Chapter 75 The Childhood of the Three Sannin

"Haruko! Haruko!"

who……

"Haruko! If you don't get up soon, you'll be late!"

Haruko sat up abruptly in the morning, and hearing the calls still coming from outside the door, she quickly called out, "Get up! Get up!"

After tidying up quickly, Haruko ran to the living room in the morning, smoothly took the bread from her large hands, and hurried to the entryway to put on her shoes.

Hiruzen Sarutobi peeked out and saw her hurriedly putting on her shoes, and sighed helplessly.

That's why I told you to set your alarm earlier.

"If I set the time too early, I won't be able to get up," Haruko Hayama replied matter-of-factly.

Before he could speak again, the entryway door opened and closed, and then fell silent.

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head. "This little girl is really..."

Haruko barely made it to the classroom at the last minute, feeling like her legs were about to give out. She was constantly thankful that she wasn't the first person to be late for the start of the school year.

Because Konoha's educational facilities are not very good, sometimes two classes will have classes together.

For example, during a practical lesson, Haruko Hayashi stood in an open space and met Orochimaru from the next class, who was described as a "talented young man" and a "genius that only appears once every few decades."

Despite having heard teachers and classmates discuss it frequently, I was still quite surprised when I actually met him in person.

His long, black hair, reaching his waist, cascaded down his back. He possessed snake-like, dark gold eyes, with purple eyeshadow extending to his nose, complementing his pale skin...

He looks like a vampire.

Haruko couldn't help but think to herself.

Sensing the unfamiliar gaze, Orochimaru quickly looked over and found a girl wearing a purple flower hair clip.

Oh no, the slander has been discovered by the person in question.

Haruko quickly put on a friendly smile and greeted him.

Completely ignoring her enthusiasm, Orochimaru turned his head and watched with boredom as one useless person after another entered the arena.

Haruko Hayama: ...Damn it, I've been tricked.

"Haruko Hayama." Just then, the teacher called out her name.

"exist!"

Haruko took a few steps forward, exhaled to relax herself, and then focused her attention on the dartboard on the big tree opposite.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

She threw three shurikens in a row, all of which hit the bullseye.

The surrounding people were silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into heated discussion.

"My God! They all hit!"

"Who is this girl? How is she so amazing?"

"He's comparable to Orochimaru!"

After fulfilling her KPIs, Haruko hurriedly left to make room for the next person, her awkward posture revealing her embarrassment.

"you're good."

A cold, low voice sounded behind her. Haruko turned around and found it was Orochimaru, who had ignored her earlier.

Seeing that she was stunned and didn't respond, Orochimaru asked with his limited patience, "What's your name?"

"Haruko Hayama, my name is Haruko Hayama."

"I don't think I've seen you before?" Orochimaru recalled the unimportant faces in his class and realized she wasn't one of them. "Are you in another class?"

Haruko nodded, then looked at the purple eyeshadow on his face with amusement and couldn't help but ask, "Is that Orochimaru's birthmark?"

"……no."

Suddenly regretting initiating the conversation with her, Orochimaru's expression darkened further.

I was initially intrigued by her strength, but after getting to know her, she seemed like a fool.

Seeing the speechlessness in his eyes, Haruko smiled and scratched her cheek. "Sorry... because it looks good."

"Beautiful?" Orochimaru asked with a hint of doubt.

"Yes! It has a very artistic feel!"

It could easily be considered a masterpiece of abstract art! Haruko Hayama nodded in complete agreement.

"You really are a strange person."

Orochimaru chuckled, ended the conversation, and left.

Watching his gloomy figure disappear into the distance, Haruko belatedly responded, "You're pretty strange too..."

After that, their two classes were often arranged to attend classes together. Haruko noticed that Orochimaru often went about his business alone, and would occasionally come over to talk to him.

"You're so noisy," Orochimaru stated expressionlessly.

Having grown accustomed to his personality, Haruko Hayama was not discouraged at all.

"After all, Orochimaru is always alone. I want to become friends with Orochimaru!"

The unfamiliar terms related to the relationship triggered his acceptance level. Orochimaru suddenly stood up, deliberately turning cold as he looked down at her.

“I don’t need you to get close. I only talked to you before because I thought you were quite capable, but it’s obvious that you’re just a chattering idiot.”

After saying that, Orochimaru left without paying any attention to her reaction, leaving Haruko Hayama to ponder his words.

The genius actually thinks she's pretty good... hehehe.

Was Orochimaru angry just now?

Yeah?

On several later occasions when Orochimaru encountered her, he always put on a cold face as if he didn't recognize her.

Thinking that he would calm down on his own, Haruko didn't approach him again in the morning. Instead, she chatted happily with another blonde girl in his class.

"Which 'Tsunade's' 'Tsunade' is it?" Haruko Hayama asked curiously.

"This is the outline!"

Tsunade took her hand and traced her name on her fair palm.

"What a cute name, just like Tsunade." Haruko Hayama gave her a bright, sparkling look.

The girl in front of you with blonde hair in a ponytail and a bit of baby fat is Tsunade, a fun new friend that Haruko Hayama has recently made.

"Haruko is very beautiful, the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!" Tsunade exaggeratedly gestured with her hands in the air.

"Hey! What are you talking about?"

Suddenly, a white-haired, spiky-haired girl appeared among them.

He had red marks under his eyes and was wearing a red coat. Now, he was lying on their table with only his head showing, making him look more like a hedgehog.

Feeling a slight itch in her hand, Haruko couldn't resist touching his hair. "It doesn't itch."

Jiraiya quickly took a few steps back, looking at her warily. "What are you doing? Don't you know you shouldn't touch a boy's head?!"

"Why can't I touch it?" Haruko Hayama asked, puzzled.

Tsunade pointed at Jiraiya speechlessly and explained, "Because this guy is afraid he won't grow tall."

"Nonsense! I will definitely be the tallest person in the world someday!"

Jiraiya glared at her angrily, patting his chest as if to prove himself.

"But his hair really does look like a hedgehog's, and it feels nice to touch," Haruko Hayama shared excitedly with her best friend.

As expected of her friend, Tsunade immediately became interested. "Really? I'll go touch it and try it out!"

Sensing the murderous intent directed at his hair, Jiraiya clutched his head in terror and ran away as fast as he could.

Seeing his foolish expression, Tsunade laughed without any regard for her image.

"Hahaha, Jiraiya is hilarious!"

"Is his name Jiraiya?"

"Yeah, he's an impulsive guy with mediocre talent. He's the worst student in our class." Tsunade didn't hold back in exposing his shortcomings.

"Is that so...? It feels like someone from my memory."

Following Tsunade's description, a blurry figure appeared in Haruko's mind, but no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn't remember who it was.

Blonde hair...no, red hair?

And has she ever met someone like that?

"Are you close to that person?" Tsunade asked, blinking her eyes.

Haruko hesitated and shook her head. "The relationship... probably isn't good, since I can't even remember his name."

"Really?" Tsunade's interest was still high. "How about we go catch Jiraiya and pat his head after school!"

"That's not a good idea, he doesn't seem to like us touching his head."

"It's alright, that guy's a pervert. Let's make sure he doesn't grow tall, then he won't have the face to peep!"

Seeing Tsunade's overflowing sense of justice and her determination to rid the world of evil, Haruko Hayama exclaimed in surprise, "Pervert? Spying?"

Well, Haruko Hayama believes that when dealing with bad people, punishment means doing things they don't like.

The two girls agreed to go back to their respective classrooms after class.

One by one, everyone left the classroom, leaving Orochimaru alone in his seat in the empty room.

His indifferent expression seemed to indicate that he was immersed in the world of the book, but the hand holding the book gradually tightened in response to his mood.