“I never thought the day would come when I’d be leading a team.” Orochimaru pushed open the classroom door and swept his gaze across the students and the instructors who had just arrived.
The cold aura surrounding him was like a venomous serpent, sending chills down everyone’s spine.
“It’s Orochimaru-sama!
I never expected to see you here.” Minato turned around in surprise.
The last person he’d expected to see as a jonin instructor was Orochimaru.
He immediately bowed respectfully.
“I’ll be entrusting these students to you.” After all, Orochimaru was Minato’s senior and a legendary shinobi.
The Third Great shinobi War had not yet fully unfolded, so in both reputation and prestige, Minato was still far behind him.
At present, there were only two serious candidates for the position of Hokage.
The first was Orochimaru.
The second was Hatake Sakumo.
That alone showed just how highly Orochimaru was regarded throughout Konoha.
“So it’s Minato.
Just got back from the battlefield?
And now you’re taking on students too.
You’ve been busy.” At this point in time, Orochimaru hadn’t yet become the unsettling man who constantly flicked out his tongue.
Even so, the cold, oppressive feeling he exuded left the students frozen where they stood.
“So…
it’s Orochimaru…” Behind his black robe, Muzan’s crimson eyes darkened.
The worst possible outcome had arrived.
If there was anyone in Konoha he was truly wary of, it was undoubtedly the man standing before him.
A scientist to the core, Orochimaru would commit unimaginable atrocities if they furthered his research.
“Wah!
Orochimaru-sama is going to train us?” Anko was by far the happiest of the three.
She had never imagined that her jonin instructor would be one of the Legendary Sannin.
Besides Anko, there was another boy named Ito Mari.
He was painfully timid, and from the look of him, his future training was going to be miserable.
“I-I-It’s an honor to m-meet you, Orochimaru-sama…” Not only did he stutter, but his voice was so quiet that anyone who wasn’t a shinobi would have instinctively missed it.
“Hm.” To Anko and Mari’s disappointment, Orochimaru merely glanced at them before losing interest.
Walking past Minato, he stopped in front of Kakashi and then turned his attention to his future student.
“The sons of Hatake Sakumo…
both are Konoha’s newest prodigies.
As for the one known as Konoha’s youngest medical shinobi, I’ll be taking charge of his training.” Orochimaru stepped close to Muzan before lowering his head.
His snake-like eyes locked onto Muzan’s, carrying the overwhelming pressure of a predator bearing down on its prey.
To his surprise, however, Muzan didn’t retreat.
Instead, he stepped forward and met that pressure head-on.
“Excellent.
You have the qualities needed to become truly strong.” “As for you two…” “You’ve disappointed me.” He offered his praise without hesitation, finding himself increasingly satisfied with Muzan.
As for Anko and Mari, they were nothing more than ordinary students Konoha had stuffed into the squad to build “team bonds.” “The training you’ll receive from now on won’t be the childish games you played at the Academy.” “Prepare yourselves for death.” Orochimaru still had plenty of work waiting for him, so he didn’t remain at the Academy for long.
He simply ordered the three of them to report to the Forest of Death the following morning for their first training session before turning to leave.
After he was gone, Mari let out a long breath, still shaken.
For a moment, he’d genuinely believed he was going to die.
If Muzan hadn’t stood up against Orochimaru’s killing intent, he would have fared even worse.
Thinking of that, he looked gratefully toward the calm figure beside him.
“Thank you, Muzan.” Beneath the black robe, Muzan’s crimson eyes quietly studied his teammates.
It seemed Orochimaru’s interest in him stemmed primarily from his talent.
At present, only his father and Kakashi knew about his Blood Demon Art and Bloodline Limit.
Orochimaru wasn’t particularly interested in ordinary kekkei genkai anyway.
His lifelong obsession lay with the Uchiha clan’s Sharingan and Hashirama’s cells.
As long as he remained careful, Orochimaru might never discover the truth.
“You don’t need to thank me.” “That pressure was aimed at me in the first place.
You two were simply caught up in it.” As for his teammates…
In the future, Anko would receive Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal.
Perhaps the seeds of that fate had already been planted today.
As for Mari…
If he didn’t change that timid personality, he would almost certainly die once he reached the battlefield.
“I have to admit, I’m a little jealous of Kakashi.” “With Minato-sama as his teacher, his future is in your hands.” “My father is away on missions, so I’m the only one left at home to keep an eye on Kakashi.” “It’s honestly exhausting.” “Damn it, Muzan!
You’re only a few minutes older than me!” Compared to the cold and merciless Orochimaru, Minato radiated warmth like the sun itself.
The reason he would eventually surpass Orochimaru in the race to become Hokage wasn’t because of strength alone, it was because of his personality.
His gentle nature naturally drew people toward him.
“Hahaha.” Minato looked at the boy before him.
Compared to Kakashi, Muzan was even more gifted.
There was also a maturity about him far beyond his years.
“You don’t need to envy Kakashi.” “Orochimaru-sama’s abilities are beyond question.
Having him as your teacher will be an incredible advantage for your future.” “But…” “The training given by one of the Sannin is extremely demanding.” “You should prepare yourselves.” He spoke from experience.
As Jiraiya’s student, he’d been put through countless brutal training sessions on Mount Myoboku, all while carrying enormous expectations and pushing himself to master the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Knowing Orochimaru’s personality, Minato couldn’t help giving the three children a sympathetic look.
“Thank you for the advice, Minato-sama.” With that, Minato led Kakashi and his team out of the classroom.
Only the three of them remained.
Mari cautiously peeked at Muzan.
For some reason, he instinctively feared the figure hidden beneath the black robe and unconsciously hid behind Anko.
“You’re way too timid, Mari.” “Muzan is our teammate.” “B-But…” “Everyone at the Academy keeps talking about him…” He stammered, unable to explain himself.
It wasn’t just Muzan’s intimidating presence.
There were also all the rumors that had spread through the Academy over the years.
“So I’ve really left that kind of impression on all of you.” “I’m sorry.” Muzan pulled back his black robe, revealing a pale, flawless face.
In that instant, an almost supernatural beauty surrounded him.
After seeing it, Anko suddenly felt like the dango in her hand wasn’t nearly as appealing anymore.
“This should make things a little better.” “I’m sorry for always wearing the robe.” “It’s because of my skin condition.” “I can’t be exposed to sunlight.” “So…
I’ll be counting on the two of you to protect me.” “After all, I’m a medical shinobi.” “I’m not very good at fighting.” Only Mari believed a single word of that.
Who was he kidding?
Everyone still remembered the Academy graduation exam, where Muzan had completely overwhelmed a genin.
There was no way Anko would believe someone that strong was bad at fighting.
“I don’t believe you for a second.” “But if you buy me dango…” “I’ll help protect you a little more during missions.” Anko was a straightforward combat shinobi.
Together with the sensory shinobi Mari…
And the medical shinobi Muzan…
They formed a textbook three-man shinobi squad.