The outcome was decided.
The three instructors exchanged glances before announcing, "Winner: Orochimaru."
Jiraiya's jaw practically hit the floor. The sudden reversal had caught him completely off guard. While he had a vague idea of what Orochimaru had done, it was still hard to wrap his head around it.
"H-He... He actually…"
Hoshiyomi couldn't help but chuckle to himself at Jiraiya's reaction. Picking up where he left off, he explained:
"He set a simple trap using ninja wire and kunai. First, he threw a kunai to mislead his opponent—but that was just a diversion. He secretly deployed the wire at the same time.
"If you looked closely, you'd notice that during his evasive maneuvers, he kept circling around Saitō. That was to lay enough wire around him.
"Once Saitō was caught in the setup, Orochimaru pretended to fall. That motion covered up his reach for the kunai. Then, by pulling both ends of the wire, he tripped Saitō.
"Saitō fell right into the trap."
Jiraiya, who'd been completely in the dark just moments ago, now suddenly understood. "You really know your stuff!" he blurted out, clearly impressed. He no longer looked down on Orochimaru—in fact, he was beginning to respect him.
"Hearing that, I'm thinking I should definitely get on this guy's good side. Smart people like him… better to be friends than enemies."
On the other side of the training ground, Saitō was still on the ground, finally recovering from the shock of defeat. He glared at Orochimaru standing before him and gave him a shove, shouting:
"You were tricking me the whole time! That wasn't fair!"
Then he turned to the three instructors. "Sensei, in terms of raw ability, I'm just as strong as he is! The only reason I lost is because he kept misleading me! If I had another chance—"
He didn't get to finish. Mitsui-sensei cut him off sharply:
"That's enough, Saitō. Don't make excuses. A loss is a loss. Reading your opponent's intentions is just as important a skill for a shinobi as strength—and Orochimaru did it better than you.
"Besides, weren't you watching when Hoshiyomi fought Uchiha Iwa earlier? Your situation wasn't any different.
"But how did Hoshiyomi handle it—and how did you? I hope you reflect on that.
"Not just you. All of you," Mitsui-sensei turned to address the rest of the students. "I hope you've learned something from today's battle.
"You should be grateful you're learning this lesson here. Out there, you'll face situations far more deceptive and deadly.
"And when that day comes, if you can remember this moment, it might just save your life."
Saitō lowered his head in frustration. He knew Mitsui-sensei was right. No matter how he looked at it, a loss was a loss—there was no changing that.
The chubby boy gave a deep bow to Mitsui-sensei, then turned and left in silence. Orochimaru had taught him a valuable lesson… but the price had been steep.
After the lecture, Mitsui-sensei turned to Orochimaru and nodded. "As promised, you're officially transferred to Class A. Make sure you don't show up to the wrong classroom next week."
Orochimaru gave a small bow of gratitude, then turned to leave the academy grounds.
Behind him, his fists clenched tightly. His lips trembled as he fought the urge to cry.
Mom, Dad… did you see that? I'm not a failure. I made it into Class A.
Thinking back on his journey—from being dead last in Class C to finally climbing his way into Class A—no one could understand the hardship he'd endured.
His eyes blinked rapidly, just about to tear up—when suddenly, someone patted him on the back. Startled, he wiped his eyes and turned around.
Standing behind him were three boys around his age, all smiling at him.
The one who'd patted him was none other than Jiraiya. After saying he wanted to be friends, he'd dragged Hoshiyomi and Sakumo over with him. With his usual bluntness, Jiraiya said:
"Hey! That fight back there? Awesome. You almost outshined the great Jiraiya! I like you. Wanna be friends with this future legend?"
Orochimaru, eyes still a little red, looked Jiraiya up and down. For a moment, he didn't know whether to cry or laugh. Before he could react, the black-haired boy beside Jiraiya stepped forward and said:
"Hey there, Orochimaru. The three of us are your new classmates. I'm Gekkō Hoshiyomi, this idiot is Jiraiya, and the quiet one over there is Hatake Sakumo. Looking forward to working with you."
Compared to Jiraiya's confusing antics, Hoshiyomi's introduction was way more normal. Orochimaru finally realized—they weren't mocking him. These three really wanted to be friends.
Just hearing the word friends stirred something in him again. Because back in Class C, as the lowest-ranked student, everyone had looked down on him. No one had ever taken him seriously. His efforts had been met with only ridicule.
He'd never had a single friend.
Now, suddenly, three boys were reaching out to him. It almost made him cry all over again.
Jiraiya, seeing Orochimaru's teary eyes, was baffled. Tilting his head, he leaned in and asked:
"Whoa, what's with the waterworks? We just said we wanna be friends. No big deal! I mean, we're like the cool kids in Class A—people line up just to talk to us!"
At that moment, Sakumo, who'd been silent this whole time, finally spoke up:
"Hoshiyomi and I, not you."
That's Sakumo for you—always the straight shooter.
Jiraiya's face turned beet red. He turned to Sakumo with an exasperated scowl.
"C'mon man, can you not throw me under the bus in front of our new friend? You're making me look bad!"
Orochimaru, who was just about to cry again, found himself distracted—and the tears didn't come.
Since he couldn't cry now, he figured he might as well stop trying. He sniffled, then raised his head and gave the three a proper introduction:
"My name is Orochimaru. I'm six years old. Starting today, I'll be your classmate. Please take care of me."
Jiraiya waved a hand dismissively. "Ugh, so boring. That's your self-introduction? Come on, you've got no flair at all. Watch how I do it!"
With that, Jiraiya turned his back to them and adjusted the paint on his face, making it look even more ridiculous.
He didn't seem to notice.
Striking a dramatic pose, he bent forward, neck stretched long, eyes wide like saucers. With one hand in front and the other behind, he raised his left leg into a half-circle before stomping it down with a loud clack from his wooden sandals. Then, as if there were theme music playing behind him, he declared:
"YAHOO~! I am the mighty Jiraiya the Gallant! Please~ treat me kindly!"
The over-the-top performance had Hoshiyomi and Sakumo both take three steps back to distance themselves from him.
Orochimaru stood there stunned for a long moment, then quietly walked around Jiraiya and said to Hoshiyomi:
"You were right. He really is an idiot."