"Oh, right. This is a gift from Minato."
After finishing the discussion about Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Ren took out a scroll from his pouch and handed it to Orochimaru.
Inside the storage scroll were the bodies of various kekkei genkai shinobi and secret technique users that Ren had asked Namikaze Minato to collect from the Iwagakure and Kumogakure battlefields.
It was also the kind of thing most capable of igniting Orochimaru's interest.
"How embarrassing… you shouldn't have."
Orochimaru's eyes shone with excitement. Though he spoke politely, his body wasted no time reaching out to grab the scroll.
"I'll personally thank Minato later."
"We're all on the same side here. There's no need to be so formal," Ren said with a smile, waving his hand dismissively.
Then he seemed to recall something.
"Oh right. Why didn't you attend the jōnin meeting this afternoon? The Third Hokage was furious about that."
Orochimaru's eyes flickered slightly, and his tone carried a hint of disdain.
"It was nothing more than a stage for the old man to display his political maneuvering. Attending a meeting with no real significance would have been a waste of time."
Although he hadn't attended the meeting, Orochimaru had learned about its contents almost immediately.
With his connections inside Konoha, gathering such information wasn't difficult.
Ren shrugged slightly.
"It's not entirely meaningless. At the very least, he's no longer Hokage—he's now the Third Hokage."
"And the Fourth Hokage election has officially begun."
"At the moment, there are only a few people truly qualified to compete."
"Jiraiya and Tsunade have no interest in the position. Shimura Danzō has ambition but lacks the strength to secure it."
"So the most popular candidates are basically just you and Minato."
"What do you think?"
Orochimaru chuckled softly.
"Didn't you already say that the Hokage seat and I are destined to miss each other? If that's the case, does what I think really matter?"
Since Orochimaru already knew the details of the afternoon meeting, he also knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi had deliberately seated Minato at the seat of honor on his right.
If Orochimaru had once still harbored a faint hope toward his teacher…
That hope had now completely vanished.
Ren shook his head slightly.
"Whether you win the election is one thing."
"But whether you choose to run is another."
Orochimaru frowned.
"You want to use me to elevate Minato's prestige?"
If he entered the race knowing he would lose, he would only serve as Minato's foil—a stepping stone for Minato's rise.
Orochimaru didn't particularly care about reputation.
But campaigning for Hokage would take time.
And right now, time was the one thing he didn't have.
He already had more research materials than he could process, and now there was also Uchiha Itachi.
He barely had time to eat or sleep.
Why would he waste time on meaningless politics?
"No," Ren said, shaking his head.
"Minato does lack political foundation, so he does need an opponent to solidify his prestige."
"But that opponent shouldn't be you."
Orochimaru's interest was piqued.
"Then who do you think it should be, Ren -kun?"
Ren spoke slowly, emphasizing every word.
"Shimura Danzō."
Orochimaru blinked in surprise.
Then he shook his head.
"Impossible. Danzō doesn't have even the slightest chance. Otherwise he wouldn't have bet everything on supporting me before."
"He understands this himself."
"So he wouldn't do something so thankless."
Ren smiled faintly.
"Times are different now."
"With the current chaos, there's no way Danzō isn't tempted."
"The only reason he's restraining himself is because he knows this isn't his best opportunity."
"But if we create an opportunity for him…"
"He won't be able to sit still."
"An opportunity?"
Orochimaru thought for a moment but couldn't figure out what Ren meant.
Eventually he shrugged.
"Forget it. Just tell me what you want me to do."
Orochimaru didn't want to waste time.
Since he owed Ren a favor, helping him with a few things wasn't a problem.
Ren smiled.
"This afternoon, the Third Hokage clearly expressed his support for Minato."
"By now, the entrance to Minato's home is probably being trampled by representatives of every major clan in Konoha."
"So imagine this scenario."
"If Minato suddenly has a public falling-out with several major clans of Konoha—such as the Uchiha clan and the Hyūga clan…"
"Do you think Danzō would be tempted?"
Orochimaru shook his head.
"Minato's foundation is already weak. His rise depends largely on the old man's support."
"If he falls out with several of Konoha's major clans, even with Hiruzen backing him, his position would become unstable."
"And if someone challenges him at that moment…"
"It's hard to say who would win."
He paused and looked at Ren .
"Your Uchiha clan is easy—you could simply pretend to fall out with him."
"But what about the other clans?"
"If this backfires, the losses could be enormous."
Orochimaru shook his head.
He understood Ren 's plan now.
But the risk was enormous.
Ren smiled meaningfully.
"If we randomly target other clans, then yes—the risk would be huge."
"But if the clans involved are our own allies…"
"That's a different story."
Orochimaru froze for a moment before realizing something.
"You mean the Hyūga clan is also…?"
Ren said nothing.
But his calm expression answered everything.
Orochimaru laughed softly.
"It seems you've been doing quite a lot under the old man's nose."
"So tell me—what exactly do you need me to do?"
Ren replied,
"You only need to fully support Shimura Danzō at the critical moment."
"With your backing, Danzō will finally have the confidence to act."
He paused before adding,
"Of course, you can also use the opportunity to demand some benefits from Danzō."
"I'm sure I don't need to teach you how to do that."
Orochimaru licked his lips.
"Hehe… Danzō happens to possess quite a few things that interest me."
"I should thank you for giving me this opportunity."
"It's mutual benefit," Ren replied.
Then he seemed to remember something.
"Oh, right."
"Your main collaboration with Danzō should be the research on Hashirama's cells, correct?"
"I'm not a researcher, but I can give you a piece of information."
"The Sharingan can suppress the invasive nature of Hashirama's cells."
"And at the same time, Hashirama's cells can actually enhance the Sharingan."
"You might be able to approach Itachi's bloodline disease from that angle."
"Is that so?"
Orochimaru slowly turned to look at Itachi, licking his lips greedily.
"In that case… I'll have to experiment thoroughly."
Itachi: "..."
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