The Uchiha Clan's Sun

Uchiha Jin's attitude at this moment made a complete 180-degree turn, which was completely different from when he was facing Shimura Danzo!

After all, Uchiha Jin had always held Orochimaru, a scientist, in high esteem!

"Of course I have time! I'm also very interested in King Jin!"

Orochimaru didn't hesitate. He casually tossed the Root ninja in his hand to Shimura Danzo and then sat down opposite Uchiha Jin.

Danzo Shimura caught the Root ninja with some surprise, and looked at Uchiha Jin and Orochimaru with a face full of question marks!

"Elder Danzo, I have other matters to attend to, so I won't be able to join you!"

Orochimaru and Danzo Toshimura waved their hands, showing no remorse whatsoever.

Orochimaru's trip to the orphanage with Danzo Shimura wasn't to side with Danzo, but because he had his eye on one of the children and wanted to see if he could kidnap him!

That's right, Orochimaru is exactly as he just said—he's here to kidnap children!

Therefore, Danzo Shimura's failure here has absolutely nothing to do with Orochimaru!

"Hmph, trash!"

Shimura Danzo snorted softly, too ashamed to stay any longer, and turned to walk away into the distance.

"Nonou, go pour me a cup of tea!" Uchiha Jin patted Yakushi Nonou on the shoulder and said with a smile, "How can we be so negligent when such an honored guest is here!"

Yakushi Nono nodded slightly, without asking any further questions, and got up to call Ken and Eika away.

"Jin-kun, I never expected you could actually subdue that 'walking witch'!"

Orochimaru stuck out his snake-like tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, praising it.

"There was never any talk of subjugation; it was just mutual benefit, mutual help, and mutual support!" Uchiha Jin shook his head and said, "If you really want to talk about it, she and I are comrades, or you could say we're brothers!"

"Comrade? Do you share the same ideals?"

Orochimaru quickly understood the meaning of the word 'comrade', and a strange glint flashed in his eyes.

"That's right! I've long admired Lord Orochimaru and was planning to visit you sometime, so it's wonderful to meet you here!"

As he spoke, Uchiha Jin took out a storage scroll from his pocket and handed it to Orochimaru, saying, "Consider this my gift to Lord Orochimaru!"

Chapter 80 Research-Oriented Talents!

"Oh, a gift? What is it?"

Orochimaru did not immediately accept the storage scroll handed to him by Uchiha Jin. Instead, he was somewhat puzzled by Uchiha Jin's attitude towards him!

He had never met Uchiha Jin before today.

He had never even noticed Uchiha Jin before the Third Shinobi World War!

If it weren't for Uchiha Jin's sudden rise on the front lines of Kirigakure, Orochimaru wouldn't have become interested in him!

Judging from Uchiha Jin's current attitude, it seems that he had long intended to befriend him, and even carried this so-called 'meeting gift' with him.

This made Orochimaru curious about Uchiha Jin's purpose in doing this!

After a moment of contemplation, Uchiha Jin said, "Lord Orochimaru, given the current situation, you should understand that you are no longer destined to become the Fourth Hokage!"

Orochimaru frowned slightly upon hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged.

Does Orochimaru want to become Hokage?

I don't want to!

More than becoming Hokage, Orochimaru desired to explore the endless knowledge and truth!

The position of Hokage allows him to access knowledge that he wouldn't normally have easy access to!

Therefore, becoming Hokage was like Orochimaru pursuing immortality; it was merely a stepping stone to achieve his true dream!

Orochimaru was naturally able to see the current situation clearly, and he also knew that his teacher had completely given up on him!

Orochimaru had no desire to fight for power or profit, but he was displeased that something that originally belonged to him was suddenly taken away without his consent!

Uchiha Jin gave Orochimaru a meaningful look and continued, "Actually, in my opinion, this might not be such a bad thing for you, Lord Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru grinned, his hoarse voice carrying a unique magnetism, and said, "King Jin seems to know me very well!"

“Perhaps,” Uchiha Jin smiled and said, “I think Lord Orochimaru is a pure scientist. Someone as talented as you shouldn’t be involved in power struggles or wasting your time on the battlefield!”

"Your home turf should be places like laboratories and libraries where you explore knowledge!"

Orochimaru's eyes lit up upon hearing this!

He had only had a vague feeling before, but now he was certain that Uchiha Jin really understood him!

Uchiha Jin continued, "Lord Orochimaru, I know you're currently entangled with Shimura Danzo because of resources and data, but Shimura Danzo has no bottom line and will cause you to lose a lot of research time in the future!"

"Doing this is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst!"

Orochimaru gave Uchiha Jin a deep look and said, "It seems that it's not just me, Jin-kun also knows Elder Danzo quite well! But now, it seems that I have no other choice but Elder Danzo!"

"No!" Uchiha Jin pushed the storage scroll forward again, saying, "A new choice lies before you!"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly, but still didn't reach for the storage scroll. He asked, "What can King Jin give me?"

Uchiha Jin smiled and said, "First, it far exceeds the research funding of Shimura Danzo's side! It's a research funding that has almost no upper limit!"

"Secondly, all of Konoha's resources and information will be open to you unconditionally! Including what Shimura Danzo possesses!"

Orochimaru's pupils contracted slightly; the two conditions that Uchiha Jin had offered were truly outrageous!

Even the current Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, probably wouldn't say something like that!

Orochimaru shook his head slightly and said in a deep voice, "King Jin, if you speak too confidently, you will lose credibility!"

Uchiha Jin smiled, pushed the storage scroll again, and said, "What if I said this is the sincerity of Minato and me!"

Orochimaru was startled, but quickly shook his head.

Although he didn't know much about Uchiha Jin, he did know a bit about Jiraiya's disciple, Namikaze Minato!

Orochimaru said in a deep voice, "Given Minato's personality, he probably can't accept things like live experiments. Jin-kun, you don't need to joke with me!"

Uchiha Jin shook his head and explained, "In the past, Minato certainly couldn't accept these things, but after learning some of the truth and understanding the opponents we will face in the future, Minato isn't so rigid anymore!"

"As long as it's not someone from the village, like those death row inmates in Konoha prisons, bandits who kill and burn in various places, or spy ninjas from enemy countries, Minato is acceptable!"

"Minato has agreed to establish the Konoha Research Institute after he takes office. Orochimaru-sama, please serve as the director of the research institute!"

"All your research at the research institute will receive support from the entire Hidden Leaf Village!"

"And the only price you have to pay is for sharing your research findings with the village!"

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru's eyes flickered uncertainly, and his heart even raced a few beats faster!

If he could truly gain the support of the entire Hidden Leaf Village's resources, then whether he became Hokage or not wouldn't matter much!

On the contrary, he can get rid of those tedious government affairs and devote himself to various research projects!

Orochimaru slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "Now I'm quite curious about the truth and the opponent you mentioned, Jin-kun!"

Uchiha Jin shook his head and said, "That's a long story, and now is not the time to tell you! Perhaps I can only tell you everything without reservation when the Konoha Research Institute is established!"

After pondering for a moment, Orochimaru suddenly smiled, picked up the storage scroll, and said, "Can you tell me what's inside this storage scroll?"

Upon seeing this, Uchiha Jin smiled and said, "They are just the corpses of blood-stained ninjas and secret technique ninjas from Kirigakure, such as the Kaguya clan, the Minazuki clan, and the Hozuki clan!"

"Minato should still have the corpses of some special ninjas from Iwagakure and Kumogakure, but I can only give them to you after Minato returns!"

"If you ever need it in the future, I can supply you with Sharingan and Byakugan!"

Orochimaru's smile widened even more!

The gift from Uchiha Jin and Namikaze Minato hit him right where it hurts!

If he had known what was inside this storage scroll, he probably wouldn't have bothered with this whole mess with Uchiha Jin!

Orochimaru stuffed the storage scroll directly into his mouth and said, "King Jin, I appreciate your sincerity! If you need anything, just let me know!"

Uchiha Jin smiled and said, "I'll say it again, Lord Orochimaru, your time shouldn't be wasted on other things. So you just need to stay a little further away from Shimura Danzo, and then enjoy watching the show during your breaks from researching time!"

"I assure you, within a year at most, all of Shimura Danzo's things will be handed over to you without reservation!"

Orochimaru licked his lips and chuckled, "Then I'll wait and see!"

......

Chapter 81 Nohara Rin!

Before long, Orochimaru left the orphanage excitedly with a storage scroll in his hand. Yakushi Nonou arrived late, carrying two cups of hot tea.

Yakushi Nonou placed a cup of tea in front of Uchiha Jin, and then sat down opposite him with another cup of tea.

Uchiha Jin picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said with a hint of helplessness, "Nonou, you're taking way too long to brew tea. It made me feel like I was deliberately trying to get rid of you!"

In fact, given the current relationship between Uchiha Jin and Yakushi Nonou, there's really nothing to hide.

As for Ken and Huihua, they were both people who followed Yakushi Nonou and broke away from the Root. Their loyalty and beliefs are beyond doubt!

“No, after all, orphanages don’t have the habit of drinking tea, and it takes time to boil water again.” Yakushi Nonou shook her head and said, “Besides, the length of your conversation with Orochimaru was beyond my expectations.”

Yakushi Nonou did intentionally delay for a while, but she did so to create a better environment for Uchiha Jin and Orochimaru to talk.

According to Pharmacist Nono's experience, having too many people on one's side during negotiations can inadvertently put psychological pressure on the other side, making it harder for them to open up!

So Yakushi Nonou originally planned to bring the tea over after Uchiha Jin and Orochimaru had finished their conversation.

However, what she didn't expect was that Orochimaru lost interest in talking after learning what was in the storage scroll that Uchiha Jin had given him. He gave a few perfunctory words and left in a hurry.

Uchiha Jin didn't dwell on the matter further and instead asked, "When I returned to the village today, I sensed that the village elders were acting somewhat strangely. Has anything unusual happened in the village recently?"

Yakushi Nonou frowned slightly and said, "There are indeed many things, but there are only two that can be considered major issues!"

"First, Shimura Danzo has been removed from his position as an elder of Konoha, and at the same time, the Root organization has been ordered to restrict its activities! It can be said that Shimura Danzo is now a toothless tiger in the open!"

"However, Shimura Danzo did not stop his operations in the shadows and remained very active!"

"At the same time, Shimura Danzo also retained the title of Hokage Advisor, which can be considered a protective charm for him!"

Although Danzo Shimura often had to back down in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, after leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura continued to do things his own way and would not change his will because of Hiruzen Sarutobi's will!

Danzo Shimura was used to doing things that were outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, and Hiruzen Sarutobi was also used to it, so most of the time they would turn a blind eye.

It is precisely because of this that when faced with the threat of Shimura Danzo, Yakushi Nonou had to carefully consider the possible consequences!

If Uchiha Jin hadn't appeared in time, Yakushi Nonou would very likely have agreed to Shimura Danzo's demands in order to protect the children at the orphanage!

Of course, this is under the premise that Yakushi Nonou already knows that the Land of Rain is now under the control of Uchiha Jin!

After processing the first piece of news, Uchiha Jin asked, "And what about the second thing?"

Yakushi Nonou replied, "The second major event is that Konoha has reached a peace agreement with Kumogakure, and the ninja forces on the battlefield in the Land of Hot Springs will soon be returning to the village from the front lines!"

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Jin frowned and said, "So fast?"

This matter was indeed somewhat unexpected for Uchiha Jin, who originally thought that the conflict between Konoha and Kumogakure would last for a long time!

Yakushi Nonou explained, "The main reason is that Kumogakure is in a hurry, and the village also seems to have underestimated their determination to get back A and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki!"

"So a very interesting scene unfolded: after the village took a tough stance and tentatively proposed a series of compensations to Kumogakure, Kumogakure agreed without hesitation!"

"In other words, the conditions the village initially proposed were within the acceptable range for Kumogakure!"

"Therefore, both sides agreed to withdraw their troops from the Land of Hot Water. Kumogakure would pay 20 percent of the agreed resources as a deposit in exchange for Avex Kumogakure taking charge of the overall situation. At the same time, after Kumogakure had gathered the remaining resources, they would exchange them with Konoha for the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki."

“No wonder Orochimaru, the commander of the Cloud Village front, would appear in the village,” Uchiha Jin thought for a moment, then asked, “If that’s the case, then Minato should be back soon, right?”

“The main force shouldn’t be there so soon. Orochimaru led all the wounded ninjas from the front lines back to the village first, and as for Minato…” Yakushi Nonou pondered for a moment before speaking, “He should be here in the next few days!”

"At that time, Konoha Village should hold a grand welcoming ceremony, and then the day when Minato becomes Hokage should be on the agenda!"

"Speaking of which... there's someone here who's been waiting for you for a long time, talking about you almost every day!"

Yakushi Nonou suddenly seemed to remember something and chuckled softly as she spoke.

Just as Uchiha Jin was about to speak, he caught a glimpse of a figure rapidly approaching from the corner of his eye!

"Teacher Jin, it really is you!"

A petite girl, wearing an orphanage-style hooded jumpsuit and with most of her face covered by a mask, excitedly rushed to Uchiha Jin, looking at him with great surprise.

"It's Lin!"