Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, I do not own Naruto and anything related to it. All the credit goes to the author of the Naruto series Masashi Kishimoto. The only thing I own are my OCs.
Satoru's POV
Training Ground 7
Ignoring the obnoxious porcupine, I did just as I'd been taught in the etiquette class and did a small bow "Sorry for the inconvenience, my name is Satoru Senju, heir to the Senju Clan," I said respectfully since I was talking to the third Hokage himself.
"I've wanted to meet my cousin's team for a long time but Tsunade here never introduced her team to us, so I tagged along with her. I hope you take no offense to this." I continued, hoping they wouldn't kick me out.
Orochimaru just shrugged, not caring in the slightest.
Jiraiya on the other hand, "This is not some playground you can stroll into, we train here to become stronger and go on dangerous missions." He said boisterously with his chest puffed, which I completely ignored.
Hiruzen, the Will of Fire propaganda specialist that he is, said, "Now Jiraiya, I'm sure we can spare some time for the young ones. It has been a while since I last saw you Satoru, you've grown-,"
Wait what? When did we meet?
"-last I saw you was when you were just a baby." Ah, so that's how.
"Anyways let me introduce myself, I'm Hiruzen Sarutobi and I'm the Third Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato and leader of team 7." Then he pointed to Orochimaru and Jiraiya "and they are my students Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade, whom you already know."
"You can stay and watch them train so long as you don't distract them and interfere in their training" Jackpot!
"Of course Lord Hokage, it would be an honor to watch your students train" I said totally not sucking up to him…definitely not.
"No need for that young Satoru, just call me uncle Hiruzen when I'm not in my office" he said.
Ah, already trying to make me, the future Clan head feel comfortable with you huh. Not bad….
"Of course Uncle Hiruzen" I replied in kind, "I'll go sit right by the posts and watch you guys train."
I went towards the wooden post and chose sit on top of one of them. It would give a shortstack like me some much needed height to watch them.
Hiruzen's POV
Senju Satoru…what a child. If my senses aren't failing me then for a four year old boy, he possesses a strong chakra. Not unlike Lord Hashirama… hmm I'll keep an eye on him. He'll become a great shinobi in the future.
Anyways it's about time I start training my team. I'll start with some light sparring to get them warmed up and to entertain Satoru a little.
"Alright team, gather up!" I called them up.
"First we'll start with some light sparring to get warmed up. So you three will face me anything goes. Got it?" I asked.
They nodded their heads in affirmation and immediately fell into stance. Good, their teamwork has improved drastically from when they just became genin.
3rd Person POV
Hiruzen reached into his pouch and pulled out a storage scroll and opened it. Out of it came a standard Bō staff, which he twirled around and like his students fell into a stance, ready for the spar.
Silence reigned in the clearing, no one made a move. As if on a silent cue, the genin team moved!
Tsunade immediately retreated to the back while weaving some hand signs and whispered "Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique" Immediately she seemed to blend in with the surrounding trees and just a moment later she completely disappeared from sight.
While Tsunade was retreating, Orochimaru threw a hail of shuriken towards Hiruzen, who immediately dodged to the side.
"Fire Style: Flame Bullet" was the only thing Hiruzen heard when a searing hot flame bullet sped towards him and incinerated the place he just stood at.
Not even waiting to admire his handiwork, Jiraiya sped to the opposite direction with Orochimaru right behind him. The place where the fire jutsu hit, only a charred log remained indicating a substitution.
Hiruzen came out from behind a tree and was immediately forced into a taijutsu bout with Jiraiya. Orochimaru meanwhile maintained a safe distance and was throwing kunai and shuriken to create an opening for Jiraiya.
"Take this!" Jiraiya said as he went low and used his hands to twist his body and dish out a strong spinning kick right at Hiruzen's head.
Hiruzen blocked the blow with his staff and quickly retaliated with a low swing to throw Jiraiya off balance but immediately used the momentum of the staff and swung it to the side and parried the kunai aimed for his knees.
Jiraiya used this opportunity to throw another kunai towards his face which Hiruzen dodged quite easily. So far no one was going all out and were mostly content with testing each other.
The taijutsu bout continued but it was evident that they were going nowhere. Forced into a stalemate Jiraiya sought to change things up, he wove a few hand seals while dodging another swing from his sensei's bo staff and made some distance.
That's the moment Tsunade came out of the ground and cocked her fist back to punch her sensei through the head. Despite not having yet learned her monstrous strength, Tsunade possessed a naturally strong body. Hiruzen freed his left hand and used it to parry Tsunade's punch, then he twirled the staff in his right hand and used its momentum to swing at Tsunade's midsection which connected in a painful blow. Tsunade immediately screwed her eyes shut in pain and rolled away, but it wasn't for nought.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave" "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough"
Suddenly a violent torrent of water rushed towards Hiruzen at astonishing speed. Hiruzen's eyes widened ever so slightly and he immediately dropped his hands to the ground.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
Immediately a two meter tall thick wall of earth rose from the ground shielding Hiruzen from the onslaught of water.
The wave of water, boosted tremendously by the wind jutsu, slammed straight into the earthen wall with devastating force taking chunks of earth out from the barrier and flooding the nearby land.
However the water died down and the wall stood, even if barely. Hiruzen couldn't relax just yet though as Tsunade once again appeared behind him already healed from the blow that she took moments before and punched Hiruzen in the back and it connected!
Launching Hiruzen up into the air for a brief moment, only for him to burst into splinters.
"Tch substitution." Tsunade said, clearly irritated. Then she regrouped with the team. "If we go on like this then we won't win against him" she said.
"What's so surprising, we've never won a spar against Sarutobi sensei before. What makes today any different? We can only try to come up with different plans and hope for any of them to work." said an agitated Orochimaru.
Satoru's POV
This is not how a bunch of genin are supposed to fight. This is beyond the level of a normal genin.
Either this is the normal genin standard in this era and naruto's era genin were just weak or, the most likely case is that, they are beyond genin level in strength while still being genin.
No wonder they were able to face Hanzo the Salamander and live to tell the tale. If they are already this strong then when they are in their twenties…*shiver*.
And this is supposed to be a sparing match, sure the genin team must be trying their hardest considering their opponent is literally the hokage but still, it's kind of terrifying knowing how strong they are even though they're just a bunch of 10 year olds.
Hiruzen still hasn't shown even a fraction of his strength.
Honestly I only came here to get a glimpse at Hiruzen's strength and maybe ask him how he mastered so many shinobi arts. So far however he dismantled their plans with just basic ninjutsu and his far superior experience.
I can't gauge his full strength with just this. Only fighting another Kage might show just how strong Hiruzen really is, but for that to happen we have to go to war which I hope isn't anytime soon.
(The Hiruzen glaze is real!)
It looks like they are moving again, I can barely keep up with them but I should still pay attention and learn from them. Maybe I can follow them from a safe distance and watch.
3rd Person POV
"-so that is the plan, got it?" asked Orochimaru. "Yosh! We'll beat sensei today no matter what" affirmed Jiraiya, looking very confident in their plan.
"Alright here goes" said Tsunade and once again did the same hand seals for the genjutsu but this time she didn't just wrap it around herself, she included her teammates as well.
Now blended with their surroundings, they made their move. Tsunade once again burrowed herself underground but this time instead of Jiraiya it was Orochimaru who took point. Both of them sped towards the treeline at a fast pace.
In a matter of time they found Hiruzen who was perched on top of a giant rock, Bō staff resting on his shoulders. He slowly got up, giving enough time for them to execute their plan.
Orochimaru rushed straight ahead this time with a sword in his hand while Jiraiya acted as the support. The moment Orochimaru reached close enough he stabbed his sword towards Hiruzen intent on piercing his sensei through the midsection.
It was not going to be that easy however as the sensei immediately parried the blade to his right hoping to off set Orochimaru's balance but Orochimaru set his right foot down and, in a show of inhuman flexibility, pivoted his entire body into a spinning motion and delivered a strong kick with his left leg.
Jiraiya immediately seized the opportunity and closed in with kunai in hand to make it even harder on his sensei. Sensing Jiraiya closing in, Hiruzen used his Bō staff as a shield to block the kick and used the force of the kick to his advantage and made distance.
Jiraiya stopped his advancement and immediately launched a flame bullet while Hiruzen was still moving backwards.
Hiruzen immediately puffed his chest.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall"
He spewed a great amount of water and turned it into a defensive barrier which shielded him from the flame bullet.
The two jutsu collided but the water jutsu easily won the clash which created thick steam that covered the clearing where they were fighting. Though it didn't stop them, senses sharp they continued fighting.
'Both them make a great tag team, though I wonder when Tsunade will pop up' thought Hiruzen not letting his guard down. Suddenly his vision blurred, but he didn't seem to notice it immediately because of the fog covering his vision.
The tag team continued to fight Hiruzen and take advantage of his lack of vision. Though no matter what kind of maneuver they tried it didn't seem to work. That's when…
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough" immediately a harsh gust of wind blew through the battlefield and cleared away the fog revealing the entire clearing trapped to the brim with explosive tags.
'They got me' thought Hiruzen, admiring their trap.
"Surrender" Orochimaru said, a little out of breath. Jiraiya also grinned and looked to be sure of their win.
"Hmm, the trap is good and all but how are you going to get away from this trap?" inquired Hiruzen, fishing for information.
"Doesn't matter, if this were a real battle we would go down with you if it ensures that we can kill a far superior opponent" replied Orochimaru a little too quickly.
Hiruzen immediately took notice of that but he still didn't know what Tsunade's role was. They wouldn't leave her out of the plan.
Hiruzen then tried sensing her out when he realised something different about his chakra and chuckled 'These brats pulled a fast one on me, not bad' and immediately dispelled the genjutsu and the explosives tags that filled the area shimmered out.
Knowing their facade was up they immediately prepared a jutsu. That's when a huge wall formed behind Hiruzen which curved on its side, trapping Hiruzen from behind and the sides. That's when Tsunade appeared from behind, both hands in a snake seal and yelled "Do it now!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Lightning Release: False Darkness"
The combination jutsu created a terrifying water dragon that was covered so seamlessly with lightning it didn't interfere with each other. The dangerous jutsu blitzed its way towards Hiruzen.
"You guys have grown very much" Hiruzen said, pride very much evident in his voice. "But let me remind you of a lesson that you seemed to have forgotten. Teamwork can increase your chances of success against a stronger opponent. But," he weaved a single one-handed seal from both his hands.
"-against absolute power everything is useless!" A massive fire storm erupted from his mouth, the fire was so hot it turned white in color and melted the earthen walls behind him!
The firestorm met with the lightning encased water dragon and immediately consumed it without any struggle!
Immediately he cut off the jutsu and disappeared before coming behind Tsunade and knocking her out. Then the ground beneath Orochimaru and Jiraiya tore open and two pairs of hands grabbed each of their ankles and pulled them into the ground until only their heads were above the ground.
The genins didn't even try to struggle since they were too tired to do anything. They could only glare at Hiruzen who looked at them with a teasing smile. "Good job! You guys fought pretty well." he congratulated them.
"What's the point? We didn't even come close to defeating you" said Jiraiya dejectedly. Orochimaru just remained silent.
"That is true, you guys are a thousand years too young to make me sweat," replied Hiruzen shamelessly. Then he looked up at a tree and said "the spar is over, you can come out now" That's when Satoru dropped down from the tree and looked at Hiruzen star struck!
Satoru's POV
That was a monstrous fire jutsu. I could feel the heat all the way here. The anime and fanfic community didn't do him justice. No wonder he led the village through two wars and Granduncle Tobirama entrusted him with the village.
Now I'm sure that the path I chose could make me like him, maybe I can be even better because of my Senju genes.
"The spar is over, you can come out now" I heard Hiruzen say and I dropped down from my vantage point.
"That was an amazing fight! What was that fire jutsu that you performed?!! I could feel the heat from all the way there!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah sensei! What was that jutsu? I've never seen you perform it!" asked Jiraiya. Orochimaru also seemed interested. Looks like he is already very interested in Ninjutsu.
"Oh, that was a combination jutsu that I performed. I combined Fire Release: Flame Dragon Bullet and Wind Release: Pressure Damage to create the combination." He said casually.
"But I didn't see you use a clone to perform either of the jutsu? Doing that by yourself seems impossible" said Orochimaru, skeptical about Hiruzen's claim.
"That is where you're wrong my foolish student. I used two different one-hand seals. I formed the fire jutsu with my left hand and the wind jutsu with my right. It requires perfect chakra control to keep both jutsu controlled and to combine them together." He took a moment to breathe and then continued.
"It's a technique I created and before you ask, no I won't teach you guys anytime soon. It's a forbidden technique and could potentially kill you if you are not careful and you guys are not ready for it yet." said Hiruzen in a tone that left no room for argument.
"I've always emphasized how important teamwork really is. But no matter how impeccable your teamwork is, when you're up against someone far beyond your league, your only option of survival is to retreat and fight another day." Hiruzen said in a reassuring tone.
Suddenly a clone of Hiruzen appeared with Tsunade on his shoulder and unceremoniously dropped to the ground and dispelled. Then Tsunade stirred awake and looked at Jiraiya and Orochimaru's buried form and laughed. "So we still lost huh?" she asked no one in particular.
Then Hiruzen looked at me "How was the spar?" Huh, why is he asking me that? Oh well I'll entertain him.
"It was amazing, this is the first time I am seeing a shinobi fight and it's awesome. I have read up on a lot of strategies and jutsu theory so I was able to somewhat keep up. Also as you said they really have good teamwork, they were working seamlessly into each other's attack and creating openings for their teammates to exploit. Other than that I couldn't figure out more." I answered.
"A basic answer but not a wrong one and it's impressive that you figured this out even though you don't have any experience as a shinobi" Hiruzen complimented. "Anyways you three deserve a much needed break, take this time to cool down and reflect on the spar and what mistakes you made."
Hearing this Tsunade got up and pulled Jiraiya and Orochimaru from the ground and healed any injuries they had. Then Orochimaru moved away from them and sat under a tree, Jiraiya just laid down and closed his eyes and Tsunade followed suit.
I looked at Hiruzen and asked something that has been gnawing at me since the start of the fight "Uncle Hiruzen can I ask you a question?"
Hiruzen looked at me and then gestured for me to continue. "I noticed that your students seem to be far stronger than any regular genin. I've read that only chunin start learning nature release ninjutsu but your students seem to already be well versed with it. So why are they still genin?"
However instead of Hiruzen it is Tsunade that answers "That's because he has some crazy standards and deems us 'not good enough' which is why we're still genin." she grumbles and Jiraiya mumbles in agreement.
Hmm, maybe that's because they're Hokage's students and thus have to be stronger than any regular shinobi since it's expected of them.
"Forget that, tell me what you want to be in the future. Do you have any dreams?" Hiruzen asked me, trying to divert the topic.
"Well I am training to be a shinobi in the future. My dream is to be strong enough to protect my family" I answered earnestly.
"I have already started with my taijutsu training and Grandma Mito has been teaching me about fuinjutsu." I continued in hopes of catching his attention.
If I could become his student or if he could at least guide me from time to time then it would be very beneficial for me.
I saw a glint in his eyes 'Hah gotcha!' "Hmm is that so, care to demonstrate what you have learned?" He asked though it sounded like an order.
I easily complied and took out my sealing supplies and made a storage seal from scratch and gave it to him to inspect. He took the scroll and took a look at it, meanwhile I moved towards a tree then casually walked up and down a couple of times.
Then I dropped down and went back to Hiruzen who had just finished inspecting the storage scroll after watching me walk up the tree.
"A standard storage scroll, nothing too fancy but works perfectly. You also seem to have good chakra control for someone your age. Do you want to be a seal master like your grandmother?" He asked after complimenting my skills.
"Well not really, I want to master all the shinobi arts. That is the goal I have set for myself, that's what I deem to be enough strength to protect my family. A shinobi with virtually zero weakness that can adapt to any situation and battle." I said passionately hoping that this would be the last straw that breaks Hiruzen's back.
It seems to have worked! Hiruzen had a faraway look, seemingly having a flashback of some sort. Now to go for the kill.
"I've also been trying to learn water walking but so far I could only stand on water but not walk. No matter how much I read about it, I couldn't take a single step without sinking." I said in a sad tone (acting +100).
Hiruzen's POV
He is only 4 years old yet he is already working very hard for his goals and the kind of shinobi he wants to become… he really reminds me of when I was a child.
He doesn't look like a slacker and seems talented enough. Though I will be the judge of that. Maybe I can help him with water walking and gauge how talented he could be.
"Say, why don't I take a look at how you're learning water walking? Maybe I could find what you're doing wrong and offer some pointers. So how about it?" I asked, surely he would acc-
"I accept!" He said, interrupting my thoughts. Hmm he answered quickly as if he anticipated it…Nah maybe the prospect of learning directly from a Hokage is what makes him so enthusiastic. Yeah that should be it.
"Well then young Satoru follow me, there's a lake in the middle of the training ground that we can use." and so I led him to the lake and asked him to demonstrate how he performs water walking.
Then I saw Satoru slowly make his way to the calm waters and place one of his feet on the surface and then another. So far so good. Then he lifted his left leg and placed it forward and…slipped. Ah so that's how it is.
Then I watched him swim back to the shore. And I asked him to describe what water walking is.
"Well you gather chakra at the soles of your feet and use it to walk on water. The catch is you have to constantly change the amount of chakra and this is the part that I can't seem to figure out." Satoru said.
"That is the gist of it, but let me explain to you in detail. Water walking requires the user to be emitting a constant stream of chakra from the bottom of their feet and using the repellent force to walk across the water's surface. This is much more difficult than tree walking because the amount of chakra that needs to be emitted changes constantly. Understand it so far?"
He gave a silent nod and I continued "The problem is that you're reacting to the change in waves and only then changing the amount of chakra which is the reason you slip. Rather than being reactive, try being proactive. Just make small changes in the amount of chakra so that the repellent force is always active. Once comfortable enough, you'll be able to walk on water just as easily as walking on solid ground. Now go back and try applying what I said."
He obeyed and went back to the water. But unlike last time, he managed to take small steps. Good, he seems to be a fast learner.
Though in his excitement to finally be able to walk on water, he lost concentration and fell back into water.
I find it amusing, he has the determination and innocence of Lord First but he also has the smarts and focus of Lord Second. A great combination that could potentially become someone who could lead the village.
If we nurture this talent, then I can ensure Konoha prospers even after I am gone. Maybe this is what sensei felt when he chose me that night. It's reassuring to know that the new buds are growing healthy and strong.
"Not bad Satoru but next time make sure you don't lose focus. The key to mastering Water Walking is to practice to the point that it's second nature. So get back to it." I told him.
After 15 minutes,
"Hahaha! I can finally walk like Jesus" Jesus? An odd name, I wonder who that is? Maybe someone he met before.
"Good job Satoru, you've already gotten accustomed to water walking. You can continue to hone this skill and make variations like water gliding to increase your speed on water. Anyways that should be enough, let's get back and check on the genins." I ordered him.
Overall it was a fruitful training session for Satoru though it still surprises me how he got water walking down so quickly.
3rd Person POV
So the duo made their way back to the now well-rested genins.
"Alright you guys gather around, I believe it's time that I teach you a new jutsu" Hiruzen called out.
At the prospect of learning a new jutsu, the genins quickly made their way to Hiruzen and listened attentively.
"This is a jutsu that I believe you are ready to learn. It could help you in a precarious situation and might become your greatest strength." Hiruzen described the jutsu mysteriously.
Then he bit his left thumb, smeared the blood on his left palm and went through the hand seals Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram, "Summoning Jutsu!"
A/n: That's it for chapter three. We saw the future Sannin for the first time. Then an epic sparring match against their sensei and some bonding time between Hiruzen and Satoru.
Note that Hiruzen is going to be a major character in Satoru's life. I've always believed Hiruzen was done dirty by Kishimoto and the community. But I believe through this fic I can redeem him. I am not going to make him perfect, he will have his own struggles which he will have to overcome.
I've already hinted about Satoru becoming the Hokage. I like the idea but I am torn about it. I don't want him to be tied down to a position that provides no action. So the idea is still up in the air.
The next chapter will be when Hiruzen introduces his team to summoning jutsu and yes it is the same event as shown in the anime but with a few twists from me.
Anyways leave a review and provide any helpful advice that I can use to improve my writing skills even more.
I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Until then take care and peace out!