After accepting the weighty responsibility, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately began selecting ninja. Within a day, he had assembled all five hundred, ready to depart shortly.
Of those five hundred, Hiruzen Sarutobi selected fifty ninja from his own clan, all powerful elites tempered by grueling training. Although they possessed no kekkei genkai, the Sarutobi Clan's generations of inherited Ninjutsu had made it a powerful ninja clan during the Warring States Period, comparable to the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga. The Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans had all attached themselves to it, holding positions much like retainers.
The Sarutobi Clan's loyalty and trustworthiness had always earned praise from the Local Nobles. Apart from the Senju, the Local Lords of the Warring States Period had most preferred to hire the Sarutobi Clan. In the last Shinobi World War, the Sarutobi Clan had also followed closely behind the Senju, suffering losses second only to theirs. It was only because the Senju had shouldered such a heavy burden that the Sarutobi Clan had avoided ending up in the same predicament.
Besides the fifty Sarutobi Clan ninja, another hundred came from various other clans, while the remaining three hundred and fifty were Civilian Ninja. After nearly twenty years, a new generation of Civilian Ninja had officially joined the ranks of Konoha Ninja Village. Thanks to the specialized curriculum, those qualified to undertake missions were undoubtedly the best among them—after all, the school discouraged students without talent from entering combat units—and their strength was comparable to that of ninja from middling clans.
Among them, Hiruzen Sarutobi had also brought along his prized students: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Asumi. After becoming chunin, the three had received different assignments. Orochimaru had entered the Research Department, Asumi had joined the Intelligence Department, and Jiraiya had served in the field as a regular ninja.