The moment Hiruzen-sensei's shameless words left his mouth, the air went quiet for a heartbeat then the other team's Jounin sensei gave a small, forced laugh. His eye twitched like he wanted to argue but thought better of it.
Orochimaru stood quietly at my side, eyes calm but sharp. Studying them like they were frogs in a jar. Tsunade's glare alone was enough to make the louder one look away.
Before the tension could boil over, Hiruzen stepped forward, still wearing that calm smile that somehow carried authority. "Alright," he said. "We'll make this simple. One-on-one matches. First clean strike wins. No serious injuries, no killing. Understood?"
Both teams nodded.
"Good," Hiruzen said, motioning to the center of the field. "Tsunade, you'll go first."
"Sato you're up." The Jounin sensei announced.
She didn't hesitate, marching to the middle where a brown-haired kid waited. The boy smirked, spinning a kunai on his finger. "Let's have a good fight."
Tsunade replied, cracking her knuckles. "Lets start already!"
The Jounin sensei overseeing the match raised a hand. "Begin!"
Tsunade's chakra flared subtly as she lunged forward.
Her opponent seeing this, quickly did a few hand seals as before she got close. In a poof he disappeared with a log taking the hit instead.
*Thwack*
"Close one." I whistle out watching the timing on that escape. Just a second later and he would have been seeing stars.
Just a few seconds later Sato was to Tsunade's right and around 10 meters away. He proceeds to throw a multitude of shuriken as the Senju princess just dodged with her agility. The distance was closing.
In a few head seals he creates two clones which lunge at her.
"Stupid clones!" She shouts. With two clones from the sides coming with a kunai, it was a bad situation not knowing which was real. Tsunade instead just dodged them and goes for the middle.
*Swoosh*
Her punch going through the illusion. It was fake.
Quickly turning around she sees two Sato's. Taking her time seeing that her opponent was hesitating to get in close. Looking at both the Sato's she realise the right one had a shadow while the other didn't.
"Found ya." A dangerous look made her opponent shiver.
Sato seeing her head for him, stabbed forward with his kunai. Tsunade smacking his arm away, goes in for a clean hitting right hook which sent the poor boy several meters away.
"Oof." I say with a concerned look. Orochimaru to my side blocked his eyes from the brutal sight as if to humour me.
The Jounin blinked seeing his student refuse to get up. "...Winner, Tsunade."
From where I stood, I whistled low. Honestly seeing how brutal that fight was it made it easier to see the difference between Genin.
'At least they went in for finishing blows.' I thought.
I never understood why in fights where there are multiple hits landed in the anime they didn't go for vital areas. Like yeah the Hyuga have some nice taijutsu, but if you can hit over 32-64 hits on a person. At that point just hit them once in the temple or neck.
You're just showing off for no reason at all.
Of course applying anime logic wasn't sound at all, but it bugged me for some time.
The kid Tsunade flattened was still groaning as Hiruko with his red-eyes dragged him back. Hiruzen gave her an approving nod while she walked back to our side, looking smug pub stomping that kid.
"Good form, Tsunade. Try to incorporate some ninjutsu in there." Hiruzen said. "Next time, try to hold back just a little."
She shrugged. "He was just too weak."
Hiruzen sighed, rubbing his temples. "Orochimaru, you're next."
"Get em good Orochimaru!" I encourage
Orochimaru gave a curt nod as he walked forward. The next genin, a lanky boy with a headband hanging loose around his neck, followed. His expression was serious, but there was a tremor in his hands.
"The top graduate of our class." The kid named Tategawa says a little nervous.
Orochimaru didn't care for the small talk though as he just raised his kunai.
The Jounin raised his hand again. "Begin!"
Tategawa started strong hurling three shuriken in rapid succession before starting to do some hand seals. Orochimaru staying in his stance, casually deflected the incoming shuriken and then threw his kunai.
In just a few seconds there were now eight Tategawa's which seven were clones. Orochimaru on the other hand finished his on ninjutsu.
The kunai slicing through the air suddenly started to multiply.
One.
Three.
Eight.
Each one spread out and going through the fakes. Until one hit the real Tategawa's right arm which made him flinch. Orochimaru taking the opportunity used a tiger seal.
'He's gonna body flicker.' I immediately thought seeing no upcoming hand seals after.
The fights were so fast paced that there wasn't much thought for me to have. Which is probably expected seeing that battles in Naruto would normally last just a few minutes with quick decision making.
Tategawa not knowing what Orochimaru was up to, threw a kunai with his good hand.
*Swoosh*
After three seconds Orochimaru disappeared and was to Tategawa's right. Comepletely exploiting that the kid's right arm was injured. Completely ruthless as his own kunai was held at the boy's neck.
"Surrender." His whisper making Tategawa shiver in fear.
"Winner, Orochimaru!"
The boy dropped to his knees, gasping, while Orochimaru calmly sheathed his kunai and walked back without a word.
Tsunade cheered. "Way to go!"
I grinned, clapping him on the shoulder. "Quick thinking going to his right."
Orochimaru didn't reply, but the faintest curve tugged at the corner of his lips.
The two remaining genin on the other side were whispering now, throwing uneasy glances our way. One of them muttered something I barely caught about "getting special treatment". Which was funny because it was true.
"At least that bum Jiraiya will be a cake walk." Sato mutters which my team heard.
I turned to them with an eyebrow raised, but Tsunade was faster.
"Got something to say?" she asked, voice deceptively light.
The two froze.
Orochimaru's chilly gaze followed which shut them up.
"Didn't think so," she muttered, cracking her knuckles for emphasis.
Hiruzen pretended not to notice the exchange, though the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth said otherwise. The Jounin of the squad was also awkwardly looking between his squad and Hiruzen as if he didn't want anything to happen.
Finally, he looked at me. "Alright, Jiraiya. You're up."
I stretched my arms, rolling my shoulders. "Guess that's my cue."
As I stepped forward, Hiruko moved from the other side.
The Jounin raised his hand. "Begin!"
The second the match began, Hiruko didn't waste time. He flicked three kunai toward me at fast speeds. I grinned, pulling out one of my own and throwing one, then doing some hand signs.
'Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!'
The single shuriken split mid-flight, multiplying into four. Not the dozen I'd been aiming for, but it'd do.
*Clank clank!*
All three were neutralised as an excess two headed to Hiruko.
Hiruko's eyes narrowed as he sidestepped, two shuriken clones whizzing past his ear while the other two clanged harmlessly off the ground. Using the distraction as an opportunity, I swiftly use a tiger seal.
I disappeared with a fwoosh, the world blurring for an instant as I Body Flickered to his flank.
Hiruko's eyes widened for only a moment before he slashed sideways with his kunai.
Clang!
The blade scraped past my arm as I deflected it, twisting his wrist out of line and driving a punch toward his midsection.
He jerked back just in time. Barely missing the strike and dropped low, spinning with a leg sweep. My feet shifted, but I didn't move much. His kick hit solid muscle and stopped dead. The surprise in his eyes was almost comical.
"Bad move," I muttered.
I pivoted, driving my knee up and then kicking forward, the air now out of his lungs. He got sent back a few meters showing how brutal that attack was.
Before he could recover I reach forward now hand on his neck.
'Well this is an awkward position.' I thought, sort of kneeled down while choking him. The Jounin watching the match didn't even need to hesitate.
"Winner, Jiraiya!"
Hiruko froze, blinking, before giving a quiet sigh and lowering his kunai. "Guess that's that…"
I released him and stepped back, shaking my hand out. "Good attempt man. Just need to add more muscle to that kick."
He gave a small nod, brushing off the dirt as we turned toward the center. A sense of victory rushed through my body seeing this as my first ever win. While yeah it was a bit anti climatic, it was still a certified win.
Not every battle can be all dramatic and hard fought.
Hiruzen folded his arms, a faint smile pulling at his lips. "Excellent work, all of you."
Putting a hand over both my teamate's shoulders I just laughed.
Tsunade and Orochimaru not minding this joined in on the fun.
"Of course it was." Tsunade celebrates.
"That means more food!" I cheer.
Orochimaru said nothing but had a wide smile.
Across the field, the other Jounin was sighing heavily, his students sulking behind him. This must of been a small blow to them, but it shouldn't be too bad seeing that they will spar with other teams.
We were just the exception.
Hiruzen clapped once. "That's enough for today. We'll call this exercise complete."
The other team mumbled their acknowledgements, while Hiruko shot me a quick glance. something thoughtful in his expression before he looked away.
With Hiruzen's dick measuring contest now finished, it seems like that C-rank mission was now ours.
When the sun began to dip below the rooftops, Hiruzen finally dismissed us.
With a lazy wave, he vanished down the road. Tsunade and Orochimaru followed beside me, both oddly quiet for once. Maybe the clean sweep left them satisfied—or maybe we were all just tired.
That's when Hiruko's voice broke the silence.
"Jiraiya… could I talk to you? Alone."
Orochimaru's head tilted slightly, curiosity flickering in his eyes. Tsunade crossed her arms but before she could retort I agreed.
"Alright." Turning to my teammates I send them of. "I'll see you guys tomorrow then."
Which irritated the Senju princess but she soon after left with Orochimaru without too much of a fuss.
Hiruko stood stiffly in front of me, his head bowed. "You're… lucky."
I blinked. "Lucky?"
"You've got talent, strength, and Lord third as your teacher. People already talk about you three like you're something special." His fists clenched. "Meanwhile, I'm stuck. My body's weak. No bloodline. I can't keep up no matter how hard I train. Why! You weren't special in the academy!"
His tone was bitter, his voice rising gradually until he practically shouted. The frustration sounded like it came straight from his heart.
I scratched the back of my head.
Remembering this guy was second behind Orochimaru in theory, a confused look hit my face.
"You've got talent man what are you talking about." I say making Hiruko flinch. "Second in theory and probably a higher score than any past student if not for Orochimaru. Don't look down on yourself because of that."
I say now attempting a talk no jutsu of my own.
After some thinking in my head, I wanted to recruit this guy. While I'm not particularly sure on what his specialty is. He wouldn't disappoint me in the future anyways so why not try to recruit him.
Especially after he delivered himself on a silver platter right here and now.
"Listen, Hiruko was it? Just because you're not strong doesn't mean you can't be better in other ways. Take Medical Ninjutsu, Science or Fuinjutsu. I wouldn't touch the former because of its sheer difficulty to rack my head around but I'm sure you'd do amazing.
You have to look further than just being able to use ninjutsu better than others. The value of a medical ninja or fuinjutsu master far surpasses the average shinobi of the same rank. So go out there and find your worth." My words clearly hitting a soft spot of his as tears started to run down his face.
It seems like this was a pent up issue since the academy. Although such issues from someone just a few years older than me seems a bit weird.
"Uh." The future rogue ninja hearing my words was speechless.
Taking the opportunity it was time to make my recruitment speech.
"Hiruko, in the future I plan on assembling my own group. If you're up to it. Join me." I say emphasising the join part. He was certainly a future asset if I've ever seen one in my life. While we're at it Might Duy should also hear my talk no justu.
After a few seconds of letting my words marinate to the speechless kid.
He now looked at me with a new look, admiration.
An unmistakable glow different to his past gloomy look.
While staring at him my memory was started to work a little bit better. Now up to his face and seeing his looks. This bastard was the guy from the movie who used the Chimera Technique and steal bloodline limited.
'WOAH! WHAT A FIND.' A giddy feeling now spreading.
He seemed like a low-kage danger which was already amazing. In all honesty anything Jounin level was already worthy to be kidnap-, recruited...
"How will you switch teams though?" He asks bringing up a fair point.
"From what I know, when I become Chunin there's an option to form my own team or stay with the other two. Seeing that my sensei is Lord Third he won't be with us, making it so there won't be a clear leader. Kami knows that Tsunade wouldn't listen to me. The amount of disagreements will be annoying." I say to which he nods. "I'd rather be the leader of a group."[1]
With my relations now established, he was now just a future fruit to be picked when ready.
"I'll get going now, I'm sorry for taking up your time." He says embarrassed scratching the back of his head.
"It's alright, take the time to ask your sensei about other paths alright?"
"I will." With those final words out, it was time to head back home and nap.
God knows my exhausted mind needs it after talking like that.
[1] The original Sannin parted ways after being chunin due to disagreeing with each other. Especially seeing that the cannon trio would be even less friendly with each other. They then teamed up later in the second shinobi war.