Chương 14: Chapter 14 - To Become Next Hokage
Decimo sat on the chair, resting his elbow on the chair arm, and his cheek on the palm of his hand, his eyes closed. The only strange thing was that he wasn't inside the room, but near the woods. Or the last of them, since beyond this everything was sand, "Oh if it isn't Decimo. And here I was wondering who it was when I got the message."
Orochimaru walked on the barren land and into the grass, looking at the man sitting on the chair. He always had keen eye for people and talent, and that is why when he saw Decimo grow up, there was only one word struck in his mind, 'Power.'
Decimo slowly opened his scarlet eyes, moving across the grass and to the pale-skinned man with snake-like eyes, settling on him, "Sir Orochimaru. Do you want to become the Next Hokage?"
"Hm," Orochimaru looked surprised from the abrupt question. He nodded, "I am trying to. Why? Are you going to run for the Title?"
"No," Decimo let out a breath, "I am not going to run for the title. I am taking the Seat of Hokage. Which leaves me with a problem, the other candidates."
He got on his feet, "I would like you to withdraw from the competition? Would you?"
Orochimaru put his hand inside his tool bag, grabbing the kunai, "even if I did that. You would have other competitors. And it's not just up to the Hokage or Elders. They only nominate the person, it is up to Daimyo to decide who the next Hokage will be. Your reforms with Uchiha have shown your leadership, but that is not the kind of Ninja Daimyo is looking for. They want someone to fight their wars, not run their shop."
"Daimyo…the type of Ninja they want?" Decimo let out a chuckle. He cracked his fingers, rubbing the back of his neck, rotating his shoulder as he warmed up, "Sir, you are misunderstanding something. In the world of Ninja…"
He disappeared and reappeared in front of Orochimaru, who widened his eyes, noticing the foot by his face and he didn't get the time to dodge when the leg slammed against his face. Orochimaru felt his body fly through the air, disoriented. As he flew past, he noticed Decimo bouncing on his toes, and the next moment he disappeared.
Orochimaru's instinct kicked in, and he crossed his arms in front of his face, but the foot slammed into his waist from the side, spinning him in the opposite direction. His body rolled in the sand before he jumped up and stand up, coughing, "Aaargh!"
Even while falling, Orochimaru weaved his hands signs, but Decimo's palm held his wrist, pulling his arm away, slamming his knee into Orochimaru's back, "In ninja world. Power is everything. And I am the strongest in this world."
"Power alone won't help you become the Hokage," Orochimaru weaved the signs with one hand, "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
A number of shadowy snakes emerged from his sleeves, attacking Decimo and Orochimaru used the chance to distance himself from the man attacking him. He was preparing his counterattack in his head when he looked up and froze.
His eyes trembled, seeing the scarlet-eyed man walked through the snakes that were trying to bite through his skin. He grabbed a bunch of them, pulling them off his body, "that's impossible. You are not using Chakra!"
"I told you, Sir. I am the strongest. You can bring a thousand snakes or ten thousand ninja. It will end the same," he stepped over the bodies of the snakes, crushing them under his foot,
"No matter how much Ninja's progress, how strong they become, their bodies are vulnerable, they get sick, they get hurt, they die. Even the Hokage can be hurt by a Kunai and even he would falter when hundreds of snakes are biting him," Orochimaru stared at his body with fascination, when his eyes met with those scarlet eyes, and he came to a sudden realisation, "your eyes? Did you use Risou Iyashi on yourself?"
"Hm," Decimo stopped approaching Orochimaru, "you talk like you understand how Risou Iyashi works."
"It's a guess," Orochimaru let out a breath, wiping his sand from his cheek, watching Decimo with a sharp gaze, "It is a power that leaves you with the burden of your choices. Or it's a godly power that shouldn't even exist. It's easy to figure out...but it doesn't matter anymore. You want to become Hokage? I will back off. I will even help you, as long as you tell me about the secret behind your body. Or, if possible, give me your blood."
Decimo rubbed his chin, "depends on what you can do for me. Show me your value, and I will think about it. For now, I look forward to seeing you back in Konoha."
Orochimaru stared at Decimo's back, going through his options. Ever since the death of his parents, he had come to realise the fragility of life. That single thought drove him most of his life, seeing people die in war, one after the other. He sought power, and that obsession with power became the desire to want to live longer, and everything that he dreamed of, everything he ever wanted, was walking in front of him. A part of him wanted to fight, to struggle, and try to get his hand on Decimo's blood.
But he chose to wait. He was disappointed, 'I can't win against him. Even if it means I give my all. Value…huh. I know what is valuable to whom, but…what is valuable to him?'
Konoha,
Decimo abruptly appeared on the roof of the orphanage, coming to a stop. It was in a single, flowing motion. His appearance didn't even cause the air to sway until he took a step forward. His muscles trembled, "Ugh…I hate it keeping the force inside."
He jumped from this roof to the next one over before he entered his house, walking down the stairs. He sniffed the air, taking in the scent of delicious, warm food, and he hurried down the steps. He looked at the woman with light brown hair, putting food on the table, and Nawaki sitting on the chair, "Hey, how did it go?"
"Like we thought," Decimo patted Nonou's head, taking in her scent before the food, enjoying the blush on her cheeks as he sat down on the chair,
"Do you think Orochimaru-sense will come to our side," Nawaki curiously asked. He wasn't sure that Orochimaru would. He felt that most people would oppose Decimo becoming the Hokage.
"I doubt that many people would oppose if Sir Dech tried to become Hokage."
"Hm, did I say that out loud," Nawaki looked towards Nonou, who shook her head.
"I am a spy trained by Konoha."
"Oh right," he grinned, "they won't? Doesn't Dech come off strong?"
"Yes. He's mysterious, charming, and top in the most handsome man in Konoha ranking. He's powerful, he turned militaristic Uchiha Family into the most liked and popular Ninja Clan. Along with those Ninja War Cards that could be found in the Uchiha Shop along with comics, people know more about Uchiha Ninja other than Marada Uchiha, who fought and gave their lives for the village. He's phenomenal. In fact, all he lacks are feats of war. If he gets a few achievements, and makes a name for himself, he'd be number one choice for every villager. The fact that he already comes off as strong would be a good thing."
The two of them looked at them with questioning eyes and she explained, "my mission was to keep an eye on you ever since you started taking care of the Orphanage. I am not alone. Everyone in Root knows how much Lord Danzo is scared of you. The last thing he wants is you opening aiming to become the next Hokage.
"Hm," Decimo raised his eyebrows, looking at the white rice, "If so…I need to make sure my first move is lethal."
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