Chapter 43

Danzo had just established the Root division and was eager to inject fresh blood into it.

That's when he noticed Orochimaru.

Just like he would later notice Kakashi.

Why did Danzo focus on them? Because Orochimaru and Kakashi shared two critical traits: unparalleled ninja talent and a lurking darkness deep within.

In Danzo's mind, such talents naturally belonged in his department.

Letting them grow outside his control would be a waste of potential.

However, at this stage, because the foundation of the Root was still unstable, Danzo was forced to obey the orders of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen.

But as for Orochimaru, he had already taken note of Danzo.

To the general public, Danzo was seen as a man of immense ambition selfish, power-hungry, and utterly ruthless in his desire to ascend to the position of Hokage. A dangerous figure, no doubt.

But to Orochimaru, Danzo wasn't nearly as threatening.

Why?

Because in Orochimaru's eyes, Danzo was actually quite pitiful.

Yes, his ambition was vast. He longed to become Hokage and lead Konoha to dominate the ninja world. But he lacked the strength to support those ambitions.

Forget leading Konoha to unify the entire ninja world he never even sat in the Hokage's chair, which was his most basic goal.

For his entire life, Danzo was suppressed by Hiruzen, never able to truly rise above.

What's more pathetic than a man whose ambitions far outstrip his power? A careerist without the strength to match his goals could never stir up a true storm.

In both the past and present, Orochimaru never regarded Danzo as a true threat. At best, he saw him as a useful tool.

A tool whose authority, selfishness, and ambition could be leveraged to accomplish things Orochimaru himself found tedious.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out from a distance.

"Oy, Orochimaru!"

Looking up, Orochimaru saw the familiar figure of Jiraiya speeding toward him, leaving a gust of wind in his wake.

"Oh, Orochimaru! What's that in your hand... a money box?"

"Mm."

"How much is inside? That's a pretty big box."

"Two million ryo."

Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock. "Wha—? Did you just complete an S-rank mission or something?"

"More or less," Orochimaru replied nonchalantly.

In the world of ninjas, each bill is worth one thousand ryo. So, for two million ryo, a box of this size was perfect.

An S-rank mission often yields a maximum payout of around two million ryo, so Jiraiya's assumption wasn't far off.

"Wow... impressive!"

Upon hearing Orochimaru's confirmation, Jiraiya's envy was palpable. He must have deduced that Orochimaru had submitted the super recovery potion formula to the village.

How else could a Genin like Orochimaru get assigned such an S-rank mission, let alone earn such a hefty reward?

Orochimaru, noticing Jiraiya's awe, interrupted his thoughts with a casual invitation. "Let's go. I'll treat you to barbecue."

Instantly, Jiraiya's mood flipped. His earlier gloom vanished, and his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"You serious?!"

Despite the fact that a Genin's earnings were usually enough to support a small family, Jiraiya was notoriously bad at saving money.

As a result, luxury items like barbecue were a real treat for him.

Seeing Orochimaru's nod, Jiraiya needed no further encouragement. He was already beaming with joy.

Although two million ryo wasn't a fortune, it was still a considerable sum. After having money in hand, Orochimaru quickly began making plans.

The first thing he did was treat Jiraiya and Tsunade to a barbecue. Afterward, he used the rest of the money to buy a larger house for himself.

In Konoha, property wasn't particularly expensive. A three-story house covering 150 square meters cost less than one million ryo.

The only hassle was that purchasing a house required approval from the Hokage.

But given Orochimaru's current standing, Hiruzen had no reason to refuse his request.

The next evening, just before Orochimaru began moving into his new home, several ANBU arrived at his door and knocked.

Orochimaru opened the door to find a familiar figure standing before him a man wearing a fox mask, his voice carrying a slight smile.

"Orochimaru, we meet again."

"And who might you be… Fox?" Orochimaru's pupils narrowed as he quickly pieced together the man's identity.

After all, they had previously carried out missions together.

The man in the fox mask nodded slightly. "That's right. I came to thank you for your help last time."

"There's no need for that. Even without my serum, your injury could've been healed," Orochimaru said with indifference. "So, what brings you here?"

"Well, on the Hokage's orders, I'm here to escort you to your new work station at the experimental base. We've also come to help you move your equipment."

"I see," Orochimaru glanced at the five ANBU standing behind Fox and gave a brief nod. "Come in and help yourselves."

With Orochimaru's approval, the ANBU members entered the house in single file.

At first, they were a bit surprised to see how young Orochimaru was, but their real shock came when they saw his laboratory.

The amount of advanced experimental equipment a mere eight- or nine-year-old possessed was staggering.

However, they were ANBU, and this mission was classified, so they naturally didn't pry.

Without asking any unnecessary questions, they took out their space scrolls and began moving Orochimaru's equipment.

The ANBU operated swiftly, and in less than an hour, every piece of equipment in Orochimaru's lab had been moved.

Fox then led the group, with Orochimaru following close behind, as they leapt across rooftops and swiftly arrived at Konoha's secret experimental base.

It was a relatively large building situated in a quiet corner of the village.

The area around it was heavily guarded, with four sentinels stationed at the entrance.

Fox approached the guards, exchanged a series of coded signals, and then escorted Orochimaru into the building.

The base itself was located underground. It was well-lit, and several staff members were already busy with their work.

Fox pointed toward two spacious and immaculately clean laboratories. "According to the Hokage's arrangement, these two labs are now yours."