Chapter 184:
Kato Dan—Tsunade's original romantic partner and a highly skilled elite Jonin of Konoha.
He possessed an exceptional jutsu: the Spirit Transformation Technique. This technique allowed the user to separate their spiritual energy from their body and manifest it as a spirit form capable of engaging in combat. Its power transcended the bounds of conventional ninjutsu.
To Orochimaru, this technique resembled the out-of-body spiritual combat found in mythology, where the soul itself could be used as a weapon. Impressive? Certainly. Unbeatable? Not at all.
In his analytical eyes, it was just another technique, one that manipulated spiritual energy into a tangible form. With enough mental strength, countering such a move was entirely feasible. After all, even souls could be subdued. Consider the Human Path of the Rinnegan: capable of ripping out the soul itself. Facing such power, a user of the Spirit Transformation Technique would only be presenting their essence as a target.
Despite knowing all of this, Orochimaru never considered Dan a true rival. Why should he? Tsunade had already chosen him. There was no reason to concern himself with Dan's ambitions or motivations.
But after observing Dan's behavior at the last Jonin meeting, Orochimaru combined these observations with his memories and came to a peculiar conclusion.
Dan aspired to be Hokage.
What? Dan, aiming for the position of Hokage? It seemed like an odd leap in logic, but in Konoha, wasn't having such a dream common? Didn't he openly express this ambition in the original storyline?
Yes, having dreams of becoming Hokage was normal. The title was the pinnacle of honor for any ninja. But was it truly that simple?