Reborn in Konoha as the Anbu Torturer - Chapter 692
Aoba spoke to himself softly.
In his original plan, he believed that exposing the dark secrets of Orochimaru and Danzo in this way would be enough.
It would make the villagers of Konoha understand what had been happening during this time and, more importantly, who was responsible for these events!
What role did the Third Hokage play during all of this?
This way, everyone would have a clearer understanding of the person they had respected all along—the Hokage they admired—what kind of person he indeed was!
So, in his initial plan…
Orochimaru and Danzo only needed to disappear!
Once these two finished delivering the information, they had no further use.
Moreover, both Orochimaru and Danzo had already been killed by Aoba.
Their bodies were impossible to find.
If they were to be revived, it would only be through someone using the Reanimation Jutsu years later and if they could locate DNA samples from them.
Perhaps then these two dead individuals could speak again, explaining that they were murdered and revealing what exactly happened.
But such a thing was nearly impossible…
Even if it did happen, it would take many years!
After all, the person who brought the Reanimation Jutsu to prominence was Orochimaru! And Orochimaru was already dead!
It was like locking a key inside a door. The key itself had to complete a logical closed loop to open the door.
However, Aoba understood that nothing in life could ever be said to be absolute!
The ninja world still had forbidden techniques left by the Second Hokage, the existence of which remained uncertain.
And if one day, a genius ninja arose and recreated a Reanimation Jutsu through their intellect, it might not even produce the same effect.
Thus, Aoba couldn’t say anything for sure. Nothing is absolute, so he needed to plan and think of other backup strategies.
For this reason, when designing this scheme…
Aoba did not use Orochimaru and Danzo for too long.
After utilizing them, he made them disappear and announced that they had left Konoha, cutting off any chance of investigation. This ensured that the public would move on.
They would not reappear again.
Their entire existence would become a legend—a dark one, at that.
This had been Aoba’s plan, and that’s how he executed it. But there was a small problem, and that was the situation Minato Namikaze had expressed frustration over—Aoba’s envisioned scenario.
Minato believed that all of this had been orchestrated by the Third Hokage, in collaboration with Danzo, to twist the truth.
Although Minato wasn’t sure if the details were entirely fabricated or accurate, he knew that the Third and Danzo were in league.
Now, Minato had sought Aoba’s help with this matter.
Aoba was bound to come up with some solutions to assist Minato.
This would help Minato become Hokage smoothly and allow all the previous events to be logically pinned on the Third Hokage.
With that in mind…
There was only one way to bring Orochimaru, Danzo, and the Third Hokage back into the picture and clarify the facts.
This would ensure that everyone in Konoha understood the shameful things the Third Hokage had indeed done.
Aoba needed to think carefully about this process.
After all, how did the Third hide Orochimaru and Danzo?
Where were Orochimaru and Danzo hidden during this time? How could the blame be squarely placed on the Third Hokage? What discussions had they held?
How could Aoba prevent the Third from defending himself?
These questions weighed heavily on Aoba’s mind.
He needed to take the next three days to reflect.
Once he had clarity, Minato could execute the plan he knew.
But there was a more severe problem.
The truth was that Aoba could resolve all of this simply and brutally.
He could easily control the Third Hokage or use some other violent method to crush him and achieve his goals through sheer force.
But that wouldn’t be fun, making all his planning feel worthless.
This was Aoba’s way of thinking.
To him, Minato had already been the rightful heir to the position of Hokage in Konoha for a long time.
If he wanted to use a straightforward, brutal approach…
He could disguise himself as an assassin from another village and kill the Third Hokage.
That would create a vacancy in the Hokage’s position.
Naturally, a new Hokage would be chosen, and Minato could ascend smoothly to the role.
This would be the most efficient method. But Aoba wasn’t interested in doing that.
It would leave him feeling no sense of achievement.
He preferred to use his scheming and manipulation, leveraging certain powers to cause disruption.
Based on this premise, Aoba needed to find a way to logically bring Orochimaru and Danzo back into the picture and expose them to the public, successfully redirecting all the blame onto the Third Hokage.
It seemed simple, but it was pretty challenging to execute.
At the very least, everyone, including Minato, needed to believe that the logic behind this was sound.
Aoba didn’t know why…
But he didn’t defend himself when the Third Hokage heard these accusations.
Instead, he resigned in disgrace.
This outcome was far beyond Aoba’s expectations.
In Aoba’s mind, the Third Hokage clung to power and would never easily let go unless he had no other option.
Through Orochimaru and Danzo’s revelations, the method Aoba had used had cornered the Third Hokage.
The Third could not resolve the situation, so he accepted his fate.
Perhaps remaining silent was the only way he could preserve some dignity.
Compared to how the Third Hokage initially stepped down in history, leaving the stage under the weight of scandals was far more cruel and brutal.
But this was what Aoba wanted.
He wanted the people of Konoha to understand what had happened under Danzo’s leadership.
Because of Danzo’s existence, Konoha, which once held a prestigious position, had fallen to a relatively low stage.
Before the Third Hokage’s reign, Konoha had been the undisputed leader among the five great ninja villages. But now, there were at least two villages ahead of Konoha.
The future trajectory would be predictable if the Third Hokage remained in power. After all, at the start of the Naruto series, the Third Hokage was still the leader, leading Konoha to decline, enduring many shameful events.
Each incident proved the Third Hokage’s incompetence, such as the Uchiha Clan massacre and Hyuga Hizashi’s surrender.
However, many of his misdeeds had not been thoroughly punished even by the time of the Third Hokage’s death. Most people were still unaware of what he had done.
They continued to revere the Third Hokage, and when he died, they honored him like a hero.
This was something Aoba did not want to see happen again.
If the past were to repeat, then what was the point of him traveling to this world?
He felt that he needed to show the ninja world something new, a different outcome, to highlight the unique impact of his arrival here.
Therefore, Aoba believed that after his arrival, the Third Hokage should no longer be a hero, and Minato should not again fall during the Nine-Tails incident.
At least for now, Obito had not yet descended into darkness. He was still in the Ninja Academy, though Aoba knew he was a ticking time bomb.
Gradually…
Aoba began to form an idea.
He continuously worked through the possible issues in his mind.
After all, if Orochimaru and Danzo were brought back, it would involve more than just Minato’s perspective.
The Third Hokage’s side had to be considered as well.
It was likely that the Third, feeling utterly defeated, had resigned due to these events.
In some sense, the Third Hokage had already admitted to these actions.
But Aoba couldn’t help but drag him back into the picture and alter the narrative to bring about a new outcome.
After all, in Aoba’s view, the Third Hokage was no longer capable of resistance. He truly wanted to relinquish the position of Hokage.
As long as Minato attended the Hokage inauguration ceremony, he would smoothly become Hokage.
However, Minato came to Aoba with these conspiracies, so Aoba had to follow Minato’s thinking.
Otherwise, the Third Hokage might regain some standing in Minato’s mind, and over time, Minato might begin to think that the Third Hokage had been wronged. He might then investigate the past events, leading to a different outcome.
This was a variable that Aoba could not accept.
Even the most minor variable could lead to a completely different conclusion that could disturb the life he desired most.
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