Undergoing massive editing

Hiruzen was a very old man. An understatement, really. At 66 long and arduous years of age he has seen and done many more things than should be possible in his dangerous career as a shinobi.

From being mentored by the First and Second Hokage to fighting in the Second Great Ninja War. Achieving the rank of Hokage at the age of 22 and carrying the Will of Fire of his predecessors to retiring and passong on his hat to the most skilled prodigy of his generation at the end of the Third Great Ninja War. From the attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox to his subsequent reacquisition of the title... yes, one could say he was a very old man.

Because of his sometimes painful self awareness he knew that the next generation would need someone like him. Somewhere during his life he had had a vision. A vision of an unstoppable three man team, each perfectly well rounded with a specialization that benefits the other members of the team. So he took on three promising students with varying backgrounds and personalities.

Jiraya was a boy with wild spiky white hair with red birthmarks(likely a lost clan trait) that stop just a bit from the edges of his eyes. Orphaned by the Second Great Ninja War, with high writing scores and a below average kunai and shuriken accuracy. The most notable, however, was that on his file was written: 'Almost completely unmatched in hand to hand combat'.

That was what had put him on Hiruzen's radar(he had vividly remember raising his eyebrows at seeing the level of proficiency the boy had in taijutsu). So he looked further and found that there was a reason he was almost unmatched in taijutsu.

Orochimaru, another orphan with what Hiruzen assumed was some sort of purple eyeliner (he never asked) that contrasted heavily with his unnaturally pale skin color. His file read: Near perfect accuracy with kunai and shuriken, very book smart with knowledge in various categories, and tied for first in taijutsu.'

'An old fashioned boyish rivalry...' He nodded, knowing that he could use this to push both of them to their very best, unconsciously thinking about his old and still living rivalry with his teammate and advisor Danzo.

His next choice however was someone who he's had his eyes on for quite a bit...

Tsunade Senju, granddaughter of the First Hokage and the 'princess' of Konaha. A girl of short stature (they all were, really) with blonde hair and short temper and very talented. 'Above average accuracy with weapons, phenomenal writing scores with an interest in anatomy, and below average in taijutsu.'

This confused Hiruzen, considering good taijutsu and high accuracy usually went hand in hand. What confused him more was what was noted below her taijutsu scores.

*Wields above average strength that has potential to do massive damage.The rest was history. As they grew and fought together, their formidableness grew exponentially. When they were together during the Third Great Ninja War they were nigh insurmountable, easily wiping out entire platoons of jounin and Anbu level ninja. That was exactly what he had envisioned and it had worked out perfectly.

Almost.

To his disgust, he had discovered that Orochimaru had been doing unspeakable experiments on Konoha citizens without his knowledge. After it came to light, Hiruzen had all but incinerated Orochimaru with him barely escaping with life (he had subconsciously gripped his desk a little to harshly while thinking about it). It appeared that the decision to choose Minato over him took a bigger hit to his pyche than he had ever thought possible.

A perfect segway to his next thoughts though.

Minato, the Yellow Flash and Fourth Hokage, turning point of the Third Great Ninja War and Public Enemy of Iwa. An impressive amount titles to be sure. Jiraiya's fourth student and most promising. When Minato became a Jounin he immediately applied to become a Jounin sensei. It was obvious that he had been thinking about it for some time, made even more obvious when he asked for three students specifically.

Obito Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, and Rin Nohara. After looking over their individual files and comparing them, Hiruzen was sure that this was deliberate and calculated by Minato. He knew what Minato was doing and allowed it, thinking about the results that it could bring.

And results it brought! It was almost a mirror of his sensei days, with Team Minato soaring ahead of other Konoha teams, Kakashi in particular leaps and bounds ahead of his classmates. At age 6 he was a Chunin and then at age 10 a Jounin. Not a big celebrator, all he asked for was a mission with his team.

A very unfortunate mission it would be.