Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't stay long.
As Hokage, he had far too much work to handle, and even a short meeting like this had to be squeezed out of a busy schedule.
Before leaving, he had Kizaru demonstrate the Rasengan's actual effect in combat, and once again praised the technique's brilliance.
Even without knowing the exact training method behind it, Hiruzen was able to judge the Rasengan as an A-rank jutsu based on experience and instinct alone.
At the same time, he gave Kizaru several suggestions regarding the Rasengan's future development.
The core of it was simple—
combine shape transformation with nature transformation.
If elemental chakra could be merged into the Rasengan while maintaining its balance, the technique's destructive power would rise to an even higher level.
After hearing that, Kizaru had to admit inwardly that his teacher truly deserved the title of Professor.
Once he had finished giving his advice, Hiruzen also informed Kizaru that the opponent for his graduation assessment had been decided.
Uchiha Kensuke.
Thirty years old.
Promoted to jōnin three years ago.
An elite member of the Uchiha clan who had already awakened the Sharingan.
He was skilled in kenjutsu and Fire Release, and was the kind of shinobi who was solid in both taijutsu and ninjutsu.
Kensuke's selection had been the result of discussion between Hiruzen and the Uchiha clan.
Of course, the two sides had their own reasons.
Hiruzen chose him because his temperament was calm and rational. Even if he lost to Kizaru, he wasn't the type to do something reckless out of humiliation.
The Uchiha chose him for a much simpler reason.
He was strong enough—
and steady enough.
Strong enough to ensure that the Uchiha wouldn't lose face by having one of their jōnin defeated by a six-year-old child.
Steady enough not to lose control during the assessment and create a situation that couldn't be cleaned up afterward.
At this point, Kizaru's challenge to an Uchiha jōnin was no longer just a matter of early graduation.
There was more behind it now.
Whether openly acknowledged or not, this assessment had already become a quiet contest between the Hokage's side and the Uchiha clan.
If Kizaru defeated Uchiha Kensuke, then he would not only cement his name as a once-in-a-generation prodigy, he would also step directly on the Uchiha clan's pride and use that victory to build even more prestige for himself in the village.
If Kensuke won, then the Uchiha could use that result to further strengthen their reputation as Konoha's strongest clan, while at the same time weakening the momentum around Danzo and the Shimura name.
As far as the Uchiha clan leadership was concerned, they were extremely confident in this match.
After all, what did they know about Kizaru?
A genius student at the Academy.
A talented child with astonishing promise.
That was all.
No matter how gifted he was, he was still only six years old.
How could a child that young defeat an elite Uchiha jōnin in his prime—someone with the Sharingan, years of battlefield experience, countless missions behind him, and combat instincts drilled through real life-and-death fighting?
Even if Shimura Kizaru truly possessed jōnin-level talent, raw talent alone was not enough to overcome an experienced Uchiha elite.
Unless the boy was some kind of reincarnated monster—
or Kensuke had been bribed into throwing the fight—
the Uchiha elders genuinely couldn't imagine how this battle could possibly be lost.
To them, it was impossible.
On the other hand, Hiruzen and Danzo—who actually knew Kizaru's true strength—had no concern at all.
Those two old geezers had already moved past worrying about the result.
What they were thinking about now was how to squeeze the greatest possible benefit out of Kizaru's victory once the assessment was over.
Kizaru understood the game being played around him.
He could roughly guess what both sides were thinking.
But he didn't care.
And he had no interest in getting involved in their calculations.
The reason he challenged an Uchiha jōnin had always been simple.
One reason was to vent some anger on behalf of his little brother Yoshihiko.
The other was to build more fame for himself and push the progress of his fusion further.
That was all.
No schemes.
No hidden agenda.
Just doing what he felt like doing.
After meeting with Hiruzen, Kizaru's days returned to normal.
He slacked off at the Academy, trained after school, and whenever he had free time, he drank tea, relaxed, and generally took life as easily as possible.
Time slipped by quietly in that laid-back rhythm.
Before long, several months had passed.
During that period, nothing major happened inside the village. Konoha remained peaceful, and life moved on as usual.
Outside the village, however, things were beginning to stir.
In Amegakure, deep within the Land of Rain, a man named Hanzō of the Salamander had begun preparing to do something big.
At this point in time, Hanzō had already risen to the peak of his strength and firmly established himself as the leader of Amegakure.
And when power reached a certain point, ambition naturally followed.
Hanzō's ambition was enormous.
He wanted to challenge the existing order of the shinobi world.
He wanted Amegakure to rise high enough to stand alongside the Five Great Nations and their hidden villages.
He wanted to become the leader of a sixth great power.
Naturally, the Five Kage saw his intentions clearly.
And naturally, they had no intention of tolerating that.
The cake of the shinobi world was only so big.
Five people dividing it was already enough.
Now another ambitious man wanted a share?
In the eyes of the Five Great Nations, that was laughable.
Amegakure and Hanzō were allowed to exist as pieces on the board.
At most, they could survive by feeding on the scraps left by the great powers.
That was already generous enough.
But becoming a player instead of a piece?
That was something the Five Great Nations would never allow.
Over the past few months, the two names Kizaru had heard most often from Danzo were Hanzō of the Salamander—
and Namikaze Minato.
To Danzo, Hanzō was an ambitious threat who needed to be controlled or eliminated.
Minato, meanwhile, was talent worth coveting.
After Kizaru's earlier reminder, Danzo had continued observing Namikaze Minato for over a month.
And the more he watched, the more certain he became.
The boy's talent was exceptional.
His personality was steady.
His character was good.
By the end of it, Danzo had made up his mind.
He wanted to adopt Minato.
But this time, Danzo didn't move rashly.
Instead, he took advantage of the fact that Minato often trained with Yoshihiko and the others at the clan training ground.
So every so often, Danzo would appear there in person.
Sometimes he would stand to the side and quietly watch.
Sometimes he would point out mistakes in their movements.
Sometimes he would even offer guidance directly.
Bit by bit, over the course of those months, Danzo carefully built up the image of a stern but reliable elder in Minato's eyes.
Seeing that, even Kizaru had to admit that when his uncle actually used his head properly, he could still be surprisingly competent.
Kizaru had no intention of exposing Danzo's suspicious plan to abduct a future golden boy.
On the contrary, he supported it.
After all, Kizaru knew exactly what kind of monster Namikaze Minato would become in the future.
If Danzo really succeeded in adopting Minato and bringing him into the Shimura clan, it would be a huge gain for the family.
Not only would it greatly strengthen the clan in the years ahead—
it might even prevent certain tragedies from ever happening in the first place.
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