Chapter Five
For Jiraiya, being a genin for life wasn't a big deal. But for the other two, it was unacceptable.
Tsunade, as a direct descendant of the First Hokage, had been under great attention ever since entering the Ninja Academy. While she didn't care much for such attention, she would never do anything to bring shame to her grandfather's name.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, was the top graduate of their class. Despite his naturally aloof personality, the very fact that he chose to become a ninja proved that deep down, he carried his sense of pride.
"If you all understand, you may begin your attack at any time."
Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled faintly, lightly shaking the two bells in his hand. The crisp sound of the bells tied to red strings echoed in the air.
Swish! Swish!
Almost the moment his voice fell, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru vanished from in front of him—their movements swift and clean.
Of course, this was only "swift" relative to their age. Sarutobi Hiruzen, after all, was currently the Third Hokage of Konoha—the strongest man in the village.
There was no way their actions could escape his sight.
He stood there casually, without moving.
The three had each already taken up concealed positions. Against a foe like Sarutobi Hiruzen, charging in recklessly would only get them knocked out.
"That guy Jiraiya, what is he…"
Hidden in the grass, Tsunade was slightly surprised. Based on Jiraiya's usual behavior, she had assumed he would charge in blindly, allowing her to look for an opening in Sarutobi-sensei's defense.
But today's Jiraiya acted completely different—almost like another person.
"Could it be... all the openings are deliberate?"
Behind a tree, Orochimaru had fully concealed his presence. Observing Hiruzen's every move, he analyzed his teacher's earlier words with caution.
To say that failing to grab a bell would doom someone to remain a genin forever—that seemed far too harsh.
From the perspective of the village leadership, assigning a task like this—pitting three freshly graduated genin against the Third Hokage—was entirely unreasonable.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just as Tsunade and Orochimaru were planning their next move, Jiraiya—who was hiding not far from Sarutobi—suddenly hurled a handful of shuriken.
At the same time as the shuriken flew, he sprinted forward and began forming hand seals.
The speed of both actions was extremely fast.
Sarutobi narrowed his eyes and looked toward Jiraiya.
With his experience, he immediately noticed that Jiraiya was matching the speed of the shuriken precisely. The distance between him and the shuriken remained constant, exactly one meter.
"Earth Style: Ground Split!"
The moment the shuriken reached just one meter in front of Sarutobi, Jiraiya completed his hand signs. He crouched low and slapped his hand to the ground.
Crack! Crack!
The earth split open, and the fracture extended instantly to Sarutobi's feet.
As the ground cracked, the shuriken crossed the final meter and arrived right beneath Sarutobi's feet.
"Your timing's pretty spot-on."
Faced with simultaneous attacks from the front and beneath, Sarutobi showed only mild surprise in his eyes. He was, after all, the person who currently knew the most jutsu in Konoha.
From the moment Jiraiya made two hand signs, Sarutobi had already guessed which technique he would use.
Ground Split was only a C-rank Earth Style technique—not very destructive. Its only purpose was to crack open the ground, and its maximum range was a mere two meters.
For a ninja, even a genin, two meters was already very close.
So in practical terms, the jutsu wasn't very useful. By the time you cast it, your opponent could have a kunai to your throat.
But Jiraiya had used the shuriken as a feint and carefully maintained the gap between himself and them, perfectly exploiting the time differential to launch a coordinated attack.
Even Sarutobi admitted that if he were to use the same move, it might not be much better executed than Jiraiya's.
Still, for him, the attack posed no real threat.
Sarutobi casually jumped with one foot, landing right on the edge of the fractured ground. In his hand, a kunai appeared, knocking the incoming shuriken out of the air.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
But at that moment, Orochimaru had already circled behind him. A massive fireball, radiating heat so intense it seemed to melt the ground, roared toward Sarutobi's back.
A perfect pincer attack!
Feeling the heat at his back, Sarutobi's lips curled in a smile. Looks like I'm not the only one who saw through Jiraiya's intention…
Because Orochimaru had understood Jiraiya's offensive setup, he was able to follow up with such a perfectly timed and powerful attack.
This level of coordination—so seamless, so precise—was something even veteran teammates might not manage.
These two kids were true prodigies!
"Nice one, Orochimaru!"
Jiraiya praised inwardly. Orochimaru was the genius that Sarutobi valued the most.
He was, without a doubt… the most important comrade of Jiraiya's life.
Faced with this coordinated assault, chakra exploded from Sarutobi's legs as he vanished from the spot.
Boom! Boom!
The next instant, the shuriken collided with the fireball and were consumed by it.
Swish!
Swish!
At the same moment, both Orochimaru and Jiraiya surged to top speed. Their bodies skimmed the edges of the two massive fireballs as they moved at maximum velocity.
"There you are!"
After using Body Flicker, Sarutobi reappeared, right in the corner of Jiraiya's field of vision, to the right of the fireball.
Without hesitation, Jiraiya began forming hand signs—his speed astonishing.
Just like Orochimaru before him, Jiraiya understood full well: if they tried to overpower Sarutobi in close combat, even with three of them together, it would be impossible.
Their only chance was exploiting Sarutobi's unwillingness to use lethal jutsu against his students—attacking with ninjutsu to pressure him and find an opening.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"
A torrent of fire burst from Jiraiya's mouth, rapidly expanding. He released a massive amount of chakra in one breath, intending to completely engulf Sarutobi's figure in flames.
Faced with this wave of fire, Sarutobi again used Body Flicker. But this time, because of the Flame Bullet's wide coverage, he could only escape in one fixed direction.
Swish!
From that direction, Tsunade suddenly dashed out from the bushes. In a flash, she was behind Sarutobi, slashing her kunai directly at his back.
Thanks to her exceptional physical constitution, Tsunade had the best taijutsu among the three of them. The explosive speed she just demonstrated—it was Body Flicker as well!
This strike was so precise and timely that not even Sarutobi could dodge it with another Body Flicker.
Such a decisive attack, with accurate timing and flawless jutsu control.
Meanwhile, back on the left side of the Great Fireball technique, Orochimaru, who had just turned to support Jiraiya and Tsunade, instinctively glanced at the ground fissure Jiraiya had created earlier.
"!!?"
Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly. He stopped in his tracks just before reaching the crack.
(End of Chapter)