Naruto: Building the Strongest Uchiha Starting with Gacha Pulls

Only after the others had left did a long-haired figure wearing a green Konoha Jonin vest appear under the moonlight.

"You've been noticed."

Orochimaru stretched out his finger, looking at the small white snake that was coiling up and crawling onto his arm, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

The small white snake hissed twice at Orochimaru before darting into his sleeve.

"That brat from the Uchiha clan seems pretty good. He's cautious enough, knows sensory ninjutsu, and even knows how to fight for a leadership position in such a small team. He's quite interesting."

Orochimaru seemed to be talking to himself, then turned his head to look at another spot.

"What do you think, Jiraiya? That last sentence wasn't just directed at this snake."

"Hehehe, Orochimaru, how did you know I was here?"

A young man with white spiky hair emerged from the shadows and asked Orochimaru with a grin.

"How can a toad escape the search of a snake? Jiraiya, what are you doing here, sneaking around like this?"

"I've come to inform you of some news so you won't be unaware while you're out there. The situation in the Land of Hot Springs has improved considerably. The Hidden Cloud Village is seeking peace talks with us, and an envoy may arrive soon. We don't need to rush to the battlefield in the Land of Hot Springs for the time being."

Jiraiya pointed in the direction of the Land of Hot Springs.

Orochimaru spoke leisurely:

"Sarutobi-sensei wants me to be a Jonin instructor and mentor his son. I probably won't be assigned to the team, at least not in the short term."

"Oh? I thought you were going to refuse, but now it seems you've agreed?"

"So, how's the old man's kid doing? I heard he's doing alright at the ninja academy, only a tiny bit worse than I was back then."

Jiraiya asked with a curious expression.

"Heh, idiot. If this team is even worse than you were back then, then it's truly beyond saving and there's no need to lead it."

Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya with a mocking gaze.

Jiraiya wasn't angry, after all, he had been mocked by Orochimaru countless times since he was a child.

Orochimaru continued:

"However, your personality is just like yours, indecisive, yet naive and reckless. Even if you have some talent, without a strong mentor, a clear-headed and rational leader who is good at analyzing situations, and a more capable teammate to command the overall situation, you would probably have died on the battlefield long ago."

Jiraiya's face fell.

Are you insulting me, or praising yourself?

"I have no reason to be sarcastic; I'm just telling the truth."

Orochimaru crossed his arms, his tone calm, but the slight smile on his face betrayed him.

Not everyone is so cold-blooded and ruthless from the beginning, including Orochimaru, who was only in his early twenties.

"So, if that's the case, since you plan to continue leading this genin squad, it's because you think someone in this squad is as smart as you were when you were a kid?"

Jiraiya stood next to Orochimaru, looking at the setting sun in the distance.

"At least I know how to make the idiots in the team work."

"Hey! Orochimaru!"

"What's wrong?"

"You were definitely making a veiled attack on me again, weren't you?"

"You're the one who took it personally, you idiot."

Orochimaru flicked his sleeve and walked away lightly, leaving Jiraiya standing there with his hands shrugged.

This squad did indeed remind Orochimaru of Hiruzen's team from back then.

Although there are significant differences, some elements of the Hiruzen Squad from over a decade ago can still be found in this squad.

For example, there's a descendant of the Hokage with a noble status, and there's also a naive idiot who's not very bright but has good aptitude, and this idiot even likes the only girl in the team...

These characteristics just happen to be combined in that kid Sarutobi Enjun.

There is also a gifted, cautious, and capable young genius who can lead and integrate the team.

"Uchiha Gen... With this kid around, this team shouldn't be too much of a worry in the future, but we're still too lenient."

"Sarutobi-sensei, for the sake of the Scroll of Seals, I will help you discipline these children."

Orochimaru stuck out his tongue, licked his lips, and turned to leave.

……

……

Gen Uchiha was fully aware of Orochimaru's spying.

Those words were deliberately spoken to Sarutobi Enjun.

He knew what kind of person Orochimaru was and what direction he would take in the future.

Sometimes, saying it out loud can be just the right thing to do.

However, how effective it will be is beyond Uchiha Gen's current ability to predict.

Now all he has to do is lead this team to complete the task at hand.

Fortunately, aside from the things Orochimaru was deliberately testing, capturing these bandits wasn't too difficult for this small team.

Every newly promoted genin who has undergone six years of formal ninja training in the five great ninja villages can easily take down dozens of ordinary people wielding sharp weapons. When a ninja squad forms a formation, they become even more unstoppable.

Not to mention that the members of Uchiha Gen's team were far beyond what ordinary newly promoted genin could compare to; each of them was a top-tier graduate of the ninja academy, or even an exceptional one.

The real challenge lies in accurately locating and identifying these bandits.

A few days ago, Uchiha Gen might have found it troublesome.

Fortunately, he now has ninja crows for long-range attacks and relatively reliable sensory ninjutsu for close-range attacks. Unless the enemy is a stronger individual with overall combat capabilities far exceeding his own, or has powerful counter-surveillance methods such as the Byakugan, he can conduct continuous reconnaissance, search, and tracking within a limited area with his current abilities.

At least a group of ordinary people wouldn't have that ability.

By finding several townspeople who had connections with the bandits, whom they discovered near Uzuki Ruri, and then sending out ninja crows to follow them, they made their way to a mountain peak more than ten miles outside the town on the morning of the second day.

So at noon, more than a hundred bandit prisoners were transported to the lord's mansion.

As for the taxes and supplies that should have been offered to the daimyo, since only a few days had passed since they were looted, the bandits hadn't had time to deal with them, so most of the supplies were left behind.

On the contrary, most of that money has disappeared, perhaps already flowing back into the hands of the townspeople.

"Orochimaru-senpai, are you satisfied with how we handled this?"

Uchiha Gen looked at Sarutobi Enjun, who was negotiating with the clan leader in the distance, and spoke to Orochimaru, who had appeared there at some point.

He didn't speak with Jia Ling in person because Sarutobi Enjun's identity was more appropriate.

Being the son of the Hokage is a very useful brand name.