You're not giving the newbie protection period any face, are you?

Ruohuo had a strange dream that night.

The reason it was strange was simple.

Usually, his dreams involved punching Hashirama and kicking Madara, but tonight, he encountered some "new faces."

Kisame.

For some reason, Kisame had lost his mind and insisted on fighting him for the ownership of Samehada.

And so, they began to brawl.

Kisame opened with a Great Dam Water Smash, supplemented by Water Shark Bullet, coming at him with ferocious momentum.

Ruohuo simply copied the move, conjuring a Great Dam Card Smash along with a swarm of flame sharks.

Then, the dream took a magical turn.

The Third Raikage popped out of nowhere, bellowing, "Don't you dare be arrogant!" He immediately activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode, initiated a Hell Stab, and zoomed over with a "whoosh."

Ruohuo was even more reckless; he activated his own Fire Release Chakra Mode, turning into a little fire man to clash head-on with the Third Raikage!

The battle was earth-shattering and cataclysmic, a truly bizarre affair...

In the end, he won by a narrow margin, laughing until the very end.

But then, Mei Terumi and Kurenai Yuhi appeared.

"Only one of us can survive. Make your choice."

"..."

The dream ended there.

As soon as Ruohuo opened his eyes, the sky was already beginning to brighten.

Obito was still fast asleep, but Grandma was already up and cooking.

After washing up, Ruohuo ran downstairs to chop firewood using the Hatake Sword Technique, multitasking between training and chores.

By the time Obito woke up to the smell of breakfast, Ruohuo was already drenched in sweat.

"Go find Shisui today for some tutoring, and practice the jutsu you learned from the clan head yesterday while you're at it."

Even though today was officially the weekend.

Ruohuo didn't plan on visiting Fugaku for the time being.

As for Sharingan genjutsu and the like, he only had a single tomoe right now; there was no need to waste the extra stamina.

"Got it, Big Brother!" Obito asked, "Big Brother, aren't you coming?"

"I need to head to the Hokage Office Building to submit my graduation application." Ruohuo looked at his grandmother, "Once I become a ninja, I can take on missions and earn a salary. I'll buy you a big house then."

"As long as you're safe and sound, what's the point of a new house..."

Grandma's response was indifferent, but the concern in her words was overflowing.

Ruohuo smiled, finished his meal in a hurry, and left the house.

He jogged the whole way, taking a full twenty minutes to run from the remote Uchiha compound to the front of the Hokage Office Building.

Learning ninjutsu by seeking out the Hokage—that made perfect sense.

Although Konoha had regulations stating that one needed to make contributions to obtain ninjutsu, one shouldn't forget that in the current Konoha, the final say belonged to the Third.

Fugaku's little schemes on the graduation application certainly wouldn't escape the Third's notice.

Ruohuo had every reason to believe that the Third would make the same choice, only at a much higher level of sophistication.

At the main entrance of the Hokage Office Building, two Konoha ninjas stood guard, standing perfectly straight.

In the areas out of sight, there were surely Anbu on duty as well.

This was the safest place in Konoha; trying to force his way in was definitely not an option.

So, Ruohuo... strode right up to them.

Just kidding, he was still in his "newbie protection period," after all.

"Hey! You Uchiha brat! What do you think you're doing?"

The two guards didn't care about any so-called newbie protection period and blocked Ruohuo right at the door.

"I'm looking for Grandpa Hokage," Ruohuo said earnestly. "I have business."

"Lord Hokage isn't someone you can just see whenever you want... Get lost, go find your clan head if you have an issue."

That sounded reasonable enough, if one ignored the impatient tone and the look of disdain in their eyes...

So, the Uchiha's reputation had already suffered a comminuted fracture, had it?

Even a child was being treated like this?

Ruohuo was about to argue, but before he could open his mouth, he saw someone passing by.

Long, straight black hair, wearing a long robe and wooden sandals, those cataract-like eyes, and a smooth forehead confirmed the person's identity.

Hyuga.

A Hyuga without the Caged Bird Seal, and so young at that.

That could only be Hyuga Hiashi.

Hyuga Hiashi paid no mind to Ruohuo at the entrance, not even sparing him a glance as he walked straight inside.

He was even more aloof than the Uchiha, which was just absurd.

What was key was that the two guards actually bowed to him!

"Why was he allowed in?" Ruohuo asked.

"That lord is the head of the Hyuga Clan, so of course he can go in, brat," the guard on the left replied.

"Go find your clan head and have him bring you here, then I'll let you through immediately."

The tone was still impatient and laced with contempt, though he didn't say anything too excessive.

Ruohuo thought for a moment, pulled out his graduation application, unfolded it, and pointed to the signature on it.

"The person isn't here, but is the signature okay? Plus, there's the official seal of the Konoha Military Police Force."

Perhaps there were some regulations in place.

Seeing the paper document with the seal, the two guards exchanged glances, and the one on the right nodded.

"Let me see it."

"Here." Ruohuo handed it over.

"Graduation application?" the guard frowned, his expression growing even more impatient as he looked at Ruohuo.

"Yep." Ruohuo acted as if he hadn't noticed. "I'm just here to find Grandpa Hokage to apply for graduation."

"Get lost, get lost. Nobody cares why you're here. If you want to apply for graduation, go find your teacher. If you want to see Lord Hokage, have your clan head come over!"

The guard threw the application directly at Ruohuo.

"Trying to graduate at such a young age, is there something wrong with the brains of you Uchiha?"

Things had reached this point.

If Ruohuo didn't do something now, it would be truly impolite.

Not giving face to the newbie protection period, are we?

Then please wait a moment!

Ruohuo silently picked up the application from the ground, folded it carefully, and put it back in his pocket.

Under the guards' gazes, which were mixed with disgust and triumph, Ruohuo walked away, looking "dejected."

But after walking a few steps forward, Ruohuo suddenly stopped and spun around violently!

"I knew there was something wrong with you two!"

Ruohuo shouted, "Grandpa Hokage is so kind and amiable, how could he possibly let two bastards like you guard the door!"

"Speak! Did you kidnap Grandpa Hokage!"

Ruohuo's voice was loud and immediately reached the Hokage's office.

At this moment, there were quite a few people in the Hokage's office.

They all heard the childish yet furious voice from downstairs and looked at each other, finding it somewhat amusing.

"What's going on..."

The Third was about to turn to look; even without the crystal ball, he could see everything at the entrance through the office's floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Brat, I'm warning you, don't..."

"Hmph! Feeling guilty, are you! Don't be afraid, Grandpa Hokage! I'm coming to rescue you!"

Pfft--

Someone in the office couldn't hold it back and laughed out loud on the spot.

The others didn't laugh out loud, but their faces were filled with amusement.

But soon, everyone stopped laughing entirely...

"Will of Fire, please grant me the power to rescue Grandpa Hokage!"

They only heard that childish voice suddenly shout something chuunibyou, and then...

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"