Chapter 97: Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen: Master and Disciple Meet

The area in front of the main gate of Konohagakure was packed with people.

Sunlight spilled onto the crowd, refracted by thousands of Konoha Headbands, the light shimmering like ripples on water.

Konoha villagers and ninja gathered spontaneously, their faces filled with fervor, their eyes brimming with reverence and anticipation as they looked toward the gate of Konohagakure.

Because the hero who defeated the terrifying Fourth Raikage, forced Kumogakure to surrender, and handed over a massive war indemnity—Orochimaru—was coming back.

When the mighty procession appeared at the end of the road, the people's cheers erupted into the sky, rising and falling like a tide, shaking the leaves on the trees.

Orochimaru, dressed in a plain white robe, walked at the head of the procession.

The erupting cheers had no effect on him; he remained calm, a smile hanging at the corners of his mouth.

He was truly worthy of being called the Cold-Blooded Orochimaru.

Behind Orochimaru were squads of high-spirited, immensely proud Konoha ninja.

In just two short months, they had first faced the invading Cloud Ninja, suffering over fifty percent casualties without breaking.

Under the command of Yamanaka Chujiu, they thwarted the offensive of the Cloud Hidden Army and forced Kumogakure to initiate negotiations.

When the Cloud Ninja acted like rogues in Konohagakure, forcing the Hyuga Clan into a dead end.

Only four thousand strong, they followed Orochimaru on an expedition, traversing three thousand kilometers, striking into the Land of Lightning, capturing the Two-Tails jinchuriki, conquering Kumogakure, surrounding six thousand with four thousand at Thunder Canyon, and ultimately forcing the Fourth Raikage to surrender.

They had been baptized by blood and fire; their eyes were resolute, their momentum like a rainbow, every step they took was steady and powerful, and the scent of the battlefield's smoke still lingered on them.

They certainly had the reason and the qualification to be proud!

The convoy, protected by four thousand Konoha ninja, was filled with cash, gold, chakra metal, weapons and equipment, Explosive Tags, and rare ninja tools.

Almost everything of value from Kumogakure was here.

Yamanaka Chujiu was quite wicked; he secretly had the ninja open the crates, exposing the gold to the sunlight.

The golden luster was dazzling and mesmerizing, inciting even more fanatical cheers.

My goodness, this was the first time Konohagakure had ever seen a war indemnity.

That golden radiance was truly enchanting!

"Lord Orochimaru!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd instantly boiled over.

The ninja were so moved they had tears in their eyes, shouting Orochimaru's name at the top of their lungs.

"Long live Lord Orochimaru!"

"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru, for winning dignity for our Konoha!"

"Kumogakure went too far; Lord Orochimaru's actions were so satisfying!"

The discussions and cheers intertwined, resounding over the entire Konohagakure.

Although Orochimaru was cold, he had proven himself with his strength, won honor for Konoha, brought back wealth, and saved the fate of Konoha.

He was the hero of Konoha!

Especially for some of the older Konoha ninja, they cared even less about Orochimaru's cold and gloomy temperament.

No matter how gloomy Orochimaru was, could he be gloomier than the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama?

Yamanaka Chujiu habitually hid himself, but he was very satisfied with the reaction of the Konoha ninja, whispering, "Master Orochimaru, it seems the Konoha ninja are very satisfied with the victory."

The arc at the corners of Orochimaru's mouth widened, and a triumphant light flashed in his golden slit pupils: "We defeated Kumogakure and obtained a war indemnity; compared to the stifling frustration under Master Sarutobi, how could the Konoha ninja not be fanatical?"

"Hehehe, even if it's only for a moment, they worship me now, and that is very useful to us."

Yamanaka Chujiu nodded; he understood what Orochimaru meant.

The widespread worship of the Konoha ninja was the strongest capital in their hands, which could be used to counter the inevitable suppression from the Third Hokage and avoid the attrition of the four thousand core Konoha ninja.

"Master Orochimaru, I will transport the war indemnity to the Konoha warehouse; you go see the Third Hokage. I imagine he is already waiting anxiously at the Hokage Building."

Orochimaru nodded slightly: "Mm, go ahead."

"Remember to settle our Konoha ninja first; as for Master Sarutobi, leave him to me."

The procession slowly drove into Konohagakure, passing through the cheering crowd toward the Konoha warehouse.

More villagers lined the streets to welcome them, looking curiously at the convoy, eager to see what treasures were packed inside.

Under the command of Yamanaka Chujiu, the four thousand Konoha ninja methodically unloaded the crates from the vehicles.

Before transporting them to the warehouse, the Konoha ninja would open the crates to show the onlookers what was inside.

Whether it was gold or chakra metal, the ninja could recognize them and instantly calculate their value; the massive figures ignited even more fanatical cheers.

Looking at the mountain of wealth, the Konoha ninja responsible for registration were stunned, and the watching ninja and villagers were going crazy.

Such a massive amount of wealth was enough to compensate for the losses of Konoha's eight years of bitter fighting, make up for various expenses owed for years, rapidly restore the village's strength, and even raise it to a higher level.

In the future landscape of the Ninja World, Konohagakure would surely occupy a more advantageous position because of this.

While Yamanaka Chujiu was settling the war indemnity, Orochimaru walked alone toward the Hokage Building.

Along the way, Konoha ninja greeted him, expressing their respect.

Orochimaru only nodded slightly, without any smile on his face, because there was still a power struggle without smoke to be fought ahead.

The Konoha ninja did not think Orochimaru was being impolite; how could a strong person be impolite? This was coldness, this was style, this was the unique demeanor of the strong!

On the top floor of the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stood before the window, overlooking the boiling Konohagakure.

Smoke curled from the pipe in his hand, and complex emotions flickered in his eyes—there was appreciation and pride for his favorite student, as well as anger and wariness toward his defiance.

Sarutobi Hiruzen mistook his feelings for concern about the future direction of Konoha, but in reality, it was panic over the uncertainty of the Sarutobi Clan's future.

He understood Orochimaru too well.

This disciple was gifted and talented, yet also ambitious, craving power by any means necessary.

Two years ago, he had chosen to suppress him for this reason, turning instead to support Jiraiya's disciple, Namikaze Minato.

He had originally thought Orochimaru would be suppressed by the younger, more dazzling Minato and would never again threaten the power structure of Konohagakure.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen never imagined that the sidelined Namikaze Minato would die in the Nine-Tails Incident.

After the Fourth Hokage passed away, the Fourth Raikage actually restarted the war immediately, and Kirigakure joined in the fun as well; they had unexpectedly ignored him, the Third Hokage.

And what he could never have imagined was that Orochimaru had defeated the Fourth Raikage in a mere month, forced Kumogakure to submit, and even brought back war reparations.

This made him, Sarutobi Hiruzen, appear overly incompetent.

The fanaticism revealed by the cheers downstairs was a level of adoration he had never enjoyed.

Orochimaru replacing him to become the new Hokage was already unstoppable; it was only a matter of time.

"Lord Hokage, Lord Orochimaru has arrived."

The voice of an Anbu ninja came from outside the door, and there was even an irrepressible excitement in his voice!

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath, squeezed out a smile, and said, "Let him in."

The door was pushed open, Orochimaru walked in, and his gaze landed on Sarutobi Hiruzen.

He said in a flat tone, "Teacher Sarutobi, I have arrived."

The smile Sarutobi Hiruzen had squeezed out vanished.