Get It Together!

Stars speckled the night sky.

Star of Fire Style lay on the lower bunk. On the upper bunk, Obito slurped ramen in his sleep.

"Things are about to get better."

Ruohuo thought.

He'd built a solid foundation.

With the Sharingan at its core, he'd advanced on all fronts.

Beating Kakashi proved that his first Five-Year Development Plan had already succeeded.

Now he was entering a period of rapid growth.

Graduation, Chunin rank, the battlefield, then Anbu.

A genius's path was always much the same.

Itachi, Kakashi, and Shisui had all followed it.

"Before Minato becomes Hokage, the Uchiha should be able to reach S-rank, right?"

His second Five-Year Plan was to obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

According to the information he knew, the earliest to awaken the Mangekyō was that ungrateful Itachi.

Though it might have been Shisui.

Ruohuo's own awakening would happen a little differently.

Joining Anbu or Root would be enough to awaken it.

That would be even easier. All he had to do was become a Chunin, then stand out on the battlefield. Getting into Anbu would be a piece of cake.

Minato would take over at the end of Konoha Year 46. Nearly six years—plenty of time.

As for Root?

Hah.

The noble Uchiha would never stoop to working with sewer rats!

If Danzo really came recruiting, Ruohuo would agree without the slightest hesitation.

Then, after collecting his reward, he'd give Danzo the finger...

And turn around and report him to the Konoha Military Police Force!

Don't ask. The answer was that he looked down on you.

Come on, start a war!

If the Uchiha were so evil, why not keep them off the battlefield?

I bet you wouldn't dare!

"Come to think of it, if Obito doesn't get conned into joining Madara's pyramid scheme, maybe there's still a chance with Nagato..."

"...I wonder if affiliates count as part of the Uchiha's strength."

Ruohuo suddenly thought of it.

The original Akatsuki had been set up by Danzo and Hanzo.

Hanzo's scythe had grown dull, and he feared the Akatsuki would threaten his rule.

Then Danzo fanned the flames, and the two great organizations in the Land of Rain lost any chance of working together.

All Ruohuo had to do was descend from the heavens at the Akatsuki's most desperate hour, and deliver justice in the name of the Uchiha...

[The Affiliated Forces module is not yet unlocked. Complete an A-rank Clan Mission to view the system panel.]

The system suddenly popped up with a notification, nearly startling Ruohuo.

"So there really is one... Complete an A-rank Clan Mission to unlock it?"

Ruohuo blinked. The system really had that function?

Maybe he could add a few more things to his Five-Year Plan...

Turn the Akatsuki into the Uchiha's Land of Rain branch?

Hey! The Akatsuki had originally been Uchiha Madara's affiliate, hadn't they? He could just take it over and put it to use. Nothing wrong with that!

"Perfect."

Ruohuo closed his eyes, thoroughly satisfied.

He had his direction.

Next, he'd test it out in his dreams...

A week at school always seemed to drag on.

As class monitor, Ruohuo had to set a good example, so he hadn't skipped class to train.

Of course, that was partly because he still couldn't use Shadow Clone...

It couldn't be helped. Shadow Clone was a B-rank jutsu, after all.

There were no scrolls at home, and Grandmother didn't know the jutsu. He'd had nowhere to learn it before.

At last, he made it to the weekend.

The entire grade at the Ninja Academy was sitting for a placement exam.

The results would determine who became the grade's top student.

That was what they called it.

But to Ruohuo, it was just another version of a model student award.

The honor could change depending on future exam results.

It was basically an award handed out in advance to encourage the other students to work hard.

The competition was fairly fierce.

But Ruohuo had lived two lives. Something this small was easy for him to handle.

Still, to make sure the top-student spot was his and to lay the groundwork for early graduation, Ruohuo went straight to Teacher Oki after the exam.

Come to think of it, Teacher Oki had said he would report the earlier fight to the Hokage.

But a week had passed, and Ruohuo still hadn't heard anything.

Knock, knock, knock—

Ruohuo stood at the door and knocked politely.

"Ruohuo? What is it?"

"I came to help you grade the papers, Teacher."

"..." Teacher Oki thought it over, then declined Ruohuo's "help."

He'd rather ask his Shadow Clone.

"You don't need to worry about that. Go have lunch. The results will be posted this afternoon."

Teacher Oki waved him off and took out a red pen, ready to work overtime grading.

But before he could start, he noticed Ruohuo still hadn't left. Teacher Oki sensed trouble and asked helplessly, "Is there something else, class monitor?"

Teacher Oki put a little extra emphasis on "class monitor."

"The questions on this exam were very easy, Teacher."

Ruohuo spoke coolly. "Will all the exams be this easy from now on?"

"Do we just have to understand the material in the textbooks, then fill in the answers step by step?"

Teacher Oki paused. Ruohuo had a point, so he nodded and said,

"For practical combat, I'll also teach some things that aren't in the textbooks, so you still need to pay attention in class..."

Speaking of paying attention, Oki had been surprised by Ruohuo's performance this week.

The first-year curriculum was mostly basic theory, and children from major clans who'd received training were already familiar with much of it.

Ruohuo had already demonstrated strength far beyond that of his peers.

So Teacher Oki had always assumed that Ruohuo was one of the young talents the Uchiha were grooming.

Even so, Ruohuo still paid close attention in class.

It had been quite a surprise.

"But I'm already the strongest in the class. Even those Hyuga from the upper grades have to go around me when they see me."

Ruohuo spread his hands. "So, Teacher, what can I still learn at the Ninja Academy?"

They went around him because their clan head had ordered them to. It wasn't something to be proud of!

Teacher Oki's head was already starting to ache.

"Don't get too full of yourself, Ruohuo." Teacher Oki tried to reason with him. "You're only in your first year. There's still..."

"I've already read all the textbooks for the Ninja Academy's sixth year, Teacher."

Teacher Oki had only gotten halfway through his sentence when Ruohuo cut him off coldly.

"With all due respect, the theory taught at the Ninja Academy is far too basic for me."

"That's why I've always admired you, Teacher... You're a Chunin, yet you still patiently explain such simple things to the students over and over."

"That's something I couldn't do. Thank you for all your hard work, Teacher."

After saying this, Ruohuo gave a full ninety-degree bow. Oki's eye twitched.

Teacher preferred you when you were arrogant. Could you go back to that?

This was making Teacher a little nervous!

"Ruohuo, what exactly do you..." Teacher Oki asked tentatively.

"I want to apply for early graduation, Teacher." Ruohuo stated his real purpose.

"Time is precious. I want to become a ninja as soon as possible and serve my clan and the village."

"So, sorry for the trouble, but please give me an application form. I'll take it home for my family to sign."

Ruohuo looked Teacher Oki straight in the eye.

"Konoha needs me."