Watching Hikaru leave, Orochimaru frowned slightly and fell into thought. First of all, Hikaru had changed far too much. In just a few days, he seemed like a completely different person.
His personality had changed drastically, and there were other changes as well.
After thinking it over, Orochimaru still followed Hikaru out of the Ninja Academy. As for poor Jiraiya, he directly became Hikaru and Orochimaru's substitute and got beaten up by Tsunade.
By the time Tsunade had vented her anger and wanted to find Hikaru, he was nowhere to be seen.
"Humph, you got lucky! I'll deal with you tomorrow!!"
In the end, Tsunade could only leave the Ninja Academy in a huff, leaving behind a panda-eyed Jiraiya and the other stunned, terrified students.
Jiraiya was falling apart inside. He had no idea who he had offended. He had gotten beaten up for no reason, and his combat strength simply wasn't on the same level as Tsunade's. That was Jiraiya's greatest tragedy—especially when Tsunade went berserk. He was even less of a match for her then.
Just like yesterday, Hikaru went straight to the Training Ground. The difference was that he took a stroll through the market on the way and bought quite a few things, mostly food, especially all kinds of meat.
Hikaru was glad he knew how to cook. He wouldn't end up like Naruto, surviving on instant noodles and ramen.
There was no need to mention instant noodles, but could ramen really serve as a staple food?
The money for one bowl of ramen was enough to buy plenty of ingredients. As long as he cooked them himself, they could become delicious food. Hikaru had no habit of wasting money.
Anything he couldn't finish in one meal could be put in the refrigerator and kept for a long time.
"Heh heh~~~"
Orochimaru had been following behind him the entire time. Once Hikaru noticed, he merely smiled faintly and didn't take it to heart. Honestly, Orochimaru made a decent rival for now, though only in private. Publicly, Hikaru had no such intentions.
Orochimaru followed Hikaru all the way and was left speechless when he saw him shopping at the market. What was the point of buying all this stuff?
After carrying the things he bought to the Training Ground, Hikaru went to the farthest corner and soaked all the ingredients in the stream beside it before beginning his training. He didn't want to go home that night to rancid meat, so leaving it in the stream was good enough.
As for Orochimaru, who kept following him, Hikaru chose to ignore him. He simply did what he needed to do.
From afar in the Training Ground, Orochimaru watched Hikaru train diligently. He skipped none of the basic exercises, working through them bit by bit before moving on to Shuriken and kunai. In the end, Orochimaru chose to leave.
He had never been in the habit of training at the Training Ground. Usually, he trained outside the village.
As it turned out, Orochimaru's approach was a good one. In the village, certain unscrupulous old men constantly checked every corner. If one wasn't careful, secrets might be discovered.
Especially for someone like Orochimaru, who often did shady things in secret.
"An interesting kid."
Hikaru had no idea that every one of his actions had already fallen under certain people's watchful eyes.
Inside the Hokage Office Building, in the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage held a pipe in his mouth as he looked at the Crystal Ball on his desk. Seeing Hikaru training diligently at the same time and in the same place, he smiled.
Few members of the Uchiha Clan left their clan grounds to train. Even when they did, most went outside the village. Those who went to the Training Ground were extremely rare, and even then, they paid to rent one rather than use the public facilities with everyone else.
Hikaru's actions immediately caught the Third Hokage's attention. An Uchiha Clan child had entered a public Training Ground to train, displaying perseverance and determination that even adults lacked. Naturally, the Third Hokage took notice.
Yesterday, he had only glanced over it. But on the second day, Hikaru still came to the Training Ground right after school and continued training. The content was still the most tedious basic training. The Third Hokage could hardly avoid noticing him.
Noticing Hikaru naturally meant noticing Orochimaru following him. Unlike Hikaru, Orochimaru was someone the Third Hokage had kept an eye on all along—a renowned genius at the Ninja Academy.
If it had only been Hikaru, then no matter how hard he worked, the Third Hokage would at most have thought the child was diligent. But with Orochimaru following behind him, it was different.
"Bring me this child's file."
Setting down his pipe, the Third Hokage was still in his prime, without the short, old appearance he would have later.
"Yes!!"
A puff of smoke flashed behind the Third Hokage. Before long, an Anbu member placed a file on the Third Hokage's desk. Every child entering the Ninja Academy had a record. Any one of them could become a pillar of Konoha, and Konoha placed great importance on these children.
Aside from teachers and the current Hokage, no one else was qualified to handle these files. For gifted children, or those worth nurturing, teachers could bypass everyone else and report directly to the Hokage. This showed just how much Konoha valued its next generation.
"Uchiha Hikaru..."
Opening the file, the Third Hokage looked over the information in his hands, his thick brows furrowing deeply. The Anbu member knelt respectfully on one knee and waited.
"So he has a direct connection to Kagami. No wonder he seemed somewhat familiar."
After a long while, the Third Hokage closed the file. He hadn't expected Hikaru to be related to Kagami Uchiha.
Because Naruto has too many plot holes, Libao can only do his best to fill them. Please don't dwell too much on certain details. Libao will think things over carefully while writing. Please forgive me~ .
Before you continue