Hiruzen Sarutobi left.
As Hokage, he was busy with official duties and couldn't stay long.
Before he left, Hiruzen watched the Rasengan in action and once again praised Kizaru's wildly imaginative genius.
Without knowing the exact training method for the Rasengan, Hiruzen assessed it as an A-rank ninjutsu based solely on his judgment and experience.
At the same time, Hiruzen offered Kizaru plenty of suggestions for developing the Rasengan further.
The key was to combine chakra with nature transformation with the Rasengan, further increasing its destructive power.
After hearing Hiruzen's advice, Kizaru couldn't help thinking that his teacher truly deserved the title of Professor of Ninjutsu.
After sharing his suggestions and ideas, Hiruzen told his student that the person chosen for his graduation exam had been decided.
Uchiha Kensuke, thirty years old, had been promoted to Jonin three years ago. He was an elite Uchiha ninja who had awakened the Sharingan.
He excelled at swordsmanship and Fire Release Ninjutsu, and was a capable ninja in both Taijutsu and ninjutsu.
Uchiha Kensuke had been chosen through a joint discussion between Hiruzen and members of the Uchiha Clan.
Of course, the two sides had different reasons for agreeing.
Hiruzen chose him because he was levelheaded and calm. Even if Kizaru defeated him, he wouldn't do anything rash.
The Uchiha Clan members chose him for a simple reason: he was strong and knew his limits.
His impressive strength would ensure that Uchiha Kensuke could defeat Kizaru, preventing the Uchiha from losing face by being beaten by a six-year-old child.
His restraint, meanwhile, would keep him from acting too impulsively during the exam and causing an irreparable situation.
By now, Kizaru's challenge to an Uchiha Jonin was no longer as simple as a Ninja Academy student graduating early.
Behind this battle lay the struggle between the Hokage's faction and the Uchiha Clan.
If Kizaru could defeat Uchiha Kensuke, he wouldn't just prove himself to be an unparalleled talent. He would also trample on the Uchiha Clan's pride and reap a great deal of fame, laying a solid foundation for his future bid for the position of Hokage.
Conversely, if Uchiha Kensuke defeated Kizaru, the Uchiha Clan could use the victory to cement its standing and prestige as Konoha's strongest clan, while diminishing the reputations of Danzo and the Shimura Clan in the village.
The Uchiha Clan chief and elders, who knew only how Kizaru had performed at school, were all very confident about the battle.
How could an elite ninja in his physical prime, who had awakened the Sharingan, been a Jonin for three years, completed countless missions, and gained extensive combat experience, lose to a mere six-year-old child?
Even if Shimura Kizaru had an astonishing talent and truly possessed the strength of a Jonin, he had no real combat experience. Facing an experienced Uchiha elite Jonin, he had absolutely no chance of winning.
Unless Shimura Kizaru was the reincarnation of the Six Paths, or Uchiha Kensuke had been bribed by the Hokage's faction to throw the match.
Otherwise, the Uchiha Clan chief and elders simply couldn't imagine how they could lose this battle.
For a mere six-year-old child to defeat an elite Jonin of the Uchiha Clan was simply absurd!
On the other side, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo, who knew Kizaru's true strength, had no concerns about the battle at all.
These two old foxes had already begun considering how to reap the greatest benefits once the exam was over.
Kizaru had noticed the maneuvering behind his back and had more or less guessed what both sides were thinking.
But he didn't care and had no interest in getting involved.
He had challenged a Jonin of the Uchiha Clan for only two reasons: first, to stand up for his little brother Zen-hiko, and second, to gain fame and advance the Fusion Progress Bar.
No ulterior motives, no complicated schemes—he simply followed his heart!
After meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kizaru's days went on as usual.
He slacked off at school, trained after class, and in his spare time, drank tea and went fishing. Life was easy and carefree!
Time flew by as Kizaru went about his leisurely life.
In the blink of an eye, several months had passed.
Nothing major happened during that time, and the village remained peaceful.
Outside the village, though, a powerful man named Hanzo of the Salamander in the Land of Rain's Amegakure was itching to make trouble.
Now the leader of Amegakure, Hanzo of the Salamander was at the peak of his physical condition and power.
His growing strength fed his ambition, and Hanzo's ambition was great indeed. He wanted to challenge the status of the Five Great Nations and their hidden villages, and become the sixth Kage!
The Kage of the Five Great Shinobi Villages knew all about Hanzo of the Salamander's actions and intentions.
Naturally, they wouldn't tolerate a challenger like him.
There was only so much of the Shinobi World to go around, and five people were already taking more than enough.
Now another ambitious fellow had appeared, wanting a piece of the pie!
The Five Kage's attitude was perfectly clear: in your dreams!
You, Hanzo, and Amegakure were lucky to qualify as pawns at the table and get to eat our leftovers.
And yet you weren't satisfied. You actually wanted to be one of the players? You must be tired of living!
During these past few months, the two names Kizaru heard most often from his uncle Danzo were Hanzo of the Salamander and Namikaze Minato.
Hanzo of the Salamander was the ambitious man Danzo felt had to be controlled or eliminated, while Namikaze Minato was someone Danzo coveted.
After speaking with Kizaru and taking his advice, Danzo had watched Namikaze Minato closely for another month.
The more he observed him, the more impressed Danzo was by Minato's talent and character. He made up his mind to take the boy in as his godson.
After deciding, the seasoned Danzo didn't act immediately. Instead, he took advantage of the fact that Namikaze Minato trained with Zen-hiko and the others every day at the clan's Training Ground.
He made a point of visiting the Training Ground to watch the children train, then stepped forward to point out their mistakes and guide their practice.
In short, over the past few months, Danzo had successfully established himself in front of Namikaze Minato as a strict yet kind-hearted expert.
Kizaru, who knew Danzo's intentions inside out, couldn't help thinking that his uncle really did have a brain when he put his mind to it!
Kizaru didn't expose Danzo's sinister plan to lure in a young boy. Instead, he supported it.
Kizaru, who had watched the anime, knew all too well how talented Namikaze Minato was and how powerful he would become.
If Danzo really could take Namikaze Minato in as his godson and bring him into the Shimura Clan, it would be excellent for the family.
It would not only greatly strengthen the clan in the future, but also prevent certain tragedies from happening.