Konoha Combat Hall.
This place was usually only opened for Chunin Exam finals or extremely important village martial demonstrations. On normal days it stood empty, but today was different—today, many jonin without missions had come to watch.
They wanted to see what kind of brat could take down an entire Cloud ninja squad!
That was a Cloud squad with a jonin!
Their gazes all focused on the three somewhat slender figures in the center of the arena.
"All this fuss for three brats?"
"I heard that kid called Sawada Hiroki took down an entire Cloud squad by himself. Wonder if that's true or false."
"Definitely false! I even heard a jonin died—how's that possible!"
"Hmph, probably greatly exaggerated. Children who haven't even graduated from the academy—how capable could they be? The Third is really making a mountain out of a molehill this time."
Doubtful, scrutinizing, and curious murmurs buzzed through the hall like invisible pressure weighing down on the three.
On the highest observation platform, Sarutobi Hiruzen held his pipe, expression calm.
In the shadows beside him, Shimura Danzo squinted at Sarutobi:
"Hiruzen, you've made too big a scene. It's just a simple test—no need for everyone to come watch."
"Danzo, he's a hero who saved his comrades. Heroes should stand in the sunlight, Danzo," Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring. "Konoha needs new hope, and the villagers need to see that hope."
Is that really it? Danzo stared into Sarutobi's eyes and scoffed.
Impossible.
Putting them on display for so many to watch was just another test for him!
With so many watching, naturally more ninja would learn his information. That way, even Danzo himself wouldn't find it so easy to recruit them into Root.
Adding considerable obstacles to what he wanted to do!
"Hope?" Danzo snorted coldly. "I only see three unstable factors. Especially that Sawada Hiroki—his abilities must be strictly controlled."
Sarutobi didn't argue further, only shifting his gaze to another corner.
There, another figure was equally eye-catching.
"What nonsense!" Tsunade crossed her arms, muttering impatiently but quietly. "Sensei's too soft-hearted! For some brat of unknown background, he's pushing the future Nine-Tails container into this spotlight!"
She was among the first to know Kushina would become the future Nine-Tails jinchuriki. This was naturally because Uzumaki Mito was her grandmother.
Because of this, Tsunade held complicated feelings toward Kushina, even harboring a trace of hostility—once the girl inherited the Nine-Tails, her grandmother would die as a result.
As for Sawada Hiroki, she thought it even more ridiculous.
A ten-year-old child—even if strong, how strong could he be? Yet they insisted on conducting this time-consuming public assessment. Who knew what they could even test.
Thinking this, she thought of that unreliable guy Jiraiya.
That guy had apparently already scouted three students from the academy in advance. Absolute nonsense.
Tsunade glanced at the blonde child in the arena and huffed internally: "Jiraiya, that idiot."
But regardless, she wanted to see what these three children Sarutobi-sensei selected were capable of.
Suddenly, all murmuring in the combat hall ceased abruptly.
With a loud "BANG" and a cloud of white smoke, a figure appeared in a flamboyant pose at the arena's center, standing opposite the three.
"Yo! Brats, ready to receive personal guidance from the legendary wandering sage, future world's number one writer, the great Jiraiya-sama!"
The newcomer had long white hair, a forehead protector marked with the character "Oil," two red marks below his eyes, and was grinning widely showing white teeth. His smile seemed somewhat improper, but his eyes held a sharp, assessing glint.
Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya?!" Tsunade's expression darkened instantly. "That idiot didn't come because he went to be an examiner? What is sensei thinking!"
Even if his students were down there, personally participating was going too far!
And even if they beat Jiraiya, everyone would definitely think it was because of connections and going easy!
This was ridiculous!
Tsunade's brows knitted tightly as she looked toward the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, wanting to know why sensei would do this!
...
Jiraiya planted his hands on his hips and produced two bells, dangling them between his fingers with clear ringing sounds. His voice was loud and full of vigor.
"Normal assessments, you've probably heard about this bell-snatching test more or less. Only two of three people can successfully pass, and one gets sent back to the ninja academy for further study."
Unlike other examiners, he didn't lecture, only slowly sweeping those sharp eyes over the three. Finally, his gaze lingered on Minato a moment longer.
"However, for you all—students personally selected by Sarutobi-sensei to graduate from the academy—even if you fail, no one returns to school. That's good news." His mouth curved in a bold arc. "So you only need to work together to get even one bell from me, and you'll pass."
"Even failing doesn't matter—this is just a test, no need to worry too much. But if you perform too poorly and disappoint me, there'll be a punishment game." Jiraiya's smile turned meaningful.
Hiroki instinctively felt his entire body shudder, as if targeted by a giant toad.
Damn...
That punishment game didn't sound like anything good!
Given this Pervy Sage's personality in the original work, it was probably something like that slimy battle being swallowed by a toad!
...
Jiraiya hopped around playfully a couple times. Suddenly, his eyes sharpened.
"Then, begin!"
No countdown, no warning.
The instant his words fell, a magnificent pressure like a toppling mountain—a tsunami of tangible force—erupted from his body and instantly swept across the entire arena!
Crushing!
Kushina's face turned deathly pale in an instant. Her legs went weak, nearly forced to her knees by this aura.
Minato fared no better. His entire body tensed, cold sweat instantly soaking his back. Even the motion of drawing his kunai became incredibly difficult.
This was no longer an assessment.
This was... killing intent?!?
Hiroki watched this scene in shock. An attack of tangible killing intent? How was that possible?! Air heavy as mountains pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe, let alone observe his teammates' movements.
Facing this terrifying pressure, Hiroki immediately entered his consciousness space. Task Manager instantly popped up.
Fear.exe - CPU: 75% | Memory: 2048MB | Status: Running
Killing_Intent_Genjutsu_Error_Report.log - CPU: 15% | Memory: 512MB | Status: Running
So genjutsu was hidden within the killing intent!?
End Process: Fear.exe | Killing_Intent_Genjutsu_Error_Report.log
Hiroki quickly selected both programs and terminated them instantly.
His eyes immediately regained absolute calm.
Looking at that mountain-like, mocking figure, he calmly said to his two nearly immobilized companions:
"Minato, Kushina."
"Do everything you can to let me... touch him once."