Lately, something very strange had been happening among Konoha's higher-ups.
The notoriously estranged relationship between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru… suddenly seemed to warm up.
The higher-ups who knew the inside story could only stare at each other in disbelief. None of them understood what had changed.
Because up until now, no one would have described the relationship between Hiruzen Sarutobi and his student Orochimaru as "good."
"Hostile," "like fire and water," "mutual resentment"—pick any of those and you wouldn't be far off.
Especially after the Fourth Hokage candidate was decided, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that Orochimaru and his former teacher had grown cold and distant.
Some clan heads had even started to worry that the famed Sannin might choose to defect. With Orochimaru's personality, that possibility was very real.
Yet for some reason, in the last little while, Orochimaru had suddenly begun… caring about his teacher.
He would drop by from time to time to "visit" Hiruzen and even bring him gifts—good quality tobacco, no less.
But who was Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Some might say he was no longer a "proper" shinobi, but years of political struggle had honed his instincts to a razor's edge.
He took one look at his disciple's sudden kindness and became suspicious on the spot.
Investigations were ordered.
Every batch of tobacco was tracked from source to shelf—perfectly normal, nothing wrong. Just ordinary, high-grade cigarettes.
Orochimaru even went so far as to personally accompany Hiruzen to the shop and buy a pack in front of him.
What was even stranger: as rumors started spreading, Orochimaru seemed determined to clear his name.
He would often sit with Hiruzen and smoke together, chatting as the room filled with a dense gray haze.
At home, Biwako grumbled about it nonstop behind his back.
No matter what, Orochimaru's "change of heart" was visible to everyone.
Soon the rumors started to spread:
"Orochimaru has turned over a new leaf."
"He's learned to respect his teacher again."
"This is the true meaning of honoring your master!"
The moment Hiruzen heard this kind of talk, he knew exactly whose handiwork it was.
Danzō. It had to be that old fox.
"Heh. So now I'm the stage prop in your little performance," Hiruzen muttered irritably, sitting in his chair and taking another drag from his cigarette.
"Third-sama, maybe Orochimaru-sama really has changed his thinking. Wouldn't that be a good thing?"
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, rubbed his temples and offered a bitter smile.
Minato was exhausted.
He'd become the Fourth Hokage, yes—but Hiruzen and the council of elders had shown no intention of quietly "retiring."
They frequently "advised" him, "guided" him, and "commented" on his every decision.
Danzō in particular was endlessly nagging in his ear:
"The Uchiha are born traitors."
"They'll be a danger to Konoha sooner or later."
"We should act preemptively…"
Minato found himself dazed more and more often.
He couldn't help wondering—
Did the Third choose him as Hokage because he had fewer connections and less influence than Orochimaru, and would be easier to control?
Yet Hiruzen wasn't all bad.
He often showed Minato genuine respect, and his seasoned handling of village affairs also put Minato's inexperience in sharp relief.
It wasn't ideal, but it was… barely manageable.
"Orochimaru…" Hiruzen exhaled a stream of smoke. "He might have been an outstanding shinobi."
"Might have been," huh?
Minato caught the nuance immediately.
He wasn't an idiot. Sitting in the Hokage's chair had forced him to grow quickly. He could hear the deeper meaning in Hiruzen's words.
But since the Third chose not to explain, Minato couldn't push.
"Speaking of which, Fourth—your wife's due date is in about a month, isn't it? You must keep this strictly confidential."
Hiruzen's eyes turned serious.
He might no longer be Hokage, he might not be a pure "shinobi" anymore, but he was still the former leader of Konoha. For the sake of the village, he was prepared to give up anything.
The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki could not be allowed to fail.
If something went wrong with the Nine-Tails, even Konoha would lose a limb—at worst, be gravely wounded.
"I understand. When the time comes, I'll have to trouble you, Third-sama, to help protect her," Minato replied, his face hardening at the thought of his wife.
"I know," Hiruzen said with a nod, taking another drag.
Kushina being the village's jinchūriki was both a blessing and a curse.
More than once, lying half-asleep at night, Minato had wished with all his heart that his wife wasn't a jinchūriki.
A jinchūriki was one of a village's core weapons—but at the moment of childbirth, they became weaker than ever. Their defenses were at their lowest.
If someone chose that moment to attack and seize the Nine-Tails…
The consequences would be… unimaginable.
Still, what Minato truly feared was not the loss of the Nine-Tails.
He feared losing his wife and the child that hadn't even been born yet.
That was something he did not dare to picture.
Minato shook his head sharply.
No. That wouldn't happen.
Even Danzō, for all his scheming, understood how vital a jinchūriki was. Kushina would be protected.
"Sensei, the village seems awfully calm these days," Kenichi Amemiya remarked.
He was currently helping Orochimaru with a transplant procedure. The test subject lying on the table had begun to pale around the neck—an obvious bad sign.
This man had successfully passed the rejection tests with First Hokage cells, but after a full transplant, his body was still failing. His time was nearly up.
"Hm." Orochimaru wiped his hands and stepped back.
He had stopped working. His experience told him this one wasn't going to make it.
If a specimen got to this stage, it always died.
The more Danzō craved the First Hokage's cells, the more lives he threw into this pit. Orochimaru was certain the old man was dreaming of mastering Wood Release for himself.
In Konoha, Wood Release carried legendary weight.
That was why the single successful subject so far had been taken away by Danzō and groomed with utmost care.
Kenichi glanced at his teacher. Over the past weeks, Orochimaru had started smoking quite a bit. Kenichi could already sense a few cancerous cells forming and then quickly being wiped out in his lungs.
He had no intention of targeting his own teacher.
Even if he somehow pushed Orochimaru into terminal cancer, the man could simply use Living Corpse Reincarnation and change bodies.
And besides, their relationship was good now.
"The calmer things look, the more something's brewing underneath." Orochimaru smiled faintly. "If I've counted right… it's almost time."
Kenichi's eyes narrowed slightly.
Yeah.
If his memory was right…
The "calmest" days were exactly when the biggest disaster was waiting just beyond the horizon.