And so, with both sides taking each other’s concerns into account, a peculiar stalemate was born—neither side dared make a move against the other.
And Orochimaru became the person both sides were eager to win over.
Orochimaru, who had been sidelined by the Third Hokage for years, suddenly became a hot commodity again.
Even his gloomy and sinister laboratory was nearly trampled flat by the stream of visitors.
Orochimaru wore the same expression as always, as though the entire world owed him money, but even that couldn’t stop people from coming.
The heads of the various shinobi clans all understood that this Cold-Blooded Snake was, at present, the one person connected to both sides of the confrontation.
The undercurrents were terrifying, and the strength both sides had displayed was even more frightening.
Everyone knew that the Sarutobi Clan was prosperous, but no one had imagined that it was prosperous enough to casually field three thousand shinobi.
And that wasn’t all.
Because of the pressure from the Uchiha, the number of Sarutobi clan shinobi publicly mobilized had already reached 5,500.
That might not even be the Sarutobi Clan’s limit.
Many people wondered whether, at a moment of life and death, the Sarutobi Clan alone could mobilize more than ten thousand shinobi.
That was terrifying.
After all, during the Second Shinobi World War, fewer than one hundred thousand shinobi from the Five Great Nations and the smaller countries combined had participated in the fighting.
A single Sarutobi Clan could already represent an entire great nation on the battlefield.
And that wasn’t even counting the civilian-born shinobi who naturally leaned toward the Hokage.
As the various shinobi clans humbled themselves out of fear of the Sarutobi Clan’s strength, other thoughts began to emerge.
After all these years of the Third Hokage’s rule over Konoha, just how much had he accumulated?
Had things reached the point where the Sarutobi Clan alone could support Konoha without needing the other shinobi clans?
And if they were no longer needed, what would happen to the various clans?
The Ino–Shika–Chō alliance grew even closer.
The Inuzuka and Aburame Clans were practically moving into the Hyūga compound.
As for the smaller clans with no powerful allies to rely on, they could only run around making connections, forming small alliances based on mutual interests—or drain their own clan’s resources in order to demonstrate their loyalty to the Third Hokage.
And the Uchiha, who had forced the Sarutobi Clan into such a state, were even more terrifying.
They really were the First Clan of the Shinobi World.
Everyone had assumed that the Uchiha had declined after their civil war. Some of the smaller clans had even mocked them.
Now it seemed everyone had been far too short-sighted.
The Uchiha’s financial resources alone were enough to crush people.
Large numbers of shinobi stranded within the Land of Fire had been recruited by the Uchiha, while vast tracts of land were flowing into Uchiha hands.
Looking at the areas outside the village that had once been desolate but were now almost as prosperous as Konoha itself, the various clans finally understood.
The Uchiha had so much money that money itself had become meaningless to them.
Money was merely a tool they used—a numerical means of distributing benefits.
According to incomplete intelligence reports, 2,500 Rogue Shinobi alone had already pledged themselves to the Uchiha.
Including the Uchiha clan members, their total numbers had reached somewhere between three and four thousand.
More importantly, one Uchiha was worth two ordinary shinobi.
If they fought seriously, one Uchiha could hold off three.
Once the numbers were calculated that way, the Uchiha’s basic combat strength wasn’t much weaker than the forces the Sarutobi Clan had displayed.
The Sarutobi Clan had hidden trump cards.
Did anyone really think the Uchiha didn’t?
Those Uchiha who had seemingly appeared from nowhere had produced several hundred new faces over the past two years.
Who knew how many were still hidden behind the scenes?
Therefore, the factor determining the direction of the war was no longer the number of soldiers.
It was the strength of the top-tier combatants.
Every shinobi clan had elders, and certain secrets of the Shinobi World had naturally been passed down through the generations.
The moment the legendary Susanoo appeared, the clans understood.
This meant that the new generation of Uchiha once again possessed the legendary eyes.
The Uchiha had already recovered from their civil war.
And now they had four of them.
At present, the only top-tier combatants who could firmly be counted on to stand with the Sarutobi side were Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Minato Namikaze.
At most, they could also count Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails’ jinchūriki, despite her being pregnant.
As for that eternal Genin, everyone found him strange, but no one took him seriously.
The Uchiha, however, had also recently produced another top-tier combatant.
Rumor had it that he had awakened his Sharingan on the battlefield and was currently being recalled.
Although this Uchiha was said to be very close to the Third Hokage, surely he couldn’t be closer to Hiruzen than he was to his own clan.
And so, the only remaining uncertainty capable of tipping the balance of power was Orochimaru.
He became the person everyone wanted to win over and everyone wanted to cultivate a relationship with.
The smaller clans without powerful backing could only wait for Orochimaru’s decision before making their own judgment.
After all, whichever side Orochimaru supported would, by any calculation, gain the upper hand.
And so, the once-fallen Orochimaru became the man of the hour once again.
But this did not make Orochimaru particularly happy.
In the past, he had been one of the legendary Sannin, the Cold-Blooded Snake Orochimaru.
Now, his most important identities were that he was the Third Hokage’s disciple and the Uchiha’s teacher.
He was someone with ties to both factions.
Whether he was still the Cold-Blooded Snake or not, nobody cared anymore.
So what if he was cold?
As long as Orochimaru was willing to tell them what he knew—what exactly the two sides were planning and how far they intended to go—the various shinobi clans were perfectly willing to press their warm faces against his cold backside.
Not even his cold words or indifferent attitude could extinguish their enthusiasm.
Orochimaru had received so many gifts over the past few days that he could probably build another laboratory with them.
It was truly becoming unbearable.
Of course, the shinobi clans were relatively easy to deal with.
Winning over the two opposing sides was another matter entirely.
No sooner had Orochimaru finished enjoying a warm reunion between master and disciple and sent Hotaru off than his old friend Jiraiya, who had just returned to the village, came to visit.
Because of Hotaru’s presence, the pitch-black underground chamber had, unusually, acquired a small area suitable for receiving guests and drinking tea.
These days, it was seeing considerably more use.
Drinking tea in the morgue had practically become a Konoha tradition.
If a clan head had never experienced it, that meant their clan had already been left behind by Konoha.
Even Kakashi, an eight-year-old who was essentially a lone wolf, had been fortunate enough to have a cup.
And today was a reunion between old friends.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya sat facing each other as host and guest.
Orochimaru had quite a few grievances toward this old friend who had disappeared for such a long time without sending so much as a message, only to return to the village to take care of his beloved disciple.
"Lord Jiraiya, what an unexpected honor. What brings you here?"
Jiraiya had never been particularly good at recognizing Orochimaru’s sarcasm.
Of course, perhaps he did recognize it but had simply grown accustomed to it and no longer cared.
"It’s nothing major. It’s just that Sarutobi-sensei is preparing to hold a memorial ceremony and would like to invite you to attend."
"Is it to celebrate Lord Jiraiya’s return to Konoha after being driven out of the village for five years because you were caught peeping at women bathing at the public bathhouse?"
Orochimaru continued mercilessly mocking him.
He refused to believe Jiraiya genuinely didn’t understand what he was implying.
After all, Jiraiya’s departure from the village hadn’t been that simple.
On the surface, it was because he had been caught peeping on women while they bathed.
In reality, he had confessed his feelings to Tsunade after she had lost the man she loved, only to be rejected. Unable to bear remaining in the village afterward, he had left.
And behind that, the true reason was that he had gone searching for the so-called Child of Prophecy.
Orochimaru had to admit that this strike had been vicious.
Jiraiya wasn’t actually an idiot, so naturally he had to retaliate.
"No. It’s to commemorate the shinobi who died during the Second Shinobi World War."
"Those who lost their successors and those who lost their lovers will all be attending."
Jiraiya’s meaning was clear:
I merely tried to take advantage of an opportunity and got rejected. It was embarrassing, but it didn’t make anyone hate me.
But you, Orochimaru, actually got Tsunade’s younger brother and the man she loved killed.
I wonder, when you see Tsunade, which one of us will be more embarrassed?
Orochimaru was not someone who could be easily bullied.
"Oh? A memorial for old acquaintances?"
"I never imagined that even someone like Lord Jiraiya, a man with neither a wife nor children to worry about, would enjoy joining such occasions."
Everyone else had someone to mourn.
Orochimaru himself had lost plenty of subordinates and could at least use the ceremony to pay his respects to them.
But Jiraiya?
A lone wolf who had always fought by himself?
Who exactly was he going to mourn?
The opponents he had killed?
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