"Konoha at 4 AM?" Minato murmured. At that time, he was still resting in bed.
Soon, Minato's eyes became firm again. Someone stronger than him was working so hard. It seemed his own training wasn't diligent enough.
From now on, he would wake up two hours earlier every day, sleeping from 9 PM to 4 AM, which should be enough.
When he got tired, he would practice his hand sign speed. Kazuki's hand sign speed was also much faster than his.
"I understand. Kazuki, I will work even harder." Minato looked at Kazuki with gratitude.
Perhaps Kazuki wanted him to grow quickly so that he wouldn't be lonely.
After the two formed the Seal of Reconciliation, Kazuki scanned the surroundings again and said loudly, "Next!"
Kazuki's performance made the students look at each other in dismay. Minato's previous performance was already very good, but Kazuki defeated Minato with seemingly no effort.
Not to mention others, even Kushina had no desire to challenge Kazuki at this moment.
Seiichirō sighed inwardly as he watched this scene. Kazuki was now far ahead of his classmates. They were almost losing the courage to challenge him.
This might not be a good thing.
Fortunately, Kazuki had already caught the eye of Hiruzen, so there was no need to worry about him not having opportunities to showcase his abilities.
Seeing that no one challenged him, Kazuki sighed helplessly and stepped off the training ground, giving the opportunity to other students.
He then looked towards the fourth-year students in the distance, in the direction of the Hyuga brothers.
There was no one in the Academy who could fight him anymore. If the Hyuga brothers combined forces with Shinnosuke, they might barely qualify to fight him. Of course, this was still just barely qualifying.
Before the establishment of the Ninja villages, Ninja battles were generally one-on-one. After their establishment, the focus shifted to squad cooperation and combat experience.
Therefore, the individual combat abilities of Ninja before the establishment of the Ninja villages were generally stronger.
Of course, it cannot be said that Ninjas became weaker after the establishment of the Ninja villages. Sometimes, teamwork could unleash even greater strength.
The Hyuga brothers, combined with Shinnosuke, definitely had the strength to fight him.
However, there was no need for that. He still had at least a year to grow, so how would Hiruzen arrange things for him?
"Heh heh, this little guy is really interesting. He's even setting his sights on the upperclassmen." Jiraiya said with a teasing tone.
As for Konoha at 4 AM, Jiraiya saw it every day when he stayed in Konoha, but that was on his way home to rest.
"Indeed, there's no one in the Ninja Academy who can match him now." Hiruzen glanced at Shinnosuke.
Kazuki probably wanted to challenge his son. Hmm, it seemed Shinnosuke was not bad after all, even attracting Kazuki's desire to challenge him.
However, Shinnosuke was probably no match for Kazuki. This child's talent was too outstanding, he must be guided well.
Orochimaru did not continue to observe Kazuki. Instead, he looked at Mikoto, who was currently fighting Nawaki, and a look of keen interest flashed in his eyes.
The strength of the two was not much different. The Senju and Uchiha were quite interesting. This was a good opportunity to observe the awakening process of the Sharingan.
At this moment, Orochimaru was more curious about the Sharingan, especially Kagami's eyes, which far surpassed ordinary Sharingan.
If he could cultivate a Mangekyo Sharingan, that would be very interesting.
...
"Tsunade-nee-san, you saw Kazuki, right? How was it? Do you have any thoughts on guiding Kazuki?"
At dinner, Kushina looked intently at Tsunade, who was sitting across from her.
"I saw him. He is indeed a genius. Hiruzen-sensei wants me to take him as a disciple."
Tsunade looked at Nawaki with complicated thoughts. Kazuki made her feel a sense of kinship.
Mito stopped eating and looked at Tsunade with interest. As an experienced elder, she immediately understood Hiruzen's intention, and she also supported it.
Tsunade was not suitable to become Hokage. Not just Tsunade, Nawaki was also not suitable to become Hokage.
If Nawaki became Hokage, wouldn't the position of Hokage become the private property of their Senju Clan?
The Uchiha were suitable, after all, Konoha was established by the Senju and the Uchiha, and this land of Konoha was the land of the Uchiha clan.
However, the Uchiha's character was a bit too flawed. Until the Uchiha's problem was resolved, the Uchiha were not suitable to produce a Hokage.
Otherwise, the Third Hokage would not have been Hiruzen, but Kagami.
If there truly was an Uchiha who could solve the problems between the Uchiha and Konoha, and completely integrate the Uchiha into Konoha, then they would be suitable to become the new Hokage.
Of course, the Uchiha were not the most suitable. Konoha now needed a Hokage from a civilian background, so that it could give civilian Ninja hope, at least ostensibly a civilian.
Konoha was not the Konoha of the great clans, but the Konoha of all Konoha people.
Hiruzen taking Jiraiya and Orochimaru as disciples had such intentions.
Orochimaru was indeed a good candidate.
"Then, Tsunade-neechan, will you take Kazuki as your disciple?" Kushina's eyes instantly lit up upon hearing this.
Tsunade was one of Konoha's strongest. If Kazuki could receive Tsunade's guidance, his strength would likely improve significantly.
A hint of a smile flashed in Tsunade's eyes.
"I'm still considering it. Oh, and sensei also plans for me to be your teacher."
"Tsunade-nee-san as my teacher, and Kazuki too?"
Kushina's eyes brightened. She immediately walked to Tsunade's side, linked her arm through hers, and pleaded, "Tsunade-neechan, I beg you, please be both my and Kazuki's teacher."
"Heh heh, we'll see how you perform later."
Kushina's behavior brought a smile to Tsunade's lips. She had already decided to take Kazuki as a disciple, but it was rare to see Kushina act this way, so she had to "test" her cousin properly.
Mito watched this scene, her eyes filled with relief. It seemed that even after her passing, Kushina would have family in Konoha.
She had an idea and said to Kushina, "Kushina, find an opportunity to bring Kazuki home. Let this old woman also meet this child."
"Grandma Mito!?" Kushina was surprised.
Was this like meeting the parents?
***
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