Starting with Tsunade, Kizaru began visiting the shinobi clans that had received investment shares according to the clan classifications Shikaku had prepared.
Of course, before making those visits, Kizaru first went to meet his teacher—the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen approved of Kizaru's investment allocation and even encouraged him to visit each clan personally.
This was not merely a matter of delivering benefits.
It was also a statement.
To everyone in Konoha, this visit meant one thing clearly enough: Kizaru was the successor acknowledged by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
After all, visiting nearly every clan in the village and every well-known elite jōnin in such an open manner within such a short time was not something an ordinary shinobi could do.
Without the Hokage standing behind him, moving so boldly would be no different from walking into the Hokage's office with an explosive tag tied to one's forehead.
A very creative way to die.
And the clans visited by Kizaru, no matter what they were thinking deep down, all showed joy and honor on the surface.
During their cordial exchanges with Kizaru, their attitudes generally expressed two things.
First, they were grateful for the investment shares Kizaru had allocated to them and promised to cooperate fully with the village's reforms.
Second, though they never said it too directly, their words carried a clear implication.
Kizaru was truly worthy of being Lord Hokage's finest disciple.
The future of the village would surely depend on him.
Whether those words were sincere or not did not matter.
At least on the surface, Kizaru and the various clans of Konoha completed this grand political performance together in a very lively and harmonious atmosphere.
By the time this political tour came to a perfect close, Kizaru had become the most popular figure in the village.
He also gained more "acquaintances" than he could properly remember.
Every day, while walking to and from work, Kizaru would run into people who greeted him warmly.
Some invited him to dinner.
Some politely offered help.
Some smiled as if they had been lifelong friends, even though Kizaru could barely recall their names.
For the other three disciples of the Hokage, this kind of social interaction would have been exhausting.
But for Kizaru, who in his previous life had been born into a stable government-worker family and had struggled hard to secure that same kind of stable position himself, this was not difficult at all.
He handled it smoothly.
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzō often wondered why Kizaru had to open his mouth so much in daily life, the truth was that Kizaru was unexpectedly good at dealing with these familiar strangers.
Watching his performance, both the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and the Hokage's assistant, Shimura Danzō, sighed inwardly.
Kizaru was still young, yet he already had the composure of an old fox.
"Wind Release: Super Spiraling Flash Smashing Rasengan!"
On the outskirts of the village, at the Shimura clan's private training ground, Minato, who had recently returned to Konoha, proudly demonstrated the newest technique he had mastered to his adoptive father, Danzō, and to Kizaru.
The moment they heard the name Minato shouted, both Danzō and Kizaru's expressions became strange.
Danzō slowly turned his gaze toward Jiraiya, who was standing nearby.
He did not say a word.
But the meaning in his eyes was obvious.
My obedient, sensible son was perfectly normal before he left the village.
He was with you for less than a month.
So why did he come back like this?
Kizaru, who understood the original course of events, knew very well that this was Minato's own naming sense and had nothing to do with Jiraiya.
But even so, he still followed Danzō's gaze and looked at Jiraiya too.
Facing the silent pressure from one old schemer and one lazy fox, Jiraiya suddenly felt his back go cold.
He gave a dry laugh, raised a hand, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Hey, hey, don't look at me like that. Minato came up with the name himself."
Just then, Minato finished his demonstration and walked over to them, arriving in time to hear Jiraiya's explanation.
He smiled brightly and nodded, looking completely satisfied with his own naming sense.
"Kizaru-nii, I changed the name of this ninjutsu. What do you think? Pretty good, right?"
Kizaru smiled lazily and nodded.
"Ooh… it's not bad at all. Very unique, Minato."
Danzō's eyelid twitched.
"Minato. From now on, call it Wind Release: Rasengan."
"Father, I think—"
"The name is too long. In actual combat, it may interfere with your rhythm."
Danzō interrupted him calmly.
"Ah… okay."
Knowing his adoptive father's personality, Minato did not argue further, though he still looked slightly reluctant.
"That was impressive, Minato."
Kizaru walked over with a smile and rubbed Minato's head.
"You're growing really fast."
Minato smiled under his hand, bright and sincere.
"It's thanks to you, Jiraiya-sensei, and Father. Without all of you teaching me, I wouldn't have learned it this quickly."
Danzō nodded in satisfaction.
Looking at the sensible Minato, even someone like Danzō could not hide the faint pride in his eyes.
"Hahaha!"
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head and laughed heartily.
This was his first time seriously guiding a disciple, and yet he had ended up with a genius like Minato.
Teaching him was almost too easy.
"Since you've already mastered the Wind Release: Rasengan by adding wind-nature transformation to the Rasengan…"
Kizaru slowly looked at Minato and smiled.
"Then I'll show you a stronger form of the Rasengan."
The moment those words left his mouth, all three of them looked at him.
Everyone present had already seen the power of the Wind Release: Rasengan.
It was powerful enough to be considered a finishing move.
And now Kizaru was saying that he had developed an even stronger form of the Rasengan.
Just how high would the attack power and difficulty of this advanced technique be?
As someone highly skilled in Wind Release, Danzō's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at his nephew.
Wind Release: Rasengan was created by adding wind-nature chakra to the ordinary Rasengan.
If Kizaru was speaking of an even stronger form…
Could it be that he had gone one step further and added shape transformation to the wind-nature chakra as well?
The moment that thought appeared, Danzō's expression became serious.
Under Kizaru's guidance, Danzō himself had also learned both the Rasengan and Wind Release: Rasengan.
Because of that, he understood better than most how difficult these techniques were.
The basic Rasengan required chakra to rotate continuously in multiple directions at high density before being compressed into a sphere.
That level of chakra control was already extremely demanding.
If Kizaru's stronger form truly added both nature transformation and shape transformation to the Rasengan at the same time, then the difficulty of this derived technique had undoubtedly reached S-rank.
This nephew of mine…
His talent is becoming more absurd by the day.
Suppressing the sigh in his heart, Danzō watched with anticipation as Kizaru began demonstrating the technique.
Kizaru walked to the center of the open training ground.
Under everyone's gaze, he raised his right hand.
A high-speed rotating sphere of chakra appeared in his palm.
Then, under Kizaru's control, the chakra began to change.
Its nature shifted.
Its shape transformed.
The sphere gradually expanded, and the wind chakra around it sharpened until it took on the shape of a rapidly spinning shuriken.
"Minato, look carefully."
Danzō spoke in a low voice while watching the Rasengan in Kizaru's hand.
"That is shape transformation applied to Wind Release."
Minato stared intently at Kizaru's technique and nodded seriously as he listened to Danzō's explanation.
Jiraiya, standing nearby, also watched Kizaru's demonstration closely.
But after a few seconds, his eyes widened.
"No… that isn't just a shuriken."
Not just a shuriken?
Minato looked at Jiraiya in confusion as the shuriken-shaped Rasengan in Kizaru's hand grew more intense.
"The shuriken shape is only the outer appearance."
Danzō's voice became heavier.
"What Kizaru is truly doing is turning wind-nature chakra into countless microscopic blades. Once it hits the target, those blades can attack the body at the cellular level."
His expression turned solemn.
"If this technique strikes directly, it can destroy the target's cells in an instant. Among Wind Release techniques, it may very well be one of the strongest."
Minato's eyes widened.
He stared at Kizaru, unable to speak for a moment.
"This is…"
Jiraiya's mouth opened slightly as he watched the technique take form.
"Honestly, this is terrifying."
Amid Danzō and Jiraiya's shock, the S-rank ninjutsu in Kizaru's hand finally stabilized completely.
Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Kizaru glanced toward the three of them with a lazy smile.
Then he threw the Rasenshuriken in his hand toward the distant sky.
A completed Rasenshuriken could be used as a long-range attack.
"Get down!"
Danzō and Jiraiya shouted almost at the same time.
Both of them moved in front of Minato at once, shielding him behind them.
High above the training ground, the Rasenshuriken spun violently through the air for a certain distance.
Then it exploded.
A massive storm of cutting wind erupted in the sky, forming a violent, high-speed hurricane that tore through the forest several hundred meters ahead.
Trees were shredded.
The ground was carved apart.
In a matter of moments, the entire area was flattened.
Danzō, Jiraiya, and Minato raised their arms against the shock wave that swept toward them.
Even after seeing countless ninjutsu in their lives, the destructive force of the Rasenshuriken still left them deeply shaken.
"Ooh… how scary."
Kizaru stood calmly in the center of the training ground, hands in his pockets, staring at the devastated forest ahead with a relaxed smile.
When the shock wave finally faded, Danzō, Jiraiya, and Minato walked over to him.
They looked at Kizaru, who was still smiling lazily with both hands tucked in his pockets.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Just how high was Kizaru's ceiling?
That was the clearest thought in Danzō's mind.
In the past, he had believed that the First Hokage might be the limit Kizaru could one day reach.
But as Kizaru continued to reveal one abnormal ability after another, Danzō realized something.
He could no longer see where his nephew's limit truly was.
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