Chapter 81: Feng Ye and Orochimaru
Chapter 81: Feng Ye and Orochimaru
A moment later, within the Grass Country's frontline camp...
Orochimaru received instructions from Hiruzen Sarutobi and let out a chuckle as he turned to Feng Ye, "It seems that Professor Sarutobi has believed our explanation."
Feng Ye shrugged, "At less than eleven years old, it's understandable that my strength would raise suspicions about the source of my power. Thank you, Professor Orochimaru, for your help in clarifying and concealing it."
The information Orochimaru provided to Hiruzen mentioned a bloodline limit that enhanced speed but did not specify that it was related to the power of time.
Feng Ye didn't really mind exposing his time acceleration ability. The only power he needed to keep hidden was his ability to turn back time, as it allowed him to deal with almost any unexpected situation.
Orochimaru's deliberate concealment was a personal decision.
Feng Ye could guess why Orochimaru was hiding his ability. Perhaps Orochimaru didn't mind Hiruzen knowing, but he definitely didn't want Danzo to find out about it.
Orochimaru and Danzo had been secretly collaborating for a long time. Orochimaru probably knew that Danzo would do something if he found out about his ability, so he took precautions.
"Well, well, well," Orochimaru mused, "unless one has reached a certain level of understanding of the body, it would be difficult to directly associate your performance with the manipulation of time. While claiming it to be a speed-enhancing bloodline limit can serve as a cover, even if your ability is exposed, enemies won't be able to find a way to counter it. However, if certain individuals were to find out, it might lead to unnecessary trouble."
Orochimaru chuckled.
After spending so much time with Feng Ye, he knew that the boy's way of thinking was far beyond that of a typical child his age. Feng Ye was a cautious, mature, and rational ninja, so Orochimaru subtly hinted at certain things, confident that he would understand.
Hearing Orochimaru's words, Feng Ye sighed inwardly. If Orochimaru's actions were purely out of concern for his disciple and he had no ulterior motives regarding his bloodline limit, those words would have been truly touching.
Those few sentences couldn't have been more obvious.
In terms of dealing with opponents, there wasn't much difference between time acceleration and a bloodline limit that enhanced speed. They both resulted in changes in velocity, so if an enemy had a way to counter speed-type ninjas, they could also counter Feng Ye. Thus, whether or not this ability was exposed didn't make much of a difference.
The key issue was the unnecessary trouble that would arise from exposing this ability, and this trouble clearly referred to Danzo.
"Danzo has always shown a keen interest in me," Feng Ye said with a light laugh. "When I first displayed some of my talents, he tried to recruit me into the Root."
With his current strength and status, Feng Ye didn't feel the need to hide much from Orochimaru. He now had the capability to reach the village's highest power structure, and Orochimaru was currently an ally.
Orochimaru let out a 'hmph' and said, "Danzo has always been interested in the young genius ninjas of the village, but his primary concern is his own gain, and he doesn't care about any rules. If you had revealed your talents earlier, perhaps one of you or Kakashi would have fallen into his hands."
"I thought so too," Feng Ye shrugged. "He's probably still plotting something even now, but he's unlikely to make any rash moves during the war."
Orochimaru smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry too much about it. Hiruzen won't let him act recklessly, especially not against you at this point. However, the village's current system is a bit rotten and is in need of reform—if I were to become the Fourth Hokage."
He had no ties to Namikaze Minato, and in the future, when the two of them vied for the position of Fourth Hokage, he would undoubtedly side with Orochimaru.
From any perspective, Orochimaru was qualified to become the Fourth Hokage. During this period... and even during the upcoming Chunin Exams, Orochimaru still had feelings for Konoha. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had moist eyes when looking at Konoha during the attack on Hiruzen Sarutobi.
It was only after Hiruzen Sarutobi chose Namikaze Minato as the Fourth Hokage, and Orochimaru's disappointment in Konoha became absolute, that he started capturing Konoha ninjas for his experiments indiscriminately.
Moreover, Namikaze's methods were too soft.
In the original story, the reason Namikaze Minato became the Fourth Hokage had little to do with his achievements. The contributions Orochimaru made from the Second Great Ninja War to the Third were not much inferior to Namikaze's, and in terms of experience and qualifications, Orochimaru far surpassed him.
The reason Namikaze Minato became the Fourth Hokage was actually quite simple. Compared to Orochimaru, Namikaze was easier to control and did not pose a threat to the Konoha Elder Council's position.
If Orochimaru had become the Fourth Hokage, he would never have meekly handed over so much power to Danzo, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane. Instead, he would have systematically removed them one by one.
And this was precisely why...
The higher-ups in Konoha collectively supported Namikaze Minato.
At the end of the day, Konoha's system was already rotten, as could be clearly seen in how they handled incidents like the Uchiha Clan massacre later on.
Feng Ye didn't really want to leave Konoha because there were many people he was familiar with there. And since he didn't want to leave, his existence would definitely threaten the position of the Konoha higher-ups. He would either be marginalized or become the Hokage and clean up Konoha!
Becoming Orochimaru's disciple was an unexpected event.
Feng Ye's original plan was to become the Hokage himself, clean up Konoha, and then pass the position on to Kakashi so he could retire early.
'I wonder what it would have been like if Orochimaru had become the Fourth Hokage,' Feng Ye mused to himself, a slight smile playing on his lips.
On the one hand, he would have had to deal with the decrepit Elder Council, including Homura and Koharu. On the other hand, he would have had to handle Konoha's extremely busy political affairs and coordinate the relationships between the various clans.
With this huge pile of work, Orochimaru might not even have had time to research ninjutsu like Impure World Reincarnation and the Reanimation Technique. He might have just ended up serving as the Fourth Hokage until his retirement.
"Hehehe, with your support, I have a little more confidence," Orochimaru said, a slight curve lifting the corners of his mouth.
He was well aware of the challenges he would face in becoming the Hokage. The higher-ups in Konoha would likely collectively oppose him. The only favorable factor was that Jiraiya and Tsunade had no interest in the position of Hokage. However, Jiraiya's disciple, Namikaze Minato, was being groomed as the heir apparent.
Without sufficient influence and strength, his succession as the Fourth Hokage would entirely depend on Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision, and Hiruzen would have to fully support him for him to have any hope of ascending to the position. Even Hiruzen's neutrality wouldn't be enough.
Now, with Feng Ye's support, it was like having a powerful ally.
He finally had some real hope.
After all, Feng Ye's current strength and achievements in Konoha had already granted him a certain degree of authority and status.
(End of Chapter)
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