"You seem surprised?"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at the somewhat distracted expression on Uchiha Su's face.
"Of course I'm surprised," Su replied calmly.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he spoke.
However, the smile looked slightly forced.
Tsunade stared at him for a moment before snorting.
"That smile of yours is too fake," she said bluntly.
"Don't smile like that again, or I'm afraid I won't be able to stop myself from punching you in the face."
She clenched her fists slightly as she spoke.
Tsunade wasn't stupid.
She understood exactly what that smile meant.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was firmly part of the Hokage faction.
In other words, a pure-blooded Hokage faction ninja had suddenly taken Uchiha Su, the future leader of the Uchiha clan, as his direct disciple.
That decision carried obvious political implications.
It was impossible for someone as intelligent as Su not to notice it.
"Is he trying to assimilate me?"
"Or is he trying to make the Uchiha clan lower their guard?"
These thoughts flashed through Su's mind one after another.
He did not voice them aloud.
Instead, he simply shrugged and continued walking.
Soon the two of them arrived at a secluded training ground.
Training Ground No. 3
At this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still a young man.
He looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old.
His skin was slightly dark, and his expression carried a calm maturity that was unusual for someone his age.
Standing in front of him were three children.
Su.
Tsunade.
And Orochimaru.
Hiruzen observed them quietly with a gentle smile on his face.
Each of these children was special.
The first was Orochimaru.
A genius among civilian ninjas.
His parents had died while patrolling the border of the Land of Fire, killed by ninjas from another village.
Because of this, Orochimaru had a very clean background.
Hiruzen had been observing this child for quite some time.
Orochimaru's talent was extraordinary.
Even someone like Hiruzen—who had seen countless talented shinobi—could not help but admire the boy's natural ability.
The second child was Tsunade.
The granddaughter of the First Hokage.
Even though the Senju clan had been officially dissolved under Tobirama's policies, everyone in the village still treated Tsunade as a princess.
She had exceptional skill in medical ninjutsu, and her physical strength was terrifying.
Hiruzen suspected that this strength was something she had inherited from Hashirama Senju.
Then there was the third child.
Hiruzen's gaze paused briefly when he looked at Uchiha Su.
Su was the son of Uchiha Taiga, the younger brother of Uchiha Madara.
Taiga had died several years ago, leaving Su behind as his only child.
Because Madara had no descendants of his own, he had publicly declared Su to be the Young Clan Head during a clan meeting.
In other words, Su was already recognized as the future leader of the Uchiha clan.
Hiruzen knew Taiga personally.
They had worked together several times in the past.
However, Taiga had always looked at Hiruzen with a strange expression—almost like someone observing a cunning old fox.
Hiruzen had never fully understood why.
Now, as he looked at Taiga's son standing before him, he couldn't help feeling curious.
These three children represented three different factions within Konoha Village.
Selecting them to form a team had not been easy.
In fact, Hiruzen had even signed a military pledge with the Second Hokage in order to secure them.
Otherwise, they might have been taken by Shimura Danzo, who had been eyeing these talented students for some time.
Hiruzen cleared his throat slightly.
"We are now a team," he said calmly.
"So it would be best if we introduced ourselves first and explained what we are good at."
He smiled warmly.
"As your teacher, I'll start."
"My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi. I will be your team leader from now on."
"I am proficient in many types of elemental ninjutsu."
His tone was calm and reassuring.
The gentle smile on his face gave people the comforting feeling of warm spring sunlight.
Even Su—who always considered Hiruzen a cunning politician—couldn't help admitting that the man possessed remarkable charisma.
"My name is Tsunade!"
Tsunade stepped forward first.
"I specialize in medical ninjutsu!"
She proudly raised her fist while speaking.
"My name is Orochimaru."
Orochimaru spoke next.
"Compared to taijutsu, I am better at ninjutsu."
"My strongest technique at the moment is a C-rank Wind Release technique: Great Breakthrough."
"I am also fairly skilled at shuriken throwing."
He explained his abilities honestly.
Then it was Su's turn.
"My name is Uchiha Su."
"I specialize in Fire Release ninjutsu and throwing techniques."
"I've also been practicing swordsmanship recently."
As he spoke, Su displayed a shy and harmless smile.
In his own opinion, the smile made him look like a simple and innocent child.
Anyone who saw him would probably think the same.
Hiruzen nodded slightly.
"Very good."
"I believe I now have a basic understanding of your abilities."
Then his expression suddenly changed.
The warm smile disappeared.
A serious and somewhat cold expression replaced it.
From his pocket, Hiruzen took out two small bells.
He held them up so the children could see.
The bells jingled softly in the air.
"If there are only two bells…"
Before Hiruzen could finish speaking, Orochimaru suddenly interrupted.
"That means one of us will be eliminated."
Hiruzen looked at him with clear appreciation.
"You are very sharp, Orochimaru."
He nodded slightly.
"Yes."
"Only two of you will become official Genin."
Tsunade swallowed nervously.
"What about the person who fails?" she asked.
Hiruzen answered calmly.
"They will return to the Ninja Academy for retraining."
"If someone cannot pass this test, it proves they are not qualified to become a ninja."
The words sounded harsh.
But none of the three children objected.
They all understood that becoming a ninja meant facing harsh realities.
"This test is called the Bell Test," Hiruzen continued.
"You must take these bells from me."
"You should fight with the determination to kill me if necessary."
He paused briefly.
"Of course, I will only use a Shadow Clone."
"As for the time limit…"
He looked up at the sky.
"You have until sunset."
Immediately after saying that, Hiruzen formed a hand seal.
A Shadow Clone appeared beside him.
Then the original Hiruzen turned toward the clone.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
The clone nodded.
"Understood."
In the next moment, the original body disappeared.
The Shadow Clone remained behind.
From the outside, it looked identical to the real Hiruzen.
The three children quickly gathered together behind a large tree.
"We need to discuss tactics," Orochimaru said calmly.
"The three of us cannot defeat a Jonin, even if it is only a Shadow Clone."
His tone was matter-of-fact.
Tsunade frowned immediately.
"Orochimaru, saying that only lowers our morale!"
"If we cannot defeat Teacher Sarutobi, then how are we supposed to take the bells?"
Su stood quietly beside them.
Watching the two argue, he couldn't help noticing how young they still were.
They were only six or seven years old.
Tsunade especially still behaved like a normal child.
Orochimaru, however, already possessed the calm and analytical mindset that would one day define him as one of the legendary Sannin.
"Su-kun," Orochimaru said suddenly.
"Do you have any ideas?"
Su scratched his head and laughed casually.
"My brain isn't as good as yours."
"Just tell me what to do and I'll follow the plan."
There was not the slightest arrogance in his tone.
Su knew his own strengths.
In terms of combat instinct, he might be stronger than Orochimaru.
But when it came to strategy and planning, Orochimaru was undoubtedly the genius.
Orochimaru nodded slowly.
"Since that's the case…"
"Here is the plan."
He lowered his voice and began explaining the strategy.
Tsunade and Su listened carefully.
However—
They did not realize that someone was secretly listening.
Behind the large tree where they were standing, the ground suddenly shifted slightly.
A human head quietly emerged from the soil.
It was Hiruzen Sarutobi's Shadow Clone.
He was using Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu.
This technique allowed him to move underground while secretly observing his opponents.
For newly graduated academy students, detecting such a technique was nearly impossible.
As Hiruzen listened to Orochimaru's plan, a faint smile appeared on his face.
"A very clever strategy," he thought to himself.
"If they execute this plan successfully…"
"They might actually be able to take the bells."
The more he listened, the more impressed he became.
Orochimaru's talent was truly remarkable.
After hearing the entire plan, Hiruzen slowly sank back into the ground.
His presence disappeared completely.
The real test—
Was about to begin.