A sizzling atmosphere

In Konoha stood a vast Circular Training Arena, a full five hundred meters in diameter. Its brick walls were reinforced with thick concrete; only exceptionally powerful ninjutsu could destroy them.

Three towering buildings stood just outside the circular wall, their top floors offering a view of the entire Arena. These served as the Spectator Seats for watching ninja duels.

The central building was the tallest, reserved for distinguished figures such as the Hokage and the daimyo. The slightly shorter stands on either side accommodated ninja from the clans and the village's civilians.

Eiji entered the Rest Room connected to the interior of the Circular Training Arena alongside over a hundred graduates from this year's Ninja Academy class.

The tension in the room was palpable. Eiji glanced around. In the short time since he had stepped inside, dozens of curious gazes had already landed on him.

That was only natural. After all, he was still far shorter than these students from the higher grades. Eiji himself remained perfectly at ease, feeling no particular discomfort.

Still, more people were looking at the two sitting in the corner than showing curiosity about Eiji, a second-year student.

Eiji could tell that one belonged to the Hyuga Clan, but he knew nothing about the other. Judging by everyone's fearful gazes, though, it was easy to guess that he was this tournament's dark horse, Uchiha Yo, whose betting odds outside had been so high. In that case, the one from the Hyuga Clan was probably Hyuga Yamashiro.

Everyone deliberately kept their distance from the pair, seemingly terrified of drawing either of them when the matchups were randomly assigned.

Both of them fixed their eyes on Eiji at once. Their burning gazes practically looked ready to devour him, leaving him distinctly uncomfortable.

But Eiji also noticed other members of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans in the room besides those two.

The clan crests on the Uchiha members' backs made their identities clear. As for the Hyuga Clan, their conspicuous white eyes needed no explanation.

Hmm? That fat guy looks like he's from the Akimichi Clan. Then the pineapple-haired guy and the blond woman standing with him must be from the Nara and Yamanaka clans.

In the anime, fewer than thirty students graduated in Naruto Uzumaki's year. But that was the number in peacetime, when the focus was on cultivating elite ninja.

At a time like this, with war about to break out, the village would actively expand its ranks, sending people who would not normally qualify as ninja onto the battlefield.

This year's graduating class numbered over a hundred. Once war actually broke out, that figure might well double, and most of them would end up as cannon fodder holding the lines. It was truly tragic.

In Eiji's view, in a world that placed such extreme emphasis on individual prowess, anyone who lacked strength and failed to recognize their own limits had nothing waiting for them but death.

If he did not have the system, he would not even have chosen to become a ninja. He would have opened a restaurant in the village instead.

Living through the years of conflict until the war ended, just like Teuchi, would have been a decent choice. The restaurant would get destroyed midway through by a single Super Shinra Tensei from Pain, though. That was a problem.

The Spectator Seats were packed. Long-established ninja families such as the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, along with powerful clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga, had turned out almost in their entirety.

There were also plenty of civilian families who had come to watch their children perform, though even more villagers were simply there for the excitement.

Rather than going to the central VIP Spectator Seats that day, Tsunade chose to sit with Jiraiya and Orochimaru in the ordinary Spectator Seats on the left, waiting for the matches to begin.

"You two usually vanish off the face of the earth. What brought you both back today?"

Tsunade looked at Jiraiya and Orochimaru on either side of her.

Neither of these two was usually anywhere to be found. Ever since Jiraiya had gone to Mount Myōboku, he had started spouting all sorts of mystical nonsense. Not only had he left the village to travel around the Shinobi World, he also claimed he was searching for the Child of Prophecy.

If there really was a Child of Prophecy who could change the Shinobi World, she was more inclined to believe that child was Ryuuzaki Eiji.

As for Orochimaru, she hardly wanted to get started. He had been a gloomy fellow from the day she met him, and now he spent all day hiding away, dissecting various animals for experiments. She had practiced on animals herself to improve her medical ninjutsu, but never in that sinister manner of his.

"Well... you know how it is, Tsunade. My senjutsu training still has a long way to go, so I have to spend most of my time studying at Mount Myōboku. And I can't neglect my responsibility to find the Child of Prophecy, either."

Jiraiya scratched his head and gave a sheepish laugh.

"Hmph. I think you're just avoiding village missions. If an ordinary ninja acted like you, branding him a rogue ninja would be entirely justified!"

Tsunade's retort left Jiraiya speechless, and he fell silent.

"I simply found the laboratory a little stifling and wanted to get out for a walk. Besides, I wanted to see your new student. Anyone who caught your eye must have extraordinary talent."

Orochimaru spoke.

At this point, Orochimaru had not yet become so obsessed with experiments and immortality that he had lost his mind. He was merely gloomier than most people, but still fell within the bounds of normality.

"Hmph, then you'd better watch closely. Eiji is incredibly strong. He's definitely a hundred times better than that idiot Jiraiya."

As she spoke, she shot Jiraiya a contemptuous glance.

"Isn't that going a little too far? Whatever else you say, I'm still Teacher Sarutobi's personal student, and I'm close to mastering senjutsu. How could he possibly be stronger than me?"

Tsunade did not waste any more words on Jiraiya. Calling Eiji a hundred times stronger was a bit of an exaggeration, but that invincible ninjutsu he had mastered already made him unbeatable. At any rate, Tsunade could not think of a way to counter it.

"I heard he also awakened an entirely new dojutsu kekkei genkai. Could you reveal a little about those eyes?"

"Not a chance. If you want information, watch him with your own eyes!"

Orochimaru was not offended by Tsunade's refusal. His interest in Ryuuzaki Eiji only grew.

An entirely new dojutsu kekkei genkai, and enough promise for Tsunade to take him as her student—those two facts alone were enough to command Orochimaru's attention.

Orochimaru had also gone to inspect the enormous crater in the forest, and what he found had pleased him. It had been caused by an extremely destructive ninjutsu, proving that Ryuuzaki Eiji truly was an exceptional genius.

After that, Tsunade suddenly remembered that Nawaki still had no teacher. Since Nawaki had always admired Orochimaru, she casually brought it up, and Orochimaru readily agreed to become his teacher.

"Minato, make sure you cheer extra loudly when Eiji comes out!"

"Oh, right!"

Up in the Grandstand, Kushina wore a white headband bearing the words "Eiji will win." Minato nodded earnestly in response.

He was also looking forward to Eiji's performance. Eiji always held back during their practice sessions, so he hoped to see more of his true abilities this time.

The three long-established Ino-Shika-Cho ninja families sat almost right beside one another, and Shikaku Nara, Akimiichi Chōza, and Inoichi Yamanaka had gathered together.

"Inoichi, do you think Eiji can win the championship?" Choza mumbled as he kept stuffing potato chips into his mouth.

"I don't know. Quite a few ninja from the Uchiha and Hyuga clans are graduating this year. It might be a tough fight."