Chapter 106: Minato's Request
Looking at Tanzō's superior demeanor, Orochimaru's narrowed eyes flashed with a strange light. As for what he was thinking, only he himself knew.
"Experimental funds must not be reduced, and when I'm doing experiments, no Root idiots are allowed to come and disturb me."
"Alright."
After leaving a curt reply, Tanzō turned around and left.
After his figure completely disappeared from the laboratory, Orochimaru took a deep breath.
"Hehehe, Yue Yan-kun, you were really right. But Tanzō doesn't have the qualifications to control me."
As he spoke, Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue and licked his lips, looking at Yue Yan with a playful expression.
"I can see why Tanzō is so unpopular. I'm sure Yue Yan-kun has some thoughts too."
Hearing this, Yue Yan raised his eyebrows.
Seeing that Yue Yan understood his meaning, Orochimaru also curled his lips.
"Didn't Tanzō want to drive me out of Konoha so he could become Hokage? Well, I'll make sure he never gets that chance. Compared to Tanzō being the target of public condemnation at that time, even if he's a Konoha elder, if he gets killed, the teacher probably won't say anything. So, Yue Yan-kun, would you like to be the one to do it?"
"Sure, I'd love to."
Yue Yan also curled his lips, smiling wickedly just like Orochimaru.
"Or rather, I've been wanting to do this for a long time."
Putting aside Yue Yan and Orochimaru's plan against Tanzō for now, not long after, a shocking piece of news spread across the ninja world.
The Third Raikage fought ten thousand Stone Ninjas alone to cover his comrades' retreat and finally died of exhaustion.
This news spread extremely fast. In just about a day, the whole ninja world knew about it.
By now, three kage had died in this war.
Now that the Stone Ninjas had lost their Raikage and ten thousand ninjas, they probably wouldn't be able to continue the war.
However, this didn't mean the war was over. Apart from the Sand Ninjas and Mist Ninjas who had already withdrawn, the Cloud Ninjas were now vying for the position of Raikage. To become the Raikage, one needed enough achievements, which could only be gained on the battlefield.
The situation was similar for the Stone Ninjas. Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage, also needed to achieve some feats to soothe the village.
Moreover, Konoha also needed to build up the momentum for the Fourth Hokage. So, the war would probably continue for some time.
During this period, it won't be as intense as before. Since each side has its own needs, it's basically a stage where they are trying to gain battle achievements from each other.
In Konoha, the high - ups had also decided on the candidate for the Fourth Hokage. Just like in the original story, it was Minato Namikaze, a disciple of Jiraiya.
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Minato, who was suddenly extremely busy running around on various battlefields, could more or less guess what was going on.
As for Minato Namikaze himself, it would be a lie to say he wasn't excited. After all, becoming Hokage had always been his dream. Now that his dream was about to come true, he worked extra hard during missions.
Not only Minato Namikaze, but also Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third kage, sent some powerful ninjas like Yue Yan to be his mission - partners to build momentum for his success.
After completing another round of missions, on the way back to the village, Minato Namikaze found Yue Yan.
Seeing Minato Namikaze looking all shy and hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but was embarrassed, Yue Yan couldn't help rolling his eyes.
"I'm just saying, Senior Brother Minato Namikaze, given our relationship, just tell me what's on your mind."
"Um... well..." Minato Namikaze scratched his head awkwardly. Then he took a deep breath and told Yue Yan what he thought was explosive news.
"Yue Yan, I may become the Fourth Hokage."
"Oh, so what?"
"Eh..."
Minato Namikaze blinked his eyes and stared at Yue Yan, completely dumbfounded.
Noticing his expression, Yue Yan suddenly remembered what Tobirama Senju had said about Minato Namikaze in the original story. He was a bit of an air - head.
After realizing it, Minato Namikaze looked at Yue Yan in disbelief.
"Aren't you shocked, Yue Yan? I'm going to be the Hokage."
Hearing this, Yue Yan rolled his eyes again.
"Looking at this period, it seems like no one else has been doing missions on the battlefield as frequently as you. As long as you're not an idiot, you should be able to guess. So is it strange that I guessed it?"
Seeing Yue Yan shrugging his little bear - like shoulders, Minato Namikaze was a bit disappointed.
"I thought this news'd shock you. Ah, whatever. Let's not talk about it." Minato Namikaze leaned close to Yue Yan and whispered so that only they could hear, "Yue Yan, you know that the relationship between the village and the Uchiha Clan has always been tense. Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha have a good relationship with me and Kushina. And I also want to do something for the village after becoming Hokage. So, about Fugaku's kids learning from you..."
Apparently, if Minato Namikaze hadn't brought this up, Yue Yan would have almost forgotten about it. But Fugaku remembered it well. Since Minato Namikaze was about to become the Fourth Hokage, Fugaku found him and mentioned this, aiming to figure out Yue Yan's attitude through Minato Namikaze.
As Minato Namikaze's friend, he naturally agreed. He also wanted to see the Uchiha Clan integrate into the village again.
"Senior Brother Minato Namikaze, when you're talking about this, don't you think about my age? I'm not even an adult yet. An under - age teacher doesn't sound reliable at all."
Hearing this, Minato Namikaze gave a speechless pout.
"Where can you find an under - age kid with your combat power?"
Minato Namikaze was just making a casual comment. If Yue Yan wasn't willing, he wouldn't force him.
"Okay, it's fine. But I think being a master doesn't sound reliable. Being a Team - Leading Jonin is okay."
What you're saying makes it seem as if being a Team - Leading Jonin would be more reliable.
Although Minato Namikaze was complaining in his heart, he was quite happy when he realized that Yue Yan had more or less agreed.
After returning to Konoha, Minato brought up the matter to the Third kage. The Third kage also had a headache when dealing with the Uchiha Clan. While he was on his guard against them, he thought it would be a good opportunity to get the Uchiha to integrate into the village. After all, from every perspective, the integration of the Uchiha would bring greater benefits to the village.
After thinking it through, Hiruzen Sarutobi waved his hand and agreed to the matter.
Then he informed Fugaku to have his children graduate from the ninja school as early as possible.
Itachi Uchiha was also very impressive. He entered the ninja school before reaching the appropriate age and, with his talent, broke Kakashi's record for the fastest graduation.
On Yue Yan's side, since he was going to become a Team - Leading Jonin, he couldn't have only Itachi Uchiha on his team. After stating this, Fugaku thought for a while and then included Shisui. Yue Yan had a million things to complain about but didn't know where to begin.
Now, the three - man team was still short of one member, and this member couldn't be an Uchiha Clan member. Yue Yan went to Hiruzen Sarutobi, but all Hiruzen said was for Yue Yan to handle it himself and then didn't care anymore.
Helplessly, Yue Yan had to go to the ninja school to see if there were any talented kids who could join the team to fill the quota.
However, after looking around, Yue Yan didn't see many characters who appeared in the original Naruto story. Eventually, he could only choose Hayate Gekkō, a third - grader who would graduate in half a year.