That evening, after having dinner with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru, Kizaru took a slow walk back to the Shimura residence.
The moment he knocked, the door opened from the inside.
The one standing there was Minato Namikaze.
A year ago, Danzō had taken Minato in as his adopted son, and from that day on, Minato had officially begun living with the Shimura family.
Speaking of that adoption, there had actually been a small twist in the middle of it.
After growing closer to Minato, Danzō had personally gone to find him one night and proposed taking him in as his adopted son.
Minato had hesitated for a while before finally agreeing.
But he had one condition.
He did not want to change his name.
It was not because the Namikaze name came from some great clan or because he wanted to restore any family glory.
It was because that name had been given to him by the Third Hokage after Konoha took him in as a war orphan.
Because of that, Minato treasured it deeply.
And because of that name, he also carried his dream of one day becoming Hokage.
So he did not want to give it up.
Naturally, Danzō had been unhappy when he first heard that condition.
Very unhappy.
He had the distinct feeling that a certain old man had once again gotten in his way.
When Kizaru heard about it, he went to see Danzō himself and changed his mind with a single sentence.
"Uncle, what you want is Minato himself, not his surname."
Those words were enough to make Danzō let go of the knot in his heart.
In the end, he accepted Minato's condition and officially adopted him.
"Kizaru-kun, you're back!" Minato greeted him with a bright smile the moment he saw him.
Then Minato's nose twitched.
He caught the faint scent of alcohol almost immediately, and his brows drew together.
"You were drinking again?" he asked, frowning. "Father is still waiting for you. If he smells alcohol on you, he's going to get angry."
"Only a little~"
Kizaru smiled and raised his hand, pinching his fingers together to show a tiny gap.
Looking at him, Minato let out a sigh far too mature for his age.
"I already asked Keiko-neesan to prepare some hangover soup for you," he said seriously. "Drink it first, get rid of the smell, and then go see Father."
Kizaru placed a hand on Minato's head and rubbed it gently, smiling as he said, "Don't worry. He can't beat me anyway~"
"...?"
Minato's head filled with question marks.
For a moment, he felt like he and Kizaru-kun were living in two completely different worlds.
After messing up that soft blond hair to his satisfaction, Kizaru casually withdrew his hand.
Then, with both hands in his pockets, he ignored Minato, who was hurriedly trying to fix his hair again, and started walking toward Danzō's residence.
"Kizaru-kun! You—" Minato called out as he chased after him.
"It's late," Kizaru said lazily, lifting one hand without even turning around. "Go get some rest."
"...Okay."
Stopping where he stood, Minato could only watch helplessly as Kizaru walked farther away.
After leaving Minato behind and passing through the courtyard, Kizaru strolled unhurriedly toward Danzō's residence.
Danzō was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard with his eyes closed, resting quietly.
The moment he heard Kizaru's footsteps, he opened his eyes.
"Uncle, why are you still awake this late?" Kizaru asked with a smile, leaning against the courtyard doorway.
Even from dozens of meters away, Danzō's sharp senses still caught the faint smell of alcohol on him.
His brow furrowed at once, and he was just about to lecture him.
"Have you forgotten the three taboos of shinobi?"
"Being a shinobi really is troublesome," Kizaru said with a breezy smile, completely ignoring the lecture. "Why not just let me resign and retire early?"
"...You!"
Danzō was instantly choked by that reply.
He was furious, but there was nothing he could do about it.
In the end, he could only forcefully change the subject.
"The shinobi who attacked you today has confessed," Danzō said calmly. "Just as I expected, he was from Kumogakure."
"Kumogakure again?" Kizaru's smile faded slightly. "This is already the second time. How obsessed they are with me... so scary~"
"What do you think?" Danzō asked as he looked at him.
"Getting targeted every day is a pain too, you know." Kizaru rubbed the back of his head and looked up at the moon, sounding genuinely troubled.
Then he lowered his gaze and looked at Danzō again.
His face still held a smile.
But there was no warmth in it at all.
"How about we just wipe them out?"
Danzō fell silent.
He lowered his head and weighed the possibilities carefully in his mind.
Only after a long while did he speak again.
"Now is not the right time," he said slowly. "Hanzo of Amegakure has been far too quiet lately. I have a bad feeling. That man is preparing to do something big."
Compared to their old enemies in Kumogakure, Hanzo of Amegakure was the newer threat.
And lately, he had become the person Danzō and Hiruzen were most wary of.
It really was going to be something big.
Because Kizaru knew the future, he could already guess what Hanzo was planning.
Not long from now, Hanzo would make a move that would stun the entire shinobi world.
In an incredibly short span of time, he would declare war on the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Iron almost simultaneously in the name of the Land of Rain, kicking off the Second Shinobi World War.
...Honestly, the more Kizaru thought about it, the more familiar that style of operation felt.
It was as if he had read about something like it in a history book before.
In any case, Hanzo's actions would leave countless people in the shinobi world dumbfounded.
Even the Raikage, the most hot-blooded of the Five Kage, would probably feel embarrassed after seeing Hanzo's recklessness.
But if Hanzo was bold enough to declare war on three countries at once, then surely he had some overwhelming confidence or hidden trump card, right?
The answer was simple.
No.
Or rather, Hanzo's confidence came from his own strength... and his own courage.
So why would he do something so insane?
The reason was absurdly simple.
Hanzo was a man who truly believed in peace.
At this point, even Kizaru wanted to complain.
Why did so many villains in the shinobi world end up being idealistic pacifists? What kind of joke was that?
Hanzo's idea of peace was lofty, but also completely unrealistic.
In his view, the shinobi world had fallen into endless war and slaughter because the balance between nations was uneven.
To be fair, that part of his thinking was not entirely wrong.
But when it came to how he wanted to solve that problem... things became ridiculous.
Hanzo's solution was crude and direct.
Since wars were born from inequality, then all the great nations had to do was cede land and resources to the smaller ones. That way, every country would become balanced in strength and wealth.
After hearing that idea, Hiruzen would probably go silent, Danzō would want to kill someone, Tobirama would be furious, and Hashirama might actually clap in approval.
It was because of such naive and unreliable ideals that Hanzo's thinking gradually shifted over the years.
After running into wall after wall in his youth, he came to a new conclusion.
If the great nations refused to give, then the smaller nations would simply have to take.
With his beliefs turning more radical, Hanzo unified the shinobi forces of the Land of Rain and became their leader, all while waiting for the day he could turn that ideal into reality.
And that day was coming soon.
Because of that, and because of Hanzo's recent abnormal silence, Danzō could not agree to Kizaru's earlier suggestion.
Still, Kumogakure had already sent assassins after his precious nephew twice.
With Danzō's temperament, there was no way he would just swallow that.
"Hiruzen and I have already discussed it," Danzō said as he looked at Kizaru. "You will lead a team. We'll form an elite squad and strike back at them."
"Lead a team?" Kizaru frowned immediately. "That sounds troublesome. Wouldn't it be easier if I just went alone?"
"Don't worry," Danzō replied, already understanding what Kizaru was thinking. "The people assigned to you will all be the finest shinobi in the village."
"Really?" Kizaru's brows relaxed again, and his usual smile returned. "Then maybe I can look forward to it~"
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