Chapter 2: Naruto, Not Even a Dog Would Be Hokage!

Orochimaru was filled with deep emotion; he knew his teacher had become corrupt and weak.

But he had not expected that one day, Sarutobi Hiruzen would be unable to clear his name.

This was just too ironic.

Orochimaru soon stopped caring; he had never wanted to be Hokage in the first place, only wishing to quietly research science.

Yamanaka Chujiu handed the scroll filled with corpses to Orochimaru, and Orochimaru unsealed the corpses one by one to check their quality.

The corpses were in excellent condition, so he very satisfiedly resealed them, then took out a scroll filled with cash and handed it to Yamanaka Chujiu.

Chujiu unsealed it without any hesitation and counted the banknotes right in front of him.

The money for the corpses was not his alone; he had to share the profits with the Konoha Ninja who helped clear the ruins, pay tribute to the responsible Jonin, and hand over a cut to Hiruzen's Hokage Office. This book is first published on TianTianKanXiaoShuo, 𝒕𝒕𝒌𝒔. 𝒕𝒘, providing you with an error-free and non-disordered reading experience.

If it were even a little short, he would have to pay out of his own pocket, even the money he made from selling intelligence.

Watching Yamanaka Chujiu seriously counting the money, Orochimaru suddenly spoke up: "Chujiu, do you want to be my student?"

Yamanaka Chujiu: "Huh?"

Orochimaru explained with rare patience: "I see that you have excellent talent, and you are also very gifted in scientific research; you are more suitable to be my student than Anko."

"Being my student, you can learn my Ninjutsu and knowledge, and it can also help you become the Fifth Hokage."

Yamanaka Chujiu could sense that beneath Orochimaru's calm emotions lay wind and thunder, and at the same time, it was filled with sincerity and expectation, without the slightest hint of deception.

Orochimaru really wanted to take him as a student!

It must be said, Yamanaka Chujiu was deeply tempted.

Not for the sake of being Hokage; he had never thought about becoming Hokage.

What was so good about being Hokage? You have to look after the livelihood of Konohagakure, protect the Konoha Ninja, go to the battlefield to fight the four Kage, and even risk your life against super-strong monsters like the Nine-Tails.

Even if the Third Hokage never left the village, he still couldn't stop the Grass Ninja Village from attacking directly, let alone stop Uchiha Obito from sneaking into the village to unleash the Nine-Tails.

What was even more disgusting was that the Hokage had to worry about every trivial matter; the Seventh Hokage could split into hundreds of Shadow Clone Jutsu and still not get a moment of peace, tired like a dog.

Hokage, not even a dog would do it!

What tempted Yamanaka Chujiu was Orochimaru's knowledge; although it looked very sinister, he really could achieve immortality.

Even the Monkey King would ask before learning: "Can one attain immortality?"

Yamanaka Chujiu also wanted immortality.

The path to immortality he was currently walking was one he had blazed himself; it was too dangerous, too precarious, had no precedent, and had no guarantees whatsoever.

Orochimaru's path of Living Corpse Reincarnation had been verified in the future—a path to immortality where no matter how you killed him, he wouldn't die.

Therefore, Yamanaka Chujiu was tempted.

But he still had concerns, very significant concerns.

Becoming Orochimaru's student had benefits, but also huge risks.

Once the Third Hokage restored his rule, Orochimaru would become an S-rank missing-nin; could a missing-nin's student have a good ending?

Yes, Anko was doing very well.

That was because Anko was upright and open; could he, Yamanaka Chujiu, withstand an investigation?

He would only be able to defect along with him.

Outside Konohagakure, there were head-hunters like Kakuzu, super-model monsters like Nagato, and even Orochimaru himself was battered and bruised; wouldn't he be even more miserable?

Yamanaka Chujiu helplessly demurred: "Lord Orochimaru, I truly want to be your student, but I am afraid..."

Orochimaru sneered, not directed at Yamanaka Chujiu, but feeling that he was not being looked upon favorably because of the rejection.

Yamanaka Chujiu did not look upon him favorably; Orochimaru could not help but believe it.

He took his own uncertain future as a premise, reverse-engineered the reasons leading to this result, and then matched them one by one with the reality of the situation.

Soon, Orochimaru understood why Chujiu had refused.

The Third Hokage's restoration would inevitably be questioned, and it could not be suppressed by administrative means; in the end, he would have to create a more shocking scandal to divert the attention of everyone in Konohagakure.

There was no scandal more suitable, or more capable of helping Sarutobi Hiruzen bear the pressure of public opinion, than Orochimaru conducting human experiments.

Orochimaru had outstanding military achievements, a resounding reputation, and a deep love for researching Ninjutsu; there was no need to frame him—everyone would believe he would conduct human experiments.

Ruining Orochimaru's reputation would not only divert the villagers' attention but also eliminate the final competitor.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen was the only one left in Konohagakure suitable to be Hokage, his restoration would not be the greed of an ambitious man, but an old Hokage having no choice but to save the situation in a crisis.

At that time, how could the villagers still condemn the Third Hokage?

Sarutobi Hiruzen was the "strongest Hokage in history"; he was sixty years old and still had to carry Konohagakure on his shoulders—could his restoration even be considered a problem?

Everyone would have to piously be grateful to the old man!

As for how this sole candidate was left...

That is none of your business!

As for whether Sarutobi Hiruzen would go from bad to worse afterward, cutting flesh from the ninja and villagers...

That is also none of your business!

Orochimaru's heart went cold, and he said indifferently: "You could still have become my apprentice before I changed my mind; now, get out."

Yamanaka Chujiu nodded: "You got it! Lord Orochimaru, I'm rolling out right now!"

And then he nimbly exited the laboratory.

Humming an off-key tune and carrying the scroll filled with money on his back, Yamanaka Chujiu strolled over to the community where the civilian ninja lived.

Just as he approached, several children spotted him and rushed over, cheering.

"Big Sister Chujiu is here!"

Chujiu was furious: "You are not allowed to call me Big Sister!"

The children: "But you are a big sister!"

Chujiu was hopping mad:

"Do you think I want to look like this?"

"All of you, call me Brother Chujiu!"

"Otherwise, I won't give you any more candies!"

"Brother-Sister Chujiu!"

"Ah~~~ I'm so mad!"

A furious Yamanaka Chujiu still handed out the candies to the little ones, coaxing the children to go play elsewhere.

He complained to the girl who remained behind: "Kazamatsuri Harume, you aren't going to call me sister too, are you?"

Kazamatsuri Harume laughed: "Brother Chujiu, you really are too beautiful; you truly do look like a sister."

(↑↑Chujiu, who has the appearance of a girl despite being a boy↑↑)

Yamanaka Chujiu could only sigh helplessly; as the younger brother of Yamanaka Inoichi, it was truly exasperating that he shared the exact same face as the newborn Ino.

Short-haired Chujiu was merely delicate-looking, but the problem was that after crawling through the mud on the battlefield with no time to tend to his hair, he had inadvertently grown a head of beautiful hair, and the situation became completely different.

More than one comrade had said: "I really want to poison you until you're mute."

There were even comrades who had been turned gay who said: "Chujiu, as long as it's you, I don't care about gender."

At the time, Yamanaka Chujiu was so angry his lungs felt like they would explode, and he wanted nothing more than to smash those guys' heads in, but now it had become his deepest memory.

The comrades who once said these things to him had all fallen into the cold, muddy waters of the Land of Rain and could never joke with him again.

Thinking of his fallen comrades, Yamanaka Chujiu couldn't help but sigh inwardly, yet a brilliant smile bloomed on his face as he reached out to ruffle Kazamatsuri Harume's hair.

The little girl was stunned: "Brother... Sister Chujiu, you are even more beautiful when you smile..."

Yamanaka Chujiu: "... Fine, I won't smile then."