"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"
Unlike the Third Raikage, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had witnessed Madara firsthand.
Back then, he and his master had gone to Konoha to seek cooperation, even expressing their willingness to be Konoha's subordinates. However, they were brutally beaten by Madara, who declared that they weren't even qualified to be subordinates. From then on, he embarked on a path of lifelong animosity towards Konoha.
At that time, they had no power to fight back against Madara. The Third Raikage didn't know, but Ōnoki knew that Madara possessed the strength to sweep away an army of thousands by himself.
Although Ōnoki was a detractor of Konoha and constantly sought to hinder its development, he still held great respect for Hashirama. This was not only due to his immense strength but also because if Hashirama hadn't appeared back then, he and his master would likely have died at Madara's hands.
But now, someone was telling him that a brat named Kazuki had appeared in the Uchiha clan and reached the same level as Madara. How could Ōnoki accept that?
Damn the Uchiha clan, why haven't they gone extinct yet?!
We must attack the Uchiha clan as soon as possible.
...
"How interesting." Orochimaru revealed a thoughtful smile after receiving the intelligence.
"What's so interesting?" Tsunade frowned.
Kazuki had become famous this time, and after this battle, it was almost certain that he would become Hokage.
Of course, the premise was that nothing unexpected happened, and it depended on whether other people internally would cause trouble. Moreover, Hiruzen was not old enough yet. It would be too early for him to abdicate so soon.
"Kazuki defeated Kirigakure, and some people are starting to get restless." Orochimaru said with a hint of amusement. "Clearly, some people don't want Kazuki to have an easy time."
"Danzo? But what can he do now? How many people in Konoha will stand with him?" Tsunade snorted disdainfully.
In truth, Danzo still had many supporters in Konoha. If it weren't for his terrible character, and the fact that he seemed to have often betrayed his own people, many would genuinely be willing to support him.
There was no other way. Danzo was the representative of Konoha's hardliners. Even during peacetime, he would clamor to destroy other Ninja villages, saying that they should seize all the mission quotas from other villages, claiming that Konoha was number one in the world, and unifying the Ninja World was no pressure at all. On the contrary, Hiruzen was too soft.
One thing Danzo did well in many people's eyes was that even after becoming Konoha's ostensible second-in-command, he didn't seek too many benefits for his clan.
On the contrary, due to Root, many so-called geniuses from the Shimura clan went to Root, and then there was nothing more to them. It could be said that because of Danzo, the Shimura clan not only didn't develop but was actually restricted.
This led many people to believe that Danzo was wholeheartedly for Konoha, even sacrificing his own clan when necessary.
"I don't know about that, but he actually asked me to join the Wood Release research project. Hehe, that's really interesting." Orochimaru said mockingly.
"The Wood Release research project was originally started by granduncle, and later, for a new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, they restarted this project. Grandma and I both know this." Tsunade frowned, then said indifferently.
If Danzo and his group had dug up her grandfather's grave for the Wood Release research experiment, Tsunade would have absolutely disagreed.
But that raw material was left over from her granduncle's research, so she couldn't say much. Was she supposed to blame her granduncle?
"Some time ago, their research yielded results, and someone gained control of Wood Release, but its power was very weak. Danzo asked me to study that Wood Release experimental subject together, because as you know, to counter the Sharingan, the power of Wood Release is needed." Orochimaru said with interest.
"So you want to research it too?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
Can Wood Release really counter the Sharingan? Tsunade herself wasn't sure about this.
After all, back then, only her grandfather possessed Wood Release, and Madara lost to Hashirama, so some people started to boast that Wood Release countered the Sharingan. In reality, there was no such saying initially, it only emerged after Madara's death.
Of course, Wood Release countering Tailed Beasts is true.
"I'm somewhat interested. Don't you want to obtain Wood Release? It's a village experiment anyway, and you can get information firsthand. Why not?"
Orochimaru said indifferently, "As far as I know, the First Hokage also knew Sage Mode, didn't he?"
"Yes." Tsunade nodded slightly. "However, as a friend, I advise you not to get involved in those messy affairs. If something really goes wrong, Danzo will definitely sell you out immediately."
"Hehe." Orochimaru chuckled indifferently.
He wasn't a fool, he was just going to research Wood Release. Other things weren't his responsibility. Moreover, his goal was not to deal with Kazuki, he was trying to befriend him.
As for Danzo wanting to deal with Kazuki, hehe, isn't that just wishful thinking?
In Orochimaru's view, Danzo was no match for Kazuki, no matter how he looked at it.
"When the time truly comes, I will sell out Danzo." Orochimaru added later.
"I hope so." Tsunade's gaze deepened. "But, the war is almost over, isn't it?"
"That depends on Kazuki's thoughts. If he wants to suppress everything by himself, then the war won't last much longer. If he wants to nurture talent, for the entire village, it's best to continue it."
Orochimaru pondered for a moment and then continued, "Konoha needs to prove its strength to the Daimyo and other nobles. Kazuki being strong alone is not enough."
"Kazuki cannot undertake those protection missions, nor can he become their lackey, so Konoha as a whole must be strong."
"That word, 'lackey'…" Tsunade's lips twitched slightly.
It was fortunate that it was Orochimaru. If anyone else had said it, they would probably have been criticized.
***
New Book
Fairy Tail: Anime Character Gacha
With a sudden stroke of luck, Takeshi stumbles into the world of Fairy Tail, activating a Gacha system.
With said system, he can get spins for completing quests. The higher the rank of the quest, the more spins he gets.
With those spins, he can draw for different characters from anime and even transform into them, thus being able to use their powers.
Yoriichi, Ace, Ulquiorra, Toji, Gojo, Whitebeard...
Thus, a Quest Maniac, who would grab any S or even SS-Class quest was born.
Through his unbelievable feats, he gained various titles such as Sword God, Flame Emperor, Black-winged Demon, Tyrant...