Chapter 22

Hiruzen wanted to gauge the thoughts of the young kid to see if he placed more interest in personal benefits or if he was willing to share for the collective good.

"You don't have to test me, old man. All the contributions will be listed under the Nara clan. If not, I wouldn't have insisted on asking my uncle to stay, would I? And as for the jutsus extracted, don't worry. I am not as shameless as you are. You still owe me a welcome gift. Didn't you boast earlier that I was your grand disciple ? The fire jutsu count should be two S-rank techniques, one Kinjutsu, one fire-attributed sealing art should be around S-rank difficulty, eleven A-rank techniques, nineteen B-rank techniques, thirty C-rank techniques, and nineteen D-rank techniques, for a total of eighty-three Katon Jutsus. I'm surely taking a loss here, old man. You better remember this. I personally suggest you exchange a few of these with the Uchiha in exchange for a few genjutsus. That way, you can build a good initial rapport with them. My master has already laid the groundwork, so it shouldn't be tough to have a conversation with them."

Hiruzen was delighted with the numbers Kazuki had provided. Earlier, he had a vague estimate that if he worked on it from his end, they could have extracted barely half the number, and they would have lost most of the higher-level techniques.

"Good, kid. I will remember this exchange; don't worry. As for the welcome gift, although I don't have anything significant to part with that you might actually need, I can provide you with my detailed notes on all five nature transformations. How about it? Would you like that?" Hiruzen offered to willingly share his knowledge, which he was famous for. He wasn't called the 'Professor' simply for fun; it was a title he gained due to his exceptional mastery of five nature transformations and their applications.

"Sure, old man. Why would I say no to that?" Kazuki quickly relented because he knew the value of such notes, and coming from someone like Hiruzen, who had reached an exceptional level of mastery in the field, would be more than an apt gift.

"Shikaku, Tsunade, I have a suggestion. I am not sure if you guys would agree. Don't you think it would be a waste of the kid's talent and time to have him attend the academy? Why don't I give the kid a special graduation and promote him to Genin? If I am not wrong, the Uchiha kid has also applied for early graduation, so we should be able to conduct it together," Hiruzen suggested because he understood that Kazuki was way too mature and way ahead of his peers, and putting him in the academy would simply be a blow to the other aspiring young ones.

"If Sandaime-sama thinks the kid is ready, then I do not have any issues with it." Shikaku also understood the merit in the Hokage's words, and a five-year-old graduate would be the youngest in history and the first to pass even without joining the academy.

"How about you, Tsunade? What do you think? After all, you are the kid's master." Hiruzen questioned.

Tsunade turned to Kazuki to know how he felt, to which he simply nodded with a smile.

"Fine, if that's what the kid wants. But I hope you find a capable enough Jonin to lead the team." Tsunade couldn't help but smile at the new kind of headache that her sensei would have to handle to appoint a Jonin leader.

"Fine, then, in that case, I will have the papers arranged. As for the graduation exam, it should be in a week or two. Be prepared." After that, the Hokage and Shikaku discussed a few more things, and the meeting went all the way until noon before the Hokage went back.

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A week later.

"So, brother, what are we doing today? Are we going to the old man's store again?" Shikamaru questioned as Kazuki led the little trio towards the shopping district. Kazuki couldn't help but sweat when Shikamaru mentioned the old man's store. Although it was a treasure trove, he knew he would not always be lucky, like last time. Before leaving home, when he told Yoshino that he was going out to shop, she eyed him silently, warning him of consequences if he splurged again.

"No, little brother. Today we are going to pick an outfit for myself because I am going to be a Leaf Shinobi soon. As a responsible ninja, I cannot run around in little children's clothes now, can I? As your elder brother, I should have class, don't you think?" Kazuki explained the reason for their visit to the shopping district.

"Big brother Kazuki, will we be going to the restaurant again? Can I have my fill like last time?" Choji questioned with anticipation, as going out with big brother Kazuki was always the best. He could eat his fill, no matter how expensive the final bill, and Big Brother wouldn't flinch.

"Choji, it's Naruto's turn to pick where to eat, and he has already picked that he wants to eat ramen this time," Shikamaru intervened on Naruto's behalf. If not, Choji would simply coax everyone to take him to the Nara restaurant, as he did every time it was Shikamaru's turn to pick.

"The ramen at Ichiraku is the best. It was the first place Big Brother took me to eat. Although it's not as big as that fancy restaurant, it's still the best. Even big brother eats there regularly."

The Ichiraku Ramen shop had a special meaning to Kazuki, just like Naruto. In his past life, there were so many good memories around this store, so in this life, he had helped the Ramen store as much as he could. Even though Teuchi was reluctant to take any aid from little Kazuki, Kazuki kept pestering until the man relented.

They reached the store that Kazuki had picked. He had already ordered a custom-made outfit of his own design, which was much more fashionable and comprehensive. As Kazuki and the little trio entered the big shop, they saw a teen arguing with the shop manager. The teen had a distinctive appearance, which included his iconic bowl-cut hairstyle, green jumpsuit, and bushy eyebrows. Kazuki and the kids walked past them to not disturb them and reached a counter where the shop assistant was free.

"Hello, kids, how may I help you?" The store assistant greeted the kids with a smile on her face.

"Here, sister, this is the receipt for the custom order that I placed. I was notified to come and collect as my order was ready." The shop assistant quickly collected the receipt, and she realised that the custom order that the shop owner had been working on for the past week without stopping was the kid's order. The order was worth over half a year of the store's total earnings, and the materials used in the order were all top-notch.

"Young master, please wait. I will quickly have the order delivered." The shop assistant ran back to fetch the order and quickly returned with it. Kazuki picked up the outfit and started examining it carefully. He was satisfied with the quality of work and asked the shop assistant for a changing room to check the outfit.

As Kazuki walked out of the changing room, a surprised cry attracted everyone's attention.

"Chibi Kakashi!" Gai, who was arguing with the shop manager, was distracted and walked towards Kazuki. Kazuki simply looked like a miniature Kakashi in a black flak jacket shinobi outfit, and the custom outfit he designed came with a face mask similar to that of Kakashi. Kazuki's mother was of half Hatake bloodline, so Kazuki was blessed with silver hair, a trait of the Hatake clan. When Kazuki walked out, Gai couldn't help but be surprised, as, with the mask on, he looked identical to a miniature Kakashi.

"Little brother, are you by any chance related to my eternal rival Kakashi?" Gai questioned him with full gusto, thinking that Kakashi had kept such crucial information about having a little brother from him.

"Ah, senpai, I have no direct relation with Kakashi senpai. It's just that my mother was half Hatake. So we might have a similar hair colour," Kazuki explained the situation to Gai as he observed himself in the mirror. He did look exactly like a miniature Kakashi; the resemblance was uncanny. Maybe his lightning affinity was due to his Hatake bloodline from his mother's side.

"Well, you may be right, kid. You look much more handsome than my rival. Well, that's a cool outfit that you have on." Gai genuinely praised the kid's outfit, as he could understand how practical the black outfit was. It was much better than the Jonin outfit that he was currently wearing.

Kazuki simply thanked Gai, collected the other sets, paid the assistant, and left the shop with the trio.

"Shop manager, didn't you tell me you guys didn't have a better design at your store for high-intensity exercises? The design from the kid's clothes earlier; can I get something similar to that?" Gai inquired, as he felt that the particular design would not hinder his movements and would be able to handle the stress of high-intensity workouts.

"My apologies, sir. That was a custom-made outfit, and the design was personally provided by the customer," the shop manager explained.

Gai could only feel a bit disappointed, as he really liked the design.

As Kazuki and the trio were walking towards the ramen shop, Naruto was curiously looking at Kazuki from time to time with a confused expression.

"What happened, Naruto? Why are you looking at Big Brother again and again? Is something wrong?" Shikamaru questioned him as he noticed Naruto's weird behaviour.

"Big brother Kazuki, are you the one who sneaks into my room at night and places the money and groceries on the table when you think I am not looking?" Naruto questioned, puzzled, about the similarity between the two; only the size differed.

"Ahaha, Naruto, why would I sneak into your room? I would wake you up instead. Maybe it's some pervert who comes into your room, and you need to be careful. Maybe you should scream loudly the next time around," Kazuki suggested. He knew that Kakashi was secretly following Naruto today, too. As his sensei's legacy, although Kakashi didn't know how to care for a kid, he still made sure to take care of Naruto's necessities and safety whenever he could.

Kazuki and the trio reached Ichiraku Ramen. The Ichiraku Ramen in this world was different from the anime world that Kazuki knew. With Kazuki interference, the current Ichiraku was much larger than the original, and it occupied a large square that was big enough to accommodate 10 customers on the counter seats alone. With the other tables included, the new Ichiraku could serve 40 customers all at once. Teuchi had also employed two more assistant chefs and a few waiters to help with the ramen restaurant.

"Teuchi Ojisan, please, a bowl of extra-large special ramen, and provide the kids with their choice." Kazuki walked into the store. The counter seats were currently not occupied, so he led the kids to be seated.

"Ah, if it isn't, Kazuki-kun and little Naruto, how have you kids been doing lately? What will you kids have?" Teuchi greeted Kazuki and the trio warmly, inquiring about the trio's choice. Naruto chose the largest bowl of Miso Ramen the shop offered, Shikamaru chose the special, and Choji, like always, placed an order for one of each bowl.

After a few minutes, the order was ready, and piping hot bowls of ramen were placed in front of each. As they all started digging in, Teuchi walked out of the kitchen, as there were not many customers.

"Kazuki-kun, the Chashu pork belly ramen recipe that you provided has been a big hit, and little Ayame is in love with the new ramen." Teuchi shared the results of the new ramen. A seven- or eight-year-old girl, Ayame, walked out carrying the additional orders of Choji, who had placed an order for one of each ramen.