At the end of the meeting, the Third Hokage and the others ultimately decided to follow Mito's recommendation. By the next morning, all the major clans in the village had received the news: Kumogakure had requested a ceasefire.
The internal message spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the Hidden Leaf within just three days. Joy and laughter filled the village.
Families with loved ones on the front lines eagerly awaited the arrival of the envoy from the Hidden Cloud. After all, the envoy's appearance meant the war was truly ending—and their family members would be coming home soon.
Even Danzo on the frontlines received Hiruzen's reply. After reading it, his face darkened as if cast in shadow. In a fit of rage, he flipped the table—but he could do nothing about it. Deep down, he knew this outcome had everything to do with Uzumaki Mito.
And yet… he was powerless against her. He wasn't even in a position to challenge her. Mito could destroy him with a few well-placed words.
Still, he didn't despair. That old crone with one foot in the grave wouldn't be able to hold power for much longer. He could wait. He would endure. And when she was finally in the ground… who could stop him then?
Everything that should have been his—he would take, down to the last scrap.
He would prove through his actions that the Hokage had chosen wrong. He was the one most like their teacher. He should have been the heir to Konoha.
Have you ever seen the Hidden Leaf at four in the morning? Hoshiyomi had.
Right now, he was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, utterly deadpan as he stared at Jiraiya's grinning face. Honestly, he wanted to strangle him.
Jiraiya didn't seem to notice Hoshiyomi's murderous gaze. He continued shaking him excitedly and said:
"Hoshiyomi! How are you still asleep? Today's the big day—team assignments! It's our first time meeting our squad leader. We've gotta make a good first impression!"
Hoshiyomi forced a smile and asked flatly,
"Do you know what time it is?"
Jiraiya scratched his head.
"Uh… isn't it six in the morning? Why?"
Hoshiyomi grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the clock in his room, then pointed at the time and growled through clenched teeth:
"Look closely. It's four. Four in the freaking morning!"
Jiraiya scratched his head awkwardly and gave a sheepish laugh.
"Hehe, sorry. I was just too excited, I woke up super early. I didn't even realize it was four yet. I was wondering why it was still dark out, honestly.
Wanna go back to sleep? I'll nap with you!"
Hoshiyomi gave him a long-suffering look, said nothing, and collapsed back into bed. Jiraiya very naturally followed him in and lay down beside him.
"Hey, Hoshiyomi, you think we'll be on the same team?"
"…Do you think our squad leader'll be a man or a woman? What if she's a total bombshell? Hehehe…"
"…Hey, Hoshiyomi, can I borrow half your blanket? Kinda chilly over here."
AAAAAARGH!
Hoshiyomi snapped. He kicked the blanket off, grabbed Jiraiya by the back of the neck, and hoisted him up like a stray dog.
Jiraiya blinked in confusion.
"Huh? Why'd you get up?"
"I changed my mind," Hoshiyomi said coldly. "Let's start morning training."
"You don't want to sleep a bit more?"
"Less talking. Five laps around the entire village. If you run slower than me, I swear I'll beat you to death."
9 AM. Training Ground Six.
Sakumo, Tsunade, and Orochimaru arrived after breakfast, only to find a thoroughly exhausted Hoshiyomi and a bruised, swollen Jiraiya.
Tsunade blinked. "What happened to you two? Jiraiya, what's with your face?"
Hoshiyomi forced a smile. "Jiraiya just said you're flat as a board. But don't worry, I've already taught him a lesson."
"Huh? Flat as a—wait, what?!"
Tsunade stared blankly, glanced down at her chest—
And then proceeded to unleash a five-hundred-word beatdown on Jiraiya.
When Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived and found Tsunade pummeling Jiraiya into the ground, he was taken aback. Just a few days ago, during the graduation trials, they'd seemed to get along so well.
Had they really fallen out this fast?
His appearance ended up saving Jiraiya's life. Tsunade huffed one last threat—"Call me flat again and I'll kill you!"—and finally let him go.
At that moment, Jiraiya looked at the Third Hokage as if he were his long-lost father. He didn't care about big-chested kunoichi anymore. As long as the Third was his sensei, he'd be happy.
Clearing his throat, Hiruzen addressed them:
"Due to recent reforms in the ninja organizational structure, all genin teams now follow the same format across the shinobi world—three genin led by one jonin.
So I'm no exception. I'll be taking on three of you as my personal students. As for the other two, don't be disappointed—the village has arranged exceptional squad leaders for you as well."
At that, Hoshiyomi already had a pretty good idea of how the teams would be split. If this followed canon, then Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade would be grouped together. He and Sakumo would be placed with someone else.
Sure enough, the Third smiled and announced:
"My students will be… Jiraiya, Orochimaru…"
At that moment, Jiraiya felt like the Sage of Six Paths himself had descended to bless him. The Third Hokage really was his sensei! And Orochimaru was on his team, too! If Hoshiyomi joined as well, his future would be set!
Even if it wasn't Hoshiyomi, he could live with Sakumo. As long as it wasn't Tsunade, that violent she-devil—
"…and the final member is Tsunade."
Crack.
It was as if a thunderbolt struck Jiraiya from the crown of his head straight to his heels. He turned to stone on the spot.
The heavens have no eyes… he cried inwardly. Why her? How am I supposed to survive this?!
On the other side, Tsunade wasn't exactly thrilled either. For some reason, she found herself wishing that Sakumo had been assigned to Jiraiya and Orochimaru's team instead.
She glanced at Hoshiyomi, who was still quietly chatting with Sakumo, and subconsciously pouted. When she turned back around, she was met with Jiraiya's look of pure disgust.
A throbbing vein appeared on her forehead.
"I don't even mind being on your team, and you have the nerve to look at me like that?!"
(Insert another 500 words of Tsunade wrecking Jiraiya.)
The Third Hokage left with Orochimaru, Tsunade, and… a pig-headed Jiraiya.
Before leaving, he turned to Hoshiyomi and Sakumo with a warm smile:
"No need to worry. Your squad leader is also incredibly strong—no weaker than I am. He's just a little… well, you'll see when he arrives. Don't worry, though. He's easy to get along with."
After the Hokage departed, Hoshiyomi and Sakumo waited for a while. Their jonin still hadn't shown up.
Having been up since 4 a.m., Hoshiyomi was starting to feel drowsy again. He told Sakumo to wake him when their sensei arrived, then lay back on the grass and happily drifted into a nap.
It was a solid nap—comfortable, even.
Until the moment he opened his eyes… and nearly had a heart attack.
Towering above him was a tall figure, casting a long shadow as he stared down.
"Oh? You're finally awake."