[Konoha Village Training Ground]
"Alright, let's begin today's training!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood with his hands on his waist, his gentle gaze falling on the three small figures in Konoha training clothes standing before him.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru stood straight with focused expressions, quietly waiting for their teacher's instructions.
Hiruzen slowly raised his hand, revealing two small bells in his palm.
His fingers lightly shook them together, producing a crisp ringing sound. A faint smile appeared on his slightly wrinkled face as he slowly spoke, "There are two bells here."
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru all looked toward the two bells with puzzled expressions, not understanding why there were only two.
"There are only two bells. That means one of the three of us will be eliminated?"
Orochimaru lowered his eyes slightly, then looked back up at Hiruzen.
Hiruzen's smile deepened when he heard that, and he nodded approvingly. "You're very sharp, Orochimaru."
Orochimaru... he was liking this disciple more and more.
Hiruzen lightly shook the bells in his hand and loudly announced the rules of the test.
"That's right. The three of you will work together and try to take these two bells from me."
"Remember, whoever fails to get a bell won't get any lunch!"
This test at the time did not carry the deeper meaning of teamwork like it would in later years.
It was simply a straightforward bell-grabbing contest meant to train the three disciples' combat ability, reaction speed, and coordination.
The moment they heard the rules, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade all lit up with fighting spirit.
"Tsunade, Tsunade, if I get a bell, will you go on a date with me just once?"
Jiraiya's eyes immediately brightened. He hurried over to Tsunade's side, scratching the back of his head with a goofy grin as he made his request.
"Then if you lose, you're not allowed to keep bothering me anymore!"
Tsunade puffed out her lips, crossed her arms, and turned her head away as she spoke with annoyed sass.
"Alright! It's settled then, deal!"
Jiraiya didn't even think about it before immediately agreeing, his face full of confidence.
Beside them, Orochimaru coldly glanced at the two and said flatly, "Childish. Tsunade doesn't even like you. This pointless pestering means nothing."
Naturally, Jiraiya didn't listen to that at all.
———
[Half An Hour Later]
In front of the wooden stakes at the training ground, Jiraiya was tightly tied up, his face full of frustration as he stared at Tsunade and Orochimaru, who had successfully gotten the bells.
"Hehe, Jiraiya, I won the bet. Just like I thought, you were the first one eliminated!"
Tsunade's eyes curved happily, unable to hide the pride on her face as she looked at Jiraiya with a smug grin.
She had always loved gambling and had already started developing a gambling addiction.
And she almost always lost every bet she made.
This time, she had finally won a bet against Jiraiya.
Her smugness was written all over her face, and the smile at the corner of her mouth carried a sly arrogance.
Tsunade basically always won when betting against Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's face immediately darkened, and he snapped back without thinking, "Shut up, you washboard Tsunade!"
That single word, "washboard," instantly hit Tsunade's sore spot. Her expression changed on the spot, and she exploded in anger.
"What did you say?!"
Tsunade instantly switched into battle mode, stepped forward, grabbed Jiraiya by the collar, and glared at him with wide eyes.
"Jiraiya! You damn pervert! Don't think I don't know you sneak off to the Konoha hot springs every day with dirty thoughts filling your head!"
Seeing the two facing off like they were about to start fighting...
"Sigh..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi helplessly sighed and quickly stepped in to calm them down.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Tsunade, Orochimaru, you two head back first.", Hiruzen spoke slowly, trying to settle the dispute.
Hearing that, the anger on Tsunade's face instantly disappeared and was replaced with a teasing smile.
She let go of Jiraiya's collar and lazily replied, "Okay~ Then Jiraiya, just stay tied up here obediently!"
After saying that, she turned toward the silent Orochimaru beside her. The two of them then turned around and left together.
After Tsunade and Orochimaru completely disappeared from sight, Hiruzen finally looked toward the tied-up Jiraiya, his expression gradually becoming serious.
During the earlier strength test, Jiraiya's performance had clearly fallen behind Tsunade and Orochimaru.
After thinking for a moment, Hiruzen decided to give Jiraiya some special training and properly explore the other talents hidden within him.
Hiruzen slightly raised his hand, bit his fingertip without hesitation, rapidly formed hand seals, and solemnly used a ninjutsu.
"Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu!"
The next second, a thick cloud of white smoke dispersed.
A tall and powerfully built Monkey King Enma appeared on the spot, standing firmly in place as a powerful pressure spread from his body.
Jiraiya's eyes instantly widened in shock as he stared at the giant beast before him.
"What is that?!"
The corner of Hiruzen's mouth lifted slightly as he slowly introduced him.
"This is the Monkey King Enma, recognized as the strongest summoning beast in the ninja world."
"Huh? Him? The strongest summoning beast?"
Jiraiya looked Enma up and down suspiciously.
Although Enma's aura was clearly powerful and the pressure coming from him was intense, making it obvious he was no ordinary summoning beast, Jiraiya still didn't believe it.
He clearly remembered that Baku, under Shimura Danzo, was several times larger than this Monkey King Enma.
No matter how he looked at it, Enma didn't seem worthy of the title "strongest summoning beast."
"Kid, don't look down on me, the Monkey King Enma!"
"The ancestors of our Enma Clan were the summoning beasts of the Sage of Six Paths! We even signed contracts with the Sage of Six Paths himself! Do you understand what that means?"
Enma crossed his arms and spoke calmly.
As long as the Three Great Sage Regions did not appear, the Enma Clan would always be the strongest summoning beasts in the ninja world.
Of course, that was assuming the tailed beasts weren't counted.
Jiraiya curled his lips slightly, "Hmph... what a load of crap..."
Enma's face darkened. Forget it, he couldn't be bothered arguing with this brat.
If the Great Sage hadn't forbidden them from revealing too much...
Enma would have already argued back against Jiraiya.
"Then what kind of summoning beast can I contract with?"
Jiraiya asked Hiruzen.
Hiruzen shook his head. "You'll have to find one yourself. If you're lucky enough, you may find a suitable and powerful summoning beast."
As he spoke, Hiruzen untied the ropes around Jiraiya.
Jiraiya's eyes shifted slightly. He had already memorized the hand seals Hiruzen used for the summoning jutsu earlier.