Chapter 321 - 321: Konoha’s Future Has One Owner

As Ryusei walked deeper into the building, still faintly amused by Shikaku and Inoichi's reactions, his thoughts drifted toward the other "famous" figures who still existed in this village now.

Kakashi, for example.

But the Kakashi of this world was nothing like the one Ryusei remembered from his old world.

This Kakashi was a pale echo, already broken before, and now shattered completely.

Realizing that it was Obito himself who had ripped the Sharingan out of his own face a while earlier, then standing powerless as Obito and Madara killed Minato and leveled half the village… that finished him.

To Ryusei, Kakashi wasn't even dust.

Even Shikaku and Inoichi, whom he had just passed, were bigger potential threats than the hollowed-out thing wearing a mask in ANBU.

So Ryusei ignored him entirely.

There was nothing there worth acknowledging.

Even Renjiro, who normally mocked without restraint, felt disgusted just looking at him.

Kakashi's presence, his weakness, his aura, everything about him now repelled Renjiro.

He then told Kakashi to abandon the Hatake compound outright as soon as they met there again.

Kakashi didn't argue.

Now, he drifted in ANBU like an empty shell.

It was only a matter of time before some mission claimed what little remained of him.

Asuma Sarutobi, for example, was gone too, executed alongside the majority of the Sarutobi clan.

In Ryusei's eyes, they had been the most hateful of all, and only some women and small children were spared.

The Aburame and Inuzuka clans, on the other hand, for example, had been treated far more lightly.

They lost some wealth, influence, and their political foothold, but they weren't slaughtered.

Same with Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi, who lost nearly everything of that sort.

Yes, those two clans had also produced plenty of Root operatives, some of whom had hunted Ryusei relentlessly in the beginning.

But unlike the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi, who stood at the center of the Hokage Faction, they were victims of Danzo and Hiruzen more than partners.

They never had the power or leverage to resist such heavy Root's conscription.

They weren't 'innocent'. But they weren't the core of the rotten faction either.

They also had to formally apologize to Ryusei all over again.

On the other hand, the biggest winners of this entire rebalancing were undeniably the Uchiha.

They came out on top by an overwhelming margin, with Fugaku as clan patriarch and Kiyomi stepping in as the new head of the Police Force.

Right behind them stood the newly "reformed" Hyuga, now led in practice by Kanae rather than the old, rigid hierarchy.

He kept walking, the silence of the Hokage floor greeting him as he approached Orochimaru's office.

For Ryusei now, Orochimaru could never be a threat, no matter how many insane experiments he carried out as the new Hokage in the future, not now, not even in decades, especially so.

Power decided everything, and Ryusei had already crossed a threshold where no one, including Orochimaru, could ever hope to catch up.

Even if Orochimaru tried something reckless, Ryusei's overwhelming sensory range and absolute superiority meant he would know instantly.

Sometimes arriving first makes the rest of the world permanently irrelevant.

Ryusei had reached that point not too long ago.

And he was still rising.

There was still the Giant Tenseigan on the moon waiting for him, something he fully intended to use to push his potential and essence even further, molding his body and chakra far beyond what even his peak adult form could have achieved.

A transformation that could bring him closer to true godhood, even among the Otsutsuki.

Ryusei felt he was already operating at a high-Otsutsuki level.

But the next step required time, fuinjutsu mastery, and extremely careful preparation.

He also planned to build his main research center on the moon.

It was the safest, most secluded place imaginable, and he already had the portal ready.

The moon could serve as both his laboratory and an early-warning system against any potential space alien intruders, especially if he left part of the Giant Tenseigan active as a planetary telescope.

All of that would come soon enough. There were fragments constantly working there, preparing that final ritual.

In fact, that was exactly why keeping Orochimaru around had far more value than eliminating him due to some paranoia.

His scientific mind wasn't much weaker than Ryusei's, and with no ability to ever threaten Ryusei again, his research became a resource Ryusei could freely exploit.

Orochimaru's findings would help him grow even further over the coming decades and prepare for any future Otsutsuki arrivals.

That was why Ryusei always appeared so "tolerant" toward him despite his portrayal as a treacherous kind of snake.

For now, Ryusei walked toward the Hokage's office without hurry, every step confirming how far ahead he truly was.

Ryusei didn't bother knocking.

He stepped into the Hokage office as if it were his own.

Orochimaru was seated behind the desk, legs crossed, pen twirling between his fingers, the Hokage robes draped over him like a costume he was testing rather than clothing he cared about.

A stack of mission reports lay open, but he clearly wasn't reading any of them.

He sensed Ryusei instantly.

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

"So," Orochimaru drawled, "the true ruler of this village decides to grace the official ruler with a visit."

Ryusei closed the door behind him with a lazy wave of chakra.

"Don't start. I let you keep the hat because I didn't want it."

Orochimaru laughed softly.

"You say that, yet every man outside kneels for you and flinches at the sound of my footsteps."

"That's not my fault," Ryusei replied. "You're creepy."

"And you're terrifying. We all have our charms."

Ryusei walked forward, hands in pockets, gaze sweeping the room.

Orochimaru had rearranged everything, scroll racks, drawers, and even the window angle.

More like a laboratory than a Hokage office.

"You made yourself comfortable," Ryusei said.

"Naturally. I plan to use the position efficiently." Orochimaru leaned back. "But tell me, what brings you here? Surely not administrative matters."

Ryusei raised an eyebrow.

"Do I look like someone who cares about mission assignments?"

Orochimaru's smirk widened.

"No. You look like someone who stops by only when you want something."

Ryusei shrugged.

"Observation skills intact."

Orochimaru tapped his pen against the desk.

"…Your appearance has changed."

His eyes narrowed with interest, reptilian pupils dilating slightly.

"More stable than Madara's mutation. Cleaner. Refined. Fascinating."

Ryusei lifted a strand of his pale hair.

"Side effect."

Orochimaru chuckled.

"A side effect that would turn most shinobi into immortals and reduce the rest to dust. Truly… you exceed every boundary I once studied." His tone lowered, thoughtful. "You're no longer something I can classify."

Ryusei leaned against the wall.

"You weren't supposed to classify me."

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with open curiosity, the good kind, the kind Ryusei tolerated.

"Tell me," Orochimaru said, "how does it feel, swallowing a god?"

Ryusei's answer was simple.

"Like I became one."

Orochimaru's tongue flicked against his teeth.

"I expected nothing less."

A short silence settled, comfortable, familiar.

Ryusei broke it first.

"We need to talk about the world."

Orochimaru's smile thinned into something sharper, interest, curiosity, and calculation all tightening into one line.

"Ah. So you're finally addressing the outer villages."

"They're irrelevant," Ryusei said. "Shrimps. But shrimps with flags are still shrimps that can get in the way if you crush them too early."

Orochimaru twirled the pen lazily.

"You don't want to conquer the world?"

"No," Ryusei replied. "Not yet."

Orochimaru tilted his head.

"Continuing Tobirama's playbook, then?"

Ryusei nodded once, calm and deliberate.

"Slow expansion. Controlled dominance. Strengthen the Land of Fire without swallowing everything at once. A bloated empire rots. A powerful one with competition grows sharper."

Orochimaru chuckled quietly.

"You speak like a proper statesman."

"I speak like someone preparing for a real threat," Ryusei corrected.

Orochimaru's eyes glinted.

"The Otsutsuki," he whispered. "Your… visitors from beyond."

Ryusei pushed off the wall and stepped closer to the desk.

"You haven't forgotten my warning?"

"Of course not," Orochimaru said, tone shifting into something colder. "You tell me there are beings stronger than Madara at his peak, and you speak of them with the same tone one uses to describe a weather report." He tapped the desk twice.

"Naturally, I took it seriously."

Ryusei nodded.

"Good. Because they are coming."

Orochimaru's fingers tightened around the pen.

"I have spent the last three days dissecting fragments of your descriptions," he said. "Trying to imagine what their biology must be. Their chakra. Their evolution. Their purpose. And frankly—" he leaned forward slightly, eyes gleaming "—I have no idea how you know about them."

Ryusei didn't blink.

"You don't need to know how," he said. "You just need to believe me."

Orochimaru inhaled slowly, the way a scientist breathes when confronted with a terrifyingly fascinating truth.

"And I do."

His voice was quiet, but certain.

"You are the one person in this world whose claims I would never doubt."

Ryusei nodded, satisfied.

"Then listen carefully."

Orochimaru stilled completely.

"I want the big villages kept alive," Ryusei said. "Not too weak. Not too strong. Just capable enough to feed their own development. I want shinobi everywhere pushing their limits. A balanced world grows faster than a world under a single heel."

"Preparing the battlefield," Orochimaru murmured. "You want them to survive the first wave of invaders."

"Exactly."

"And what about Konoha?"

Ryusei's answer was immediate.

"It has to remain the strongest. The center. The capital of the entire planet. Growing past everything else slowly, naturally, not in a rushed collapse. And I'll be the one standing above it."

Orochimaru smiled.

"I can do that."

"I know," Ryusei said. "You're Hokage for a reason."

Orochimaru's smile widened a bit more, something between pride and amusement.

"And my research?" he asked.

Ryusei stepped even closer.

"Never neglect it," he said. "Not for a moment. You will be dissecting Otsutsuki someday. Their bodies. Their chakra. Their principles. I need you ready."

Orochimaru exhaled sharply, something like exhilaration rushing through him.

"You truly intend to hunt gods."

"I already did," Ryusei said simply. "And I'll do it again."

Orochimaru's laughter was low, breathless, almost reverent.

"Ryusei… this world really is too small for you."

Ryusei turned toward the balcony.

"That's why we're preparing the next one."

He opened the door with a faint pulse of chakra.

Behind him, Orochimaru watched like a man staring at a future he had once only dreamed about.

"Go then," Orochimaru said softly. "I'll handle everything here."

Ryusei stepped out into the evening air, not looking back.

"I know you will."

And then he vanished, leaving the Hokage office filled with the quiet hum of power and anticipation for the world yet to come.