Orochimaru led Maji towards the Academy.
After making various "unequal promises," such as swearing to pick her up immediately after school, he finally managed to send her inside.
Orochimaru smiled knowingly, seeing the little Maji turn back to look at him with a pouty, mournful expression every few steps.
Just as he told the old monk, Orochimaru did not intend for his sister to become a ninja. After all, the Second Great Shinobi War was due to start in just a few years. When that happened, many ninjas were sure to die. If Maji also went to the battlefield, Orochimaru couldn't guarantee he would be able to protect her.
Moreover, in his view, the path of a ninja was a profession filled with ruthlessness and inevitable grief. He didn't want this little sprite, who had suffered misfortune since childhood, to follow his path! Orochimaru had fully embraced this little sprite as his blood relative. If grief was destined to be experienced, then he alone was enough!
Putting his turbulent thoughts aside, Orochimaru performed the hand signs for the Shadow Clone Jutsu, summoned a clone to attend the Ninja Academy, and then headed into the Konoha forest with Yamata. The Second Great War was approaching, and he had to seize every moment to improve himself. History was constantly being changed; he needed not only to survive but to live brilliantly!
The "Orochimaru" clone arrived at the Ninja Academy, where many children had already gathered. He walked into the Graduation Class 1 classroom, and, just as usual, immediately caused a sensation!
"Wow, Orochi-kun is here!"
"Oh! Orochi-kun is even handsomer!"
"Yes, yes. Orochi-kun is so handsome and so smart. How wonderful it would be to be his wife someday!"
"Tch, with you? Stop dreaming!"
"You're the one dreaming, hmph!"
...
"Orochimaru" frowned slightly, a little annoyed by the noise from these infatuated girls. However, he didn't show the slightest displeasure on the surface. With his handsome, indifferent expression and a faint smile playing on his lips, he was like a rose with thorns—though everyone knew he had thorns, countless people still loved him madly.
Jiraiya, with his white hair, pouted and looked around at the girls with contempt. He let out a loud "Hmph!" before calling out to Orochimaru: "Orochimaru, hurry, sit here!"
"Orochimaru" glanced at Jiraiya and walked straight toward the seat next to him, naturally having to navigate the "heavy encirclement" formed by the girls in the class.
When "Orochimaru" sat down, Jiraiya looked at his friend with a look of melancholy, complaining sourly, "I really don't get what those girls like about you. Is it just that your skin is a bit paler than mine? Please, that's practically white, alright!"
"Is it just that you're a bit taller than me? You're a six-year-old kid; I don't know how you got taller than a ten-year-old! I have handsome, beautiful white hair too!"
"Ugh, why doesn't anyone appreciate me?"
As he spoke, Jiraiya flirtatiously and narcissistically tossed his head of "beautiful hair" in front of "Orochimaru."
Having lived two lifetimes, "Orochimaru" understood this live-wire's personality perfectly. He ignored the pointless rambling, leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and began sensing and refining chakra.
Jiraiya talked to himself for a while. When he saw that "Orochimaru" wasn't responding, he gradually lost interest. He turned to look at his friend, and a trace of admiration and respect flashed involuntarily in his eyes.
Jiraiya, who also came from an extraordinary background. He could clearly sense "Orochimaru's" current state. He understood better than anyone that his friend possessed not only supernatural talent but also an extraordinary capacity for effort—that was the quality he valued and respected the most.
As time slowly passed, the students gradually arrived.
"Click—"
The classroom door was pushed open, and Mikawa, wearing a moss-green ninja vest, walked in. Seeing the room in an uproar, he sighed helplessly and clapped his hands: "Clap, clap, clap. Alright, children, class is starting!"
The classroom quickly quieted down. "Orochimaru" also stopped his training and opened his eyes.
Mikawa habitually scanned "Orochimaru," the most outstanding student in the entire Academy.
"Hmm?" Mikawa noticed something unusual. As a Special Jōnin, he couldn't help but carefully sense "Orochimaru's" condition.
After about a breath, Mikawa couldn't help but let out a wry smile, though his eyes were full of deep surprise and admiration: "This child really gives me too many surprises! He's using a Shadow Clone to attend class. What an incredible young man!"
Mikawa simply chose to ignore "Orochimaru." After all, the Academy had no regulations against this behavior. Who could have imagined that a Genin-level student would learn a Forbidden Technique that even some Chūnin and Special Jōnin couldn't master?
Mikawa faced the Class 1 students and said with a smile, "In one month, we will have the long-awaited Ninja Academy Graduation Exam. Everyone must train hard this month and strive to pass the exam and become excellent Genin!"
As soon as Mikawa finished speaking, the classroom immediately erupted. Every child was excited. Ninjas were the heroes they had admired since childhood, and the thought that they would soon become ninjas made everyone's hearts surge with emotion.
Where there is joy, there is naturally worry.
Jiraiya lay on his desk with a miserable look. The thought of his poor theoretical scores and the miserable return home if he didn't get his ninja headband—he couldn't imagine what kind of "cruel" punishment awaited him.
"Orochimaru" knew exactly what Jiraiya was calculating. He said calmly, "Why are you pretending? The village values a ninja's combat ability the most. As long as you perform well on the few jutsus you draw, you'll definitely pass."
"Really?" Jiraiya looked at "Orochimaru" in disbelief, then asked suspiciously, "How do you know more about this than I do?"
"Isn't that normal?" "Orochimaru" maintained his indifferent expression, but the smile on his lips widened slightly, unnoticed by others.
Jiraiya was left speechless.
This period was Physical Education. After announcing the graduation exam date, Mikawa led the whole class to the training grounds for physical fitness and weapon throwing practice.
As soon as they entered the small Ninja Academy training grounds, a figure that deeply impressed "Orochimaru" appeared before him.
That head of silver-white hair, different from Jiraiya's, clearly indicated the child's identity—a member of Konoha's Hatake clan. Given the rare population of the Hatake clan, "Orochimaru" could think of no one else besides the future White Fang of Konoha who would be studying at the Academy during this period.
The silver-haired child was one year younger than Orochimaru. He wore an expression of cold seriousness, even more solemn than Orochimaru's. He was like a block of ice, difficult to approach.
At that moment, he was practicing kunai throwing on the other side of the field under the guidance of another instructor.
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