I Am Orochimaru

Except for Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya were just as surprised at first! However, they soon breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The Hiruzen who had been sliced in half gradually lost his original appearance, his body transforming into two lumps of dirt at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Seeing this, Orochimaru's brows furrowed in frustration.

As expected, it was an Earth Clone!

He knew Hiruzen wouldn't be defeated by such a basic ninjutsu, but what puzzled him was when Hiruzen had even cast the clone jutsu.

In memory, Orochimaru had seen many battles where it seemed like the enemy captured was a real person, only for it to turn out to be a clone. However, those battles were part of a story, and such instances were rare in reality. In a real battle, you'd usually notice something wrong if an opponent was a clone.

Did I miss a detail? Orochimaru wondered. Did Hiruzen use the Earth Clone when he first appeared or when he hid his real body somewhere?

"Amazing. You managed to defeat my clone…" Hiruzen's voice came from the nearby woods as he emerged calmly.

Looking at the two Orochimarus his real body and the shadow clone Hiruzen couldn't help but show approval. "Orochimaru, you've really surprised me. Your clones can release ninjutsu too?"

Hiruzen was genuinely impressed. The basic principle of shadow clones was that they equally divided the user's chakra. For an average six-year-old child, having enough chakra to fight and cast jutsu was already impressive let alone having a clone that could cast jutsu without dispelling afterward!

For Orochimaru's clone to release multiple ninjutsu and remain intact was evidence of an unusually high chakra capacity.

"This is nothing," Orochimaru replied with narrowed eyes, "and... it's not over yet!"

Without wasting another moment, Orochimaru dashed forward, channeling wind chakra into his movements. Though wind chakra didn't directly increase a ninja's speed, it could reduce the caster's weight by a special release method, making them faster in a roundabout way.

This was an innate skill Orochimaru had gained, so it wasn't surprising to him. However, given that he was only six years old, the boost in speed wasn't enough to create a lethal threat to Hiruzen neither in terms of speed nor strength.

Fortunately, thanks to the enhancements from the basic genetic serum, Orochimaru's mental fortitude had increased significantly. As he engaged Hiruzen in close combat, his reaction speed was just barely able to keep up with his teacher's swift fists and kicks.

Punch, dodge, kick! Every movement looked precise and skilled.

"Wow… so strong!" Jiraiya, still hanging upside down from the tree, watched in awe. He couldn't even articulate his thoughts properly, his eyes wide as he observed the taijutsu battle between Orochimaru and Hiruzen.

The saying there's no harm in comparison rang true. Watching Orochimaru now, Jiraiya couldn't help but feel embarrassed at his own earlier blunder. He was filled with jealousy, watching Orochimaru's fluid movements, while he himself had been humiliated by such a simple trap.

"He's become much better at taijutsu, hasn't he?" Tsunade, who was hiding in the grass, was also impressed. She had known Orochimaru for a while and could clearly see how much he had improved.

"The strength isn't bad, and the speed isn't slow either!" Hiruzen praised once more as he blocked Orochimaru's punch. "But you can't do it alone"

Before Hiruzen could finish, a loud boom!echoed across the training ground, shaking the air.

Hiruzen quickly parried Orochimaru's attack and did two quick somersaults to dodge the explosion. Before he could react further

"It's now!" a voice whispered from the grass.

Whoosh!

A figure darted out from the grass near Hiruzen, moving swiftly toward him.

Ding, ding!

Two crisp sounds rang out as the bells tied to Hiruzen's waist were snatched away.

"Hehe, Hiruzen-sensei!" Tsunade grinned, standing before him with the two bells in hand.

The battle was over.

"Oh?" Hiruzen was momentarily stunned before bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! Well done! You two worked together perfectly!"

Although Hiruzen had held back significantly during the fight, the fact that two six-year-olds had managed to cooperate so seamlessly and execute such a successful strategy was proof of their exceptional talent.

Especially Orochimaru…

Thinking of this, Hiruzen turned to Orochimaru. "But tell me, Orochimaru, where did you learn these techniques?"

"Yeah, yeah! How did you come up with the idea of attaching the explosive tag to your clone?" Tsunade chimed in, full of admiration.

Earlier, while Orochimaru and Hiruzen were locked in close combat, it had seemed as if Hiruzen had the upper hand. But just as the fight reached its climax, Orochimaru's shadow clone had rushed in. Tsunade had expected it to be destroyed immediately, but to her surprise, it self-destructed instead, using the explosion to create an opening.

The angle of the explosion was perfect, forcing Hiruzen to dodge away right into her path, allowing her to grab the bells.

The precision and planning behind it were undeniable. Without that perfectly timed explosion, they wouldn't have won.

"I just imagined it," Orochimaru replied nonchalantly, not wanting to explain too much.

Though in truth, he had copied Uchiha Itachi's Clone Explosion technique from his previous life's memory, Itachi wasn't even born yet. Technically, Orochimaru wasn't lying.

"Imagined it, huh? Haha! You're quite the genius!" Hiruzen laughed heartily, clearly impressed. "You've just graduated, and you're already using explosive tags so cleverly. Very good, very good!"

Hiruzen was clearly pleased with Orochimaru's talent.

Jiraiya, on the other hand, wasn't having such a good time. He had been tied to the wooden stake, looking pitiful as Tsunade mocked him mercilessly.

Despite it being their first day together, Jiraiya and Tsunade were already bickering. Jiraiya shouted insults like "flat-chested," "airport," and "washboard," while Tsunade fired back with "pervert" and "loser."

Hiruzen, standing to the side, tried to calm things down. "Alright, alright, that's enough. Tsunade, you and Orochimaru head home for now. I'll have a talk with Jiraiya."

Just as Tsunade and Orochimaru turned to leave, Orochimaru suddenly asked, "Teacher, when can we start taking missions?"

Hiruzen blinked, a bit surprised. "There's no rush for that. Today's test is enough for now. We'll discuss missions tomorrow."

"Alright," Orochimaru replied with a nod, turning to leave. Whether it was one day earlier or later didn't make much difference to him.

As they walked away, Tsunade suddenly stopped in her tracks, curious. "Hey, Orochimaru, you seem really eager to start missions. Why?"

"Money."

Tsunade blinked. "Money? Are you short on cash?"

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

"Yes," Orochimaru said bluntly, leaving Tsunade speechless as they continued walking. All Orochimaru could think about was how missions would bring him money, and how money would enable him to fund his experiments. His priorities were crystal clear.

For him, the path forward was simple: make money, do experiments, and grow stronger.