Chapter 129: Everyone Has Started Moving

Yamanaka Chujiu asked: "Teacher Orochimaru, if you dare to let go, I, your student, really dare to remodel Konoha according to my own ideas and establish a brand-new Ninja World."

Orochimaru glanced at Yamanaka Chujiu, a light of approval flashing in his eyes.

His tone softened a little: "Chujiu, you are my last disciple, and also my most capable assistant in experiments and war; you must understand me very well after all these years."

"I, Orochimaru, am not interested in power, nor do I particularly care about Konohagakure. It was you who reminded me to fight for this position of Hokage; if I fail again, I will inevitably be expelled from Konohagakure and will no longer be able to enjoy the abundant resources of Konoha to supply my experiments."

"Therefore, when I become Hokage, if you are willing to take on the responsibility, that would be the best thing."

"You want to remodel Konohagakure, I support it; you want to control the Ninja World, I can give you the best resources to make you the most powerful ninja in the Ninja World, so as to avoid being assassinated by some trash."

"As long as you can ensure my experiments are not disturbed, that is enough."

Yamanaka Chujiu bowed and saluted, his eyes full of determination: "This student understands, and will never fail Teacher Orochimaru's expectation of free experimentation."

At this moment, he was truly filled with gratitude toward Orochimaru.

In Yamanaka Chujiu's heart, Orochimaru was not only a teacher, but also his best political partner and comrade-in-arms.

As long as he himself was not corrupted by power, he would absolutely never betray Orochimaru.

Orochimaru nodded with satisfaction, looking toward the west again, toward the direction of Konoha, the desire in his eyes growing more intense.

There lay his laboratory, a full set of experimental equipment, the Two-Tails jinchuriki, and many, many interrupted experiments waiting for him.

Orochimaru knew even better that on his way back to Konohagakure, there were assassination plots against him and attempts to win over and turn his disciples against him.

Orochimaru did not care about any of this; the only thing that made him feel uncomfortable was that his most respected teacher, Hiruzen, had actually agreed to the assassination attempt against him.

The last shred of attachment remaining in Konohagakure had just been severed like this.

If it weren't for the fact that Jiraiya and Tsunade had feelings for Konohagakure, and if it weren't for the fact that Yamanaka Chujiu still had ideas for Konohagakure, Orochimaru did not know what crazy things he might do.

Inside Konohagakure, the public opinion guidance by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had already begun.

The ninjas of the four great clans and the administrative ninjas were all mobilized.

They gave speeches on street corners and posted posters, promoting the achievements of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen.

For example, guarding Konoha for twenty years, never letting foreign enemies invade Konohagakure, maintaining peace in the Ninja World, and cultivating countless excellent Konoha Ninja, making him the "strongest Hokage in history."

At the same time, they spread rumors, saying that Orochimaru had launched an expedition without authorization and had no regard for the authority of the Hokage; although he had occupied the Land of Water by relying on good luck, his ambition would inevitably destroy Konoha's traditions and plunge Konoha into an abyss of no return.

Besides this, they also secretly met with the heads of the ninja clans, demanding that they keep their clansmen in check, not be deceived by Orochimaru's war exploits, and stand firm in their support for the Third Hokage.

But the unremitting efforts of the two did not achieve the expected results, and public opinion within Konohagakure was polarized.

The villagers and young ninjas who worshipped Orochimaru scoffed at the propaganda of the Konoha Elders; if a war couldn't be won, it couldn't be won, and no matter how much was said, it was useless.

Lord Third Hokage was great, but after he became Hokage, he hadn't even killed a single Shadow-level Ninja, so why should he be called the "strongest Hokage in history"?

The thoughts of young people were just that simple and direct.

If Lord Third Hokage had great merits, then let him make the Five Great Ninja Villages admit defeat and pay compensation!

If Lord Third Hokage had great strength, then he should go and defeat or kill the Third Tsuchikage!

Surely Lord Third Hokage's achievements couldn't only exist in the village's documents and on the mouths of the Sarutobi Clan ninjas, right?

But those older ninjas and clan heads who occupied Konoha's vast resources began to waver.

Many worried about Orochimaru's ambition and one after another supported the Third Hokage, opposing Orochimaru's bid for the Hokage position.

The number of these people was not large, but the power they held was immense, suppressing the young Konoha Ninja and causing the situation in Konohagakure to stabilize rapidly.

And Danzo's actions also yielded results.

The Third Tsuchikage Onoki of Iwagakure and the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure both received invitations to jointly surround and kill Orochimaru.

The Fourth Kazekage stated: I am very busy, I know nothing.

Onoki, however, took out a sum of money and hired the Akatsuki organization to do the job.

The Akatsuki organization had just accepted thousands of Mist Ninja, and hearing that it was an ambush on Orochimaru, the enthusiasm of these rogue ninjas was instantly maxed out.

Thus, Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and the Akatsuki organization joined forces to form a joint army composed of Kirigakure Rogue Ninja and Konoha Root ninjas, setting up an encirclement in the Land of Fire, preparing to surround and kill Orochimaru.

At the same time, the Root ninjas sent by Danzo to contact Yamanaka Chujiu had also arrived in the Land of Water.

They sneaked into Kirigakure silently and quietly found Yamanaka Chujiu while he was alone.

But these ninjas didn't say a word before their eyes suddenly turned dull, and then they said respectfully: "Master, we were sent by Danzo."

Yamanaka Chujiu's Thought Threads were even more powerful; it took less than 0.1 seconds to turn the completely brainwashed Root ninjas into his Living Puppets.

So, regarding the encirclement and killing of Orochimaru, as long as Root ninjas were involved, it was hard to say who was surrounding and killing whom.

Since they were all Yamanaka Chujiu's puppets, the Root ninjas followed their master's will and sent the false intelligence back to Konoha that Chujiu had decided to betray Orochimaru and defect to the Third Hokage.

Shimura Danzo received the news and felt slightly dissatisfied in his heart; why wasn't he defecting to him instead?

But he couldn't spare the time to think too much for the moment, instead relaying the good news to Hiruzen, giving the Konoha F4 a great sense of reassurance.

Hiruzen made up his mind completely, mobilizing the ninjas of the Sarutobi Clan and handing them over to Danzo to strengthen the ninja force for surrounding and killing Orochimaru.

Shimura Danzo left, filled with pride and satisfaction, carrying the Third Hokage's order; he believed he would definitely be able to eliminate Orochimaru and was one step closer to his Hokage dream.

And inside the Hokage Building, after Hiruzen sent Danzo away, he dispatched Root ninjas carrying his own handwritten letter to summon Orochimaru back to Konohagakure.

At this moment, he believed Orochimaru was a dead man, his wariness toward this disciple vanished completely, and guilt and pain resurfaced, occupying his soul.

He closed his eyes, pressed his palms together, and prayed devoutly for Orochimaru, Yamanaka Chujiu, and himself.

Hiruzen knew that he had betrayed Orochimaru and had also forced Yamanaka Chujiu to betray Orochimaru, completely destroying the moral bottom line he had believed in his whole life.

No, it was yet another bottom line.

After all, the breaking of a moral bottom line only had the difference between zero times and countless times.

But Hiruzen was truly in pain, and could only use prayer to numb himself, hoping he could adapt to the moral pain brought by betrayal as soon as possible.

Soon, Orochimaru received the Third Hokage's order and immediately announced his departure in a high-profile manner, taking Yamanaka Chujiu and a dozen trusted ninjas with him as he set foot on the road back to Konohagakure.