The next day Setsuna was walking towards the ninja school like usual, Shizune by his side and Bebe on his shoulder as the little rat tried to look big and tall after his good work the day before.
"Are you sure you are okay, Setsuna? Teacher Tsunade was worried after you passed out."
"Nah, it is fine. It is just that my pain receptors got too sensitive after they were reactivated and my brain went through some backlash, but it is nothing that a good night's sleep wouldn't solve. And hey, how could I miss class today? I will be able to learn from senior Orochimaru, I am sure he will be able to help me a lot, especially with mastering some elemental and special things!" Setsuna said with some excitement.
Shizune nodded her head, more or less understanding where Setsuna was coming from. Sure, Tsunade was the greatest medic ninja in the world, but her repertoire of jutsus was nothing great since she spent most of her life learning more about the body and how to heal it. It was different from Orochimaru who has mastered dozens, if not hundreds, of ninjutsus, having mastered all five elemental releases, or Jiraya who was famous for his summoning, fuinjutsu, and Sage Mode.
They each had their own advantages and disadvantages in the end.
As for Setsuna, he knew that Orochimaru would start human experiments of all sorts in the future, some truly twisted and terrible ones no doubt… but he figured they should only start in earnest only after the war ends, not right now. Besides, Orochimaru was probably the best person to help Setsuna in learning and investigating the intricacies of chakra and developing new and unique jutsus, not to mention perhaps studying ways to improve his body beyond just training.
Setsuna was honestly not willing to try and mix in the power from Senjuu or Uchiha on his body seeing as those two bloodlines coming from Hagoromo, but there was always the Kaguya bloodline he could get from Kiri and even maybe the Otsusuki bloodlines from the moon he could try and maybe mix in there since they originate from Hamura.
He was not sure of the effect it would have if mixed, but it at least should have a positive effect on his chakra amount and growth in several aspects, similar to the positive outcome Obito had with his Mangekyo by having Hashirama Cells, all but evolving his eyes into Eternal Mangekyo even without exchanging them.
Not to mention, Setsuna felt that he and Orochimaru could perhaps use the war to capture some bloodline users or at least some samples from all over the world for the sake of research!
Things like the Explosion Release from Iwa, the magnet release from Suna, Ice Release from Kiri or even other types of release and novelties out there. There was so much the two could investigate together, it was mouth watering just to imagine what he could figure out!
Seeing the excited expression from Setsuna, Shizune felt relieved. She was worried the previous day that something would not go right after the whole thing with the Hyuga Clan, but if he was okay then everything was fine for the little girl… even if her bottom was still a bit red and stinging after teacher disciplined her about 'overreacting'.
The young disciple, though ,refused to gamble in such matters, not after experiencing Tsunade's luck with gambling many times. With how their teacher was with gambling, Shizune was confident that, had Tsunade betted on Setsuna, it was entirely possible a meteor might fall from the sky right on Setsuna's face or something to that extent.
That was how bad Tsunade was at gambling, after all.
And so, the two walked side by side into the school grounds and soon were in their usual class. Teacher division going forward as usual.
"Team Seven: Hyuga Setsuna, Mitarashi Anko, Uchiha Obito. Teacher: Orochimaru."
Setsuna, hearing the team composition, was not shocked that Anko was in it. The girl was an Orochimaru student in the past, after all. But what shocked and terrified him was Obito being in his team.
He felt it then, almost as if a shadow covering him, the eyes of Madara turning in his general direction. The very last person he wanted on his team was in it, he would take even dead weight like Ebisu over Obito, if only because he could serve as comic relief.
Not that Obito was any happier, he hated Setsuna with a passion since he knew of Rin's not so secret crush on him as well as, well, all the many, many, many beatings that Setsuna gave him during sparring sessions.
Pretty sure one of the reasons why Obito was dead last in class even with Guy present was because of how low his grades on the spars went, no thanks to Setsuna who always took great pleasure in slapping him around and Obito refusing to admit surrender no matter what, challenging him whenever his injuries from the spars were healed.
As for Anko, she was excited too. She didn't have as much contact with Setsuna as others but she knew he was strong and, most importantly, she was a huge fan of Orochimaru. He, like her, was just a civilian but managed to be at the very top of his class and in all aspects since the start. In many ways he was the ideal Anko looked up to, so she was happy to be in his class. And for Obito, she honestly couldn't care less.
He was little more than dead weight in her eyes, she could only hope he would not drag them down later.
The teacher continued dividing classes though.
"Team eleven: Sarutobi Asuma, Kurenai Yuuhi, Might Guy. Teacher is Nara Shikaku. Team Twelve: Genma Shiranui, Nohara Rin, Kato Shizune. Teacher is Namikaze Minato."
'Shit. Shit, Shit, Shit, SHIT!' Setsuna thought as he heard that Rin and Shizune would be in the same team. Minato is always late when it comes to saving his team and if Obito is taken by Madara then the old bastard would definitely aim at Rin, regardless of who might be around.
Setsuna's hands clenched as he thought that far. He already planned to protect Rin if he could, at most allowing her to become the jinchuuriki of the three tails and reinforcing her seal at the right time (knowing Madara there was every chance the old man would just stage something if needed to blacken Obito anyway), but whoever was AROUND Rin would not get the benefit of survival if shit hits the fan.
With hands clenched, Setsuna's mind went a mile a minute. Allowing Rin to become the three or six tails jinchuuriki would be overall good for her since she definitely could use the boost and the two were quite gentle in nature, they would easily work well with her when needed, but Shizune was not someone he wanted to allow to be in harm's way.
'There should be at least a few years before the war starts and gets close to the end. As long as Obito doesn't get himself taken by Madara there would be time to prepare to ensure that things work out right! I need to get strong, strong enough to at least be able to protect those I care about and actually BE THERE in case shit happens.' Setsuna thought, in his mind he already was creating and discarding plans on how to go about doing it.
War or no war, Madara or no Madara, he would not let his friends die just like that. He refuses to allow it, no matter what!
Setsuna's P.O.V.
Sitting down while waiting for teacher to show up, I scribble down in very broken Spanish mixed with English on the words I am not sure about theories over how exactly I can make sure Shizune would be safe. Good thing neither language is known though so I can write as much as I want without needing to fear others figuring it out (the one time my subpar knowledge of spanish is useful).
However, my good mood only goes up to this since, as it turns out, making sure nothing happens is hard as all hells. I do not overly worry about Asuma's team since, as the son of the Hokage and still young, his team most likely would not go anywhere dangerous. The Minato team is a huge danger waiting to explode.
Maybe some form of barrier? No, it would not work. Sealing barriers are not made to be movable and those that can do it normally need a lot of prep time and not work all that great nor be all that powerful.
"... Flying Thunder God maybe?" I mutter as I think about that jutsu. No clue how it works to be honest, it was not amongst the seals Kushina has access to and when I asked Minato to teach me he said I would need the permission of the Hokage to learn.
Prick.
Regardless, that is likely the best solution to ensure things don't spiral out of control completely. Just no clue how to get access to it, not even if I can actually learn it.
Guess that the best solution is making sure Obito doesn't be taken away for longer, or until I am ready. And as for making sure he is not taken or turned into Madara's successor, sorry that I refuse to mess with. Dangerous as Obito would be, I would at least know his jutsus and their reaknesses, few as they might be, which is better than facing some other Mangekyo with who knows what ability and who knows what sort of crazy schemes.
"Teacher is taking too long." Obito said as we were the last ones in class. He has been pacing for a while now, which was kinda annoying, so I just say.
"If you are bored you can always practice chakra control. Last I checked, you still were incapable of walking on walls." I say with a hint of derision and he snorts.
"Of course I can do that! Watch!" And the kid ran to do just that, running up the wall just a few steps before his control faltered and he fell down.
Honestly, this is still leagues better than what would be seen as the norm in the future, but the exercises and training we went through are also leagues better and Obito's chakra control in the entire class is subpar. Sure, it is not THE worst, but not much greater than the worse one either.
Honestly, I only hope he can get stronger. Not much stronger right now, but strong enough where he won't need to have a close encounter with a rock any time soon.
I watched with amusement for a bit his training. He succeeds somewhat, but his excitement over every little success makes him lose focus and drop again and again. He seriously has not taken becoming a shinobi as seriously as he should have, huh.
Well, seeing as the future edgiest lord mastermind has started to do something useful, I decided to try the same as I activate my Byakugan just in case. Orochimaru was a 'snake' so to say, it would not shock me if he was already around and testing us at this instant.
… Look and behold, there was a small snake camouflaged on a chair on a corner a distance away. It was very small and its coloring was such that it would be hard to find out if you are not looking, but now that I found it I can just deal with it the correct way.
Standing up I move towards the said chair. With my Byakugan still active I noticed Anko looking in my direction with a bored expression and Obito on the floor, having dropped once more as he was trying to walk up it.
Getting to the chair I bow respectfully in the snake's direction and say.
"Could you ask Orochimaru-sensei to come over please? Also, if he is busy at the moment and can't come, please ask him to inform us of some other specific time and place we can meet later."
Anko, smart cookie that she was, clearly understood that I had seen some form of snake she was not seeing. Shame Obito seemed to not understand what exactly was going on and was looking at me as if I had gone crazy. Poor kid, he suffers from 'failed shonen protagonist' syndrome. Tragic really, his brain doesn't work right.
There was a puff of smoke from the snake and, about a minute later, a larger one from the front desk as Orochimaru appeared.
"Kukuku, took longer than I expected for you to find me, Setsuna-kun." Orochimaru said with his patented creepy expression.
I just shrug.
"Had a lot on my mind, took me a while. Besides, if you are not in a hurry to show up, I don't mind just training in the meanwhile." I said easily enough.
Anko, as a ball of pure energy, came running and said while looking up at Orochimaru in an excited tone.
"Lord Orochimaru, it is an no honor to be in your presence and be one of your students. I know this is a lot, but please take me as your personal disciple!"
"... No." Was Orochimaru's simple and direct answer to her request of being his personal disciple.
Well, it makes sense. Personal disciples are those you pass down most, if not all, your techniques. For instance I am the personal disciple of Tsunade, having learned most of her medic techniques and her strange force jutsu. I currently only lack mastering the Hundred Healings Mark, Yin Seal, and sign a contract with Lady Katsuyu to inherit everything, and the only reason I didn't was that the Hundred Healings Mark demands one to have the Yin Seal and that one needs me to be a bit older or it would influence my growth later on.
It would cause me an imbalance of Yin and Yang energies in the body… even if I do think it should be possible to create something like a Yang seal to complement it and get better results in the end, but I have no clue exactly how to go about making one right now. Can only hope Kushina can help me out on that one whenever she feels bored while waiting for the marriage to happen.
As for the contract with Katsuyu, I am still considering what beast contract I should choose precisely. A person can have multiple contracts, but the more you get the harder it would be for the beasts to agree to sign a contract with you and depending on who they might even unilaterally cancel the contract from their end as well. Need to worry about this sort of thing.
In the end, becoming the personal disciple of anyone of the 'kage' level is no small thing. They don't accept just anyone and any such personal disciple represents them to an extent, their inheritance in the future, their prestige in the future, but comes at the price of being a target for other villages.
No village wants an enemy one having a constant supply of strong individuals, after all.
As such, there is just no way Orochimaru would offer Anko or anyone to become his personal disciple just like tha-
"But I can consider you for the position, Setsuna-kun." Orochimaru said, turning in my direction and stopping my entire train of thought.
"Huh? But I already am that to Lady Tsunade and-" I counter, knowing normally one did not take multiple teachers in this way since it would be hard to fully inherit a person's full skills, much less learning from multiple ones to the limit.
"Don't worry about Tsunade-hime. She may grumble, but she won't fight me too hard over it." Orochimaru said, and I wonder just where did he got that confidence from. Teacher is a very possessive woman, after all. "Besides, I only said 'consider'. You would still need to pass some tests of mine before I do take you as a personal disciple." Orochimaru said and I had to wonder if this was good or bad news.
… Oh, who am I kidding? The guy knows a metric fuck ton of jutsus and most likely can get me the Flying Thunder God technique and a bunch of other forbidden techniques. Besides, his survival ninjutsu are the absolute peak in this entire world, the first and only ninja to achieve Immortality without eating the chakra fruit or being Otsusuki.
It is not for nothing that he 'died' several times, and yet he was alive and well without any problem, even 'young' in a way, by the age of Naruto.
If I can learn from him and combine it with what I learned from teacher Tsunade, I can't even imagine how strong exactly I can become if I don't die early on.
Maybe I can 'dance' with Madara one on one? Now that would certainly be noice.
"Sensei, and me? Can I be your personal disciple?" Obito questioned, getting close with an expectant expression.
"You are a test subject, survive long enough and maybe you can reach the goon level." Orochimaru said, making Obito almost trip by himself.
I snorted at this, making the Uchiha shoot a glare in my direction.
"Now, I do not care for your opinions, thoughts, dreams, or anything of the sort. I will make things simple, I want you all to meet me in the Forty-Fourth Training Ground. I will meet you all there in two hours." Orochimaru finished and then poofed out of existence.
"Yosh, last to get there is the loser!" Obito shouts to me and Anko, running ahead and away. Anko just snorts before turning to me.
"That place, isn't it the-"
"Forest of Death, yes. We should go get some basic supplies I think."
"Yeah, I will go and find some insect repellents and basic camping gear. Can you get Soldier Pills and medicine?"
"No problem. Meet you there at the time." I said easily, happy that someone actually stopped to realize where we would be going and what was to be expected going there.
Honestly, going somewhere like the Forest of Death for the Genin Acceptance exam is quite exaggerated, but it is not like it would not be interesting to do so anyway. Besides, the Forest of Death is where the most nature energy and, by consequence, giant beasts and unique herbs exist around Konoha.
I have wanted to go there for a while now, my medicine production is progressing nicely but I think that the things there should also be a good help.
After getting everything ready I got to the destination still having about four or five minutes to spare. I was the last to arrive of the three of us so I greeted the others.
"Hey there."
Obito just points his finger at my face with a triumphant expression.
"I won!"
"Good for you." I said without missing a beat, knowing it would piss off the Uchiha something fierce to have his 'victory' be dealt with like that. "Anyway, I got enough here to last us for at least a few days without issue for food and medicine. How about you, Anko?"
"I am good. Got what we needed right here." She said, taking out a scroll. "Nothing fancy, but we should at least be good against insects and have somewhere to sleep."
Obito just looked at us in doubt, so I decided to enlighten him.
"We just prepared in case Orochimaru-sensei wants to make us stay in the forest or something like that."
"But, but the forest of death is a place for Chunin normally. Genins normally only go there on the Chunin exam, if that." Obito said in shock.
"Kukuku, and that is what makes this a good place for my test." A creepy and raspy voice sounded from the ground and, from it, Orochimaru surged slowly.
Gotta admit, that was cool.
"Now, the mission for me to accept you as members of my team is simple. I want you all to enter the tower at the center of this forest in five days' time. You all must get there together and be in a healthy state by then."
As I hear this, I actually wince asI realize the difficulty of this. That place is definitely dangerous and while I am mostly confident to deal with it without great difficulty, Anko lacks jutsus that can help her on a larger scale, being a civilian ninja and all, while Obito… has the mind of a shonen protagonist but not the power to accompany it.
I can only rely on my Byakugan to help make sure that I can guide us away from more dangerous places and-
"Setsuna, as an extra stipulation, I will have you carry one of my snakes and, if you want to become my personal disciple, you are not allowed to use your Byakugan."
"Oh, that is some bullshit." I said instantly in Orochimaru's words.
He just chuckles before he snaps his fingers, the gates to the forest opening and he mutters.
"Consider this your first lesson, escort missions are always awful."