Chapter 103: Back to the Orphanage
“You can ask the receptionist for any help you need. Just tell them I asked for it,” Mitsuru said before going back to her paperwork.
“Thank you, Sensei,” Kaida said as he left the office.
‘Initially, I wasn’t feeling that tired, but now that I’ve shown my progress, all the exhaustion is hitting me. Let’s just rest for today—I'm not tight on schedule,’ Kaida thought as he headed towards the market.
It was still 3 p.m., and he would normally train until 6 p.m., so he had some extra time. Normally, he would complete clan missions to earn Contribution Points, but after the mental strain from learning so many jutsus, he didn’t feel up to it.
‘I’ve never explored Konoha on my own. Maybe I’ve been too focused on training. I’ve visited a lot of places with Yomi, but we were mostly talking or going to parks and restaurants. Maybe I should explore a little,’ Kaida thought.
He began walking through the village, occasionally using the Wind Instantaneous Movement Jutsu to travel between different spots. Eventually, he found himself standing in front of his old home, the orphanage where he first arrived in this world. Seeing the building filled him with nostalgia.
‘Since I’m already here, I might as well visit the old man,’ Kaida thought, entering the orphanage.
Seeing someone enter, the caretaker approached him.
“Good afternoon, sir. Welcome to the Home Orphanage,” she said.
“Good afternoon. Are you new here?” Kaida asked, noticing her unfamiliar face. From what he remembered, when he lived here, there were only two caretakers and a chef, and she wasn’t one of them.
“Oh! You used to live here?” she asked.
“Yes, about 3-4 years ago,” Kaida replied.
“Oh, great! I started working around that time. Apparently, someone from this orphanage asked Lord Hokage to support the place as a reward, so the orphanage began receiving more funding from the village. They hired more staff to take care of the children,” she explained.
“Oh! That’s good to hear. Is the old man in his office?” Kaida asked with a smile.
“Yes, I’ll go ask if he’s free to meet you. What’s your name?”
“Kaida. Senju Kaida,” he said.
She nodded and went toward Hiroshi’s office, thinking to herself, ‘That name sounds familiar. Why was a Senju in our orphanage?’
After a short while, she returned and said, “Hiroshi-sama is free and asked you to go to his office.”
Kaida nodded and made his way to Hiroshi’s office.
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**Knock knock**
“Come in,” Hiroshi called out.
“Good afternoon, old man. How have you been?” Kaida asked as he entered.
“So, you finally remembered me after all these years, you brat,” Hiroshi said with a smirk.
“I have no excuse for that. I’ve been too busy with training and barely had time for anything else,” Kaida admitted.
“Never mind that. Take a seat,” Hiroshi said, pointing to a chair.
“So, how are you and Yomi doing?” Hiroshi asked.
“We’re doing fine. Both of us are already genin and have completed many missions. Now, Lord Third has arranged for us to have new sensei to focus on the fields we want to specialize in,” Kaida explained.
“And what did you two choose for your specialization?” Hiroshi asked expectantly.
“Yomi chose tracking and sensing techniques,” Kaida said.
“Excellent choice. Every ninja should have that knowledge if they plan to go on missions,” Hiroshi said with approval.
“And I chose medical jutsu,” Kaida added with a smile.
“Medical jutsu? Are you planning to become a medical ninja?” Hiroshi asked, surprised. He remembered Kaida’s ambition to become an elite jonin. It wasn’t unusual for ninjas to change their path after experiencing the harshness of the world.
“No, old man. I just feel like it’s important for every ninja to know, and it’s something I couldn’t teach myself,” Kaida explained.
“That makes sense. So, who’s teaching you?” Hiroshi asked.
“Yomi got Isao Yamanaka as her sensei. According to her, he’s very talented and takes training seriously,” Kaida replied.
“Well, Yomi’s lucky to have Isao as her sensei. He’s much younger than me, but he’s exceptionally gifted in sensing techniques, even among the Yamanaka clan. She’ll become one of the best sensor ninjas if she keeps at it,” Hiroshi said, nodding.
“That would be great,” Kaida said.
“And who’s your sensei?” Hiroshi asked.
“I got Mitsuru Nara as my sensei,” Kaida replied with an ear-to-ear smile.
“Mitsuru Nara? The chief medical ninja at Konoha Hospital?” Hiroshi asked, his face showing clear shock.
“Yep,” Kaida confirmed.
“How on earth did Lord Third get her to accept you as her disciple? She’s turned down ninjas from powerful and noble clans,” Hiroshi asked in disbelief.
“Oh, right, you don’t know yet,” Kaida said with a mischievous smile.
“What are you hiding from me?” Hiroshi asked, intrigued.
“I became part of the Uchiha clan,” Kaida said while activating his Sharingan.
“Is that a two-tomoe Sharingan? How did you awaken it so young?” Hiroshi asked, disrupting his chakra to check if he was caught in a genjutsu.
Kaida, still using his Sharingan, could see Hiroshi’s reaction and chuckled. “Well, I’ve got some time. I can tell you the whole story if you want.”
“Of course, I want to know!” Hiroshi exclaimed.
Kaida’s explanation didn’t take long, as most of the story involved his training. Since he couldn’t discuss missions in detail, he kept those parts vague and focused on his progress.
“That’s one heck of an adventure since you left the orphanage. But I can’t say joining the Uchiha clan was the best decision for you,” Hiroshi said, frowning slightly.
“Why’s that?” Kaida asked, curious.
“You might not know this, but when the Nine-Tails attacked Konoha, there were signs it was controlled by a Uchiha. Add to that the fact that the Uchiha clan was relocated to the outskirts of the village, and their reputation as a noble, founding clan has been fading.
They’re becoming more isolated, and their behavior towards others isn’t helping. If things keep going this way, the Uchiha clan might become enemies of the entire village,” Hiroshi explained grimly.