Yakushi Nono

When he woke up again, Houka could smell a faint, pleasant fragrance before he even opened his eyes. It was a little like disinfectant, but much nicer. He couldn't help opening his eyes. A pristine white ceiling greeted him.

"Where am I...?"

"Ah, Houka, you're finally awake! You idiot, you exercised until you passed out. Do you even know how to take care of yourself?" Uchiha Obito's voice came from nearby, full of agitation and even a little exasperation. "I finally worked up the courage to confess to Rin, and you ruined everything!"

Houka blinked twice, then remembered what had happened before he passed out.

As for the confession... Heh. If I hadn't been there, you'd probably have gotten the "you're a nice guy" treatment and gone off to cry in some corner!

Houka snorted. "Really? Then there's no need to thank me. It was the least I could do."

"Idiot, I wasn't thanking you!" Uchiha Obito was about to blow his top.

"Huh? You weren't?" Houka put on an innocent act—or rather, he was only six, so he was innocent anyway.

Uchiha Obito trembled all over. Even the goggles on his forehead shook.

Luckily, a young woman in a white coat walked in just then.

"You're Houka, right? You're awake." The young doctor had long blond hair and wore glasses. She looked very gentle.

"Hello, Doctor!" Uchiha Obito hurried to his feet when he saw her. "Doctor, is Houka going to be okay?"

"Houka passed out because he overexerted himself exercising, and his body couldn't keep up with the nutritional demands. He just needs to eat more meat to make up for it." The young doctor smiled warmly.

"Eat meat?" Uchiha Obito stiffened. Given the circumstances of his family and Houka's, eating meat wasn't impossible, but they couldn't afford it every day. Besides, could the energy they burned exercising really be replenished by adding just one more piece of meat to each meal?

The young doctor seemed to notice the problem and smiled. "It's all right. If you don't have enough money, I can lend you some."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Uchiha Obito nearly jumped for joy.

Houka, lying in the hospital bed, frowned and spoke up. "Doctor, wouldn't that be a bother? After all, you're just a doctor."

"A doctor? Hehe, I'm a ninja too." The young woman smiled.

"A ninja? A Medical Ninja?!" Looking at the young woman, Houka suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. It was as if he'd seen her somewhere before.

She must have appeared in the original story. But in what role? Blond hair, those old-fashioned glasses... Wait, don't those glasses look like Yakushi Kabuto's?

Ah, right.

She was Yakushi Nonō, a Medical Ninja from Konoha. Later, she became the head of an Orphanage, took in Kabuto when he was little, and even gave him her surname!

No wonder she looked familiar.

Uh, wait!

Houka blinked twice, but a chill suddenly swept through him, and a cold shiver ran down his spine.

Before Yakushi Nonō became the head of an Orphanage, she had apparently been a member of Konoha's Root...

Danzo's subordinate?!

"Hey, Houka, are you cold?" Uchiha Obito suddenly leaned over him. "You seem to be shivering."

Houka looked at Uchiha Obito, nearly in tears. "N-no, I'm not. I'm excited, that's all. Yeah, really excited! I'm finally going to get meat to eat. Sob..."

Good grief, I'm only six! Has Danzo already set his sights on me?

Could Root have infiltrated the Uchiha Clan and discovered that I'd awakened the Sharingan?

But that couldn't be it. He was the only one who knew he'd awakened it, and he rarely used it. The only time he'd used it was late at night a while ago, so the odds of anyone noticing were very low!

"You two are from the Uchiha Clan, right?" Yakushi Nonō asked with a smile. "I'm happy to lend you the money, but you'll have to pay me back someday."

"Of course! I'd never borrow money and not pay it back!" Uchiha Obito declared, hands on his hips. "After all, I'm going to be the man who becomes Hokage!"

Just then, a young woman passed by outside the hospital room. She had fair skin and a tall, shapely figure, with a particularly impressive pair of breasts that looked as heavy as papayas. With that neat blond hair, Houka knew who she was even without seeing her face.

One of the Konoha Sannin, Tsunade!

Well, Tsunade would become the Fifth Hokage in the future...

Not bad, Obito. Who knew you had such big ambitions? You want to be the Fifth Hokage's man, huh? Heh.

"Then you'd better do your best." Yakushi Nonō smiled and patted Uchiha Obito on the head. She gave Houka a few more instructions, then turned and hurried after Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade, please wait..." Their conversation drifted faintly in from the hallway.

Houka relaxed a little.

It looks like Yakushi Nonō isn't here because of me. She's here for Tsunade.

That old schemer Danzo was dangerous. He'd stop at nothing to get what he wanted. For now, Houka needed to stay as far away from him as possible.

"Houka, are you still upset about what happened earlier?" Uchiha Obito sat beside Houka's hospital bed, resting his chin in his hands as he looked at him. "Kakashi's a real jerk, but you have to admit he's a genius..."

"What are you talking about?" Houka smiled. "This has nothing to do with Kakashi. It's about me. I don't want to go on living an ordinary life. I want to become strong. That's all."

"Well said!"

A young man's voice suddenly came from outside the hospital room. Then a familiar-looking figure appeared before Houka.

"You are..." Houka's mouth twitched slightly when he saw him.

This guy was none other than Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke's father, Uchiha Fugaku!

Except he was only twenty-five at the moment. Uchiha Itachi probably hadn't even been conceived yet.

"I'm Uchiha Fugaku."

Uchiha Fugaku hadn't become the Uchiha Clan's leader yet. He was just an ordinary member of the Konoha Military Police Force, though his talent was already beginning to show, and his standing within the Uchiha Clan was steadily rising.

"Lord Fugaku, it's a pleasure to meet you." Houka and Uchiha Obito respectfully bowed.

The Uchiha Clan placed great importance on formalities. Though Houka disliked it, he could only go along with them while he was still weak.

Uchiha Fugaku smiled. "I have high hopes for you. Hehe, once you've resolved to become strong, the Sharingan will give you what you want. I'll be waiting for you up ahead, young brat!"

With that, Uchiha Fugaku patted his backside and left.

Houka's eye twitched. Damn it, he must have forgotten to check the day's horoscope before leaving home!

"Hey, Houka, who was that guy just now? He looked pretty impressive." Uchiha Obito ran over to shut the hospital room door, then turned and asked.

"He told us, didn't he? His name is Uchiha Fugaku. He's probably a member of the Konoha Military Police Force," Houka replied cautiously. Even if someone overheard him, no one would think anything of it.

"Really? The Konoha Military Police Force, huh? I wonder when I'll get to join." Uchiha Obito looked wistful.

Houka said, "Obito, I feel a lot better. How about we leave the hospital now?"

"No way!" Uchiha Obito immediately protested, shouting as if he were completely in the right. "The doctor said she'd lend us money, and we haven't gotten it yet. How can we leave?"

"..." Houka.

You make a pretty good point. I've got nothing to say.