Time passed bit by bit, and soon two days went by. During these two days, Artoria further intensified her practice of Ninjutsu on top of what she already knew. Now, she had not only mastered the Three-Prism Technique, but also learned some basic C-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu—progress that was quite gratifying.
Artoria had already arrived at the assembly point. A quarter of an hour remained before the agreed time, yet not a single person had shown up.
The previous night, Senju Hashirama had made a special trip to tell her that although quite a few people had completed the ten-kilometer run, those who actually met their standards—including Artoria—numbered a mere seven in total. Unsurprisingly, the fate of the other six was to follow Uchiha Madara and Senju Tobirama. As for the rest who failed to meet the standard, Senju Tobirama had simply found an excuse the night before to eliminate all of them under the guise of an examination.
Well...
Then the teachers for these six people would be... the gloomy guy and the scheming guy?
It seemed being assigned to either of them wouldn't bring much joy... Although they were both powerful backers you could cozy up to, Senju Hashirama was surely... somewhat easier to get along with, right?
Hopefully they'd make it out in one piece... Artoria sincerely prayed for them for three seconds.
In the blink of an eye, the people who were supposed to arrive showed up one after another.
The Teacher Dream Team: The Oblivious One — Senju Hashirama, The Gloomy Guy — Uchiha Madara, The Scheming Guy — Senju Tobirama.
The Student Lineup: The God of Men (self-proclaimed) — Artoria, The God of Men's Sucking-Up Follower — Sarutobi Hiruzen, The God of Men's Former-BFF-Now-Rival (quotes intended) Sucking-Up Follower — Shimura Danzo, The One with a Slight Crush on the God of Men (no quotes intended) — Uchiha Kagami, The Extra — Mitokado Homura, The Chubby Kid — Akimichi Torifu, and the sole female: Utatane Koharu.
Artoria glanced around and found that only she and the girl Utatane Koharu were the sole normal people present. Without a trace, she immediately sidestepped twenty paces toward the girl.
"I hope nobody comes looking for me before the examination starts."
Artoria devoutly prayed to God in her heart.
"Lily! So you're here!"
Ah... Cough! Not responsive at all! Next time I make a wish, I'm not finding you!
"Is... is there something you need, Col... Sarutobi-kun?" Artoria raised her head, her smile somewhat forced, and her body involuntarily sidestepped another two steps toward the girl.
Utatane Koharu: Stop moving, stop moving! If you move any further, you're going to press right against me!
"Nothing much! It's just that Teacher Tobirama said we can form teams of three for the examination later. Danzo and I have already teamed up, and there's one spot left, so... um," Sarutobi Hiruzen lowered his head, awkwardly scratching his head.
Artoria narrowed her eyes slightly, casting an indifferent glance at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
So even though they had a falling out with Danzo just two days ago, now that he turned around, he still found he couldn't live without the guy. They were just like a young married couple—fighting on the edge of the bed and making up by the foot of it.
Artoria felt something was off. After pondering for a moment, she pounded her right fist into her left palm, then gave Sarutobi Hiruzen an astonished look.
So the person you, kid, actually like isn't me at all—it's Danzo!
Artoria felt it was simply unbelievable. No matter how much of a skirt-chaser Sarutobi Hiruzen was, his sexual orientation ought to be normal...
She quickly shook her head to cast out the stray thoughts before saying to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Didn't you notice there are only seven of us in total?"
"I noticed, so what?"
"Teams of three, which means there's definitely going to be one person left over. You noticed that too, right?"
"Yeah, so what about that?" Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Artoria rather strangely. *I've already invited you, so there's no way you'd end up left behind anyway. What's there to be afraid of? It couldn't possibly be...*
No, no! The three lords are completely impartial; how could they possibly pull strings!
"I've already passed Teacher Hashirama's examination. You catch my drift, right?" Artoria patted Sarutobi Hiruzen's shoulder, then walked over to Senju Hashirama's side without a shred of lingering attachment.
"Uh..." Sarutobi Hiruzen froze in place, the entire color tone of his person turning black and white.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, Akimichi Torifu, Uchiha Kagami—come over to my side."
Senju Tobirama's voice was extremely stern, waking the dazed Sarutobi Hiruzen the instant the words came out, leaving him even more dazed afterward.
*Weren't we supposed to form our own teams, Teacher Tobirama? You lied to me!!*
"Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu—get over here." Uchiha Madara's dignified tone carried a hint of irritation. He had still been reading the intelligence sent back by his clansmen that morning when he was dragged here by Senju Hashirama.
*I already agreed to tutor a few brats for a couple of months—what else could you possibly want?!*
What was it Hashirama said they were supposed to do first again...? Oh, self-introductions, and then snatch a couple of bells so they could clock out and go home!
Yosh!
"Brats, go ahead and introduce yourselves." Madara pondered for a moment on how to phrase it. The procedure should probably be...
Think... Abandon thinking! Push the problem onto someone else!
"My name is Shimura Danzo. I am eight years old. I have no favorite things, I loathe Artoria and Sarutobi Hiruzen, and my dream is to become the future leader of the village," Shimura Danzo said expressionlessly.
Yes, you read that right. Danzo became Uchiha Madara's disciple, and all of this was naturally engineered by Artoria. After Hashirama mentioned it last night, she had tossed out a little suggestion to him, never expecting he would actually pull it off!
Ahem... Not that she meant anything else by it, she just wanted to see what kind of shape Danzo—who would grow up to hate the Uchiha—would take after becoming the disciple of the Uchiha boss!
Could it be...
*A naturally evil Senju brat! Old man, I'll right this...*
Ahem-ahem. She had no expectations whatsoever, nor any intention of watching a good show. What bad intentions could a five-year-old child like Artoria possibly have? She was simply trying to help Elder Danzo grow closer to the Uchiha he loved most.