"You want to challenge a Uchiha Clan Jonin in the early graduation exam?"
Inside Danzo's home, Kizaru and Danzo sat facing each other.
Faced with Kizaru's request, Danzo furrowed his brow slightly. He wasn't keen on the idea.
"Every Jonin in the Uchiha Clan has awakened the Sharingan. Their combat abilities are generally above those of ordinary Jonin. And if you fight them, given the Uchiha Clan's hostility toward us, they absolutely won't hold back." Danzo didn't approve of Kizaru's proposal, and explained the situation seriously.
After speaking, Danzo seemed to recall something and continued, "If this is because of what happened to Zen-hiko, there's no need. It was just a squabble between children. You don't have to go this far. Don't let a small matter distract you from the bigger picture. You'll have a chance to get even someday."
Kizaru shook his head and looked Danzo straight in the eye. "You told me that someone in the Uchiha Clan questioned my talent and strength. Rather than having meaningless arguments with them, I'd rather take them on directly and defeat them in a fair fight."
"This is still about what happened to Zen-hiko, isn't it?" Danzo asked.
Kizaru didn't say anything, but gave a small nod in confirmation.
If Zen-hiko had been beaten because he was weak and outmatched, Kizaru wouldn't have been angry. But the Uchiha had ganged up on him and beaten him unfairly, and that had upset Kizaru.
Kizaru understood that the Uchiha Clan resented Danzo for targeting them. So when some of their ninja questioned his abilities or even personally insulted him, he hadn't been all that angry.
But the Uchiha had used their strength and numbers to bully someone weaker—his own underling, no less! Kizaru couldn't stand for that.
Since the Uchiha doubted his strength and had bullied his underling, he'd challenge one of their Jonin directly, defeat him in front of the entire village, and leave the Uchiha with nothing to say.
That was Kizaru's plan: simple and straightforward, but effective.
"Are you confident?" Danzo asked, concerned.
"A little!"
Kizaru smiled confidently, raised his right hand, and held his thumb and index finger apart in an irregular C shape.
Seeing Kizaru's gesture, Danzo chuckled and shook his head.
"This exam is extremely important. You can only win; you must not lose! I support your challenge to a Uchiha Clan Jonin, but I have one condition."
"What is it?"
Danzo didn't answer right away. Instead, he braced his hands on his thighs, leaned forward, and let the aura of a Kage Level powerhouse roll off him. His expression was grave as he said, "Fight me and earn my approval."
"That's terrifying!" Kizaru said with a bright smile, seemingly unaffected by the pressure and still sitting as casually as before.
Danzo withdrew his aura and nodded. He was very satisfied with Kizaru's performance just now.
"You have one month. Pick a time that suits you. If you can earn my approval, I'll agree to your request."
"One month? How considerate of you, Uncle!" Kizaru replied with a smile, looking utterly unfazed.
"Prepare well. Don't disappoint me."
"Just don't get scared when the time comes!" Kizaru joked.
"I'm looking forward to it," Danzo replied with an appreciative look and a smile.
"Then you'd better look forward to it, my dear uncle!" Kizaru said, then stood up as usual. "It's getting late. I should take my afternoon nap. Bye-bye!"
"Wait!" Danzo called out, stopping Kizaru as he was about to leave.
Kizaru yawned lazily, sat back down, and looked at Danzo. "What is it, Uncle?"
"Your mentor has been decided."
"Oh? Who is it?" Kizaru asked curiously.
"Third Hokage's student, Orochimaru!" Danzo replied.
"Orochimaru?" Kizaru looked up at the ceiling, lost in thought.
"Are you unhappy with the choice?" Danzo asked, noticing his expression.
Kizaru wasn't worried about having Orochimaru as his teacher, nor was he unhappy about it. He was just considering one thing: in a little while, would Orochimaru even be able to beat him?
It would be pretty embarrassing if the teacher couldn't beat his student.
"Although Orochimaru is young, he's exceptionally talented and has a remarkable gift for ninjutsu. Don't underestimate him." Orochimaru hadn't yet proven his strength in the Second Shinobi World War, so Danzo assumed Kizaru thought he was too young and weak.
"I have no objections!" Kizaru replied, pulling himself out of his thoughts.
"Good," Danzo said with satisfaction. "Hiruzen and I have already made the arrangements. We'll announce that Orochimaru is your teacher after you pass the graduation exam."
"Sorry for the trouble, Uncle!"
"Go back and get some rest."
"Then I'll be going, Uncle!"
"Go on, then!"
After saying goodbye to Danzo and returning to his room, Kizaru didn't actually go to sleep, despite saying he would. Instead, he sat in the living room and checked the progress of the Fusion Progress Bar.
The fusion progress had increased by another point, reaching 18%. Just two more percentage points, and Kizaru would be able to fuse with another of Admiral Kizaru's abilities.
Taijutsu, swordsmanship, Haki, enhanced physical strength, or perhaps a deeper development of his Devil Fruit abilities.
Kizaru was looking forward to his next new ability.
It wasn't that Kizaru lacked confidence in his current strength or doubted he could earn Danzo's approval or defeat a Uchiha Clan Jonin.
Having already fused with the Devil Fruit ability, Kizaru was confident he had a one-hundred-percent chance of beating a Jonin.
He was simply looking forward to seeing what his new ability would be.
Time flew by as Kizaru waited. Before he knew it, three days had passed.
At the Ninja Academy, Kizaru was asleep with his head on his desk when he heard a "ding" ring out in his mind.
Half-asleep, Kizaru lifted his head from the desk and sat up.
He stretched for a long moment and rubbed his eyes. Once fully awake, he ignored Yamakawa Kiyoshi's face darkening at the front of the classroom and hurried to check the Fusion Progress Bar on the Character Card in his mind.
20%
That had taken long enough! He'd finally made it.
Kizaru sighed inwardly.
Then he immediately began fusing with the new ability.
A wave of warmth spread through his whole body. It felt so good that he almost cried out.
The information that appeared in his mind told him what his latest fused ability was.
Enhanced physical strength!
He had fused the physical abilities of Admiral Kizaru in his younger years from the Character Card.
The first ability Kizaru had initially fused from the Character Card was Admiral Kizaru's physical potential.
After several years of training, Kizaru's physical strength had far surpassed that of his peers. His body was as tough as a Jonin's.
But compared to Admiral Kizaru in his youth, Kizaru's own trained physique still fell far short.
After all, without relying on Chakra, the physical strength of ninja in the Naruto World was nowhere near that of the strong in the One Piece World.
Now that he had fused with Admiral Kizaru's youthful physical abilities, Kizaru could clearly feel himself getting stronger. Even the amount of Chakra in his body had increased.
Feeling the abundant power coursing through his body, Kizaru smiled with satisfaction. He was already looking forward to fighting Danzo and the Uchiha Jonin.
Don't go getting scared! Kizaru thought with a mischievous grin.