Chapter 26 – Becoming Orochimaru's Disciple
Not long after, Nan received word from Instructor Itō:
His request for early graduation had been approved.
In just a couple of days, he would take the graduation exam alongside upper-grade students.
Of course, Nan already knew this would happen—Orochimaru had told him as much.
The graduation exam itself posed no real challenge.
Becoming a genin was already a sure thing—just a matter of going through the motions.
---
Two days later, Nan took the exam.
The content was identical to what he remembered from Han's memories.
To him, it was effortless—there was no suspense.
When the results were posted, as expected, he passed without issue.
Now, all that was left was team placement.
Nan already knew he would be assigned to Orochimaru's team.
What he was curious about was—who his teammates would be.
Anko (Mitarashi Anko) had also graduated this year, so it was likely she would be one of them.
But as for the third member, Nan had no idea.
In the original timeline, Orochimaru was only ever shown to have one student—Anko.
There was never any mention of who the other two genin in his squad were.
---
As the newly graduated students were picked up one by one by their jōnin instructors,
Nan finally saw the person he had been waiting for—Orochimaru.
The Sannin calmly called out the names of three students.
Nan's was among them.
As expected, Anko was also on the list.
But the third name surprised Nan.
It was someone from the original series who had left a lasting impression—Hayate Gekkō.
"Wait, was there ever any mention of Hayate having a connection with Orochimaru?"
Nan couldn't remember any such thing.
As far as he knew, Hayate had never been Orochimaru's student.
Then again, in the original timeline, Uchiha Nan didn't exist.
Orochimaru only ever took Anko seriously—his other team members were likely just randomly assigned by the Academy.
But this time, things were different.
Nan's presence had shifted the balance.
With Nan taking the top spot in Orochimaru's mind, Anko had effectively become the "second choice."
According to Academy records, both Nan and Anko were long-range ninjutsu users—not suited for frontline combat.
On the other hand, Hayate Gekkō specialized in kenjutsu (sword techniques) and close-quarters combat.
Orochimaru, always analytical, likely chose Hayate to round out the team composition.
---
The three genin followed Orochimaru to a private training ground.
There, Orochimaru gave a brief introduction of himself.
Then he asked each of them to introduce themselves—name, specialty, and anything else worth sharing.
---
Anko went first.
Holding two skewers of dango (sweet dumplings), she introduced herself between bites:
"My name's Mitarashi Anko, I'm 10 years old.
I specialize in snake-related summoning and ninjutsu.
My favorite food is dango!"
After speaking, she promptly stuffed one of the skewers into her mouth.
Nan's mouth twitched slightly at the sight.
"So she was already this much of a glutton as a kid, huh?
No wonder she was so round by the time Boruto rolls around…"
---
Orochimaru had initially considered Nan his ideal candidate for a disciple.
But when he heard rumors that Nan's mental state was unstable, he shifted his focus to Anko.
Anko was the only graduate this year with potential as a medical ninja.
Orochimaru had even started mentoring her early, teaching her some basic jutsu.
But now that Nan had stabilized and proven himself,
there was no longer any need to invest so heavily in Anko's development.
---
Next up was Hayate.
"I'm Gekkō Hayate. I'm 8 years old and I specialize in the Konoha-Style Sword Technique."
Graduating at age eight?
That was pretty impressive.
Still, Nan knew that Hayate's early graduation was partly thanks to him.
A few years ago, Nan had introduced a new medical technique to treat Hayate's chronic lung disease—
giving the boy a new lease on life.
---
Last was Nan himself.
He cleared his throat with a couple of soft coughs and said:
"My name is Uchiha Nan. I'm 6 years old.
I specialize in ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and medical ninjutsu.
I'm a well-rounded genius-type ninja—exceptional in all areas."
He was, of course, being extremely modest.
He didn't even mention that he already had jōnin-level strength—
didn't want to scare them too much.
Still, when they heard he was only six years old, both Anko and Hayate were visibly stunned.
Anko had started school a year late, and graduated at age ten after three full years.
Hayate had enrolled early at age five, and also graduated after three years, making him eight now.
But Nan, at just six, was already standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them.
A freakish prodigy—even by Uchiha standards.
"He's only six?!"
Most kids his age were just starting school—yet Nan had already graduated? Was that even possible?
And he claimed to know ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and medical ninjutsu?
Anko and Hayate exchanged skeptical looks.
"Are you sure you're just a freshly graduated genin?"
Sensing their doubt, Orochimaru stepped in to clarify.
He explained that Nan was the top genius of the Uchiha clan, possessing a unique kekkei genkai—the Sharingan.
With such talent, he could master any technique quickly.
He had also applied for early graduation, which was why he became a ninja at such a young age.
With their teacher's explanation, Anko and Hayate finally accepted the truth:
Nan was likely even more of a genius than they had imagined.
They immediately gathered around him, asking questions:
"You must have trained really hard, right?"
"Come on, you have to share your training secrets!"
But Nan didn't particularly enjoy boasting about how gifted he was.
Being called a genius again and again… honestly, it was getting repetitive.
"I'm a humble person," he told himself with a completely straight face.
So he replied modestly:
"I don't really have any special methods… It's just natural talent, I guess.
Some things, I just… pick up as I go. I haven't really worked that hard."
Anko and Hayate stared at him in stunned silence.
---
Just then, Orochimaru's voice interrupted their chatter.
"That's enough introductions. Now, get ready—
You three will be sparring with me shortly.
Before we take on our first real mission, I want to assess your combat abilities."
Unlike most Konoha instructors, Orochimaru had no interest in the traditional "bell test" method to decide if his students were worthy.
He had already hand-picked these three after serious consideration—there was no need for a trial.
He had already acknowledged their status as genin.
What he needed now was to understand their true strength—especially Nan's.
He knew that Nan had exceptional medical ninjutsu and had already awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan.
But now Nan claimed he was also proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu?
Orochimaru was intrigued.
"Just how far has this Uchiha prodigy come already…?"
---
Nan, for his part, felt a small rush of excitement.
He was about to spar with Orochimaru—currently one of the most powerful shinobi in the entire world.
This was on a completely different level from his previous sparring match with Might Guy,
where he had only tested his Kamui Speed Technique using taijutsu alone.
This time, against Orochimaru, he planned to go all out—
well, almost.
He would use everything except the Mangekyō Sharingan and his three-tomoe genjutsu.
Why not genjutsu?
Because his three-tomoe Sharingan wasn't ordinary.
Nan worried that his genjutsu might actually injure Orochimaru.
After all, in the original story, Orochimaru had been defeated by Itachi's genjutsu,
which triggered his obsession with the Sharingan—
ultimately leading to his long-term plot to steal Sasuke's body.
Nan had no idea how far Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation technique had progressed at this point.
If his genjutsu accidentally overwhelmed Orochimaru now and sparked his interest in Nan's body…
That would be bad.
He wasn't afraid of Orochimaru.
But the last thing he needed was someone like Orochimaru constantly scheming to possess his body.
"I just got to this world. I haven't even laid my foundation yet.
If things go south with Orochimaru now, who knows how messy it could get?"
That would completely go against his low-profile, steady-growth strategy.
So Nan made a firm decision:
No genjutsu. No Sharingan tricks. Not unless absolutely necessary.