"What are you doing?" Ranwu stared at Akashi, bewildered. There was something seriously wrong with this guy.
She'd deliberately added "things I hate" just now, hoping to mock this smug show-off, but he hadn't picked up on it at all. And then...
After hearing that her grandfather was Tobirama Senju, his reaction had been ridiculously over the top.
If he'd merely shown ordinary "dislike," that would have confirmed that the Uchiha Clan's people had been badmouthing her grandfather all along. But now...
Akashi's "terror" was just too much. His pupils were trembling, and his still-unstable Sharingan looked ready to pop out of sheer fright.
As for Akashi...
[She's the Senju Old Ghost's granddaughter?]
[Could it be... just like our Uchiha Clan's elders can store their ocular techniques in their eyes for their descendants to use, she was the one who used Genjutsu on me?]
[They even deliberately put us in the same team. This has to be that old gorilla, the Third Hokage's, scheme!]
[No... judging by her reaction, it doesn't look like she just used Genjutsu on me...]
[Still, since she's the Senju Old Ghost's granddaughter, I can't let my guard down!]
"Uchiha Akashi, you're next. Just say it normally," Jiraiya urged him, equally puzzled by his reaction.
"I... am Akashi Uchiha, from the Uchiha Clan. The person I admire most is... the Second Hokage!" Akashi declared solemnly.
Jiraiya, Namikaze, and Ranwu: ...
"My dream... is to carry on the will of the Second Hokage!" Akashi said with the fervor of a die-hard Second Hokage fan.
Ranwu's mouth twitched. "Oh? What do you think my grandfather's will was?"
Akashi: ...
As far as I know, the Senju Old Ghost's will was to make life difficult for our Uchiha Clan!
But...
Akashi obviously couldn't say that out loud. After a long pause, he took a wild guess. "Um... taking good care of his granddaughter?"
At the hint that Akashi might be taking a shot at her, a vein popped on Ranwu's forehead. She gritted her teeth and smiled. "If you don't know how to use your words, I've also trained with my cousin for a few days..."
Not just Akashi—even Jiraiya shuddered. He wasn't close to Ranwu, but he knew her cousin all too well... He cut in quickly. "Ahem, all right... Minato wants to become Hokage, and Ranwu and Akashi... well, you said you wanted to learn from the Second Hokage. So, do you know what the most important thing is if you want to become Hokage?"
Jiraiya figured he might as well teach them a little about what being Hokage meant.
Minato and Ranwu didn't answer right away. They even looked a little confused—the question was so broad and vague that they didn't know where to begin.
Akashi, however, seemed to have thought of something. He looked like he wanted to speak but held back.
Seeing this, Jiraiya prompted him. "Akashi, why don't you tell us?"
"Ahem, first of all, I have no intention of becoming Hokage. But... if we were to become Hokage, the most important thing would obviously be... for you to become Hokage first, Lord Jiraiya!" Akashi felt sure he'd figured out what Jiraiya meant.
Besides...
The Third Hokage was the Second Hokage's student, and Jiraiya was the Third Hokage's student. So how were you, as Jiraiya's students, supposed to become Hokage? Wasn't it obvious?
Back when they chose the First, the Second Hokage had gone on and on about "democracy." But we all saw what kind of "democracy" that turned out to be, didn't we?
Jiraiya, Minato, and Ranwu: ...
Jiraiya got the feeling Akashi was being sarcastic.
"Of course... not! To become Hokage, what you need is... everyone's approval!" Jiraiya corrected him with a strained smile.
Akashi: ???
Hokage needed everyone's approval?
Akashi was stunned for a moment, then immediately chimed in. "Exactly! Our Uchiha Clan has always been the first to approve of Lord Tobirama and Lord Sarutobi!"
Jiraiya: ...
Jiraiya felt exhausted.
"You may not understand what I mean yet, so let's call it a day... Meet at the Third Training Ground at eight tomorrow morning!"
"Eh? Lord Jiraiya, don't we have any missions today?" Namikaze asked in surprise. He'd thought they'd be busier once they became ninjas.
"Missions? You're still a long way from that." Jiraiya suddenly turned serious. "Besides... to be precise, you're not 'waiting to receive your Forehead Protectors.' You're 'about to face the exam to earn them.' Make sure you're ready!"
"Eh? Yes..."
All three were surprised, but as ninjas, they promptly accepted.
"It's our first day as a team. How about I treat you both to Ichiraku Ramen? It's super tasty!" Minato said with a sunny smile.
Ranwu, a year older than Minato, blushed despite herself. She was just about to say yes...
"Ramen? That kind of commoner food... Don't you like fine dining? I'll treat you all to Pine Deer Pavilion!" Akashi declared with a grand wave.
Ranwu immediately looked disgusted and pursed her lips. "Of course the young master of the Uchiha Clan can't stomach ramen... Minato, let's go!"
Akashi was left awkwardly speechless. But he didn't dare snap back at Ranwu, so he froze in place...
Fortunately, Minato seemed to notice his predicament and said, "I'm kind of interested in Pine Deer Pavilion too. Let's all go there!"
Only then did Ranwu agree.
Akashi finally breathed a sigh of relief, escaping his awkward predicament...
He looked at Minato gratefully and patted him on the shoulder. So, you commoners do have your good points!
But when they reached the first floor, Minato glanced toward the graduation classroom and said, "Um... wait a moment. There's something I want to check."
Ranwu looked puzzled, but Akashi's eyes lit up. "Hahaha, I get it... You want to see which class the girl you like got assigned to, right?"
"Hmm? Come to think of it, that girl from the Uzumaki Clan is in your year, isn't she?" Ranwu recalled.
"I'm just a little curious." Minato smiled faintly. He neither confirmed nor denied it, speaking calmly, though with a trace of shyness.
"But the class assignments should be finished by now," Akashi said. Even so, he turned and walked back with Minato.
The three returned to the classroom. Sure enough, the assignments were finished, and the Third Hokage and the others had already left. But...
A red-haired girl, Kushina Uzumaki, stood with her lips pressed together and tears in her eyes, looking hurt but defiant as she faced a kindly old woman.
"Who's that...?" Akashi thought the old woman looked familiar.
"Great-Grandma? What are you doing here?" Ranwu recognized her at once.
That's right. She was the First's wife, Mito Senju, originally named Mito Uzumaki, and Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!
After Lord Hashirama's death, Mito had suddenly grown much older. Her body had already begun to fail, and with Hashirama gone, the Nine-Tails inside her was no longer completely secure. As a result, she rarely appeared in public. Akashi had been born after the Hashirama era and had only seen the old woman a few times.
Yet now, under the protection of several Anbu, Mito Uzumaki had personally come to the Ninja Academy?
Before you continue