Different Paths

The instant the white mist rose, Shiraishi Yoshijo pulled out more than a dozen Shuriken and fired them straight at Orochimaru and Tsunade.

They were all specially made Shuriken, of course, each one attached to a steel wire.

Shiraishi Yoshijo was rather excited about this unexpected battle.

The reason was simple: he'd wanted to do this for a long time.

During practical training at the Ninja Academy, the three of them had beaten him up plenty.

Tsunade in particular was his nemesis. If he said one wrong thing, she'd punch him, leaving him too scared to say another word.

At least Jiraiya and Orochimaru could be reasoned with, so he held less of a grudge against them.

When the Shuriken shot out of the white mist, Orochimaru smirked and formed Hand Seals, standing perfectly still.

Tsunade did the same, a meaningful smile on her face.

The next instant, lightning flashed.

Shiraishi Yoshijo's hateful face appeared in front of Tsunade.

"It's over—whoa!"

Shiraishi Yoshijo went flying backward and landed in the smoke.

When the mist cleared, Shiraishi Yoshijo stood up, clutching his stomach, his face mottled with red and purple bruises.

At that moment, Shiraishi Yoshijo had meant to take Tsunade out of the fight immediately. But the second he appeared, her fist was already coming at him.

Was Tsunade's Taijutsu really so strong that she could keep up with lightning-fast movement?

Shiraishi Yoshijo stared in disbelief.

Only when he saw Orochimaru and Tsunade standing far away from the Shuriken scattered on the ground did he understand.

They had seen through his Lightning Body Flicker—or, more precisely, the way he used it.

Tsunade couldn't keep up with the speed of lightning, but the Shuriken he'd thrown weren't moving that fast.

Once they knew the secret of his Lightning Body Flicker, all they had to do was predict the Shuriken's trajectory to figure out roughly where he'd appear, then counterattack in an instant.

That kind of combat instinct—well, they were the legendary Sannin, after all.

Shiraishi Yoshijo smiled bitterly. He really had been too full of himself.

And judging by the force of the blow to his stomach, that woman Tsunade had probably started training in the Strength Enhancement Fist.

He'd tried to slap her down and ended up getting slapped himself. Shiraishi Yoshijo coughed twice, then scanned the area.

Jiraiya had disappeared after using Fire Release.

Even after the smoke cleared, Shiraishi Yoshijo couldn't see him anywhere.

Had he run away?

Impossible.

Shiraishi Yoshijo closed his eyes and used his sensory abilities, which he hadn't relied on before.

Then he sensed a mass of Chakra sneaking toward him.

Shiraishi Yoshijo opened his eyes and stared at the place he'd sensed, but he couldn't see anything.

Was this Transparent Escape?

Only then did he remember that Jiraiya, the master peeping tom, was an expert at Transparent Escape.

Shiraishi Yoshijo took a deep breath, regretting his impulsiveness once again.

Even the idiot Jiraiya wasn't so easy to deal with. Had he really thought he could take on all three at once? Was he under a genjutsu?

It had to be called "I Think I've Got This Again."

The man who'd vowed to be a supporting character now wanted to take on three protagonists.

He'd definitely gotten carried away!

After thinking it over, Shiraishi Yoshijo pretended he hadn't noticed Jiraiya. He put on a confused expression and said, "Did that guy Jiraiya run away?"

Jiraiya was still sneaking toward him. Hearing that, he couldn't help chuckling to himself.

At last, he got close to Shiraishi Yoshijo and was about to strike when lightning sparked in Shiraishi Yoshijo's hand.

Without even looking, he stabbed backward.

Naivety was a disease. It needed to be cured.

How? With an electric shock, of course.

Amid a crackling burst of noise, Jiraiya fell to the ground, trailing smoke.

His hair had always been spiky, but now it was even more explosive.

Shiraishi Yoshijo hadn't hit him too hard. At worst, he'd lie there twitching for a few minutes.

The scene fell silent.

All three of them watched Jiraiya twitch on the ground, their faces blank.

As expected, the idiot was always the one who suffered.

The four of them were taken to the Hokage Office.

There was no way a fight like that in the village would go unnoticed.

In less than two minutes, Anbu Ninja had surrounded all four of them.

Then they'd brought them here.

The Third Hokage looked at Jiraiya, battered and disheveled, and sighed. Then he looked at Shiraishi Yoshijo, who was in no better shape, and sighed again.

"Orochimaru, tell me what happened."

Even as a child, Orochimaru really was the Third Hokage's favorite. He didn't even ask Jiraiya about it—he had Orochimaru explain instead.

Before Orochimaru could speak, Tsunade shouted, "It was all that idiot Jiraiya's fault! He insisted on sparring with Yoshijo, and Orochimaru and I couldn't talk him out of it."

Orochimaru kept his mouth shut.

Shiraishi Yoshijo's mouth twitched as he looked at Tsunade with a strange expression.

He didn't know why Jiraiya had attacked, but weren't they teammates?

She was throwing the idiot under the bus and washing her own hands of it in one fell swoop?

Some friendship.

As expected, the idiot was always the one who suffered.

The Third Hokage clearly knew Tsunade's tricks. It seemed this wasn't the first time she'd pulled something like this.

"Yoshijo, what happened between you and Jiraiya?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo thought about it. Jiraiya was already going to take the blame anyway, so adding a little fuel to the fire probably wasn't a big deal.

"I don't know. Jiraiya suddenly attacked me, and I had no choice but to fight back."

So it really was Jiraiya again?

The Third Hokage stared at Jiraiya, who was still twitching nonstop, and his expression grew stern.

"Orochimaru, Tsunade, take Jiraiya outside. Yoshijo stays."

After they left, the Third Hokage looked at Shiraishi Yoshijo and said, "I'd asked Orochimaru to tell you to come here. I didn't expect this to happen. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Actually, he wasn't fine at all. Tsunade's punch was on a whole different level from when they'd been at the Ninja Academy.

If she'd hit him like that back then, he probably would've vomited blood.

It still hurt even now.

"Good. Do you know why I called you here?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo hesitated, then said, "Is it because of my career plans after graduation?"

After thinking it over, that was the only answer he could come up with.

"Exactly."

The Third Hokage took two files from his drawer and handed them to him. "Take a look at these."

Shiraishi Yoshijo took them and began to read.

The first was about his application to join the hospital.

The second concerned his assignment to a ninja squad. Two photographs of ninjas were attached.

Takemoto Anna and Kawaigawa Rumi.

Shiraishi Yoshijo set the files down on the desk, unsure what the Third Hokage meant.

The Third Hokage didn't explain. He took out two more files and handed them over.

Shiraishi Yoshijo took them again.

They were still files on Takemoto Anna and Kawaigawa Rumi.

This time, though, they were applications to join the hospital.

"They're joining the hospital too?"

As soon as he said it, Shiraishi Yoshijo realized it had come out wrong.

It sounded like he was clearly unhappy with those people.

The Third Hokage smiled. "They're both excellent ninjas from the village, and your talent as a ninja is even greater than theirs."

"I called you here today because I wanted to ask you directly what you wanted to do. Don't worry about anything. Say whatever you like."

This was probably a test from the Third Hokage. Once Shiraishi Yoshijo understood what he was getting at, he relaxed.

"Lord Hokage, joining the hospital is my own choice. I'll pass on the ninja squad."

"Yoshijo, can you tell me why?"

"I was never cut out to be a ninja. Joining the hospital is a way to make use of a good-for-nothing like me."

"Don't be so modest. With your talent, joining the hospital would be a waste. If you agree, I can arrange for you to join the Anbu."

The Anbu—the heart of the village. The Hokage really was generous.

Too bad his offer was wasted on someone who wasn't interested.

"Lord Hokage, I really do want to join the hospital and learn medical ninjutsu. I'd rather heal people than fight."

The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"You really are kindhearted. You held back during the graduation exam, didn't you? That Ninjutsu couldn't possibly have been that weak."

Shiraishi Yoshijo nodded. "We're all ninjas from the same village. Besides, it was only an exam."

The Third Hokage seemed satisfied with that answer.

"I understand. Go back for now. I'll approve your request."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage."

When Shiraishi Yoshijo opened the office door, he saw the Sannin standing against the wall.

His expression calm, Shiraishi Yoshijo walked past them, still treating them like strangers.

"Why?"

As he passed Orochimaru, the latter suddenly asked.

Shiraishi Yoshijo pretended not to hear.

"The hospital will only waste your talent. I know you never do anything without a reason."

Orochimaru still wouldn't give up. He tried to bring his classmate back from a wrong turn.

Shiraishi Yoshijo stopped.

He looked at Orochimaru, who was staring intently back at him.

"If it's because of your family, that's a real shame. I thought you weren't that kind of person."

Orochimaru's words finally got under his skin.

Shiraishi Yoshijo leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Orochimaru, the person I am now is someone you could never understand."

"Because you're still a young snake who hasn't endured the pain of shedding its skin."

"When you learn what that pain is like and start searching for the real thing, you'll understand me."

"I'm looking forward to that day."

"Don't disappoint me, Orochimaru."

Then Shiraishi Yoshijo turned and walked away without hesitation.

People with different paths could never walk together.

As the Hokage's disciples, they would hold extraordinary positions in the village in the future.

But since he'd refused to join the Hokage's circle, he was destined to fade into obscurity.

From now on, they would belong to different worlds.

They were sunlight on the surface of the water, while he was a fish beneath it.

Sometimes sunlight would shine through the surface and reach the fish; sometimes the fish would leap out of the water to feel the sun.

That was probably all the contact they would have from now on.