Chapter 185: Orochimaru's Request
"Guy really didn't pass the exam?" Masahiko looked surprised as he stared at the evaluation report in Kagami Uchiha's hand.
Kagami smiled bitterly. "I tried my best to go easy on him in Genjutsu, giving him five points, but he only scored two points in Ninjutsu ability."
Masahiko sighed, exchanged a glance with Sakumo beside him, and shook his head helplessly.
"Forget it. If he didn't pass, he didn't pass. Hiruzen should be able to see his potential in Taijutsu and make a special recruitment for him, right?" Masahiko said, though he wasn't entirely sure in his heart.
Seeing that both Sakumo and Kagami looked uncertain, Masahiko thought for a moment. "It's fine. If Hiruzen dares not to specially recruit him, I'll abduct him back to the Land of Whirlpools."
"Elder Masahiko..." Hiruzen's voice came from behind. He didn't believe Masahiko hadn't noticed his arrival; that remark was obviously meant for him to hear.
"What a coincidence, Hiruzen." Masahiko turned around with a beaming smile.
Hiruzen returned a bitter smile. "Indeed, quite a coincidence. I know about Dai's son. Don't worry, Elder Masahiko, I have a sense of propriety."
"That's good then."
Two days later, Masahiko accompanied Might Dai and his son to check the Ninja Academy admission list, and unexpectedly, Guy's name really wasn't there.
Masahiko's mouth twitched, and he gritted his teeth slightly. "So this is Hiruzen's 'sense of propriety'? Looks like I really have to abduct Guy back to the Land of Whirlpools."
"However... this scene is quite interesting." Masahiko muttered, watching Guy, who was riding on Dai's shoulders, crying his eyes out and washing Dai's face with his tears.
"It's okay, son! It's not the final enrollment time yet; you still have a chance."
"Yes!"
Then the father and son hugged each other tightly, cried bitterly, and shouted about youth...
Masahiko helplessly took a few steps back, mentally drawing a line between himself and the father-son duo.
"Even Kento-kun isn't this exaggerated... This father and son are the true founders of the 'hot-blooded idiot' style. Kento-kun is just a pirate copy after all."
The onlookers made Masahiko feel uncomfortable even from a distance, so he quickly walked away.
"Is Hiruzen's 'sense of propriety' meant to stimulate Guy's potential even more?" A few days later, Masahiko had some guesses.
It indeed had some effect. Guy, who failed to enroll, became even more hot-blooded and even more of a "dork."
After witnessing a few eye-searing actions, Masahiko couldn't be bothered anymore. Sure enough, the day before the official start of the Konoha Academy, Guy received a notice for supplementary enrollment.
"Supplementary enrollment?" Masahiko frowned, feeling it sounded familiar. "Was there such a segment in the original story?"
Anyway, Guy ultimately became classmates with Kakashi. When the new class started, Masahiko also went to their classroom, wanting to hear their homeroom teacher call their names once to see exactly how many acquaintances were there.
The choice of homeroom teacher surprised Masahiko greatly. It turned out to be Dan Kato. This was definitely different from the original story, as Dan should have already sacrificed himself by this time.
During roll call, a slightly familiar little girl made Masahiko somewhat understand the reason Dan Kato became their homeroom teacher.
"Shizune? So she and Kakashi were students of the same batch. Is Dan Kato here to teach his own niece?"
Besides her, Masahiko heard several other familiar names, such as Raido Namiashi, Aoba Yamashiro, and the like. Although he couldn't recall where these people appeared in the original story, he had definitely heard their names.
Watching the enrollment this time brought Masahiko unexpected gains: a full seventy-plus Witness Points.
People like Kakashi and Obito brought him ten points each; Guy, Kurenai, Asuma, and Rin brought five points each; and there were a bunch of three-pointers and two-pointers, likely categorized based on their importance in the original story.
"Unexpected harvest... In this light, I seem to have lost quite a few Witness Points over the years. For example, when the Sannin enrolled, I probably lost 30 points in one go." Masahiko felt a slight pang of regret and made up his mind to come and observe every time the Konoha Academy started a new term in the future; maybe there would be gains.
The event of the 39th batch of Konoha Ninja Academy students came to an end. Masahiko had nothing to do, so he started considering selling some interesting things in his Taobao Shop. Unexpectedly, two people came to find him together.
"What's the situation... Why are Tsunade and Orochimaru together? Whether it's Jiraiya or Dan Kato, it's fine, but Orochimaru..." Masahiko felt a bit resistant internally.
Fortunately, this was just his wild guess. Tsunade's words relieved him.
"Great-Great-Grandpa, Orochimaru has a favor to ask you!"
Masahiko was startled. Instead of asking what the favor was immediately, he smiled and asked, "Where is Jiraiya? Surprisingly not hovering around you."
"That idiot seems to be writing some book recently."
"Writing a book?" Masahiko paused. "That's right, at this time, Jiraiya should start writing that novel where the protagonist is named Naruto. What was it called again? The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Ninja? That book is quite important; there should be quite a few Witness Points."
Masahiko pondered for a while before turning to Orochimaru. "What do you need me for?"
"Senior, can you find the location of Ryuchi Cave?" Orochimaru asked in his raspy voice.
"Ryuchi Cave..." Hearing this, Masahiko immediately understood Orochimaru's intention. He probably wanted to train in Sage Mode but couldn't find the location of Ryuchi Cave for the time being.
After pondering for a while, Masahiko felt somewhat reluctant. Tsunade training in Sage Mode didn't matter much to him; the stronger she was, the better. But Orochimaru... made him uneasy. His various escape skills were already strong. If he researched something new through Sage Mode, Masahiko feared he might not be able to control him.
However, after pondering for a moment, Masahiko still nodded. He couldn't stop Orochimaru from improving his strength now just because he might cause trouble in the future.
"I probably know the location of Ryuchi Cave and can take you to find it."
Although the Slug Sage had said that one could reach Ryuchi Cave by running straight north from Shikkotsu Forest, Masahiko didn't want to take Orochimaru through Shikkotsu Forest. The Slug Sage had helped him a lot, and he couldn't "repay kindness with enmity."
"Senior, just point out the general direction, and I can go by myself."
Masahiko shook his head. "I've been to two of the Three Great Sage Regions, leaving only Ryuchi Cave. I'm also somewhat curious about that place."
"Come find me early tomorrow morning. I'll take you to search for it."
"Then I'll trouble you, Senior." Orochimaru thanked him and turned to leave, presumably to prepare.
Masahiko looked at Tsunade. "Speaking of which, I still haven't seen your Sage Mode since your training ended..."
Tsunade waved her hands repeatedly. "I haven't completely succeeded in my training yet. I'll show you when I have the chance." She left as if escaping.
Masahiko was stunned, then recalled Hashirama's appearance in Sage Mode and smiled. "It seems Sage Mode isn't very aesthetically pleasing. Interesting."
An image of Tsunade with green paint all over her face appeared in Masahiko's mind... The picture was too "beautiful"; he dared not look.
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