Character Analysis: Level Three
Lambo abruptly wakes up one day in the bottom bunker of one of the orphanage's shanty beds in a cold sweat. He was only 3 but had somehow gained about 18 plus years' worth of hard work, pain, and memories. He tries his hardest to keep his tears at bay but it's not enough when he finds himself sobbing into the hard pillow beneath him, he misses his family so much. Every day onwards Lambo vows to not show his aged eyes or his extensive knowledge but it's far too late when he finds out that people in the council have taken an interest in his development.
But there are rumors of a war and Konoha is in desperate need for more ninja.
Lambo couldn't help but be appalled at the fact that age was not even a factor to consider, but it never is (it never was in his old life either), because potential is potential is potential. The cow-print, clad boy, in all honesty, did try to act like that snot-nosed brat he once was but even that wasn't enough to bypass the eyes of a shinobi he guessed. Lambo knows he's messed up the moment various shinobi gradually visit the orphanage in order to subtly test him, but Lambo is smarter than that.
"Lambo, we're here, we can help you." Nagi says to him one day and for the longest time Lambo thought he was alone but he was wrong, and he's never been happier to be wrong for a change.
Sure it comes to him as a shock but he doesn't exactly know how to react when he sees his brothers and sister alive and well again. Because growing up, Lambo always found himself looking up to every guardian of the Vongola, they were his family after all. This admiration turned into determination and before he knew it, Bovino Lambo was 18 and fighting to the death.
And here he was now, in this foreign land filled with things only his once childish imagination could possibly soak up like a sponge to water.
Here he was a 3-year-old, orphaned child living in a shinobi village that wants nothing more but to turn him into a killing machine, not that he wasn't one already though but they didn't need to know that.
…
Ryohei knows he's not as smart as the others, and heaven forbid he doesn't even need to compare himself to Hayato or Nagi to know that himself, but in his own rights, Ryohei is smart in the fact that tackles his problems head on (sometimes literally too).
He, of course, isn't even sure if his plan will work 100%, because statistics were Hayato's department, but Ryohei doesn't think he can see any other option that could help his predicament.
They are home now, after a long journey, and Ryohei is more restless than usual because of the information he has received from the family.
"Jiraiya." Ryohei says very seriously, which he knows kind of freaks Jiraiya out but this was a dire situation after all and desperate times' calls for desperate matters.
Jiraiya looks at him with a little bit curiosity and a lot of bit of worry. "Yeah kiddo?" Ryohei can hear the nerves permeating Jiraiya's voice.
"Do you know when Orochimaru will be coming back from his mission?" Jiraiya narrows his eyes because not only is his Ryo-chan getting serious about something but he's also asking about that bastard teammate of his, and this, Jiraiya knows, spells nothing but grief and trouble.
"What do you need the Snake-Bastard for?" Jiraya asks none too nicely.
Ryohei sighs because he knows that his aniki and Orochimaru don't exactly act like the best of friends, but deep down even a blind sage can tell that what they felt for each other was more mutual respect for the other's skills than animosity. "I have an extreme friend in the orphanage who I think would do better under Orochimaru's apprenticeship than in Danzo-san's program."
Ryohei was not, by any means, book smart, but he was definitely resourceful and he knows that by mentioning Danzo, even Jiraiya will comply.
This piques Jiraiya's slight curiosity because when did Ryohei ever have a friend that was in Danzo's scope? Little did Jiraiya know, his question would be answered as soon as he met the little boy.
…
Once-upon-a-time, Jiraiya thought he was ready for anything and everything the world threw at him, he was a Sannin for goodness sake, but now he knows that he has been proven wrong on so many levels. Of course he didn't know what to expect coming from Ryohei's friend, who, not only caught the attention of the council, but was also a cow child?
Jiraiya can't help his mouth from blurting out, "Ryohei, this is a cow." Ryohei shoots a bright grin at his aniki.
"Yes, this is Lambo to the extreme!" Ryohei replies.
"Yo." Lambo adds with a bored yet oddly tired expression on his face. If he didn't know any better, Jiraiya would have thought that Lambo was a Nara or something, but orphans don't get blood tests.
Jiraiya mutters under his breath all the possible humorous entertainment this cow-child could provide for him. "This is good." The white haired sage thinks to himself as he starts cackling none too loudly.
…
Orochimaru returns to Konoha after one long grueling mission and he knows that they're just one step closer to the war. What he doesn't know is why Jiraiya is standing in front of him in the Hokage's tower with his ward and an idiotic grin plastered on each of their faces.
Despite all suspicions, Orochimaru is glad to be able to see Ryohei, whom he, on contrary to popular belief, actually somewhat cared for. The snake sage had been one of the first to find out about Ryohei and granted also one of the first to tell him that his chakra coils were beyond repair. Usually one would be despaired upon hearing the tragic news but Orochimaru also finds out quickly that Ryohei is a chronic optimist and that one does not need chakra only to become a powerful shinobi.
"Why are you here, Jiraiya, Ryohei?" Orochimaru gets down to the point because that's just his style, but before they begin, he acknowledges the younger boy with a slight nod and Ryohei returns it with an even wider grin.
"We have something, or rather someone, for you Oro-bastard." Jiraiya says and this catches Orochimaru's attention. "He's a prodigy and Ryohei's friend from the orphanage."
Ryohei beams and takes over the explanation from his brother, "Lambo is only 3-years-old but he's extremely talented and smart to the extreme!" Orochimaru inwardly lets out a sigh because he almost forgot about Ryohei's eccentric personality. "I thought you might want to take him on as your apprentice or something 'cause you're always complaining 'bout needing extra hands, and I don't really want Danzo-san to get his claws on my friend."
Ryohei was right, Orochimaru did need a few more hands in his labs, but the thing that interested him the most was the fact that even that war-hawk Danzo wanted to get his paws on this so-called, prodigious orphan child named Lambo, what an obscure name Orochimaru thinks to himself.
His justifications were that if they were Ryohei's friend, they should be somewhat useful.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to Orochimaru-kun." His sensei sends him a reassuring smile, "The council has been griping me to put Lambo-kun through Danzo's Program for faster results." Orochimaru watched his sensei let out a long, grueling sigh, the Hokage rubbed his temples as if alleviating an annoying ache at the back of his head (*ahem*thecouncilmembers*ahem*), "Even I can tell that Lambo-kun is good for his age, but he's only three, donning a Konoha hitai-ate any earlier than five, like the Hatake brothers, will do nothing but harm him and stunt his mental development, they at least have each other but Lambo-kun is an orphan, he has no one."
In his head, Orochimaru weighs the pros and cons and proceeds with a firm answer, "I guess one apprentice could not hurt my current research." He curtly replies because if the council, Ryohei, Jiraiya, and even his former sensei are interested in this 'Lambo' character, he's bound to be somewhat good.
…
The Snake Sage meets Lambo for the first time and of all things does not really expect to see a cow-looking child sporting a bored expression on his small round face, nor did he expect to see a boy that barely even reached his kneecap; he was so small and Orochimaru was so skeptical. At least until the boy opened his mouth and began speaking.
"Hello Orochimaru-san, Ryohei-nii has told me a lot of good things about you." The cow child almost awkwardly smiles at the Sannin.
"Likewise, but Ryohei has told me little to nothing about you, aside from your name and the fact that you are a 3-year-old." The Sannin says noticing a growing, mischievous grin forming on Lambo's face.
"Well I'm Lambo and I'm pretty sure my skin is able to become immune to electric shocks!" Hook.
"What does that even mean child?" Line.
"It means that if you try to use a lightning jutsu on me, I won't feel a thing!" Sinker.
Orochimaru doesn't even know if accepting Lambo as his ward will lead to his success or ultimate demise, but for now he at least has a test subject for his lightning jutsus, and thankfully he has a sufficient amount of them in his inventory.
…
Lambo is glad to have the right support and love from the family but when they said they would help him he honestly didn't expect to be taken in as one of the Sannin's apprentices. Sure Orochimaru was almost equivalent to Konoha's Boogey Man, just after Uchiha Madara though because if anything he was the actual Boogey Man, but Lambo looked up to the man for his scientific smarts and sheer awesomeness. Lambo was from the Bovino family after all and any science was the best science.
When Ryohei tells Lambo, with his sunny grin and all, that he's found someone to take him in and that someone was actually the Orochimaru, Lambo nearly faints out of pure excitement.
When Lambo meets Orochimaru for the first time, he's nervous but knows he's played it off cool when Orochimaru's eyes begin to read nothing but intrigue.
He's glad for his family and all the help they provide him, not only that but he's also glad that they would do anything in their powers to keep all of the family intact.
…
Nagi laughs and so does Takeshi and Hayato merely lets out an airy scoff because Lambo is now listed as the official ward of Orochimaru the actual Snake Sage. Hayato grumbles that the stupid cow is lucky to have such a cool scientist as a teacher.
Eyebrows raised, Takeshi retorts that Hayato literally has war legend, the White Fang of Konoha, as a father and not to mention as a mentor too. Hayato knows he can't deny that claim because his father was a pretty damn awesome guy.
Nagi quickly adds that she thinks Takeshi's mother is super amazing as well. Takeshi laughs, absentmindedly scratches the back of his head in embarrassment and then admits that it is pretty cool to have a mom who was once a great kenjutsu princess. Not only that but she was also the possible clan heir of their samurai clan before she was sent away to Konoha on a mission where she met his dad in the process. It was this same mission that had Takeshi's mother handing off the clan heir position to her younger brother and moving to Konoha to settle down permanently with one Ueno Teuchi.
This tidbit of information doesn't surprise them one bit, because this was Takeshi's mother they were talking about, the woman acted more like a refined queen rather than a clan princess.
Takeshi laughs again and Ryohei joins him with a low chuckle but not before reminding them that Nagi's father is also one of the Hokage's most trusted Jonin Commanders. This comment leaves Nagi blushing and the others staring at her in a new light.
The younger three share an amused look and then proceed to shoot childish grins at the oldest and most clueless boy, "You're related to Jiraiya the Sannin." Takeshi starts with his toothy grin flashing.
"More like Jiraiya the Ultimate Pervert." Nagi giggles remembering all of the exploits she has heard about that involved a certain white haired Sannin and all of Konoha's public bathhouses.
"As cool as that guy is in battle or whenever he was working in his field of expertise, he acts like some unrefined gigolo otherwise." Hayato scoffs remembering a different pervert that acted almost identically.
Ryohei laughs and wholeheartedly agrees with his friends, "At least he's my extreme relative?"
Thankfully, Jiraiya never hears about their opinions on his personality; otherwise, they would have to be dealing with a blubbering mess of a Sannin and as much as they all admired the guy they didn't want to witness that.
I'd like to thank everyone who read this makeshift story of mines lol! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick with me till the end.
Now onwards to my commentary: OK so yes, plot-twist, I made Lambo Orochimaru's student. I personally think it makes some sense in that the boy literally comes from a mafia family that can turn scientific dreams into reality, they did make the 10-year-Bazooka after all, and oh my gosh I really want Lambo and Orochimaru to like somehow accidentally come across all the materials required for one bazooka and Lambo "accidentally" creating it and then "accidentally" using it. How great would that be honestly?
Lalalu: Thank you so much for your review and YES I also loved writing that chapter, I love anything to do with the Hatake family okay. I also really like the idea that Lambo is a Nara but that probably won't come into light until later. And the only thing I will say about Mukuro and Root is that if he joins, all hell will rise. Also I can't wait for Tsuna to appear because I feel so bad for killing off his guardians one-by-one.
00JellaNilzzZ: Exactly! It's all a matter of, do I want to potentially shorten Fugaku's life-span, or do I want to go the other route. While writing, I kinda thought it would be funny to have Kakashi as Hayato's relative because of the fact that despite being a genius he's also a super pervert and Hayato still holds some resentment towards Shamal about that. After all, Mafiaso are gentlemen.
Guest: Yep, it was Danzo's Root Program, I just didn't think that they would downright call it Danzo's Root Program so I changed the name a little bit. This is also around the time Root was still running so that's why no one really bats an eye at the fact that Danzo is popping out mindless soldiers. Oops! Also yes, I hope Sakumo heeds his sons' advice and not fail that mission because it was one of the things about Naruto that honestly pissed me off and if I can change it in my story so be it.
SphereShadow: Thank you!
Next, I apologize for any mistakes you may find, and please do continue to send in your Naruto/Reborn! headcanons, they're very interesting to read and super inspiring too!