Coincidence

In that case, if he were on the same team as Nawaki, wouldn't he also become a student of Orochimaru?

Thinking of that slimy snake and the crazed look in his eyes whenever he stared at a Sharingan, Uchiha Nagi felt a chill run down his spine.

Even though Uchiha Itachi, that brat who would eventually slaughter his entire clan, hadn't even been born yet at this point in time, and Orochimaru wasn't as deranged as he would become once the plot truly began, Uchiha Nagi still refused.

Given Orochimaru's personality, his obsession with ninjutsu meant he would inevitably walk down that path sooner or later; it was only a matter of time.

"Sister Tsunade, I already have candidates for my team," Uchiha Nagi said directly.

"Oh? Who are they? As far as I know, you still have one spot left to fill, don't you?" Tsunade asked, feeling a bit curious.

She hadn't gone out of her way to investigate Uchiha Nagi's affairs at the academy, but with Kushina around, she was fairly well-informed about his social circle.

"Uchiha Mikoto, the little sister my older sister asked me to look after," Uchiha Nagi didn't intend to hide anything.

"A clansman of yours, then." Tsunade rubbed her temples. She hadn't been forcing him to team up with Nawaki, but...

"Class assignments are supposed to be random, aren't they?"

"Theoretically, they are random, but I've observed the patterns of these assignments. This randomness only applies to ordinary people; it's ineffective for certain special individuals."

"For example, the children of the Ino-Shika-Cho families—the heirs selected by those three great clans will always be grouped together."

"You've observed quite clearly." Tsunade raised an eyebrow. Of course, she understood the ins and outs of these arrangements.

"However, Nagi, have you considered that this year is different? Because of the war, many students who wouldn't have been able to graduate are now able to do so, so the number of random assignments will increase significantly this time."

Uchiha Nagi smiled as he looked at Tsunade: "That's exactly why I came to find you, Sister Tsunade."

"You brat, are you so sure I'll help you?" Tsunade leaned back in her chair, looking at Uchiha Nagi with amusement.

"I believe Sister Tsunade will choose to help me." Uchiha Nagi dropped his smile, becoming serious.

"Why?" Tsunade asked, intrigued.

"Because I know what my talent represents, and I know Sister Tsunade must be worried about me. But I can guarantee you that I will not become the person you currently fear seeing."

Having said that, Uchiha Nagi stared straight at Tsunade, and the two locked eyes.

In truth, Tsunade knew that Uchiha Nagi had likely guessed a few things.

After all, once Uchiha Nagi's injuries had mostly healed, she had considered what excuse she could use to keep observing him.

Yet, he hadn't said a word, choosing instead to maintain their relationship, and it was at that moment she had been certain.

It was just that both of them had tacitly agreed not to speak of it, so she hadn't expected Uchiha Nagi to bring it up now.

Tsunade let out a laugh: "Then you should also know the best way to deal with an uncertain variable, right?"

"I know." Uchiha Nagi nodded and then beamed, "But I believe you aren't that kind of person, Sister Tsunade."

As he said this, he added a silent thought to himself.

If you were that kind of person, I would have been dead long ago. Even now, it would be simple for you to crush me if you wanted to.

Watching Uchiha Nagi's smile, Tsunade paused, and after a long while, she shook her head helplessly.

"I really have to hand it to you."

"Also, Sister Tsunade, I haven't picked a teacher yet, so you can choose someone you trust to be our jonin instructor," Uchiha Nagi suggested.

"You little brat, you're thinking quite ambitiously." Tsunade found it amusing. Could anyone she trusted really be a simple character?

Uchiha Nagi scratched his head and laughed, looking a bit cunning.

Tsunade shook her head. Truth be told, even if Uchiha Nagi hadn't asked, she wouldn't have just assigned any random teacher to this team.

After all, through Kushina, she knew of the talents possessed by both Uchiha Nagi and Namikaze Minato; finding just anyone would be a complete waste of such talent.

Now, with Uchiha Nagi's request added to the mix, a somewhat unreliable face suddenly surfaced in her mind.

Although he was a bit unreliable, he was the only one she could trust who also possessed the necessary qualifications.

After Uchiha Nagi left, Tsunade stretched and stood up.

Since she had agreed, she had to act immediately. The process of class assignment should still be underway; if the teachers had already been finalized, changing things would be quite troublesome.

At an izakaya.

"Yo, isn't this Tsunade? What brings you to see me today?"

Jiraiya looked at Tsunade with a puzzled expression.

"Well, there's a matter. The teacher asked you to lead a team, right? I have three candidates I'd like to recommend to you." Tsunade stated the purpose of her visit directly.

"Who could possibly be worth a personal recommendation from you, Tsunade?" Jiraiya asked, curious, though he shook his head, "Too bad, I already have my candidates."

"You already have them?" Tsunade frowned. This was going to be difficult.

"Yeah, his name is Namikaze Minato. He's a civilian, and his talent in the assessments was top-tier—he's got the same style I had back in the day!" Jiraiya laughed heartily.

Hearing the name Namikaze Minato, Tsunade was stunned. Could it really be such a coincidence?

Then, hearing the rest of Jiraiya's words, black lines appeared on her forehead: "Wasn't that just pure luck on your part?"

"Hmph! Luck is also a part of one's strength." Jiraiya showed no signs of anger; on the contrary, he grew even more smug, his tongue running loose.

"Unlike you, losing bet after bet. If there weren't people watching, I reckon you would have gambled away your entire fortune by now."

"BANG!!!"

Jiraiya stared at the shattered table before him, swallowing hard as he looked at Tsunade, who was radiating a dark aura from behind.

"Uh, Tsunade, would you believe me if I said I was just joking?"

"What do you think?" Tsunade sneered at Jiraiya.

Just as Jiraiya resigned himself to the beating he couldn't escape, three scrolls were tossed toward him.

"Didn't I say I already had candidates in mind?" Jiraiya asked, puzzled, before opening the scrolls and seeing the profile of Namikaze Minato.

"Well, as it happens, the Namikaze Minato you mentioned is among the three candidates I'm recommending," Tsunade stated.

Jiraiya didn't reply, instead opening the other two scrolls.

His expression then turned incredibly strange: "Tsunade, are you sure you aren't joking with me?"

"Hmm, do you think I would joke around like you do?" Tsunade countered.

"But this is too outrageous, isn't it? These are two Uchiha! If I submit this, I won't even know how to answer to Sensei," Jiraiya said with a bitter smile.

After a moment of silence, Tsunade glanced around before revealing the matter concerning Uchiha Nagi.