The office was silent.
Hiruzen turned around, clearing his dry throat.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the dead silence.
"Speak up." He twirled the pipe in his hand, a few specks of ash falling. "What do you think of that live combat assessment just now… how was it?"
His gaze swept over the three people in front of him.
Jiraiya was the first to bounce up.
His hedgehog-like white hair was practically exploding, and his face still held an astonished expression.
He rushed to the desk, hands pressed against the edge, excitement overflowing.
"My god!" Jiraiya blurted out, then lowered his voice slightly, but was still agitated. "That blonde kid! He's amazing!"
He spoke rapidly: "That blonde kid, he's as fast as the wind! Clones, Kawarimi no Jutsu, tactical coordination, it was all seamless! Clean and precise! His willpower is terrifyingly strong, he got knocked flying and still charged back in! His combat awareness is superb, every move aimed at a weakness! This… he's definitely a top genius! Only a third-year? He's already much stronger than a typical genin!"
Changing the subject, Jiraiya suddenly turned his head to look at the blonde figure beside him—Tsunade, his tone carrying a clear sense of lingering fear. "As for that redhead! Tsunade! You know best about beating people up! You tell me! Was that a fight? It was practically dismantling parts! Every punch and kick was brutally vicious! Pure savagery!"
Tsunade was standing with her arms crossed, leaning against the bookshelf, her brows tightly furrowed.
Every fierce, dull strike from Ryo in the crystal ball seemed to pound at the heart of her, a taijutsu master.
"A monster." Tsunade spat out two words, like stones hitting the ground.
She unconsciously stroked her smooth chin, as if savoring that power. "Is his name Ryo? Nawaki mentioned this kid to me before… Hmph, finally got to see him."
"His timing was as precise as if he'd calculated every step of that blonde kid!" Tsunade's eyes gleamed, like she was dissecting a perfect specimen. "Force generation, muscles, joints, power transmission… terrifyingly smooth! Frighteningly efficient! He's practically a living textbook for taijutsu! At least top-tier chunin level."
"His true level? He didn't even show it. It ended too quickly… that kid, he didn't even use his full strength? Or was he in a hurry?" Her lips curved upwards, with the excitement of discovering new prey. "I really want to measure his depth with my fists!"
The Third Hokage "hmm-ed" and turned to the effeminate, pale-faced young man beside him. "Orochimaru, you speak."
Orochimaru tilted his head slightly.
In his early twenties, the sharpness of youth had not yet faded, but in his golden vertical pupils, a steady yet sharp wisdom already flickered.
"Tsunade and Jiraiya," Orochimaru began, "what they said… is all correct."
He paused, a subtle curve appearing on his lips for a moment. "The blonde one, a genius. The blonde one, a genius. His character, talent, a flawless gem."
His tone suddenly shifted, his golden vertical pupils precisely looking at the spot where the crystal ball had extinguished, as if piercing through the wall to the oak tree on the training ground. "The redhead? His power… is eerily pure. Pure, violent aesthetics."
His snake eyes turned to the Third Hokage, with a sense of seeing through everything. "Sensei. You specifically called the three of us to watch this… performance. What is your intention?" Orochimaru leaned forward slightly, his posture respectful, his question cutting to the core. "Two astonishingly brilliant geniuses?"
Hiruzen's eyes flickered.
He didn't answer immediately, instead picking up his pipe and slowly filling it with fresh tobacco.
He lit it, took a deep puff, then exhaled thick smoke.
Amidst the swirling smoke, Hiruzen's voice was low and decisive. "The three of you," his gaze swept over Jiraiya and Tsunade, lingering slightly on Orochimaru, "are elite jonin, pillars of the village." His tone carried pride, and also an invisible urging.
"These past few years, ever since you graduated," the pipe in his hand tapped the air, "those two… are the most dazzling! You all saw Minato's talent. Ryo… his actions are wild, but his power is genuine. Both are future pillars of the village."
Hiruzen's speaking pace slowed, each word clear and powerful. "Konoha's strength relies on succession. The Will of Fire relies on you to pass it down. I am old…"
He flicked the ash, his tone becoming a command, allowing no room for doubt. "You… should consider taking on disciples! Pass down your skills, your paths! Which of you will take these two?"
This sentence exploded like a bomb in the silent office.
Hiruzen's meaning was laid bare—to firmly bind these two immensely potential newcomers to the Hokage lineage's ship through the master-disciple relationship!
Jiraiya was still savoring the battle, regretting Minato's defeat, and his eyes almost popped out when he heard this.
Tsunade's arm-crossing posture remained unchanged, a thoughtful look in her eyes.
Orochimaru's face instantly froze, his golden snake pupils narrowing into a cold line, and the temperature in the office seemed to drop sharply.
"Take… a disciple?" he repeated softly, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.
Hiruzen's heart sank sharply.
Orochimaru's mind was currently filled with forbidden jutsu, the origin of chakra, and the ultimate mysteries of the human body.
These things sucked away all his energy and curiosity like a black hole.
Playing house with children?
A waste of life. It would severely slow down his pursuit of ultimate truth!
"Forgive me, Sensei." Orochimaru bowed slightly. "Currently," his choice of words was cold, "I have no interest in this kind of… enlightenment education. My energy needs to be used in more valuable places."
The subtext was loud and clear: I have no time for so-called geniuses.
Besides, who isn't a genius?
A hint of disappointment flashed in Hiruzen's eyes; he had somewhat expected Orochimaru's refusal.
So he turned his gaze to the remaining two—Jiraiya, Tsunade.
Jiraiya scratched his head, looked at Hiruzen, then glanced at the spot where the crystal ball had disappeared, his mind a mess.
Take Minato? This kid's talent is top-notch, teaching him shouldn't be too difficult? A bit stubborn, but quite suited to his own ninjutsu path.
As for Ryo… Jiraiya shivered, subconsciously rubbing his arms.
His own style involved summoning animals, various strange techniques. Pure taijutsu head-on?
Thinking about Ryo's bone-crushing fists… if he were to teach Ryo his own ninjutsu, he'd drone on for ages, and that redhead would get annoyed and swat him away.
Tsk! No way! Too hardcore! Can't handle it!
"That redhead!" A clear, powerful voice suddenly broke the silence. Tsunade suddenly spoke, her chin raised, her lips curved. "Ryo, I'll take him!"
She stood ramrod straight, her chest rising and falling, her sharp gaze sweeping over Jiraiya's bewildered face. "As for that blonde kid Minato…"
She pointed casually at Jiraiya, with a hint of you're getting off easy. "He's yours, Jiraiya!"
A few days ago, if Grandma Mito hadn't mentioned this redhead Ryo, whom Kushina was particularly concerned about yet couldn't handle.
With her trouble-averse personality?
She probably would have just said "get lost" like Orochimaru!
Jiraiya, being named and assigned, felt like he'd been hit by a blunt object.
Then his expression changed several times: from "Me again?" with a sense of grievance, to "Maybe it's not so bad?" with resignation, and finally his shoulders slumped.
"Huh?… Oh!" Jiraiya haphazardly scratched his white hair, trying to look serious as he faced the Third Hokage, but the effect was clumsy.
"Alright, Sensei," he nodded. "The blonde kid Minato! I'll take him!" He instinctively obeyed his Sensei's command.
Thinking calmly, Ryo's violent demolition style was indeed more suitable for Tsunade, who also enjoyed violence, to handle.
Taking on the blonde Minato… hmm, should be less trouble?
Hiruzen watched as things settled, the tense string in his heart finally loosening significantly.
It's done! Even smoother than expected!
Tsunade's proactive move solved his biggest worry—Danzo!
No matter how long that guy's arm was, he wouldn't be able to reach into the sphere of influence of "Tsunade's disciple"!
"Good!"
The pipe thumped heavily on the desk with a "thud"!
"This matter," Hiruzen's gaze swept over Tsunade and Jiraiya, "is entrusted to the two of you! Tsunade. Jiraiya."
"You two go and contact and assess them privately, then give me the results."
(To be continued.)
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