The front gate of Konoha was bustling with people.
But unlike the usual clamor, the atmosphere at this moment was solemn and respectful.
The first army, about to set off for the front lines in the Land of Rain, was making its final assembly here.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and several chunin under their command who served as support and logistics.
At the very front of the procession, three young people with distinct styles attracted everyone's attention.
"Hehe, Tsunade, from today on, I'm the commander. You have to listen to me!"
Jiraiya, wearing a brand-new combat uniform with a giant scroll on his back, stood with his hands on his hips, winking at Tsunade, looking like a petty person who had achieved success.
He felt that Teacher Hokage had appointed him as the squad leader because he definitely saw the heroic spirit and leadership talent in him.
The answer he received was Tsunade's fist, which was already cracking.
"Commander? You, an idiot?"
A cross popped on Tsunade's forehead, her golden ponytail whipping with her anger. "I'm warning you, Jiraiya, if you dare to mess around on the battlefield, I'll be the first to beat you into a pulp!"
"Oh, Tsunade, how can you say that? We're comrades in arms now, we have to be united!" Jiraiya said with a cheeky grin, sidling closer.
"Get lost!"
"Thump!"
A dull thud, accompanied by a miserable cry, sent Jiraiya flying in a familiar parabola for more than ten meters, landing heavily on the ground.
The ninjas who had come to see them off couldn't help but laugh at this scene.
These two clowns, even at a time like this, hadn't changed a bit.
Orochimaru, as if he had seen nothing, stood alone to the side, silently checking the various bottles and jars in his ninja pouch.
Those bottles contained all the latest things he had researched: healing potions, nerve-paralyzing toxins, and some experimental products whose effects even he hadn't fully figured out yet.
In his golden, serpentine pupils, there was not the slightest tension about the war, but rather a glint of excitement.
War meant a large number of wounded, a large number of special cases.
For him, the battlefield was the best laboratory.
Just as the scene descended into chaos, a figure appeared silently before them.
It was Sarutobi Hiruzen.
He wasn't wearing the heavy Hokage robe, but a practical black ninja combat suit, with a gentle smile on his face.
"Sensei!"
Tsunade and Orochimaru immediately stood straight and called out respectfully.
Jiraiya, who had been knocked dizzy, also scrambled to his feet, stood at attention, his face bruised and purple, but his expression was unusually serious.
"It seems your pre-departure warm-up was very thorough," Hiruzen joked, glancing at Jiraiya's miserable state.
Jiraiya scratched his head and chuckled foolishly, not daring to reply.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze swept over the three of them one by one.
Jiraiya, hot-blooded and impulsive, but at critical moments, possessed a great energy that could inspire others.
Tsunade, kind and resilient, her medical ninjutsu and monstrous strength would be the team's most reliable shield.
Orochimaru, calm and intelligent, his mind and endless stream of mysterious ninjutsu would be the team's sharpest dagger.
Each of them had fatal flaws, but when combined, they could unleash an unimaginable power.
"I don't have much more to say."
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't give them the usual elder's advice to be careful and to come back alive.
Because he knew that for a ninja, these were empty words.
He just looked at his three students before him and said slowly, in a meaningful tone, "Remember, you are one unit."
"On the battlefield, the only thing you can unconditionally trust is each other's backs."
With that, he turned and gestured for them to depart.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were all stunned.
They didn't expect their teacher's farewell to be so simple.
But the phrase "you are one unit" was like a seed, deeply imprinted in each of their hearts.
The three of them exchanged a look, and for the first time, they saw a different kind of emotion in each other's eyes.
"Move out!"
Jiraiya roared and was the first to run out of the village.
Tsunade and Orochimaru followed closely behind.
Their figures soon disappeared at the end of the road.
...
Several days later, on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
The continuous drizzle washed the entire world in a grayish color.
The air was filled with the smell of damp earth and rotting leaves, so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
"This damn weather is really annoying," Jiraiya said irritably, wiping the rain from his face.
They had already set up a simple camp here and had been on patrol for several days, but they hadn't seen a single enemy.
The entire border was eerily quiet.
This feeling was even more unbearable than charging directly into the enemy's formation.
"Stop complaining," Tsunade said irritably, drying her wet clothes with chakra. "The quietness is what's problematic. Do you think this is a picnic?"
"Of course I know it's not a picnic!"
Orochimaru, who had been silent all this time, stretched out his pale, slender fingers, touched some of the mud on the ground, sniffed it, and then licked it with the tip of his tongue.
"Ugh, what are you doing?" Tsunade looked at him with disgust.
"There are trace amounts of toxin residue in the soil," Orochimaru said, his golden, serpentine pupils narrowing slightly. "And the flow of chakra in the air is very abnormal. This place is like a spider's web that's already been set, just waiting for us to walk into it."
Hearing the word "toxin," the expressions of both Jiraiya and Tsunade instantly became serious.
They might not be as strategically sensitive as Orochimaru, but their combat instincts were just as sharp.
They also felt the danger hidden in this seemingly peaceful forest.
The oppressive atmosphere made all three of them drop their usual demeanor and vigilantly observe their surroundings.
The rain fell harder and harder.
The raindrops pattered on the leaves, making a rustling sound that masked all other noises in the forest.
Just then.
Orochimaru, who was scouting ahead, suddenly stopped and abruptly raised a hand.
This was their squad's agreed-upon signal to halt.
"What's wrong?" Jiraiya asked in a low voice.
Orochimaru didn't turn around, but simply said in an extremely cold voice, "We have a situation."
"Three squads, twelve people."
"They're closing in on us from three directions."
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