(Can skip this chapter; padding it to 4,000 words for attendance credit.)
At the Ninja Academy training ground.
The combat tests had already gone through several rounds.
Chiba, Minato, Hyuga Taku, Uchiha Kagerou, and the other clan children had all advanced.
Everything so far had been within the expectations of the teachers present.
Everyone else was thinking about how to show themselves off.
Only Chiba was thinking about how to keep himself hidden, how not to reveal too much of his strength. It would be bad if Orochimaru took an interest in him; he was still fixated on experiencing it for himself.
Even if Orochimaru did take a liking to him, it would be fine. Orochimaru treated his disciples quite well. What Chiba feared was that old bastard Danzo from Root.
Whenever he saw a genius, he wanted to abduct them into Root and turn them into his own chess pieces.
He spent all day saying pretty things about how he was Konoha's root, selflessly contributing from the shadows.
Yet after all that contributing, he accomplished nothing. Instead, he got Hatake Sakumo killed, sold out Orochimaru, and forced him to flee the village as a rogue ninja—all just to make Orochimaru take the blame.
What a piece of trash. What Will of Root? It was all just an excuse for Danzo to become Hokage. All he knew was how to use that crooked logic to brainwash people, stuffing their heads with the filth in his own gut.
If Danzo snatched him away, at best he would lose his freedom and be enslaved for life. At worst, his Sage Body would be discovered, and he would be dragged into a lab to be dissected.
He had to take first place and become Tsunade's disciple. Only then would he have enough backing