What the hell is making games in the Ninja World?

In a way, this period of Orochimaru was quite naïve, and history proved that his hopes were ultimately in vain.

When the Third Great Ninja War began, Sarutobi Hiruzen not only failed to support Orochimaru's research but also redirected all the funds to the war effort, completely overlooking the importance of research to warfare, and his mindset remained stuck in the traditional Warring States period.

This extreme conservatism and traditional thinking caused Orochimaru's dissatisfaction to completely explode, leading him to eventually join Danzo's Root.

The relationship between Sarutobi Hiruzen and Orochimaru was a classic case of differing philosophies, going in separate directions. Sarutobi was probably deeply disappointed, feeling that the disciple he had trusted had betrayed him.

This might also be why, when it came time to choose the Fourth Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen fully supported his grandstudent, Minato Namikaze, rather than his once-proud disciple, Orochimaru.

Of course, that was the 'history' from the original storyline. Now, with Uchiha Kai's promises and financial backing, Orochimaru simply wanted to say, "Who is Danzo? We don't know each other, and please don't look for me. I don't want Kai to misunderstand."

Though it was a bit of a pity that he couldn't study Hashirama's cells, compared to a vast library, Hashirama's cells didn't hold much appeal anymore.

Late at night, after Uchiha Kai left, someone else arrived at Orochimaru's house.

A masked Root ninja came to Orochimaru's window and spoke in a calm, commanding tone, "Orochimaru, Lord Danzo wants to see you."

Orochimaru only gave a cold smile and told the ninja to leave.

Well, before, he had only complained, but now he was turning that complaint into action.

Orochimaru wasn't afraid of offending Shimura Danzo, that old man. Before he aligned with Danzo, he was a proud member of the Hokage faction, the Third Hokage's most treasured disciple, and many had seen him as the number one candidate to succeed the Fourth Hokage.

Such an Orochimaru, should he show respect and call Danzo "Lord"? No, he could just call him "old man" if he felt like it.

Would this old man really dare to make a move against him?

Did he really think the Third Hokage's indulgence was limitless?

The Root ninja, unprepared for such a response, was clearly displeased and immediately threatened Orochimaru.

So, a few seconds later, the Root ninjas returned to Danzo, bruised and limping, their masks shattered.

When Danzo heard about Orochimaru's response, he fell into a rage. 

It seemed that, because he had been so furious recently, his aging body couldn't take it anymore. He suddenly suffered from high blood pressure, nearly collapsing on the spot.

In the end, his loyal Root ninjas rushed to bring him some medicine to lower his blood pressure, saving the old man from disaster.

After all the stress, Danzo seemed to age ten years in an instant. He was now in a state of weakness and realized that his body was no longer what it used to be.

"I can't take this anymore. I need to start researching Hashirama's Cells right away. Otherwise, my body won't last many more years."

"I still need to continue protecting Konoha, and I must contribute to Konoha, I cannot fall now."

"Yes, I cannot fall now. The Uchiha clan, born with evil in their blood, is becoming more and more arrogant, while Hiruzen is becoming increasingly weak, endlessly compromising with the Uchiha clan."

"At this rate, one day Konoha will be controlled by the Uchiha clan, and Hiruzen will regret it, but by then, he won't be able to do anything. Only I can protect Konoha!"

Muttering to himself, as if performing self-hypnosis, Danzo's previously worn-out demeanor suddenly became more spirited.

"Orochimaru, that bastard, is no longer reliable. After meeting with Uchiha Kai, he directly defected to their side. I once thought Orochimaru and I were similar, that he could be my right-hand man, but now I see, Hiruzen's disciples are still his disciples, full of compromise and weakness from the very core. I must find someone else to handle the research on Hashirama's cells."

As he spoke, Danzo instructed his subordinates to bring him the information on the Konoha ninja with the required research abilities, carefully sifting through it.

Soon, a ninja named Hiruko was marked by Danzo.

"His strength is not impressive, and his research talents are not as good as Orochimaru's, but he's much better than others in Konoha. Someone like him, though lacking in strength, will be easy for me to control, unlike Orochimaru, who was beyond my grasp. Very well, he'll do."

Thus, Hiruko's fate was rewritten just before he planned to defect, driven by his jealousy of the Sannin and feeling unappreciated. 

However, this rewrite seemed to lead him down a tragic path. 

Hiruko, who had secretly been researching forbidden jutsu, believed his secret had been exposed when Root ninja came for him, and he immediately prepared to fight them.

Unfortunately, he overestimated his own strength. As a ninja who would still be defeated by a "Konoha Chunin" in one strike in future, he was easily suppressed by the Root ninja, and his secrets were soon exposed.

Upon learning of the situation, Danzo couldn't help but praise, "This Hiruko is a perfect fit for Root, a talented individual. To waste him would be a crime. And with his research on forbidden jutsu, I can easily control him."

As a result, in the end, Danzo placed a bunch of seals on Hiruko, turning him into a research "dog" with no freedom and no pay.

All of this was done in just one night and was kept quite hidden, fully showcasing the Root's professionalism and secrecy when dealing with low-ranking ninjas with no background or support.

When the sun rose the next day, everything in Konoha seemed as usual, as if nothing had happened.

Of course, it wasn't that nothing had happened. Since Danzo knew that Uchiha Kai went to find Orochimaru, the Third Hokage definitely knew as well.

But due to his trust in his disciple and his favorable opinion of Uchiha Kai, the Third Hokage did not actively investigate the matter. 

He believed that if the two were planning something, they would definitely inform him.

As always, before the betrayal by his good disciple Orochimaru and his best friend Danzo, the Third Hokage was the most firm believer in Konoha's bonds and the Will of Fire. 

After all, he said it every day, and he had even brainwashed himself into believing it.

However, this time, Orochimaru and Uchiha Kai did not disappoint Sarutobi Hiruzen. 

While they could not tell him about the mental network world and the large library, creating a high-end laboratory was definitely something they couldn't hide.

So, the next day, Uchiha Kai handed the investment plan to the Third Hokage, and they proceeded to fund Orochimaru under their names, just as planned.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen received the plan, he frowned. After all, research was something that this old-fashioned and conservative Hokage strongly resisted.

Originally, the Third Hokage wasn't like this. After all, his teacher was a research fanatic. How could he have been conservative about research from the start?

The key point is that he once worked with his close friend, Shimura Danzo, to research Hashirama's Cells, following the data left by Senju Tobirama. This led to a series of tragic incidents.

This can be considered a serious research accident, which left a heavy psychological scar on Sarutobi Hiruzen, making him extremely conservative about research.

So now, when he sees that research is going to be conducted again, and that they want to build a top-tier laboratory, Sarutobi feels both mentally and physically resistant.

However, when Sarutobi sees the first research goal written under the project plan, he hesitates for a moment and starts to think that maybe research isn't so bad after all.

Because the first research goal listed there is a side-effect-free aphrodisiac.

**********

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