.
He wasn't sure what he'd done wrong, but if Tsunade was this angry, he must have crossed a line.
Even Kushina, normally confident, didn't dare to interrupt.
"Tsunade…?" she asked softly.
Tsunade didn't respond. Her jaw trembled slightly, but her gaze was fixed on the floor.
"Calm down, Tsunade," Ryuyun said quietly, placing a steady hand on her shoulder.
He understood her pain better than anyone else here.
It wasn't just about the jutsu—it was about what the Senju clan had lost.
"Ryuyun…" Tsunade looked up at him, eyes clouded with emotion.
He smiled faintly, meeting her gaze. He wanted to tell her she was adorable when she was angry,
but now wasn't the time.
Orochimaru chose that moment to interject, voice low and deliberate.
"I've always heard about Minato Namikaze's talent, but I've never seen it myself."
He turned his head toward Aoyama Ryuyun with a thin smile.
"Ryuyun-kun, as his senior, why don't you test his strength?"
Minato's eyes widened slightly.
Even he could tell there was more to Orochimaru's tone than curiosity.
Ryuyun caught on immediately.
He knew exactly what Orochimaru was doing—offering him a perfect pretext to teach the "rat" a lesson.
"Teaching a junior is, of course, my duty," Ryuyun said, his tone light but edged with authority.
His sharp gaze fell on Minato Namikaze.
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