"Big Brother Kizaru, are you not coming back with us?"
Standing at the school gate, Yoshihiko, Yuki, and Shinobu surrounded Kizaru.
"I'm going to the training ground to practice ninjutsu, you guys go back first!"
Having just enhanced his physical abilities, Kizaru was planning to practice and adapt to his strengthened body.
"Big Brother Kizaru, can we go with you?" Yoshihiko eagerly asked when he heard that Kizaru was going to practice ninjutsu.
Reaching into his pocket with his right hand, Kizaru was about to playfully tap Yoshihiko's head as usual, but suddenly realized that he had just strengthened his body and couldn't control his strength well. He quickly stopped the motion of reaching out.
"Not today! You guys go back first! I'll see you again tonight."
Yoshihiko, rejected by Kizaru, didn't notice Kizaru's hesitation and just felt a bit dejected, lowering his head slightly.
"Don't be like a clingy follower all day, bothering Big Brother Kizaru." With a stern face, Yuki scolded Yoshihiko.
"You, scolding me? Who do you think is the one at home repeatedly calling out 'Big Bro Kizaru this, Big Bro Kizaru that'? Or always sticking close to Big Brother Kizaru even when we're eating?" You have the nerve to criticize others." Yoshihiko retorted loudly, looking at Yuki.
A hint of shyness flashed across Yuki's face, and with a slightly red ear, she maintained a cold expression and said, "Hurry up, don't delay Big Brother Kizaru's time!"
"Hmph!" Yoshihiko snorted, then looked at Kizaru again. "Big Brother Kizaru, we'll go home first."
"Go back safely! Be careful on the way."
Kizaru waved goodbye to the three as he watched them walk away.
"This guy seems to be quite popular!" Tsunade, sitting on the right side of the school under a large tree, commented.
"Is he really six years old?" Jiraiya, on the other side of the tree trunk, stared with wide eyes, expressing the same amazement many had voiced before.
Not climbing the tree but standing simply behind the trunk, Orochimaru was also carefully observing his future disciple.
"Is this child really only six years old? How did he develop like this?"
At this moment, Orochimaru's curiosity and desire to study were instantly ignited.
Watching the three little figures gradually disappear, Kizaru withdrew his gaze and put his right hand back into his pocket.
Turning his head to the right, Kizaru carefully scanned the area. He always had a feeling of being observed.
"Is it that old fart, Hiruzen, spying on me again?"
Thinking silently in his mind, Kizaru began to move.
Konoha Village had a total of fifty training grounds of various sizes scattered throughout different parts of the village (according to official settings from the Guidebook).
The training ground Kizaru was heading to had a higher capacity, located on the outskirts of the village, relatively remote, and rarely visited by people.
The Ninja Academy was in the central part of the village, just below the Hokage Rock, and was far from the training ground. Not wanting to waste too much time, Kizaru chose to use the Body Flicker Jutsu to get there.
Rushing all the way, Kizaru arrived at the designated training ground in about ten minutes.
Looking around the training ground, where weeds had already sprouted, Kizaru estimated that no one had been there for several months.
Kizaru was quite satisfied with this. For now, he didn't want too much information about his strength to be exposed in the village.
It wasn't that Kizaru wanted to play pretend, but he planned to showcase his full strength during the graduation assessment, harvesting a wave of reputation to boost the progress of Fusion Rate.
Standing in the center of the field, Kizaru first moved his body slightly to warm up and carefully felt the enhancement of his physical strength.
When Kizaru began to warm up, the future three ninjas who had been following from a distance quietly sneaked into the periphery of the training ground.
Taking advantage of the dense bushes to conceal their figures, the future three ninjas crouched down, exchanging glances, preparing to discuss their next move.
"Jiraiya, you go first!" Tsunade whispered to Jiraiya.
Eyes widening, Jiraiya pointed to himself and shook his head vigorously.
Seeing Jiraiya refusing, Tsunade didn't waste words and simply extended her right hand, clenched into a fist, conveying the message without speaking.
Sweat instantly appeared on Jiraiya's forehead, considering his own life, he reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Seeing Jiraiya nod, Tsunade showed a satisfied smile. Immediately, she gestured towards the direction of the training ground, waving her hand, signaling Jiraiya to go up quickly.
Continuing to nod in understanding, Jiraiya, after using the Transformation Jutsu to change his appearance, silently began forming hand seals. After altering his outer appearance, he swiftly used the Body Flicker Jutsu to leave from behind the bushes.
Seeing Jiraiya in action, Tsunade showed an excited and anticipatory expression, looking towards Kizaru in the training ground.
"A talent comparable to the First Hokage, eh? A rare genius, isn't he? Let me see your true colors."
In contrast to Tsunade's excited expression, Orochimaru remained calm, focusing his gaze on Kizaru, revealing his inner anticipation.
Jumping onto a tree branch and transforming into an image of a middle-aged man with short brown hair and dark skin, Jiraiya, in the form of this appearance, didn't launch an attack rashly. Instead, he kept watching Kizaru in the center of the training ground.
From the sword sheath on his thigh, Jiraiya took out two kunai while Kizaru was bending over to stretch his body. He launched an attack from two directions – aiming at Kizaru's buttocks and thighs, both non-lethal areas.
Bending over with both hands on the ground, Kizaru heard the movement behind him and on his right side.
Gently supporting himself with his hands, Kizaru's body instantly sprung open like a coil.
Just as he straightened his body, the two kunai had already flown in front of Kizaru.
Maintaining a calm expression without a hint of panic, Kizaru didn't even move his feet. He simply twisted his body, leaning backward, and the two kunai passed over and under him.
Watching the kunai land and stick halfway into the ground, Kizaru evaluated the hidden enemy in his mind, acknowledging the decent strength of his physical body.
Out of habit, he put his hands in his pockets and looked around, speaking up.
"Phew, that was really close! Almost got hit."
Even though he was expressing the danger of the attack, Kizaru's words always carried a mocking tone.
"What a brat who loves to play tricks!" Tsunade, who had been observing Kizaru, muttered quietly.
While Tsunade was speaking, Jiraiya began the next step. Pushing off the tree branch with both feet, he appeared behind Kizaru as if teleporting, holding shuriken and swiftly stabbing towards Kizaru.
Facing Jiraiya's sudden attack, Kizaru seemed to have eyes on his back. He tilted his body to the left, narrowly avoiding the strike.
With the forward thrust missing, Jiraiya hooked his index finger around the shuriken, released the other fingers, allowing the shuriken to turn vertically, and swung it down.
Leaning forward with his back to Jiraiya, Kizaru, facing the consecutive attacks, reacted instantly. He flipped his body, left foot on the ground, right foot lifted for a powerful side kick.
Launching a preemptive strike from behind, Kizaru's right foot, carrying an afterimage, hit the enemy behind him before the shuriken could pierce him.
"Bang!"
Approaching the test with a somewhat underestimated attitude, Jiraiya, not reacting in time, was kicked forcefully and slammed into a large tree in the distance.
"Cough, cough!"
Creating a large hole in the thick trunk of the tree, Jiraiya, who suffered a powerful blow, coughed a few times, fresh blood flowing from his throat.
"I underestimated this brat!"
Despite the injury, Jiraiya forced a wry smile, his face turning more serious.
The physical strength displayed by this kid already reached about 60-70% of Tsunade's monstrous strength.
Recalling the attacks he just endured, Jiraiya evaluated the strength demonstrated by Kizaru and made his assessment.