Jiraiya stood off to the side, watching them with a hint of envy in his eyes.
With a personality much like Naruto Uzumaki's, Jiraiya didn't really understand how to joke around within limits—and what's more, he'd been a pervert since he was a kid.
That made him even more annoying than Naruto, and naturally, he didn't have many friends.
Uchiha Hikaru kept observing Jiraiya out of the corner of his eye.
Not just him—there was also a brown-haired girl with glasses.
Hikaru remembered that during the physical test, she was also one of the last to remain standing.
Seeing the envy on Jiraiya's face now, Hikaru knew he was basically in.
So he turned to Tsunade and the others and suggested:
"During the physical test earlier, besides the four of us, there were two others who held out to the end. I'll go invite them over too."
Tsunade and the others had no objections.
The strong gathering with the strong—that was the ticket to enter this little group, based on their performance earlier.
Seeing their agreement, Uchiha Hikaru walked over to Jiraiya and the girl with glasses to extend the invitation.
"Sorry, I spaced out during the introductions earlier."
"The white-haired guy and the brown-haired girl with glasses—could you come over for a bit? I'd like to get to know you."
Jiraiya pointed to himself in disbelief. When Hikaru nodded, he ran over with a spring in his step.
The joy and smugness on his face were written all over.
The girl, on the other hand, was much more composed. After getting confirmation from Hikaru, she quietly walked over—like she felt absolutely nothing.
Hikaru was actually a bit curious. This girl looked familiar, but he just couldn't place her.
Judging by her current demeanor, even if she didn't reach Kage level in the future, she was at least destined to become an elite Jōnin.
And considering she was a girl… could it be that she died in one of the later wars?
As for the rest of the class, although some were envious of this group, no one had any complaints.
Because right now, the ones gathered here were clearly the best performers in the earlier test.
If anyone else wanted in, they'd have to prove themselves even stronger.
At that moment, Jiraiya rushed to Hikaru's side and tried to maintain a cool front as he introduced himself.
"My name's Jiraiya. I don't really have a favorite food… I like pretty older women and pee— cough cough—and my dream is to become Hokage."
Tsunade and Uchiha Chiri instantly showed irritated expressions at his introduction.
Even though Jiraiya caught himself before openly admitting he liked peeping, anyone could guess what that cough was covering up—especially after his previous sentence.
Hikaru gave him an internal thumbs-up.
'When it comes to shamelessness, it's gotta be Jiraiya.'
Peeping was something that could ruin someone's reputation no matter where they were.
But Jiraiya kept doing it for decades. His level of shamelessness was truly unparalleled.
Hikaru wasn't a fan of that particular hobby either.
A man could be lecherous, sure—but there had to be limits.
Go to brothels if you must, but don't stoop to peeping.
The thing was, Jiraiya's hobby was genuinely hard to fix. It wasn't like Tsunade's gambling.
Tsunade got hooked on gambling to numb the pain in her heart.
But Jiraiya? Even when Tsunade nearly beat him to death for peeping, he still kept doing it.
That showed just how committed he was to his perversion.
And combined with his utter shamelessness, trying to get Jiraiya to quit was a near-impossible task.
So Hikaru really didn't have a good way to save (or rather, trap) him.
Seeing the way Tsunade and Chiri were glaring at Jiraiya more and more fiercely, Hikaru quickly broke in.
"Alright, alright. We still haven't heard from one more person."
At that, Tsunade and Chiri temporarily let Jiraiya off the hook.
Jiraiya, completely oblivious to his near-death experience, was still happily trying to strike up a conversation with Orochimaru next to him.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Nonō Yakushi. I like eating cake, and my dream is also to become Hokage."
Nonō Yakushi's self-introduction made something click in Hikaru's mind.
'No wonder she looked familiar—it's her.'
Nonō Yakushi was one of the few shinobi to earn a title—the Wandering Shrine Maiden referred to her.
She was Root's ace spy and had made massive contributions to Konoha during the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars.
Her elite espionage skills earned her a title that even many powerful shinobi lacked.
It was a mark of both the fear she inspired in other villages and her undeniable merit.
Although the anime never detailed her strength, anyone who could move in and out of enemy villages and gather intelligence unscathed…
At the very least, she had to be Jōnin-level. And that was just the result of being trained by an organization as rotten as Root.
Without that, Nonō Yakushi might very well have reached Kage level.
But then again, compared to her espionage skills, her combat strength hardly mattered.
She was a born counter-intelligence asset. With her in charge of Konoha's security, what spy could ever hope to escape?
Unfortunately, even such an outstanding Konoha shinobi was killed by Danzo.
The other four Kage were probably laughing themselves awake in their sleep.
With someone like that in Konoha's leadership, how could the village not be doomed?
Unlike Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who were both civilians, Nonō Yakushi had a surname.
That meant she came from a small shinobi clan.
Whether others like her existed within it was anyone's guess.
But even if there were just a few more, paired with the Nara Clan, they could've fully handled Konoha's internal administration.
Hikaru looked at Nonō Yakushi with a growing intensity.
Being stared at like that made Nonō visibly uncomfortable.
Right now, she wasn't the fearsome Wandering Shrine Maiden—just a newly enrolled kid.
Seeing the awkward look flash across her face, Hikaru realized he was being a bit rude.
But since they didn't know each other before this, explaining would be difficult.
Fortunately, no one else noticed the tension between them, which gave them both some relief.
Just then, Toki Chi walked in from outside.
Looking at the noisy classroom, he scowled and barked:
"You little brats! Want to run laps again? Sit down and quiet down!"
In an instant, the once-bustling classroom froze like a jammed tape and went dead silent.
Then, the students hurried back to their seats.
Toki Chi's scowl eased a little. He pulled out a textbook and said:
"Class begins. Today we'll cover the founding of Konoha."
But before he could continue, Jiraiya raised his hand.
"But sensei, we don't have textbooks."
Toki Chi froze, slowly turned his head, and asked:
"Did I not tell you to go get them?"
At that, the class burst into laughter.