"Orochimaru, I've decided to appoint you as the supreme commander of the Wind Country battlefield. You have no objections, right?"
Orochimaru licked his lips, the dim candlelight casting a shadow over his pale features. His golden eyes, dimmed from long nights of secret experimentation, gleamed sharply.
The news of Sunagakure's aggression had surprised him initially. But that surprise had quickly turned into cold calculation.
Now that his former teacher, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, had appointed him as the battlefield commander against the Sand, Orochimaru simply nodded in acceptance.
"No objections whatsoever. Since this is your will, sensei, then leave the Sand to me with peace of mind," Orochimaru replied, voice calm and casual. He clearly did not regard the situation as serious.
But Orochimaru hadn't yet realized the true weight of the mission.
This wasn't due to a lack of intelligence — far from it. His attention had simply been diverted recently toward unethical experiments, many of them conducted under the shadowy support of Danzo Shimura. He never expected his own teacher to scheme against him, which is why he accepted the appointment without even setting conditions.
Then again, he could hardly be blamed. At this point in time, Orochimaru was widely regarded as the successor to the Hokage — the heir apparent to the village.
Hiruzen watched Orochimaru's indifferent reaction and sighed inwardly.
Orochimaru... don't blame me for being harsh. This is for your own good.
Sunagakure had declared war on Konohagakure, citing the assassination of the Third Kazekage — an act they falsely attributed to Konoha's operatives. In response, the Hidden Leaf officially condemned the accusation and announced the deployment of troops to the Wind Country, appointing one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, as the supreme commander.
Thus, the flames of the Third Great Ninja War began to blaze.
Despite the heavy rhetoric, the scale of Konoha's mobilization was underwhelming. The village didn't deploy as many elite ninja as expected. Many of the top combat units remained behind.
Konoha's war posture was thunderous in noise, but light on action.
Kurenai Yuhi, still a young chunin at the time, was not among the elite forces sent to the battlefield. He returned home in a daze, the tension of the war announcement still buzzing in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became.
Even if the Hokage had secretly positioned ninja at the Wind Country's border ahead of time, how many could they have moved in secrecy? Three hundred? Four hundred?
Yet, in the meeting, the Hokage claimed to be deploying 1,300 ninja under Orochimaru's command — with only a few dozen jōnin among them. Fewer than 2,000 troops to counter an entire Hidden Village?
Even with a commander as capable as Orochimaru, the odds seemed unfavorable.
Others, including Orochimaru himself, found this situation strange. Could Konoha not field a larger army?
Of course it could.
The Hokage's official explanation was that the other great villages — Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure — might seize the opportunity to attack. Therefore, they needed to retain enough forces to defend on all fronts.
On the surface, it was a sound strategic argument.
But on closer inspection, it made no sense. If Konoha feared a multi-front war, wouldn't it make more sense to rapidly eliminate the Sand threat to deter the others?
Instead, the limited mobilization made Konoha appear weak — as if it couldn't handle even the Sand Village alone.
Only a few of the higher-ups knew the truth.
Hiruzen wasn't merely managing the war — he was managing Orochimaru. This deployment was a calculated test. The Third Hokage wanted his prized student to temper his arrogance and reconsider his loyalty. If Orochimaru softened his stance, Hiruzen was prepared to double or triple the village's support.
But what the village elders, including Danzo, hadn't anticipated was Orochimaru's willingness to go — even with such limited resources.
Danzo, always a schemer, surely welcomed this chance to widen the rift between Hiruzen and his student.
---
"Did you hear? The Sand is declaring war on Konoha."
"Yeah, after all these years, another war... Those Sand shinobi are really troublesome. Don't they enjoy peace?"
"Exactly. And guess who's commanding our side in the Wind Country?"
"Orochimaru-sama! One of the Legendary Sannin. My neighbor's cousin is a ninja and said it personally!"
"He led us to victory in the Second Shinobi War, didn't he? Orochimaru-sama's a hero."
"And don't forget, he's the Hokage's disciple! The man's a genius."
It was hard to say when the rumors began, but within a day, news of the war had spread through every street and alley of Konoha. Orochimaru's name was on every tongue — his status as commander known to all.
Walking through the bustling streets, Aoba Kawaki listened with a growing sense of irritation.
He could tell this wasn't limited to just a few excited villagers. The entire village had fallen into a blind wave of optimism. Using his sensory abilities — honed like the Mind's Eye of the Kagura or Kenbunshoku Haki, a skill more associated with distant legends — Kawaki could sense it clearly.
There was no fear. No caution. Just blind confidence.
Confidence greater than Orochimaru himself exuded.
This was a trap — praise-killing. The more the people celebrated Orochimaru now, the harsher their disappointment would be if he failed.
Wasn't it the same with the White Fang?
Sakumo Hatake had once been the pride of the village... until he wasn't.
Yet Orochimaru was Sarutobi's personal student. Even if he went rogue, he wouldn't be treated as cruelly as Sakumo. Besides, Orochimaru wasn't fragile — he wasn't the type to fall because of public opinion.
And let's not forget — even Orochimaru was once a bright young man… well, sort of.
Okay, perhaps "sunny" was never a word that fit Orochimaru. But still, in the original timeline, he hadn't always been cold and twisted. At this moment, his love for the village still lingered — though perhaps not as deeply as Aoba Kawaki's own loyalty now.
Aoba Kawaki, who had fully mastered Kenbunshoku Haki, was absolutely certain of one thing.
The current Orochimaru was like a prodigious child going through a rebellious phase.
That was Kawaki's honest evaluation. Although Orochimaru now exuded a menacing aura that discouraged strangers from approaching and carried out his plans with ruthless precision, his behavior resembled more of a long-standing grudge against his former master, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Orochimaru seemed desperate to prove his worth to Hiruzen. But, unfortunately, that wasn't what Hiruzen wanted to see. As Hokage, Hiruzen sought order and stability, not someone—even his own student—who would challenge his authority.
"Human hearts are the hardest to comprehend." Kawaki sighed quietly to himself. He didn't voice the second half of the sentence: Even heroes will eventually become corrupt.
Aoba Kawaki wasn't defending Orochimaru. He had no personal ties to him, and thus, no reason to risk anything on his behalf.
Still, Konoha was his birthplace and his home. Who wouldn't want their hometown to flourish?
But Konoha was like a diseased tree. On the surface, it was lush and full of life. But beneath the soil, its roots were rotting, and the decay had already spread into its core.
To save a tree in such a state, one had to steel their heart and cut away the rot. Remove the dead roots, no matter how painful.
Yet at this moment, Kawaki Aoba wasn't someone in a position to do such drastic pruning.
Still, if revitalizing the entire tree was out of reach, he would do what he could.
Take the ongoing crackdown on Orochimaru—driven by the village elders—as an example. To Kawaki Aoba, this was the perfect opportunity.
Previously, if he wanted to use his Kenbunshoku Haki to detect spies, he had to individually scan the emotional states of suspects. It was time-consuming and impractical—no one in Konoha would just stand still and let him inspect their feelings. While it did lead to some successes, the efficiency was, frankly, abysmal.
Now, however, things had changed. With the growing public sentiment against Orochimaru, those exuding false righteousness but hollow emotions could be quickly identified. The villagers who raged with no emotional resonance were likely infiltrators.
Especially now that war seemed inevitable, the spies embedded in Konoha had begun to stir.
Most of them appeared to be from Sunagakure. In just a few days, Kawaki Aoba had identified over a dozen spies. Unfortunately, they were all low-level operatives—fodder at best. The Anbu and Uchiha Police Force had already marked most of them.
On this particular day, Kawaki Aoba visited the Yuhi residence, not to see Kurenai, but to speak with Yuhi Shinku.
"What? Aoba, you're saying your sensory technique can differentiate between good and evil?" Yuhi Shinku's eyes widened. It wasn't disbelief—it was astonishment.
If he recalled correctly, the First Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, Uzumaki Mito, had a similar spiritual sensitivity.
"That's right," Kawaki said calmly. "Not only that, but I can also detect foreign chakra and intentions, including those from enemy villages."
Kawaki had decided it was time to show his true strength. He was no longer content with hiding in the shadows. It was time to claim his voice.
After hearing Kawaki's plan, Yuhi Shinku nodded in approval and immediately led his team to meet with the Hokage.
At the Hokage Office, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in thought. His mood had been sour lately—not from Suna's threats, but from the mounting frustrations with his former student Orochimaru.
He had once taken pride in Orochimaru's brilliance. Now, that same brilliance threatened the village.
Of the three students, Jiraiya had always been his favorite—not because of power, but because of heart. If only that eccentric fool hadn't been swayed by the toads of Mount Myoboku, he would have made a fine Fourth Hokage.
A knock on the door interrupted his musings.
"Hokage-sama," a Chūnin reported, "Yuhi Shinku's team is here to see you."
Hiruzen frowned. Weren't they training under Might Guy? Did Asuma and the others want to rush to the front lines?
But when Yuhi Shinku entered and explained the true purpose, the Hokage's eyes locked onto Aoba with a curious gaze.
A sensory technique capable of detecting moral alignment? That was rare—borderline legendary. He couldn't help but recall Mito Uzumaki.
Could this have just awakened? He thought back to when Kawaki Aoba first demonstrated sensory ninjutsu. It was likely a recent development.
His gaze briefly shifted to Asuma. Then he smiled warmly.
"Aoba, your talent exceeds my expectations. With this ability, the threat of spies in the village can be handled far more efficiently."
"You honor me, Hokage-sama. I'm just glad to help the village," Aoba responded sincerely.
With his Kenbunshoku Haki, Aoba sensed genuine goodwill from Hiruzen. Though it was likely a conscious effort on the Hokage's part, it still reflected a favorable view of him.
"Tell me, Aoba," Hiruzen asked, "how wide is the range of your technique?"
Aoba hesitated slightly—he had expected this. Putting on a humble expression, he said, "To be honest, it's newly awakened. Right now, the range is only about the size of a single room."
Hiruzen sighed in relief. If the range were too wide, it could lead to unintended consequences.
"That's sufficient." Hiruzen leaned forward. "Aoba, I have a mission for you. Originally an A-rank long-term assignment, but with your abilities, I'm upgrading it to S-rank. I want you to root out spies hidden within the village."
Though technically a passive mission, it required Aoba to remain stationed in a fixed location while shinobi were brought before him for evaluation.
Realizing the magnitude, Hiruzen assigned assistants to support him—Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, and Namikaze Minato.
They weren't just teammates—they were safeguards. Hiruzen had considered using the younger Ino-Shika-Chō generation, but with Yamanaka Inoichi now clan head, that was no longer suitable.
---
Later, at a tavern…
"Chūnin Murata, are you Chūnin Murata?" Kawaki Aoba approached a middle-aged man sharing drinks with companions.
The man's eyelids twitched ever so slightly before he turned with a polite nod. "That's me. Can I help you?"
"It's about your file. Due to an issue in the archive, we need you to confirm your information for backup."
Murata nodded, feigning understanding—until his expression suddenly twisted with bloodlust.
"Got it. I'll take care of it… after I kill you."
In a flash, he lunged with a kunai aimed at Aoba's face.
The two men beside him leapt back in terror as chaos erupted.
Clang!
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