The sun was already beginning to slant westward over Training Ground Three.
The three bells at Hiruzen Sarutobi's waist gleamed with a faint golden light in the afterglow.
He stood in the center of the field, looking at the three students surrounding him in a triangular formation—and the Resonance Wooden Tokens in their hands, emitting a steady blue glow.
"Everyone understands the rules, right?"
Hiruzen's voice was calm.
"Maintain resonance and take the bells. Begin."
The instant his words fell, his figure moved.
He used no flashy ninjutsu, only pure Taijutsu movement, yet his speed was astonishing.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished from where he stood and appeared at Tsunade's side.
"Fast!"
Tsunade hurriedly retreated, but the glow of the wooden token in her hand flickered from the sudden movement.
Almost at the same time, Jiraiya lunged in from the other side, trying to grab Hiruzen's sleeve.
But Hiruzen merely shifted slightly, causing Jiraiya to miss, then lightly patted his back and sent him stumbling several steps.
"Watch the resonance!"
Orochimaru reminded them.
He stood slightly farther away, not rushing to attack. Instead, he carefully observed Hiruzen's movement patterns while striving to keep the output of the wooden token in his hand stable.
The three quickly discovered that this training was far more difficult than they had imagined.
Maintaining precise chakra synchronization alone required intense focus, and they also had to deal with Hiruzen's swift Taijutsu attacks. It was like writing different words with both hands at once.
"We can't fight separately."
Orochimaru spoke after dodging another probing attack from Hiruzen.
"We need to move as one."
"As one?"
Jiraiya panted. "How?"
"Simply put, when I move, you move too. Keep our relative positions and distances unchanged."
Tsunade understood what Orochimaru meant.
"That will at least reduce