In the secret meeting room of the Shimura clan, Danzō sat at the head seat.
On his left was the grand elder, and on his right sat Kizaru.
Unlike Danzō's cold, unreadable expression, the grand elder wore a warm, almost grandfatherly smile. He held a cup of hot tea in both hands, his gaze fixed eagerly on Kizaru.
This boy… what a gift to the Shimura clan.
At this point, the grand elder saw nothing but promise whenever he looked at Kizaru, he liked what he saw. (PS: N What?)
Originally, he'd thought Kizaru's abnormal physical abilities and chakra reserves—already comparable to a Jonin—were enough to call him a once-in-a-century genius.
But now?
Now it turned out that Kizaru had even awakened a bloodline limit.
After letting his gaze sweep greedily from Kizaru's head to his feet, the grand elder's eyes finally stopped somewhere around the middle of Kizaru's thighs. ( PS: "...." )
The old man was already planning in his head.
It was probably about time to arrange two maids for six-year-old Kizaru.
Given how Kizaru's body was developing, in another two or three years, he'd already be in shape to "work hard" at passing down that exceptional bloodline.
…Why is this old man looking at me like I'm some kind of high-grade breeding horse up for auction?
That's not the "our cute junior is so talented" look… that's the "how many heirs can we squeeze out of this one?" look… how scary~.
Feeling a little creeped out being stared at like that by such a crooked old fossil, Kizaru stretched his legs out, braced his hands on the floor behind him, leaned back a bit, and shifted his gaze to Danzō's expressionless face.
"The clan has decided," Danzō said, looking straight at him, voice calm but firm. "After three years of Academy enrollment, we'll arrange for you to graduate early."
"Three years?" Kizaru frowned.
According to his plans, he'd intended to stay in the Academy for the full six years. After all, those were supposed to be the only six years of his life where he could slack off openly.
"The education in the Ninja Academy won't help you at all," Danzō continued. "It'll only slow your growth. You're attending purely to build your reputation and accumulate fame. Three years is enough."
"What a pain~."
"Watch your tone. This is the clan's decision," Danzō stressed.
Tsk.
Kizaru clicked his tongue softly and stared up at the ceiling.
Unhappy with Kizaru's attitude, Danzō's face darkened. His lips parted slightly; he was ready to start lecturing.
"Hahaha!"
The grand elder's hearty laugh cut him off. He waved a wrinkled hand, stopping Danzō, then turned to Kizaru with a gentle smile.
"Kizaru-kun," the grand elder said, "for now, you must not reveal your Kekkei Genkai to the outside world."
"Got it~," Kizaru replied, not asking any further questions.
"Your performance in this entrance exam was already more than enough. All the shinobi in the village are talking about you." The grand elder paused here, a proud look settling on his face.
"But in this world, nothing should be overdone. If you keep flashing your talent nonstop in a short span of time, people will get used to it—and their expectations for you will only rise higher and higher. That kind of pressure is unnecessary."
Worried that a six-year-old might not fully grasp the reasoning behind their plans, the grand elder deliberately took his time explaining, his tone patient and wordy.
"Letting you stay in the Academy for three years is a decision I reached after long discussion with the clan head," he continued. "You must remember—your future goal is not simply to become a powerful shinobi. It is not merely to become Hokage, either.
We expect more from you.
Our expectations are that you reach—or even surpass—the First Hokage."
As he spoke, the great elder's expression turned solemn.
Danzō, seated above them with his usual stoic face, grew serious as well. The two of them fixed their gazes on Kizaru.
"In order to help you build that reputation," Danzō said loudly, "we've drafted a plan for your fame over the next three years at the Academy."
"In every one of the next three years, we'll stage an achievement of yours that will shake the village."
"This year's original plan was for you to master an S-rank Wind Release ninjutsu before the end of the first term and display it during the final exam."
Danzō's tone shifted, a hint of smugness slipping through.
"But now that you've awakened a Kekkei Genkai, you can simply show that off during the final exam instead."
As he said this, he suddenly thought of Hiruzen Sarutobi's face—specifically, how shocked his old friend would look when he witnesses Kizaru's "Light Release" in action for the first time.
The corner of Danzō's mouth curled up uncontrollably.
You're not the only one with a prodigy student, you know.
Orochimaru's talent got you feeling proud, didn't it?
At the end of the year, I'll show you what a real genius looks like.
Reining in his wandering thoughts and forcing down his impatience, Danzō continued, looking back at Kizaru.
"Now that you've awakened a Kekkei Genkai, we'll need to adjust the three-year plan slightly."
"In the first year, you'll reveal your bloodline limit."
"In the second year, I'll personally help you master an S-rank Wind Release jutsu."
"In the third year, we'll arrange for you to graduate early—by challenging a Jonin directly in your graduation exam."
After listening to the plan laid out by Danzō and the great elder, Kizaru didn't feel any pressure at all. He only nodded calmly.
"Kizaru, don't let it weigh on you," the grand elder added, worried he might have overwhelmed the boy. "With your talent, all of this is easily within your reach. We're very confident in you."
"The pressure's fine," Kizaru answered honestly, face relaxed. "It all sounds pretty simple to me~."
Hearing this reply, both Danzō and the grand elder broke into satisfied smiles.
A true genius was supposed to have that kind of confidence.
Leaving the secret room, Kizaru returned to his room in the Shimura compound.
He brewed himself a cup of hot tea with practiced ease. As he sipped, he began seriously testing the newly unlocked abilities of his Devil Fruit.
In the afternoon, right after he'd gained access to the fruit's power, he'd caused a commotion that drew Danzō and the three elders. Then there'd been that long talk in the secret room.
Only now, late at night, did Kizaru finally have some peace and quiet to feel out the full scope of the Glint-Glint Fruit.
First up was the most basic property of a Logia-type fruit—logia body transformation.
There were no weapons lying around the house, so he simply raised his right hand, extended his index and middle fingers, and poked his left forearm.
His left arm immediately dissolved into a flare of yellow light. His right fingers passed straight through it.
Then, Kizaru stood up and tried full-body logia form, moving his position by turning his whole body into light.
On the first try, he wasn't skilled enough. His control was rough, and he almost slammed straight into the wall.
After seven or eight consecutive attempts inside the room, Kizaru's control over repositioning himself via his Logia state grew more and more better.
By the end, he was standing upside down on the ceiling using chakra, then turned into a bright flash and instantly reappeared down by the tea table.
Kizaru sat down calmly, feeling that tonight's practice had reached a passable level. He picked up the now lukewarm tea in front of him and took another sip.
As he drank, he mulled over his future training direction.
For someone who would continue to merge with Admiral Kizaru's abilities, ordinary taijutsu and basic elemental ninjutsu weren't going to help him much.
So Kizaru had set three main paths for himself.
The first was genjutsu.
The gap between weak and strong genjutsu was enormous. Weak illusions were barely an annoyance, but truly powerful ones were downright terrifying. Because of that, Kizaru had no intention of ignoring this category of ninjutsu.
His standards weren't extravagant. He wasn't planning on ending up like a certain "Snake Aunt," who rolled 'her' eyes in 'pleasure' every time someone cast an illusion at her.
He simply wanted to train genjutsu as one of his trump cards—to make sure he wouldn't be easily taken out by it.
The second direction was fūinjutsu—sealing techniques.
Even before he'd transmigrated, Kizaru had always felt that sealing arts were one of the most overpowered, underrated categories in the Naruto world. Their potential was enormous.
Now that he was actually here and had the Hokage's advisor and Root's leader as his uncle—he could hardly waste that advantage.
As for the third direction… needless to say, it was Senjutsu—Sage Arts.
Not only were Sage Arts incredibly powerful and a massive boost to overall combat strength, they could also prolong one's lifespan.
And these days, who didn't want to live longer?
Kizaru, naturally, did.
When it came to "immortality," Kizaru had his own ambitions.
He felt that if creatures like toads, snakes, and slugs could learn to use natural energy and become sages, then there was no reason humans couldn't one day develop a Sage Mode suited specifically for human beings.
If becoming a light-speed sage is what it takes just to laze around with a good salary… then I suppose I'll reluctantly become a god, ne~.
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