Family

Ogata's residence was still in the same old place, unchanged, and Qi found it with ease.

"Is that you, Qi? Come in."

Before he could even knock, Ogata's voice drifted from inside the room.

Pushing the door open, Qi stepped inside. It was a single room, and Ogata was sitting on the bed.

That's right, a bed. Compared to the Japanese-style mansions Orochimaru favored, a simple dwelling was undoubtedly more to Qi's taste; he truly couldn't get used to sitting and sleeping on the floor...

"There's a chair over there, sit down."

Ogata was as brisk as ever. He looked at Qi and nodded.

"Not bad. It's different once you've been on the battlefield; you finally look like a human being."

"Master, are you saying that I didn't even count as a human before this...?"

Qi was left between laughter and tears.

"Only those with dignity are called humans. Without strength, there is no dignity, and naturally, you don't count as a human."

Ogata replied indifferently.

"If you have no goods on hand, others can eat you like Chiaotzu. Forget others—you wouldn't even be livestock; at best, you'd just be a meat dish."

"Then Master, what do you think counts as being a human? Becoming an official? Ninjas are people who serve the powerful. If I became an official, I wouldn't have to kill or be killed. With one word from me, I could make heads roll. Wouldn't that be more satisfying?"

Qi rolled his eyes. What exactly were Ogata's standards?

Over the years, he had heard plenty of these bizarre, jaw-dropping remarks from Ogata. Who would have thought this old guy would even create a hierarchy for what constitutes a human? It was truly absurd.

But even if he was just bored out of his mind, Ogata had the credentials to back it up. After all, he was a man who had survived a battle against the White Fang of the Leaf. If he weren't a top-tier expert, how could he have gotten involved with the head of the Mist Ninja Anbu?

If it weren't for the fact that Ogata only practiced taijutsu, Qi wouldn't have needed to seek out other masters at all.

"As for what counts as a human... in this world, there are few who can live as one with peace of mind."

Hearing Qi's question, Ogata gave a muffled snort.

"You're a ninja, what the hell are you doing talking about being an official!? You need to become a Jonin! If you can't, you'll be someone else's stepping stone sooner or later, nothing but rotten meat!"

He glanced at Qi.

"The Yuki Clan wanted to be officials, and look at them—they all ended up as fertilizer in the ground! Even if you're joking, don't say things like that. Don't you know that trouble comes from the mouth?"

Qi, of course, had no desire to be an official. First, he wasn't cut out for it, and second, being a ninja was a path of no return—they were tools of the state. Ninjas who tried to enter the state's power structure always died quickly; the Yuki Clan was the most obvious example.

From the moment the profession was born, ninjas were essentially mercenaries. The powerful provided the money, and the ninjas provided the combat. A ninja's income came almost entirely from the powerful. For you lot to actually want to become officials and stand on your own two feet? That was asking for trouble.

In Qi's view, this was called lacking a sense of proportion. They were brainless, and they deserved to die. If it weren't for the fact that he had the blood of the Yuki flowing in his own veins and those people were his elders, he would have disparaged them even more harshly.

Ogata's words were also a veiled warning to Qi. After all, with the precedent of the Yuki Clan, he couldn't be sure if Qi would be just as "foolish."

"Don't worry, Master. Forget about being an official; I don't even have any interest in being a ninja leader. That kind of work isn't meant for humans."

Qi gave a dry laugh. He could never stand tall in front of Ogata; he was just used to it.

But for some reason, whenever he was with Ogata, he ended up talking a lot of nonsense. The two of them seemed particularly fond of killing time in this way.

"Alright, enough nonsense. As for you, ever since that Orochimaru took you away, there's been no news. Tell me about your recent experiences."

Ogata's expression turned serious.

"Don't leave out a single thing!"

"The situation is like this..."

Qi also turned serious. He proceeded to recount everything from the moment he was taken away by Orochimaru until his return to Ogata's residence, telling it exactly as it happened.

There is an old saying: "The bystander sees more than the player." In truth, the reverse can also be true. Qi's understanding of a major ninja village like the Leaf only came from anime. This one-sidedness of being a "bystander" had been proven wrong countless times in the ten-plus years he had been in this world.

When it came to true understanding, it was the "players" like Ogata who saw things clearly. Ogata had dealt with the Mist Ninja plenty of times; the five great villages were very similar in every aspect—it was just the same old soup in a different bowl.

"You did something wrong..."

After Qi finished, Ogata frowned.

"If someone from the Uchiha Clan wants to give you something, you should just accept it openly. Besides, he is your comrade-in-arms."

"But..."

Qi desperately wanted to tell Ogata that the Uchiha Clan would be wiped out before long.

"I'm not telling you to suck up to the Uchiha Clan, but by doing this, you've offended them. Fortunately, there is still some sentiment between you and that person. If it had been someone you didn't know, you would have been slapping him in the face, and he would have fought you to the death."

Ogata said irritably.

"Just because you called him 'Grandmaster' once, do you think you're really part of the Hokage's direct line? You have a long road ahead of you. Without strength, that 'Grandmaster' you called out means nothing. However..."

He suddenly changed the subject.

"That 'Grandmaster' was a good call... regardless of anything else, you are now part of the Senju Clan..."

"Huh?"

Hearing this, Qi was instantly stunned.

"I don't have the surname Senju... and I don't intend to change my name, either..."

"Do you think the Senju Clan is some family like the Uchiha or the Hyuga?"

Ogata was furious. Had the distance between them not been so great, his fist would likely have landed squarely on Qi's noggin.

"The Uchiha Clan relies on bloodlines to sustain itself, but the Senju Clan is not a bloodline-limit family. They were originally formed by various different lineages coming together; it's just that the direct line of the Senju happens to be the strongest."

He had no choice but to properly educate this ignorant, blockheaded apprentice.

"What sustains the Senju Clan is the master-disciple relationship, not blood. Do you understand?"

He began counting off on his fingers.

"Take the current Third Hokage and Danzo, for example. Neither of them are of the direct Senju line, yet they are disciples of the Second Hokage, and thus, they are part of the Senju Clan. The same goes for the Sannin and the current Yellow Flash—they are all part of the Senju Clan."

"It's that chaotic? Can it really be sustained by something like that? The Senju Clan has been a major clan for many years, hasn't it?"

Qi was speechless. He couldn't imagine a group of people building a clan stronger than the Uchiha based on master-disciple bonds, especially since he knew the ancestors of both the Senju and Uchiha were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths.

"Why wouldn't it be sustained? Master-disciple relationships are actually more reliable than so-called blood ties. Blood ties can fade, but master-disciple bonds do not. Besides, the Senju Clan also strengthens the connections between lineages through marriage."

Ogata said with a sneer, "As for those Uchiha, unless they are immediate family, no one feels any affection for anyone else. By comparison, the internal friction within the Senju is far less than that of the Uchiha."

"Is that so? But that Danzo—no matter how I look at it, he doesn't seem to get along with the Hokage, does he?"

Qi was skeptical. He remembered from watching the anime that Danzo and the Third Hokage seemed to be at odds, and his attitude toward Tsunade was even more dismissive.

"How could they not? Danzo and the Third Hokage play the roles of the villain and the hero—the entire ninja world knows this. Competition between disciples is a very normal thing; it's not as if there's only one successor."

Ogata sneered incessantly.

"Take that Yellow Flash, for instance. Do you know who his wife is?"

"I don't..."

Even if Qi did, he wouldn't dare say it...

"His wife's surname is Uzumaki, and the First Hokage's wife also had the surname Uzumaki. Can't you infer anything from that?"

Ogata said with a sinister grin, "Ninjas don't have the luxury of choosing their own marriages. Once you become a powerhouse, the higher-ups of the Senju will certainly arrange a 'well-matched' wife for you. But don't worry, the stronger you are, the more beautiful your wife will be. You won't lose out."

"..."

Qi was speechless...

After pondering for a long while, he felt it necessary to interrupt Ogata's discordant grin, otherwise, he was going to be sick...

"Um... Master... aren't we getting off track?"

"Off track? Are we? ...Blame it on you, brat, talking nonsense. What were we talking about in the first place?"

"...You said I shouldn't have offended the Uchiha Clan..."

Qi's face twitched uncontrollably...

"Right, that's it..."

Ogata slapped his thigh.

"Kid, let me tell you, these convoluted matters have nothing to do with you right now. This is what you call wishful thinking. The people at the top don't have the leisure to concern themselves with a junior like you."

He finally put away his previous unsavory expression and turned serious.

"No one can say what will happen in the future. While you're still young, cherish and experience pure emotions more. Otherwise, you won't have the chance later. The stronger you become, the more cold-hearted you will grow. That's just the way of the ninja."

But even as he said this, Ogata added a caveat, "Though I don't see you as the steady type, you could try to cultivate some rapport with the people of the Hyuga Clan. Regardless of anything else, they are firm supporters of the Hokage faction. Whether now or in the future, you are on the same path, unlike the Uchiha..."

However, just as Ogata himself said, no one could foresee the future. Ogata would never have imagined what kind of relationship Qi would eventually develop with the Hyuga Clan, and that it would involve him as well...

Regardless, it had been a long time since the master and apprentice had met, so they began to chat again, mostly about Qi's experiences on the battlefield, with Ogata laughing heartily while pointing out where Qi had gone wrong.

In the midst of this idle chatter, time slipped away bit by bit, yet Qi didn't feel bored at all; on the contrary, he felt very happy.

To Qi, Ogata was a very important person. Although Ogata wasn't a very competent master, he gave Qi the feeling of having family—not just as a figure of speech, but as a true relative.

This was important to Qi, because he was a transmigrator, which destined him to be lonely in this world...

He had even developed a habit: if he achieved something, his first thought was to let Ogata know. This mindset was very similar to how he felt toward his parents in his previous life.

Perhaps, without realizing it, Ogata had become the role of "father" to him in this world.

Although, it was a very irritable "father" who would beat him at the drop of a hat, in other respects, there was truly nothing to complain about.

"Knock, knock..."

Just as Qi was lost in these feelings, there was a knock at the door...

"Huh?"

Qi spoke first, his displeasure evident on his face.

"Alright, you brat, do you think I'm just sitting around in Konoha eating for free?"

Ogata waved his hand, signaling Qi not to speak, and then called out toward the door.

"Come in, the door isn't locked."

"Excuse me, sorry to disturb you."

The door was pushed open, and a Konoha ninja walked in.

"This is the mission the Hokage-sama asked me to deliver to you."

Ogata was a Jonin, and a remarkably formidable one at that. In all five great villages, missions for Jonin were assigned directly by the Kage.

Now that Ogata had joined Konoha, his missions were naturally assigned directly by the Hokage as well.

"And this is..."

The Konoha ninja who had come to deliver the mission scroll glanced at Qi, who was standing to the side, and hesitated to produce the scroll.

Clearly, he did not recognize Qi. This was perfectly normal; it was his first time meeting Ogata, so how could he possibly know Qi? Qi was hardly a celebrity.

He only knew that missions for a Jonin were meant for the eyes of the Jonin alone.

"He's fine. This is my apprentice. Just hand it over to me."

Ogata curled his lip.

"So he is your disciple, my apologies for the offense just now."

The ninja was startled. A Jonin's apprentice, no matter how weak, was not someone he could afford to offend.

He quickly pulled out a scroll and handed it to Ogata.

"Hokage-sama says you have three days to prepare."

"Understood."

Ogata nodded and took the scroll.

"I will set out on time in three days."

Seeing that Ogata had accepted the scroll, the ninja said nothing more, offered a few perfunctory remarks, and left the room.

"Master, so you take on missions too?"

Qi teased as he leaned in.

"Tsk tsk... as expected of a Jonin, you even have people delivering the missions to you personally."

"Thump!"

This time, being so close, Ogata didn't hesitate to rap his knuckles against Qi's skull.

"Get out of the way. The fact that someone delivered it to me personally means this mission is of a very high rank. You dare to look at such things? In a ninja village, there are many rules. You had best pay attention. This is called knowing how to protect yourself. To be a ninja, you don't just need to know how to fight; you need to understand the rules."

He seemed to say with a hint of regret, "In my entire life, I've never seen another White Fang. What a pity..."

"Oh, right... Master, you've crossed blades with the White Fang before, haven't you?"

Hearing the name "White Fang," Qi became interested. He rubbed his head and sat down properly to the side.

"That White Fang of the Leaf, was his swordsmanship really that amazing? Was it called the White Fang Sword Technique?"

He blurted out everything he had seen on the internet in his past life that was used to describe the White Fang.

"White Fang Sword Technique? What kind of nonsense is that?"

Ogata was baffled. Where did this dim-witted apprentice hear such rubbish?

"He was an all-rounder. Not only was his taijutsu formidable, but he was also a master of Lightning and Earth Release. As for that Yellow Flash of Konoha, I've actually met him once recently; we even carried out a mission together."

He clicked his tongue in admiration.

"That guy's space-time ninjutsu is incredible. He truly deserves his reputation as the most prominent figure in Konoha right now, but he still doesn't compare to the White Fang of those days."

"Why? His strength shouldn't be inferior to the White Fang of the Leaf, right?"

Qi didn't understand. Although the Fourth Hokage didn't have much screen time in the original work, his strength was definitely beyond reproach.

With the Fourth's strength, if he hadn't died young, Orochimaru would never have dared to conspire with the Sunagakure Ninja to initiate the Konoha Crush plan.

"It's not a matter of strength,"

Ogata explained.

"It's a matter of heart. While that Yellow Flash isn't exactly soft-hearted, when it comes to ruthlessness, the White Fang was far more vicious. I've fought the White Fang, so I know this clearly."

At this point, he suddenly grew a bit angry.

"But I've seen the White Fang's son. The kid is almost a Jonin already. Can't you show some ambition? He's the same age as you! Let me tell you, if you get outclassed by him, I'll make sure to give you a beating!"

"..."

Qi finally remembered that Kakashi was the disciple of the Fourth Hokage...

This old man, unable to beat the White Fang himself, was now pushing his apprentice to compete with the White Fang's son. That was just a bit too much, wasn't it...