Orochimaru's snake-like eyes flicked toward Team Minato.
He paid Kakashi little attention. As the son of the White Fang, Kakashi was practically a member of the higher-ups, and Orochimaru knew his background well.
But what was up with that Uchiha?
As everyone knew, chakra was a combination of spiritual and physical energy.
At that moment, within Orochimaru's extraordinarily keen senses—honed by the modifications he had made to himself—
the spiritual energy of that Uchiha brat
was powerful, almost excessively active.
It was completely out of proportion with his physical energy.
Orochimaru had seen Uchiha with Three Tomoe, and Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan on the spot.
Yet he had never seen anything like what was happening with this kid.
He licked his lips. "That Uchiha brat... is interesting."
"Someone actually caught your eye?!" Jiraiya exclaimed in surprise, glancing over. "Hm? Which Uchiha?"
"The handsome one, right... Orochimaru?" Tsunade's voice rang out. She raised an eyebrow.
Orochimaru's comment had alerted her. As a Senju of the Forest, her sensory abilities might not have matched those of the Second Hokage.
But they were certainly nothing to scoff at.
She, too, had noticed that the boy's Yin Style energy seemed unusually active.
With interest, she continued:
"Come on. We'll find out what's going on if we take a closer look."
As competent ninjas,
even Genin
had to maintain a basic level of professionalism.
Though Obito and Rin had cheered excitedly for a moment, they soon settled down,
focusing on the mission.
They were now carefully checking their ninja tools and supplies one by one.
"Is everyone ready?" Namikaze Minato asked with a cheerful smile.
"We're ready!"
"No problem."
"All set, Minato-sensei."
Hearing his students' energetic replies, Minato felt his spirits rise. As their team leader, taking his students on a mission outside the village
was a first for him, too!
"Then, everyone... let's go!"
"Yeah!"
The group followed Minato, ready to leave the Training Ground.
Just then—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Three figures appeared.
"Hey, Minato. Since this is your first time leading a team, we came to offer you our blessings. You don't mind us dropping by unannounced, do you?"
Minato looked at the speaker, surprise and delight lighting up his face.
"Of course not! There's no blessing better than one from Lord Jiraiya... especially since it's a blessing from a Sage!"
At that, Jiraiya's grin stretched from ear to ear.
"Hahahahaha, that's right! My blessing as a sage is the best!"
As he spoke, Jiraiya turned around with a lecherous look on his face.
He addressed the beautiful Tsunade:
"See? Even my handsome disciple needs my blessing. What about you, Tsunade... do you need one?"
There was nothing wrong with the words themselves. Anyone could offer a blessing.
But judging by Jiraiya's lecherous expression, it was clear his blessing wouldn't be so "simple."
A vein bulged at Tsunade's temple.
She raised her fist and lowered her gaze.
In a low voice, she asked Jiraiya:
"Do you really want to give me your blessing, Jiraiya~?"
"Ah?! Hahaha, I'm kidding, just kidding!" Jiraiya broke into a cold sweat.
He remembered the terror of being ruled by Tsunade's violent fists ever since childhood!
After hastily laughing it off, he turned to the members of Team Minato and said:
"You're Minato's students, right? Very good, very good. You all look full of energy."
Yuzhen and the others didn't dare act casually.
The three people before them were renowned throughout Konoha—no, throughout the Ninja World!
They answered in unison:
"Greetings, Lord Jiraiya!"
Then they continued, addressing the two people beside him:
"And Princess Tsunade and Lord Orochimaru!"
Orochimaru gave a calm nod in response to their greeting.
Tsunade nodded, looking a little bored.
"No need to be so formal!" Jiraiya hurriedly called out. "I'm Minato's teacher, and you're Minato's students. We're practically family."
His words immediately livened up the atmosphere.
Then Jiraiya continued:
"As Minato's students, this is your first mission outside the village as a team."
"I, Jiraiya, will bless you once more: may you complete your mission smoothly and return to Konoha safely."
Hearing his blessing, the group bowed in response:
"Thank you for your blessing, Lord Jiraiya!"
Just then, Orochimaru asked Yuzhen:
"What's your name?"
Yuzhen looked surprised and pointed at himself.
When Orochimaru's gaze didn't waver, he realized the question was meant for him.
"My name is Uchiha Yuzhen, Lord Orochimaru."
Orochimaru watched Yuzhen with interest.
Then he spoke slowly, making an offer:
"Very good. Once you become a Chunin or Jonin, you can come work in my department."
"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya barked from the side. "He's Minato's student. His future will be decided in due course."
"Besides, your department isn't exactly a good place to work, is it?"
Orochimaru chuckled twice, took a step back, and said no more.
Then Jiraiya came over and patted Yuzhen on the shoulder.
He reassured him:
"Don't take what he said too seriously, kid... If anything ever happens to you, you can come to me. You're Minato's student, after all—my grand-disciple."
Uchiha Yuzhen remained outwardly calm.
As Jiraiya patted his shoulder—
A flash of dazzling Affix light appeared before his eyes.
There were no gold or red ones.
But the blue and purple Affixes...
There were so many! Far more than Minato's purple Affixes.
He had a guess as to why.
Jiraiya was undoubtedly a genius.
But even geniuses varied in talent.
In the original story, he thought his own talent was poor and unremarkable. But the person he compared himself to was...
Orochimaru, a super-genius who could use the power of an ordinary person to create the Cursed Seal of Immortality!
That Cursed Seal of Immortality was basically a low-end version of Karma.
Using the wisdom of a mortal to uncover the secrets of a "god."
What a brilliant mind!
It was only because he compared himself to Orochimaru that he thought so little of himself.
Now that Yuzhen saw for himself,
Jiraiya had no red or gold Affixes.
But the sheer number of purple ones was proof enough that the Toad Sage's later strength was no empty boast!
A thought flashed through Yuzhen's mind.
He made up his mind. System! Extract the Affix that will best make up for my weaknesses.
A flash of extraction light passed before the eyes of Uchiha Yuzhen alone.
[Natural Energy Affinity (Blue)]: This is proof of a person's affinity with nature. With this Affix, you can absorb the power of nature. Effect: Slightly increases chakra capacity and slightly increases Natural Energy Affinity.
Uchiha Yuzhen was a little dumbfounded.
Why had the system extracted a blue Affix instead of a powerful purple one?
Wait!
He had just told the system to extract...
the Affix that would best make up for his weaknesses.
Was this what the system had determined was best for him?
That was it!
For a thousand years, not a single member of the Uchiha Clan had practiced Sage Mode.
Not even Sasuke, the protagonist, had!
Could it be that the Uchiha lacked the aptitude for Sage Mode?
Had the system extracted this Affix to make up for that weakness?
Yeah... that must be it!
At that moment, Minato walked over and began chatting with his three elders.
A short while later, Namikaze Minato turned around and walked over to his students.
He spoke with enthusiasm:
"Let's go. We'll escort our client safely to the Land of Tea."
"Yes, Minato-sensei!"
Before you continue