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The two advisors, having chatted enough and not having any substantial suggestions for Kirigakure, found it difficult to stay any longer. They excused themselves, stood up, and left, leaving the space entirely to Danzo and Hiruzen.

"Hiruzen, this approach isn't like you," Danzo said, finally having the chance to speak to Hiruzen now that the advisors were gone.

Forcing himself to admit Kazashiro's existence in front of the two advisors, this guy Hiruzen—

Hiruzen merely shook his head at Danzo's words, too lazy to even put down his pipe. He hadn't expected his coercion to be so effective, or rather, everything had proceeded too smoothly for Danzo to actually acknowledge Kazashiro as his son. "Heh, Danzo, aren't you the same?"

"Besides, Koharu and Homura were right. As Kazashiro's elders, we should indeed go and see him." With both advisors gone, Hiruzen lit his pipe without any reservations.

The smell of secondhand smoke made Danzo's expression turn exceptionally ugly. This guy, he never smoked at this time, but he always did when Danzo was alone with him—

The person he hated the most was indeed the one standing before him!

"Save it, Hiruzen. Kazashiro is my son. A weakling like you should stay away from him. I will train him into a true ninja!" Not wanting to inhale Hiruzen's secondhand smoke indoors, Danzo got up and moved to the doorway, rejecting Hiruzen's overture.

"Your way of raising a child is the problem, Danzo," Hiruzen said, cheerfully tapping the ash from his pipe by the table.

"You, who left everything to Biwako, have no right to say that," Danzo's words directly hit Hiruzen's sore spot, causing him to stop what he was doing.

"You're too extreme, Danzo. That was because of my Hokage duties!" Recalling his own family upbringing, Hiruzen's expression turned uncharacteristically grim.

"I am Kazashiro's father, Hiruzen!" Danzo waved his sleeve, unwilling to continue this topic with Hiruzen.

Hiruzen blurted out subconsciously, "You, you'll regret this, Danzo!"

Then, both fell into thought.

This scene felt strangely familiar, almost like a reversal of fate.

Meanwhile, Kazashiro followed Aburame Ryoma to a two-story house.

The house was in a prime location, right in the center of Konohagakure. In his past life, this place would have been considered prime real estate.

Pushing open the gate and entering the courtyard, another unfamiliar figure appeared before Kazashiro.

"My name is Aburame Ryoma, and this is Yamanaka Zen. From today onwards, we will be responsible for your security and training." Seeing Yamanaka Zen arrive, Aburame Ryoma introduced himself.

"Hello, Ryoma, Uncle? Uh, Uncle Zen?" Looking at the two faces before him, Kazashiro tentatively spoke.

"Cough." Hearing the address, Ryoma clearly stumbled.

"Just call me Ryoma," Ryoma said, hastily waving his hands in refusal, inexplicably placed in the same generation as Danzo.

If this got out, and he was seen as brothers with Lord Danzo, he'd probably disappear from Konohagakure the next day.

Zen, on the other side, also showed a face full of resistance, trying to dissuade Kazashiro from this idea. "Yes, just call me Zen."

"This might be a bit impolite, though," Kazashiro said, looking up at the two men who were significantly taller than him. He wanted to say more, but Ryoma interrupted him. "Alright, Kazashiro, Lord Danzo wants us to guide your training. Don't dwell too much on trivial matters like how to address us."

"Yes, Teacher." Feeling the aura emanating from them, Kazashiro immediately straightened up.

Teacher, teacher, it's better than calling them uncle.

Yamanaka Zen, meanwhile, stroked his smooth face, pondering in his mind who looked younger between him and Danzo's rough skin.

"When you were in Kirigakure, did you receive any systematic training?" Aburame Ryoma asked the first question.

"No, but I did refine my chakra according to a scroll left by my mother," Kazashiro replied truthfully, shaking his head.

Hearing that Kazashiro had a scroll, Aburame Ryoma inquired about its whereabouts. "Then, what about that scroll?"

"I left it in Kirigakure. After all, it's not a very friendly place for ninjas, so..." In Kirigakure's terrible environment, it was good enough that he left a token kunai. At the very least, he could claim he found it.

As for the scroll... sorry, he hadn't lived long enough to want to be killed by Kirigakure villagers with tools, like Haku's mother.

Therefore, after a brief understanding of chakra circulation and refinement, Kazashiro hid the scroll. It didn't contain much ninjutsu anyway, so he wouldn't miss it if it were lost.

"I understand. Refine your chakra first and let me see," Aburame Ryoma said after learning the situation. He nodded, then shook his sleeve, summoning a swarm of black insects.

Kazashiro obediently closed his eyes and formed the Tiger Hand Seal with his hands, refining the chakra within his body.

Using the insects, Aburame Ryoma observed the flow of Kazashiro's chakra. After confirming that the training method was sound, he told Kazashiro to stop. "Alright."

"Your chakra cultivation method is fine. You can continue training this way. However, because you are still young, this type of training cannot be done for extended periods. Refining chakra when your stamina is insufficient will place a great burden on your body, especially since your current stamina is far inferior to that of your peers."

Kazashiro nodded. It's all about bloodline, right? I get it, I get it.

"So..." Aburame Ryoma clenched his fist, recalling Danzo's instructions.

"Train the boy the same way we train Root members," Danzo had said coldly when Aburame Ryoma asked how to train Kazashiro.

Training like Root meant throwing Kazashiro into life-or-death battles. However, this method clearly couldn't be used on Danzo's son.

So, there was only one answer.

Before Kazashiro could even react, Aburame Ryoma threw a punch.

"First, try to fight against me."

???

Isn't this the time for exercises like running?

Kazashiro, inexplicably sent flying by a punch, was on the verge of cursing.

Three hours later.

Kazashiro, once again sent crashing into the wall, was dragged out by Yamanaka Zen, who began healing his injuries with the Mystic Palm Technique.

"Ryoma-sensei, can we stop for a bit?" Kazashiro, with several broken ribs, held up his hand to signal him to stop after being healed.

I'm not even a Genin yet, and I'm sparring with a Jonin. I can't even see his movements. What am I even practicing?

Is this guy really not taking this mission because he has a grudge against Danzo?

And the neighbor next door has such a good temper. I almost knocked down the courtyard wall, and they didn't even make a sound.