"You seem surprised?" Tsunade asked, looking at the slightly astonished and distracted Uchiha Su.
"Of course, it's normal for me to be surprised..." Uchiha Su narrowed his eyes slightly, a smile appearing on his face as he replied.
"That smile of yours is too fake. Don't smile like that, or I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from punching you in the face!" Looking at the hypocritical Uchiha Su, Tsunade gritted her teeth and said.
She wasn't a fool; she naturally understood what the meaning behind Uchiha Su's smile really was.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was firmly part of the Hokage faction. In other words, a pure-blooded Hokage faction Ninja had suddenly taken Uchiha Su, who represented the future of the Uchiha, as his disciple. The implications of this were naturally profound.
"Is he trying to assimilate me? Or is he trying to lull the Uchiha into a false sense of security?" This thought flashed through Uchiha Su's mind.
Afterward, the two walked together toward a secluded training ground.
...
Training Ground No. 3.
At this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was not very old, only about twenty-five or twenty-six. He had dark skin and a mature appearance, and he looked at the three little ones in front of him with a gentle smile.
One was Orochimaru, a genius among civilian Ninjas. His parents had died at the hands of Ninjas from other Villages while patrolling the border of the Land of Fire; he was a child with a clean background.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had been observing this child for a long time. The boy's talent made even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had seen many geniuses, click his tongue in admiration.
The other was Tsunade, the granddaughter of the First Hokage and princess of the Senju Clan. Although the Senju Clan had now been disbanded under the orders of Senju Tobirama, everyone still treated Tsunade as a true princess.
Tsunade excelled in medical Ninjutsu and also possessed terrifying brute strength. Hiruzen Sarutobi guessed that this might be inherited from the First Hokage.
As for the last one...
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze flickered slightly as he looked at Uchiha Su.
He was the orphan left behind by Uchiha Madara's younger brother, Uchiha Taiga, and also Uchiha Madara's nephew. Without a doubt, he was the future Uchiha Clan Head; he was already the Young Clan Head now, as Uchiha Madara had publicly declared at the clan meeting.
His talent seemed very average, similar to Uchiha Taiga's. As fellow Ninjas of Konoha Village, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally knew Uchiha Taiga and had even worked with him, but he didn't know why Taiga always looked at him as if he were looking at a sly old fox.
These three people each represented a faction within Konoha Village. Hiruzen Sarutobi had indeed gone to great lengths to select them, even signing a military pledge with the Second Hokage to snatch them away from Danzo.
"We are now a team, so we should introduce ourselves and let everyone understand what the others are good at. As your teacher, let me start. I am your future team leader, Jonin Hiruzen Sarutobi. I am proficient in all kinds of elemental Ninjutsu."
The smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was very gentle, giving people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.
Even Uchiha Su, who had always thought of Hiruzen Sarutobi as a sly old fox, felt that the man's charisma was quite astonishing when he saw that smile.
"My name is Tsunade, and I excel in medical Ninjutsu!"
Tsunade waved her fist and spoke first.
"My name is Orochimaru. Compared to Taijutsu, I am better at Ninjutsu. My best Ninjutsu is a C-rank Ninjutsu, Wind Release: Great Breakthrough. Besides that, I am also decent at throwing arts."
Orochimaru honestly stated his situation.
"My name is Uchiha Su. I excel in Fire Release Ninjutsu and throwing arts, and I have also been practicing swordsmanship recently."
Uchiha Su showed a shy smile on his face. He personally felt that this smile was simply harmless, and anyone who saw him would think he was a simple and innocent boy.
"This is a very good start. I think I have a rough understanding of your abilities. Now, we are going to start our first test."
The gentle smile on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face disappeared, replaced by a cold expression. He took out two bells and dangled them in front of the three.
"If there are only two bells, then that means..."
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could finish speaking, Orochimaru suddenly spoke up: "That means one of us is going to be eliminated, right?"
"You are very sharp, Orochimaru."
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in appreciation and smiled: "Only two of you three can become official Genin."
"Then what about the person who is eliminated?" Tsunade couldn't help but swallow hard and asked.
"Naturally, they will go back to the Ninja Academy for retraining. Since they didn't pass the test, it proves that this person has no qualifications to become a Ninja at all!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi said calmly.
"This test is called the Bell Test. You must hold the determination to kill me to snatch the bells from my hands. Of course, I will only use my Shadow Clone. As for the time, it is before the sun sets."
Hiruzen Sarutobi estimated the time, then created a Shadow Clone and said: "Then, I'll leave the rest to you."
"Rest assured, original body."
The Shadow Clone nodded. It looked no different from Hiruzen Sarutobi on the outside.
...
"We need to discuss tactics now."
The three gathered together and began to analyze tactics.
"The three of us definitely have no chance of winning against a Jonin, even if the opponent is just a Shadow Clone of a Jonin."
Orochimaru's tone was very calm.
"Orochimaru, saying that is just shaking our morale. If we are no match for Teacher Sarutobi, then what is the point of us trying to snatch the bells from the Shadow Clone?"
Tsunade said.
Uchiha Su quietly watched the conversation between the two. They were still very young, only six or seven years old, and very immature, especially Tsunade. Orochimaru, on the other hand, already faintly possessed the demeanor of the future Sannin.
"Su-kun, don't you have anything to say?" Orochimaru turned his head to look at Uchiha Su.
"My brain isn't as good as yours. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."
Uchiha Su laughed heartily, completely devoid of any arrogance of a transmigrator. He knew his own business; his combat IQ might be higher than Orochimaru's, but in terms of devising strategies, he was clearly inferior to Orochimaru. The latter was indeed an out-and-out genius.
"Since that's the case, our plan will be..."
Orochimaru lowered his voice, and the other two listened carefully. Behind the large tree where they were discussing tactics, a head suddenly emerged from the ground, revealing a rather mature face, silently listening to the discussion among the three.
This was the Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu, which could be considered his signature Ninjutsu. A few little Ninjas who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy naturally could not discover his tracks.
"A very good plan. If they really manage to execute it successfully, they might actually be able to snatch the two bells from my hands."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's clone nodded inwardly, feeling more and more that the talent of his student, Orochimaru, was truly astonishing.
After hearing the three's plan completely, Hiruzen Sarutobi disappeared once again.