Kizaru VS Kakashi

The grand spectacle Tsunade spoke of arrived quickly—far more quickly than Kizaru had anticipated.

Three days after his meeting with Tsunade, an announcement regarding a ninja skill assessment was posted.

When the notice first appeared, many of the village's ninjas were left scratching their heads, unable to fathom the Hokage's intent.

But soon, a rumor spreading through the grapevine answered everyone's questions.

Tsunade had issued this notice to target the clansman Danzo had brought back.

The fact that the Hokage and Elder Danzo were at odds was no secret among the mid-to-high-ranking ninja circles.

If this was the reason, the doubts in everyone's hearts were easily resolved.

Danzo, one of the parties involved, was not angry but delighted upon learning of the announcement.

On the very night Kizaru met with Tsunade, he had returned with the lie he and Tsunade had concocted together.

Tsunade would find an opportunity to test Kizaru's strength, while simultaneously helping Kizaru further cement his relationship with Danzo.

In the eyes of Danzo, who believed he knew the truth, this move by Tsunade was merely a superficial suppression of Kizaru, intended to make him trust Kizaru even more.

"For this assessment, you must perform well. Only when a ninja demonstrates their value can they earn the trust of those in power."

The moment he learned of the announcement, Danzo sought out Kizaru.

"I will," Kizaru replied with a smile.

After the previous assessment, Danzo highly regarded Kizaru's strength; in his view, he would be no match for Kizaru if he did not resort to his hidden trump cards.

The day after the announcement was made, the assessment spearheaded by Tsunade officially began.

Though called an assessment, it was more akin to a spot check.

Tsunade randomly selected over twenty people from the ninja roster and had