I Don't Have Senior Nawaki's Ambition

Orochimaru had already come over.

Ruohuo didn't hurry to check the reward. He took the Headband and put it on.

From today onward, he was an honored Konoha Ninja.

"Congratulations, Ruohuo."

Fugaku came over too, wearing a warm smile.

"Since the Ninja Academy was founded, you might be the fastest student ever to become a ninja."

"To become Lord Orochimaru's disciple... Honestly, I'm a little jealous."

"..." Ruohuo sighed, looking less than pleased.

Fugaku...

Even if it was just a polite remark, you didn't have to make yourself look so cheap, did you?

Fugaku wasn't much older than Minato.

In terms of age and seniority, Orochimaru could indeed have been Fugaku's teacher.

But you're the head of a clan! If you don't have any dignity, what's the point of being clan head?

Ruohuo could understand Fugaku's attitude, though.

Orochimaru was incredibly popular in Konoha right now.

With Minato not yet known as the Yellow Flash, the Sannin Cold Lord Orochimaru was genuinely a leading candidate to become the Fourth Hokage.

Fugaku had clearly taken note of that connection.

Just imagine: if Orochimaru became Hokage, then with Fugaku—his Hokage disciple—as a bridge, wouldn't the Uchiha become a clan tied to the Hokage?

But since when did the Uchiha need to become a subsidiary of the Hokage's clan?

The Hokage's seat was right there. Why not figure out how to seize it?

Fine.

Given the Uchiha's current situation and overall strength, it was understandable that Fugaku would be a little more tactful.

But to be fair...

"Big Brother Fugaku."

Ruohuo said earnestly, "Thank you for teaching me those ninjutsu. Without your guidance, I might not have passed the test today."

"Thanks."

"...Huh?" Fugaku looked a little dazed. "What did you just call me?"

"Big Brother Fugaku." Ruohuo shrugged. "Lord Orochimaru is my teacher, and you're my teacher's junior. That makes us equals, doesn't it?"

"If you want to become Lord Orochimaru's disciple, you'll have to call me Senior Brother from now on."

"Though, putting it that way doesn't sound quite right..."

Ruohuo pondered.

Fugaku's face darkened. So you know it doesn't sound right!

I'm your clan head! When you came to me for an autograph yesterday, you even called me your guardian!

"How about this: we each call the other whatever we like. I'll call you Big Brother, and you call me Senior Brother."

"When I'm away on missions, I'll be counting on you to look after Grandmother and my two younger brothers, Big Brother Fugaku..."

"..." Fugaku fell silent.

How had he never noticed before just how annoying this kid could be?

Orochimaru watched with an amused smile, saying nothing.

"Just call me Clan Head, Ruohuo," Fugaku said with a shake of his head.

"...Sure." Ruohuo nodded.

Keep calling me that for another two years. Then it'll be your turn to call me Clan Head.

"Anyway, Ruohuo, there are still a lot of procedures to take care of after you pass the test. Since it's still early, let's get them all done today."

Orochimaru finally spoke.

"Of course, Sensei." Ruohuo was quick to change how he addressed him.

Fugaku still looked a little disgruntled, but he patted Ruohuo on the shoulder and said in a paternal tone,

"Study hard under Lord Orochimaru, and stop getting into trouble. Understand?"

"Understood, Big Brother Fugaku."

"...Call me Clan Head!"

"Understood, Clan Head Big Brother."

"..."

Ruohuo followed Orochimaru along the road.

The Uchiha Clan Grounds were a long way from the Hokage Office Building, but the Konoha Military Police Force wasn't nearly so far out.

Ruohuo found it a little strange.

If becoming a Genin involved any other procedures, wasn't the only thing left to do getting his Ninja ID?

But judging by the direction Orochimaru was heading...

Was that... the cemetery?

It really was.

When they reached the cemetery entrance and saw the rows of neatly arranged gravestones in the distance, Ruohuo suddenly felt like turning around and running.

Let's be real—Orochimaru at this point hadn't awakened yet, right?

But Ruohuo resisted the urge to run.

He had a pretty good idea what Orochimaru was up to.

"You mentioned a senior disciple just now."

"I thought it would be good to introduce you to someone."

"Come with me, Ruohuo."

After weaving this way and that, Ruohuo followed Orochimaru until they stopped in a section where every name began with "Senju."

Just as Ruohuo had expected.

The gravestone before them bore a photograph sealed beneath glass. It showed a boy of about ten, grinning brightly and full of sunshine.

He was Tsunade's younger brother, the Second Hokage's Naruto—(Senju) Nawaki.

He had also been Orochimaru's first disciple.

"He was your senior brother. He died in the Second Shinobi World War."

Orochimaru crouched down and wiped the dust from Nawaki's photograph with a handkerchief.

"Say hello to your senior brother, Ruohuo."

"Hello, Senior Brother." Ruohuo bowed formally.

After a moment's thought, he took a kunai from his ninja pouch and set it in front of the gravestone.

"We've only just met, so I didn't bring a proper gift. This is the most valuable thing I have on me. Please take good care of it, Senior Brother."

Orochimaru looked at the kunai in front of the gravestone and smiled.

"Your senior brother Nawaki had a remarkable dream."

"He wanted to become Hokage, someone like the Lord Third who could protect Konoha."

Orochimaru looked at Ruohuo. "What's your dream, Ruohuo?"

Was this the part where they introduced themselves?

Ruohuo pursed his lips, and for some reason, he thought of Kakashi and Team 7's "first meeting" introductions on the rooftop.

This was pretty much the same.

Only, the setting wasn't a rooftop. It was a cemetery.

As for teammates... one was dead, and the other was still undecided.

"Becoming Hokage... I don't have Senior Brother's ambition," Ruohuo replied after a moment's thought.

A flicker passed through Orochimaru's eyes.

Dreams and ambitions... They were the same thing to him, but for other people, there was still a difference.

Still, considering that everything here might be under his teacher's watchful eye,

Orochimaru decided to "correct" his new disciple.

"I only want to become the Uchiha Clan Head and, while I'm at it, serve as head of the Konoha Military Police Force, protecting Konoha and keeping it safe."

Ruohuo paused. "But keeping Konoha peaceful on its own wouldn't be enough. Otherwise, we wouldn't be at war all the time."

"So I also want to make the Uchiha bigger and stronger, restore our glory, and bring our blessings beyond Konoha to the entire Ninja World."

The more Ruohuo spoke, the more fired up he got, leaving Orochimaru no chance to say anything. "The reason the Ninja World has so many wars is that there's no universally recognized order."

"If there were a set of laws for the Ninja World that everyone followed, with lawbreakers arrested on the spot and villages that broke the law burned to ashes by the Will of Fire..."

"Then the Ninja World would definitely become peaceful."

Orochimaru wasn't exactly a conventional person anyway. What was wrong with saying everything that was on his mind?

This was also Ruohuo's third Five-Year Plan: the Shinobi World Police Force Plan.

Becoming Hokage sounded so boring.

The whole shinobi-village system shouldn't exist in the first place.

What could a bunch of ninja do, gathered together all day, besides fight wars? Have lots of kids?

It would be better to establish a system that the entire Ninja World could follow.

Civility, order, fairness and justice, peace and well-being.

Of course, the final say would belong to Uchiha Ruohuo...