"I don't need three days. I can give you a plan right now."
"As expected of my closest friend—always quick-witted."
Ignoring Jiraiya's half-hearted compliment, Orochimaru didn't keep them guessing and continued, "Everyone knows that Otsutsuki Toneri was able to evolve the Byakugan into the Tenseigan.
My initial idea is simple: we inject Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's genes into people and see if the Byakugan can evolve.
If that doesn't work, we'll head to the moon and harvest some of Toneri's body tissue.
We can use his genes to trigger the evolution ourselves.
Just think about it—when Momoshiki and Kinshiki arrive in the Shinobi World, they'll be facing you… with Tenseigan eyes.
You won't have to keep 'hiding' behind the First Hokage and others every time something big happens."
Everyone present, except for the still-immature Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, were elite shinobi.
Whether it was during the Pain crisis or the Fourth Great Ninja War in the alternate timeline, many of them hadn't even qualified to join the battlefield—just so they wouldn't hold others back.
After all, even reviving someone costs money.
As elite shinobi, they wanted to change this fate.
Take Asuma, for example.
He was the son of the Third Hokage, but ever since the light screen appeared, he hadn't been able to take part in any major events.
It left him feeling completely useless.
His strength was only so-so.
Even if he asked Orochimaru to inject him with various kekkei genkai genes, at best he'd reach Kage level—and even then, a weak Kage level.
How could he possibly be satisfied with that?
If Orochimaru could truly give him a pair of Tenseigan, and let him fight instead of being a spectator every time—then yes, he would absolutely support Orochimaru.
And Asuma wasn't alone.
Others like Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara felt the same way.
They didn't want to keep hiding behind the First Hokage and the others anymore.
They wanted to step onto the battlefield themselves.
"Orochimaru, your method sounds plausible in theory," Tsunade said.
"But have you considered whether the Hyuga clan will even agree to let you experiment on the Byakugan?"
Orochimaru gave a sinister smile.
"Tsunade, do you really think the Hyuga clan would dare oppose something that everyone else supports?
Think back to what that old man did all those years ago.
Trust me—they definitely won't want to go through that again."
"Cough, cough~"
The Third Hokage heard Orochimaru's words hit a little too close to home, and he quickly let out two embarrassed coughs, reminding Orochimaru that he was still present.
"True."
At the thought of those past events, Tsunade's expression darkened.
The same sour look appeared on Minato Namikaze's face.
Back then, he had only recently become the Fourth Hokage and wielded little real power, so he spent his time trying to win over both the Hyūga and Uchiha clans.
In the end, both clans agreed to join forces with Namikaze.
But who could have foreseen that Namikaze would be taken out so swiftly?
The Uchiha were still feared by the village after the Nine-Tails incident, which presented the Hyūga clan—a clan also eager to produce a Hokage of their own—with a golden opportunity.
When the Third Hokage returned to power, he decided it was time to rein in the ambitious Hyūga.
Sure enough, just as they felt secure, a problem arose.
A shinobi from the Cloud Village, under the pretext of a diplomatic mission to Konoha, sneaked into the Hyūga compound to kidnap someone. He was caught in the act and eliminated by Hyūga Hiashi.
This incident gave the Third Hokage the perfect reason to clamp down on the Hyūga clan.
Later, it became known that only when Hiashi's younger brother died did the matter finally settle, and from that day on, the Hyūga clan kept a low profile and obeyed orders.
"The main family members of the Hyūga clan are limited. And how can you guarantee that, aside from Hanabi's eyes, the remaining Byakugan will evolve into the Tenseigan?"
"I can't guarantee that."
That—
"Jiraiya, I know you're eager, but please hold on."
Orochimaru licked his lips and continued, "If, as you said, only Hanabi's eyes will work, then why not just clone Hanabi's body directly? There's still plenty of years left—enough time for a clone to mature. Even if the clone's Byakugan isn't as pure as the original's, the dōjutsu power won't be fake, right? We mass‑produce clones and then absorb their dōjutsu power. I refuse to believe it won't evolve."
I have to admit, Orochimaru's suggestion was indeed one way.
It just happens to be extremely expensive.
"By the way, isn't Iwagakure's delegation arriving in two days?"
"Orochimaru, you mean we should really squeeze Iwagakure for every last ryo?"
"Isn't that obvious? Ōnoki has already given us the chance. If we don't squeeze them dry, then are we even human?"
"We're all human, but you might not be."
Orochimaru rolled his eyes and didn't argue back.
"Either way, you're the Hokage. The final decision is yours."
"...Give me a moment to think."
Just like in the Third‑Hokage timeline, facing the Ōtsutsuki threat, Tsunade as Hokage had demanded Orochimaru present a plan to make everyone stronger.
True to form, Fifth‑Hokage's Orochimaru's proposal was identical to his Third‑Hokage's counterpart's scheme: exploit Ōtsutsuki genetics to evolve the Byakugan into the Tenseigan.
Only here, there was no Iwagakure to extort—every last ryo would have to come from their own coffers.
"Is there really no other plan?"
"Uh, there is a backup plan."
"Speak."
"This requires Sasuke-kun's cooperation."
Hearing this, Sasuke immediately refused without a second thought, "No way. I won't hand over my Rinnegan to you."
"Is that so? That's really unfortunate."
Indeed, Orochimaru wanted to imitate the Third Hokage's Orochimaru, using Sasuke's Rinnegan to reanimate a large number of Edo Tensei shinobi who also possess the Rinnegan.
With White Zetsu as the sacrifice, the reanimated shinobi could regain about eighty to ninety percent of their original strength.
Just imagine—a group of Edo Tensei Nagato with eighty to ninety percent of their power—that alone is terrifying.
Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't show any mercy to Orochimaru or Tsunade and outright refused.
"Orochimaru, do you have a third plan?"
Upon hearing this, Tsunade felt she might be asking too much and said awkwardly, "If not, then forget it."
"Yes, I do. Who said I don't?"
"Haha, you really do, huh?"
Tsunade was happy now.
She jogged over to Orochimaru's side and patted his shoulder, saying, "As expected of Orochimaru, who's as famous as me. I wasn't wrong about you."
"I appreciate you thinking highly of me."
"We've been good friends and teammates for many years, no need for formalities."
Ah, right, right—because you're a good friend and teammate, back then when my hands were ruined by that old guy, I sought your help to heal them. How did you treat me?
You practically wanted to kill me.
Orochimaru mused quietly for a moment, then his expression changed, and he said seriously, "My third plan is simple, but it's not about making everyone stronger; it's a plan to increase Konoha's combat strength."
****
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