Chapter 17: First Meeting with the Third Hokage
The reason Kyosuke was able to defeat his opponent unscathed was entirely due to his unexpected mastery of genjutsu. In terms of basic physical abilities, there was indeed a significant gap between them.
Furthermore, Hyuga Ko's actual strength was considerably higher than what had been recorded in his file. Kyosuke had realized this during their first exchange and had altered his strategy accordingly.
It had to be said that the combat experience he gained in the dungeons was another crucial factor in his victory.
Although it looked like Kyosuke had been dominating the fight, his chakra had been nearly depleted after using the Headhunter Jutsu. If his final attack hadn't finished his opponent, he would have been in serious danger.
Fortunately, while the process had its twists and turns, the outcome was good.
As he was thinking, Kyosuke began to drift off again. He only snapped back to attention when he heard footsteps behind him.
He turned to see Orochimaru walking up to him, a cryptic smile on his face. Without hesitation, Kyosuke bowed deeply and shouted, "Teacher!"
Orochimaru's smile widened slightly. He said, "Come find me tomorrow," then turned and left.
A moment later, just as Kyosuke was about to rejoin his clansmen, two more people approached him.
They were Jiraiya, one of the other Legendary Sannin, also known as the "Wild Sage," and the future Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato.
"Lord Jiraiya, Jounin Minato." Facing these two, Kyosuke was not nearly as casual as he had been with Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's personality was such that he cared little for social etiquette. As long as he saw value in you, he wouldn't mind if your behavior was a bit unconventional. Conversely, if Kyosuke were mediocre, no amount of respect would make him anything more than a disposable pawn in Orochimaru's eyes.
But these two were different. Kyosuke had to handle this interaction carefully. To a certain extent, their impression of him would directly influence how the Hokage's faction viewed him. If Kyosuke wanted to establish a firm foothold in Konoha, he absolutely had to get on their good side.
Hearing Kyosuke's greeting, Jiraiya laughed heartily and clapped him on the shoulder. "Kyosuke, right? How about switching over to my tutelage? I'm telling you, that Orochimaru fellow has no idea how to teach a student."
He then pulled a wryly smiling Minato over and pushed him in front of Kyosuke, giving him a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. The meaning was clear: Look how well I taught Minato. Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?
As Kyosuke was smiling awkwardly, unsure how to respond, a small snake suddenly emerged from the ground.
Under the watchful eyes of the group, the snake slithered around for a moment before lunging at Jiraiya.
"Aah! Don't come near me~" Jiraiya yelped, running off into the distance.
"..." Kyosuke and Minato exchanged a wry smile at his antics. The two of them chatted casually for a while before Minato excused himself and left.
Just as Kyosuke was about to leave as well, a group of masked ninja once again blocked his path.
"Come with us. Someone wants to see you," one of the ninja said, his voice cold and commanding.
"May I ask who you are?" Sensing trouble, Kyosuke tried to buy time with words while discreetly signaling Fugaku, who was waiting in the distance.
From the way these ninja spoke and the unique aura they exuded, Kyosuke was certain they were not part of the Hokage's personal Anbu. If they weren't the Hokage's Anbu, yet wore Anbu uniforms, their identity was obvious.
They were Root ninja, under the command of Danzō.
As for why they wanted him, he could guess with his eyes closed that it was nothing good. Fortunately, Fugaku and the others were still waiting, so he had room to refuse. Otherwise...
Just as Kyosuke was wracking his brain for a way to escape, a third group arrived unexpectedly.
"Uchiha Kyosuke, the Hokage-sama requests your presence," one of the new Anbu said coolly, walking up to Kyosuke and ignoring both the Root ninja and Fugaku's group.
This time, Kyosuke had no way of refusing.
Under the helpless gazes of the Root ninja and Fugaku's worried expression, Kyosuke followed the Anbu to Konoha's most famous building, the Hokage Tower.
Knock... knock... knock...
After three steady, firm knocks, Kyosuke entered the Hokage's office.
There, he saw the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, in the prime of his life, wearing the Hokage's official robes.
"Ah, Kyosuke, you've arrived." The Third Hokage, buried in his work, only looked up from a mountain of documents after a long while, giving Kyosuke a kind smile.
Kyosuke, who had been waiting for some time, showed no trace of impatience and didn't interrupt the busy Hokage. It was only after the Third spoke that he gave a slight bow and said respectfully, "Uchiha Kyosuke, it is an honor to meet you, Hokage-sama."
A polite child, the Third thought, nodding to himself. His smile grew warmer. "You know, you could call me Grand-Master now."
"Greetings, Grand-Master," Kyosuke said immediately, seizing the opportunity and calling out in a bright, clear voice.
"Haha, good, good." The Third's smile became even more brilliant. He reached out, seemingly pulling a scroll from nowhere, and handed it to Kyosuke. "This is a meeting gift from your Grand-Master. Please accept it."
Kyosuke took it respectfully with both hands and snuck a peek.
Earth Release: Earth Flow River. It was one of the Third's signature jutsu, and a B-Rank scroll at that.
"Thank you, Grand-Master!" Kyosuke's smile was much brighter now that he had received such a benefit.
After they chatted for a while, the Third suddenly asked, "Child, can you tell me why you chose to become Orochimaru's student?"
Here it comes, Kyosuke thought with an inward smile. He then recited the speech he had prepared.
"I greatly admire Teacher Orochimaru's strength, and his brilliant battlefield command," Kyosuke said loudly. He then let a hint of hesitation show on his face, as if he was debating whether to say more.
The Third keenly noticed this. His smile became even more gentle as he said softly, "Is there another reason? Don't be afraid. No matter what you say, your Grand-Master won't blame you."
Hearing this, Kyosuke seemed to gather his courage. "Also... the people at home can't control my teacher. As long as I can become Orochimaru's student, I won't have to be cooped up at home all day."
The Third remembered the incident where he had gone on patrol. He nodded in understanding and asked curiously, "Why don't you like staying at home?"
The "home" they were both referring to was, of course, the Uchiha clan.
Kyosuke hesitated for a moment before finally answering. "The atmosphere at home... I really don't like it. They're always talking about status and power. I hate all of that."
The Third's eyes flickered slightly at his words. He smiled and asked, "Then what do you like, little Kyosuke?"
"Freedom, adventure... and all the people who gave me delicious food when I was on patrol," Kyosuke said without hesitation.
"Hahaha!" The Third laughed heartily. He stood up and looked down at Kyosuke, who only came up to his waist. "Good child. A truly good child."
The Third then took Kyosuke's hand and personally walked him out of the Hokage Tower.
Phew, that hurdle is finally cleared, Kyosuke thought, rubbing his cheeks which were stiff from smiling so much. He gave his performance just now a score of 90, docking 10 points only to keep himself from getting too arrogant.
His conversation with the Third Hokage had made one thing crystal clear.
In his heart, he held a strong dislike for the current state of the Uchiha clan.
As long as he clearly let the Third "see" this, nothing else mattered. Even his later comments about liking the villagers were nowhere near as important as that first point. Liking or disliking villagers was a matter of personality; Orochimaru, Mizuki, and even ninja from other great clans weren't fond of mingling with civilians. It was a normal phenomenon that didn't affect their identity and loyalty as "Konoha" shinobi.
But the first issue, on a larger scale, was a matter of "choosing a side."
And that was the most important thing of all.