The Third Hokage had completely misunderstood Orochimaru. If not for Hiruzen's reminder, Orochimaru wouldn't have even considered this approach.
Who would've thought that performing too well in the Battle of Hidden Cloud would cause complications?
Previously, in order to obtain the Reanimation Jutsu, Orochimaru and the Lamp Spirit had cooked up another plan.
It's worth noting here that the Lamp Spirit had suggested using the same tactic Orochimaru once used against Danzo—leveraging the Hokage succession as a threat to pressure Hiruzen into handing over the forbidden technique.
But Orochimaru flat-out refused.
Unlike with Danzo, he couldn't bring himself to play dirty in front of Hiruzen or Jiraiya. He had his pride—and even denied the Lamp Spirit's idea outright.
Seeing this, the Lamp Spirit gave up on forcing the issue. It wasn't the only plan they had, after all—just one option among many.
Still, neither of them expected that before they even had time to act, the situation would resolve itself naturally.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, a mix of surprise and satisfaction glinting within them.
Compared to a scheme that needed careful setup, this kind of natural momentum—the shift of public perception and political weight—was much harder to counter. Just like the Lamp Spirit had once said: in the end, the old man would have to choose the lesser of two evils.
Across from him, Hiruzen Sarutobi was deep in thought.
To balance out Orochimaru's growing influence, offering him a forbidden technique was an elegant solution. But… did it have to be the Reanimation Jutsu?
As Hokage, Hiruzen had access to all the forbidden jutsu sealed away in the village's archives. Each of them was a dangerous treasure.
But not all forbidden jutsu were alike.
Some, like the Dead Demon Consuming Seal or the Exploding Clone, directly endangered the user's life.
Others required such strict conditions or overwhelming chakra that they were practically unusable—like certain space-time techniques that could tear a person apart if misused.
Then there were techniques like Reanimation—the third category—which crossed moral and ethical boundaries.
The first two kinds? If Orochimaru were to request them, no one would complain. A ninja of the Sannin's caliber studying such techniques was perfectly reasonable.
But this situation demanded something more deliberate.
To appease public sentiment, they had to give Orochimaru a forbidden jutsu from the third category. Something controversial enough to make the villagers wary of him again.
And realistically… none of the other techniques were as effective as the Reanimation Jutsu.
Besides, if they tried offering him anything else, Orochimaru might not even cooperate.
Hiruzen looked over at him and let out a long, tired sigh. A bitter smile crept onto his aging face.
Just like before… his student had cornered him again.
And once more, Orochimaru would get exactly what he wanted.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's feelings were complicated—he couldn't tell whether it was helplessness or a strange sense of relief.
After a long sigh, he finally spoke.
"Forget it… I've thought it over. I'll give you the Reanimation Jutsu."
Orochimaru smiled faintly. "In that case, I'll also take the Spirit Transformation Technique—along with all the notes and experiences left by those who've trained in it."
"I can offer you this promise," he added after a moment. "I won't use the Reanimation Jutsu on Konoha's shinobi."
The Third Hokage waved his hand—whether out of dismissal or disbelief was unclear.
He understood Orochimaru well enough to know: morality didn't bind him. If there was enough to gain, promises meant little. Convincing himself otherwise was just a form of self-soothing.
---
When Orochimaru stepped out of the Hokage Records Hall, it was already late at night.
Bathed in moonlight, a satisfied gleam danced across his pale face.
He hadn't expected to obtain the Reanimation Jutsu so easily—days ahead of schedule, in fact.
Outside the Hokage Tower, Jiraiya caught up with him.
"Orochimaru… what are you planning to do with that forbidden technique?"
"Curious, are you?" Orochimaru turned, smiling slyly. "Then answer me this first—how far have you gotten with that breathing technique you 'secretly' picked up?"
"'Secretly'? Please. I learned it out in the open."
Jiraiya put on his usual carefree grin, but under Orochimaru's cold gaze, he eventually dropped the act.
"…Honestly, it's powerful. I don't know where you found it, but if I keep training, I might even reach Sage Mode without needing the help of the two Great Toads."
"That good, huh?" Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. He wasn't exactly thrilled by Jiraiya's bluntness—it felt like an underhanded jab, even if it was true.
Still, now wasn't the time to argue.
"Write down your training notes and share them with me. Kakashi and the others have started practicing it too. It may help them."
Jiraiya nodded. He'd met the three of them before and knew they had great potential. If it could accelerate their growth, he didn't mind sharing his insights.
After agreeing on a time to exchange notes, Jiraiya brought the conversation back.
"So… what are you going to do with the Reanimation Jutsu?"
Orochimaru smiled thinly. "Lately, I've been interested in spiritual techniques."
He gave Jiraiya part of the truth… and mixed in just enough to mislead.
"Morals aside, Reanimation is just a type of Summoning Jutsu. Only, instead of beasts or tools, what's summoned is a soul from the Pure Land."
Jiraiya frowned, thinking it over. "That's all?"
"Heh… if things go well, some powerful souls might be summoned. Their knowledge alone could be invaluable."
Orochimaru played with the scroll in his hand, a hint of regret in his voice.
"It's a pity, though. The Second Hokage's version of the jutsu is far from complete. Those sand-like puppets are too dull. All they can do is follow commands and die again."
Jiraiya opened his mouth, but Orochimaru cut him off.
"I've said I won't use the bodies of our own village's shinobi—at least, not yet. The jutsu's still too immature. There's no need to waste valuable bodies on test runs. Any corpse will do for now."
Jiraiya caught the implication.
"So… if the technique matures, you will consider using Konoha's dead shinobi?"
Orochimaru just smiled—ambiguous, evasive.
"That depends. On whether it's necessary."
He knew exactly what Jiraiya and Hiruzen were worried about. For them, desecrating the bodies of comrades crossed a moral line—one rooted in the bonds of the village.
But in the grand scheme?
No one ever complained when it was enemy corpses being used.
The Lamp Spirit had a name for this: double standards. Ninja morality was shallow and tribal. As if only the lives of Leaf shinobi counted as human.
To Orochimaru, morality was just self-deception.
"So," he said, watching Jiraiya's grim expression, "are you going to stop me?"
He licked his lips, a teasing smile curling up.
"It's simple, really. Just make sure my summons aren't worth the trouble."
"Can you do that?" Orochimaru's tone sharpened. "Or is chasing your so-called 'Child of Prophecy' more important right now?"
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