"So you want to take the early graduation assessment… and challenge a jōnin from the Uchiha clan?"
Inside Danzō's room, he and Kizaru sat facing one another.
Hearing Kizaru's request, Danzō frowned slightly. It was obvious he wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea.
"The Uchiha clan's jōnin all possess the Sharingan. In actual combat, their strength is generally above that of ordinary jōnin," Danzō said seriously. "And because of the hostility between the Uchiha clan and our side, if one of them fights you, they won't show any mercy."
As if recalling something, Danzō's expression shifted a little as he continued,
"If this is because of Yoshihiko's incident, then there's no need. It was only a fight between children. You don't need to go this far over something so small. There will be chances to settle things later."
Kizaru shook his head.
Looking straight at Danzō, he said calmly, "You told me yourself that some people in the Uchiha clan have been questioning my talent and my strength. Rather than waste time arguing with them, I'd rather just beat them head-on and shut them up properly."
Danzō looked at him for a moment.
"It's still because of Yoshihiko, isn't it?"
Kizaru didn't answer right away.
Then he gave a small nod.
If Yoshihiko had lost because he simply wasn't skilled enough, Kizaru wouldn't have minded.
That was normal.
But this time, the Uchiha side had relied on older kids, numbers, and cheap tactics to pin him down and beat him.
That was a different matter.
Danzō targeted the Uchiha.
The Uchiha hated Danzō for it.
That much, Kizaru could understand.
Which was why he hadn't been too bothered when some Uchiha in the village questioned him, or even took a few verbal shots at him personally.
But older kids ganging up on a younger one was one thing. The moment that younger kid turned out to be his little brother, Kizaru stopped finding it so easy to ignore.
That was where Kizaru stopped being charitable.
If the Uchiha wanted to question his strength while laying hands on people around him, then fine.
He'd challenge one of their jōnin in front of the whole village and beat him so cleanly they'd have nothing left to say.
Clean, quick, and no need for all that annoying back-and-forth. Just the way he liked it.
"Are you confident?" Danzō asked.
Kizaru tilted his head a little, looking as relaxed as ever. "I wouldn't say I'm worried."
As he said that, he lazily raised his right hand and held his thumb and index finger a short distance apart, making a loose little gap between them.
Seeing that gesture, Danzō let out a quiet laugh and shook his head.
"This assessment is too important for failure," he said. "If you do this, then you can only win. I'll support your proposal to challenge an Uchiha jōnin… but I have one condition."
"What is it?" Kizaru asked.
Danzō didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he leaned forward, resting his hands on his thighs as a heavy pressure spread from his body. In that instant, he finally showed the imposing presence of a true Kage-level shinobi.
Then he spoke in a grave voice.
"Fight me first. Earn my approval."
Kizaru sat there without changing posture in the slightest.
Faced with Danzō's pressure, he didn't look affected at all.
Instead, he gave a lazy smile.
"That's pretty intimidating, Uncle."
Danzō slowly withdrew his aura, then nodded with clear satisfaction.
Kizaru's composure just now had pleased him greatly.
"I'll give you one month. Use that time however you like. As long as you can earn my approval within that period, I'll grant your request."
"One whole month?" Kizaru replied with an easy smile. "You're surprisingly considerate."
"Prepare properly," Danzō said. "Don't disappoint me."
Kizaru tilted his head slightly, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"Try not to look too surprised when it happens~"
Danzō looked at him with open challenge.
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Then you'd better look forward to it properly~" Kizaru said with an easy smile. "Anyway, Uncle… it's about that time. I'm off for my nap."
With that, he stood up as though the conversation were already over.
"Wait."
Danzō stopped him before he could leave.
Kizaru let out a lazy sigh, dropped back into his seat, and looked over again.
"What now, Uncle?"
"Your instructor has been decided."
"Ohh~?" Kizaru glanced back at him. "Who did you pick?"
"The Third Hokage's student," Danzō said. "Orochimaru."
"Orochimaru, huh…"
Kizaru leaned back slightly and glanced up at the ceiling, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.
Seeing that reaction, Danzō frowned.
"You're dissatisfied?"
Kizaru wasn't dissatisfied.
And he certainly wasn't worried about having Orochimaru as a teacher.
What he was actually thinking was something else entirely.
By the time his training really started… would Orochimaru still be able to beat him?
If his teacher ended up not even being able to beat him, that would get awkward pretty fast.
"Orochimaru may still be young, but his talent is exceptional," Danzō said, misunderstanding Kizaru's silence. "His skill in ninjutsu is extraordinary. Don't underestimate him."
Kizaru came back to himself and smiled.
"I don't have any objections."
"Good." Danzō nodded in satisfaction. "Hiruzen and I have already discussed it. Once you pass the graduation assessment, the news of Orochimaru becoming your instructor will be made public."
"Then I'll leave it in your hands, Uncle."
"Go get some rest."
"See you later."
Kizaru got up again, said his goodbyes, and left the room.
Back in his own quarters, he had claimed he was going to take a nap—
But he didn't actually sleep.
Instead, he sat down in the living room and checked the progress bar in his mind.
The fusion rate had risen again.
18%.
Only two percent remained before he could unlock another new ability from Admiral Kizaru.
Taijutsu.
Swordsmanship.
Haki.
Further boosts to his physical ability.
Maybe even a deeper stage of development for his Devil Fruit powers.
Just thinking about it made Kizaru look forward to what was coming next.
It wasn't that he lacked confidence.
It wasn't that he doubted he could earn Danzō's approval.
And it definitely wasn't that he thought he'd lose to an Uchiha jōnin.
After all, with the Pika Pika no Mi already fused into him, Kizaru was fully confident that against an ordinary jōnin, his chances of winning were absolute.
No...
What he was really looking forward to was the arrival of whatever came next.
Time passed quickly in that quiet anticipation.
In the blink of an eye, three days were gone.
At the Ninja Academy, Kizaru was lying on his desk half-asleep when a familiar ding suddenly rang out in his mind.
His head lifted from the table at once.
After stretching lazily and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Kizaru woke himself up and immediately checked the Template System in his mind—
Completely ignoring the way Yamakawa Seiji's face on the podium was slowly darkening.
20%.
It had finally reached it.
This hadn't come easy—he'd worked his ass off for it~
Kizaru let out a long sigh in his heart.
And then, the new fusion began.
Warmth spread through his entire body in an instant.
It felt so ridiculously good that Kizaru nearly reacted out loud right there in class.
At the same time, the information pouring into his mind told him exactly what he had just obtained.
A boost to his physical ability.
This time, what Kizaru fused from the character card was the physical attributes of Admiral Kizaru in his youth.
The very first thing he had ever fused from that template character had been Kizaru's physical potential.
After several years of training, his body had already far surpassed that of ordinary children. In raw strength alone, he was already comparable to a jōnin.
But compared to Admiral Kizaru in his prime youth, his current body had still been lacking.
After all, if chakra weren't part of the equation, the base physical ability of most shinobi in the Naruto world simply couldn't compare to the monsters running around in the world of One Piece.
Now, with that physical power finally merging into him, Kizaru could clearly feel his body becoming stronger.
Even the chakra flowing through him had increased along with it.
Feeling that dense, satisfying power filling every part of his body, Kizaru slowly smiled.
Now he was really starting to look forward to it~ Especially the part where he got to properly play with Danzō… and that Uchiha jōnin.
He was suddenly feeling a lot more motivated~
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