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Mastermind of the Akatsuki 146
🕑 Added 2024-09-15 09:05:41 +0000 UTCChapter 146: Good People Are Easily Exploited
Danzo stared at Orochimaru for a long time before sighing softly.
No matter how advantageous Orochimaru's initial position had been, now, like Danzo, he was also a failed candidate for the Hokage role.
With this thought, Danzo said to Orochimaru, "Orochimaru, there's no need to bring up your ideas again. Let me ask you, do you want to join me in impeaching the Fourth Hokage? If we can unite with the other advisors and elders, we might be able to force Minato out."
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru glanced at Danzo and glared at him. "Danzo, you can go ahead and impeach Minato on your own but don't foolishly drag me into this. Right now, Minato has crossed the line and affected the old man's interests. That's between them. I have no intention of stepping out and drawing fire for them."
Hearing this, Danzo's face darkened, but he had to admit that Orochimaru was more considerate in his approach.
Hiruzen had chosen Minato only because he didn't want to relinquish the power of the Hokage to anyone else. He had expected Minato, with his shallow roots, to be easily controlled. However, things hadn't gone as planned, and Minato quickly developed his own independent views.
In this clash between the new and old Hokages, those like them who had failed to win did not need to get involved.
Failure, however, wasn't the truly frightening part. What was truly terrifying was losing the will to fight for the Hokage position. Orochimaru might immerse himself in his experiments and forget about the Hokage title, but Danzo couldn't do that.
He had already waited decades to ascend to the position of Hokage.
Even if there seemed to be no immediate opportunity to become Hokage, he would continue to work towards it.
However, his most urgent task now was to cultivate a new group of subordinates. Without enough followers, he wouldn’t have the strength to confront the Third and Fourth Hokages, let alone plan for the next Hokage election.
Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, several days had gone by.
Unlike the chaos and opportunism of the past two months, Minato's recent reforms had progressed exceptionally smoothly over these past few days.
And all of this was because Minato had started taking things seriously.
Even though Minato was very young and not highly experienced, he was still the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.
When Minato displayed a mild and lenient attitude, the village’s advisors, elders, and the various ninja clans would try to block reforms that affected their interests. But once Minato was truly determined to take action, no one could stop him.
At least in the days following the issuance of Minato’s Hokage orders, the voices of opposition in the village suddenly disappeared, replaced by widespread approval of the Fourth Hokage's policies.
Faced with this situation, Minato felt somewhat conflicted in his office.
He hadn’t expected the Hokage to have so much power—he could, with just his own strength, suppress all opposition in the village.
But after some careful thought, Minato began to feel that the Hokage’s power wasn't really that great.
If he had compromised with the village elders and the ninja clans this time, it would have been incredibly difficult to push through any future initiatives. He would have become nothing more than a puppet in the Hokage’s office, there only to stamp papers.
What was most troubling to Minato, however, was how other people’s attitudes had changed after he became Hokage.
He felt that his former superiors, friends, and even subordinates had grown more distant, and when they met or spoke with him, their tone had become noticeably more formal and restrained.
The only person Minato felt he could truly confide in now might just be Kushina.
Perhaps this is the helpless reality of becoming Hokage.
However, as long as he could make the village stronger, Minato was willing to endure the pain. Becoming Hokage had been his dream since childhood, and it was also Kushina's dream.
---
While Minato in the Hokage office was lamenting how difficult it was to be Hokage, Kabuto Yakushi at the orphanage was busy completing the tasks assigned by Byakuya, hoping to earn more compensation to keep the orphanage running.
After all, aside from the physically healthy children, the orphanage housed many children with congenital disabilities.
Even when they reached the age to enroll in the ninja academy, it was difficult for them to pass the exams and become preparatory ninjas, which would lead to a more comfortable life.
The task Byakuya assigned today was simple.
Besides the daily intelligence gathering, Kabuto was to extract chakra, exercise his body, and engage in his favorite activity—reading.
Kabuto loved reading, partly because it allowed him to experience the vibrant world described in books.
On the other hand, the knowledge in books could help the orphanage escape its current predicament, allowing the children to grow up under the sun like normal kids.
After finishing the book he was reading, Kabuto tried to extract chakra while asking Byakuya, "Senpai, do you think if I become a ninja, I can help everyone at the orphanage live a good life? I've heard that ninjas can control fire and water, so getting enough to eat should be easy. The head of the orphanage is struggling only because she's not a ninja."
Byakuya was analyzing the intelligence Kabuto had gathered, thinking about sending it to the Akatsuki organization right away.
Hearing Kabuto's naive and innocent comment, Byakuya couldn't help but laugh. "Kabuto, you live well in Konoha, the village of ninjas but why do you have such illusions about them?"
Kabuto didn’t understand why Byakuya said this, but his words reflected his true thoughts.
Seeming to notice what was going on in Kabuto's mind, Byakuya said meaningfully, "Kabuto, do you really think the head of the orphanage, Nonou, is just a powerless civilian?"
The head of the orphanage is a ninja...? Kabuto couldn’t fully comprehend this and muttered to himself, "If the head is a ninja, why doesn’t she use ninjutsu in front of us?"
"Why should she use ninjutsu in front of you? Besides, if you think she isn’t a ninja, how do you think she managed to keep you all safe in Konoha?"
Pausing for a moment, Byakuya continued, "Where do you think the children who leave the orphanage go? Why does none of them ever come back? Don’t you think the orphanage seems more like a special training facility?"
Digesting this unbelievable information, Kabuto stood there in shock. He then quietly asked Byakuya, "Senpai, are you trying to make me stay away from the head of the orphanage? I can’t do that."
"Of course not," Byakuya shook his head. "I’m just giving you a heads-up. The orphanage isn’t exactly a nice place, and your headmaster definitely isn’t a good person."
"You’re saying the head isn’t a good person? You’re the one who’s not a good person! You’ve bribed me to steal intelligence from Konoha and now you’re slandering the head who built the orphanage."
Kabuto began fuming steam from his ears.
In his eyes, there was no one better than the head of the orphanage. She was like a mother to him, and he couldn’t tolerate Byakuya’s slander.
Byakuya didn’t mind Kabuto’s reaction, nor did he care to argue with a child.
He was only speaking about what had already happened in the story. The orphanage was indeed a front for the Root organization, and Nonō Yakushi’s real identity was a spy under Danzo, code-named "The Walking Priestess."
However, to gain Kabuto’s trust, Byakuya added, "I never claimed to be a good person. But, little guy, you should hope your headmaster isn’t a good person either. In this cruel ninja world, good people are easily taken advantage of."
