[Idk mannnn, felt like an inside job to me.]
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*tk tk tk tk*
The rain was loud.
Sixteen year old Orochimaru crouched on the roof beam waiting, and below him his high profile target sat reading by a lamplight, a local official who had been selling village supplies and intelligence to rivals and enemies.
A spy.
Since the village wanted him dead, he would die, just like that.
Orochimaru's hand rested on his cold kunai, but he did not move right away.
By now, Orochimaru had done many things. Some of them he regretted, some of them not.
He thought about a man he had killed three days ago, a merchant convicted of trading secrets too just like this one he is about to kill.
When that man fell, his eyes stayed open and his lips moved like he wanted to speak, but nothing came out. Blood spread from his neck across the floor and pooled in the cracks between the boards.
Then he was dead.
'I wonder, why people break so easily?' Orochimaru thought, and that was not a new realization because he had known it since he was a child watching his parents die on some 'battlefield.' Which happened to be his hometown in the past.
He had seen many bodies since then, some with kunai through their throats, some torn apart by explosions, some just lying there quietly like they were sleeping, and... they never woke up.
Even back then as a child, he wondered why people disappear so easily, why a person who was laughing and breathing one moment could be nothing but meat the next?
He has asked his Sensei that question many times, he answered, but he still wasn't quite convinced.
Hiruzen told him stories about men and animals, snakes and how it sheds its skin and is reborn, but looking at all those bodies, Orochimaru thought that those were just stories for children, as in, Hiruzen trying his best to answer him.
In the real world when people died they were gone... forever.
Blood stopped flowing and bodies grew cold and then they were buried in the earth and after a few years nobody even remembered their faces. That was the truth of it.
He looked down at the man below and calculated that if he dropped right now and cut his throat, the man would be dead in ten or fifteen seconds at most.
Consciousness fades first, then the body gives out, then nothing.
Ten seconds.
A person's whole life with all its months and days and breaths and heartbeats, all reduced to ten seconds of confusion and then silence. So what was that life worth? What made it valuable in the first place?
Orochimaru thought about the village's orders and how they always said this person deserves to die, this one is a traitor, that one's existence harms the village, as if having a reason made killing reasonable. But who gave the village that right? Who gave anyone that right? One person deciding whether another lives or dies, was that not arrogance of the highest order?
He pressed his fingertips against the kunai's edge and the blade bit into his skin just enough to hurt, and he watched the man below stretch his arms and yawn, completely unaware that he was being watched, and unaware that his last moments were ticking away.
'Look at you. Tell me, what is your worth if your life was never yours to dictate and lead?' Orochimaru thought coldly.
This man was still breathing and still thinking and still making plans for tomorrow, but tomorrow would never come because his time has come.
And the one who decided that was Orochimaru, a sixteen year old boy following orders he did not fully understand, even after many years being an active Shinobi.
He remembered what his teacher used to say, that ninjas exist to protect the village and their comrades, but looking at the blood on his own hands, those words felt distant and hollow, like an echo in an empty room.
War and missions like this had shown him too much death, comrades dying in front of him, enemies falling to his blade, innocent people caught in stray attacks. Death was everywhere and it had become ordinary, so ordinary that Orochimaru found he no longer felt sad about it. Not because he was cold, just numb, like a wound that had been touched so many times it no longer hurt.
But if death was so common and so easy, then what was the point of living at all?
He asked himself, what makes someone evil? and he looked at the official below who had stolen from the village, but did that make him evil enough to die? And what about Orochimaru himself, who had killed more people than he could count, did that make him evil?
He thought about targets like an old woman he had killed sometime ago, a target he knew nothing about, he just followed orders, but he remembered her face because she had looked at him with surprise rather than fear, like she could not believe this was actually happening to her. He remembered the way her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, and he remembered the wet sound her throat made when the blade went in. He had wondered then, and he wondered now, whether she had been a bad person or a good one, whether she had children who would miss her, whether she had been laughing just an hour before.
Can a person justify murder intellectually?
He told himself they deserved it and he told himself it was for the village and he told himself he was just following orders, but none of those reasons made the killings feel right, they just made them feel explainable, and explaining something was not the same as justifying it. He knew the difference even if he could not put it into words. He knew that deep down he was making excuses because the truth was too ugly to face.
The truth was that he killed because he was told to kill and because he was good at it, and because somewhere along the way he had stopped caring whether it was right or wrong.
He wondered what happens to the human mind after crossing a moral boundary, and he thought about how he felt now compared to years ago.
Years ago killing made him sick, he would vomit after missions and lie awake at night seeing faces, but now he felt nothing. Worse than nothing, he felt empty like something inside him had broken or gone missing.
He could not even remember what it felt like to care about the people he killed. He could not remember the last time he prayed for them or thought about them after the mission was over. They came and they went and he did not even bother to learn their names most of the time.
That previous merchant he killed days ago, the man with the open eyes and the moving lips. What was he trying to say? Was he asking why or begging for mercy or cursing his killer, and Orochimaru realized he would never know because he had not waited to find out. He had just walked away and let the man die alone on the floor.
He looked at his own hands which were steady and that was the scary part because his hands did not shake anymore when he killed and his heart did not race, he just did it and moved on like it was nothing. But it was not nothing, he knew that, it was everything, it was the entire existence of another human being snuffed out in a moment, and he was treating it like swatting a fly.
He asked himself whether that made him a monster and he did not have an answer, but he also asked himself whether monsters worried about being monsters, and that thought made him even more confused.
The man below stood up and walked to the window and opened it, and cold air rushed in carrying the smell of wet earth and rain, and the man took a deep breath and stared out into the dark night.
Orochimaru watched his back and realized that the reason he kept asking all these questions was because he was afraid, not of getting caught or of punishment, but of death itself.
He was afraid that one day he would end up like all those others, eyes open and mouth hanging wide, unable to speak another word, and he did not want to become that, but was killing other people the way to avoid it?
Did taking lives make his own more valuable or did it just make him the same as everyone else? Someone who would eventually stop breathing and be forgotten.
He tightened his grip on the kunai.
He did not know if killing was right or wrong anymore, he did not know if he was a good person or a bad one, he did not know if any of it mattered at all.
All he knew was that the man below had to die because the village said so, and Orochimaru was going to kill him because that was his job.
*Swoosh!*
He dropped and the kunai cut through the man's throat, and the man did not even have time to make a sound, his body went limp and blood mixed with rain and flowed into the dark corners of the room.
Orochimaru stood there looking down at the corpse and counted ten seconds in his head, and then he turned and walked into the rain.
The water hit his face and it was cold, and he raised a hand to wipe it away.
He was sixteen and he had killed many people and he knew he would kill many more, but he also knew that every kill left something behind, a small crack in whatever held him together, and he was not sure how many cracks he could take before he fell apart entirely.
He walked through the rain alone and he kept asking himself the same questions.
He had no answers and he suspected he never would.
*tp tp tp tp.*
He reached the edge of the town and stopped under a large tree, and he wiped his kunai on his wet sleeve and watched the blood wash away in the downpour.
He was not sad and he was not angry, he was just tired.
He leaned his head back against the trunk and closed his eyes with the rain kept falling, and he stayed there for a long time, alone with his questions and his silence and the weight of everything he had done.
When he finally opened his eyes again he started walking back towards Konoha bcause there was nowhere else to go and nothing else to do, and he knew that tomorrow there would be another name on a list and another life to take.
All for some Ryo and a praise from his Sensei.
That was his life now, a string of deaths and questions and rain, and he could not see any way out of it, so he just kept walking.
"What a miserable existence." He muttered.
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*Step step step.*
By the time Orochimaru reached Konoha, the weather went back being sunny.
He reported the mission details to the Hokage and left the tower.
Now, Orochimaru stood in front of the door of his house, about to go inside.
*Swoosh.*
Just before opened the door, a chubby ninja appeared behind him and bowed a little in respect.
"Orochimaru-sama!"
"Why are you here Akimichi-san?" Orochimaru asked with little interest.
"Orochimaru-sama, I have come because Garou-sama wants to see you and is waiting in his office for you." The Akimichi replied.
If he wasn't interested, now this picked his interest.
"And the reason?" Orochimaru asked.
"I don't know Orochimaru-sama, I was only told to invite you to Garou-sama's office, nothing more."
Orochimaru looked at the chubby man for a few moments before he nodded slowly.
"Tell him I will be there in a short moment." Orochimaru replied and the Akimichi nodded then shunshined away.
"Garou wants to meet me? What could it be? He always kept his distance from Jiraiya and... me especially for some reason, so why the interest now?" Orochimaru muttered to himself as he went inside his house and prepared to shower.
Then he licked his lips for some reason.
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______________
"You see, little by little. They will push the Uchihas to the back. And before you know it, you will get accused of causing a rebellion!"
"..."
"You can already feel it, right? Dissatisfaction of the people towards the Uchihas. Do you think that's natural?"
"..."
"I mean, think about it. You are just doing your job, arresting people for bullshit they have done. And then those people will start causing scenes like screaming their lungs out how the Uchiha Police are treating them harshly... in front of all that people."
"..."
"Negativity is like a virus. You surround yourself with negative people, and then, before you know it, you become one of them."
"..."
"I call those people... bitchs."
".... ...."
"And these bitchs, create more bitchs. The usual stuff they do is to always complain, cry, and bitching around how every single problem is because of a specific group of random shit."
"And now, the first generation of these bitchs are actually people picked by some hands in the shadows to spread a specific propaganda about some shit regarding some other shit for some batshit agenda."
"Do you think Tobirama just gave you that authority because he loves you guys so much and have high value in his eyes?"
"Wrong! You guys simply killed his brother back in the day when they were kids. Do you think that fucker would let that slide? And then he gave you an authority that will eventually make everyone hate you."
"Hate is a two way virus. You are nice, then encounter someone who hates you for no reason, you try to ignore but that hateful fucker has already spread the disease, now everyone hates you for no solid reason."
"Guess what happens? Now you too hate those that hate you. Shit intensifies, and little by little, you feel like you don't belong. And, because everybody hates you, for the 'safety' of all, the elites will force you to move somewhere else, or restrict your movements and everything."
"Guess what happens again? First you lose any possibility to have an Uchiha Hokage. Second, conservatives and radicals of your clan will demand retaliation, which is just rebellion against the monkey and the cyclops."
"..."
"And after that? Good luck fighting against everyone."
"But–"
"And you will get annihilated and massacred... for the greater good. Children and women? Bitch, you guys are ninjas, so you should now better than to expect remorse and mercy from your kind."
Across from me, Inazumi Uchiha sat in a cushioned chair, his posture perfect. He wore the traditional Uchiha crest on his dark blue kimono, and his long black hair was tied back in a ponytail.
He was looking speechless. Garou was talking too much.
We had been talking for almost half an hour.
To be honest, I was planning to have some Uchihas working as heroes soon. So I was scaring the shit out of him by saying some verified meta bullshit, and little by little, get him on my side completely.
"I don't know, maybe some insane fucker from your own clan gets entangled with Hiruzen and Danzo, brainwashed, get overpowered for no reason, then start killing cute Uchiha babies, you understand what I am saying?" I said as I looked at my nails while thinking about Itachi severing babys' heads, which made me mad for a single second before calming down.
It's absolutely crazy! Fucking babies and you do what?!
I can't let that bastard be born or live. The twerp was already a psychopath at 3.
"I... understand." No he didn't, but the Uchiha-man still listened attentively.
"No no, I am serious. You already know about the will of flames fire or some shit going around in the ninja academy basically saying to suck Hiruzen's ass for the greater good, right? Now what happens if some Uchiha kid or any other person from this village gets influenced by it?" Now, that actually made sense to the Uchiha-man.
"That's... concerning."
"Right? I actually suggest you don't send anyone to the ninja academy again. I will support and got your sorry asses if something happened and got criticised for it, don't worry." I said as I looked at the stern looking man.
Maybe it's not time to tell him that I want some Uchihas to work for me as Heroes until he agrees to what I and the Nara clan head arranged.
The Nara clan head already knows of what I am planning, called me insane then shrugged and told me that if the Damiyo agreed, then he will give some Naras to work as Heroes or take care of the association.
As a matter of fact, I wanted Yuji to become Heaven's Feel CEO but then changed my mind and now want him to take care of the Hero Association in the future.
An association needs a good head on its shoulders.
Dai will be the muscle, the brand, and Yuji will be the Brains.
"I will listen to your advice Hatake-san." The Uchiha-man said nonchalantly, but was becoming more impatient by the second.
"Excellent! In this day an age, we should stick together and serv– I mean, help each other out, right?" I said as I looked at the Uchiha man with a grin.
*Knock Knock!*
At that moment, we heard a knock on the door.
"Come in dude."
And the middle aged Nara clan head came inside tiredly much to the relief of the Uchiha-man.
"Sighhhh, Inazumi-san, I didn't expect you would take Garou's words in the meeting seriously." Shokaku said, much more informal than when he was in the meeting.
With years dealing with Garou, they have become closer and didn't mind how they addressed each other.
*Nod.*
Inazumi nodded calmly with arms crossed, his posture straight. "We all know how it has been lately in Konoha, and I would rather be with Garou-san's faction than with those snakes. I would be stupid if I didn't take this opportunity so my clan could prosper like yours." He said coldly and bluntly.
Inazumi already knew about Garou's personality. Garou hated deception. And that was how the Uchihas liked it since they were strong and hated deception too.
The strong doesn't need deception and politics to prove anything.
Politics are for the weak and for those who want to act like the strong.
Larpers.
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Shokaku sat down in a chair opposite to Inazumi. Both of them in front of Garou's desk.
The Nara head leaned forward and placed a scroll on the small table in front of Inazumi. "One percent of Heaven's Feel, that's what the Hatakes offering your clan."
Inazumi's expression didn't change, but I noticed the slight shift in his posture as he showed some interest. "And what would you expect in return for such a generous offer?"
1 percent of Heaven's Feel at this moment was big money. All of Uchiha clan's monthly revenue with everything and dealings included amounted to only 1 million Ryo. ( 100 thousand dollars. )
While 1 percent of Heaven's feel could generate 50 million Ryo or more in only one month, which is absurd. ( 5 million dollars. )
And the value of Heaven's Feel is on the rise. One or two years later, that 1 percent could generate 100 million Ryo or much more if we put to account the unreasonable rise of Heaven's Feel.
And let's not forget the privileges the Uchihas will have just because they are shareholders. They can finally ease their relationships with the Damiyo and many businesses men from GMA, and nobles.
"We expect several things," Shokaku said, "First, we want preferential protection for all Heaven's Feel properties within Konoha. Any incidents like theft, vandalism, harassment, we want them investigated and resolved quickly by the Uchiha police force with no delays, no excuses, and no bureaucratic matters."
Inazumi nodded slowly. "That can be arranged. The police force is under my clan's control, and we have the authority to prioritize certain cases, that will be easy."
"Good, second, since you will become a shareholder, you without a question will be like announcing your political alignment in this village. So normally, all of your actions from now on besides your own personal and clan gains will be to strengthen our own foundation and political landscape in this village and outside of it. So, we expect a certain degree of loyalty. If you don't contribute or try to do something behind our backs, Garou and all other shareholders hold enough power to take back everything we gave you." Shokaku said this one carefully as he lazily looked at the expression of Inazumi, while I just looked at the ceiling absentmindedly.
Inazumi's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're asking us to spy on the village leadership for you and, silently betray the village that we besides the Senjus created?"
Before Shokaku answered, I said "Betray what? Your village? Dude, you should speak in the past tense. It WAS your village. But now after your strongest, Madara Uchiha, abandoned it, and not a single speck of chance now and in the future where there will be an Uchiha as a Hokage... tell me, do you still think this is your village?" I mockingly looked him much to his dissatisfaction.
"..." Inazumi kept quite.
"Anbus and Root are a great threat to everyone who isn't part of Danzo and Hiruzen's little party. Konoha is already taken over by the Shimuras and Sarutobis, they aren't yours or Senju's, deal with it. The moment Mito dies, expect total disaster for both of your clans." I said ominously and became quiet.
Inazumi looked at me briefly, contemplating at what I said for moments before he nodded his head in resignation because what Garou said was... true. No need to act like a fool. He wouldn't be this desperate to get to Garou's faction without already knowing what's happening and will soon happen.
Since the moment their clan leader Madara Uchiha left, their clan has been on the decline with all others being distrustful of them because of what Madara did using the nine tails.
It was only a matter of time that extreme discrimination towards them will bloom.
"From now on, the Uchiha clan are your best allies." Inazumi said with narrowed eyes and part resignation.
Garou leaned back in his chair as he heard that, "Good."
"Since you have agreed, then we want your Uchihas help vetting new employees and business partners from now on. We are expanding our operations simply everywhere in the land of fire in an extremely fast rate, and we need to make sure we are not bringing in people who have hidden agendas or are working for our enemies. Your Sharingan can detect deception, and we want that skill applied to anyone who gets close"
"Easy. I have enough ninjas to cover all of Konoha territories and more if I spread them out." Inazumi proudly said.
I and Shokaku got pleased at that because at this point in time, we lacked employees with combat experience. Especially people that could manipulate minds with a single glance.
"If possible, we want your Sharingan users available for high-value operations. Tracking targets, eliminating threats, reconnaissance. We want the Uchiha to provide a small team of operatives who can handle these tasks when we need them. And of course, the operatives won't work for free, they will be paid for every single contribution they do." Shokaku said.
"That is acceptable. As a matter of fact, that's perfect! One of the things I envied the Ino-shika-cho was that, their ninjas did missions without going to Hiruzen and were treated much better with many privileges." Inazumi's eyes lit up. "It would reduce our dependence on the village and give us many more options."
"Since it would give you a stake in the business's success, it also means you would have a reason to protect our interests, not just out of obligation, but out of self-interest. The Ino-shika-cho, the Uchihas, GMA, and the Damiyo. We are literally making each other stronger. With you and essentially the Senjus here, many other clans can't do much except for begging to be in our faction."
After that, Inazumi's eyes met mine, and for a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he extended his hand.
Without much pretense, I shook his hand with a smirk.
"You won't regret this. If it comes to it, I will make sure to give the Hokage seat to the Uchihas with my voting power. But I have better plans for the Uchihas, a Hokage seat is too small for this big clan of yours." I said much to the surprise of Inazumi who only nodded, but both me and Shokaku could see his eyes lit up in excitement at the prospect of an Uchiha Hokage.
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Inazumi adjusted his kimono as he signed some documents and copies of the contracts, then slowly stood up. "I will assign a liaison to work with you Shokaku-san. He will be a trusted member of my clan, someone with experience in intelligence and operations. You can expect to meet him within the week."
Inazumi then turned around to leave, but before he left, I opened my mouth and said with narrowed eyes as some Hado leaked out which made the room feel more oppressive, "Don't make me regret this Inazumi. If I find out that your people are working against me, I won't hesitate to cut ties and find other allies. And I won't be nice about it."
Inazumi's expression remained calm, "I understand, Hatake-san. The Uchiha clan does not forget its allies, and we do not betray our partners. We take pride in our strength, but more pride in treating our allies with the respect they deserve. Our long history is a proof of that."
"..."
He left.
The Uchiha were now my allies.
It was a risky move, but it was also necessary. I needed their power, and their protection. And in exchange, I gave them something they desperately wanted... wealth and political power.
"Sighhh, my work is done here. I am leaving." Shokaku stood up without bothering to take permission and left... to take a nap probably.
The room became quiet.
I slowly stood up too and went to the window and looked down at my district filled to the brim with people laughing, eating, and working.
I looked at the distant rooftops that's slowly changing and renovated courtesy to me buying every possible land and rebuilding everything for my projects.
"You smell disgusting. Come out Orochimaru before I hand your ass to you." I said with irritation and disgust.
"Hehehehe what a surprise Garou-kun."
The End.
[Sorry for late chap. Too lazy.]