The next day, Tengen and Anko stood on the balcony of a Konoha building, the same spot where they'd met Orochimaru yesterday, as he'd instructed.
"Tengen, we're finally going on missions!" Anko buzzed with excitement.
"Anko, did you even sleep? Look at those dark circles." Tengen's eyeing her.
"What? This is missions, Tengen! It's a huge step in life!" Anko shot back.
"Relax, Anko. Early missions are easy, think finding lost pets or helping villagers." Tengen said, recalling standard genin tasks.
"No way!" Anko's face fell, incredulous. She'd been dreaming of clashing with enemy ninjas.
If Tengen knew her thoughts, he'd tell her she was in over her head. At her current level, she'd be lucky not to get killed by rival ninjas.
"Tengen's right. Initial missions start small, focused on village tasks, not external assignments." A pale-faced man appeared before them. His narrow eyes and cold gaze marked him as their sensei, Orochimaru.
Beside him stood a boy with an equally aloof demeanor, exuding an air of superiority; whether confidence or arrogance was unclear.
"This is Uchiha Juri, a genius of the Uchiha Clan. He's joining our team." Orochimaru introduced.
"Uchiha Juri." Tengen thought, feeling a pang of pity. An Uchiha under Orochimaru's wing? His fate was uncertain.
Perhaps the Uchiha hoped to gain influence in Konoha's leadership through this.
But they'd chosen poorly. Orochimaru was already deep in human experiments. If exposed, defection would be his only path.
Yet Orochimaru likely harbored ambitions of becoming Hokage, keeping him in Konoha for now.
He couldn't foresee that in the looming Third Shinobi World War, a ninja dubbed the Yellow Flash would rise, claiming the title of Fourth Hokage.
"You're Tengen, right? I heard you've beaten chunin. We should spar sometime." Juri said, stepping toward him.
Juri, older than Tengen, likely in his mid-teens, probably had chunin-level skills, fueling his confidence.
"Sure." Tengen shrugged, unfazed. He wasn't Naruto, and Juri wasn't Sasuke. Tengen felt no attachment to this Uchiha.
"Are all Uchihas like this?" Anko muttered, frowning. She recalled Mokawa from the academy, similarly cocky until Tengen's strength silenced him.
Orochimaru glanced between Tengen and Juri, saying nothing, a faint smirk playing on his lips, his thoughts unreadable.
"Let's go pick up our mission." Orochimaru waved them forward.
"Yes, Orichimaru-sensei." Tengen and the others replied, vanishing in a flash.
They headed to the Hokage's office to receive their assignment.
As expected, even with Orochimaru as their sensei, they were assigned basic tasks to ease them into ninja life.
These were typically requests from Konoha villagers or nearby areas, nothing significant.
...
Over a month later, Tengen lounged on the same balcony, basking in the sun, utterly relaxed. The past month's missions had been a breeze.
"Tengen, when are we getting tougher missions? I'm dying of boredom!" Anko griped nearby.
Her thrill-seeking nature made tasks like catching stray animals torturous.
"Just wait. We'll get bigger missions soon." Tengen said, standing. "Someone's coming."
"Hm?" Anko glanced over.
A familiar figure approached, Juri.
"Orichimaru-sensei's waiting at the Hokage's office for today's mission." Juri said.
"Alright, Anko, let's go." Tengen brushed off his pants and darted toward the office.
"You're here. Let's move." Orochimaru nodded as his three students arrived.
A new mission awaited.
"Huh." Tengen paused, sensing a video signal, a high-definition one this time. His eyes lit up with surprise.
He had to grab it. HD signals always held something valuable.
"But it's in the Hokage's office." Tengen hesitated, then grinned, an idea forming.
"What's wrong, Tengen?" Orochimaru noted his pause. Over the past month, he'd grown impressed with Tengen's exceptional taijutsu and ninjutsu, a rare prodigy.
Perhaps like the Third Hokage, Tengen, without a kekkei genkai, had pushed his age's limits in every skill.
"Nothing, Orichimaru-sensei." Tengen shook his head and caught up.
Ten minutes later, a scene unfolded that left even Orochimaru chuckling wryly.
"Hokage-ji, these missions are driving us nuts! So boring. Can't you give us something fun?" Tengen complained loudly in the Hokage's office, addressing Hiruzen.
Hiruzen blinked, stunned. He'd never faced such brazenness.
Orochimaru, caught between amusement and exasperation, felt a vein throb on his forehead. Tengen was stellar, except when he got… eccentric.
Claiming he was "lost in his life's journey."
Or that he'd "found the tracks of his destiny." Bizarre phrases Orochimaru had grown accustomed to.
"Sensei, I'll take Tengen out." Orochimaru said helplessly.
"Alright." Hiruzen snapping back. He'd heard of Tengen's quirks, lively, perhaps a genius's flaw. "I have a C-rank mission, escorting a merchant. If there's no issue, it's yours."
"Really?" Anko exclaimed from nearby, thrilled.
"Acceptable, Hokage-sama." Orochimaru nodded.
Tengen's group left the office, his video signal download was complete.
After wrapping up preparations, Tengen slipped away to Konoha's forest alone.
"Dragon Ball video!" Tengen's eyes gleamed as he checked the content.
***
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