Bab 625: The Curtain Rises on Konoha!
Buzz! With a casual gesture, Aoba removed the barrier surrounding the area.
The underground hall of Root returned to its original state.
With no energy leaking out, no sound escaping, and no spectators around, absolutely no one knew what had transpired here.
Yet...
Aoba's Rinnegan saw everything and relayed the images to his true body and other paper clones.
He hadn't planned to dispose of Orochimaru so soon. He had intended to wait until Minato became Hokage and then blame Orochimaru for stealing the Uchiha's eyes.
But...
Plans don't always keep up with changes.
Aoba hadn't anticipated that Orochimaru would detect some issues and take proactive steps. Had they been near the Hokage's office, he wouldn't have acted, but in Root, there were no such reservations.
Although Orochimaru delivered himself to the doorstep, there was no reason not to take advantage of the situation. If he didn't eliminate Orochimaru now, the latter could cause more trouble in the future, potentially ruining his plans.
This involved his future peaceful life.
So, it had to be handled carefully.
Aoba chose not outright to devour Orochimaru's soul with the King of Hell. It seemed too harsh to erase such a person from the world entirely; leaving his soul in the Pure Land kept some possibilities open.
This decision influenced Aoba's later choice to incinerate Orochimaru's body instead of using it to create more Pain as he did with Danzo's body for the Deva Path.
Such a change was also based on a re-evaluation of the situation.
Aoba used Danzo's body to create a Deva Path clone, but beyond utilizing Danzo's identity, there wasn't really any need for the Deva Path to exert strength.
Actually, Aoba could achieve similar effects using his paper clones, and the result wouldn't be inferior to using a Deva Path.
The main reason Aoba transformed Danzo into a Pain was to deceive the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, as Danzo and Hiruzen's relationship was quite extraordinary. If he hadn't used Danzo's body, Hiruzen might have recognized him, rendering his plans meaningless.
But Orochimaru's body was different.
Even the Third Hokage himself wouldn't recognize Orochimaru's body.
There will be no such concerns at all.
Orochimaru himself was a very elusive being, so there was no need to use his body to create a clone to impersonate him.
Following this line of thought...
Aoba felt there was no point in doing so, especially since even he wasn't clear if Orochimaru's body held any secrets that could lead to his revival. Using it rashly was too risky.
Of course.
Aoba could delve deep into Orochimaru's memories to seek potential resurrection points within him.
But Aoba had neither the inclination nor the time for such an endeavor, so he simply incinerated Orochimaru's body, acting as if Orochimaru had never existed. If needed, he could impersonate Orochimaru later using a paper clone.
Having dealt with Orochimaru, Aoba felt much lighter. Orochimaru had been like a ticking time bomb, unpredictable in how and when he might explode.
Compared to Madara, Orochimaru was even more troublesome for Aoba simply because of his unpredictability.
Everyone has their motives for their actions.
Even those acting on their whims have motives driven by likes or dislikes. Madara's goal was to enact the Infinite Tsukuyomi, which is a straightforward objective.
Black Zetsu sought to rescue his mother, Kaguya!
Everyone has their motives, but only Orochimaru's are inscrutable to Aoba.
In some ways, Orochimaru wasn't merely acting on whims; he had some standards.
Initially, Aoba thought Orochimaru sought to collect all jutsu or possibly desired immortality, but Orochimaru's ambiguous decisions made it hard to determine his true stance.
Aoba couldn't discern any steadfast principles in Orochimaru's actions; it seemed Orochimaru's motives changed over time, making him an erratic figure.
Dealing with someone whose goals are not even clear to themselves...
Aoba had no sure way to control Orochimaru and needed more interest in doing so. He didn't want Orochimaru disturbing his planned life, but it seemed futile to keep him around.
At this point.
People who would change the ninja world were gone.
Madara, Danzo, and Orochimaru were all dead.
Black Zetsu was sealed by him, not to be released lightly, waiting for when Aoba felt inclined.
Hanzo wasn't dead; Nagato had been deceived that he was an Otsutsuki, and unless something unexpected occurred, Konan would be on his side. The original Amegakure trio had changed, making it uncertain if the Akatsuki would end up as they did in the future.
As for Kabuto, the dream-fulfilling master of later generations, his whereabouts were unknown—whether he was at the orphanage or hadn't arrived yet was unclear to Aoba. He was also not interested in finding Kabuto since Danzo's absence would change Kabuto's life trajectory, much like Obito's life would change without Madara.
Of course.
For Aoba.
The threat level of Obito was far higher than that of Kabuto.
If Kabuto hadn't met Danzo or Orochimaru, he might have grown up in a kind and simple environment, eventually becoming a just person.
Unlike Obito!
Obito was like a time bomb that could destroy the world at the slightest setback!
While watching Naruto, Aoba noted that people's opinions on Obito were very polarized. Many loved him for his willingness to confront the entire world for Rin.
However, those who disliked him did so for the same reason—After darkening, this person almost indiscriminately and directly killed Minato and Kushina, who were very good to him. Many found this incomprehensible, not to mention his inexplicable betrayal later.
In fact, Aoba wished Obito had been more thoroughly darkened. If he had embarked on this path, he should have persisted without regret at the end, showing what seemed a collapse of character.
For Aoba, the hardest thing to understand about Obito wasn't that he killed his mentor Minato and his wife Kushina, but his feelings for Rin.
Obito wanted to create a world with Rin through the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
But that would still be a false, imaginary world.
It was like he was having a dream that he would never wake up from, and in the dream, he could see Rin.
However, dreams are not reality!
Rin was not truly revived.
In the end, the world was still without Rin.
What Aoba didn't understand was that if Obito's love for Rin was so deep, why didn't he aim to revive her using the Rinne Rebirth instead truly?
Ultimately.
Whether it was Kakashi's actions.
Or knowing Madara had deceived and used him.
He was afraid to face his reality, preferring this virtual world to satisfy his fragile heart, which was cowardly behavior.
Obito simply couldn't face the real world!
Thus.
In Aoba's view.
Obito didn't truly love Rin but himself!
His actions weren't really for Rin but as an excuse for his inner comfort!
It was like a weakling hiding in the online world, furiously facing the real world, unwilling to admit it, eventually developing a disdainful mindset, wanting to destroy the entire world to retreat into an online world. But even this online world wasn't equal; it had to conform to his desires.
Someone capable of such thoughts is nearly devoid of any real achievements in the real world, much like Obito, who couldn't even show his true face to the world, thus preferring the virtual world.
With Minato as a clear example, Aoba preferred to keep his distance from people like Obito, seeing him as an ungrateful wolf that could bite back at any slight setback.
For such people, Aoba always kept a respectful distance.
However, since he had come to the ninja world, and the butterfly effect from his arrival had significantly altered events, he wouldn't let the original world's happenings affect his judgment of Obito now.
He decided to give Obito a chance.
After all, the people of this world didn't know what Obito would do in the future, and it wasn't certain he would act the same way due to the changes. Everyone deserves a chance to start anew in a new world, and Aoba was willing to grant Obito that opportunity, provided he didn't misbehave!
If Aoba saw any sign of change in Obito, he wouldn't hesitate to nip it in the bud.
At this moment.
Aoba stood in a vast square at Root.
"The grand curtain of Konoha is about to rise!"
Aoba's paper clone murmured, clear about the plans. After all, he and Aoba were part of the same entity. During Aoba's return process using the Rinnegan, he had already seen the figures of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in his vision.
This indicated...
The issues outside Konoha had been resolved!
What needed to be done now was to overturn Konoha from start to finish completely!
Actually, Aoba had one simpler, more brutal method: to kill the Third Hokage outright, then impersonate him to carry out the Hokage handover ceremony.
But...
Aoba felt such an approach was soulless.
That wasn't how he wanted to do things.
Brute force could solve everything, but there were many things he didn't want to resolve through brute force, as it would strip away much of the fun, the very enjoyment he sought in doing these things. If that were missing, it wouldn't be as interesting.
The position of Hokage was meant for Minato!
This was consistent whether in the original historical trajectory or the current developmental course!
The benefits that Aoba can gain from this process are nothing more than putting his mind in a peaceful state, making up for some of the regrets he had when watching anime in the past, and putting himself in a relatively safe environment.
Just these benefits weren't enough to inspire him!
What Aoba really wanted was to see the Third, Hiruzen, driven to a slight madness when faced with the scenarios he had set up.
After all.
In the original storyline, although many knew of the Third Hokage's inaction, they did not fully dig out what he did.
Now, fewer stains marred the Third Hokage's political achievements, not because now wasn't the time to act but because the time had yet to come.
If threatened again, the Third Hokage would still sacrifice the Hyuga, namely Neji's father.
He would still condone Danzo's decision to eliminate the Uchiha clan if faced with a Uchiha rebellion.
Though such scenarios might no longer occur.
But the butterfly effect could cause other scenarios to unfold.
As long as the Third Hokage was in power.
He would make corresponding choices.
This was unacceptable to Aoba.
Thus.
Aoba wants to create some stain on the Third Hokage artificially!
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
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