The Third Hokage's Attention

Watching Uchiha Hikaru leave, Orochimaru frowned slightly and fell into deep thought. The first point was that Uchiha Hikaru's change was too drastic; in just a few days, he had become like a completely different person.

His personality had undergone a massive shift, and of course, there were other aspects as well.

After a moment of contemplation, Orochimaru followed Uchiha Hikaru as he left the Ninja Academy. As for poor Jiraiya, he became the direct substitute for Uchiha Hikaru and Orochimaru, receiving a brutal beating from Tsunade.

By the time Tsunade had vented her anger and wanted to find Uchiha Hikaru, where could his shadow possibly be?

"Hmph, consider yourself lucky!! I'll deal with you tomorrow!!"

In the end, Tsunade could only leave the Ninja Academy in a huff, leaving behind a battered Jiraiya who looked like a giant panda, along with other classmates who were stunned and terrified.

At this moment, Jiraiya's inner world was collapsing. He didn't understand who he had offended to deserve this; he had been beaten up for no reason, and the fact that his combat power was not on par with Tsunade's was his greatest tragedy, especially when Tsunade was in a berserk state—he stood even less of a chance.

Just like yesterday, Uchiha Hikaru went straight to the Training Ground. The difference was that he took a detour through the market on the way, buying quite a few things, mostly food—especially various types of meat.

Uchiha Hikaru was grateful that he knew how to cook, so he wouldn't end up like Naruto, living off instant noodles and ramen.

There was no need to mention instant noodles; could ramen really be considered a staple food?

The money spent on a single bowl of ramen was enough to buy plenty of ingredients. As long as one put in the effort, it could be turned into a delicious meal, and Uchiha Hikaru didn't have the habit of being wasteful.

Anything he couldn't finish at once could be stored in the refrigerator and kept for a long time.

"Heh..."

Orochimaru had been following behind him the whole time. Uchiha Hikaru noticed this and gave a faint smile, not taking it to heart. Honestly, having Orochimaru as a current rival wasn't bad, though only privately; as for publicly, Uchiha Hikaru had no such intentions.

Following Uchiha Hikaru all the way and discovering that he went to browse the market, Orochimaru was speechless. What use could you possibly have for these things?

Carrying the items he had bought, Uchiha Hikaru arrived at the Training Ground. In the furthest corner, he soaked the ingredients in the nearby stream before he began his training. He didn't want to eat rotten meat when he went back at night, so leaving it in the stream was a decent solution.

As for Orochimaru, who kept following him, Uchiha Hikaru chose to ignore him and simply went about his own business.

Inside the Training Ground, watching Uchiha Hikaru work hard at his training from afar—never skipping any of the basic drills and performing them step by step, followed by shuriken and kunai practice—Orochimaru ultimately chose to leave.

He never had the habit of training at the Training Ground; he usually did so outside the village.

Facts proved that Orochimaru's approach was wise. In the village, certain unscrupulous old men would constantly monitor every corner of the village, and if one wasn't careful, secrets might be discovered.

Especially for someone like Orochimaru, who often did things in the shadows that couldn't see the light of day.

"An interesting kid."

Uchiha Hikaru had no idea that his every move had already fallen into the eyes of certain people.

Inside the Hokage Office Building, in the Hokage's Office, the Third Hokage held a pipe in his mouth while gazing at the Crystal Ball on his desk. Seeing Uchiha Hikaru training hard at the same time and in the same place, he smiled.

People from the Uchiha Clan rarely left their compound to train. Even if they did, most went outside the village; those who went to the public Training Ground were few and far between, and even then, they usually paid to rent private space rather than using the public ones with everyone else.

Uchiha Hikaru's actions immediately caught the Third Hokage's attention. Having a member of the Uchiha Clan enter a public Training Ground to train—and a child at that, displaying a level of perseverance and persistence that even adults lacked—naturally drew the Third Hokage's notice.

However, yesterday it had been just a passing glance. On the second day, Uchiha Hikaru still came to the Training Ground after school to continue his training, and the content remained the most tedious basic drills. It was hard for the Third Hokage not to notice.

Noticing Uchiha Hikaru naturally meant noticing Orochimaru, who was following him. Unlike Uchiha Hikaru, Orochimaru was someone the Third Hokage had been keeping a close eye on—a well-known genius in the Ninja Academy.

If it were just Uchiha Hikaru alone, no matter how hard he worked, it would at most make the Third Hokage think the child was diligent. But with Orochimaru following behind, it was a different story.

"Bring me this child's file."

Putting down his pipe, the Third Hokage, who was still in his prime at this time and lacked the short, elderly appearance he would have later, gave the order.

"Yes!!"

A puff of smoke flashed behind the Third Hokage, and soon, an Anbu operative placed a file on the Third Hokage's desk. Every child who entered the Ninja Academy had a record; every child could potentially become a pillar of Konoha, and Konoha placed great importance on them.

These files could not be handled by anyone other than the teachers and the current Hokage. If a child had talent or was worth cultivating, the teachers could bypass others and report directly to the Hokage, which showed how much Konoha valued the next generation.

"Uchiha Hikaru..."

Opening the file, the Third Hokage looked at the information in his hands, his thick eyebrows furrowing deeply. The Anbu operative knelt respectfully on the ground, waiting.

"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 Uchiha Hikaru to have such a connection to Kagami Uchiha.

[Since there are too many plot holes regarding the Hokage, Libao can only try his best to patch them. Regarding the handling of some details, I beg everyone not to be too pedantic. When Libao writes, I will definitely deliberate again and again, please forgive me~]