Unbeknownst to Kazuki, he had already begun to win over those around him with his strength.

He had a say in the Uchiha clan, the Hyuga clan, and the now disbanded Senju clan. Minato was also a representative of the civilian ninjas.

Given Kazuki's current assistance to Minato, if Minato were to compete with Kazuki for Hokage in the future, it would be ethically unacceptable.

Although Kazuki and Minato were not in a master-disciple relationship, Kazuki usually taught Minato many things.

It could be said that from the moment Minato began to be taught by Kazuki, he had already lost the qualification to compete with Kazuki for Hokage.

Of course, unless Kazuki encountered some trouble that made him unsuitable to become Hokage at that time.

From Konoha's or rather Hiruzen's perspective, it was most important for Orochimaru and Minato to become Hokage.

Konoha had always been trying to de-familialize itself. Even Hiruzen, who secretly supported the clans, was actually nurturing civilian ninjas.

You could say he was bad, that he cared about power, but he truly invested resources in cultivating talented civilian ninjas who could be won over.

Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and now Minato, these were all cultivated by Hiruzen.

At the same time, those without power or influence could only rely on the Hokage faction. It would be more natural to use people belonging to Hiruzen, and later, people from the Sarutobi clan.

Just as Kazuki was about to continue guiding a few people in their training, an Anbu who had been stationed outside the Senju clan's territory burst in and made a gesture to Kazuki.

Kazuki nodded slightly, then said to the others, "I'm going to the Hokage Office. You all wait here."

After speaking, his figure disappeared from the scene, appearing directly outside the Hokage building, and then walked straight towards the Hokage office.

Since he was already an Anbu, the Anbu guarding near the Hokage office did not stop him. After confirming his identity, they let him in.

After gently knocking on the door, Kazuki pushed it open and entered. At this moment, the office was already filled with smoke, and Hiruzen was holding his dry pipe, constantly puffing on it.

Seeing Kazuki arrive, the frowning Hiruzen relaxed slightly and said, "Kazuki, you're here. Just now, the reason I called you here is that Kirigakure has declared war on Konoha."

"Kirigakure?"

Kazuki didn't find this strange, after all, Kirigakure was most likely in Madara's hands, and he couldn't just watch Konoha live a good life.

Kazuki strongly suspected that Madara had his eyes on him.

Now that Kirigakure had finally started a war with Konoha, in Kazuki's opinion, it was actually quite late.

"Is there anything you need me to do?"

Kazuki quickly adjusted his mood. If it had been a few months ago, he wouldn't have wanted to easily go to Kirigakure to cause trouble.

After all, he was still too weak to be a match for the current Madara.

That was the man who had almost overwhelmingly defeated the Five Kage. Even if the current Madara wasn't at his peak and didn't have the Rinnegan, he was still Madara.

But now he had leveled up again, and he was confident in facing the elderly Madara.

"Tsunade and Orochimaru are currently fighting Sunagakure on the front lines. Sakumo and his team have also been dispatched by me, and Danzo has already gone to the border of the Land of Earth."

"Currently, you are the most suitable person in the village to go to Kirigakure for investigation."

Hiruzen looked intently at Kazuki and said, "Before, I didn't want you to go to the battlefield because I didn't want you children to go to the battlefield, but now Kirigakure has also declared war on the village, and even Iwagakure could declare war on Konoha at any time. Now is the time the village needs you."

"I can do it." Kazuki nodded slightly.

"To what extent do you need me to go? To cause destruction behind Kirigakure?"

"That's not necessary. I hope you can go to the Land of Water for investigation."

Hiruzen paused and continued, "At the same time, take Nawaki, Mikoto, Rinka, and Minato to the battlefield to adapt to war. The future is yours."

Kazuki fell silent. Good heavens, taking these people to the battlefield.

If he wasn't confident in his strength, he would suspect that Hiruzen was trying to trick him.

If any one of Nawaki, Mikoto, or Rinka were to die, he would probably have a huge headache.

Everyone else was fine, but Nawaki's personality was the most dangerous. Mikoto and Rinka were very cautious and wouldn't step on an Exploding Tag and die.

If Nawaki accidentally died, he would be too ashamed to face Tsunade and Mito.

"You don't need to have such a big burden. Your strength already surpasses mine, and you have the Flying Thunder God Technique. Even in front of the Mizukage, you can protect their lives."

"If it weren't for you, I would never feel at ease letting them go to the battlefield."

Hiruzen looked at Kazuki with a serious expression.

Kazuki looked deeply at Hiruzen. He knew that regarding this, Hiruzen also had a lot of pressure.

If an accident occurred, both Kazuki and Hiruzen would take the blame.

"May I ask why you want them to go to the battlefield? After all, Nawaki and the others are only twelve or thirteen years old." Kazuki thought for a moment and asked.

"I have a premonition that this war may last a long time, perhaps four or five years, and it won't end."

Hiruzen continued to add, "I mean it will continue for another four or five years. By that time, Nawaki will be sixteen or seventeen years old. If everyone else goes to the battlefield and he doesn't, it will have a bad impact."

"Similarly, you will all go to the battlefield sooner or later. Otherwise, even if you don't compete for Hokage, becoming a high-ranking official in the village will become a criticism."

"This is a good opportunity for you to build your qualifications."

"War is dangerous, but it is also a good place for you to establish your achievements."

Hiruzen could no longer suppress Kazuki. For Konoha to simultaneously confront Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and the future Iwagakure, Hiruzen didn't have the confidence, nor could he ask Mito to fight to the death, so he had to release Kazuki.

To what extent Kazuki could take advantage of this opportunity depended on Kazuki himself.

***

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