Orochimaru said he wanted to discuss something with Hiruzen Sarutobi, and immediately Hiruzen Sarutobi became serious.
Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a slight nod and said, "Go ahead, Orochimaru."
Orochimaru shared his thoughts with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The core of his idea was that he was willing to impose self-restraints and accept a reasonable level of oversight in exchange for Hiruzen Sarutobi's support of his experiments.
As Orochimaru spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe like a chimney, betraying the inner turmoil beneath his composed exterior.
Once Orochimaru had spoken, the office fell silent as Hiruzen Sarutobi remained deep in thought, puffing slowly on his pipe.
After a while, whether because his pipe had finally burned down or not, Hiruzen Sarutobi set it aside with a sigh. "Orochimaru, I'm very pleased—and happy—that you could be so honest and open with me like this.
I've lost count of how many years have passed—I can't even recall when—since we, master and pupil, started to drift apart, until a rift grew between us. I couldn't understand your thoughts anymore or even know what you were doing. That made me deeply worried about you.
Before answering you, there is one question I want to ask: why do you insist on conducting those experiments considered taboo? What exactly are you trying to gain?"
Orochimaru looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and replied, "Teacher, do you remember? When I was young, you accompanied me to visit my parents' graves and lay flowers. On the way, we came across a [Cellular Regeneration Ejection] of the White Snake. I asked you what it was, and you told me it was a White Snake shedding its skin—a symbol of good fortune and regeneration, something rare and precious to find there."
Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled briefly before nodding. "Yes, that did happen. Back then, you were quite different—you gave off a warmth in your heart that I could feel."
Orochimaru responded, "That shedded White Snake skin was the beginning, the starting point of my intellectual awakening. It allowed me to transcend the limitations of personal existence itself. Human life is too brief; within the span of mere decades, one cannot hope to master all of Ninjutsu. Everything I pursue is merely my attempt to uncover a single, ultimate truth."
Frowning, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, "Truth? What kind of truth?"
Orochimaru answered frankly, "I don't know. If I already knew, perhaps I wouldn't keep pursuing these things."
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought silently for a moment before saying, "I can agree to your proposal. However, your research must not involve placing innocent lives in danger. The subjects of your experiments must not be forced—they must be voluntary participants. Moreover, if your research involves restricted or taboo knowledge, you must neither share it nor pass it on—it must be strictly contained.
Once the war concludes, I will begin establishing a dedicated scientific research division to oversee and regulate such studies. Orochimaru, you will serve as its director and lead researcher."
Then Hiruzen Sarutobi's face lit up with a smile again. "It's great to have that familiar feeling back. To be honest, I was really worried about you before—worried you'd walk down the wrong path. But it's good that you've figured things out yourself.
I'm your teacher. If you have problems, we can talk through them together. Next time something like this happens, don't keep everything bottled up inside, understand?"
Orochimaru nodded and agreed, "Okay."
Hiruzen instructed Orochimaru, "Then later on, go find Danzo. Use the excuse of wanting to become one of my Anbu to immediately leave Root. Once the next Hokage assumes the role, it'll be time to deal with Root. Danzo is an old friend of mine, and I can't bring myself to take action against him. So I guess it'll be up to the next Hokage to resolve this issue."
Orochimaru asked in surprise, "The next Hokage… Teacher, do you already have someone in mind? Is it Jiraiya?"
Hiruzen chuckled and replied, "Yes, I already have someone in mind, though it isn't Jiraiya. You know his personality well enough—he's unsuitable for becoming Hokage, and he wouldn't even want to take that role himself. However, Jiraiya's apprentice Minato is actually quite a promising candidate.
Minato performed exceptionally well during this Great Ninja World War. He turned the tide of battle multiple times amid intense fighting, completely changing the course of the war. Furthermore, Minato has inherited the Will of Fire, showing his willingness to sacrifice himself for the village and comrades. Nearly all the villagers trust Minato.
Therefore, in my opinion, Minato would make an outstanding leader as Hokage."
Orochimaru nodded thoughtfully, "Jiraiya's apprentice indeed sounds like a solid choice. Then when do you plan to have him take over from you?"
Hiruzen answered, "Although Minato enjoys high prestige, he still lacks experience managing an entire village, so he needs to study under your guidance first. Therefore, after the war ends, I'll have Minato follow me and study under my guidance. Once the time is right, I'll pass the Hokage position to him.
What about you, Orochimaru? How is Shindai doing? He speaks rather recklessly at times, but there's no denying he's a talented child. Surely Shindai qualifies as your apprentice, doesn't he?"
At the mention of Shindai, Orochimaru couldn't help but tsk in annoyance, frowning with displeasure. "He definitely meets the requirements, but I still don't want him as my apprentice—it's just too noisy having him around."
Hiruzen paused, then burst into hearty laughter.
His laughter caused those passing by the Hokage's office to glance over in confusion.
What could possibly make Hiruzen Sarutobi laugh like that?
Ever since the war began, they'd hardly ever seen Hiruzen smile—he had always seemed so serious.
Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed until tears welled at the corners of his eyes, while Orochimaru's expression grew increasingly cold.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was laughing so hard he started gasping for breath. "Sorry, sorry, Orochimaru. When you made that look of disgust just now, I couldn't help myself. You really are like him—you only make expressions like that other than when you're with Jiraiya."
"However," Hiruzen continued, "Shindai is socially awkward around unfamiliar people. He only talks a lot with people he feels close to. Minato told me this himself. So the fact that he talks more with you means he sees you as someone he's close with. Isn't that great? Orochimaru, your personality is too quiet—having Shindai to balance things out seems like a good thing to me."
Orochimaru didn't want to discuss this further with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He had no objection to Shindai becoming his apprentice, but the boy's biting sarcasm annoyed him greatly.
Therefore, Orochimaru needed to carefully weigh the pros and cons—after all, if Shindai became his apprentice, they wouldn't just be spending a day or two together.
"Oh, by the way, Sarutobi-sensei—that kid Shindai has plans regarding Konoha's orphanage."
Since things had already been settled with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru could now personally discuss Shindai's plans with him.
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