Chapter 172 164: Orochimaru's New Lesson

"Orochimaru-sensei, did you see everything just now?"

"I didn't actually watch from inside the snake's mouth, I only heard the second half. That guy beside Danzo is a top-tier sensory Ninja; he might have detected my gaze. If not for the Snake Body Modification, which allowed me to blend my presence with this snake and hide, that fellow really would have sensed something was amiss."

Orochimaru rose from the ground, looking in the direction Danzo had departed. As he explained, his pale face was filled with coldness.

He heard the second half?

That basically meant he had heard everything that mattered, because the first half was just Danzo using this blade and Uchiha Kagami as a ruse to draw closer to Uchiha Gen with his words.

"What do you intend to do? It seems Danzo has taken a liking to me. If he truly sets his heart on using some underhanded methods, it won't be easy to guard against."

Uchiha Gen asked, looking at the stern-faced Orochimaru.

"He won't go too far. It is a time of war, and he is already burdened with the charges of losing cities and territory, and failing to provide support. While this isn't enough to shake his position, if he were to fall out with us and the war effort goes poorly, he would likely lose at least one of his positions as the leader of Root or as an assistant to the Hokage.

Furthermore—you are like me, living alone, so there is nothing for him to target."

Orochimaru said, looking at Uchiha Gen leisurely.

"In this world, people will always have connections with others. Everyone, and every technique, has weaknesses."

Uchiha Gen shook his head slowly.

He had already formed connections with certain people in this world.

For example, Orochimaru, who was before him as his teacher, and for example, the Great Elder, who was his elder, and also—

However, at the very least, they possessed strength approaching the Jonin level. With strength, status, and influence, they were not easily targeted.

The only exception might be Uchiha Sumi.

He was just an ordinary person. Although he was the orphan of Uchiha Kagami and theoretically protected by the Konoha high-ranking officials, to those officials, he was ultimately just a person of no value, and they might not necessarily protect him in front of Danzo.

In the original timeline, Danzo would take action against Shisui; now, he might not hesitate to use schemes against Uchiha Sumi to lure Uchiha Gen into a trap.

Fortunately, they were far away in the Land of Hot Springs. As Orochimaru said, Danzo might plan things in private, but he wouldn't go so far as to pull tricks in the face of the war.

"You are adding weaknesses to yourself. I am not trying to stop you—I have bonds too—but you should understand what I mean: a falcon flying in the sky will not soar with the insects and ants below."

Uchiha Gen understood Orochimaru's meaning.

As for friends, Orochimaru certainly had them. Whether it was the other two Sannin or Mitarai Shishō and the others, none were mediocre. Even the weakness of Sarutobi Enjun and Uzuki Ruri was only relative and temporary.

Give them three or four years, and they would certainly become experts at the Jonin level, capable of protecting themselves in the vast majority of situations.

Moreover, Uchiha Gen had no doubt that when it came into conflict with his own interests, Orochimaru would weigh the pros and cons and would absolutely be able to rationally make the choice most beneficial to himself when it was time to abandon someone.

Even if the person to be sacrificed was Jiraiya or the Third Hokage, Orochimaru might feel sad, but he would absolutely not hesitate or regret it.

Orochimaru looked at Uchiha Gen's expression and continued: "If there is someone who lacks the power to protect themselves and whom you cannot protect, then the best choice is to actively distance yourself and let the relationship fade. If Danzo thinks they are not important to you, he will see no value in playing tricks."

Uchiha Gen pondered for a few seconds, then shook his head slowly: "I'm afraid that's not easy. I don't worry about others, but if my cousin were targeted by Danzo, it would really be troublesome.

Danzo only needs a simple investigation to easily guess that I obtained my Phantom Body Flicker Technique from cousin Sumi. With that connection, Danzo will almost certainly lock his gaze onto him.

However, fortunately, the defense and patrol strength of the Police Force within the Uchiha compound are the strongest. If Danzo's Root wants to take action inside the compound, they must first get past the Police Force, so there's no need to worry about him pulling any tricks for now."

"Very good. Since you can realize this, it seems I don't need to remind you of anything else. Being able to clearly realize that threats come not only from the outside but potentially from the inside as well means you are one step closer to graduating in this regard. Now we can begin my next lesson for you, which is the last thing I can teach you besides Ninjutsu."

Orochimaru waved at Uchiha Gen, signaling him to follow.

"What are you going to teach?"

The latter asked Orochimaru.

"Marching and formations, strategic deployment, tactical command, logistical coordination, and personnel management. If you want to hold a high position in the future, these things must be learned.

Although it seems too early to have you learn this now, I am only letting you learn the basics to have an understanding. In the future, when facing many things, you will be able to think about problems from a more global perspective rather than limiting your gaze to a single soldier or a single pawn.

If you have talent, learning the basics will be enough. Later on, you won't even need to study it; you will be able to handle it naturally."

Orochimaru smiled indifferently.

"Then what about Danzo? Setting aside the distant future, let's talk about the near future. He will certainly still have ideas about having a say in the troops in the Land of Hot Springs. To resist foreign aggression, one must first pacify the interior. If we don't solve our internal problems, I'm afraid it won't be easy to consolidate our strength to defeat Kumogakure."

"This is one of the reasons why I want to teach you those things. Regarding Danzo, if there are requests for cooperation that could be beneficial to the war situation, we can cooperate depending on the circumstances. However, how to do so without sacrificing the interests of our own faction is also a troublesome matter.

Although it feels disgusting—we are already on the battlefield, yet we still need to scheme over these petty trifles—unfortunately, this is the political environment of Konoha. Before we have the ability to change it, we can only hold our noses and endure this disgust in order to do what we want to do."

By the time he finished speaking, the smile on Orochimaru's face had disappeared.

To a large extent, this talented, cold-blooded, and cruel Ninja was a quite pure person.

He was also very good at schemes and tricks, and his ability to plot was definitely top-tier in the Ninja World. As long as the opponent wasn't some cheater who pulled out abilities beyond intelligence expectations like a Deus Ex Machina, his plans would succeed most of the time.

Just like the Konoha Crush plan; except for his hands being accidentally sealed, the actual results were exactly what Orochimaru wanted to see.

But if he had a choice, Orochimaru would certainly be more willing to invest his time and energy into research that could realize his own ideals, rather than these troublesome matters.