Fugaku Was Such a Scheming Boy

Five minutes later.

Konoha Military Police Force, director's office.

The three little ones sat side by side on the sofa. Each had a carton of milk and some snacks in front of them.

But none of them had touched anything. They were all looking at Obito.

The single tomoe in Obito's eye had disappeared, as if it had only been there for a fleeting moment.

But he had awakened his Sharingan all the same.

Now Obito was a red-eyed kid, too.

"How do you feel, Obito?" Ruohuo asked.

Honestly, Obito awakening his Sharingan at this age had really surprised Ruohuo.

Six years old...

At the same age, one reincarnation of Indra had apparently only awakened a single tomoe after sacrificing his entire clan.

But Obito...

Had the way Ruohuo had just played Fugaku happened to stimulate Obito's Sharingan awakening?

"Big Bro, I feel great! When my eyes opened, I felt like I could punch a cow to death!" Obito said earnestly.

"..." Ruohuo pursed his lips.

Well, Obito had always been talented.

If he weren't, he wouldn't have gone straight to two tomoe at twelve in the original timeline, then jumped straight to the Mangekyo.

This version of Obito seemed to have sacrificed some intelligence, too. In that case...

Awakening at six wasn't all that strange.

Now all they needed was Shisui.

Just then, the office door opened, and Fugaku strode in.

His gaze swept over the three little Uchiha prodigies. Fugaku let out a breath, chuckled, and shook his head.

"You kids... I'm starting to feel a little sorry for your Ninja Academy teacher," Fugaku teased.

"That guy's a drunk. Don't take him seriously. I've already sent him to the holding cell to reflect on what he did."

"But, little Ruohuo, you absolutely can't do that kind of thing again in the future..."

Fugaku had initially wanted to call it impulsive.

But had Ruohuo really been impulsive?

It was obvious that Ruohuo had wanted to teach that drunken loudmouth a lesson from the start.

But before acting, he had at least accused the man of being a "spy."

That had nothing to do with being "impulsive"...

The only thing Fugaku couldn't figure out was why Ruohuo had drawn his kunai.

Had he only meant to scare the man, or had he really intended to...

Surely not?

Ruohuo didn't respond. Instead, he took a brand-new application form from his pocket.

"Clan Head, sorry for the trouble, but could you sign here in the parent section?"

Parent?

Fugaku's eyes lit up. Remembering Mikoto's help that night, he silently gave his wife a thumbs-up.

"What's this..." Fugaku took the form, his expression gradually turning strange.

"Application for Early Graduation? Ruohuo, you're applying to graduate early!?"

Fugaku was stunned.

If he remembered correctly, the Ninja Academy had only just started... less than a week ago?

"Yeah. I studied the textbooks for all six years at the academy. They're way too easy."

Ruohuo answered calmly. "Teacher Oki said he didn't think he had anything left to teach me, so he gave me this form."

Oki: I didn't! Don't put words in my mouth!

"I wanted Grandmother to sign it, but she's getting old, and her eyesight is a little blurry. Obito and I don't have any other adults at home..."

"So I can only ask you, Clan Head."

"Aunt Mikoto said you're the head of our family, so Teacher Oki should agree if you sign it, right?"

Hearing that, Fugaku straightened his back.

I'm the mighty Uchiha Clan Head. He's just a little Chunin. Would he dare reject my signature?

"Don't worry, Ruohuo."

Fugaku picked up a pen from the desk and signed his name briskly.

Since the academy teacher had said as much, there was no need for him to ask anything else.

Little Ruohuo was so honest. Surely he wouldn't lie?

Graduating early was a good thing, too.

Geniuses were always different from ordinary people.

They had their own paths to walk.

After signing, Fugaku felt as if something was missing.

So he went back, took out two seals, and stamped them onto the form.

"The Clan Head's signature counts the same as a parent's. I'm the head of your family, after all. I'm sure your teacher will agree."

Fugaku returned the signed and stamped form to Ruohuo.

Ruohuo raised an eyebrow.

Wow, he'd stamped it with both his personal seal and the Military Police Force's official seal?

The personal seal made sense, but the official one... What was that for?

Ruohuo had been a little puzzled at first.

But then he remembered that the form needed the Hokage's approval. In other words, the Third would definitely see it, and Ruohuo understood...

Fugaku was stamping the Military Police Force's seal on him in advance!

Heh, what a scheming boy, Fugaku.

But that was a pretty clumsy ploy, wasn't it?

The Third had seen all kinds of things. Was he really going to fall for this?

If you really wanted him to stay, why not go straight to the Hokage Office Building and say it? What were you afraid of?

"Uchiha Ruohuo is a promising talent for the Konoha Military Police Force and a candidate for the next Uchiha Clan Head. Hokage, please show some restraint!"

Now that was how a clan head should carry himself!

"Thank you, Clan Head," Ruohuo said obediently, quietly putting the form away.

The top student spot was definitely his.

His biggest rival had already lost to him and even called him class monitor willingly.

With this form, his C-rank mission was as good as complete~

The only uncertain thing left was who his Jonin instructor would be...

"Could it be Minato?" Ruohuo wondered.

He hoped Minato would teach him. That way, he could use the Rasengan without raising suspicion.

That was right. As soon as Ruohuo could refine chakra, he had started studying the Rubber Ball Training Method.

He had been there when Jiraiya taught Naruto.

He had also watched when Sasuke taught Boruto.

He had learned this technique—one that would remain useful all the way to the end—long ago. He'd just never had the chance to use it.

He could surprise Minato with it then. Maybe he could even trick him into giving him the title of Mount Myoboku's heir?

In some ways, Sage Mode was no weaker than the Mangekyo.

Maybe the second Five-Year Plan could be completed ahead of schedule.

"All right. I have plenty of work today, but my Shadow Clone can handle it."

"Kids, if you want to learn ninjutsu, shall we get going?" Fugaku said with a smile.

Did Fugaku really have a lot of work?

Maybe.

But Ruohuo was more inclined to think Fugaku had said it on purpose, so the three of them would feel the Clan Head was going out of his way for them.

It wasn't that Ruohuo was being maliciously suspicious.

It was just that, in the few times they'd met, Fugaku had already shown off his "little schemes" too many times.

That might have worked if Ruohuo were actually a little kid.

But Ruohuo had lived two lives, and in his previous one, his father had been a bureau chief and his mother a formidable career woman. How could he not see through such a simple trick?

"Thank you for your hard work, Clan Head," Ruohuo said, playing along with Fugaku's act. He also patted Shisui and Obito on the backs of their heads.

"Thank you for your hard work, Clan Head." ×2