"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
In an instant, a gigantic fireball hurtled toward Chiba.
Seeing this, the little white snake in the grass hurriedly dodged, afraid of getting caught in the blast. He wanted to watch the sparring match to the end.
At the same time, he was eager to see how Chiba would counter the jutsu.
However—
At that moment, Chiba simply sheathed his Cane Sword.
"Is he going to dodge?"
The little white snake was puzzled.
Then, in the next instant, Chiba's movements changed.
He lowered his body slightly and rested his sword at his waist, his right hand lightly touching the hilt.
"Itachi, watch out for this move!"
"Come on, Chiba!"
The final showdown was about to begin.
The moment the Great Fireball descended,
the little white snake saw Chiba vanish in an instant.
A sword's pressure whooshed past, and Chiba's figure appeared again.
Only now, he stood on the other side of the Great Fireball, still holding his hand to his sword.
But the fireball behind him had been split cleanly in two.
"Was that... Iaijutsu?"
The little white snake was stunned.
Iaijutsu was an advanced sword technique.
It delivered a lethal slash with an exceptionally swift draw.
Draw, slash, sheath—the whole thing happened in the blink of an eye.
The little white snake flicked out his tongue, unable to calm the shock in his heart.
"Chiba, you really are a treasure trove..."
A great secret was hidden in his eyes—surely a great secret of the Uchiha.
He had to find out what it was.
As he pondered this, Itachi Uchiha suddenly dropped from the sky, kunai in hand, and swung at Chiba.
The little white snake was taken aback.
"Was Itachi's attack not over yet?"
Still, the winner had already been decided.
In close combat, Itachi couldn't possibly beat Chiba, who had swordsmanship of this caliber.
Just then,
an angry voice suddenly cut across the sky.
"Uchiha Chiba, I've been looking for you!"
Their sparring match was interrupted just like that.
The little white snake also looked in the direction of the voice.
That was...
"The teacher's child... Asuma Sarutobi?"
Sarutobi Asuma was the son of Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
He had been born during the height of Hiruzen Sarutobi's power as Hokage.
In the eyes of others, he was a trust-fund kid born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
That was about the extent of Orochimaru's impression of him.
An ordinary appearance, an ordinary physique, and... ordinary talent.
Among ordinary people, Orochimaru might not have spared someone like him a second glance.
Unfortunately, he had a father who was anything but ordinary.
Perhaps because his father doted too much on his youngest son, even Orochimaru had heard about Asuma Sarutobi's willfulness.
Going against the father who gave you everything seemed to be a common affliction among privileged kids.
Asuma, in the throes of adolescence, was deeply opposed to Hiruzen Sarutobi's discipline.
And now, Asuma Sarutobi had come to pick a fight with Uchiha Chiba.
Orochimaru didn't know what Hiruzen Sarutobi had in mind for the two Uchiha children.
But, judging by what he knew of his teacher,
indoctrinating them with the so-called Will of Fire and making them talented shinobi loyal to Konoha was exactly Hiruzen Sarutobi's style.
Making the two Uchiha children like him was one of Hiruzen Sarutobi's most common tactics.
It was obvious that Asuma Sarutobi was going against his father's wishes.
"Teacher... It looks like Asuma is one of the greatest failures of your life!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had suffered many failures in his life.
The blade he had turned against the Senju Clan had ultimately driven Tsunade away.
And his hypocritical ways had eventually left Jiraiya disillusioned.
Of the Konoha Sannin, only he remained.
As for why he had stayed in the village, perhaps it was because he could still explore the so-called meaning of life here.
The Sannin's departure and Konoha's decline didn't count as Hiruzen Sarutobi's true failures, in Orochimaru's eyes.
From his perspective, Konoha's strength had indeed declined, but... Hiruzen's position as Hokage had become even more secure.
The ruler's power had grown more concentrated. Didn't that count as a success?
It did!
Did it count as a failure?
In a way, it did.
But now Asuma Sarutobi's existence had given Orochimaru the chance to laugh at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Teacher, after such a shrewd life, who would've thought you'd slip up with your own child!"
It was laughable, and tragic too.
The outcome of Asuma Sarutobi's provocation was a foregone conclusion.
A mediocre shinobi like him wasn't even fit to be a stepping stone for these two Uchiha children.
So this was the future of the Hokage.
Still, Orochimaru was happy to watch his teacher's "embarrassment"!
He wanted to see this farce through to the end.
At that moment,
Asuma came charging in after shouting, convinced he looked impressive.
Chiba and Itachi's sparring match had come to an end with Asuma's arrival.
Itachi looked back at the haughty Asuma, then glanced at Chiba.
"Chiba... What's—?"
With a swish,
Chiba sheathed his Cane Sword and calmly spoke.
"It's nothing. We had a bit of a grudge from before... Itachi, you can head back first. I'll take care of things here."
Itachi looked at Chiba, then at Asuma Sarutobi.
He couldn't help feeling concerned.
He knew who that was.
The Hokage's son!
Had Chiba gotten into a conflict with the Hokage's son?
Why did it have to be the Hokage's son?
Konoha and the Uchiha were already on uneasy terms.
"Chiba, do you need—"
Before Itachi could finish, Chiba waved his hand.
"It's fine. If you can't see the situation clearly, don't get involved."
Can't see it clearly?
What couldn't he see clearly?
The relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha?
Itachi Uchiha fell into thought.
He really wanted to help Chiba.
He didn't mean helping him with his strength.
Itachi acknowledged Chiba's strength. He didn't know how strong Asuma was, but... Chiba couldn't lose. He had that much confidence.
Itachi simply couldn't imagine Chiba being defeated.
But given Asuma's status, having the son of the Uchiha Clan head there might keep Chiba from getting the short end of the stick.
In the end, Itachi was mistaken.
Chiba had never cared that Asuma was the Hokage's son.
After hesitating for a moment, Itachi could only nod.
"Is that so? I understand."
"Chiba!"
Before leaving, Itachi spoke without thinking.
"What is it?"
"Go easy on him!"
"I know what I'm doing. I won't kill him!"
Their calm exchange enraged Asuma Sarutobi, who had heard every word.
What did he mean, go easy on him?
I'm a Chunin of Konoha.
A Chunin recognized by the Hokage.
You're just students at the Ninja Academy. Do you really think you've already got me beat?