At the end of the gathering, Shimura Danzo still hadn't arrived. He probably encountered some unexpected situation that he had to deal with. The Anbu organization sometimes faces such things. Therefore, even though Shimura Danzo didn't show up, the others didn't blame him for not keeping his word, understanding the responsibilities he bore.
After agreeing on a time to meet with their students, people left one after another. Fumori Masaki paused, watching Uchiha Kagami say goodbye and leave, feeling an impulse to tell him his suspicions.
However, remembering Uchiha Kagami's satisfaction with the family's recent situation, Fumori Masaki hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to tell him. Uchiha Kagami still held an optimistic view of his clansmen, and he would certainly be willing to believe in their positive changes rather than suspect them of having ulterior motives.
—I'll observe for myself first. I'll wait until I have concrete evidence to speak. Right now, Uchiha Setsuna is faultless, and Kagami wouldn't be willing to believe it. Speaking out would only damage our relationship.
Fumori Masaki thought this to himself, deciding to meet Uchiha Setsuna in the future to see what he was truly planning. If his goal was indeed what he suspected, then Black Zetsu was finally about to make his move.
In terms of combat power alone, Black Zetsu wasn't particularly outstanding. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, he could only stalemate the ninjas led by the Fifth Mizukage by borrowing the power of Wood Release, and was ultimately defeated by Chojuro in one blow. If Fumori Masaki's guess was correct, Black Zetsu's Wood Release also originated from Uchiha Madara's research into Hashirama's cells. The current Black Zetsu couldn't possibly have learned Wood Release, which meant his combat power would only be lower.
However, that only showed Black Zetsu's poor frontal combat ability, but his other abilities were very powerful. His stealth technique, which allowed him to merge with the earth, made it impossible to detect his presence until he revealed himself. With this ability, just before Uchiha Obito was about to perform the Rinne Rebirth, he used his spiritual possession ability to manipulate Uchiha Obito into resurrecting Uchiha Madara. He could also sneak up behind Uchiha Madara, guiding Kaguya's revival within Uchiha Madara's body. Although that was because Uchiha Madara believed Zetsu was a manifestation of his own will and had no guard against him, it still proved the power of Zetsu's stealth ability.
Letting such a fellow roam free, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause. Once he appears, Zetsu must be completely controlled. Without this guy causing trouble, the feud between the Senju and Uchiha wouldn't have lasted for a thousand years. Perhaps hundreds of years ago, the reincarnations of Indra and Asura would have reconciled for some reason.
*
Later, in a training ground, there were three young figures. One of them was Jiraiya, and the other two were a thin, black-haired boy and a short-haired girl. Because Jiraiya was quite impatient, he brought his companions here early, even before their teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen had arrived.
"Jiraiya, what kind of people are the students your teacher's fellow student brought?" the girl asked.
After Tsunade was taken as a student by Fumori Masaki, Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally had an open spot, and this girl was Sarutobi Hiruzen's new student in the current timeline, named Asuka. Like Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Asuka was from a commoner background. Her talent was good, ranking in the middle of her class, only falling short of those from ninja clans.
"Last time I saw one of Sensei's fellow students' students, a blonde girl, a white-haired boy, and a short kid," Jiraiya replied.
"What, just their appearances?" Asuka pouted.
"I haven't had much contact with the other two, but I know that girl. She's a violent person with a terrible temper," Jiraiya clearly had psychological trauma from Tsunade's behavior that day.
"It must be because you provoked her," Asuka had some understanding of Jiraiya, and sometimes even she couldn't help but hit him, so she couldn't say that others didn't have bad tempers.
"We're from the same lineage, don't side with others!" Jiraiya couldn't help but wail.
"That's because you don't give me much confidence," Asuka said.
"Enough," Orochimaru, who had been quiet until then, spoke up. "Jiraiya, how strong were those three people you met?"
"Strong? How would I know? I didn't fight them," Jiraiya rolled his eyes at Orochimaru.
"Although you can't judge precisely, you should be able to tell something, right?" Orochimaru continued to ask.
"I already told you, I don't know. Otherwise, you can try it yourself and see if you can tell their strength," Jiraiya replied.
Orochimaru was about to say something else when he suddenly turned his head. Perhaps due to genetics, Orochimaru's skin was very pale, lacking a layer of blood, and he had long black hair. If it were night, he would surely look eerie. Even in broad daylight, suddenly turning his head would make people jump, especially since they were currently under a tree, and his pale face was cast in shadow.
He met a pair of eyes. The person was hanging upside down from the tree, looking at Orochimaru with an indifferent gaze. After Orochimaru reacted, the other two were slow to catch on. Asuka was the first to turn around, and seeing the person hanging upside down from the tree, she gasped. Then, Jiraiya turned around and saw the person, exclaiming, "Aren't you that midget from the hospital?"
"How rude," the person hanging upside down from the tree was Hattori Heizo. "How old are you?"
"Uh, six, why?" Jiraiya didn't understand his meaning and answered subconsciously.
"Same as Tsunade, listen carefully, I'm eight years old now, much older than you, brat," Hattori Heizo threw out this remark, then swayed, the branches creaked, and he was gone.
Orochimaru turned his head again and saw Hattori Heizo appear on the other side. The other party said, "Your strength is good. The other two are a bit lacking, especially you, brat, the worst of the three."
"What?!" Jiraiya, being hot-headed, couldn't stand Hattori Heizo's provocation and was about to rush up and challenge him to a duel, but Orochimaru held him back.
"He's right, don't go up there asking for trouble, Jiraiya," Orochimaru's tone was calm, but his eyes were serious.
Jiraiya actually understood in his heart that he probably couldn't do the two moves Hattori Heizo had just displayed, and his strength might really be superior to his own, but that didn't mean he would admit defeat. And what Orochimaru said was the truth, but in Jiraiya's eyes, it seemed like he was looking down on him, making him feel awkward. What a pompous Orochimaru.
If there weren't others present, he would definitely make a face behind Orochimaru's back to show his determination, but now he could only pull a long face.
Tsunade and Hatake Sakumo appeared shortly after. They entered the training ground openly, greeted Hattori Heizo, and Tsunade asked, "Heizo, what are you doing, walking so fast?"
"Testing their strength. After all, they are taught by someone from the same lineage as Sensei, so they shouldn't be too bad," Hattori Heizo said. "Now it seems, except for this brat, the other two are pretty good."
Hattori Heizo was still bothered by Jiraiya calling him a midget, so he was unreserved in his words. However, he felt that what he said wasn't wrong; currently, Jiraiya was indeed the weakest of the three.
"It's you," Tsunade's temper flared up as soon as she saw Jiraiya, and she scoffed, "No wonder. It's because you don't put your mind to the right things, that's why your strength is so bad."
"That's just a matter of time. Sooner or later, I, Jiraiya, will make you all look at me with new eyes!" Jiraiya declared boldly.
"Who knows when that'sooner or later' will be," Tsunade said with disdain.
"In that case, let me show you my strength first. You, let's have a showdown!" Jiraiya pointed at Hattori Heizo and shouted.
"Alright, consider it a warm-up," Hattori Heizo smiled faintly upon hearing this. "And I'll teach you some manners."