After the "catastrophe" at Konoha's kindergarten had passed, the atmosphere at the Third Training Ground was even more oppressive than in Sunagakure after its defeat.
More than a dozen elite jonin wore identical expressions of "Who am I? Where am I? Why am I alive?" as they mechanically cleaned up the mess the children had left behind-mostly paint, broken cookies, and unidentified sticky liquids.
Before leaving, the brat from the Uchiha Clan had even used his newly awakened One-Tomoe Sharingan to perfectly copy the humiliating pose of the taijutsu ninja slipping while mopping the floor and landing butt-first in a bucket. He had solemnly declared that he would perform it for his father at home so they could study it as an entirely new taijutsu move.
This taijutsu jonin, famed for his brute force, felt that his ninja career, along with his backside, had suffered an unprecedented blow.
"Everyone, you seem even more... composed today than yesterday."
Orochimaru's scalp-prickling voice rang out as punctually as a summons from death.
Everyone stopped what they were doing, as though caught in a paralysis technique.
Today, he had brought neither a report nor an apron. He simply wheeled over a small cart at a leisurely pace, loaded with... brooms, mops, sewing kits, and several baskets of visibly fresh vegetables.
The corner of Senju Nawaki's eye twitched violently when he spotted the sewing kits. He strongly suspected that his Wood Release bloodline might be better suited to growing vegetables than embroidering flowers with a needle.
"Lord Orochimaru..." Minato Namikaze's voice was slightly hoarse with exhaustion. He felt more tired after this day and night than he had after fighting the entire Third Shinobi World War. "What is today's... assignment?"
"Assignment?" Orochimaru touched the bridge of his nose and gave an inscrutable smile. "No, there