Another month slipped by quietly.
Orochimaru looked at the thin remittance slip in his hand, the numbers on it bringing a genuine smile to his face.
The royalties had arrived; though not as much as the windfall from the casino that night, it was enough to lift him out of his financial predicament.
More importantly… his hidden blade had also arrived…
Thinking this, Orochimaru’s mind stirred, his Chakra activating the mechanism, and the sharp blade of the hidden blade sprung out directly.
Looking at himself in the mirror, dressed in a white robe with the hidden blade, Orochimaru nodded with satisfaction; he truly had some of the legendary assassin’s demeanor from his memories.
After a quick tidy-up, Orochimaru left; today was the day for their three-person team to gather.
As soon as he arrived at the training ground, he saw a familiar golden figure sitting cross-legged in the shade of a tree, her fingers flying, several playing cards in her hand like living butterflies, weaving up and down, dazzling to the eye.
Jiraiya, standing nearby, watched with wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape, an expression of disbelief on his face, his Adam’s apple unconsciously bobbing.
In his impression, this young lady was usually boisterous, a violent woman who could punch him flying, so he hadn’t expected her to have such a nimble side.
“Orochimaru, you’re here?”
Tsunade’s peripheral vision caught sight of Orochimaru, and her hand movements not only didn’t stop but became even more dazzling, finally neatly bringing all the cards together and holding them firmly in her palm.
After completing this action, she lifted her chin, looking at Orochimaru with considerable pride.
Her bright, amber eyes seemed to silently say, “How about it? Impressive, right? Hurry and praise me!”
Orochimaru looked at her showing off, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily as he rubbed his forehead.
These flashy tricks could absolutely not be achieved without years of diligent practice.
Even though Ninja in this World had Chakra to assist them and enhance their physical abilities, such purely manual dexterity still required a significant investment of time.
He could do it naturally because Reed Hyerick, the one he transmigrated into in the assassin's creed World, was a magician by profession before he was captured and used as an experimental subject.
“You… you haven’t been spending seven or eight hours a day on this, have you?”
Orochimaru said helplessly; he had only taught Tsunade these things to return a favor, never expecting her to become so engrossed.
Upon hearing this, Tsunade’s originally expectant face flushed instantly, clearly having been hit the mark by Orochimaru.
“None of your business! This young lady is exceptionally talented! I only need to practice for three… thirty minutes a day, that’s enough!”
Tsunade, somewhat flustered and angry, stuffed the playing cards into her Ninja tool pouch, turned her head, her voice carrying a hint of unnatural stubbornness.
“Eh?!”
Jiraiya looked at the blushing Tsunade, then at Orochimaru’s “I knew it” expression, feeling very, even nine-tenths, amiss.
How could his two teammates have become so close after just a few days apart?
Just then…
“Everyone’s here, I see.
Tsunade, what were you doing just now? It looked interesting.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi approached slowly, puffing on his pipe, his gaze falling on the playing cards Tsunade had hastily put away, asking with some curiosity.
“Uh…”
Tsunade immediately became flustered, her eyes darting around, stammering and unable to speak.
She didn’t want her teacher to know she was wasting time on skills related to gambling; if he found out, she’d be in for a scolding.
“Teacher, this is a method I’ve recently devised to train finger dexterity.
The more flexible the fingers, the faster one can form hand seals, and naturally, the faster Ninjutsu can be activated.
Tsunade has a lot of talent in this area and is making rapid progress.”
Orochimaru stepped forward, his expression calm, explaining in a serious tone.
To add credibility, Orochimaru also pulled out a few spare blank cards from his Ninja tool pouch and casually performed a few simple but highly skilled flourishes.
His fluid movements indeed demonstrated astonishing finger control.
“…”
Jiraiya stood to the side, his expression odd, mentally complaining wildly: You’re kidding, right!
Who uses playing cards for hand seals? And to train hand seal speed? I think it’s to train cheating speed!
“Hmm, a good idea. However, Orochimaru, you must remember that a Ninja’s battle is a battle of Chakra.
Hand seals are ultimately just a means to guide and assist Chakra flow; what truly determines the power and effect of Ninjutsu is the quality and quantity of Chakra, as well as precise control over Chakra.
Don’t put the cart before the horse and get overly immersed in these trivialities.”
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep puff from his pipe, slowly exhaling smoke rings, his gaze sweeping between Orochimaru and Tsunade, finally speaking earnestly.
These are minor skills; hand seals are merely a method to assist Chakra flow and are not essential.
Just like the First Hokage, he didn’t need hand seals to activate Ninjutsu; he’d just clap his hands and whatever he called for would appear.
He didn’t want this child to waste his time on such things…
“Yes, Teacher, I understand.”
Orochimaru bowed slightly, his attitude respectful.
He practiced these things not to increase hand seal speed, but to increase research funds.
“Alright, let’s get to business.
I have a mission for you all.”
The Third Hokage nodded, then spoke.
“Huh? It’s not another D-rank mission to find a cat, is it?”
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya said with some disdain.
Tsunade also secretly nodded; she was getting tired of doing D-rank missions.
“No, after these two months of adaptation and basic training, I believe you all have initially acquired the ability to independently execute missions.
Therefore, this time I am giving you a C-rank mission…”
Hiruzen Sarutobi said helplessly; it was only because it was peacetime that there were so many D-rank missions, these children truly didn’t know how good they had it.
“C-rank mission?! That’s great! Finally, no more boring D-rank missions like finding cats or weeding! I was about to die of boredom!”
Jiraiya’s eyes instantly lit up, and he was so excited he almost jumped.
However, in stark contrast to Jiraiya’s excitement, Orochimaru’s eyes suddenly became serious the moment he heard “C-rank mission.”
According to the Ninja handbook, D-rank missions were just chores within the Village or its surroundings, with almost no danger.
But C-rank missions were completely different; the mission scope would extend into the Land of Fire, and the mission content might involve escort, intelligence gathering, or even confronting Bandits and rogue Ninja.
This meant they would truly step out of Konoha’s protective circle and genuinely face this cruel Ninja World.
To face conflict, bloodshed, and even… death…
“Alright, go prepare!
In twenty minutes, gather at the Village gate…”