The small talk had more or less run its course. Since the two advisors still had not offered any substantive suggestions regarding Kirigakure, they could hardly linger any longer. After excusing themselves, they rose and left, leaving Danzo and Hiruzen alone.
"Hiruzen, this doesn't sound like your style." Only after the advisors had left did Danzo get the chance to voice his opinion.
Forcing him to acknowledge Kazashiro's existence in front of the two advisors—Hiruzen, this bastard—
Hiruzen merely shook his head, not even bothering to put down his pipe. He had not expected his pressure to work so well, or rather, for everything to go so smoothly. Danzo had actually admitted that Kazashiro was his son. "Hehe, Danzo, aren't you the same?"
"Still, Koharu and En were right. As Kazashiro's elders, we really should go see him." With both advisors gone, Hiruzen lit his pipe without restraint.
Danzo's face darkened as he caught the secondhand smoke. This bastard could smoke whenever he wanted, yet he had to do it when the two of them were alone—
The person he hated most really was the bastard standing before him!
"Save it, Hiruzen. Kazashiro is my son. A weakling like you should stay away from him. I'll raise him into a true ninja!" Unwilling to keep breathing Hiruzen's secondhand smoke indoors, Danzo rose and walked to the door, rejecting Hiruzen's goodwill.
"Your way of raising children is the real problem, Danzo." Hiruzen cheerfully tapped the ash from his pipe against the table.
"You, who threw everything onto Biwako, have no right to say that." Danzo's words struck straight into Hiruzen's heart, making him stop mid-motion.
"You're too extreme, Danzo. That was because of the Hokage's duties!" Thinking of his own family life, Hiruzen's expression turned unusually grim.
"I'm Kazashiro's father, Hiruzen!" Danzo flicked his sleeve, unwilling to continue this topic with Hiruzen.
Hiruzen blurted out instinctively, "You... you'll regret this, Danzo!"
Then both of them fell into thought.
Why did this scene feel strangely familiar, even carrying a hint of everything being turned upside down?
Meanwhile, Kazashiro followed Aburame Ryoma to a two-story house.
The location was excellent, right in the center of Konoha. In his previous life, it would have been worth at least a prime property inside Beijing's Second Ring Road.
After pushing open the main gate and entering the yard, Kazashiro saw another unfamiliar figure.
"My name is Aburame Ryoma, and this is Yamanaka Zen. Starting today, we'll be responsible for your security and training." With Yamanaka Zen present, Aburame Ryoma introduced them.
"Hello, Ryoma... Uncle? Uh, Uncle Zen?" Kazashiro tested the waters as he looked at the two men before him.
"Cough." Ryoma visibly stumbled when he heard that form of address.
"Just call me Ryoma." Somehow being placed in the same generation as Danzo, Ryoma hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.
If word got out that he and Lord Danzo were calling each other brothers, he would probably disappear from Konoha the next day.
Zen was equally resistant, trying to dissuade Kazashiro from the idea. "Right. Just call me Zen."
"That might be a little rude, though." Looking up at the two men, both much taller than him, Kazashiro wanted to say more, but Ryoma directly cut him off. "Enough, Kazashiro. Lord Danzo asked us to guide your training, so don't dwell on something as unimportant as forms of address."
"Yes, Teacher." Feeling the pressure emanating from him, Kazashiro immediately stood at attention.
Teacher was fine. At least it was better than calling him Uncle.
Yamanaka Zen, meanwhile, rubbed his smooth face and silently wondered who looked younger between himself and Danzo's weathered old face.
"While you were in Kirigakure, did you receive any systematic training?" Aburame Ryoma asked his first question.
"No, but I did extract Chakra according to a scroll my mother left behind." Kazashiro shook his head and answered honestly.
Hearing that Kazashiro had a scroll, Aburame Ryoma asked where it was. "Then where is that scroll?"
"I left it in Kirigakure. After all, that place wasn't very friendly to ninja, so..." Given Kirigakure's terrible environment, it was already good enough that he had left behind a token kunai. At least he could claim he had picked it up.
As for the scroll... sorry, he still wanted to live. He did not want Kirigakure's villagers to beat him to death with tools the way they had Haku's mother.
Therefore, after roughly understanding Chakra circulation and extraction, Kazashiro hid the scroll away. There were not many ninjutsu recorded on it anyway, so he did not feel bad about losing it.
"I understand. Extract some Chakra first and let me take a look." After learning the situation, Aburame Ryoma nodded, then shook his sleeve and summoned a swarm of black insects.
Kazashiro obediently closed his eyes, formed the Tiger Hand Seal with both hands, and began extracting the Chakra within his body.
Using the insects, Aburame Ryoma observed the flow of Kazashiro's Chakra. Only after confirming that there was nothing wrong with this training method did he tell Kazashiro to stop. "All right."
"Your Chakra training method is fine, and you can continue practicing this way. However, because you are still young, you cannot train for extended periods. Extracting Chakra when your stamina is insufficient will put an enormous burden on your body. This is especially true for you, since your physical strength is far below that of children your age."
Kazashiro nodded. So it came down to bloodline, huh? He got it, he got it.
"So..." Aburame Ryoma clenched his fist, recalling Danzo's instructions.
"Train that brat the way Root members are trained." When Aburame Ryoma had asked how he should train Kazashiro, Danzo had answered coldly.
Training him the Root way meant throwing Kazashiro among death-row prisoners and making him fight to the death, but that method clearly could not be used on Danzo's son.
Then there was only one answer.
Before Kazashiro could react at all, Aburame Ryoma threw a punch.
"First, try fighting me."
???
Shouldn't they be doing things like running drills at a time like this?
Kazashiro, who had been sent flying by a completely unprovoked punch, was just short of cursing out loud.
Three hours later.
After being punched into the wall once again, Kazashiro was dragged out by Yamanaka Zen, who used the Mystical Palm Technique to heal his injuries.
"Teacher Ryoma, how about we take a break first?" After his several broken ribs had been healed, Kazashiro raised a hand to signal him to stop.
I'm a kid who isn't even a Genin yet, fighting a Jonin like you. I can't even see your movements. What the hell am I training?
Did you really only take this assignment because you have a grudge against Danzo?
Also, are the neighbors next door just absurdly patient? I was one hit away from smashing down the courtyard wall, and they haven't made a peep.
Before you continue