"Lord Orochimaru, the Hokage requests your presence."
Just as Orochimaru was lingering on that strange warmth he had felt earlier, an ANBU operative appeared, breaking his thoughts in an instant.
It was as if he had been enjoying a perfectly seasoned bowl of soup, only to suddenly bite into a fly. His mood soured immediately. "I know," he said coldly, before vanishing in a flicker, heading toward the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat waiting, smoke curling from his pipe. He was waiting for his heir, curious about what exactly his returning disciple had been up to. Why would that little Uchiha fox seek him out so soon? To become his apprentice? The thought seemed odd.
The office door opened. "Teacher, you called for me," Orochimaru said bluntly.
"Oh, you've come. There was something I forgot to mention. Tell me, have you eaten lunch yet? Perhaps we could share a meal."
Orochimaru's heart twisted bitterly. So you even set someone to watch me, Teacher? Do you truly trust me so little? What is there that cannot be spoken openly between us? Even now you probe me with such questions. You already know I've eaten, the ANBU intercepted me less than a hundred meters from the restaurant. And yet you ask.
"I just ate," Orochimaru replied coolly. "One of the Uchiha boys invited me. Said it was for a school they've founded, Royal Technical Academy, I believe. It's for commoners, teaching them trades so they can live more comfortably.
"I accepted. I too was born a commoner, and I want to see what they are trying to achieve. That way I can answer the question you asked me before."
"Oh? Very good. If you have the will to teach, then commit yourself fully. With you overseeing this academy, I am reassured. Of course, this is just another one of that fox's schemes. Until results appear, I won't know what use it has. But once results appear, it may already be too late for us to act."
Orochimaru's eyes dimmed. His disappointment deepened. His teacher thought only of internal strife, of how to counter maneuver. That boy's words rang true, Konoha and the shinobi world needed to change. Sit in that chair long enough, and people decay. They grow false, greedy, corrupted by power. Teacher… you have changed.
"Rest easy, Teacher. I will keep a close eye on it," Orochimaru said.
"Good. You've only just returned; go and rest," Hiruzen told him.
"Yes. Then I'll take my leave." Orochimaru turned and departed without another word.
While Hiruzen and Orochimaru spoke, an unexpected visitor came to Renji's home.
"Renji, you're back," Meimei greeted him with a smile. "This gentleman, Takeda Hayato, says he has business with you. Black Claw said you knew each other, so I invited him in. I'll leave you two to talk." She placed down some fruit and quietly withdrew.
"You remember me?" Takeda Hayato asked, his voice low and steady. "Back in Takigakure, my squad supported yours."
"I do," Renji answered. "Your name is distinctive. Your teammates were Ayazaki Haruto and Yuyu, weren't they? How are they now?"
"They arranged for us to cover the retreat after you left. We were ambushed. Yuyu died in battle. Ayazaki Haruto was badly injured and is still in the hospital. And all this… simply because we refused to slander you. Because we did not curse your name, they made us hold the rear.
"For survival, we endured. But after Yuyu died, his family received nothing but a paltry pension. Do you know what they did? They took Yuyu's own savings and used it as his 'compensation' for his son. His own money!
"That was when I finally realized. Years of endurance had dulled us, made us commoner shinobi accept this treatment as normal. Our leaders only speak of will, never of benefit. Always of the future, never of the present.
"They ask for our sacrifice. We give it. But we too are Konoha's people. This is our home. And yet they strip away what little we save. They drain commoner families until only a single child is left, orphans born from sacrifice.
"And then they have the gall to use our stolen savings to give those orphans stipends. Money that was ours, from our blood. My father died like this. And still nothing has changed.
"When war ends, what do commoner shinobi receive? Nothing but scars and memories. Never the rewards. The best fate is to become a teacher. That's the truth. They treat us as disposable tools.
"What woke me wasn't my comrade's death, nor his money being stolen, nor his child left alone. What woke me was your Sunflower movement.
"You showed us that everything we have is not charity, not a gift from above, it is what we deserve. We ask for little. Is it wrong to want our children to live better lives than us?
"And yet those we're taught to honor rob us, then return our own earnings to our children as though it were benevolence. And we're told to be grateful! But you, who were cursed and scorned, you gave to us. You gave our children education, skills, hope for a real future.
"For years, what were we doing? Being tools for the elders. No one cared for the brothers who grew old. No one looked at the comrades who came back broken. We bled for Konoha. Did we receive what we deserved? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
"Do you know what breaks me the most? They won't even carve Yuyu's name on the memorial stone. They said it is for heroes. He died covering the retreat, and because the mission failed, he is deemed unworthy. Failed shinobi do not count as heroes. They deny us even dignity in death.
"Is this Konoha truly worthy of our lives? I came here today not even knowing fully why. But I know this if I am the first to think this way, there will be a second, a third, and more. More brothers will awaken and see the elders for what they are.
"Please, keep going. For my fallen brother, for all of us. Thank you."
The towering man dropped to his knees, bowing low.
Renji hurried to lift him up. "Brother, you see the truth clearly. Others see it too, but you were the first to step forward. Thank you for telling me this.
"You've reminded us of our purpose, to show with action what Konoha's founding was meant to be. We have never changed. And now, you have seen, heard, and felt it. Our efforts were not in vain.
"We are making Konoha more human. We are making it closer to the utopia our ancestors dreamed of. Do not underestimate your own strength. The power of the people is limitless. You are the true masters of this village.
"Together, we will reclaim our dignity. Together, we will give our children freedom to play without barriers. Together, we will reshape Konoha.
"We share the same heart, the same hardships, the same goal. From this day forward, we are comrades, brothers. For the future of Konoha, let us fight side by side!"
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