Three Months

The facts proved that Uchiha Kiyoshi had overestimated the strength of the three of them. Only five minutes into the fight, they had already been completely wiped out. As for Orochimaru using the Body Flicker Jutsu—did they dare argue with him about it?

This battle clearly showed that while Uchiha Kiyoshi had a solid foundation and many of his ideas were effective, he still could not escape his lack of combat experience.

Although Uchiha Kiyoshi had fought the beasts in the back mountain over the past few years to hone his movement techniques, beasts were still beasts. They lacked intelligence and fought purely on instinct. Once Uchiha Kiyoshi figured out their patterns, he could dodge them easily. But things would be different from now on. As a ninja, Uchiha Kiyoshi's future enemies would all be ninja.

A ninja's greatest trait was their peak combat skill, something that could even be called an art. With fragile bodies, they used all kinds of Ninjutsu and tactics to kill their enemies. This was a contest of wits, and especially before reaching Jonin, tactics and experience were crucial.

Yet Uchiha Kiyoshi was immature in both aspects. Whether it was his experience fighting ninja or his tactics, they had all been imagined and constructed by himself. He had never experienced a true battle, so they had yet to mature.

"Humph!"

Seeing the three hanging their heads, Orochimaru snorted coldly and directly unleashed an immense pressure, leaving them nearly unable to breathe.

"Who do you think you are? Your opponent was a Jonin. Even one suppressing his strength possessed combat experience and skill beyond anything you could imagine. Did you really think you could last long against me?"

Although they knew Orochimaru probably would not do anything to them, his chilling tone and the killing intent he released made the three members of Team 3 feel as though they had fallen into an ice cellar.

Only after Orochimaru withdrew his killing intent could the three breathe in huge gulps like drowning men, their backs soaked with sweat.

"So this is a Jonin? Just a trace of killing intent was enough to make people tremble. How many people would one have to kill to cultivate such an aura? And what about Kage Level experts, or even Super Kage-level experts?"

Uchiha Kiyoshi gasped heavily, shocked by the aura Orochimaru had just released. It was even more terrifying than he had imagined. It seemed he had been theorizing on paper before this, never truly witnessing a Jonin's real strength.

At the same time, Uchiha Kiyoshi realized that even within the ninja system, a difference of one rank could mean a world of difference in actual strength. It further strengthened his determination to grow stronger and gain enough power to control his own fate. Forget saving the world or anything like that—simply not wanting to be casually erased by someone stronger was motivation enough.

"If that aura just now was what a Jonin was like, then my estimates were off. Reaching Jonin soon will be difficult. I can only become a Special Jonin as quickly as possible, or at least reach the peak of Elite Chunin. Only then can I awaken the Sharingan and make proper use of it. Even a two-tomoe Sharingan would massively increase my strength. Only then can I improve faster and reach Jonin sooner."

After releasing his aura to intimidate the three of them, Orochimaru was very satisfied with their reactions.

"Although you lost rather quickly just now, your overall strength is still acceptable. Your tactics and combat experience are simply too one-dimensional. From now on, you will spar every day. Whether it is against me or against one another, this part of your training cannot be skipped. By the way, your rewards."

As he spoke, Orochimaru tossed out three scrolls, one to each of them.

Sarutobi Saku received notes on Ninjutsu training experience, while Nawaki received notes on various combat techniques. Uchiha Kiyoshi's was different: it was a scroll containing Earth Release Ninjutsu. Both sets of notes included explanations of Chakra control training.

It had to be said that the scrolls Orochimaru gave them were perfectly suited to each of them. Sarutobi Saku was the typical burst-damage fighter. He did not seem to lack Ninjutsu; what he needed was to control his Ninjutsu better and reduce the waste of Chakra. Nawaki, meanwhile, was utterly hopeless at combat techniques. No one knew how he had survived under Tsunade for so many years. He seemed to know only how to take a beating—well, even his counterattacks were extremely clumsy. That was why he had been given notes on combat techniques, so he could study them himself and try to master them during their sparring over the coming period.

As for Uchiha Kiyoshi, Orochimaru had praised his control over the Fireball Jutsu. What he needed was not deeper training, but other new Ninjutsu.

Orochimaru was also very pleased with the paths the three under him were taking. Two damage dealers and one support made for an excellent combination, especially since there were only three of them.

Sarutobi Saku's future role would be burst damage, while Nawaki's would be sustained damage. The two of them would be the main killing force. Uchiha Kiyoshi would have many roles to fill: tank and healer, making him the most important link. Having once been on the same team as Tsunade, Orochimaru naturally understood the benefits of a medical ninja like Uchiha Kiyoshi. It was not merely that injuries could be treated promptly after they occurred, greatly increasing survivability. More importantly, healing could also be performed during battle, improving the team's endurance.

Of course, to free up his hands to treat someone, he would need to create a Shadow Clone. Therefore, Uchiha Kiyoshi needed a larger Chakra reserve as well, or he would collapse before he could heal anyone for long. As things stood, Uchiha Kiyoshi's Chakra reserves were fairly good. Though he could not compare to Nawaki, a Senju Clan ninja, he still had at least twice as much as Sarutobi Saku.

Sarutobi Saku's Chakra reserves were around thirty or forty ka, enough to exhaust him after a single C-rank Ninjutsu. Even so, that was already considered a lot among people his age. Many other ninja only had ten to twenty ka, and some civilian ninja did not even have ten ka.

Although Orochimaru had thoroughly arranged their training, he had no interest in explaining it to them. He merely left them with the words, "Practice according to your scrolls. I will judge the results. If you do not learn well..." The three hurriedly promised to train diligently.

After arranging their training, Orochimaru vanished with a Body Flicker Jutsu. He still had other matters to attend to and did not have the time to watch three little brats practice. Checking their training results once a day would be enough.

After Orochimaru left, Nawaki could no longer hold on and collapsed directly onto the ground.

"That was terrifying just now. That aura... just how many people has he killed? Even my sister does not have such powerful killing intent."

"Yeah. Teacher Orochimaru's personality is far too frightening. I always feel like he is kind of creepy."

Before long, thanks to Nawaki's "efforts" as an energetic person, Sarutobi Saku gradually became familiar with the other two.

Training time passed quickly, and just like that, three months went by.

The three not only had to carry out the training Orochimaru prescribed, but also complete their assigned missions. With Nawaki as such a burden, Uchiha Kiyoshi's workload was enormous. Yet even Uchiha Kiyoshi, who had been prepared, found those D-rank Missions exhausting. If not for the fairly generous pay, he could not have kept going.

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