I Have a Bunch of Relatives Who Want to Be Hokage Chapter 48

In the original timeline, he had stayed cooped up at home, letting others attack whenever they wanted, since he only defended his own turf.

That was beside the point. Mitarashi Anko was still at the Ninja Academy and had yet to graduate, but barring any surprises, her graduation should go smoothly.

Uchiha Shingen felt that he could get a rough idea of Orochimaru's current situation through Mitarashi Anko.

Besides, it had been a long time since he had taught anyone. He missed it.

"Where is Mitarashi Anko right now?" he asked.

A staff member beside him replied, "Mitarashi Anko is in class, but she's about to graduate."

"But she hasn't graduated yet." Uchiha Shingen spoke with righteous conviction, growing more proficient by the moment. "Does graduating mean she can slack off? Does it mean she can stop learning? Her abilities may be lacking for now, but her attitude must be correct."

"Are you planning to teach her?" The staff member felt that something unpleasant might be about to land on him and decided to make an effort. "Actually, she doesn't really need private lessons. Lord Orochimaru personally instructs her in private."

"Has Orochimaru taught her anything recently?"

"No. Lord Orochimaru hasn't come to the academy lately."

"See?" Uchiha Shingen patted the man's shoulder, looking as though his gaze saw through everything. "Lord Orochimaru is reminding her of something! That child isn't clever at all. How can a child favored by Lord Orochimaru waste her talent like this? Leave her to me. Watch how I'll fire her up!"

"Understood, Lord Shingen." The staff member gave up struggling and obediently went to arrange classes as Uchiha Shingen requested.

He was only a chunin. What the hell did matters between important people have to do with him?

Has the Dragon Cave Contract Been Signed?

Mitarashi Anko was sprawled over her desk, asleep.

She was from a proper Hokage-lineage family. As long as she did not disrupt class, no one had much to say about it.

As Orochimaru's disciple, her path had already been decided. Graduation would be no problem at all, and the academy's graduation exam was far too easy for her.

As for the genin selection test, Orochimaru probably would not make her return to the academy for remedial study either.

What could she still learn here? She had even signed a contract with Dragon Cave.

Though she had never been to Dragon Cave, she did want to take a look. But when she brought it up to Orochimaru, he gave her a smile.

Even now, she had not figured out what that smile from Lord Orochimaru had meant.

If she could not figure it out, she would not think about it. So she slept soundly.

Don't misunderstand—she never relaxed her training. It was just that the academy's procedures required her to attend class, while the things taught in class were nothing worth hearing compared to Lord Orochimaru's instruction. So, she had no choice but to sleep.

In her dream, she was in a dessert shop. The shop was holding an event: anything eaten inside was free.

So she stuffed herself.

"Anko."

She seemed to hear someone calling her.

As long as it was not Lord Orochimaru's voice, she ignored it.

"Anko, get up!" That voice grew unhappy.

Huh? Was someone trying to steal her desserts?

Smack!

Someone slapped her on the head.

Mitarashi Anko woke up groggily and saw her academy teacher's stern face.

Tch! So it was a dream! She should have known there was no such good thing as letting her eat whatever she wanted.

"Anko, come with me." The Ninja Academy teacher was helpless. In truth, Mitarashi Anko sleeping did not affect anyone else's lessons, and he really had not wanted to wake her. After all...

He was a chunin, but he truly could not answer the questions this child asked.

The Ninja Academy's written exams were already difficult enough, but he had never even heard of the questions Anko asked.

Because those were all fields researched by Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin.

In the end, as Lord Orochimaru's disciple, she simply did not live in the same world as ordinary ninjas.

Orochimaru was currently in the prime of his life. By now, he had completed 108 S-rank missions and could be called Leaf Village's number one gold-medal enforcer.

Although he had lost the election for Fourth Hokage, his reputation had not suffered in the slightest.

Many people knew that Orochimaru did not actually care whether he became Hokage or not.

"Teacher, has Lord Orochimaru come?" Mitarashi Anko asked happily.

Come to think of it, Lord Orochimaru had not visited her at the academy recently.

"No, it's Lord Shingen."

"Lord Shingen?" Mitarashi Anko thought about it.

She lived in the northern district, and when the Nine-Tails rampaged, she had not known about it at all.

Still, the name sounded familiar.

Was he one of Lord Orochimaru's subordinates? Something like that had happened before. Lord Orochimaru was very busy, so he would have a subordinate come pick her up.

So she happily followed the teacher out of the classroom.

They walked down the corridor and up the stairs.

Mitarashi Anko's excitement gradually faded. Why were they still going higher?

The answer came soon enough.

The academy teacher led her onto the rooftop.

There was only one person on the rooftop.

He looked to be under twenty.

Though he wore the Hidden Leaf Village's ninja uniform, he also had an armband bearing a fan emblem.

A ninja of the Uchiha Clan.

The Legendary Sannin were the most famous ninja trio in the shinobi world and were widely recognized as the benchmark for Kage-level strength.

Of the three, both Orochimaru and Jiraiya had a great many commoner admirers. In the eyes of those at the bottom, the Sannin represented the greatest achievement a common-born ninja could attain without relying on bloodline.

Neither Orochimaru nor Jiraiya had been chosen by fate, nor had they come from wealthy or noble families. Without any bloodline advantages, they had relied solely on a measure of talent, opportunity, and hard work to cultivate their strength to the limit an ordinary person could reach.

Their path was the one walked by the overwhelming majority of ordinary people in the shinobi world.

The Uchiha Clan stood in direct contrast to that image. They were regarded as the embodiment of bloodline supremacy.

Geniuses emerged from the clan one after another, and the Sharingan was outrageously overpowered.

No one in the shinobi world dared take Uchiha Sharingan genjutsu lightly. Otherwise, there would not be a saying: "In a one-on-one fight, flee at all costs."

One major reason the Uchiha Clan had not been well-liked before was this sense of distance from the general public. No other ninja clan displayed the advantages of "bloodline" as vividly as the Uchiha did.

Even though most Uchiha were not actually that strong and did not possess the Sharingan.

"Lord Shingen." The academy teacher gestured for the still-bewildered Mitarashi Anko to step forward. "This child is Mitarashi Anko."

"Um..." Mitarashi Anko scratched her head. "Are you Lord Orochimaru's subordinate?"

She looked carefree on the surface, but Mitarashi Anko knew what was what. Seeing how respectfully the academy teacher treated him, she knew she could not judge the Uchiha ninja before her by his age.

So she simply played dumb.

Though it was a rather clumsy act.

The academy teacher beside her could only glance at her helplessly.

Children really did get away with anything. How nice.

"No, I'm not." Uchiha Shingen did not mind. "I'm a teacher hired by the academy. I'm here to teach you today. Have you already signed a contract with Dragon Cave?"

"Huh? How did you know?" Mitarashi Anko asked curiously.

Signing a contract with Dragon Cave was supposed to be fairly confidential.

"Because I'm also a contractor of Dragon Cave." Uchiha Shingen raised his hand. A small black snake slithered from his sleeve, coiling around his hand as it flicked its tongue at Mitarashi Anko.

The academy teacher who had led them there could not help taking a small step back.

He was personally a little allergic to snakes.

Noticing his discomfort, Uchiha Shingen withdrew the little snake.

"Sorry to trouble you. I plan to take this child outdoors for class. What procedures are required for filing that?"

"It's fine. Private lessons are often held outdoors. The procedures were already completed when your classes were scheduled."

"Alright. I'll bring her back before school lets out."

With that, Uchiha Shingen walked up to Mitarashi Anko and, before her confused little eyes, placed a hand on her shoulder.

The two of them vanished from the rooftop at once, leaving behind only the academy teacher.

The teacher merely marveled, "Jonin really are amazing," before returning to work.

This was the ninja academy, after all. All sorts of freaks came by regularly. He was used to it—completely numb to it.

From Mitarashi Anko's perspective, her vision blurred, and she was already standing in a forest.

After looking around, she recognized it as the forest west of the Hidden Leaf Village.

She had followed Orochimaru all over the areas near the Hidden Leaf Village and recognized the place at a glance.

"That was amazing!" Mitarashi Anko said excitedly. "Was that a space-time ninjutsu too?"

One benefit of studying under Orochimaru was that it greatly broadened one's horizons.

For a student her age, that was also an exceptionally valuable resource.

Only with broad horizons could one understand oneself more deeply and know how to plan one's path.

"Orochimaru has taught you quite a lot." Uchiha Shingen glanced at her.

Orochimaru was a rather unusual person.

He was extremely selective about people, but if he took a liking to someone, he would hold nothing back.

Most people regarded ninjutsu knowledge as their most precious resource and would usually keep something in reserve when teaching others.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, was afraid that the people around him knew too little to keep up with him.

Mitarashi Anko blinked. From the way Uchiha Shingen addressed Orochimaru, she sensed something different.

There was no honorific, nor any hint of lowering himself.

Was this teacher a ninja on the same level as Lord Orochimaru?

In Mitarashi Anko's eyes, the only people on Lord Orochimaru's level should have been the other two of the Legendary Sannin.

But she was still a child, after all, and did not dwell on it too deeply. She only felt that her village truly hid dragons and crouching tigers. Rather than being worried, she grew a little excited and began looking forward to what this new teacher would teach her.

"I've never given private lessons before, so let's get acquainted first." In the forest, Uchiha Shingen said this to Mitarashi Anko. "Attack me. Don't hold back—we're outside the village."

"Yes, Teacher." Mitarashi Anko nodded seriously and pulled out a kunai.

Combat simulations were the ninja academy students' favorite classes.

Once they reached the practical stage, the academy no longer offered combat simulations as a separate class, because students at that stage basically had combat simulations every day, either in teams or alone.

Mitarashi Anko was the queen of the academy.

Incidentally, Uchiha Itachi had also enrolled in the ninja academy. However, he would attend for only one year before graduating, putting him in the same graduating class as Mitarashi Anko.

He did not cause trouble at school, so he had not become the academy's tyrant.

So was it true that the dogs that bit did not bark?

Watching Mitarashi Anko charge at him with high spirits, Uchiha Shingen could not help comparing the two.

There really was no comparison.

Among the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya was still the best at teaching disciples—and choosing them.

Orochimaru had it even worse than Tsunade. Before Uchiha Sasuke, he had not produced a single capable disciple.