Diverting the Disaster, Jiraiya Takes the Fall!

"Uchiha Hikaru!!!"

After school, Tsunade stared at Hikaru, gritting her teeth. She didn't dare to cause trouble for their teacher, so naturally, she pushed all the blame onto Hikaru.

A good show was about to begin!

The surrounding brats saw this and immediately lost any desire to leave. One by one, they waited to see what kind of sparks would fly between Hikaru and Tsunade.

Hikaru, who had been preparing to head to the training grounds, was blocked by Tsunade. Looking at her adorable, teeth-gritting expression, he instantly understood where the little girl's massive anger was coming from—it was all caused by that comment the teacher made about them being in love.

"The teacher said it, so don't pin it on me. Besides, I, Uchiha Hikaru, have no interest in being in love with you, Tsunade. You're not cute at all for a girl; you're too violent."

"..."

High alert ahead, danger!!!

In an instant, everyone moved away from Hikaru. Even Orochimaru, who wasn't afraid of Tsunade, was no exception. Not being afraid didn't mean he wanted to get caught in the crossfire; watching the show was one thing, but getting burned was no fun.

Tsunade's cute little face turned dark. She clenched her fists, looking very much like she was about to smash a punch right into Hikaru's face.

The little girl was still just a little girl, after all. Even if she was precocious and mischievous, she was ultimately only five years old. Hikaru chuckled inwardly; if he couldn't even handle a five-year-old, then his twenty-plus years of life would have been in vain.

"Don't hit anyone. If you hit someone, it just proves that I'm right, so stay calm and collected."

Seeing Tsunade truly wavering, Hikaru clicked his tongue and wagged his finger, correcting her.

"Uh..."

Hikaru had guessed right; Tsunade was about to blow her top, but his words made her pause. She felt like what Hikaru said actually made some sense, so she held back. Pointing a fair, tender finger at Hikaru, she said indignantly:

"It's all because of you that the teacher misunderstood!! Who would want to be in love with you?"

Hikaru shrugged, looking completely indifferent. He stared at Tsunade for a few seconds, making her feel a bit self-conscious. She took two steps back and snapped, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen a pretty girl before?"

Hikaru, however, muttered to himself while rubbing his chin, "I've seen pretty girls, but I've never seen a girl who is pretty but not cute. Orochimaru, would you be willing to date Tsunade?"

Shifting the blame to someone else—who couldn't do that? She was just a little brat; dealing with her was too simple.

"Hmph!!"

Hikaru had shifted the question onto him. Orochimaru was stunned for a moment, then stepped past Hikaru and Tsunade. He huffed and said, "Boring!!!"

He walked away without looking back. It was true that he wanted to watch the show, but that didn't mean he wanted to get involved in the mess.

"Well then, how about you, Jiraiya?"

Orochimaru's attitude practically implied that she, Tsunade, was worthless. Tsunade's complexion, which had just recovered slightly, turned dark again. She didn't expect Hikaru to shift the question onto Jiraiya.

Jiraiya, who had been grinning while watching the show, subconsciously let out an "Ah~~" and made an exaggerated expression. He hurriedly took a few steps back and shouted, "Are you kidding me? Being in love with her? I'd rather die, uh..."

"Tsunade, listen to me."

"That's not what I meant!!!"

After being retorted by Hikaru for so long, then ignored by Orochimaru, and finally subjected to Jiraiya's exaggerated look of disgust, Tsunade could no longer hold it in. However, her rage wasn't directed at Hikaru, but exploded onto Jiraiya instead.

Jiraiya hadn't expected that the anger Tsunade had been bottling up would ultimately erupt on him.

"Tsk, tsk."

Watching Tsunade chase after Jiraiya, Hikaru chuckled and slipped away.

"Isn't it a bit unkind to shift the blame onto someone else like that?"

Just as Hikaru stepped out of the classroom, he ran into Orochimaru, who was leaning against the hallway wall. Seeing Hikaru come out, Orochimaru said calmly.

"You had a hand in this trouble too, didn't you? Let's not point fingers at each other."

Hikaru replied with a smile and waved his hand as he walked away.

Orochimaru truly lived up to his reputation; he was already a cunning little fox at such a young age. But so what?

At only five years old, Orochimaru was handsome—truly handsome—even if that handsomeness carried a hint of sickly pallor and effeminacy. Comparing them, the gap felt far too wide.

The Orochimaru of the future...

Whenever he thought about Orochimaru's snake-like tongue, Hikaru felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn't understand why anyone would want to turn themselves into something neither human nor ghost.

Was it really worth it to sacrifice your humanity just to gain power?

If he were in Orochimaru's shoes, he would have started plotting for the Sharingan long ago, rather than waiting until he was shocked by Itachi Uchiha to start coveting it, or constantly grooming Sasuke Uchiha only to end up digging his own grave.

This was the definition of nursing a viper in one's bosom!

Hikaru knew he wouldn't be able to stand that. He would rather strike early. Orochimaru was capable of things like transplanting Senju Cells, yet he hadn't taken action. History proved that the fruit isn't always easy to pick; even if you nurture the tree, you aren't guaranteed to get the harvest, and you might even get snagged by the branches in the process.

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