"Tsk, so that old guy was sanctioned too?"
In a cold, gloomy laboratory, a ninja whose face was extremely pale, sinister, and even somewhat indistinguishable in gender was currently holding a test tube, observing the changes inside.
He was none other than Orochimaru!
Since Minato took office, he had spent most of his time in this experimental base, and his access to news within the village had become somewhat delayed.
At this moment, he also learned the news that Root had been abolished and that the Chakra-gathering points of Danzo had been destroyed.
This news gave him a slight feeling of sympathetic sadness.
Orochimaru knew a part of what Danzo had done, and naturally understood that it was perfectly normal for him to meet such an end.
So, what about himself?
Orochimaru curled his lips. If his actions were exposed, although his crimes were not as numerous as Danzo's, he certainly wouldn't fare well!
Furthermore, Danzo had an old friend who could save his life, but did he?
The Third Hokage was his teacher, but that was all. He did not believe his importance in the Third Hokage's eyes was higher than Danzo's.
Moreover, the most crucial point was that he didn't have the Sharingan, much less Izanagi; he probably wouldn't last long enough for the Third Hokage to decide to save him.
"Minato is quite capable."
Orochimaru laughed. Although he had cooperated with Danzo, that didn't mean he thought what Minato did was wrong.
It should be said that, in his opinion, Minato's approach was absolutely the most correct course of action.
If he were the Hokage, he definitely wouldn't allow an organization like Root to continue existing.
Did Konoha need Root? No, Danzo needed Root!
Konoha only needed the Anbu, exclusive to the Hokage, operating in the shadows; the existence of Root was completely redundant and unnecessary!
However, no matter how much he agreed with Minato's methods, he knew they were currently enemies, especially since, given Minato's personality, he would absolutely not allow Orochimaru to experiment on the village's people after his research was exposed.
"It seems I need to prepare an escape plan ahead of time."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, making a decision in his heart.
Inside Takuno's experimental base.
In recent days, Takuno had relatively few tasks. The main mission of the intelligence department was to gather information from the borders of the Land of Fire and observe the movements of various countries.
Currently, only the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth showed some unusual activity, but they showed no intention of starting a war, merely engaging in minor harassment and competing with the Land of Fire for missions from wealthy clients.
Takuno was still training relentlessly, his sweat continuously dripping down his already incredibly lean and powerful body, counting repetitions while simultaneously thinking.
"2347, 2348—"
Sure enough, the plot had changed.
In the original work, the Cloud Shinobi should have already started fighting Konoha by this time, but now they were only harassing Konoha with minor skirmishes, which slightly annoyed Takuno.
The Cloud Shinobi were too timid. It was a shame the Fourth Raikage had such a large, muscular build, only to have such meager courage?
Konoha had suffered such severe casualties after the Nine-Tails Attack, yet the enemy still didn't dare to attack Konoha. Were they really that afraid of Minato?
However, he also knew that the Fourth Raikage was not as rough as he appeared on the surface; he was definitely shrewd.
The kidnapping of Hinata Hyūga by the Cloud Shinobi was done under his orders.
Furthermore, during the Fourth Great Shinobi War, when the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails were rushing to the battlefield, the Fourth Raikage was responsible for stopping them to prevent them from falling into the hands of Obito.
When the Fourth Raikage realized he couldn't stop them, he had considered killing Naruto. If his younger brother hadn't convinced him otherwise, he might actually have done it.
Of course, by that time, the Fourth Raikage was essentially no match for Naruto.
"—2999, 3000!"
Takuno took a deep breath, finally completing his training plan for the day.
After resting for a while, he walked to the bathroom and lay in the tub, gazing at the ceiling above.
He needed this war because he would soon require a large amount of research material, and the only way to acquire it quickly was on the battlefield.
So, how exactly could he push this war forward?
Should the Cloud Shinobi gain strength? That seemed unlikely, and Takuno didn't want to aid the enemy. Just because he needed them to start a war with Konoha didn't mean they weren't enemies.
Therefore, the only option was to weaken Konoha.
Should he spread the news that Danzo had been crippled?
Probably not. It wasn't that the news couldn't be spread, but rather that the information about Danzo being crippled had likely already circulated after the public denouncement meeting.
However, this news still failed to cause any stir.
This was because, while other countries weren't completely unaware of Danzo, they knew very little about his strength. He hadn't even been a prominent figure during the Second or Third Great Shinobi Wars.
Therefore, even if they received the news that Danzo was ruined, they likely believed it wouldn't have much impact on Konoha.
What was most frustrating was that Takuno also believed it made little difference whether Danzo was ruined or not, because even if he were still active, he wouldn't choose to help Minato.
Takuno contemplated Konoha's current strong points: the Fourth Hokage was unlikely to die, the Nine-Tails would not riot again, and the Third Hokage was completely hidden in the shadows, staying out of world affairs.
Therefore, the remaining strong points were the Sannin!
Takuno narrowed his eyes. If Orochimaru defected at this time, the Jonin within Konoha would know that it actually wouldn't have much effect.
This was because Orochimaru was already semi-detached from Konoha; he completely ignored the Hokage's orders and refused to take missions. Essentially, he had become an irrelevant factor.
However, in the eyes of the outside world, it would definitely be a major blow to Konoha. Orochimaru was still one of Konoha's Sannin, and his defection would be a serious setback to the village's strength.
The Nine-Tails Attack combined with the defection of Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, should these two events together be enough?
If that still wasn't enough, then he would find a way to spread the information that Tsunade, also one of the Sannin, suffered from hemophobia and had practically retired from the battlefield.
If, even after all that, the Fourth Raikage was still afraid of Minato and dared not launch a war to seize the resources of the Land of Fire, then he might as well give up!
Or rather, he should just hand over all the resources to Konoha.
As for how to make Orochimaru defect, wasn't that simple?
He currently had reports concerning missing Konoha ninja and villagers. By investigating this information, he would surely be able to expose Orochimaru!
Moreover, after exposing Orochimaru's actions, Takuno would even be considered a hero of Konoha.
Who would dare say he was wrong for exposing Orochimaru, who experimented on Konoha's citizens and ninja?
He wasn't falsely accusing Orochimaru!
However, there was no rush yet. The secret railway in the Land of Snow hadn't been completed, and although his Spirit Transformation Jutsu could already separate a complete spiritual body and control others, he wasn't particularly proficient yet.
He still found it difficult to control people with particularly strong mental energy.
Therefore, the matter could be postponed slightly.
Of course, the delay couldn't be too long. Konoha was rapidly recovering under Minato's governance, and if Orochimaru's defection occurred too long after the Nine-Tails Attack, it would lose its impact.
Even according to the original story, Orochimaru should have been discovered this year. All Takuno needed to do was bring the matter forward slightly.
After finishing his thoughts, Takuno stood up from the tub, and countless drops of water streamed down his solid muscles.
By all appearances, this was a perfect physique.
Unfortunately, on top of this perfect physique were some unsightly black patches, which were the marks left by his use of the Chimera Technique.
He looked at himself in the mirror, ignoring the black patches, and showed a satisfied expression.
His Chakra reserves should now have reached the level of 10 in stamina. Although for true experts, a stamina rating of 10 was just the starting point, the growth of his Chakra reserves showed no signs of stopping and continued to increase as his physical fitness improved.
If he continued training like this, in time, his Chakra reserves would be considered high-level even among those with a stamina rating of 10.
At that moment, he took a deep breath, intending to try out that forbidden Taijutsu.
"First Gate: Gate of Opening, Open!"
"Second Gate: Gate of Healing, Open!"
Takuno, having consecutively opened two of the Eight Gates, did not stop. Immediately after, his body began to turn red, and green energy surged out.
"Third Gate: Gate of Life, Open!"
At this point, the violent green Chakra raged behind Takuno, appearing intensely chaotic.
"Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain, Open!"
Takuno gritted his teeth, looking at himself in the mirror enveloped by the green light. After opening this gate, he felt a slight sense of fatigue, but the degree was not high, so—
"Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit, Open!"
The violent green energy shot up into the sky, seemingly enveloping the entire bathroom.
Takuno felt the pressure emanating from his body. He could tell that if he maintained this gate for an extended period, his body would not be able to withstand it.
"I can only go this far," Takuno sighed before releasing the Eight Gates. A wave of exhaustion immediately flooded his body, the fatigue resulting from excessively straining his system.
This exhaustion had been ignored earlier because the Gate of Healing had temporarily removed the fatigue limitations, but now it rushed over him all at once.
Currently, he could fully open the Fourth Gate without any physical damage, but the Fifth Gate could only be maintained for a few minutes without incurring damage. This wasn't short in a one-on-one fight, but it was very brief on the battlefield.
If he ignored physical damage, he could open the Sixth Gate: Gate of View, but Takuno was unwilling to do so. Even the Sixth Gate only provided Kage-level strength, and only the Seventh Gate was strong enough to defeat powerful Kage like Kisame Hoshigaki.
And most importantly, after activating the Eight Gates, the rampant Chakra was difficult to use for Ninjutsu. His control over Chakra had not yet reached the level where he could easily manipulate such violent Chakra.
Therefore, the Eight Gates could not yet be used as a trump card.
Takuno was not dissatisfied with this. He had only been training his body for about a year, and being able to safely open four of the Eight Gates was already quite strong.
If he continued at this pace, by the time the Naruto storyline began, he might even be able to safely open the Seventh Gate.
As for the Eighth Gate, that was not a gate that could be opened safely; it required mastering the ultimate Yang Release separately.