Inside the Shimura Clan's secret chamber, Danzo, the clan head, sat in the seat of honor. The Great Elder sat to his left, while Kizaru sat to his right.
Unlike Danzo, whose expression was icy, the Great Elder wore a kind smile. He held a cup of hot tea and gazed eagerly at Kizaru.
A treasure! A real treasure!
The Great Elder couldn't help but adore Kizaru. The more he looked, the more he liked him!
He had thought Kizaru's astonishing physical prowess and Chakra reserves comparable to a Tailed Beast already made him a once-in-a-century genius. But then Kizaru had gone and created a Kekkei Genkai, too.
The Great Elder looked Kizaru up and down, then let his gaze settle between the boy's thighs.
He was already mulling over whether he ought to arrange for two maids to attend to Kizaru, who was six years old now.
Judging by how quickly Kizaru was developing physically, in another two or three years he could start working to pass on his excellent bloodline.
Uncomfortable under the Great Elder's leering gaze, Kizaru stretched out his legs, braced himself with one hand on the floor, and leaned back. He shifted his gaze to Danzo, who wore an impassive expression.
"The clan has decided that you'll be granted early graduation after three years at the Academy," Danzo said, looking at Kizaru and keeping his tone as even as he could.
"Three years?" Kizaru frowned.
His own plan had been to spend all six years at the Academy. After all, those were the only six years in the future when he could take it easy.
"The Ninja Academy's education won't help you at all. It'll only hinder your growth. We're sending you there to build your reputation and make a name for yourself. Three years will be more than enough."
"What a hassle!"
"Watch your tone. This is the clan's decision!" Danzo said, his voice hardening.
Tch!
Kizaru gave a soft snort and looked up at the ceiling.
Annoyed by Kizaru's attitude, Danzo's face darkened. He parted his lips, ready to reprimand him.
"Heh heh heh!" The Great Elder chuckled, cutting Danzo off. Then he said warmly, "Little Monkey, don't reveal your Kekkei Genkai to anyone just yet."
"Got it!" Kizaru replied, without asking any questions.
"You did well enough in the entrance exam. The village's shinobi are already talking about your performance." The Great Elder paused, his face alight with pride. "But nothing in this world should be taken too far. If you keep showing off your talent and abilities one after another in such a short time, people will get used to it and keep raising their expectations of you. That'll put unnecessary pressure on your shoulders."
Worried that Kizaru, only six years old, might not understand why they had made these arrangements or how much effort they had put into them, the Great Elder explained at length.
"Sending you to the Academy for three years was a decision the clan head and I made together. Remember this: your future goal isn't just to become a decent powerhouse, or even to claim the Hokage Position. We expect far more from you. You have the potential to reach, or even surpass, the First!"
As he spoke, the Great Elder's expression turned serious.
Danzo, sitting silently in the seat of honor, looked just as solemn. The two of them fixed their gazes on Kizaru.
"To help you build your reputation, we've drawn up a Cultivation of Reputation Plan for your next three years at the Academy," Danzo said. "Each year, we'll help you produce an impressive result."
"This year, the plan was originally for you to master an S-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu before the end of the first semester and demonstrate it during the final exam.
"But since you've already awakened a Kekkei Genkai, just show it off during the final exam instead!"
At the end, Danzo seemed to picture his friend Hiruzen Sarutobi's stunned expression when he saw his nephew use a Kekkei Genkai technique. Just thinking about it made Danzo's lips curl into a smile.
So you're the only one with a student, huh? Orochimaru's talent is so great that you can't even feel proud of him, huh? Just wait until the end of the year. I'll show you what a true genius looks like!
Danzo pulled his thoughts back to the matter at hand and suppressed his impatience before continuing, "Now that you've awakened a Kekkei Genkai, we'll have to adjust the three-year plan.
"You'll reveal your Kekkei Genkai in the first year. In the second, I'll help you master an S-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu. In the third, I'll arrange for you to graduate early and challenge the Jonin graduation exam."
After hearing out Danzo and the Great Elder, Kizaru didn't feel the least bit pressured. He calmly nodded.
"Little Monkey, don't put too much pressure on yourself. You're talented enough to do all this, and we have complete faith in you!" The Great Elder was worried Kizaru might feel too much pressure, so he gently reassured him.
"The pressure's not too bad. It all seems pretty easy to me," Kizaru replied calmly and honestly.
At Kizaru's answer, Danzo and the Great Elder both smiled in satisfaction.
A true genius needed to have that kind of confidence!
After leaving the secret chamber and returning to his room, Kizaru brewed himself a cup of hot tea with practiced ease. He sipped it as he began studying his Devil Fruit powers.
That afternoon, he had only just obtained his powers when the commotion he caused brought Danzo and the three elders to his door. Then they had talked in the secret chamber, and it wasn't until evening that Kizaru finally had time to properly feel out and study the Glint-Glint Fruit's abilities.
First came the most basic ability of a Logia Devil Fruit: elemental transformation.
There were no knives or other tools in the room, so Kizaru simply raised his right hand, extended his index and middle fingers, and jabbed them toward his left forearm.
His left arm turned into a streak of golden light. His right index and middle fingers passed straight through the glow.
Then Kizaru stood up and tried turning his whole body into light and using that to change his position.
He hadn't gotten the hang of it yet and failed to control his direction, nearly crashing into the wall.
After practicing seven or eight times in the room, Kizaru grew increasingly skilled at using elemental transformation to move around.
At last, standing on the ceiling with the help of Chakra, Kizaru turned into a flash of brilliant golden light and instantly reappeared beside the tea table.
He sat back down. Deciding he'd practiced enough, he picked up the cup of tea, now warm, in front of him.
As he sipped his tea, Kizaru considered the direction his training should take in the future.
Since his abilities were steadily merging with those of Admiral Kizaru, Taijutsu and elemental ninjutsu wouldn't help him much.
So Kizaru focused on three areas. The first was Genjutsu. The gap between the weakest and strongest techniques was enormous: weak ones were truly weak, while the strongest were downright insane. That made Genjutsu one of the types of ninjutsu Kizaru planned to study seriously.
Kizaru didn't expect to become a master of Genjutsu. He just wanted to avoid ending up like Snake Auntie in the future, constantly getting taken down by the Red Eye Disease's Genjutsu.
He had no ambition to make Genjutsu his trump card. He only wanted to make sure he wouldn't fall for it easily.
The second area was Sealing Technique! Even before he had crossed over, Kizaru had always thought it was an extremely powerful field of ninjutsu, with plenty of untapped potential.
Now that he had crossed over and had an uncle who was the Hokage Assistant and the head of Root, he naturally intended to make good use of that advantage.
The third area needed no explanation: Senjutsu. It was not only powerful and a huge boost to combat strength, but could also extend one's lifespan.
Who didn't want to live longer in this day and age? Kizaru certainly did.
Kizaru had his own ambitions when it came to Senjutsu. If animals like toads, snakes, and slugs could master Natural Energy and become sages, then why couldn't humans create a senjutsu style suited to themselves?