Before entering the conference room, Gisei Shiraishi asked Orochimaru to wait outside, telling him he would signal when the time was right.
Orochimaru understood his position. He was still an outsider, and barging in rashly would only annoy the people inside. He nodded silently in agreement.
Gisei pushed open the door and walked into the conference room alone.
The last meeting arranged by Shuichi Takemoto had been half-filled with old fogies, but this time, the room was packed with younger faces. Not a single elderly person was in sight.
Gisei knew that from now on, these were the people he would be dealing with. The old guard probably wouldn't bother showing up anymore.
He walked to the head seat and sat down. First, he swept a glance over the dozen or so clan heads, revealing a gentle smile.
"There is one matter I want to explain to everyone in this meeting. Some of you may already know, while others may not, so I'll keep it brief."
"Since the Butterfly User clan began to rebuild, the relationship between us and the village has become antagonistic. Recently, the Third Hokage even kicked every single one of our people out of the Anbu."
"Regarding the Third's actions, I wonder what everyone's views are?"
After dropping these words with a smile, Gisei waited for the clan heads to speak.
Of course, he knew exactly what was coming. Most of them would point their fingers at him. After all, he was the one who had rejected the Third's offer to join the regular forces. They likely held quite a bit of resentment toward him for that.
Sure enough, the moment his voice faded, someone stood up.
Gisei glanced at the man—Yuta Matsuura of the Matsuura clan, a family that sat on the outermost fringe of this interest group.
"Last time, when you wanted to enter the Administrative Division, everyone held their noses and accepted it. But why did you refuse the opportunity to enter the regular forces?"
Gisei's expression remained unchanged. "I'm sure everyone is puzzled by Clan Head Matsuura's question, so let me explain."
"The regular forces are basically the Hokage's loyal troops. My entering them would indeed be a good thing on the surface, but everyone must be clear on one thing: war is about to begin."
"If I join the regular forces, I must accept the Third's orders. Once the war starts, the Third will definitely make me lead his troops, while he sends someone else to lead you onto the battlefield. This is an almost foreseeable fact."
"Leaving aside the constraints I would face, let me ask you this: do you really feel at ease handing your clansmen over to the Third?"
Gisei's words caused thoughtful expressions to ripple across the room.
After a long silence, someone finally spoke up. "You always say the war is about to start, but up until now, we haven't seen any moves from the Third. What if there is no war?"
"That's true. Apart from the dispute with the Land of Rain, other countries haven't made a move. And the Land of Rain cannot be Konoha's opponent."
"Even if Konoha really goes to war with the Rain, for the sake of military merits and reputation, we might have to beg the Third to let us go onto the battlefield."
"But now that the relationship has become so rigid, how are we supposed to bring that up when the time comes?"
Gisei sized up the speakers. Almost all of them were from peripheral clans, while the eight core clans remained silent.
"After all is said and done, everyone is still worried about the relationship with the village being strained. Today, I happened to bring someone I want everyone to meet."
Gisei clapped his hands.
Orochimaru pushed the door open and entered.
The moment the clan heads saw him, they frowned.
To be honest, although the current Orochimaru didn't yet have that disgusting smell he would acquire later, he already possessed an abnormal aura. Everyone felt as if they were looking at a snake hissing silently at them.
"Let me introduce him. The Third Hokage's disciple, Orochimaru. I'm sure many of you know him."
"I won't waste words. Orochimaru will help us resolve the relationship issues with the village."
"Also, I have decided to support Orochimaru to become the next Hokage."
After dropping that bombshell, Gisei shut his mouth tight.
He had only informed Anna Takemoto and Aonobu Kawai beforehand. The other clan heads knew absolutely nothing about his plan to back Orochimaru.
It was easy to predict their reaction. When he said that last sentence, these clan heads probably wanted to eat his heart out.
"What kind of joke is this?! Everyone worked so hard to support your rise to power, and in the end, you did nothing and just dumped us on the Third's disciple?"
"If we had known this earlier, we would have been better off seeking refuge with the Hokage ourselves!"
Hearing this, Gisei sneered internally.
If you could have sought refuge with the Hokage, you would have gone long ago. Why hang yourselves on my tree?
The interest group behind the Third is massive; even if you went to him, at most you would get some leftovers. It's better to hold onto me tightly, making the Third wary of taking action so he won't suppress you too ruthlessly.
Seeing that Gisei wasn't speaking, the conference room gradually quieted down.
Orochimaru took the opportunity to step forward. After bowing slightly, his unique, raspy voice filled the room.
"First time meeting. I am Orochimaru. I heard everyone's questions from outside just now."
"Regarding this point, Gisei-kun and I have already reached a consensus."
"First, concerning the relationship between everyone and the village: as long as everyone supports me becoming Hokage together with Gisei-kun, I will persuade my teacher to ease relations with you."
"Besides that, not a single cent of what belongs to you will be missing. Not only that, but I will also strive for more benefits for everyone."
After Orochimaru finished speaking, he pulled a scroll from his robe and handed it to Gisei.
"This is a small meeting gift I brought. Inside, there is not only a share of missions available for everyone to distribute but also some establishment positions I can offer."
Gisei opened the scroll and scanned it. He didn't need to mention the mission share; he didn't care about that.
What caught his eye were the positions Orochimaru was offering. Most were roles for squad leaders and company commanders in the regular forces, along with vacancies in various less critical departments.
There were nearly a hundred scattered positions. It seemed the Third had invested heavily in this.
After reading it, Gisei passed the scroll to Anna Takemoto, letting her pass it down the line.
The conference room fell silent, leaving only the sound of the scroll being unfurled and read.
Gisei kept his mouth shut. Now was Orochimaru's showtime. If he said too much, he might be misunderstood by Orochimaru, and it wouldn't be good if the Snake Sannin decided to blame him later.
Soon, everyone had seen the scroll.
All the clan heads turned their gazes back toward Gisei.
Gisei sighed and revealed a "kind" smile directed at Orochimaru.
He actually felt a little pity for what Orochimaru was about to encounter next.