Orochimaru truly lived up to being the Third Hokage's prized disciple—by laying out his "dream," he kept brainwashing the young Yakushi Kabuto.
"No matter what kind of dream you have," he said, "if you follow me, you'll have a chance to achieve it!"
Yusuke had warned that Orochimaru was Root's "cleanup crew," so Kabuto initially kept a sliver of caution.
But Orochimaru showed no intention of carrying out Danzo's orders at all.
"Orochimaru-san… what do you mean by all this?" Kabuto asked, confused.
Orochimaru stared quietly at Kabuto, admiration filling his gaze.
"I've actually been watching you for a long time."
"You're a talented child. I value you highly—killing you would be far too wasteful."
"And these medical facilities here… I prepared them specifically for you."
Kabuto was stunned.
"What are you even trying to do?"
Orochimaru, dead serious, spun blatant nonsense:
"I'm going to create a village completely different from the one that erases the self."
"There, you'll find the true meaning of your existence."
"I'll protect you from Danzo. Reborn at my side—under a brand-new identity."
As he spoke, Orochimaru casually tossed Kabuto a new identity card.
Kabuto wanted to refuse, but Orochimaru didn't give him the chance.
"Come to my side."
Dazed and drifting, Kabuto ended up falling right into Orochimaru's trap.
Orochimaru quickly gave him his first mission: investigate the organization called "Akatsuki."
Back in Konoha
At the same time, Yusuke returned to Konoha with Nono.
Orochimaru was now interested in "Akatsuki," while Yusuke prepared to strike at Danzo's "Root."
Land of Fire.
Konohagakure.
As soon as he came back, Yusuke moved immediately.
He instructed Uchiha Fugaku to pick members from the Police Force and form an investigation unit, secretly collecting evidence of Danzo's crimes.
If Yusuke personally got involved, it would be too easy to alert the enemy.
After weighing it carefully, he decided to hand the task to Fugaku.
With the leads Orochimaru had provided, finding a breakthrough would be effortless.
Fugaku frequently led people out of the village on cases anyway—him investigating Danzo wouldn't draw much attention from Konoha's higher-ups.
Still, for safety—
Yusuke deliberately acted high-profile.
Using his authority as "Hokage Advisor," he loudly recruited elite Konoha shinobi to join a new直属 ANBU under his command.
Hokage's Office — The Konoha F4 Meeting
The Konoha F4 gathered again for a private meeting.
Hiruzen Sarutobi already had an ANBU report on his desk. Yusuke's aggressive talent-gathering made him deeply uneasy.
"About Uchiha Yusuke's recent actions," Hiruzen asked, exhaling smoke from his pipe, "what are your thoughts?"
Homura Mitokado cleared his throat.
"I've read the ANBU report. Under the pretext of 'expanding ANBU,' Uchiha Yusuke is recruiting elites."
"He's clearly building his own power base."
"An Uchiha clan alone is already troublesome. If a new faction fully takes shape, the situation will become even harder to control."
"Uchiha Yusuke has ulterior motives, Hiruzen—you must be on guard."
Koharu Utatane nodded in agreement.
"Homura is right."
"You already handed some of Danzo's former people to Uchiha Yusuke, but he obviously isn't satisfied."
"We absolutely can't just watch him grow unchecked."
After the two advisors spoke, the grim-faced Danzo finally stepped forward.
If anyone was the most furious about Yusuke's rising influence, it was Danzo.
That Hokage Advisor seat had been his for years—yet the Third Hokage suddenly stripped him and let Yusuke climb up instead.
The more he thought, the angrier he got.
If Hiruzen hadn't been so harsh with him, would Yusuke be this arrogant?
News of Root's assassination failure had already returned. Danzo's hatred for Yusuke had sunk into his bones.
He tapped his cane and snapped:
"The Uchiha's wolfish ambition is obvious."
"We should strike first and erase this unstable element completely."
Hiruzen felt his teeth ache.
Every time Danzo opened his mouth, it was "wipe out the whole clan."
Did he think the Uchiha were that easy?
Hiruzen was displeased with the Uchiha—but for now, his main target was Uchiha Yusuke as an individual.
As for Fugaku, Shisui, Itachi…
Hiruzen believed those could still be "won over."
In Hiruzen's eyes, the hardest Uchiha to deal with was Yusuke—only Yusuke.
Danzo's attempted assassination of Yusuke looked airtight on the surface, but it couldn't truly escape the Third Hokage's eyes.
Hiruzen had hoped Danzo might finally produce results.
Instead, even with Hanzo the Salamander involved, Root still got crushed.
Hiruzen was thoroughly disappointed in Danzo.
In his heart, he'd already decided:
A massacre was out of the question.
If Danzo had the ability to kill Uchiha Yusuke, Hiruzen would help him regain power.
If he couldn't…
then sharing rule with Uchiha Yusuke was fine too.
Power shared is still power.
And honestly—Danzo wasn't any easier to deal with than Yusuke anyway.
As for Danzo "assassinating" him in the past—
Hiruzen smiled on the surface, but he'd written it down in his private ledger.
I put you one step below me and above everyone else—and you still keep dreaming of overthrowing me?
A true mountain-wolf, aren't you?
Yusuke had ambition, yes, but so far he hadn't done anything wildly out of bounds.
So Hiruzen's stance became simple:
Let Danzo and Yusuke clash.
He, Sarutobi Hiruzen, would play the "observer" for once.
With that thought, the Third Hokage forced himself into a troubled expression.
"This matter is far-reaching… and extremely serious."
"Let's discuss it later."
Hiruzen sought stability and once again contradicted Danzo.
The two advisors hesitated, but ultimately sided with Hiruzen.
Danzo couldn't read Hiruzen's real intentions. Naively, he assumed Hiruzen's "softness" meant he'd grown sympathetic toward the Uchiha.
In truth, Hiruzen simply didn't want trouble.
No matter how popular Yusuke became, he couldn't threaten Hiruzen in the short term.
Hiruzen had governed Konoha for decades.
As long as he didn't commit a fatal mistake, his position wasn't something anyone could shake overnight.
And Hiruzen cared deeply about his reputation.
All the dirty work he'd done could be tossed to Danzo—the perfect glove to take the blame.
Even if Yusuke wanted to dig up Hiruzen's faults, it would be extremely difficult.
Besides, Jiraiya and Tsunade still, at heart, leaned toward Konoha.
If either returned, they could absolutely stand toe-to-toe with Yusuke.
The Hokage faction still had deep roots.
Yusuke had recruited people, but compared to them, his base was still thin.
A few young clan heads—what did that matter?
If Hiruzen wanted, he could call out the elders of those clans at any time.
And even the young leaders who supported Yusuke might not reject Jiraiya or Tsunade.
Those two had high prestige, even while absent.
Tsunade was the First Hokage's granddaughter—and also officially recognized by the Fire Daimyō as a "princess."
Jiraiya might be common-born, but he represented civilian shinobi—and he had trained the Fourth Hokage.
Yusuke had won a war for Konoha, but at most his fame could only stand level with the "Sannin."
Back in the Second Shinobi World War, the "Sannin" were already legendary figures.
Even if Yusuke's strength surpassed them—
his renown still couldn't crush theirs.
Yusuke might be the brightest star of this era…
but the "Sannin" were living myths.
Konoha Street — Recruiting Old Classmates
Yusuke invited Kakashi and Might Guy—his old classmates—to a luxurious tavern for a meal.
Hearing Yusuke was treating, Kakashi shamelessly grabbed the menu and started ordering like a man possessed.
Glancing at his shriveled wallet, Yusuke felt a headache coming.
He had just spent most of his money supporting Nono's orphanage.
And now he was dragging people to an expensive place to blow cash—he was practically broke.
Nono infiltrated Iwa for five years—shouldn't she receive a massive mission bonus? Why am I paying out of pocket?
And if I'm treating people for "ANBU expansion," shouldn't this be reimbursed as official expenses?
Yusuke had already decided:
Later, he would march straight to the Finance Department and demand a ruthless reimbursement.
After a few rounds of drink and plenty of dishes, Yusuke stated his purpose.
"I'm building a new ANBU unit."
"I want both of you to join."
Guy froze.
In the past, he had asked the Third Hokage to join ANBU—only to be sharply rejected.
Hearing Yusuke propose it now, Guy didn't know how to react.
Kakashi, half-lidded and listless, said flatly:
"I'm not interested in ANBU."
"Find someone else."
During the Fourth Hokage's era, Kakashi had already served as ANBU, guarding Kushina.
After the Fourth died, Kakashi shifted again under the Third Hokage's authority.
He said he wasn't interested, but in truth he was an ANBU squad leader directly under Hiruzen.
ANBU identities had to remain secret—even from people who knew you well.
Yusuke recruiting Kakashi was basically poaching from Hiruzen in broad daylight.
And he didn't care at all.
Hiruzen had already hoarded enough elites in his own ANBU.
As Hokage Advisor, it was only reasonable for Yusuke to "share" one or two top talents.
Yusuke smiled.
"Don't reject it so quickly."
"What I'm building is fundamentally different from ordinary ANBU."
Kakashi rolled his eyes and joked:
"You're not thinking of making another 'Root,' are you?"
Yusuke neither confirmed nor denied. He simply murmured:
"Konoha has had too much shadow for too long."
"I just want to sweep it away."
"How much can I sweep?"
"I'll do what I can… and leave the rest to fate."
Kakashi's eyes flashed with a strange light.
His father Sakumo, driven to suicide by public condemnation.
His teacher Minato, dead under a fog of unresolved truths.
Obito—and Rin—wounds that never healed.
So much tragedy in Kakashi's life was tied to decisions made at the top.
He respected the Third Hokage, yes—
but deep down, he still wanted someone to change Konoha's direction.
If Yusuke truly meant to be that pioneer…
Kakashi was willing to follow.
Obito's childhood dream had been to become Hokage and change Konoha.
If Kakashi did this, it was like fulfilling that dream for his friend.
Seeing Kakashi begin to waver, Yusuke's smile deepened.
He didn't intend to "change Konoha" with words alone.
He would prove it with action.
Danzo would be the perfect pledge:
Once "Root" was purged, Konoha's darkness would immediately be cut down by more than half.
Hiruzen was also ruthless in his own way—
but he wasn't like Danzo, openly pulling grotesque schemes in the dark.
Time passed. Years wore down ambition.
The Third Hokage had long since lost the bold hunger of youth.
Now, he only wanted to live steadily, keep Konoha stable—
and, after death, leave behind the praise of "a wise ruler."
Yusuke's goal was clear:
To rewrite the fate of the Uchiha massacre—
Danzo and Root had to be uprooted completely.
Words were only the knock at the door.
He would use real results to convince Kakashi.
If Kakashi joined, Guy would likely come as a "buy one, get one."
Add Nono and Kurenai…
and the four squad-leader slots of the new organization would basically be filled.
As for regular members—selecting talented shinobi from the major clans would be enough.
Hiruzen's ANBU wasn't any higher quality than that.
Yusuke wasn't going to be overly demanding of ordinary operatives.
And beyond these four open squads…
Yusuke also planned to pull elite Uchiha from the clan, with Shisui as captain.
After many talks, Shisui had gradually begun leaning back toward the Uchiha.
Yusuke believed that through the forging of this new organization,
Shisui would fully part ways with Konoha's higher-ups.
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