As the next battle was announced, Orochimaru and Tsunade turned toward each other with identical looks of surprise.
Hiruzen turned slightly and looked at them. "Do you want me to take you two down there-"
"No." She cut him off instantly. "I don't need anyone escorting me."
'If she doesn't want it, then I have to walk...' Orochimaru thought in slight disappointment. While he did want to be flickered down there, doing so while his teammate doesn't is a bit mean.
"Alright then."
The two of them leapt from the balcony with clean, practiced motion, disappearing into the treeline as they made their way down. Leaving behind only Hiruzen and one very much relieved Jiraiya.
The Hokage exhaled, hands sliding behind his robes. "While we have a moment… that was impressive, Jiraiya. Your use of clones was impressive. Even a ninjutsu you've never shown me!" He says with a smirk.
'Thankfully, I thought of a rebuttal to this.' Jiraiya thought a little embarrassed.
"I wanted to impress you in the battle, sensei. Were you impressed? I made my own ninjutsu a while prior and practiced it." Jiraiya answered, putting the question back at Hiruzen.
He knew damn well the original idea came from Shisui Uchiha's future technique, but since Shisui didn't exist right now…
Did that make him the inventor?
Technically?
At the end of the day, it's not like anyone can say he stole it. Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, but not in disapproval, more like curiosity. "Tell me, Jiraiya… are you planning to register this ninjutsu with the village?"
Jiraiya paused.
"Hm…" He looked to the side, thinking for a moment before exhaling through his nose. "…No."
Hiruzen let out a soft, amused, "Ho?"
Jiraiya lifted his hands as if in a mock surrender. "Maybe I'll make other ninjutsu for the village later. But this one? I kinda want to keep it for myself, y'know? If I ever have kids, it'd be a good trick to pass down, being quite simple but unique."
He fully meant the words he said.
Being in a world without any entertainment and Jiraiya was not going to be playing shogi as a hobby anytime soon. Spent most of his time training, doing solo D-rank missions, and cooking.
Such thoughts, like contemplating if he had children, what he would do, did cross his mind.
Jiraiya knows not every kid/grandkid inherits their parents' talent.
People such as Asuma or Konohamaru were Jounin at their adult stages and were amazing, but paled in comparison to Hiruzen. While they just became a high rank, at that age, their father/grandfather was the Hokage.
It was a stark contrast in talent that couldn't be shaken off.
'The only way I could potentially set off my future kids would maybe be a legendary weapon that makes any normal Chunin a Jounin. Like that guy who stole the Sword of the Thunder God.' Jiraiya thought.
While he did feel weirded out thinking of the future, sometimes you can't help it.
Hiruzen stared at him for a moment, then smiled knowingly. Of course, he already knew that his student had such a technique, as he had eyes everywhere, especially since Jiraiya is his student.
There was no way he was going to hide such a thing.
"A fair answer. On that note."
Then he made a tiny, subtle motion with his fingers.
Jiraiya blinked. "Uh… sensei? What was that?"
"To keep prying ears away, if you want the technique to be private, then this is the most appropriate." Hiruzen answers, showing some respect.
'Anbu?' Jiraiya thought, curious.
'This brat keeps surprising me every day. Making two ninjutsu at the age of seven... His talents at taijutsu and his battle IQ are surprisingly high. Is it just his normal IQ?' Hiruzen thought, amused.
Maybe he had to change how the academy marked its future students.
The thought of another Jiraiya not becoming a shinobi was alarming to Hiruzen.
With the two getting some sort of privacy now, Hiruzen continued, tone upbeat but analytical. "Your Body Flicker application was interesting, using speed to create afterimages while layering normal clones when you aren't there. You have the choice to move around these clones, thus creating the illusion of you being everywhere but anywhere."
It was like a nerd talking about his interest in a thorough manner. Jiraiya, who was listening to his sensei, just mindlessly nodded as it was just things he already knew.
Though his sensei knew how his ninjutsu worked just from watching was still impressive and scary.
"It's simply astounding! If you ever get attacked, you can move to another afterimage. Then, after they miss, you can return and attack them. Making it seem like you're in every clone, but never the one they attack!"
Jiraiya slowly moved his head towards the battle field as his sensei kept on rambling more.
It didn't take long before both Orochimaru and Tsunade were in position.
'This is going to be good.'
The roar from Jiraiya's victory hadn't fully faded when the arena shifted again, momentum rolling seamlessly into the next spectacle.
The terrain remained unchanged with its dense greenery around the rim, scattered trees closer to the center, packed earth marked with footprints, and some char on the floor.
"Senju Princess!"
"Go, Lady Tsunade!"
To no one's surprise, the audience was fully on Tsunade's side. Being the granddaughter of Hashirama fucking Senju, it made sense. With most of the senju clan starting to integrate and get rid of their last names.
Most, if not all, clans besides the Uchiha were unconditionally supporting her.
Tsunade rolled her shoulders, with a wide grin fully showing. Confidence radiated from her gold eyes.
Across from her, Orochimaru stood with the unsettling stillness of a patient predator. Hands low. Posture loose.
They exchanged a brief glance.
'I won't lose this.' They both thought in sync.
The proctor raised his hand and got ready to signal the beginning of the second match of the Chunin exams. "Begin!"
Tsunade didn't wait any longer, making the first move.
Tiger
[Body Flicker]
Her body blurred backward, dust kicking up as distance opened. Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, arm snapping forward.
*Swoosh!*
Three kunai sliced through the air as they passed harmlessly through Tsunade's former spot. Orochimaru, who saw this, scanned the immediate vicinity and spotted her a few tens of meters to the right.
Tsunade, who had already planted her feet, flashed some hand signs.
Dragon → Tiger → Hare
[Wild Water Wave]
A roaring surge of water erupted from her mouth, sweeping across the field like a crashing wall. Unlike any other time, like on mission or training in the grounds, she pumped a but load of chakra, causing a tsunami-like effect.
The wave being just four meters tall and multiple times wide, heading straight for her teammate.
People in the stands gasped.
Orochimaru didn't flinch. His hands moved in a smooth, practiced chain that was faster than Tsunade's own hand seal speed.
Dog → Snake → Rat
[Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique]
He dropped straight into the ground, swallowed whole by the earth just as the wave smashed over the arena floor. Water spread across the dirt, soaking everything.
Tsunade scanned the now-empty field. A beat passed.
'He went under. Then I can use the new ninjutsu sensei taught me...'
Snake
[Earth Release: Bottomless Swamp]
The saturated ground around her softened instantly, the earth turning muddy and unstable. The surface sagged and shifted like something alive.
Underground, Orochimaru felt the tug at his limbs.
'I can't let her get close or too far... This is quite troublesome; hopefully she lets her guard down.' Orochimaru thought, banking at his shurikenjutsu to win this battle.
He halted his forward motion, palms slapping together as he forced out a new set of seals.
Dog → Rat
[Transparent Escape Technique]
His body started to become transparent as he slipped upward through a less affected patch of ground. In the hopes of potentially being able to sneak by.
He emerged silently, invisible, taking a shallow breath as he moved in a wide arc around the arena's left side.
Tsunade's eyes tracked the muddy field again.
A faint puff of mud made a noise which unfortunately showed his hiding spot. Tsunade didn't hesitate and trusted her gut.
Ram → Horse → Dragon
[Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet]
The ground reared upward as a dragon-shaped mass of mud surged forward, its maw launching a barrage of hardened mud projectiles. This was only possible due to the initial set up of a large amount of mud from Tsunade's water ninjutsu.
Making the dragon over triple her small stature.
*THP-THP-THP-THP-THP*
Orochimaru barely had time to shift.
Two mud rounds clipped him, one smashing against his shin, the other slamming into his side.
"-ghk!"
His cloak shattered instantly, which alerted his opponent, while the crowd erupted at the reveal of such a trick.
"There he is!"
"She clipped him!"
"He thought he could hide from the princess of Konoha!"
Tsunade didn't pause as she looked on with more vigour, making the earth dragon shoot off even more mud bullets. Orochimaru, who saw this, got a serious look and proceeded to make a hand sign.
Tiger
[Body Flicker]
This created the gap he needed to be able to hit back at Tsunade with a ninjutsu of his own. Tsunade, on the other hand, seeing him disappear and change locations, was forced to create another earth dragon.
Tiger → Ox → Dog → Rabbit → Snake
[Wind Release: Great Breakthrough]
A wild gust of wind left Orochimaru's mouth. As it expanded further, the power of the gust of wind increased. Meeting in the middle, hitting the mud bullets which were dismantled and sent flying back to Tsunade.
This made a short little mud rain.
'That won't work...' Tsunade thought of changing her tactics.
Orochimaru, seeing her start to make some hand seals, had a glint in his eyes. Pulling out a kunai and a multitude of shuriken from his pouch, he first threw the kunai, which had an explosive tag on it.
*Swoosh*
Tsunade, being observant, didn't ignore the kunai and returned one of her own, completely stopping her own hand seals.
The two weapons impact each other a bit closer to Tsunade due to Orochimaru throwing his weapon first. With this, the future snake sannin made a rat hand sign.
*BOOM!*
Orochimaru, with no hesitation, used both his hands to throw shuriken.
Ox → Dog → Dragon → Rat → Dog → Boar → Snake → Tiger
[Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique]
In mid-air, the five multiplied into dozens.
The audience gasped as the metal rain fanned out toward Tsunade but due to the smoke cloud, she wasn't able to see many of them until the last moment.
She pushed off the ground, weaving through the barrage with sharp, precise footwork. Most blades cut through only air, but one clipped her cheek.
A thin line of red appeared as she weaved seals of her own.
Boar → Ox
[Earth Release: Earthquake Slam]
Tsunade slammed both palms onto the ground.
*CRACK!*
The earth beneath Orochimaru split, shifting violently as a localized tremor rocked the field. The mud already beneath his feet turned into a slipping hazard which further made the situation dangerous.
He toppled sideways, bracing with one hand but unable to fully stop the fall.
'This mud...' His jaw tightened as he tried to rise.
Tsunade reached up with two fingers, touching the cut on her cheek.
'Poison?'
She didn't think anymore, already expecting that she was poisoned in some sort of way, and she had to end this battle quickly. Without any shred of hesitation, she closed the distance with a serious look.
Tiger.
[Body Flicker]
She shot forward, aiming to finish the fight before anything could spread through her system.
Orochimaru, half on the ground, saw her closing in.
Her fist swung down.
[Chakra Strength]
Orochimaru's eyes widened as he rolled hard to the right, dirt scraping his arms.
The floor fractured under her punch, a crater exploding outward. Shockwaves rippled wotj the audience speechless with disbelief written all over their faces. What little girl do you know that could make a crater like that?
As Tsunade turned to follow, Orochimaru reached out, fingers extended straight toward her face. A burst of white light snapped like a camera flash.
[Ball of Light Technique]
"-gh!"
Tsunade recoiled, eyes slamming shut as the world went blank.
Her balance wavered as soon after this, her body froze. Muscles locked as she could move any longer, the poison now stopping any movement. Losing the match.
The arena went silent for a half-second as Orochimaru stood up.
"The match is over!"
The proctor flickered beside her, hand raised.
"Tsunade is unable to continue. The winner of the quarter-finals… Orochimaru!"
----
[A/N: I'm not gonna lie, I already gave each of them their move sets beforehand. So even the flash thing was not something I thought he would use. But it does check out as it's an actual ninjutsu used by Yamato in a filler arc and in an episode.
I just gave Orochimaru some random filler ninjutsu which were mostly auxiliary. With the elemental ninjutsu being from Hiruzen.
I would personally say that Orochimaru would win handily if they fought a year later at 8-9, like I would guess they would have done in canon. With higher reserves and more ninjutsu learned and such.
This battle may seem a little bit skewed, but I assure y'all Tsunade is actually a competent fighter. You don't become a war commander randomly, especially with her single-handedly keeping Suna at bay in the second shinobi war.
On a different topic, I realise after my exam that I'm slowly burning out, mostly due to, ya know, writing 64k words in a month, which is close to a chapter a day. So I might put this on hiatus for a little bit, maybe make another fic to let my mind wander.
I'm very invested in this fanfic due to wanting to write one for years, but I don't want to drop it due to burnout, like a past Pokémon fanfic I made, losing interest due to just pumping out chapters.
I actually don't know how some authors or fanfic writers make daily chapters]