Orochimaru's true colors had not changed; he remained as efficient and cold-blooded as ever.
This was also the reason Uchiha Jin sent him over. After all, given the decay and darkness of the Old Konoha Higher-ups, and in a situation where he could not appear in person, Orochimaru was the most suitable commander to handle this mess—bar none!
Even Minato Namikaze wouldn't really be up to the task.
Even though he was a former Hokage and held the moral high ground, his heart wasn't ruthless enough. When turning his fists inward, he would be weak, hesitant, and reluctant to shed blood easily. Therefore, when facing cold-blooded power-mongers like Hiruzen Sarutobi, he would naturally be at an inherent disadvantage.
Of course, Senju Tobirama would also have been suitable!
However, he had died too early. Although he had gained a rough understanding of these people's pasts during the trial of Hiruzen and the others, he wasn't a firsthand witness, so he didn't fully grasp the political ecosystem of that time.
Furthermore, since he was in an Edo Tensei body, it would be easy for Hiruzen Sarutobi to frame him as being controlled by someone else.
Therefore, after considering the big picture, Uchiha Jin chose Orochimaru!
And he paired him with Minato Namikaze to soothe the various Ninja Clan of Konoha afterwards.
Yes! As long as the Ninja Clan were appeased, that was enough; the Civilians and their ilk were not important.
After all, this was a world where might made right, so as long as the Ninja Clan remained stable, Konoha wouldn't fall into major chaos.
Kakashi was essentially an add-on!
Considering that in the later period of Hiruzen Sarutobi's administration, Kakashi's peers were considered the elite of Konoha, and Kakashi held high prestige among this group, his primary mission was to stabilize these people.
Especially—Might Guy!
This was the reason Uchiha Jin chose these three, but Uchiha Jin had clearly underestimated Shisui.
During the standoff with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others, Shisui's failure to proactively demand the Mangekyo caused the influence of the Konoha Higher-ups to decline further. His venting interrogation also made the Kakashi here sense that something was wrong, and he immediately held Might Guy back.
Meanwhile, on the other side, as Orochimaru spoke, Minato Namikaze also slowly began to speak.
"Hmm, I agree!"
"The order the Hokage gave us before coming here was to stabilize Konoha in the shortest possible time and avoid causing too many casualties to Konoha."
"Since everyone has no objections, let's call Itachi back secretly and prepare to act immediately."
Clearly, unlike Shisui who came first, Minato, Orochimaru, and Kakashi, who arrived later, had been spoken to in detail by Uchiha Jin because they had more time.
Therefore, compared to Shisui who was being pushed along by events, these three powerhouses who arrived in the second batch appeared much more organized than him.
Regarding this, Shisui naturally had no objections and immediately used his Summoning Jutsu!
Although this wasn't his own world, because the Shisui here was already dead, and furthermore, Shisui's Chakra, Dōjutsu Power, and even soul fluctuations were indistinguishable from the Shisui here.
Therefore, the crow, which was the summoning creature of the Shisui here, was still directly summoned by him.
Shisui activated his Sharingan and cast a genjutsu on the crow, and then the crow cawed and flew away.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the area outside the Sarutobi clan grounds had already been surrounded by the Uchiha Radical Faction.
Itachi was crouching on a utility pole. Although his face was calm, he was extremely worried in his heart, constantly looking towards the direction of the Uchiha.
"That mysterious Obito, Danzo's Root, Hiruzen Sarutobi's Anbu."
"Shisui... Can you really handle this?"
He remained worried in his heart.
There was no helping it! Although Shisui was an older brother he trusted, he didn't have much confidence in him.
But just at this moment, a crow landed on his shoulder.
"Shisui-ge's crow?" Uchiha Itachi was stunned for a moment.
Subsequently, when he saw the traces of a Sharingan genjutsu in the crow's eyes, a genjutsu enveloped him.
Feeling the faint fluctuations of the genjutsu, Itachi knew this was a message being relayed.
He did not resist. Once he fell into the genjutsu, he heard Shisui's voice.
It briefly explained the results of tonight's standoff, and then asked Itachi to use a Shadow Clone to stay here, while his true self should secretly rush back to Shisui's home as soon as possible.
"This result is actually not bad!"
"But why call me back at this time?"
"After all, the clan hasn't moved back to the original clan grounds yet, and temporarily lacks the ability to threaten the Konoha Higher-ups."
"However... it is indeed Shisui-ge's Dōjutsu Power, and it is indeed Shisui-ge's crow."
"Oh well, I'll go back and see!"
Having figured this out, Uchiha Itachi immediately avoided the other Radical Faction clansmen, created a Shadow Clone, and quietly left.
Ten minutes later, when Itachi pushed open the door to Shisui's home and saw the people inside clearly, he was stunned.
Orochimaru? Why would this S-rank Rogue Ninja of Konoha be here?
And... the Fourth Hokage? Another Kakashi?
However, thinking of what Shisui had said earlier, he almost instantly realized that these were people from another world.
Following that, after Shisui explained the plan to strike at the Root, Itachi just nodded and then said: "I have no objections to this plan, but there is one thing I really can't figure out. I can understand why Shisui and Uchiha Jin are willing to help the Uchiha, but why are you, Lord Orochimaru and Lord Minato, willing to help the Uchiha?"
Regarding this, Shisui was a bit bewildered and couldn't help but speak: "Uchiha Jin is the Hokage!"
"Lord Minato and Lord Orochimaru naturally have to listen to the arrangements of the Hokage-sama."
However, Minato Namikaze heard the underlying meaning and immediately said directly: "I, like myself here, also died on the Nine-Tails Attack Night, but Lord Jin has mastered the true technique of resurrection."
"As long as I complete missions, I can earn points, and once I gather enough points, I can obtain the qualification for resurrection."
"I want to resurrect myself and Kushina, so of course I need to complete as many missions as possible!"
"There is also a second point, which is also an important one."
"In the future, there is a terrifying enemy. Even though Lord Jin has already awakened the Rinnegan and even killed the legendary Six Paths Sage, he still isn't confident in confronting that future enemy."
"Therefore, helping you is also helping us!"
"If you stabilize earlier here and start improving your combat power sooner, then when we encounter the enemy on our side, you will be able to help out."
"Itachi, a reminder."
"The worlds on both sides are the same; the great enemy we are about to face on our side also exists on your side..."
"So this is a relationship of mutual support, therefore you don't need to worry too much, Itachi!"
Clearly, Minato Namikaze heard Itachi's underlying concerns, so he immediately gave his explanation.
Of course... this was something approved by Uchiha Jin, this Hokage.
The reason was simple! Because there were many smart people in this world, and many smart people naturally understood the principle that "those who show courtesy for no reason have hidden motives."
Therefore, it was better to shape a common enemy from the very beginning!
Moreover, this enemy actually existed.
For Uchiha Jin himself, apart from the fact that he wanted to obtain Luck, which absolutely could not be told to anyone, he could tell everyone else about everything else.