Chapter 88: Orochimaru's Letter.

Hanma smiled as he looked at the letter in his hand, which had been sent by Orochimaru. It described Orochimaru's recent experiences in the Land of Water and some thoughts on future plans.

Minato, standing nearby, looked at Hanma with a strange expression and thought to himself:

"If I'm not mistaken, Hanma's eyes seem to have a touch of affection. Good thing Orochimaru isn't a woman, or Tsunade would definitely get jealous."

Having just helped Kushina train using Yang Release Chakra last night, Minato's mind suddenly conjured up some bizarre images of Orochimaru and Hanma together. Quickly shaking his head, he shivered and pushed the terrifying thoughts out of his mind.

Minato poked Hanma and pretended to be curious as he asked:

"Hanma, what did Orochimaru say in the letter? Is his development in Kirigakure going smoothly?"

Hanma put down the letter and looked at Minato's strange expression, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Minato's face, now both red and black, seemed like he was thinking about something inappropriate. Hanma rolled his eyes, too lazy to figure out what was on Minato's mind. Maybe he was just suddenly thinking of his girlfriend.

Handing the letter to Minato, Hanma signaled him to read it himself while also intentionally cultivating Minato's political awareness and acumen. In the original timeline, Minato's political skills weren't very impressive, and as Hanma's protégé, this was an essential trait he needed to develop.

After Minato finished reading, Hanma slowly said:

"Orochimaru has successfully established himself in Kirigakure and has recruited a group of Yuki clan members who were persecuted by the Third Mizukage. They are all Ice Release users and hold substantial strategic value."

"His next plan is to contact the Kaguya clan, who are all battle fanatics, much like the Uchiha were before. Now, he wants my opinion."

Minato nodded in agreement and said:

"If the Kaguya clan are all battle fanatics, then asking for your opinion is certainly the right move. After all, you are the man who singlehandedly subdued the Uchiha."

Then he thought for a moment and asked, puzzled:

"But, will the Third Mizukage stop oppressing these kekkei genkai ninja because of Orochimaru's presence? After all, these bloodline limit ninjas are crucial to Kirigakure's strength. Losing them too quickly might draw attention."

Hanma waved his hand dismissively. Minato was still only sixteen years old and his thinking wasn't fully mature. But that was the point of having a teacher like Hanma.

"These bloodline limit ninjas fled to Orochimaru because they had no other options left in Kirigakure. Even someone like Orochimaru from Konoha can be a temporary shelter for them."

"If you can't understand, just imagine the bloodline limit ninjas of Kirigakure as the Uchiha of Konoha."

Seeing Minato's thoughtful expression, Hanma nodded in satisfaction and continued explaining:

"The Third Mizukage doesn't understand the thoughts of these ninja clans, just as the Third Hokage didn't understand the plans of the Uchiha clan. The same situation exists in Kirigakure. A chain of suspicion has formed between the persecuted clans and the Third Mizukage, and any minor disturbance will escalate their conflict."

"The Third Mizukage won't investigate the underlying reasons for their defection. He will merely categorize it as preparation for opposition against Kirigakure and become even more cautious of them."

Minato pondered, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes. The situation in Kirigakure was quite similar to that of Konoha - a conflict between the village head and the ninja clans that was common in the Five Great Nations.

The "Kage" of a village, if not strong enough to dominate all the ninjas, would face imbalance if the ninja clans were too powerful. In such cases, the "Kage" would either endure as a puppet of the clans or take measures to suppress and divide them, even if it meant weakening the village's strength to solidify their own rule.

Unfortunately, in a world where children go to war at the age of five, people tend to be very volatile. In the original timeline, the conflict produced figures like Pakura from Sunagakure, the Kinkaku-Ginkaku brothers from Kumogakure, Hanzo from Iwagakure, the Uchiha and Orochimaru from Konoha, and the "Bloody Mist" from Kirigakure.

Minato looked at Hanma with admiration. His elder brother was truly a master of both strength and strategy.

Hanma's formidable power and influence had united the Uchiha, rendering the previous policies against them ineffective. He had not rushed things but gradually reclaimed the Uchiha's rightful status. As a result, the Third Hokage had to make concessions, otherwise, he would be openly provoking conflict.

Now, the Uchiha clan had taken over most of the responsibilities of the Police Force from the Anbu, allowing more clan members to resume their ninja duties and gain mission experience.

In Kirigakure, without a figure like Hanma to unite the scattered clans, they remained vulnerable to the Third Mizukage's divide-and-conquer tactics. This was the harsh reality of the ninja world, where sometimes a single Tailed Beast or a Kage-level ninja could outweigh a hundred elite jōnin.

Hanma picked up a pen and paper to reply to Orochimaru.

He suggested that Orochimaru take it slow and wait until the situation in Konoha stabilized. Hanma could then send the Uchiha clan to support him. With the Uchiha free to leave the village for missions, they could gradually relocate those willing to fight to Kirigakure, serving as a training exercise as well.

Hanma stroked the large black snake beside him, which Orochimaru used to send messages. The snake opened its mouth wide, signaling Hanma to place the letter in its throat. With a face full of black lines, Hanma thought that even an uncorrupted Orochimaru had a knack for revolting techniques.

Patting Minato on the shoulder, Hanma reassured him:

"You don't need to worry too much about internal village strife. You're a lucky guy with a chance to become either the Hokage or the Mizukage."

Minato laughed. If Hanma's plan succeeded, both Konoha and Kirigakure would eventually be under Uchiha control. As Hanma's disciple, Minato would be the first in line to inherit this legacy.

With a serious expression, Minato said:

"Hanma, when fighting the Two-Tails Jinchuriki last time, I realized that I'm not strong enough yet."

"Even though I have the Flying Thunder God Technique and can stay undefeated against most enemies, my destructive power is still weak. It's hard to deal effective damage to non-human enemies."

Minato spread his fingers, and a blue chakra began to converge in his hand, swirling in different directions before compressing into a tight chakra sphere.

"Hanma, I developed this jutsu based on the Tailed Beast Ball, focusing on chakra shape transformation."

"I named it the Spiraling Vortex Super Storm Eight Technique."

Hanma interrupted, expressionless, and coldly said:

"Rasengan."

"No, no, Hanma. It's called..."

"Rasengan!"

Hanma emphasized seriously. Though Minato's name was more descriptive, Hanma was a principled man and wouldn't give in on this.

(End of Chapter)