"Big Brother Kizaru, aren't you coming back with us?"
Standing at the school gate, Shimura Yoshihiko, Shimura Yuki, and Shimura Tanin gathered around Kizaru.
"I'm going to the training ground to practice some ninjutsu. You go on ahead!"
Having just received a physical enhancement, Kizaru planned to practice at the training ground and get used to his strengthened body.
"Big Brother Kizaru, can we come with you?" When Shimura Yoshihiko heard that Kizaru was going to practice ninjutsu, he eagerly hoped to go with him.
Kizaru took his right hand out of his pocket. He was about to knock Yoshihiko on the head, as he usually did, but then he suddenly remembered that he'd just strengthened his body and couldn't control his strength very well. He quickly stopped himself from reaching out.
"Not today! You go on home. I'll come see you tonight."
Rejected by Kizaru, Yoshihiko didn't notice that he'd stopped mid-motion. He only lowered his head a little, feeling dejected.
"Stop following Big Brother Kizaru around like a shadow all day," Shimura Yuki scolded Yoshihiko, her face cold.
"You've got some nerve saying that! Who's the one who calls out 'Big Brother Kizaru' all the time on the way home, and even has to sit next to him at dinner? You've got no room to talk!" Yoshihiko looked at Shimura Yuki and loudly fired back.
A hint of embarrassment flashed across Shimura Yuki's face, and the tips of her ears turned faintly red. She kept her little face stiffly composed and said coldly, "Hurry up. Don't waste Big Brother Kizaru's time!"
"Hmph!" Shimura Yoshihiko huffed angrily, then looked at Kizaru. "Big Brother Kizaru, we'll head home first."
"Go on, then. Be careful on the way."
Kizaru waved at the three of them and watched as they walked away.
"This guy seems pretty popular," Tsunade remarked from a tree to the right of the school, crouching against its trunk.
"Is this kid really six?" Standing on the other side of the trunk, Jiraiya stared wide-eyed at the tall, lanky Kizaru, voicing an amazement many others had shared.
Orochimaru hadn't climbed the tree. He simply stood behind the trunk, carefully sizing up his future student as well.
Was this child really only six? How had he grown like that?
At that moment, Orochimaru's curiosity and desire to study him flared to life.
Kizaru watched the three kids' figures recede until they disappeared from sight. Only then did he look away and slip his right hand back into his pocket.
Turning his head to the right, Kizaru carefully scanned the area. He had a persistent feeling that someone was watching him.
Could that pervert Hiruzen Sarutobi be spying on me again?
As he thought this to himself, Kizaru started moving.
Konoha had a total of fifty training grounds of varying sizes, scattered around the village. (Book of Soldiers, official setting.)
The training ground Kizaru had chosen was one of the last on the list. It was located on the outskirts of the village, in a remote area that few people visited.
The Ninja Academy stood in the very center of the village, directly beneath Kage Rock. Since the training ground was a long way off and he didn't want to waste too much time, Kizaru chose to use the Body Flicker Technique to get there.
Kizaru sped along and reached his chosen training ground in about ten minutes.
Looking around the grounds, he saw weeds already sprouting. He guessed that no one had been there for months.
Kizaru was quite pleased. For now, he didn't want too much of his strength getting exposed around the village.
It wasn't that Kizaru wanted to play the underdog. He planned to reveal everything during the graduation exam and earn a huge wave of prestige, pushing the Fusion Progress Bar forward.
Standing in the center of the grounds, Kizaru first warmed up a little, carefully feeling the increase in his physical strength.
As Kizaru began warming up, the future Sannin, who had been tailing him from a distance to see what he was capable of, quietly crept to the edge of the training ground.
Keeping themselves hidden behind thick bushes, the future Sannin crouched down and exchanged glances, ready to discuss what to do next.
"Jiraiya, you go in a minute," Tsunade whispered.
Jiraiya's eyes widened. He pointed at himself, then waved his hand in refusal.
When Jiraiya refused, Tsunade didn't waste words. She simply raised her right hand, clenched into a fist. Her meaning was clear.
Jiraiya broke into a sweat. Thinking of his own life, he could only nod reluctantly.
Once Jiraiya nodded, Tsunade smiled in satisfaction. She immediately waved toward the training ground, signaling for him to hurry up.
Jiraiya nodded again to show he understood. He quietly formed Hand Seals and used the Transformation Technique to change his appearance, then Body Flickered out from behind the bushes.
When Tsunade saw Jiraiya make his move, her expression turned eager and excited as she looked at Kizaru on the training ground.
First Hokage's Potential, huh? An unparalleled genius, huh? Let me see what you've got.
Unlike the excited Tsunade, Orochimaru remained calm. But his eyes stayed fixed on Kizaru, betraying his own considerable anticipation.
Jiraiya leaped onto a branch, his appearance transformed into that of a middle-aged man with short brown hair and dark skin. He didn't rush to attack, instead keeping his eyes on Kizaru in the middle of the training ground.
Jiraiya pulled two Shuriken from the pouch on his thigh. When Kizaru bent over to stretch, he launched his attack.
The two Shuriken flew in from different directions, aimed at Kizaru's butt and thigh. Neither was aimed at a vital spot.
Bent over with both hands on the ground, Kizaru heard movement behind him and to his right.
He pushed lightly off the ground with both hands, and his body snapped straight like a spring.
By the time he'd straightened up, the two Shuriken had already reached him.
Kizaru remained calm, not showing the slightest panic. He didn't even move his feet. He simply twisted his body and leaned back, letting the two Shuriken pass just above and below him.
Watching the Shuriken land and sink halfway into the dirt, Kizaru assessed his hidden opponent: Not bad physical strength.
Out of habit, Kizaru slipped both hands into his pockets, looked around, and spoke.
"That was scary! I almost got hit."
Though he was commenting on how dangerous the attack had been, Kizaru always managed to make it sound mocking.
"What a pretentious brat," Tsunade muttered, keeping her eyes on Kizaru.
As Tsunade spoke, Jiraiya made his next move. He kicked off the branch and seemed to appear behind Kizaru in an instant, thrusting a Kunai toward him with speed and force.
Facing Jiraiya's surprise attack, Kizaru seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He leaned toward the front-left, barely avoiding the strike.
His thrust missed. Jiraiya hooked a finger through the Kunai and released his other fingers, turning it from horizontal to vertical before sweeping it downward.
With his body leaning forward and his back to Jiraiya, Kizaru reacted instantly to the follow-up attack. He twisted around, planted his left foot, and raised his right leg for a swift, powerful side kick.
Kizaru struck after his opponent had moved. His right foot blurred as it hit the attacker behind him before the Kunai could stab him.
Thud!
Jiraiya had been treating the fight as a test of a kid's abilities and had let his guard down. He didn't react in time. Kizaru kicked him flying, and he slammed into a large tree in the distance.
Cough, cough!
Jiraiya's impact had blown a hole through the tree's thick trunk. After taking the full force of the blow, he coughed several times, blood welling up in his throat.
I underestimated him!
Injured, Jiraiya gave a wry smile, his expression growing serious.
That kid's physical strength was already six or seven tenths of Tsunade's Strength Enhancement Technique.
Thinking back to the attack he'd just suffered, Jiraiya assessed the strength Kizaru had displayed.
At six in the morning, Maomao had finished writing today's two updates. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking up at the sky in triumph!!!
Maomao had worked so hard—wasn't everyone going to vote to show their support?