Darkwings13: Reference to episode 127 of Naruto Shippuden, and episode 83 of Naruto for the Sannin's bell test.
Orochimaru watched blankly as Sarutobi dashed off to catch their white hair team-mate as he finally dropped into view, still screaming his head off. "Hmph."
"What were you thinking of, Orochimaru?" Tsunade asked curiously as she stood beside him, under the cool shade of a tree. Her pale friend was usually silent, but she could tell from the glazed look in his golden eyes that he had been thinking deeply about something.
"Reminiscing," he answered quietly.
"About what?"
"About the beginning of our friendship and the time you punched me on our first day of school, Tsunade-hime," he replied as he lazily glanced over at her. "I'd say Jiraiya flew much further than I did though."
"Hey! Jiraiya totally deserved it. An-and back then, I just had a really short temper," she protested, turning red at the memory.
He almost chortled but he knew with her reddening face, that would probably be a bad idea. To calm her down, he switched subject. "How did Sarutobi-sensei know that I know you anyways?"
You know her right, Orochimaru?
Remembering their sensei's earlier comment to him, she gave him a cat-like grin."Sarutobi was a student under my grandpa and granduncle. My grandfather had commanded him to take me for the team when I graduated. I then asked if you were going to be on the team."
He quirked an eyebrow in puzzlement, the large golden orbs growing round. "You didn't ask who was going to be on your team. You only asked if I was going to be on the team?"
"Duh," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're not only the number one rookie this year, you're also the only one I cared about in the class." She then pouted and punched him on the arm. "Thanks for the warm welcome, by the way. Who the heck uses 'hmph' as a greeting to a friend?!"
Orochimaru returned his gaze to Sarutobi as he and Jiraiya were headed back their way. "I was in a rather foul mood from having to deal with Jiraiya for half an hour since you were late, Tsunade-hime."
"My hair was messed up today." She knew it was a poor excuse but it was the best she got. Saying she overslept would not help her case. Rolling her eyes, she said, "I supposed you showed up early as usual?"
"I like to be prepared."
Mentally, she decided that a good prank would be to mess with his alarm so that he'd be late for once.
"Alright," Sarutobi said tiredly, setting down his white haired student. He immediately gave Jiraiya the look. "No one speaks until I ask them to. We've already wasted enough time as it is." His stomach growled and he sighed. "Jiraiya, take your place beside Orochimaru."
"Awwww..."
Orochimaru was surprised. Even though she had punched him to the moon, Jiraiya still seemed rather enamoured with her. To his left, Tsunade let out a sigh of relief.
"Now," Sarutobi said, gesturing for them to sit down in the grass. "You've all newly graduated and are now official ninjas. To get to know each other better, why don't you all introduce yourselves?" He nodded at Orochimaru. "Since you and Tsunade already know each other, why don't one of you start first?"
"What?" Jiraiya gaped at him. "You know her?"
Orochimaru replied, "If you had been listening instead of staring at her like a frog, maybe you'd hear."
He glanced over at Tsunade who took the cue. Puffing herself up, she said proudly, "I'm Tsunade Senju, the prettiest kuniochi graduate in the class. Orochimaru is my friend, the number one rookie this year. We like to go gambling and I want to be a ninja who makes sure that everyone I know and care about will always be ok when I'm around."
Sarutobi stared. "But the both of you are still kids-"
"She makes me transform into an adult supervisor as she gambles," Orochimaru explained emotionlessly. "In exchange for letting me read the private scrolls the Senju have collected over the years at their household."
Before Sarutobi could speak, Tsunade spoke up. "My grandfather took me all the time so everyone's used to it."
"Me me me! Me next sensei!"
"Ok..." Sarutobi looked over at Jiraiya, who was shooting Orochimaru some serious jealous looks. His pale student didn't seem to be in a rush for introductions anyways. "Jiraiya, how about you?"
The white hair genin immediately leaped to his feet, posing with one hand straight out and the other behind, his legs spread to balance himself. "I will become known as the great Jiraiya and I want to be strong to be popular with all of the pretty girls out there."
Sarutobi stroked his chin and chuckled. "That's actually not a bad goal." The hair on his neck prickled and he noticed Tsunade giving him a questioning look. Coughing, he asked, "What about you, Orochimaru?"
"I only want to learn and master every technique that is out there," he said simply.
As he was known as 'The Professor', the one who's mastered every technique in Konoha, he was partially delighted and intrigued by his new student's thirst for knowledge. "Is there a particular reason why?"
Tsunade noticed Orochimaru beginning to grow uncomfortable from the way his lips were pressed. Even she herself, never knew the reason why he wanted to learn so many techniques. Wanting to help him, she said, "I think it's cause he wants to be Hokage, Sarutobi-sensei."
Sarutobi chuckled. "That so?"
"Him? Hokage?" Jiraiya laughed, holding a hand to his stomach. "If we carve his face into the mountains, we might just freak out everyone in this village."
One of Orochimaru's eyebrow curved up and he drawled, "Says the one who called me the prettiest girl he's ever seen just by looking at my backside."
Jiraiya immediately turned red. "He-hey! How would I know? Even from this angle, you're prettier than Tsunade."
Tsunade's eyes flashed as she cracked her knuckles. "You called him a girl... and you're calling him prettier than me?"
Sarutobi quickly interrupted them before a fight could break out. "TIME FOR YOUR TEST!"
Orochimaru frowned, his eyes centered on the three posts. Nearby was a forest and to the right was a running river... . So was it both a training and testing field? He could feel Tsunade siddling closer to him and looking at him for an answer or hint to their test but he himself, wasn't sure of what to expect.
Sarutobi smiled as the three lined up besides each other in front of him. "Though you may have passed graduation, I can still send you back if I feel that you're not ready. This is a test that will determine if I even want to be your teacher." He then glanced over at the posts. "Here is your test." Digging into his pockets, he pulled out two gleaming silver bells that were attached to strings. "There are two bells," he began. "And when there are two bells, that means..."
His voice trailed off and Tsunade glanced over at Orochimaru. Just as expected, he caught on immediately. "One person will end up at the log..." In his head, he knew that the one at the log is the one that's most likely to fail as well, unless their skill was impressive enough to have them pass.
Sarutobi nodded. "Very good, Orochimaru."
Orochimaru turned his head slightly when Jiraiya spoke to Tsunade, wearing an eager expression on his face. "Hey if I get a bell, go out with me."
His eyes narrowed from disbelief and exasperation, looking over at Tsunade as she shared his sentiments. "And if you lose, stop bothering me," she said in annoyance.
"Alright, let's do this!" Jiraiya crowed.
Snapping the bells into his palm and closing his hands over it, Sarutobi said firmly, "Come at me as if you're going to kill me." Basic training quickly kicked in, and the three leaped to safety to hide amongst the trees.
Sitting on top of a tree, Orochimaru dangled his legs over the edge and calmly watched. To strike first would be idiotic. He needed to see how good their sensei was, and plan out a counter first. When he felt a vibration run through his tree, he didn't even bother looking. "Tsunade."
She jumped down and kneeled down on the thick tree branch he was sitting on. "He's going to move first while we observe?"
"He'll move first for sure," Orochimaru replied, the both of them referring to Jiraiya. "He's easily excited and the prospect of going on a date with you, Tsunade-hime, is most likely going to interfere with any rationalized thoughts he may actually be capable of."
She shivered and turned over to him. "You have to help me get a bell as well, Orochimaru. I don't want to go on a date with that pervert."
"Hmph."
She glowered at him. "You're not going to help me?"
"It would be amusing to hear how you punched Jiraiya to the moon on your date," he replied honestly. He couldn't help but add, "With your awful luck at gambling, I'm surprised you made this bet."
She giggled, tucking a lock of blond hair behind her ear. "Why do you think I like to take you with me when I gamble? You're my lucky charm." He tilted his head in question. "Remember the first time we met? When you ran into my flying money? I haven't won anything in ages till then. Whenever you're with me, you counter my terrible luck," she said laughing.
He shushed her. "Maybe you won't even need my luck today."
They both watched carefully as Jiraiya charged forward and tossed two kunais at Sarutobi, who easily dodged the attack. One of the bell slipped off of him, landing smacked dab into the dirt. Beside him, Tsunade squealed in panic as Jiraiya cried in delight and reached for it.
"Oh no oh no oh no," she cried.
He remained silent, watching as Jiraiya's finger grazed the bell before he sunk deep down into the earth, with only his head popping up comically from the ground. "Fool," Orochimaru muttered tiredly. He wasn't going to see much of Sarutobi's true abilities with the way Jiraiya was attacking.
"That was too close still," Tsunade protested. Kneeling down, she faced the pale gennin and struck out her lips. "Orochi! You have to help me."
"Hime," he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You haven't realized yet?"
"What?"
One of his eyes slowly opened. "He is Hokage, even if he's been in office for only a month. If we don't work together, we have no chance."
She gasped in delight for a moment before glaring at him. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"It was amusing to see you squirm," he replied honestly, standing up and dusting his robe. "While Jiraiya keeps charging in like a fool, use the time to set up."
"What's the plan?" she asked, rolling a shoulder.
"Lure him that way when I give the signal." Orochimaru's snake like eyes moved over to the right. "About ten minutes away from here. Ready your explosive seals."
Her eyes widened, knowing what idea he was suggesting."But... it's too dangerous. What if we-"
"He said to come at him as if we want to kill him," he cut in, his chin resting on the back of his hand. "If we don't go all out, we don't stand a chance."
She bit her lips hesitantly. Rain of fire... His latest tactical strategy. They never got to practice it yet but theoretically, it was definitely their most fatal move. Then again... Sarutobi was Hokage, he should be alright. Letting out a long breath, she nodded. "Fine."
"Don't disappoint me, especially while we're being tested," he said firmly. "I am not going to go back to the Academy."
"Orochimaru," she snapped back. "You watch out for your part of the plan too. If I end up having to go on a date with Jiraiya, I'll bust down all of your doors."
"Hmph.
Her cheeks turned pink when he smirked at her words. "I'll just sleep over at your house again." He was right in that it wasn't much of a threat since he visited her daily at her home. Her grandfather had been quite fond of him, saying that he reminded him of his old friend Madara, and he hoped to see the friendship between the two grow. Her grandmother also enjoyed his questions about her clan and liked to drink tea with him. When her parents returned from the war, they were happy to see her good grades that he helped her with. The only one that didn't seem to like him was her granduncle, but he was clearly outnumbered. With almost her entire family's approval, they encouraged her to invite him over for weekly dinners and since she liked to sleep in class, she'd sometimes call him over a few times a week to help with her studies. He didn't seem to mind, as he got to use their library in exchange and enjoy the quiet her mansion had to offer. Apparently, his street was getting noisier or something.
"I'm off. Be ready, hime." With that, he jumped down from the tree and dashed off.
Sitting down, she relaxed, confident in Orochimaru's plan. He was the quiet genius that she'd bet her entire life savings on if needs be. They were going to win this, she thought firmly, returning to spying on their teacher.
She snorted when she saw their white hair teammate getting strung up by his feet from another botched attempt at trying to get the bells. For the next twenty minutes, she watched as Jiraiya fell for trap after trap. She didn't know whether it was admirable or funny that he didn't give up already, since he clearly wasn't doing any better from when he started. When he sunk into the waters, she had to hold both hands to her mouth to keep herself from laughing and giving away her position.
"Honestly," muttered Sarutobi. "At this rate, I could sleep and still defend myself against you, Jiraiya."
She giggled at the thought, listening to their conversation from her hiding place and watching as Jiraiya splashed around like mad, trying to grab at Sarutobi's ankle. All of a sudden, she heard the signal. A musical tune played softly, dancing through the air to reach only her ears, as the rushing water and splashing Jiraiya was doing masked it from their teacher. Standing up, she grinned. "Shadow Clone technique!"
Sarutobi leaped away from the water as Tsunade finally emerged from the shrubbery and threw three shurikens at him "There you are!"
Retaliating, he took out one of his own and threw it at her. Making his own hand seals, he shouted, "Shuriken Shadow Clone technique!" The single shuriken turned into three, knocking hers away.
"Not done yet sensei!" She raised a fist, jumping up high and slamming it down hard to send a shockwave of rocks and dirt at him. When he leaped backwards, one of her clone popped up from the ground and cracked the area beneath him, forcing him further back. As he landed, her eyes shone and she snapped her fingers. "Boom."
"Hiding in Surface technique." Orochimaru slowly sank into the tree to mask his presence inside the wood. As expected, he could hear the loud sounds of destruction as Tsunade wrecked havoc, using both her immense strength, clones and explosive tags to force their teacher in his direction. It was a brutal attack that he considered quite efficient. With those techniques, it'd be hard enough to get away from her, let alone attack her. His lips curled, pleased by her performance. Even here, he could feel the earth shaking.
Finally, their teacher came into view. As his feet touched one of the trees he trapped, he emerged halfway out of his own and yanked hard on the sharp metal wires. The wires, which had been invisible a moment ago, snapped immediately, wrapping around their teacher and drawing blood.
"Did you get him?" cried Tsunade excitedly.
His eyes narrowed as the body turned mud. An earth clone...
"Not good enough." Sarutobi grinned as he made a few hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Flow River!" The ground and trees began liquefying into a powerful sludge that rushed towards them.
"Tsunade, now!" He hastily pulled on a second set of strings as she raced towards him.
A rain of explosive tags came down on their heads as Tsunade reached him. Grabbing her by the waist, he dragged her in with his technique and they escaped the area of explosives and flowing mud.
"That was close," Sarutobi panted as he managed to escape by blocking half of the attacks with an earth wall technique.
"Wind Release: Spiralling Blast!" A gust of pressurized wind came at him, and he felt it struck his shoulder as he dodged it. To his surprise, Tsunade jumped up, trying to punch him square in the jaw. Countering her punch with his own kicks and punches, he sent her falling down hard just as she kicked him in the stomach.
"Augh!"
"Tsunade!"
From his right, Orochimaru held out his kunai and slashed at the bells swinging from his belt. The bells dropped down along with Tsunade and he sped up as he ran down a tree. Pressing his feet hard, he pushed himself forward and caught her in his arms. Opening his mouth, he managed to catch one of the bell and he landed down heavily on the ground. He glanced over at the other falling bell half-heartedly, letting their teacher catch it.
"Sorry," Tsunade murmured apologetically. On the inside, she felt rather warm that he had called out her name and rescued her. "Oro... ewwwww!" He dropped the slimy saliva covered bell into her hands and she turned green. "Really?" she asked as he gently set her down.
"Stay back, you're out of chakra." He placed himself in front of her and drew out his kunai.
"Hmmm..." Sarutobi looked at the two, impressed by their teamwork. "Who came up with the setup?" He could see the answer from the glint on Orochimaru's eyes and he chuckled. "So, you came up with the plan. Then, you sacrificed a bell for yourself to save your teammate?"
"There's no point in having two bells," he replied calmly, his long black hair gently dancing in the wind. "I don't want to see her fail and lose her as my team-mate. No one else has her talents."
Tsunade's cheeks turned pink at his compliments. "Orochimaru..."
"There's not much point if you don't pass, right?" Sarutobi asked. "Why not keep the bell to yourself, then work on getting the other one for her?"
Orochimaru said blankly, "I will fight harder for the last bell if it's for myself." He adjusted his stance, still looking for an opening while they talked. "Besides, it's only fair she gets the bell. She did most of the work."
Sarutobi's eyebrow raised up in surprise at the close bond. "One last question. Orochimaru, how do you feel about a mission's importance in comparison to your teammate's lives?"
"A valuable ninja can contribute more to a village in the long run, over one failed mission," he answered. "If my comrades are strong, they are more important."
Sarutobi pursed his lips. "What if they're not?"
"Then they aren't important enough for consideration."
The cold answer stunned him and he felt ice settled over his lungs. "You think that?"
Orochimaru's golden eyes grew dark. "I only have one heart. It can only shatter so many times, sensei. I will not invest my feelings in those who are weak."
Sarutobi's eyes narrowed, sensing the pain behind those words. "What happened, Orochimaru?" When he didn't reply, he said, "I can fail you for many more reasons than being unable to get the bell from me. Your next answer, will determine whether you stay or leave."
Tsunade quickly spoke up, concerned for her friend. "He's an orphan, sensei! He doesn't understand!"
"Enough talk," Orochimaru said, charging forward when he saw the surprise flash across his teacher's face. To not take advantage now would be regrettable. Leaping up, he delivered down a drop kick. When their teacher dodged, he twisted in midair and aimed for his back which was then blocked. They exchanged a few blows back and forth before he had to step back, knowing he was not going to be able to win with hand to hand combat alone.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball technique!"
A rush of hot air passed over him and behind him, Tsunade screamed. "You idiot Jiraiya! We're here too!"
Without another word, he grabbed her hand as he performed the Hiding like a Mole technique to escape the massive fireball that Jiraiya had spewed out. Above his head, he could hear it explode and set everything on fire. "Tsunade, listen. I have a plan."
As they were underground, she couldn't see him at all but she could hear the urgency in his voice. " What is it?"
"Take half of my chakra. Then..." He lowered his head and whispered into her ear.
"Sorry! So sorry! Oh my god I set the forest on fire!" Jiraiya pulled at his hair and ran around in a circle. "I killed them all!"
"Geez." Sarutobi appeared behind Jiraiya in a flash of smoke. "You really are a dwarf."
"Hmph."
Sartuobi's eyes widened when hands popped up from the ground and grabbed at his ankles in vice-like grip. Beside him, Orochimaru released his transformation that disguised himself as Jiraiya and swiped the last bell, leaping backwards to safety. Just as he thought, Sarutobi completely let down his guard around their white hair team-mate. "Tsunade," he said curtly. "We're done."
She popped up from the ground and grinned. "Hehe."
"Wait, then where is-" His answer appeared when Jiraiya rolled out from behind a bush, knocked out from using up all of his chakra on that gigantic fireball. Which... was currently setting the forest on fire and he was sure people were going to come running soon at this rate.
"Water Release: Hand of Waves." Orochimaru held out a pale and delicate hand, spraying great jets of water to put out the fire. In a few minutes, he completely doused out all the flames.
Sarutobi couldn't help but be impressed. The kid not only had talent with strategizing, he seemed to have mastered quite a good number of techniques at such a young age. That transformation jutsu, was performed flawlessly. As the two waited for him to say something, he smiled. Tsunade and Orochimaru definitely displayed excellent teamwork together. Jiraiya, in his own accidental way had also helped so he guess he could call that teamwork as well. Judging from the massive fireball and required skill to launch it, he could tell that the white haired boy possessed talent. He just needed some more training, that was all. Chuckling, he said, "You all pass. But Jiraiya will have to go to the post."
"I'll do it!" Tsunade cheered, running over to drag him to the post.
Orochimaru looked up as their teacher walked over to him. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I don't want any pity, sensei." When Sarutobi placed a hand on his head and rubbed it, he was surprised.
"It's not pity," replied Sarutobi. "It's respect. Despite your loss, you're strong, Orochimaru."
"You were frightened by my answer," he replied emotionlessly. "This strength scares you."
He smiled kindly at him. "This strength has potential. I can also see that behind your answer, is both fear and love." When Orochimaru continued staring up at him silently, Sarutobi said gently, "You'll see." He pushed Orochimaru foward. "Let's go see how Jiraiya is doing."
As they approached the log, they could see that Jiraiya had regained consciousness and was staring glumly at Tsunade. She was happily dangling the bell in front of his face and smiling widely. "Looks like I won the bet, Jiraiya. You got to go to the log after all."
"Shut up, you flat chested chopping board, Tsunade!" Jiraiya retorted angrily.
Beside them, Sarutobi wore a blank expression, almost not caring about their bickering at this point. Orochimaru could see the familiar twitching vein on his friend's head as she snapped back and grabbed onto the front of Jiraiya's shirt. "Say what, you pervy no brain!"
"Hey now, that's enough," Sarutobi said tiredly. "Tsunade and Orochimaru, go home"
Letting him go, she said, "Okay." Unable to resist, she stuck her tongue out and held up her bell once more before walking.
Orochimaru looked away from the tied up boy, smirking slightly as he followed after Tsunade. "Hmph." IF there was one good thing about Jiraiya being on the team, it was that he would serve well as entertainment.
"Hey hey, what do you want to do?" asked Tsunade as they passed through the village's gate.
"Read," he replied.
Tsunade pouted. "Oh you're so boring sometimes, Orochimaru. Come on, let's go celebrate for passing the test!" She giggled and twirled the bell. "Thanks to you, I don't have to go on a date with Jiraiya."
He eyed her pleased expression and said, "Then, would you go on a date with me since I helped you?"
Her jaw dropped. "Did you..."
He quirked an eyebrow at her. "I don't have much interests in a date, Tsunade-hime. It was a jest. If you want to repay me, just buy me lunch."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "I didn't know you could crack jokes."
"I used to."
She looked back at him and was surprised to see the familiar glint of sadness in his golden eyes. Her shoulders dropped, knowing that he was probably thinking about his past with his parents again. "Orochimaru," she said slowly. "I'm sorry for telling Sarutobi-sensei that you're an orphan. I just-"
He silenced her with a look. "Don't apologize for the truth. I am an orphan."
She hurried after him as he walked past her. "He-hey, let's go to the Dango shop over there!" she suggested, hoping that some sugar might cheer him up.
"Not in the mood for sweets."
She quickly said, "Wait! How about uhhhh... want to come over to my house and study in my library?" To her relief, he stopped and slowly nodded. It was a good thing that he was so studious that he would rarely pass up a chance to visit her family's library. "Ok! I'll run ahead and get the servants to prepare snacks! See you in abit!" She stopped when he grabbed onto her wrist. "Hmm?"
"Let's buy a bento box first."
"Eh? O-oh sure!" She blinked questioningly. "You hungry, Oro?"
"It's for Jiraiya."
She stared at him before gasping, "FOR JIRAIYA?!"
"He'll be tied up until sunset," Orochimaru replied, tilting his head to look down at her, his bangs partially hiding his eyes. "If he doesn't eat, he'll be a hindrance for tomorrow." When she seemed reluctant, he added, "Without him, I wouldn't have been able to get the second bell that easily. I don't like to owe people, Tsunade."
"Fine, but who the heck is going to feed him? His hands are tied up." She pointed at him and said angrily, "I refuse to feed that pervert who called me flat chested."
Orochimaru smiled. "Send someone to deliver it to him."
"Fine," she said, rolling her eyes. She jumped slightly in surprise when he idly blew a breath of wind across her face to catch her attention.
"We can study for a few hours. Afterwards, what would you like to do, Tsunade-hime?"
She looked at him in delight. "You... want to do something else?" He was the type of guy to not move from his seat until his own eyeballs dropped out of his socket when he was studying something interesting. The last time she agreed to study with him in the library for their final, she lost all feelings in both her buttocks. They sat there for the longest time and whenever she suggested they'd do something else, he'd glared at her. Not wanting to fail or lose to him, she forced herself to sit there and read. She wasn't sure if she should be impressed or horrified that even though she fell asleep on his shoulder and drenched it in drool for the rest of the night, he didn't seem to even notice as he continued his readings until the crack of dawn.
"You were very impressive back there after all. You deserve to do something you like," he replied, the corners of his lips curving up. "That, and I don't want to have you drool all over me again. I've learned that you can only stay in there for a maximum of four hours until you fall asleep, hime."
Tsunade beamed, always happy to see his eyes take on the color of melted honey. "How about we spar with each other later?"
"You know I'd win," he replied smoothly, but intrigued that instead of asking him to goof off or gamble, she wanted to train.
"Hey! I won for our bet last year," she protested.
"That wasn't much of a real fight. Especially since you cheated and bit my hand," he replied with a sigh.
Crossing her arms, she pointed her nose up. "Are we going to spar or what? I want to get stronger to beat you in a real fight then, Orochimaru."
"As you wish." He smiled, folding his hand behind his back and continuing to walk with her. "I like you when you're strong, Tsunade."
Shyly, she smiled. "You've... been complimenting me alot today, Orochimaru."
"I am merely honest," he stated. When she giggled, he inwardly wondered why girls were so strange. Perhaps he should study up on them when he has the time.
Darkwings13:
-The bell test was designed to test teamwork. Without working together, obtaining the bells would be nearly impossible. The fact that Sarutobi mentioned that Orochimaru and Tsunade already know each other and that they ended up with the bells while Jiraiya got tied up suggested that they probably worked together to pass the test. With Orochimaru being a genius, and Tsunade graduating at the top of the class with him, they probably pulled it off, evidenced by her dangling the winning bell in front of Jiriaya. With Jiraiya making a bet against Tsunade for a date, it's nearly impossible for those two to work together. It's also unlikely Orochimaru would work with Jiraiya, since we see continously fall into traps by himself. Only way I can think of passing Jiraiya, was having him accidentally end up helping the other two somehow, and showing at least some potential.
-I enjoyed having kid Orochimaru throw up stuff from his mouth like his grown-up part. Hehe, kid Oro just doesn't know any better xD Poor Tsunade.
JigokuShoujosRevenge, thank you! I try my best to search for little details and evidences for my shippings. The things I find, I can usually get inspiration from to help with avoiding writer's block as well haha. :) Glad you liked their childhood presentation so far my friend.