95 Chapter 95

"Seriously, kid, do you take me for a fool?" Tsunade rolled her eyes, seeing through Kazuki's ploy. She knew him well enough to understand that he wouldn't waste his time teaching little kids in person. "At best, I'm sure you'd be sending out a Shadow clone to teach. Why would I pay you more than my Sensei, who is going to be physically present?"

However, it was Shikaku's turn to be caught off guard. He hadn't accounted for this loophole. Unlike others, Kazuki had no issue maintaining shadow clones at a long distance, and the clones he produced using his shadow Kekkei Genkai were much sturdier than the normal ones other Shinobi conjured.

"Come now, Sensei," Kazuki replied with a sheepish smile. "So what if it's only my shadow clone? The knowledge that I am going to impart is still the same, isn't it?" The option of using shadow clones had initially eluded him, hence the tantrum. However, Tsunade, unbeknownst to her, had inadvertently helped Kazuki solve the issue by reminding him of such a loophole. Kazuki simply carried on as if he had already been planning to deploy shadow clones from the beginning.

"Well, you can discuss such trivial matters with the academy principal. I have more important things to attend to. So, tell me, Kazuki, what are your upcoming plans?" Tsunade waved her hands dismissively regarding Kazuki's act about a salary hike. She was much more curious about what Kazuki was planning to do.

"Sigh, Sensei, you sure are abusing your authority as Hokage, expecting a kid to do all this work," Kazuki tried to say, but Tsunade wasn't buying it.

"Drop the act, Kazuki. I know even if you were given more tasks, you can handle it. But the only reason I am holding back is because I want to know what exactly your plans are," Tsunade said, shifting the conversation to serious business.

"Senjutsu. I am going to start learning Senjutsu from the Hell Beast clan," Kazuki declared, his tone now devoid of the playfulness it previously carried.

"Wait! Kazuki, are you saying that our clan's summoned beasts have access to Senjutsu?" Shikaku, who was sitting by the side, couldn't help but blurt out in shock. He knew how rare access to a blessed land was, and a blessed land that could teach someone senjutsu was even rarer. Until now, the only three known blessed lands that he was aware of that could teach Senjutsu were Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest. But now, his nephew just stated that the contract their clan had signed also came with a blessed land.

"Uncle Shikaku, how lazy can you get? You were practically the first one who visited the Hell Beast clan even before me when you signed a blood contract with them on behalf of our clan," Kazuki remarked, knowing that Shikamaru's laid-back attitude was not solely due to being from the Nara clan but also because of Shikaku's influence on him.

"So, Kazuki, what about the rest of your duties? You still have quite a few things to do here," Tsunade interjected, her tone businesslike. "You need to complete the new barrier and those special identifications. We can handle the ones for civilians, but for Shinobi and layered access according to their ranks, I can't have anyone else access these details. Only you should handle it. And then there is the fact that you need to seal the bijuu inside their new jinchuriki and..." Tsunade began listing Kazuki's responsibilities one by one, the list seemingly endless. Even Hiruzen and Shikaku, standing by the side, couldn't help but wear a bitter smile at how much responsibility a nine-year-old child had to bear. They couldn't help but dip their heads in shame, reflecting on their own past incompetence.

"Fine, fine, Sensei, stop it with the list. I get it," Kazuki interrupted, a hint of frustration in his voice. "I will have a few shadow clones of mine reassigned for these tasks. As for sealing the bijuu, I will personally handle it. I hope that you will help me acquire what I have asked you for; it's really important for the future of our village."

Kazuki couldn't help but feel frustrated at how much work he had to do. He didn't even have enough time to focus on increasing his own strength, let alone manage the myriad responsibilities thrust upon him at such a young age.

"Kazuki, are you sure about this? I mean, what you're asking for is something unethical. You know how I feel about human experimentation and sacrifice, and you don't even know if this would work," Tsunade's voice carried a solemn tone. Earlier, Kazuki had approached her and shared news that she still hadn't fully digested. Her young prodigy had requested permission to perform a human sacrifice in a desperate attempt to resurrect Minato Namikaze.

"Tsunade, what's going on here? What do you mean by human sacrifice?" Hiruzen's tone was grave. He knew how dangerous the topic his student was discussing right now was. He had expelled Orochimaru for delving into human experimentation in the pursuit of immortality. Now, Tsunade was discussing a similar topic with a nine-year-old who had access to some of the Shinobi world's most forbidden arts and knowledge. Shikaku, however, was dumbstruck. He started sweating profusely, wondering if he had made a mistake by pushing Kazuki too hard. The gravity of the situation was sinking in, and the implications were deeply troubling.

"Calm down, Sensei. I will tell you the exact details later, but Kazuki here has a possible theory of resurrecting Minato back to life. And mind you, it's not a pseudo-resurrection like Granduncle Tobirama's Edo Tensei, but a new type of forbidden art where the person can be resurrected completely back to our world. However, he needs a certain thing, or more specifically, a certain person, to be sacrificed for the ritual to be successful,"

Tsunade explained, ensuring Hiruzen wouldn't misunderstand her student. Earlier, she had told Kazuki that if a day came when such forbidden techniques were necessary, he should approach her. After learning about the Otsutsuki clan, she realized every additional powerhouse Konoha could nurture would be an extra lifeline for the village's future. Minato, in particular, possessed monstrous-level abilities that she couldn't overlook just because they required the sacrifice of an evil person.

"Sensei, you should understand how important this is to our future. If I start to delve into Senjutsu training, I might not be able to stay in Konoha much longer because I don't know how difficult the original Senjutsu art is to train. So, I'm planning to have Minato-sama resurrected before I do so. Minato is a peak fuin master who might soon be able to breach into the grandmaster rank. And I hope you haven't forgotten about the things Katsuyu-sama shared," Kazuki explained. He knew his current strength was inadequate, and he had to get stronger. Although he was helping others grow stronger, without him being the main pillar of strength in the future, everything would eventually collapse.

The prime reason Kazuki hadn't taken any of the tailed beasts for himself was because the only bijuu that matched his standard was Kurama before being separated, and he wasn't going to deprive Naruto of his power. So, he had been pursuing knowledge about how to create a nature beast of his own, something that could fight toe-to-toe with the Jubi itself. He had gained some interesting insights from his recent interactions with the Hell Beast clan.

Kazuki had finally found an avenue where he could acquire more knowledge about the creation technique of nature beasts. From the details he collected from the Hell Beasts, it was believed a particular clan was privy to the knowledge passed down through generations; the description from the Hell Beasts closely resembled a clan he knew about—the Uzumaki clan. The reason Kazuki wanted to speed up finding the required sacrifice was for two main reasons. The primary reason was to resurrect Minato after releasing his soul from the Shinigami, and the other reason was to get in touch with another soul sealed within the reaper, who might hold the key to the creation of nature beasts—Ashina Uzumaki.

"Tsunade... this? Are you sure about this?" Hiruzen's voice trembled with concern. "What Kazuki is doing is similar to Orochimaru. If this was the case, then why did I have to chase Orochimaru from the village? He could have stayed back and carried on with his experimentation like Kazuki here." Hiruzen still held a soft spot for Orochimaru, as he had always thought his student would be the one to carry on his legacy. But his lack of supervision had allowed Danzo to influence Orochimaru, leading him down a dark path—or so he believed.

"Boom!" Tsunade launched a chakra-powered punch toward her Sensei's face, brimming with anger. Suddenly, Jiraiya, who had been sitting outside the Hokage's window since the start of the meeting, intervened using Frog Kata, redirecting the punch toward the heavy wooden table, which shattered into smithereens. "TSUNADE!, calm down. Sensei doesn't know. I haven't told him," Jiraiya intervened with a solemn look. The entire atmosphere inside the Hokage's office had shifted dramatically. The ANBU guards had completely surrounded the office, confused about what was happening. Everyone, including Hiruzen and Shikaku, was shaken to the core by Tsunade's sudden outburst at the mention of Orochimaru's name. The only ones who knew the truth of the matter were Kazuki, Jiraiya, and Tsunade herself. Even Shizune was as confused as the rest.

"The day I lay my hands on that snake is the day he dies," Tsunade's aura flared up, suffocating everyone below Kage rank. Even Hiruzen and Jiraiya struggled to maintain their composure, but Jiraiya stood firmly in front of Hiruzen, shielding him from Tsunade's outburst. Kazuki noticed that Jiraiya's arm, which he had used to redirect his Sensei's punch, was now broken. He could see the discomfort on the Toad Sage's face; his sensei must have snapped because that last punch was thrown with the intent to kill.

"SENSEI!!!, calm down. The old man doesn't know. It's not fair to blame him for the mistakes of his student," Kazuki carefully stepped up, knowing his Sensei's temper. The main thing now was to diffuse the situation before it escalated.

After what seemed like an eternity, Tsunade took a deep breath and retracted her aura, waving her hand to direct the ANBU to return to their posts. "Old man, never ever bring up that name in front of me again. And if you ever compare my student with that snake again, I won't care that you are my Sensei," Tsunade declared as she sat back down. Shizune stepped near her to help her sensei calm down, while Kazuki quickly stepped up and used Iryo ninjutsu to fix Jiraiya's arm.

"Damn, what a mess," Jiraiya muttered as he sat down next to Hiruzen, who had yet to recover from the shock. Kazuki directed his gaze at his uncle, who immediately understood, excusing himself from the office.

"Jiraiya-sama, it's your fault. I told you this would happen someday. You should not have kept such a thing from him," Kazuki accused Jiraiya, as he treated him, as being responsible for causing such a situation.

Tsunade was already trying to hold back her tears as old memories came rushing back, but she quickly composed herself while still holding a glare toward her Sensei.

"Tell me what!" Hiruzen finally came back to reality; his eyes were also a bit moist because he had never expected that Tsunade would attack him with the intention to harm him, so he desperately wanted to know what Orochimaru did to make her hold such a grudge.

"Fine, it's my fault. I thought knowing about it would only hurt you more, Sensei," Jiraiya started, feeling guilty about the situation. Originally, he still held some thoughts of bringing Orochimaru back to the fold, but then what Kazuki had found out from Danzo made him realize that Orochimaru was a lost cause, and Tsunade would never accept him after what he did to her.

"Nawaki did not die in the war." The words uttered by Jiraiya sent shivers down Hiruzen's spine, making him contemplate various things, each scenario worse than the last.

"I don't know when he started to go astray. Maybe Danzo was just a trigger, and Orochimaru... well, he must have lost himself even before he joined Root. Kazuki here managed to uncover every evil deed that Danzo was involved in. We all remember that Nawaki was part of Orochimaru's squad during the war. The body we thought was Nawaki, which Orochimaru brought back, was actually a replacement. Tsunade was stricken by grief back then and was not able to see the truth. However, Nawaki was imprisoned by both Danzo and Orochimaru and experimented on for almost two years. Sadly, he died due to the extensive experiments," Jiraiya explained, revealing the tragic truth about Tsunade's younger brother, a secret that had been hidden for far too long.