All eyes turned to Orochimaru.
This was the decisive moment.
Yet instead of looking at Hiruzen… or Danzō…
Orochimaru turned his head—
And looked straight at Uchiha Jin.
The room froze.
The meaning of that glance was unmistakable.
It wasn't curiosity.
It wasn't coincidence.
It was consultation.
When did Orochimaru start seeking the Uchiha clan's opinion?
Danzō, who had remained steady until now, felt something unfamiliar coil in his chest.
Unease.
He had never worried about Orochimaru betraying him.
Their collaboration ran deep. Danzō held hard evidence linking Orochimaru to forbidden research. If Danzō fell, Orochimaru would not walk away clean.
As long as Orochimaru wasn't insane, he would never side with Hiruzen.
But why look at Jin?
This was supposed to be a duel between him and Hiruzen.
Why did an "observer" suddenly matter?
Danzō didn't yet know whether this shift was good or bad—
But the uncertainty alone was suffocating.
Across the hall, Jin spread his hands innocently.
"Why are you all looking at me? What does this have to do with me?"
His tone was light, almost amused.
Orochimaru understood immediately.
He gave a soft cough to draw attention.
"As for the Wood Release experiments," Orochimaru said calmly, "I merely followed orders."
"When the Third Hokage commanded the suspension of the project, I left the laboratory."
"As for Tenzo… yes, he was among the final sixty subjects."
"But to my knowledge, all sixty perished."
"I was unaware he survived."
"That is everything I know."
He closed his mouth.
No elaboration.
No embellishment.
He had followed Jin's silent instruction perfectly—
Do not assist either side.
Detach yourself.
And yet, by refusing to support Hiruzen, he had already indirectly helped Danzō.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed.
"Orochimaru… are you certain you ceased all cooperation with Shimura Danzō after the Wood Release project?"
"I am aware you have continued conducting… experiments… in secret over the years."
"Are you certain none of those were connected to Danzō?"
There it was.
Bare.
Blatant.
A threat.
No one knew Orochimaru better than Hiruzen.
His former favorite disciple had spent every spare moment buried in research laboratories.
Hiruzen wasn't blind. He had already identified several of Orochimaru's hidden facilities.
Unlike Danzō, who always guarded against him, Orochimaru never truly concealed his ambition from his teacher.
It was almost deliberate.
As if saying:
If you accept me, I stay.
If you reject me, I leave.
That was Hiruzen's interpretation, at least.
And now—
Those "loose ends" had become weapons.
The message was clear.
Either Orochimaru carries the blame himself—
Or he throws it onto Danzō.
After all, Danzō was used to bearing burdens.
What was one more?
Orochimaru frowned slightly.
The disappointment in his golden eyes deepened.
His teacher had chosen this path.
Chosen to force him.
In that instant—
The scale tipped.
The identity of "Konoha shinobi" had always been both protection and restraint.
Orochimaru had once wavered between attachment and departure.
But Hiruzen's coercion pushed him closer to severance.
Then—
The air changed.
A sharp killing intent burst from Orochimaru's body.
It was only a fraction—
But it was the aura of a Kage-level shinobi.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Several jōnin instinctively stiffened.
Was he really going to strike?
Right here?
"Oi, Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya immediately slung an arm around his shoulder, grinning nervously.
"Easy. Don't get worked up. Sensei didn't mean it like that."
"I'm worked up?"
Orochimaru blinked, as if waking from a trance.
He cast Hiruzen a cold, unreadable glance—
Then withdrew his killing intent entirely.
His eyes closed.
His posture relaxed.
As though ready to accept whatever judgment came.
Hiruzen's face darkened.
That look—
Orochimaru had meant to kill him.
If he pressed further, there was a real possibility his own disciple would turn on him.
Win or lose, such a public clash would turn him into a joke across Konoha—and perhaps the entire shinobi world.
Before the tension could suffocate the chamber—
Uchiha Jin spoke.
"I believe Sarutobi-sama has misunderstood something."
His voice was steady.
"Orochimaru-kun has indeed continued conducting experiments."
"But his collaborator was not Shimura Danzō."
"It was the Uchiha clan."
The room exploded.
"What?!"
"And to be clear," Jin continued evenly, "some of those experiments did involve human subjects."
The silence that followed was even heavier than before.
Hiruzen and Danzō both frowned.
They knew perfectly well—
Orochimaru's recent activities had nothing to do with the Uchiha.
Why was Jin dragging himself into this?
He was volunteering to stand in the blast zone.
Jin ignored their confusion.
"However," he continued calmly, "the subjects used were corpses of enemy shinobi recovered from the battlefield—particularly those with bloodline limits."
"Additionally, certain bandits and criminals."
"No villagers."
"No Konoha shinobi."
He paused.
"The purpose of these experiments was to treat a bloodline illness afflicting one of our clan's prodigies—Uchiha Itachi."
"We had no choice but to request Orochimaru-kun's assistance."
The murmuring softened.
Using enemy corpses?
Bandits?
That was… unpleasant.
But not unforgivable.
And many had indeed seen young Itachi present during the Battle of Kikyo Pass.
The pieces fit.
The tension eased—
But not entirely.
Because everyone could sense it.
Jin had not spoken merely to defend Orochimaru.
He was repositioning the board.
And no one yet understood the full shape of the move.
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