Redistribution of Disciples

Orochimaru considered it, his brows furrowing slightly before relaxing again.

That was right. He was busy now, but he was not the only core figure in the Hokage faction.

There was someone well suited to teaching Itachi, and that person just happened to be quite free.

"I think I can ask my teacher to guide Itachi," Orochimaru said.

Jiraiya froze upon hearing that, then thought it over and nodded.

"That's a good idea."

Their teacher, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, had influenced them, and he too had been shaped by the Hokage faction.

And with their teacher's methods, a genius like Itachi would not have his talent squandered.

Once his mind opened up, Orochimaru thought of even more.

He looked at Tsunade. Tsunade felt uneasy, her heart pounding as she struggled to guess what scheme Orochimaru was plotting.

"Tsunade, I'll leave my other disciple, Kabuto, to you."

"What does that have to do with me?" Tsunade frowned in displeasure.

"He has the potential to become an outstanding Medical Ninja. He is Yakushi Nonō's adopted son. Since you're staying, you should have something to do as well. A gifted student will not take much of your time, especially since teaching him will be easy."

Tsunade considered it.

Indeed, if the student was talented and capable, teaching them would be quite easy.

What she feared was having to teach some clumsy idiot. That would be irritating enough to drive anyone mad.

"If he's a clumsy idiot, I'll send him right back," Tsunade declared, making her strict standards as a teacher clear.

Orochimaru smiled. "I believe Kabuto will satisfy you."

Seeing how confident Orochimaru was in Kabuto, Tsunade became curious about him as well.

Tsunade knew that Orochimaru was an extremely proud person. Any disciple he truly approved of could not possibly be ordinary.

Then Jiraiya sidled over with a shameless grin.

"Orochimaru, you think I'm an excellent teacher too, don't you?"

It was not that Jiraiya truly wanted to take on a disciple. He had simply seen Tsunade agree to teach someone and wanted to prove himself as well.

Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya.

"Anko, you'll study under Jiraiya."

"Huh? Learn from this lecherous old man?!"

Anko knew Jiraiya too, of course, and was well aware of his nature.

Jiraiya was deeply offended.

"You think I'm incapable of teaching you?!"

"Tch! I don't want you teaching me! You public enemy of women!"

"You little brat! Someone like you, with no ass and no—"

Bang!

"Stop saying such harassing things!" Tsunade scolded after punching Jiraiya away.

Anko clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.

Orochimaru glanced at Anko and wondered whether it was because he had become Hokage that his disciple had grown increasingly arrogant.

"Orochimaru."

Jiraiya crawled back and leaned close to Orochimaru's ear.

"I need to teach this brat a proper lesson for disrespecting her elders. Let me teach her!" Jiraiya felt that he absolutely had to teach her!

Otherwise, he would not be able to vent his anger!

Looking at the wildly unruly Anko, Orochimaru also felt that she needed someone who would not indulge her to temper her disposition properly.

"Then I'll leave her to you." Orochimaru nodded.

Jiraiya grinned.

His smile was plainly full of malice.

"Brat, your teacher has been decided. He's entrusting you to me."

"Huh? Orochimaru-sensei! You really entrusted me to this pervert?!"

"Bastard! Call me Jiraiya-sama!"

Jiraiya unceremoniously brought his fist down.

Anko clutched her aching head.

"Sensei!" She looked at Orochimaru pitifully.

There was only one sentence in Orochimaru's heart.

Anko, forgive me.

What followed was a noisy, chaotic squabble between Jiraiya and Anko.

On the other side, Shizune seemed to have drunk far too much because she was so happy. Seeing this scene, she slapped the table, laughed wildly, and began making a drunken spectacle of herself.

This time, it was Tsunade's turn to have a headache as she had to take the drunk Shizune home.

Orochimaru picked up an egg with his chopsticks, placed it in his mouth, and swallowed.

Lively, playful, boisterous, and noisy, yet full of the flavor of life.

It was rather nostalgic.

On the street outside the restaurant, the night sky was visible, with the bright moon hanging high.

Yet the moon would eventually sink, and the sun would rise.

At the Konoha Orphanage, Kabuto got up early. He pushed up his glasses, recalling that person in his mind.

He could see him at school.

Itachi Uchiha.

Right.

Turning his head, Kabuto looked toward the director, Nonō, who was approaching with Yamato.

"Kabuto, Yamato will be going to school with you from now on."

"Mm."

"Get along well at school."

"I understand."

Kabuto looked at Yamato.

Yamato would probably be in the same classroom as him. Since the director had said so, arranging that would be easy with her relationship with Sandaime.

Of course, Yamato could not exactly be called someone who got in through connections.

He was, after all, a Wood Release Ninja. He was powerful and had received Root's rigorous training. The Ninja Academy had nothing it could really teach him.

Kabuto was the same. After studying under the director for three years, he was fully capable of graduating as an outstanding Medical Ninja.

As for the Three Basic Techniques that Ninja Academy students normally had to master to graduate?

For Kabuto, who could skillfully master even the highly precise ninjutsu of Medical Ninjutsu, mastering them was far too easy.

He had mastered them long ago, but at the director's request, he still had to attend school.

This time, Yamato would be going with him.

Crunch.

Yamato was chewing on a walnut. He seemed to like walnuts very much.

"Want one?" Seeing Kabuto looking over, Yamato took out a handful of walnuts and offered them to him.

Kabuto accepted the kind gesture.

He could not say that he liked walnuts, but he did not dislike them either.

He casually split a walnut open with Chakra Scalpel, took out the kernel, and began eating it.

"Where did the walnuts come from?"

"I grew them."

"With Wood Release?"

Kabuto realized something.

Yamato nodded.

Kabuto thought that was really convenient.

"All right, let's go." Nonō said with a smile.

Kabuto and Yamato nodded.

Following the director, they headed toward the Ninja Academy.

At the Ninja Academy, the students who had arrived were gathering one after another.

They assembled on the training field because Hokage-sama had come!

The Ninja Academy was an important core institution for Konoha's cultivation of talent. As the newly appointed Hokage, it was only proper for Orochimaru to visit the school on the day after taking office and express his concern.

Of course, Orochimaru was not the only one who came. The Third Hokage had also been invited.

"Wherever Konoha's leaves dance, fire lives on without end... Wherever leaves dance, fire will burn. The shadow of fire will shine upon our village, allowing you, these precious new buds, to grow into new leaves and pass on the Will of Fire... Since the village was founded, each generation of Hokage has burned itself away... And you are the village's future. The Will of Fire burns within your hearts..."

The more the Third Hokage listened, the stranger he felt.

Why did it sound so familiar?

He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them in realization.

Orochimaru had plagiarized one of the Third Hokage's most classic speeches, the work the Third Hokage himself considered the culmination of his speeches.