"Orochimaru!"
Orochimaru was walking down the street after shopping for supplies, on his way back to his secret little base to continue studying ninjutsu, when a familiar voice called out behind him.
He was actually a little happy, but kept his face cold as he turned around to look behind him.
A short distance away, a white-haired young man was beaming and waving at him.
The one who had called out to Orochimaru was none other than his teammate and good friend, Jiraiya.
Hurrying over, Jiraiya came up beside Orochimaru and draped his right arm affectionately over his shoulder.
Orochimaru looked disgusted and slapped Jiraiya's hand away.
"What do you want?"
Orochimaru's question was rather cool, but Jiraiya wasn't offended. He was used to this guy's cold attitude.
"I heard from Teacher Sarutobi that he found you a student!" Jiraiya leaned in from the right, grinning as he asked with great curiosity.
Orochimaru nodded faintly, then raised his hand and pushed Jiraiya's big face away.
"A child from the Shimura Clan. He's the nephew of Elder Danzo," Orochimaru replied briefly.
"I've heard of that kid. They say he's a once-in-a-generation genius." Jiraiya wasn't impressed by geniuses, so there was a teasing note in his voice. "I wonder who's more of a genius—you, the former genius, or the Shimura Clan's prodigy?"
"Boring," Orochimaru replied coldly. Still thinking about his research, he turned to leave as soon as he'd spoken.
"Hey, hey! Orochimaru, don't go!" Jiraiya called after him, following close behind.
"What do you think of this genius student of yours? It's your first time being a teacher. Are you excited?" Jiraiya pressed, keeping pace with Orochimaru.
Sighing, Orochimaru stopped again, looking a little helpless.
"Jiraiya, Teacher Sarutobi asked me to take that child on. I didn't really want to agree," Orochimaru explained seriously.
"You don't like the kid? Is this that legendary case of two of a kind not getting along? Geniuses just can't stand other geniuses, huh?" Jiraiya joked.
"No. I just don't know whether I'm qualified to be a good teacher yet," Orochimaru admitted, sounding uncertain and lacking confidence.
Hearing his friend, Jiraiya's smile faded. He reached out and patted Orochimaru on the shoulder, encouraging him with a serious expression. "You'll be fine. You're a true genius. You're sure to become an excellent teacher."
Jiraiya's encouragement lifted Orochimaru's spirits, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"Of course I am, you idiot!"
"Damn it, Orochimaru, you jerk!"
Seeing Jiraiya fume, Orochimaru smiled even more broadly.
"Damn it!"
Thwack!
"Ah!"
Jiraiya had been shouting when he was suddenly attacked. He clutched his head in pain.
Orochimaru saw the lump rising rapidly on Jiraiya's head and felt a cold sweat break out.
Tsunade was getting more and more dangerous.
Grumbling inwardly, Orochimaru looked at Tsunade, who was standing behind Jiraiya.
"Are you done at the hospital?" Orochimaru asked first.
"Of course not. I snuck out," Tsunade replied as if it were perfectly natural.
Orochimaru had nothing to say about her attitude and could only sigh silently to himself.
"Tsunade! You violent woman!" Jiraiya had finally recovered enough from the pain to straighten up. Clutching his head, he glared at her.
"You were shouting in the street. You were so loud you could wake the dead, you idiot!" Tsunade scolded him, arms crossed, completely unapologetic.
"With a temper like that, it's no wonder nobody wants you," Jiraiya muttered, rubbing his head.
"What did you say?" Tsunade's expression turned threatening. She clenched a fist and squeezed until it cracked.
Jiraiya quickly put some distance between himself and Tsunade, ducking behind Orochimaru.
"Everyone's watching. Stop arguing," Orochimaru said, expertly breaking up the fight.
"Hmph!" Tsunade snorted and unclenched her fist.
At her movement, Orochimaru and Jiraiya both breathed a sigh of relief.
"What were you talking about just now?" Once the scuffle was over, Tsunade asked curiously.
"Orochimaru's taking on a student!" Jiraiya poked his head out and blurted it out before Orochimaru could speak.
"A student?"
Just as Orochimaru had expected, Tsunade's eyes lit up at Jiraiya's words, and she put on a gossipy expression.
"Who? Who is it? Which family's kid?"
"A child from the Shimura Clan, Elder Danzo's nephew," Orochimaru answered.
"Danzo's nephew?" Tsunade looked disgusted.
She wasn't disgusted by Kizaru, but by Danzo!
Tsunade had never liked this friend of Teacher Sarutobi's and disciple of her Second Grandfather.
She hated Danzo's traditional, rigid, sinister, and ruthless personality, as well as the way he did things.
"If he's Danzo's nephew, then what if he's just like Danzo?" At the thought, Tsunade shuddered and gave Orochimaru a sympathetic look.
Orochimaru guessed what she was thinking from her expression.
"I've read the child's file. He's very different from Elder Danzo."
"That kid from the Shimura Clan's been famous in the village lately. They say he's a once-in-a-generation genius, with the potential of the First," Jiraiya added.
"The potential of the First?" Tsunade looked interested, but quickly turned disgusted. "Danzo's probably just hyping up his own relative again. What a shameless man!"
Jiraiya, who had been peeking out from behind Orochimaru, glanced at Tsunade's disgusted expression, then at Orochimaru's calm face. Suddenly, an idea came to him.
"Why don't we go test that kid? Let's see if he's really as amazing as the rumors say!" Jiraiya said, brimming with curiosity and gossip.
"Boring." Orochimaru didn't want to get involved and replied calmly.
Tsunade reacted the opposite way. She was very tempted by Jiraiya's suggestion.
The potential of the First!
As the First's granddaughter, Tsunade cared a great deal about that assessment.
"I think Jiraiya's idea is a good one. Orochimaru, let's go take a look!" Tsunade looked at him with a theatrically eager expression.
Sighing again, Orochimaru could only agree, faced with the expectations of his two friends.
"Let's go take a look." Then, worried the two of them would get carried away, he added, "Keep it under control. Don't go too far."
Tsunade clapped Orochimaru hard on the shoulder, nearly knocking the wind out of him, and laughed heartily. "Don't worry. With me around, nothing will happen."
"It's because you're around that something's bound to happen," Jiraiya muttered.
"What did you say, Jiraiya?" Tsunade heard his quiet comment and roared in displeasure.
"I said, let's get going!" Jiraiya said, then used the Body Flicker Technique to run off into the distance, deciding his life was more important.
"Damn it, stop right there!" Tsunade shouted as she chased after him.
Watching his two unreliable fellow students, teammates, and friends run off, Orochimaru could only silently follow.
I stayed up all night writing to make up for posting too late the past couple of days! I'll have the chapter up this morning.
Look how hard Maomao's working, guys. Please keep reading! I'm counting on you!