Chapter 14.

"You are doing great, Jiraya-kun." - I told the most restless teenager in my group. - "Tsunade-chan, listen to Hiruko-kun carefully! Don't try to hit him, I've put up a barrier." - I turned to the pair a little distance away.

Tsunade mentioned that she was interested in learning Iryojutsu, so after her daily training is finished and missions for the day are done, Hiruko would teach her. She definitely had the talent for it, but given her hot temper, she wasn't happy with her mistakes during the practice, resulting in the desire to crush everything, including her mentor.

I turned to see how was Orochimaru doing and saw that he was meditating. Well, sure... This will help in increasing his control over his chakra in the end.

***

The very next day, we began our activities as a team. We got our first D-ranked mission, and it wouldn't be Jiraya and Tsunade if those cousins didn't start a fight. In the end, I saw some of Tsunade's prowess, Jiraya's abilities and protected the poor rice field from erasure. I can understand where Tsunade's temper's coming from - she has Uzumaki's blood and Hashirama as a grandparent; however, JIraya... Did he inherit his mother's clan's temper? It can be quite wild if proper attitude-training isn't done in the Uchiha clan...

The mission was done, no one was hurt and our training sessions began.

I assessed their levels and was really impressed by their talents.

Hiruko was definitely stronger than a regular 'C+' med-nin, but not quite 'B-rank' yet. His control over his chakra was impressive and is good enough to form a weak Chakra Scalpel. The reserve was big, surpassing some genins from weaker clans. His physical readings were great as well. He could keep up with his teammates and follow orders fairly well. Though he felt a bit inferior to Senju pair. Thankfully, there was Orochimaru to keep him away from the immediate search of 'Kekkei Genkai material'.

Orochimaru had very good chakra control and physical condition. He was weaker than Jiraya or Tsunade but made up for that with swift and precise movements. When I checked his equipment, most of them were covered in weak, homemade, paralysing poison. His reserve was a little bit smaller than that of Hiruko, but not significantly.

Orochimaru and Hiruko were quick to find a common language. As it turned out, they would occasionally interact with each other when both of them were in the Academy and had some interests overlapping.

Tsunade. A strong, hot-tempered girl with a good base to work with. She learnt a few tricks to use her massive reserve of chakra efficiently with Mito. She had good leadership qualities and calculative mind. Despite what others think, Hashirama didn't spoil his Treasure but instead polished it. Sure, she is a bit free-willed, but given her lineage, it is not surprising.

Tsunade was training her body and was trying to feel her main Element - Water. Orochimaru was doing the same but with Earth. Hiruko was mostly training his chakra control and physical from, while Jiraya, who had the worst control out of the group, was solely focused on improving it.

Out of the whole team, Jiraya impressed me the most. Big chakra reserve, good physical chart, excellent learning abilities, has a very prominent talent for Fuinjutsu and, I uncovered this by accident, great acting skills.

It appears that out of three friends, he was the first one to suspect that something wasn't right with Sarutobi Hiruzen and was actively earning his trust to learn the reason for his suspicions. The goofy attitude was a very good mask he glued on to fool the man and it might have been made too perfect.

After a few days as a team, when everyone has had already left he stayed behind. I was planning on resting under the tree here and since I felt that he wanted to discuss something, he was invited as well. The teen happily agreed, cracked jokes, made a fool out of himself and laughed, which is why I got worried. His aura screamed from some kind of struggle in his head, but he never let it show. Which is why I secretly followed him home, observed and uncovered his hidden side.

We had a talk the very next day when everyone was let free from my training. At first, he tried to brush it off with a joke, but when I showed him his notebook with multiple notes, information and even recent activities on Hiruzen, he confessed. I promised to help and he agreed with only seriousness in his eyes. This is definitely Tobirama's kid.

He acted as if nothing ever happened the very next morning, but his aura became considerably lighter after knowing that he wasn't alone in his worry. He would be a great spy or information gatherer with his skills.

***

And I got another 'tick' to discuss with Sarutobi, who is currently out of the village with Tobirama. his teammates and Izuna's students. Because Danzo isn't in the village, I do Root's operating for the time being. It appears that two Gold-and-Silver Brothers, from the Land of Lightning, came into the picture and out of the strongest who could go, only Tobirama was free.

Madara was and Hashirama went to meet with Suna's deligation by the border, as they no longer had the resources to fight and after catching the wind of our help to The Land of Rain, Sunagakure decided to withdraw from the war and sign a peace treaty. Izuna is the Hokage and cannot leave the village unless something horrifying happens. Kagami was the leader of the Uchiha clan, Nichro was managing the Police. Hashirama's Daughter was married off to Nara Shinuma, whom I shared a mission within the Land of Rain. His son was the head of the Senju clan. Jiraya is here, learning. Other clans had their reasons, so Tobirama and the rest were the best options we could have at the moment.

I didn't have any good feelings about this mission and I trust my intuition. That is why I secretly put a mini-clone, that will pop if something unexpected would happen, into Tobirama's equipment. The dispelling of the clone would be a signal for me to teleport over to them. My mana-chakra clones are made to last as long as possible to gather information. They cannot fight. Regular Shadow Clone wasn't durable enough and if it wanted to last, it would have to preserve its chakra and not engage in combat. Besides, my magic cannot be used by clones. This is the only thing that wouldn't get copied, so even my mana-chakra clones were made with the infusion of some of my mana AFTER it would be created.

"Malika-sensei, is it true that you are stronger than our Gramps?" - Jiraya stopped his meditation and lied down to rest; however, just lazing around was too boring, so he had to speak.

"It depends on what department we would have to be evaluated." - I mulled over the answer. - "If we were competing in Taijutsu, I would loose simply because of his proficiency in that area. Ninjutsu... I would win in firepower since I have more chakra and can make them a bit more powerful; yet, he would win in variety. Due to something happening, I didn't have much time to increase my arsenal."

"What about straight confrontation?" - Orochimaru and the rest came closer, resting from their training.

"How were your gains?"

"I finally felt a slight connection." - He announced with pride.

"Sensei!" - Jiraya brought back his question. - "Who would win if you were to fight?!"

"I would win." - I answered. - "I have a few tricks up my sleeves."

"No."

"What do you mean, Tsunade-chan?"

"You wouldn't win." - She stated firmly.

"Why is that?"

"Sensei, you don't hold many advantages in separate subjects, from what I overheard, so support Tsunade's conclusion." - Hiruko entered the conversation.

I looked at Orochimaru and saw that he was also listening but wasn't intending to butt in. I smirked.

"Do you just want to provoke me into a fight against you?" - I asked them and realised by their auras, that yes, that was the intention. - "You can just say so. I told you, I'm not young and am no longer as much of child as I look to be. It would be pitiful of me to bite this kind of provocation."

I stood up, walked into the centre of our training field and waited for them to come closer.

"Now, attack. All fo you as a team should attack me with the intent to kill. You will be the one distributing your firepower, strategies and such. For the first thirty minutes, I will only defend or avoid your punches; however, after that, you will be knocked out within the minute. You are considered as winners if you manage to land a blow on me, or one of you stays conscious after one minute of my attack. Understood?!"

"Hai!"