After having lunch at the Nagato residence, everyone sat together chatting for a while before Tsunade and Kizaru spoke up to bid farewell and leave.
Tsunade had to go back to write a proposal for healthcare reform, while Kizaru was getting ready to go home for a nap.
As they left, Nagato, who had a great time playing with Minato, Kushinaa, and Nawaki, seemed a bit reluctant, his eyes reddened.
If it weren't for Minato and the others comforting him, Nagato, who was only four or five years old, might have cried.
"Minato, do you want to participate in the early graduation exam?" Walking together on the street, Kizaru asked Minato with genuine concern.
Hearing Kizaru's question, Minato hesitated for a moment before answering.
Deep down, Minato, who cherished his classmates and friends in his class, didn't want to graduate early.
But early graduation was a requirement from his foster father, Danzo, who although strict during training, was kind to him otherwise.
Whether it was living conditions or teaching ninjutsu, Danzo treated him no differently and had no secrets.
Because of this, the sensible Minato didn't want to upset Danzo over early graduation or cause arguments between Kizaru and Danzo.
After a slight hesitation, Minato nodded and smiled, saying, "I want to participate!"
Kizaru, who understood Minato's personality very well, could roughly guess his thoughts.
Smiling, Kizaru patted Minato's head and said, "I'll find you an excellent teacher!"
"Who? Big Bro Kizaru!" Hearing Kizaru's words, the curious Minato couldn't help but ask.
"The most suitable teacher for you!" Kizaru teased without giving away too much.
This piqued Minato's curiosity even more. Looking up at Kizaru, he asked again, "Who is it, Big Bro Kizaru?"
With a grin, Kizaru revealed the name.
"My senior, one of the Sannin, Jiraiya!"
"Jiraiya-sama!" Minato's eyes lit up.
Although the Second War ended a little earlier thanks to Kizaru's intervention, the Sannin who fought alongside the village shinobi against Hanzo still gained considerable fame.
Therefore, when Minato heard that Jiraiya would become his teacher, he immediately showed an expression of anticipation and excitement.
As a child from the ninja village, Minato naturally understood how fortunate it was to have a skilled and powerful ninja as his teacher.
"Don't mention this to anyone else. Just focus on preparing for the early graduation exam!"
"I understand!" Minato nodded eagerly.
Kizaru's decision to have Jiraiya as Minato's mentor was carefully considered.
In the original plot, Minato grew remarkably under Jiraiya's guidance, and his achievements as Jiraiya's disciple were truly remarkable.
With disciples like Minato, Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, and Naruto!
Among the five disciples, except for Yahiko, whose strength was unknown due to his early demise, the other four were at least at the level of jonin.
With such a success rate, Jiraiya could be considered a top-tier teacher in the ninja world.
It was due to the recognition of Jiraiya's teaching ability that Kizaru decided to follow the original plot and have Jiraiya as Minato's teacher.
At the same time, Kizaru also wanted to avoid his uncle, who occasionally liked to assert his presence with an iron fist, from interfering, so he won't make the decision to have Minato, who had just graduated, join the Root.
However, this time, Kizaru was a bit unfair to Danzo.
In the Hokage's office, Danzo and Hiruzen were having a private conversation.
This conversation started when Danzo took the initiative to find Hiruzen.
Danzo's proactive visit to Hiruzen was precisely for the arrangement of his foster son, Minato's, teacher after graduation.
Nearly three years of interaction made Danzo appreciate and adore Minato, who showed outstanding talent, obedience, maturity in thinking.
Because of this, Danzo highly valued Minato's future development and growth.
As the creator and controller of the Root, Danzo deeply understood that the strict and sometimes cruel training model of the Root could churn out a batch of elite ninja in large numbers.
But to truly cultivate a top-notch powerhouse, the Root's training model was somewhat unsuitable.
Minato's abnormal nerve reaction speed and talent in ninjutsu made Danzo realize that placing Minato in the Root would be a waste!
Danzo's plan and positioning for Minato's future were to make him his nephew's right-hand man, just like himself and Hiruzen.
Driven by high expectations for Minato, Danzo specifically sought out his old friend Hiruzen, wanting to arrange an excellent teacher for Minato.
Unlike Kizaru, who knew about the plot and the future, the teacher Danzo had in mind was Sakumo.
In Danzo's view, Sakumo, with his sharp swordsmanship and swift movements, was highly compatible with Minato, who had excellent reflexes.
Moreover, by having Sakumo as Minato's teacher, Danzo could also leverage their master-disciple relationship to strengthen ties between Sakumo and the Shimura clan, making Sakumo a member of his faction.
With this in mind, when Danzo entered the Hokage's office, he actively steered the conversation.
"Hiruzen, I heard that Sakumo wants to leave the Anbu and join the jonin ranks!"
Hiruzen, who was smoking, nodded calmly at Danzo's entrance.
"Sakumo's wife is pregnant, and he wants to spend more time with his family."
"After he joins the jonin ranks, will he become a mentor to jonin or form a team for missions?" Danzo continued to inquire.
"It's not decided yet. Sakumo wants to take a break for a while." Watching his old friend who had just walked in, Hiruzen answered, pondering his intentions.
Nodding slightly, Danzo continued, "I want Sakumo to become Minato's mentor."
Understanding Danzo's intentions, Hiruzen's face showed a hint of strangeness.
Hiruzen still paid attention to the foster son Danzo took in.
For three consecutive years, he ranked first in his class, outstanding in talent, with a cheerful personality!
Hiruzen admired such a genius and had already arranged a teacher for him.
Just as Danzo wanted to bring Sakumo into his faction, Hiruzen was also prepared to pull Minato to his side.
"Sakumo needs to be with his family and doesn't have time for now." First finding an excuse to block Danzo's proposal, Hiruzen stated his choice, "I want to have Jiraiya as Minato's mentor."
"Jiraiya?" Danzo furrowed his brows, not very pleased.
Young, womanizer, reckless in personality, naive in political thinking!
Danzo's evaluation of Jiraiya emerged in his mind, and he disapproved, saying firmly, "Jiraiya is too young."
"I know my disciple. Jiraiya will surely become an excellent teacher!" Hiruzen affirmed.
"Hmph! I disagree!" Danzo refused sternly.
"Danzo, I am the Hokage!" Looking at Danzo in front of him, Hiruzen said meaningfully.
"You will regret this!" After not getting what he wanted, Danzo, who was already dissatisfied with Hiruzen due to the situation with the Hidden Sand, said coldly before turning around to leave.
"Wait!" Hiruzen, who also had something to say to Danzo, called out to him.
Without a word, Danzo turned back, looking coldly at Hiruzen.
"I'm planning two reform initiatives in the village, and I hope..."
"Reform? Hiruzen! You want to..."
"This was proposed by Kizaru."
"Go on!"
After finishing, Danzo took two steps forward, standing in front of Hiruzen.