The Third's extremely magnetic voice suddenly rang out clearly, passing through the wooden door.
creak--
With a scraping sound, the person outside walked in.
The Third was engrossed in official business on a scroll when he glanced up briefly. Upon seeing the newcomer, his expression hardened slightly. He said, "You haven't been here for a while. Speak, what is it?"
" Hiruzen-sensei, I've come to ask you for someone."
A sinister aura emanated from the gloomy atmosphere; the person who entered was none other than Konoha Sannin, one of the Orochimaru of Konoha.
"Speak, what's going on?" the Third Hokage said calmly.
"It's graduation season at the Ninja Academy, and a new batch of students will be graduating. I've taken a liking to one of them and want to take him on as a disciple, so I'd like to become his Jonin instructor," Orochimaru said with a smile.
"You? Instruct Jonin? Are you serious?" The Third seemed to have heard something unbelievable.
"Yes." Orochimaru nodded.
"Given your rank, Jonin. I've approved this. Go to the school and talk to Karen Kazahana to arrange the personnel list," the Third said after a moment's thought.
"I only need one person." Orochimaru maintained his smile.
"What do you mean?" The Third Hokage frowned and said, "Don't you know that instructing Jonin requires leading three Genin to form a team?"
"I know, that's why I came to find you. I only brought one person with me." Orochimaru nodded.
"How am I supposed to respond to this?" The Third suddenly felt a headache coming on. Orochimaru was indeed his favorite disciple, but he always seemed to be causing all sorts of new troubles.
"If you can ensure that there's exactly one student left over after the graduation exam and the students are grouped, that person can be mine." Orochimaru had already planned out his explanation.
"You!" The Third Hokage shook his head helplessly. Every year at graduation, assigning groups was a major event, involving a great deal of knowledge. Of course, some Jonin, having reached Orochimaru's level, could proactively suggest the names of the Genin they wanted to take with them. He then said, "Tell me, who do you want?"
" Araki," Orochimaru said immediately.
" Tsunade's disciple?" The Third's brow twitched violently.
" Tsunade doesn't train Jonin, so even if I don't bring Araki along, someone else will," Orochimaru said casually.
"This matter..." The Third did not immediately agree. He felt it was a bit strange to assign Tsunade's disciple to Orochimaru, but he had no reason to refuse. He simply did not want to agree so quickly.
Thump thump thump...
Just then, there was another knock on the Hokage's office door, interrupting the Third's thoughts.
"Come in."
The Third Hokage breathed a sigh of relief. Whoever came, it was just in time to interrupt Orochimaru's affairs. He could then find an excuse to stall for time. He had a feeling that Orochimaru had some motives he didn't understand.
creak--
The door to the Hokage's office opened.
Jiraiya, walked in. At this moment, he was wearing the ninja uniform of Konoha, and also the ninja Forehead Protector of Konoha on his forehead.
Orochimaru is here too!
Jiraiya drawn to Orochimaru inside the house, but Orochimaru ignored him.
Jiraiya didn't think much of it; he was used to this kind of thing.
" Third Lord Hokage, I have a request, and I beg you to grant it," Jiraiya said with utmost seriousness.
"What is it?" The Third was taken aback. It was rare to see Jiraiya, a cynical person, so serious.
"In three days, a new batch of Genin will graduate. I've applied to become a Jonin instructor, hoping to mentor three students," Jiraiya said immediately.
"You also want to become Jonin instructor?" The Third's lips twitched slightly. What's going on today? Two of the Sannin want to become Jonin instructors. I've never heard of them being so keen on teaching disciples before!
"Um?"
Jiraiya keenly caught the "also" in the Third Hokage's words, and then looked suspiciously at Orochimaru beside him. However, he did not voice his doubts, because he felt that it was simply impossible for Orochimaru to Genin.
"With your qualifications, becoming Jonin instructor is no problem at all. Tell me the list of people you want to take on," the Third immediately asked. Logically, he would have simply had Karen Kazahana report to Jiraiya, saying that the assignments were random. However, given Orochimaru's example, he felt it was better to ask a little more.
Minato Namikaze.
" Kushina Uzumaki."
" Araki."
Jiraiya directly mentioned three names. Over this period of time, he had developed a strong interest in the genius boy Minato Namikaze, who had already mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, so he decided to investigate him.
After investigation, he was shocked to discover that Araki, who had lost to Minato Namikaze in a simulated duel, was no less formidable.
In subsequent simulated battles, the two were never paired together. He suspected that Ibuki-sensei from the Ninja Academy had received instructions from someone, but he did not investigate further on this matter.
However, after investigating Araki further, he discovered that the latter was actually Tsunade's disciple.
That's absolutely fantastic!
I have another reason to find Tsunade!
Furthermore, Araki and Kushina had a very complicated relationship, and he could tell that Minato seemed to have some feelings for Kushina as well, which led him to this trio.
He even felt...
This may be the most talented trio in Konoha for the next few decades.
As for why he talked about the future instead of including the past, it's because he felt that the combination of him, Tsunade, and Orochimaru was still unsurpassable.
" Araki..."
The Third's expression turned extremely strange; he was now even more curious about this kid named Araki.
In my previous impression, the other person was just someone with a speech impediment, and even whether or not they could graduate from the Ninja Academy was a separate issue.
But...
As graduation approached...
It was actually snatched up by the Sannin ninjas.
You should know...
The Konoha Sannin were all his disciples, and he knew their personalities all too well; they were completely different and it was unlikely that they would like the same things.
"About the list..."
The Third hesitated for a moment before saying, "I cannot answer you now. If it were anyone else, it would be fine, but since you two have chosen the same person, I will inevitably have to make a choice between you."
"No need!"
Just then, Orochimaru waved his hand, still smiling, Jiraiya beside him.
" Jiraiya wants it, I won't compete. I just thought about it, and I'm not suited to instructing Jonin. Jiraiya is more suitable. I don't have that kind of patience."
After Orochimaru finished speaking, he turned and left without asking for permission, a wicked smile playing on his lips.
I never expected that!
There was an unexpected surprise.
Then let Araki go with Jiraiya!
This can also bring some special intelligence!
After Orochimaru left, Jiraiya frowned, pondering Orochimaru's words.
Chapter 8 Graduation Exam (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)
The Third Hokage watched Orochimaru's departing figure with a face full of confusion.
Now that Orochimaru has completely left the Hokage's office, only he and Jiraiya remain here.
Who does Orochimaru want?
Jiraiya looked at the Third with a puzzled expression, a whole host of questions popping into his mind. Judging from the Third and Orochimaru's statements, it seemed that he and Orochimaru had both taken a liking to one or more disciples.
Who could it be?
Minato Namikaze?
Jiraiya's first thought was Minato Namikaze, because he was the most outstanding student in the Ninja Academy at the time.
But...
Jiraiya felt that something was wrong.
After all, Minato Namikaze's methods seem to be completely different from Orochimaru's.
Jiraiya knew Orochimaru very well. He knew exactly what kind of person Orochimaru liked. It wasn't enough for him to just be smart; he also had to be incredibly terrifying and have a certain gloomy aura.
In any case, none of this fits with Minato Namikaze.
" Araki."
The Third casually uttered a name, though he himself harbored the same curiosity.
I'm not entirely sure why Jiraiya and Orochimaru were interested in Araki...
This, in turn, made him more curious about the boy!
"I see." Jiraiya nodded, then grinned and said, " Third Lord Hokage, you just heard it too. Orochimaru said he's giving up and will let me have him. He can't go back on his word!"
"Go find Karen Kazahana to ask for help." The Third Hokage waved his hand dismissively, thinking to himself that perhaps he was overthinking things. These two had been competing since childhood, and now they were even competing for disciples.
"Yes!"
Jiraiya's face lit up with joy. Regardless of whether Orochimaru was competing with him, at least one thing was certain: his current success would allow him to take these three people as his disciples.
Jiraiya never became a Jonin instructor because he hadn't met a disciple he liked.
Under such circumstances, it was better not to do it at all, so he never taught any newly graduated Genin.
It wasn't until he met Minato Namikaze that he felt that Minato was the image of a disciple in his mind, so he decided to take Minato Namikaze as his disciple. However, unlike the old man, he didn't like to take unconventional paths. He still acted according to certain rules, even when he was quite carefree later on. He was not the kind of person who broke the rules. Therefore, when he was thinking about disciples, he still felt that he needed to have three candidates.
In other words, besides Minato Namikaze, he also needs to take on two other disciples.
Initially, he thought he should choose from traditional large families in Konoha, such as the Akimichi Clan or Aburame Clan. This way, the chosen disciples would form a bond with Minato Namikaze Minato Namikaze, which would be of great help to him in the future.
But later...
Araki's sudden rise to prominence caught his eye, drawing his attention to the child's existence.
Through some interviews and investigations, Jiraiya learned that Araki always used taijutsu ( Taijutsu ) in battle because he learned Taijutsu from Might Duy, but that does not mean that Araki only knew Taijutsu.
This made Jiraiya feel that Araki might be hiding something to some extent, but he wasn't quite sure to what extent. With this foundation laid, he began to try to understand Araki.