Chapter 43
Not long after, four figures emerged not far from Orochimaru's team. The one leading them was a burly man with spiky white hair and two narrow eye shadows under his eyes.
"Yo, Orochimaru — looks like your team managed to grab the bells too." The white-haired leader grinned.
Behind him, the blonde, sharp-eyed Minato Namikaze was particularly eye-catching, making the other two behind them seem dull by comparison.
The newcomers were naturally Jiraiya and the three-person team he led.
After the bell-snatching training, and witnessing Minato's performance firsthand, Jiraiya became even more convinced that this was the boy foretold in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy. As for the other two, he'd just taken them along for the ride because he found them mildly interesting.
"Naoki — didn't expect to see you again this soon," Minato smiled.
"Yeah." Naoki Asakawa nodded with a faint trace of emotion. He'd long suspected Jiraiya would pick up Minato, but he hadn't expected to end up under Orochimaru himself.
"Your team succeeded too?" Orochimaru raised a brow, clearly surprised.
He hadn't paid much attention to Asakawa Naoki's maneuver earlier, which resulted in Rope Tree snatching the bell from him. Had Jiraiya been equally careless?
"Of course! Let me tell you — this time I really picked up a treasure!" Jiraiya said happily.
As long as he followed the Great Toad Sage's words and trained Minato to the fullest, perhaps this kid really would bring peace to the ninja world someday.
"Heh." Orochimaru chuckled softly without replying. He knew Jiraiya still clung to his so-called prophecy.
Compared to a vague, unreliable prediction about saving the world, Orochimaru had always trusted in his own power far more.
"Let's wait here for Tsunade. Compared to my disciples, her brats might take a bit longer to finish their bell-snatching." Jiraiya grinned.
It was obvious he was in a very good mood after accepting Minato.
"Jiraiya — my disciples are no worse than yours!"
As soon as Jiraiya finished speaking, four slender figures slowly emerged from the jungle. Leading them was a familiar blonde beauty, Tsunade.
But Asakawa Naoki's gaze didn't linger on her for long. Instead, his eyes passed over Tsunade and landed on two very familiar figures behind her.
"Kushina? Mikoto? You two are here too?" Naoki greeted with a smile.
"I didn't expect Naoki's teacher and Tsunade's teacher to be old friends," Uchiha Mikoto chuckled.
"Yeah! And Tsunade's teacher is seriously amazing!" Uzumaki Kushina grinned.
Because their seniority was a little tangled, Kushina normally called Tsunade 'Sister Tsunade.' But during official duties or training, she had to call her 'Teacher.'
Although the three of them hadn't ended up under the same instructor, if their teachers were friends, that meant there'd be more chances to work together on missions later.
Asakawa Naoki hadn't expected Tsunade to take both of them as her apprentices. Kushina made sense — after all, she and Tsunade shared Uzumaki blood through Uzumaki Mito, so there was a faint familial tie.
What surprised him was Tsunade taking Uchiha Mikoto as well. After all, one was from the Senju clan, and the other from Uchiha — two families that, despite founding Konoha together, carried a blood-soaked history of conflict.
Especially considering Tsunade's grandfather, Senju Hashirama, had died young due to the final clash with Uchiha Madara.
The real reason Tsunade accepted Mikoto was because of a conversation she had with her teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Tsunade — I hope you'll take Uchiha Mikoto as your apprentice."
Although Tsunade didn't know about Sarutobi Hiruzen's plan to use Mikoto and Naoki to subtly divide and pacify the Uchiha clan, she ultimately chose to trust her teacher's words.
That was the true reason she accepted Mikoto.
"Since everyone's here — let's go eat!" Jiraiya suggested with a wide grin.
The training assignment was over. With nothing urgent pressing them, the three instructors leisurely began heading toward the village.
Behind them, the nine young students quickly warmed up to each other, chatting and getting better acquainted along the way.
Asakawa Naoki also met Tsunade's remaining apprentice, a girl named Kisaragi Seirei, as well as the two other disciples Jiraiya had picked up: Kobayashi Oishi and Inoue Shigeru.
Just as they arrived at a barbecue restaurant, an Anbu ninja in black clothes and a cat-faced mask suddenly appeared before Jiraiya and the others.
"Lord Orochimaru — Lord Hokage requests your presence immediately!"
"The old man's finally back?" Tsunade said with a smile. Despite Sarutobi Hiruzen's stern nature, he genuinely cared for them.
Though lately, he'd been so swamped with village affairs that he didn't even attend the ninja academy graduation ceremony. No one knew what was keeping him this busy.
The Anbu ninja hesitated for a second before finally speaking.
"The situation's changed somewhat. Lord Hokage requests Lord Orochimaru to report first."
"Oh?" Tsunade's gaze sharpened as she caught the meaning behind the words. "Can Jiraiya and I come along too?"
"Of course — in fact, Lord Hokage hopes you'll both join as well," the Anbu ninja nodded.
"Seems like something's really up," Orochimaru muttered, before glancing at the nine young ninjas. He fished out a thick stack of money and handed it to Naoki.
"You lot go eat by yourselves. There might be a mission coming up soon."
"If nothing changes, meet here again tomorrow morning. We'll set off for your first real mission."
"Got it, Teacher!" the nine said in unison.
"Let's go."
The next moment, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the Anbu ninja vanished in a flicker of light, reappearing a hundred meters away.
"The Body Flicker Technique's insane… gotta get my hands on that scroll one of these days." Naoki sighed inwardly.
"Alright! Let's eat!" Naoki led the other eight into the barbecue restaurant.
Even though their three instructors had left, the atmosphere at the dinner table remained lively. The nine of them chatted, teased each other, and bonded quickly over grilled meat.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru's group arrived at the Hokage's office.
Pushing open the door, they saw Sarutobi Hiruzen seated behind his desk, his face visibly worn and tired.
Normally, even in his prime, Hiruzen exuded a vigorous energy, but lately, the mountain of affairs he'd had to juggle had left him exhausted, his fatigue plain to see.
"Teacher — what's happened for you to call us over in such a hurry?" Orochimaru asked.
"It's serious," Hiruzen said grimly. "To keep it short — I need you three to head to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain immediately."
"Hanzo again?" Orochimaru asked, eyes narrowing.
Among the minor countries, the Land of Rain was the strongest.
But its geographical position — sandwiched between the Land of Fire, Wind, and Earth — left it in a constant struggle for survival. The current leader of the Rain Country, Hanzo the Salamander, was a powerful, stubborn ninja who refused to bow to any of the five great nations, causing endless skirmishes and unrest.
"That's right. And this time… it's worse than usual," Hiruzen sighed.
"I've already sent extra forces to the borders of the Wind and Lightning countries. But where conflict's most likely to break out — only you three can handle it."
"We understand, Lord Hokage," the three answered together.
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