Letting his wife be Hokage?


    Now that was truly an amusing idea.


    For Orochimaru, there was more satisfaction in being the husband of the Hokage than being Hokage himself.


    Besides, in his memory, Tsunade had indeed be Hokage in the original timeline, so it didn''t seem far-fetched at all.


    Why was Minato Namikaze the Fourth Hokage in the original storyline?


    It didn''t take much analysis to figure out.


    Under normal circumstances, if Hiruzen truly abdicated, the Hokage position would naturally pass to his son or one of his disciples.


    But at the time, his eldest son had died, and his second son, Asuma, was too young. This left only the legendary Sannin as viable candidates.


    Of the three, Hiruzen''s most cherished and talented disciple was Orochimaru. If Orochimaru had stayed on the "normal" path, his ascension to the Hokage seat would have been all but certain.However, Orochimaru''s ambitions, nurtured under Danzo''s influence, ultimately disqualified him from consideration.


    Among the remaining two, Tsunade had lost herself in grief after the deaths of her brother and lover. By the end of the Third Shinobi World War, she had left Konoha and disappeared into a self-imposed exile.


    As for Jiraiya, he had always been a wanderer, and hismitment to finding the "Child of Prophecy" ensured that he too left the vige.


    Thus, Hiruzen had no choice but to turn to Jiraiya''s disciple, Namikaze Minato, as the next Hokage. Minato''s ideals aligned with Hiruzen''s, and he was both capable and loyal—a perfect candidate.


    But now, the situation had changed.


    In this timeline, Tsunade''s brother hadn''t died, and she had never been in love with Kato Dan.


    Even though Hiruzen might be wary of her because of her marriage to Orochimaru, Tsunade''s chances of bing Hokage were much higher than Minato''s.


    "You''re kidding, right?" Tsunade said offhandedly. "How could I possibly be qualified to be Hokage? Besides, have you ever seen a vige led by a female Kage?"


    Orochimaru was momentarily at a loss for words.


    The future Fifth Hokage herself, iming to be unqualified? How ironic.


    And yet, she wasn''t entirely wrong.


    Up until now, no vige had ever had a female Kage. Historically, all leaders had been men.


    In the original timeline, the first female Kage was Terumi Mei, the Fifth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist.


    But at this moment, Mei was still just a child.


    "Fine, you make a good point," Orochimaru conceded, shaking his head. He decided not to argue further.


    After all, the Third Hokage was still in his prime and hadn''t made any major mistakes. Discussing the session of the Hokage seat was premature.


    After exchanging a few more words with Tsunade, Orochimaru fell silent, turning his attention instead to the two blood samples he had collected.


    The Sharingan was renowned for its immense spiritual power, and the Mangekyō Sharingan possessed even greater potential.


    What intrigued him was whether these two gic samples could be fused with his own to induce a qualitative leap in his mental energy, perhaps even reaching the level of an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. ???ΝοＢЁ?


    He wasn''t entirely sure.


    But what he was certain of was that the research would allow him to assist Nagato in awakening the Rinnegan. That much was within his reach.


    ---


    June, Year 39 of Konoha.


    Orochimaru and Tsunade had been married for three years.


    This year, they both turned 29.


    During this time, Orochimaru had rarely left the vige, dedicating himself to assisting Danzo with his experiments.


    The number ofpleted human experiments had risen from over 20 to over 60, with more than 30 children currently undergoing "cultivation."


    It was also this year that Kakashi and Guy''s ss began their academy enrollment.


    And this year, a message from the Land of Lightning arrived at the Third Hokage''s desk.


    Hiruzen sat in the Hokage''s office, holding the scroll in his hands. Beside ity another scroll, and beside that, yet another. He smoked cigarette after cigarette, his face shadowed with unease.


    "What''s wrong, Sarutobi?"


    Several advisors entered the conference room, immediately noticing his somber expression.


    Without a word, Hiruzen tossed the three scrolls onto the table.


    Homura, the most senior of the advisors, picked up one of the scrolls and began to read. His expression soon turned grim.


    "The Land of Lightning wants to dissolve its alliance with us? Why?"


    "It doesn''t make sense," Koharu said in shock. "Our rtionship with them has been stable for years. What could have changed?"


    "Have you forgotten what happened three months ago?" Hiruzen replied with a weary sigh, puffing on his pipe.


    "Three months ago?" Danzo furrowed his brow. "Hmph. Ridiculous. This is just an excuse to dissolve the alliance."


    "Even if we know it''s an excuse, what can we do?" Hiruzen exhaled a long plume of smoke, looking more tired than ever.


    Three months earlier, the Land of Lightning had sent a formal request, iming they had suffered heavy losses during thest war. They argued that Konoha had be too strong, jeopardizing the bnce between the two nations.


    To "strengthen their alliance," they demanded that Konoha share its research advancements with them.


    Share?


    Share what?


    Sharing their vige''s hard-earned technology with another nation wasughable. Naturally, Konoha had refused.


    The Land of Lightning had then used this as a pretext to dissolve their alliance.


    But for the advisors and Hokage, the true reason behind the dissolution was obvious.


    "Why do they really want to dissolve the alliance?" Koharu pressed, narrowing her eyes.


    "You''ll understand after reading the other two scrolls," Hiruzen replied.


    Koharu immediately grabbed the remaining scrolls and scanned their contents.


    "What?! The three viges formed an alliance?!"


    "How is that possible?"


    Homura disbelief mirrored Koharu''s.


    Even Danzo frowned deeply. "Their animosity toward each other runs deep. How could they possibly form an alliance?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "It''s because of Orochimaru."


    Koharu''s gaze sharpened as she spoke, fully understanding the implications.


    "Orochimaru?"


    She nodded. "Orochimaru''s performance during thest war was too outstanding. He assassinated the Kazekage from a distance, dominated the battlefield, and his research could further strengthen Konoha.


    "They''re afraid of Konoha bing too powerful, which would threaten their own interests. By allying, they''re trying to stop us before it''s toote."


    "So, they''ve united to target us?" Homura asked.


    "Precisely," Koharu confirmed. "Their demand is clear: hand over Orochimaru, or we''ll face thebined forces of three ninja viges."


    "What?!"


    Danzo mmed his fist on the table, his anger evident. "Ridiculous! Bastards!"


    ***


    Support me on patreon to read 60+ advanced chapters: /Blownleaves.