In the blink of an eye, the group brawl had taken place half a month ago. After being ambushed by Danzou, Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to hold back no longer and gave Danzou a thorough beating. If three big figures hadn't been watching from the sidelines, someone might actually have been killed.
Because they had caught the eye of these major figures, the seven of them didn't need to attend the academy and could graduate directly to become Genin. However, this created a rather awkward problem: while the other six had teams, Artoria was in a team of one.
If the others lacked teammates, they would either have to take on low-rank missions and wait for openings in other teams to fill, or wait for the next graduating class to be paired up with junior students.
However, Artoria, being a well-connected insider, didn't need to worry about such trifles. The three big shots would sort it all out for him, and if push came to shove, he could just tag along with Senju Hashirama to gain experience.
Half a month ago, because Danzou was injured, Uchiha Madara's team had Artoria temporarily step in to take Danzou's place, teaming up with Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu for missions. During this period, Artoria even went to the hospital with his two teammates to visit Danzou, earning a look of profound satisfaction from Lord Tobirama.
The underlying meaning was probably: "As expected of Anija's disciple, he's so much better than those wicked Uchiha... yada yada."
Well... it was probably best not to let him know that he only went out of a guilty conscience. That's right, I, Artoria, am just that magnanimous!
"Artoria, Koharu, today is Danzou's day to be discharged from the hospital. After we finish our mission, should we all go welcome him?" The speaker was Mitokado Homura. As a background character, he had always gotten along well with Danzou, so saying this was hardly surprising.
"Sure," Utatane Koharu replied without turning her head, as she pulled up weeds.
"No problem," Artoria agreed with Mitokado Homura's idea. Mostly it was because Sarutobi Hiruzen had hit Danzou so hard that he had almost forgotten Danzou was destined to be a scheming mastermind in the future.
If this kept up, he wouldn't even have the heart to screw over Danzou later on... Therefore, for the safety of the Shinobi World, he really needed to recite "Danzou is an idiot" a hundred times before going to bed every night!
Swish!
Suddenly, a light breeze brushed past, and a middle-aged man with white hair materialized right before Artoria's eyes.
"Good day, Lord Tobirama."
Artoria bowed slightly, his expression turning serious.
"Hmm..." Senju Tobirama looked at Artoria with a peculiar expression. Why had this brat suddenly gotten so proper lately? He looked nothing like Anija... well... but he certainly seemed much less troublesome...
Little did he know... Artoria had simply decided to maintain his waifu's persona. In order to complete the quest for Clarent, he had no choice but to make this sacrifice. Only by acting this way could he successfully lure the fish in. And as a devout worshipper of the king, he firmly believed that his waifu's charm was absolute and peerless!
Of course, behind the scenes, he would continue to act however he pleased, which also served to confuse the enemy—killing two birds with one stone. How could there possibly be a man as smart as him in this world?
"Lily, finish up your mission today, go home and pack your bags, and get ready to come with me and Big Brother to the Daimyo's Palace tomorrow."
"What are we going to the Daimyo's Palace for?" Artoria tilted his head, the ahoge on top of his head naturally curving into a question mark.
"Big Brother is going to become Hokage, and we need the Daimyo's consent," Senju Tobirama explained concisely, a trace of anxiety flashing in his eyes.
That blockhead Anija, even when about to take office, was still making a fuss about wanting Madara to be Hokage. How old was he anyway? Could he please give his younger brother some peace of mind?
"Teacher Hashirama is going to be Hokage!" A trace of shock flickered in Artoria's cyan-jade eyes. Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura also wore looks of astonishment. Senju Tobirama glanced at the two of them briefly before paying them no more mind.
So soon, Teacher Hashirama was going to be Hokage. There wasn't much time left.
"Hmm, finish your missions early and go back to rest. Gather at the front gate at six o'clock tomorrow morning." With that, Senju Tobirama vanished using the Flying Thunder God technique, leaving Artoria staring with eyes turning green with envy.
I want to learn the Flying Thunder God technique too!
Damn it!
"Lily, you go back and rest first. Homura and I can handle the rest," Utatane Koharu said softly.
"No need. Since we've accepted a mission, we should see it through properly. This is our shared responsibility. How could I, for selfish reasons, comfortably let you shoulder the burden for me? That wouldn't be right."
Artoria shook his head at Utatane Koharu, his youthful face filled with earnestness.
"Lily..."
"Let's hurry and finish the mission. Once we're done, we still need to go pick up Danzou." Artoria broke into a smile. The warm sunlight fell upon his face, his golden hair dancing in the breeze, leaving Utatane Koharu momentarily dazed.
After a long while, she squeezed a single word from her throat: "Okay."
Standing nearby, Mitokado Homura blankly watched their interaction, feeling like something was slightly off.
...
Konoha Hospital
A black-haired youth wearing a hospital gown walked out the front entrance of the hospital, radiating bitterness from every pore.
Damn Sarutobi Hiruzen! Damn Artoria! *Cough!* Both of you bastards!
The sheer resentment exuding from the youth made the surrounding patients and their families give him a wide berth, hurriedly stepping around him.
Before long, the youth was locked onto by the three people who had come to meet him.
"Danzou, you're finally out!"
That familiar voice! That damned, overly earnest tone!
Danzou focused his gaze, and sure enough, it was that golden-haired bastard!
Over the past few days, this golden-haired bastard who had gotten him beaten up kept coming to check on him every other day under the guise of fake concern! Every single time, he put on that caring facade, and Danzou simply couldn't stand it anymore! If he hadn't been discharged today, he would have been sick to his stomach! Bastard!
"That's great, you're finally out of the hospital, Danzou!"
Danzou looked at the three of them making small talk and expressing their concern, and finally fixed his gaze on that golden-haired individual.
His throat vibrated, his upper and lower lips parted, and he spat out two elegant words:
"Hmph... Get lost."
...
Utatane Koharu is not the female lead. Utatane Koharu is not the female lead. Utatane Koharu is not the female lead. Important things are said three times.