Orochimaru's Laboratory
Orochimaru's expression was so dark it looked like water could be wrung from it.
His golden, snake-like eyes were fixed on the shadowless surgical lamp trembling violently on the ceiling. In his mind, he was already calculating repair costs—and more importantly, how to force Tsunade and the Third Hokage to foot the bill.
Choosing his laboratory as the battlefield was, without question, the single dumbest decision he'd made in recent memory.
At the very least, Tsunade would be paying for half of it.
He never imagined that Tsunade—normally the most rational of the three—would be pushed this far by a ten-year-old child, turning what should have been a controlled assessment into a life-and-death confrontation.
Yes. Life and death.
That final punch hadn't been restrained in the slightest. Tsunade hadn't stopped to consider whether Hiroki could dodge—or what would happen if the blow actually landed.
What if she really killed him?
The thought made Orochimaru's jaw tighten.
Yet… if Hiroki couldn't evade a frontal attack from Tsunade, then sending him to face Hanzo of the Salamander would be suicide anyway.
Still, Tsunade had clearly lost control—driven entirely by pride and the refusal to accept defeat.
If she'd remained even slightly rational, this would never have happened.
At the edge of the enormous crater in the center of the laboratory, Hiroki was struggling out of the swamp he'd created.
He was completely coated in mud, slick and filthy, like a puppy that had rolled through a puddle.
Only his eyes remained startlingly bright beneath the cold laboratory lights.
He'd won.
No matter how you looked at it—
He'd won.
From start to finish, Tsunade had never managed to land a single clean hit on him.
This wasn't a narrow victory.
It was absolute.
He had not only fulfilled the bet—he had proven, through combat, that he possessed the capability to defeat… or even kill Tsunade if he truly intended to.
On the opposite side of the room, the atmosphere was even stranger.
Nawaki and Minato stood frozen, like statues carved from stone. Their breathing was shallow, their eyes wide, their minds utterly overwhelmed by information that shattered everything they believed to be common sense.
Ten years old…
At ten years old, someone could fight a direct disciple of the Third Hokage?
Minato slowly turned to look at his teacher, Jiraiya.
If Hiroki could defeat Tsunade—
Then… could he defeat Jiraiya-sensei as well?
For the first time, Minato seriously began to think about how he should grow stronger—how far he still had to go.
Nawaki, on the other hand, simply shook his head and laughed bitterly.
I shouldn't compare myself to him.
That kid isn't human.
I'm just… an ordinary ninja.
In a corner of the room, Kushina clutched the hem of her clothes tightly, her face pale with fear.
Her gaze flicked between Hiroki—climbing out of the mud pit—and the three legendary ninja standing together.
She clenched her teeth.
And ran forward without hesitation.
As for the eye of the storm—
Tsunade.
Her expression was impossibly complex.
Shock.Frustration.Self-doubt she couldn't suppress.And—faintly—guilt she hadn't even realized she felt.
Finally, she spoke.
"I lost."
Her voice was quiet, trembling slightly.
She straightened with effort, her body still shaking from the backlash of her final attack, her breathing uneven.
As if afraid no one had heard her—or as if she needed to convince herself—she repeated it.
"I lost."
This time, her voice echoed through the shattered laboratory.
Then, her shoulders sagged.
She walked toward Jiraiya and Orochimaru, steps unsteady, and murmured again—
"I lost."
The bet no longer mattered.
What mattered was this:
Hiroki had neutralized her strongest attack head-on, using a method she couldn't even comprehend.
He had used her techniques.Jiraiya's techniques.
Yet the precision, timing, and control he displayed went far beyond imitation.
It was as if they had learned those jutsu from him.
Impossible.
And yet—
She had to accept it.
Hiroki's talent and creativity in combat far surpassed her own.
So yes.
She had lost.
Not just the bet—
But her certainty.
"Tsunade…" Jiraiya said awkwardly, reaching out before hesitating and pulling his hand back with a dry laugh."Hey, it's fine. This was just an assessment. In a real battle, you'd still—"
"No," Tsunade interrupted sharply, glaring at him."It's not the same."
She looked past Jiraiya, back at Hiroki.
"I didn't aim for his vital points. He didn't aim for mine either."
Her voice grew heavy.
"But if this were a real battlefield… the moment I underestimated him, my head would've been pierced by a Vacuum Ball."
She exhaled slowly.
"And he's only ten years old…"
What were they doing at ten?
Still chasing praise from their teacher.
Still proud of a single "well done."
And this boy—
This ten-year-old—
Had already surpassed her in combat judgment and execution.
Worse—
His chakra reserves hadn't even reached their peak.
By adulthood, his chakra would be ten—twenty times greater.
Tsunade couldn't imagine how terrifying he would become.
Will he surpass even Hiruzen-sensei?
No—
Perhaps even more.
Hiruzen's mastery was built over decades.
Hiroki possessed something far more dangerous—
An ability that bordered on cheating.
"Hiroki! Are you okay!?"
Kushina's anxious voice shattered the tension.
She rushed over, circling him, panic written all over her face.
"I was so scared just now!"
Hiroki smiled faintly, brushing mud from his clothes.
"I'm fine. Just dirty."
Minato stepped forward as well, eyes shining with admiration.
"That last move… it was incredible. Why Yellow Spring Swamp?"
Hiroki shrugged lightly.
"Just a spur-of-the-moment idea."
He didn't mention that he'd lacked a proper movement technique.
"Kid."
Tsunade approached.
Her emotions were restrained now, her gaze steady.
"I lost the bet. For the next month, I'll teach you everything I know."
She paused.
"Besides medical ninjutsu and brute strength—what else do you want to learn?"
The room fell silent.
Then Hiroki shook his head calmly.
"Tsunade-sama. Jiraiya-sensei."
"Most of what I wanted to learn from you… I already copied during that one hour last week."
Silence.
"So if possible," he continued evenly,"I'd like other jōnin instructors instead."
Hokage's Office
Sarutobi Hiruzen listened to the ANBU report in silence.
His pipe slipped from his fingers, unnoticed.
At last, he stamped a document heavily.
"Summon all available jōnin to Training Ground Seven."
"This concerns the future of Konoha."
Training Ground Seven
Dozens of elite jōnin gathered.
Murmurs filled the air.
When the Third Hokage appeared, silence fell.
"An unprecedented genius has emerged," he announced."And his growth requires your assistance."
He explained Hiroki's request.
A long silence followed.
No one stepped forward.
Secret techniques.Clan legacies.
Then—
"Hmph. Cowards."
Uchiha Togashi stepped out.
"The Uchiha will assist."
His gaze swept the field coldly.
"If it's for Konoha's future, why not?"
The training ground erupted.
Hiruzen sighed.
Some things never changed.
"In that case," he said at last,"Uchiha Togashi—follow me."
"The rest are dismissed."
And somewhere in Konoha—
A future far more dangerous than war had begun to take shape.