As the versatioween Masashi and Fugaku deepened, Pakura's impression of Masashi began to ge.

  The Masashi she saas not the same as the one she had started to get used to—a somewhat unserious individual.

  Instead, he now came across as a youth whose mind was filled with entirely earhoughts.

  This serious version of Masashi made her feel a bit out of pce. Though she hadn't known him for very long, their enters had beeful. Most importantly, he had been rather flippant throughout.

  If not for witnessing his adept methods of fabrig fake reports to earra bo the Hokage's office, she might have thought him unreliable.

  After all, she had only aowledged Masashi as a genius when it came to being a bat ninja. Political maneuvering was airely different matter.

  Yet now, he seemed to have genuine ideas, though these ideas were so far-fetched that she found them utterly absurd.

  "Kiri's political structure is shifting," Masashi tinued, his hands folded in front of him. "The Mizukage has created opportunities."

  "You suggest we abandon our homend?"

  "I suggest we secure our future. Everoree needs multiple roots." And some trees rot from the i, Masashi thought but didn't say.

  To think of starting a new bran Kiri—only he could ceive such a notion.

  Among the Five Great Ninja Vilges, Kiri was the most insur and xenophobic.

  Of course, this was rgely due to the policies of the Bloody Mist.

  Pakura never expected Masashi to eain su idea, even if he had suggested it as a st resort.

  This young man exhibited a rather pessimistic view of the Uchiha 's future in Konoha.

  Clearly, his proposal was not well received by Fugaku.

  "Masashi, f alliances is ohing, but the idea of splitting off is excessively pessimistic," he remarked. "The 's circumstances have never beeer. You're the main reason for that. You should have more fiden us."

  It's not that I don't have fiden the . It's just that I don't trust you all... Masashi almost blurted this out.

  But he held it back.

  The Uchiha 's obsession with the eiefits of the Police Force was not a matter of greed. It ath that entirely isoted them from Konoha's mainstream political enviro.

  Regardless of whether Tobirama created the Police Force as a deliberate trap for the Uchiha, the 's current as were effectively digging their own grave.

  Given the Uchiha 's strengths, the Police Force was ill-suited for them. Their true pce should be in the regur military, in the jonin units.

  Even from a purely eic perspective, the bes of joining the mission system would far exceed what the Police Force could provide.

  Of course, Masashi also uood that this wasn't something that could easily be criticized. Habits were among the most powerful forces in the world, and aversion to risk was natural. Most people's first instinct was to avoid risk.

  But the problem was that the Uchiha still had this fixation on being Hokage...

  Uhis obsession was resolved, the Uchiha would eventually find themselves in direct flict with the Hokage's office again.

  In his view, Kiri represehe best fallback option. Although Kiri's native ninja s were exclusive, they were not opposed to the inclusion of strong outside s.

  The vilge's civilian ninja popution was also growing in strength, and both the Third and Fourth Mizukage had e from non- backgrounds, which had put the existing ninja s under siderable pressure.

  Hopefully, the Uchiha's fidence wasn't just mispism.

  Deg not to dwell oopic further, he focused on what he could do himself.

  After cluding his discussion with Fugaku, during which he received an ample dose of motivational "chi soup for the soul," he led Pakura out of Fugaku's residence as her guide.

  He brought her to Obito's former residend made thh arras before leavio her own devices, entering his personal downtime.

  In other words, he was off duty.

  Bae, he tidied up a bit, enjoyed a well-earned rest, and, as night fell, stepped out to visit a rade's house.

  Reuniting with some old friends, the group decided to rex over tea.

  It had been a long time sihey st gathered.

  It wasn't that tea articurly appealing; it was simply the best way for them to unwind. Drinking and barbecues got b after a while.

  Masashi initially thought of inviting Shisui but was firmly rejected by his friends.

  "e on, Masashi-nii," Tetsuka early pleaded. "When we hang out, we want to let loose. Shisui is way too uptight—it kills the vibe."

  "It's like having an ANBU captain at a tea party," another friend added, drawing ughs from the group.

  Masashi thought about it and realized they had a point.

  The girls they invited were all incredible talents in their ht, and Shisui, as talented as he was, had this air of vigince around him that made everyone unfortable.

  This was especially awkward for the girls.

  After all, their job was to eain, not to cross any lihe atmosphere was what mattered most.

  Recalling the faze of one girl from a previous gathering, Masashi agreed.

  Thus, the group unanimously decided to head to a familiar bar.

  It was the same street, the same owner, but this time there was no Danzō to ruin their fun.

  The man was dead, after all. No ce of interference.

  In honor of his former financial patron, he resolved to light inse for Danzō on the anniversary of his death year. Maybe I'll even write him a poem about effit budgeting, he thought.

  When the owner saw Masashi, his eyes lit up.

  This regur was someone of immense influence. A visit from him could make or break a business.

  Soon enough, they were seated in the best private room, joined by the most talented dancers.

  Drinking, crag jokes, and occasionally singing, Masashi had the girls ughing and smiling, clearly enjoying themselves.

  Watg the girls, who seemed ready to throw themselves at Masashi, Tetsuhuo and the others felt equal parts envy and admiration.

  Uhem, who only knew how to fight, he excelled not only in bat but also in other areas. His sculpting was rehroughout the Land of Fire.

  Just retly, nobles from the daimyō's court had paid a hefty sum to acquire his work.

  parisons were indeed odious.

  Masashi, however, couldn't care less about his friends' fleeting feelings of inferiority. He khey'd soon be ughing it off as usual. He was here to enjoy himself, and enjoy himself he did.

  Live for the moment, worry about tomorrow ter—what else could one do?

  ---

  The prison of the ANBU was, truthfully, not a great pce.

  It couldn't pare to the prison managed by the Uchiha terms of facilities. Even the food at Konoha Prison was better thaandard meals in many ninja vilges.

  The cold crete walls held none of the sophisticated security seals that lihe Uchiha facility, and the lighting flickered itently through the corridors.

  This wasn't surprising—there just wasn't enough funding.

  The Uchiha, being perfeists, took prison ma seriously. They couldn't stand doing things half-heartedly, and this meticulousness was reflected in their work.

  Orochimaru, however, wasn't bothered by such details.

  Left without parents when he was just a kid, he'd gohrough every hardship you could think of.

  Among the three Sannin, Tsunade loved gambling and drinking, while Jiraiya adored the pany of women. Orochimaru, oher hand, had no i in life's pleasures.

  Food, clothing, and shelter meant nothing to him.

  His sole passion was researg ninjutsu—not to harm others, but to uhe truths of the world.

  One day, he would unravel all the mysteries of existehat was his only goal, deeply rooted in his heart since childhood.

  As a boy, his initial motivation for pursuing ninjutsu was a simple belief: if he unraveled the truths of the universe, he might reuh his parents.

  Ironically, it were Konoha ninjas who had killed his parents. Teically, Konoha was his enemy.

  But Hiruzen, reizing both his talent and the darkness in his heart, took him as a disciple. With fatherly care and guidance, along with the panionship of Tsunade and Jiraiya, Orochimaru's hatred gradually faded.

  At the time, he truly saw them as his rades.

  However, the harsh realities of war exposed him to the fragility of life. To uhe world's truths and shield himself from pain, he severed all ties and began seeking immortality—a prerequisite for his researto ninjutsu.

  His ultimate goal required one essential thing: time. This was the only true curren this world. Everything else was meaningless.

  Without panions, all his energy was eled into ninjutsu research.

  Orochimaru despised flict—it wasted his time. His dream was to find a pce free from external distras where he could resear peace.

  But Konoha was being increasingly unsuitable for his work.

  The stant power struggles between the Hokage's administration and the ninja s ed his energy and irritated him. It was a waste of life.

  When Danzō nominated him for Hokage, he found the idea ughably dull. But he couldn't ht refuse; after all, his uricted research often relied on Danzō's support.

  He tried to see the bright side, remembering the Sed Hokage, who ducted experiments freely without interference. Orochimaru admired Tobirama not because he was Hokage, but because they would have shared mu on as researchers.

  Ultimately, the positioo Minato, supported by the jonin corps. While a bit disgruntled, Orochimaru was relieved.

  At least someone else could deal with the mess of being Hokage.

  Yet the chaos persisted.

  Danzō, despite his generosity with funding, was an insufferable nag. He frequently dragged Orochimaru out of his experiments for tedious meetings.

  If Danzō hadn't been his beor, Orochimaru might have stabbed him with the Kusanagi long ago.

  At that point, he resolved: anyone who partnered with him but wasted his time—beor or not—would be eliminated.

  In the ANBU prison, where time seemed to stand still, he didn't feel fined. On the trary, he appreciated the sile gave him space to think.

  Although Minato's seals were still firmly in pce, he wasn't ed.

  His snake-based ninjutsu, developed using Ryūchi Cave's Sage Teiques, altered his physiology in ways that made him nearly impossible to subdue.

  Even without access to ninjutsu, he could easily overpower most people.

  While the ANBU restricted all ining information, they couldn't stop him from gathering intelligenbsp;

  During his impriso, he remained fully aware of outside events.

  Danzō was dead.

  Though the old man had always schemed incessantly, Orochimaru was surprised by his sudden demise. Minato had acted decisively.

  Orochimaru approved.

  Not only had he gathered intelligence, but he had also plotted his escape route down to the st detail.

  Retly, however, Orochimaru had scaled back his information-gathering efforts. He refrained from sending out his miniature snakes because Masashi had returo the vilge.

  Still, he didn't see Masashi as an enemy. His escape would likely be the Uchiha .

  Kumo, which suffered minimal losses i war, would undoubtedly seize the opportunity created by the colpse of the three Sannin.

  War would divert Konoha's attention, leaving him free to act.

  Additionally, war would allow the Uchiha to grow stronger, challenging Konoha's existing power structure. A military frontatioween Konoha and Kumo could also attract Iwa's attention.

  The previous war had heavily damaged Konoha, Suna, and Kiri. Even as the victor, Konoha couldn't recover its strength quickly.

  And losing Danzō meant it had even less capacity to project power externally.

  Orochimaru had already decided: he would head to the Land of Rice Fields.

  Its geography made it ideal, avoiding the flict zones of the Great Nations. Its only strong neighbor, the Land of Fire, could be avoided if he stayed hidden.

  He could establish a vilge there, gain reition as Konoha's ally, and work in peace.

  Everything was i was time to act.

  In the cell, faint footsteps echoed.

  Orochimaru had already memorized the ANBU patrol intervals. By his calcution, he could escape unnoticed until reag the northern district.

  Ohere, the western forest would provide cover, allowing him to scale the wall and escape into the open world.

  Only a handful of people in Konoha could stop him now.

  Outside his cell, an ANBU ninja g him, sitting still with disheveled hair.

  The masked figure hesitated, their gaze avoiding Orochimaru's pierg, snake-like eyes.

  "Orochimaru," the ANBU said emotionlessly, "is there anything you need?"

  "I could use a test subject. I have a new idea." Orochimaru's gaze sharpened, his greed unnerving the ANBU, who stiffened.

  "You must be joking…" the ANBU muttered, quickly turning to leave.

  The cell returo silence.

  The ANBU ninja's footsteps quied. He turned a er and came out from another pce after a while.

  Passing the security checkpoint, he left the prison area auro the office.

  Another ANBU stood as he entered.

  "Any ges with Orochimaru?"

  "he first ANBU replied, though he looked shaken.

  The sed ANBU observed him but said nothing. Everyone khat fag Orochimaru was unnerving.

  Their squad leader entered, gng at the pair.

  "Ren, you've been to Orochimaru's cell?"

  "Yes."

  "Uood. Take the day off. You've ear."

  The shaken Ren nodded weakly, murmured a "Yes," a.