Kizaru's Proposal

"An early graduation exam? You want to challenge a Jonin from the Uchiha Clan?"

Inside Danzo's office, Kizaru and Danzo sat facing one another.

Faced with Kizaru's request, Danzo frowned slightly, his heart clearly not in favor of the idea.

"Every Jonin of the Uchiha Clan has awakened the Sharingan, and their combat power is generally above that of an average Jonin. Furthermore, given the Uchiha Clan's hostility toward us, they will absolutely not hold back if you fight them." Danzo, disapproving of Kizaru's proposal, explained earnestly.

Once he finished, Danzo seemed to recall something and continued, "If this is about Zen-hiko, there is no need. That was merely a squabble between children; you shouldn't take it to heart. Do not lose sight of the big picture for a trivial matter; there will be plenty of opportunities for revenge later."

Kizaru shook his head, looked Danzo straight in the eye, and said, "You were the one who told me that members of the Uchiha Clan were questioning my talent and strength. I feel that rather than engaging in meaningless arguments with them, it would be better for me to strike directly and defeat them head-on."

"It is still about Zen-hiko, isn't it?" Danzo asked.

Kizaru did not speak, but gave a slight nod, admitting it.

If Zen-hiko had been beaten because he lacked the skill or was simply outmatched, Kizaru wouldn't have been angry. But the Uchiha had resorted to biased officiating to beat Zen-hiko, and that was what displeased Kizaru.

Kizaru could understand the Uchiha Clan's resentment toward Danzo's policies, so he hadn't been overly bothered by the questioning or even the personal attacks directed at him by some of their ninja.

But for the Uchiha to use their status to bully the weak and outnumber his own subordinate? That was something Kizaru could not overlook.

Since the Uchiha questioned his strength and bullied his subordinate, he would challenge one of their Jonin directly. He would defeat an Uchiha Jonin in front of the entire village, leaving them with nothing to say.

That was Kizaru's plan: simple, direct, and effective.

"Are you confident?" Danzo asked, concerned.

"A little bit!"

Kizaru wore a confident smile, raised his right hand, and extended his thumb and index finger to form an irregular "C" shape.

Seeing Kizaru's gesture, Danzo chuckled and shook his head.

"This exam is of great importance; you must win, you cannot lose! I support your desire to challenge an Uchiha Jonin, but there is one condition."

"What is it?"

Danzo did not answer immediately. Instead, he braced his hands on his thighs and leaned forward, unleashing the aura of a Kage-level powerhouse as he said with great solemnity, "Fight me and earn my recognition."

"How terrifying!" Faced with the oppressive weight of Danzo's aura, Kizaru seemed completely unaffected. He maintained his seated posture and said with a beaming smile.

Withdrawing his aura, Danzo nodded; he was very satisfied with Kizaru's performance just now.

"Within one month, you may choose the time. As long as you can earn my recognition, I will agree to your request."

"One month? You really are thoughtful, Uncle!" Kizaru replied with a smile, looking entirely unburdened.

"Prepare well. Do not let me down."

"Don't get too scared when the time comes!" Kizaru said in a joking tone.

"I am looking forward to it." Danzo looked at Kizaru with an appreciative gaze and replied with a smile.

"Then look forward to it! My dear uncle!" Having said that, Kizaru stood up as he always did. "It's getting late, I need my nap. Bye-bye!"

"Wait!" Danzo called out to Kizaru as he was about to leave.

Yawning lazily, Kizaru sat back down, looked at Danzo, and asked, "Is there something else, Uncle?"

"Your instructor has been decided."

"Oh? Who is it?" Kizaru asked with curiosity.

"The Third Hokage's disciple, Orochimaru!" Danzo replied.

"Orochimaru?" Kizaru looked up at the ceiling, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Are you dissatisfied?" Danzo asked, seeing Kizaru's reaction.

Kizaru wasn't afraid of having Orochimaru as his teacher, nor was he dissatisfied; he was simply considering a question: in a little while, would Orochimaru even be able to beat him?

If the teacher couldn't beat the student by then, wouldn't that be a bit embarrassing?

"Although Orochimaru is young, he is exceptionally gifted and possesses brilliant talent in ninjutsu. Do not underestimate him." Since the current Orochimaru had yet to prove his strength in the Second Great Ninja War, Danzo assumed Kizaru was dismissing him for being too young and inexperienced.

"I have no objections!" Kizaru pulled himself from his thoughts and replied.

"Very good!" Danzo said with satisfaction. "Hiruzen and I have already arranged it. The news of Orochimaru becoming your teacher will be announced after you pass your graduation exam."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Uncle!"

"Go back and get some rest."

"Then goodbye, Uncle!"

"Get going!"

After parting ways with Danzo and returning to his room, Kizaru—who had claimed he needed a nap—did not actually go to sleep. Instead, he sat in the living room and checked the progress of the Fusion Progress Bar.

The fusion progress had ticked up a bit more, reaching 18%. With only two more percentage points, Kizaru would be able to fuse with a new ability of Admiral Kizaru.

Taijutsu, swordsmanship, Haki, physical enhancement, or perhaps a deeper development of his Devil Fruit ability.

Kizaru was filled with anticipation for the new power he was about to integrate.

It wasn't that Kizaru lacked confidence in his current strength to earn Danzo's recognition or defeat an Uchiha Jonin.

Having already fused with the Devil Fruit's power, Kizaru was certain he had a ten-out-of-ten chance of victory against any Jonin.

Kizaru was currently simply looking forward to the emergence of a new ability.

Time passed quickly in Kizaru's anticipation, and in the blink of an eye, three days had gone by.

At the Ninja Academy, Kizaru, who had been sleeping with his head on his desk, heard a "ding" sound echo in his mind.

Half-asleep and half-awake, Kizaru lifted his head from the desk and straightened his upper body.

After stretching out in a long yawn and rubbing his eyes, the now-awake Kizaru ignored the darkening expression of Yamakawa Kiyoshi on the podium and impatiently checked the progress of the Character Card's Fusion Progress Bar in his mind.

20%

It hadn't been easy! It had finally arrived.

Kizaru sighed with emotion in his heart.

Immediately following this, Kizaru began to fuse with the new ability.

A wave of warmth spread throughout his entire body, so comfortable that Kizaru nearly cried out loud.

The information transmitted into his mind let Kizaru know exactly what his newly fused ability was.

Physical enhancement!

Kizaru had fused with the physical prowess of Admiral Kizaru during his youth from the Character Card.

The first ability Kizaru had initially fused from the Character Card was the physical potential of Admiral Kizaru.

Through several years of training, Kizaru's physical fitness had far surpassed his peers, granting him a level of physical strength comparable to a Jonin.

However, compared to Admiral Kizaru in his youth, the physical strength Kizaru had cultivated himself was still far from enough.

After all, when stripped of Chakra, the physical constitution of a ninja in the Hokage world simply cannot compare to the powerhouses of the One Piece World.

Having now fused with the physical prowess of Admiral Kizaru's youth, Kizaru clearly felt his body become much stronger, with his internal chakra reserves increasing as a result.

Feeling the abundance of power surging within his body, a satisfied smile appeared on Kizaru's face as he began to look forward to his upcoming battles against Danzo and the Uchiha Jonin.

Don't be too scared! Kizaru thought to himself, filled with a wicked sense of humor.