"Is this girl one of your Konoha ninjas?"
The Third Raikage, sitting beside the Third Hokage, looked at Tsunade, who remained on the field. "Dressed like this, is she here just to admire the flowers?"
Although he was only slightly older than Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Raikage had already gained widespread fame before becoming Raikage. He was skilled in using a powerful black lightning technique known for its destructive power. It was said that he once fought the rampaging Eight-Tails in hand-to-hand combat, ending in a stalemate. During the First Shinobi World War, his combat achievements were remarkable. He single-handedly held off a small squad and eventually became the Third Raikage after the death of the Second Raikage.
This was quite different from Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been appointed as the Third Hokage by the Second Hokage. Because of this, the Third Raikage somewhat looked down on Sarutobi, who had attained the Hokage position not entirely through his own strength.
"Heh..." Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a dry laugh. He didn't understand why Tsunade was wearing a kimono, which limited her movement, nor why she wasn't even wearing her forehead protector. But since the Third Raikage had asked, he had no choice but to explain, "She is the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Senju Tsunade. She's also one of my most favored disciples."
"Granddaughter of the First Hokage?" The Third Raikage looked thoughtful. "The First Hokage was a ninja I've always admired. By the way, can she use Wood Style?"
"No, she can't. But all of my three disciples are exceptional, and Tsunade's strength is beyond question."
However, the unpredictability is too high—this was something Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't say aloud.
In fact, Sarutobi wasn't too confident in Tsunade, but that didn't mean he would show any weakness in front of the Third Raikage. He confidently spoke of Tsunade's strength, but in his heart, there was an unshakable worry. If Tsunade did something unexpected, he would be the one to take the blame in front of the Third Raikage.
Luckily, Orochimaru was there.
As for Jiraiya, Sarutobi had always found him troublesome. He had no idea how much mental energy he had wasted on Jiraiya. Thankfully, Jiraiya had taken a different path, inadvertently ending up training at Mount Myoboku. After becoming Hokage, Sarutobi felt guilty about not having enough time to properly guide Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru in their training.
Tsunade and Orochimaru were fine. They had never caused concern in their training. Jiraiya, however, had always been a headache for Sarutobi. Jiraiya's talent was average, and his success was mainly due to his hard work and the guidance of excellent teachers. Sarutobi had once worried that without his guidance, Jiraiya would fall behind Tsunade and Orochimaru.
Fortunately, Jiraiya now seemed to have better guidance.
Of course, even with that, Sarutobi still thought it was an achievement that Jiraiya had made it to the third round. After all, no matter how good the teacher was, it had only been a couple of months of training, and ninjutsu required years of practice to master.
"Her opponent is a ninja who became famous during the Shinobi World War," the Third Raikage suddenly said with a smile. "I remember his name is Darō. He's already sixteen this year, and it's said that he hasn't been promoted to Chūnin because of killing prisoners. He's not easy to deal with."
"Tsunade is six years younger than him, so it wouldn't be surprising if she loses, but I believe she will give it her all."
Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke modestly, trying to downplay the situation.
Of course, part of it was Sarutobi beginning to feel more uncertain about Tsunade. So, he took back the confident words he had just spoken, just in case Tsunade lost for some ridiculous reason. That way, his face wouldn't be as hurt.
On the other side, Orochimaru and Jiraiya, who were not selected, returned to the stands to watch.
At that moment, Orochimaru noticed Hatake Sakumo arriving to watch the match, and he walked over to him.
"I heard Tsunade has been training under your guidance recently," Orochimaru said.
Sakumo turned his head, his eyes still on Tsunade.
"Training is a bit of an exaggeration. Tsunade already has impressive strength, she just lacks some experience," Sakumo said, then glanced back at Tsunade. "As for you, Danzo Shimura is not a good person."
In fact, Danzo had approached Sakumo a long time ago, but Sakumo found his methods too unconventional and not to his taste, so he politely turned him down. He hadn't expected that Danzo would find an ally in Orochimaru. Tsunade probably wouldn't want this to happen either.
"You don't need to worry about that," Orochimaru replied.
Seeing that Sakumo didn't seem interested in continuing the conversation, Orochimaru decided to let it go. He then added, "That Iwa ninja, Darō, can summon giant birds that can fly into the air. Tsunade lacks effective countermeasures against airborne threats, so she will be at a disadvantage in this match."
"Tsunade won't lose so easily."
Orochimaru replied casually, though he knew full well that Tsunade's unpredictability was a major factor in her success or failure.
Regarding Tsunade's betrayal of Sakumo, Orochimaru was fully aware. But compared to the oblivious Sakumo, he favored Tsunade and wasn't going to bring it up to him.
"He is strong, but he still lacks something," Sakumo said, not fully convinced.
Orochimaru didn't respond to that, as he didn't feel the need to.
Sakumo, noticing Orochimaru's silence, also didn't pursue the topic further. He just continued to observe Tsunade with a somewhat complex expression.
At that moment, the match between Tsunade and Darō officially began.
As Sakumo had predicted, Darō immediately performed the jutsu to summon a giant bird and soared into the air.
"If I were you, I would just forfeit right now," Darō said after confirming that Tsunade couldn't reach him. He had used his aerial advantage in the Shinobi World War to defeat many opponents, and he had no doubt that it would work again this time. If he could just stay in the air and wear Tsunade down with his sticky jutsu, victory was only a matter of time.
In this arena, Tsunade had no place to escape. This had been the strategy set up by Yukari from the start.
"Sorry, I refuse."
Tsunade found Darō's suggestion laughable. Hiding up in the sky and asking someone to forfeit? Was he here to joke around?
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(End of Chapter)