Teacher Candidate

Shimura Kizaru will apply for early graduation at the end of his first year, where he will undergo an assessment and face a Jonin in combat!

As the Shimura Clan released this news, the fervor of discussion regarding Kizaru within the village intensified once again.

One must understand that while ordinary students only need to face a Chunin to apply for early graduation, Kizaru is challenging a Jonin; the gap in difficulty between the two is immense.

Whether the six-year-old Kizaru truly possesses the strength of a Jonin has become the new topic on everyone's lips.

The pro-Kizaru faction, represented by the ninjas of the Shimura Clan, argued one after another that Kizaru's physical constitution is monstrous, his chakra reserves are comparable to a Tailed Beast, and he has mastered chakra nature transformation and high-level Wind Release techniques. Based on existing facts, they claimed Kizaru already possesses the strength of a Jonin, or perhaps even an elite Jonin.

The opposition, led primarily by the Uchiha Clan, first questioned the reports of Shimura Kizaru improving ninjutsu, then argued that Kizaru lacks any real combat experience. They claimed that when facing a Jonin with rich combat expertise, Kizaru would struggle to unleash his full potential, and therefore his true combat power definitely does not reach the level of a Jonin, let alone an elite one.

The reason the Uchiha Clan targeted Kizaru was not out of jealousy for his talent, nor because Kizaru had defeated their juniors; they questioned him simply because of their hatred for Danzo.

Danzo, having inherited the Second Hokage's ideology but taken it to an extreme, despised the Uchiha Clan and had been consistently suppressing them.

This left the ninjas of the Uchiha Clan filled with hostility toward Danzo.

As Danzo's family and staunch supporters, the Shimura Clan was naturally loathed by the Uchiha as well.

Faced with the skepticism raised by some Uchiha ninjas, Danzo could not personally intervene, so he simply took out his small notebook in silence and added another mark against the Uchiha Clan.

The Uchiha, are they? Questioning my nephew, are they? Getting a bit cocky, aren't they? They look like rebels to me; sooner or later, they must be wiped out.

Although his hatred for the Uchiha had increased, Danzo had no time to retaliate for the moment.

Danzo's mind was recently occupied with the matter of selecting a mentor for Kizaru.

Since his own grand-nephew's talent was so outstanding, he naturally needed to be paired with an excellent teacher.

Danzo put a great deal of thought into the selection and, after considering many factors, narrowed it down to two candidates.

The first was Hatake Sakumo, an elite Jonin of the Anbu with outstanding strength, mastery of swordsmanship, and rich combat experience.

The second was Orochimaru, the disciple of an old friend and a top-tier genius just like his nephew, proficient in all elemental ninjutsu.

Danzo was quite conflicted about the choice between the two; one was experienced, the other more well-rounded, and both were highly excellent ninjas of the village.

It was not just Danzo who was concerned about the arrangements for Kizaru's mentor; Hiruzen Sarutobi was also invested.

Kizaru's talent was so exceptional that, barring any accidents, he was destined to be a Kage-level powerhouse and a candidate for Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally could not allow such a super-genius to grow wild; if he were to go astray in the future, it would be a massive loss for the village.

Regarding the arrangement of Kizaru's teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi's most favored target was his own disciple, Orochimaru.

There were also some personal motives behind this for Hiruzen Sarutobi. While his old friend Danzo was indeed in the same faction as him, their ideologies were not entirely aligned and often clashed.

For many years, the two had been able to maintain close cooperation and present a united front only because of various internal and external pressures.

Now that Danzo had produced such a talented descendant, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally wanted to cultivate him into an heir to his own ideology.

By having Kizaru graduate early and then having his own disciple serve as his mentor, he could use the influence of the master-disciple relationship to instill correct values in Kizaru and prevent him from being led astray by his uncle toward extremism.

This was the true purpose behind Hiruzen Sarutobi's suggestion that Kizaru graduate early back on the school grounds.

To finalize the matter of Orochimaru serving as Kizaru's mentor, Hiruzen Sarutobi specifically invited Danzo to his office today for a discussion.

Rising from his chair and waiting for Danzo's arrival, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked slowly to the window.

He took out his beloved old pipe, packed it with tobacco, lit it, took a deep puff, and exhaled slowly. Watching the village streets outside, Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered how he should persuade his old friend to accept Orochimaru as Kizaru's mentor.

Having received the invitation, Danzo did not keep Hiruzen Sarutobi waiting long; he pushed open the door and entered the office just as Hiruzen was taking his third puff.

"Hiruzen, what is it?" Danzo asked directly after entering and closing the door.

Extinguishing the tobacco in his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around with a smile and looked at Danzo.

"Sit down first!" As he spoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked to his desk and sat down.

Danzo sat across from Hiruzen Sarutobi, looking at his smiling old friend, and had already guessed the purpose of the invitation.

"Danzo, have you found a candidate for Kizaru's mentor yet?" Leaning back in his chair quite casually, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke in the tone of a casual chat.

The corners of Danzo's mouth curled slightly; having guessed his old friend's intentions, he felt quite pleased.

"I have two candidates. One is Hatake Sakumo," Danzo paused deliberately here, wanting to see his old friend's expression change, but finding that Hiruzen remained smiling without any shift, he had to continue, "the other is your disciple, Orochimaru!"

When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard the first candidate Danzo proposed, his expression remained unchanged, but his heart tightened slightly.

It was not that Hiruzen Sarutobi disliked Hatake Sakumo; he admired him greatly, as he was an excellent ninja who was nearly perfect.

However, Hatake Sakumo was only suited to be a ninja, not a leader. He could be an excellent blade, but he could not be the torch that led everyone forward and illuminated the path ahead.

It would be a waste to have the incredibly talented Kizaru learn under Hatake Sakumo.

But upon hearing the second candidate Danzo mentioned, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt deep agreement and joy, and the smile on his face grew even brighter.

I didn't expect my old friend and I to be so in sync, Hiruzen Sarutobi silently praised Danzo in his heart.

"Sakumo is busy with missions and likely won't have the time to serve as Kizaru's mentor." Hiruzen Sarutobi tactfully rejected the first candidate Danzo proposed.

Danzo immediately understood his old friend's meaning. He nodded faintly and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Hiruzen!"

"I believe Orochimaru will be very happy to have a genius student like Kizaru." Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted on Orochimaru's behalf.

"Hahaha!" Danzo laughed modestly before saying to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Kizaru is also looking forward to becoming Orochimaru's student."

In the office, the two old foxes smiled at each other, both very satisfied with this arrangement.