Grandpa Hokage! Hang in there!

Whoosh—!

A wave of scorching flames swept across the entrance to the Hokage Office Building!

"Ughhh!!!"

Screams rang out from within the wall of fire.

The two guards had indeed tried to react.

But who would ever expect a little kid to use such a powerful technique?

It was probably a basic D-rank jutsu, or a C-rank at most.

B-rank? Was he even fully grown? Did he have that much chakra?

Fugaku: I thought the same thing yesterday.

So the two men's response was... to take two steps forward.

At this distance, one Body Flicker Technique would be enough to take him down. Why dodge?

We're guarding the entrance to the Hokage Office Building!

We're representing Lord Hokage himself!

Scared off by a little Uchiha brat? What a joke!

And then they took the Fire Style with their faces...

Ruohuo had actually held back.

What was he doing right now, anyway?

A six-year-old charging into the village head's office with an AK in one hand to rescue the village chief!

And besides the two guards, there was a whole squad of Anbu here.

The Anbu, the Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, were basically special forces.

The kind with sniper rifles!

But these "special forces" wouldn't "snipe" a little kid.

The newbie protection period—especially for the Uchiha Clan at this time—was still pretty effective.

Konoha was indeed squeezing the Uchiha out.

But why bother squeezing them out if they weren't a threat?

If they killed a young Uchiha genius in the village, they'd probably have to prepare for war.

Still, that was easier said than done.

He could act like a kid all he wanted.

But Ruohuo wasn't stupid enough to kill someone in broad daylight.

He could bring an AK, but it had to be a water gun.

So Ruohuo had used only the bare minimum of chakra, focusing the jutsu on its size and dialing back its power.

There was a reason to practice one jutsu until you'd mastered it, after all.

Most of the experience gained from perfecting the Great Fireball could be applied to other jutsu, too.

But no matter how you looked at it...

This was still a Fire Style jutsu!

You could dodge it, block it, or even raise a hand and disperse it like Might Guy had when he saved Rock Lee during the Chunin exam, looking incredibly cool.

But taking it with your face... probably wasn't the best idea.

"Ah!!!"

The two guards flew backward. They hit the ground, curled up, clutched their faces, and screamed in pain.

Shit! Ruohuo's heart skipped a beat. Had these two always been this brave? Taking a Fire Style jutsu to the face? Were they okay?!

"What!?" The Third's eye twitched. So this was another way to use the Will of Fire?

"Move out!" The Anbu in hiding surged into action. The Hokage Office Building was under attack!

Where was the enemy!?

In broad daylight, in the middle of the village, someone had dared attack the Hokage Office Building!?

Had Cloud Village infiltrated the village again? Were the idiots on the Barrier Team all blind?!

"Kid! Did you see anyone suspicious? Where did they go!?"

The captain on duty for the Anbu guards at the Hokage Office Building shouted.

There was no doubt about this Anbu ninja's abilities.

He'd been watching in the opposite direction just moments ago, but had still reached the scene immediately.

Then one of his subordinates flickered to his side and quietly explained what had really happened.

The subordinate seemed a little flustered as he reported.

He'd watched the whole thing, but he hadn't expected the kid to actually dare...

And actually launch a B-rank Fire Style jutsu at the Hokage Office Building!

"Someone suspicious? You people look pretty suspicious to me!"

At this point, Ruohuo could only see things through to the bitter end.

"I'm telling you, don't think I'm scared just because you're wearing masks. We Uchiha men fear nothing!"

"Hand over Grandpa Hokage! He's been kidnapped!"

"Damn... you little brat."

The Anbu squad leader had heard the report and was furious. He used the Body Flicker Technique, then grabbed Ruohuo and lifted him into the air.

The scene was practically a replay of what had happened outside the Military Police Force the day before.

Too bad Obito and Shisui weren't here. Maybe Shisui could've awakened his eye, too?

"Let go of me! If you've got guts, fight me one-on-one!"

"Settle down! Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused? Do you even know where you are?!"

"Ah!!! Will of Fire, grant me your strength once more! Let me defeat this guy!"

"Grandpa Hokage! Hang in there!!!"

"..."

The Third sat in the Hokage's office and watched the "drama" come to an end through the floor-to-ceiling window.

Once the laughter in the office died down a little,

"Orochimaru."

"I've already sent a clone, sensei."

Orochimaru replied with a smile.

"The children these days are so full of energy..." the Third remarked.

"And certainly a little too brave," White Fang said with a laugh. "My boy wouldn't have the nerve to do that, haha."

"That's what happens when a child lacks discipline, Sakumo," said Hyuga Hiashi, the only one who hadn't been holding back laughter.

He spoke gravely. "If this child keeps going like this, he'll cause a major disaster sooner or later once he becomes a ninja."

"He's still young, Hiashi..." White Fang waved a hand.

Knock, knock, knock—

The Third tapped on the table.

"All right, let's continue, everyone."

"Compared to this child, Iwagakure and Cloud Village are clearly up to far more trouble..."

"I've told you already! Lord Hokage hasn't been kidnapped. He's in an extremely important meeting!"

"Kid, don't look at me like that. Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused today?"

"If you weren't a kid, you'd be dead by now, you know... Lord Orochimaru, you're here."

"Mm."

Orochimaru's arrival interrupted the "legal education" session.

Ruohuo, who'd been tightly bound and sealed, immediately quieted down...

Why had Orochimaru shown up?

He couldn't keep pretending anymore. If he did, he'd take it too far.

Come to think of it... at this point in time, Orochimaru wasn't a scientist yet, was he?

He hadn't started experimenting on human subjects or evolved into the Shameless Snake.

As the only one of the Sannin who lived in Konoha full-time, Orochimaru still seemed to be a leading candidate to succeed the Hokage.

"Leave this child to me for now," Orochimaru said flatly.

"Yes!" the Anbu ninja replied respectfully, closing the door behind him as he left.

"Looks like you know who I am, child... You can relax now, right?"

Orochimaru smiled as he quickly untied Ruohuo and removed the gag from his mouth.

"..." Ruohuo didn't say anything. He nodded.

Orochimaru's smile grew wider. He looked just like Gintoki's teacher before he'd awakened, with his maximum gentleness.

But after he awakened, well, well...

"I've heard a little about the situation... You want to graduate early, is that right?"

Ruohuo nodded again, still not saying a word. Then he pulled out his application form.

Orochimaru didn't take it.

"You can hand it to Lord Hokage yourself, then see with your own eyes that he hasn't been kidnapped..."

Orochimaru reached out to pat Ruohuo's short hair.

Ruohuo instinctively dodged.

No one.

No one was allowed to touch his head!

Orochimaru's hand hung in the air, but he didn't seem bothered.

"Relax, child... You didn't hurt anyone, and you didn't cause much damage. No one will blame you..."

"Let me tell you a secret." Orochimaru withdrew his hand and smiled again.

"Actually, I've wanted to do that myself for a long time..."

"..." Ruohuo believed him.