Kitazawa and his group returned to Konoha Village at the start of a new week.
With the final exams underway, Sasuke and the others no longer needed to attend theoretical classes at the Academy. Still, Kitazawa wasn't sure whether Hiruzen or Kurenai had finished their own missions, so he instructed the students to return home and wait for further notice.
Once they left, Konan emerged from the shadows.
During the journey back, Kitazawa had needed to focus on leading the team, so he hadn't let her fly openly. She had followed quietly the entire way.
"You've worked hard these past few days," Kitazawa said after a moment of thought.
"I'm giving you a week off. You can also head back to the Akatsuki."
With the Genius Class finals over and summer vacation approaching, things would slow down. Even with summer training ahead, the reduced workload meant he wouldn't need her assistance for a while.
Besides, flying him around nonstop couldn't have been easy.
"…Thank you."
Konan paused in surprise, then nodded.
"See you next time."
Kitazawa reached out and gently held her cheek before turning to leave.
Konan froze.
She hadn't expected such a casual, intimate gesture.
Watching his retreating figure, she stood there for several seconds, lost in thought.
When Kitazawa returned home, Kurenai still hadn't arrived.
That wasn't unusual—missions were unpredictable, after all.
After some consideration, he headed to the Hokage Office.
The moment he walked in, he saw Tsunade and Shizune sitting cross-legged on the sofa, eyes closed.
"Training Yang Release Chakra Mode?" Kitazawa asked, glancing between them.
"Kitazawa," Shizune said, opening her eyes, "when did you start acting like Lady Tsunade? Do you not knock anymore?"
"What do you mean, acting like me?" Tsunade snapped, opening one eye.
"Tsunade-sensei never knocks," Kitazawa replied solemnly.
"I only occasionally don't. That hardly counts as the same."
Shizune burst out laughing.
"…?"
Tsunade slowly turned her head toward him, her gaze sharp enough to cut steel.
"Hmph. Since you two get along so well," she said coldly, "you can teach her Yang Release Chakra Mode."
She stood and sat down behind the Hokage's desk.
"Sure," Kitazawa said with a shrug. "I'm free anyway."
"…Something feels off," Shizune muttered.
When did she suddenly become his student?
"Shizune-senpai," Kitazawa said, sitting across from her.
"How far along are you with Yang Release Chakra Mode?"
"I… just started today."
"Today?" Kitazawa chuckled. "Then it seems our Tsunade-sensei—"
"I can hear you!" Tsunade's voice snapped from behind the desk.
"It's not Lady Tsunade's fault," Shizune quickly explained.
"I've just been too busy with work to practice earlier."
"Well then," Kitazawa said smoothly, "class begins."
He didn't ask what she'd been busy with—the answer was obvious.
Although Shizune's medical talent didn't rival Tsunade's, she was still a rare genius with an exceptional foundation. Her progress in Yang Release Chakra Mode was impressively fast.
"Kitazawa," Shizune said in amazement, "your teaching is actually better than Lady Tsunade's."
"If she hears that, she'll explode," Kitazawa laughed.
"I already heard it!" Tsunade snapped—then suddenly brightened.
"I'm taking the afternoon off!"
"You can rest," Shizune said instantly, "but you cannot go to the casino."
"I never said I would," Tsunade replied innocently.
"If you don't trust me, let Kitazawa come with me."
Shizune instinctively looked at him.
"I'll supervise her," Kitazawa said seriously.
"You absolutely cannot go to the casino," Shizune repeated.
"You can trust me," Kitazawa nodded.
"Great!" Tsunade said cheerfully.
"You train, and Kitazawa and I are going out to play!"
Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Kitazawa and dragged him out.
"…?"
Shizune stared at the closed door, faintly feeling like she'd been outmaneuvered.
But… with Kitazawa's personality, he wouldn't lie, right?
Outside the office, Kitazawa caught Tsunade's hand.
"Tsunade-sensei," he said calmly, "as Hokage, you shouldn't look this eager."
"I'm not eager," Tsunade coughed lightly.
She absolutely was.
"When did you get back?" she asked, glancing at his hand.
"Just now."
After confirming the hallway was empty, Kitazawa leaned closer to her ear.
"What are you doing?" Tsunade whispered, alert.
"I just got back and didn't even get a break before you made me teach Shizune-senpai," he murmured.
"I worked pretty hard. Shouldn't I get a little reward?"
His breath brushed her neck.
Tsunade stiffened slightly.
"…You want a reward for that?"
She shot him a glare—then suddenly leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Enough talking," she said briskly, breaking free.
"Let's go to the casino."
She strode ahead, eyes curved in a satisfied smile.
"Tsunade-sensei."
Kitazawa caught up to her, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "There's something I need to talk to you about."
"What is it?"
Tsunade glanced at him, the playful smile on her lips fading slightly.
"What's your view on the Caged Bird Seal?" Kitazawa asked after a brief pause.
Tsunade stopped short, clearly taken aback. "Why are you suddenly asking about that?"
"It's because of Neji," Kitazawa replied calmly. "After what happened to his father, he once harbored deep resentment toward the Hyuga Main Family—and the Caged Bird Seal itself."
"You're thinking about abolishing it?" Tsunade frowned instinctively. "That's impossible."
She knew better than anyone what the seal truly represented. Over generations, it had become the Main Family's ultimate instrument of control. More importantly, centuries of resentment had accumulated between the Main and Branch Families. If the seal were suddenly lifted, no one could predict the consequences.
"I understand your concerns," Kitazawa said with a small smile. "But I think you're looking at it the wrong way."
"Oh?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"The Ninja World ultimately bows to strength," he said evenly.
Tsunade laughed softly. "You really sound like one of my students."
"I am your student," Kitazawa replied, glancing at her. "Is there something wrong with that logic?"
"Suppressing things with strength may work," Tsunade said, her tone shifting, "but I'm the Hokage now. I can't afford to act recklessly."
If she openly pressured the Hyuga Clan, other clans would inevitably grow wary. The balance within Konoha was fragile.
"What if Hiashi himself wants to abolish the Caged Bird Seal?" Kitazawa asked.
Tsunade froze. "He… actually has such thoughts?"
"Hanabi," Kitazawa reminded her.
Realization dawned immediately.
Hyuga Hanabi was already four years old—yet no seal had been applied. If she were meant for the Branch Family, the seal should have been placed by now. And if she were considered Main Family, then Hinata should have borne the seal instead.
"This really is an opportunity," Tsunade murmured.
If the Caged Bird Seal disappeared, the greatest beneficiary wouldn't be the Branch Family—it would be Konoha itself.
For generations, the Branch Family Hyuga obeyed orders but never truly pledged loyalty to the village. Their lives were held by the Main Family's leash. Even Root had avoided recruiting them.
Without the seal, the Hyuga Branch Family would finally belong to Konoha—not out of fear, but choice.
"But without the seal," Tsunade asked slowly, "how do we protect the Byakugan?"
"I've already modified it," Kitazawa said, producing a scroll.
Tsunade's eyes widened as she took it and began reading.
The revised Caged Bird Seal retained only one function: protecting the Byakugan after death.
All other effects—punishment, control were completely removed.
"When did you start working on this?" Tsunade asked, shooting him a sidelong glance. "I'm the Hokage. Why wasn't I informed?"
Anyone else would have been accused of plotting rebellion.
"The seal was incredibly difficult to alter," Kitazawa said innocently. "I wasn't confident it would succeed. The moment I did succeed, I came straight to you."
Tsunade studied him for a moment, then snorted. "Fine. That excuse passes."
She returned the scroll. "Go ahead. You have my support."
Kitazawa nodded.
That was all he needed.
The moment they arrived at the casino, Tsunade promptly forgot about the Hyuga Clan and rushed toward the gambling tables with renewed enthusiasm.
Kitazawa sat beside her, his thoughts drifting elsewhere—specifically, to Naruto.
More accurately, to a certain theatrical event.
The Lost Tower.
In the Land of Wind's ancient city of Rōran existed a massive Chakra aggregate known as the Ryūmyaku. Through it, Naruto once traveled back in time and met his father, Minato, during a mission.
Father and son fought side by side, defeated Mukade, had their memories sealed—and returned to their own eras.
Kitazawa had no interest in time travel itself. Tampering with the past was dangerous, and he was satisfied with his current life.
But helping Naruto fulfill that one dream?
That was different.
Besides, the Ryūmyaku itself held immense value.
To Kitazawa, it was essentially a Tailed Beast without consciousness.
Which meant—hypothetically—a Ryūmyaku Jinchūriki could exist.
Though his Chakra reserves already dwarfed most shinobi, compared to Hashirama, he was still lacking. With the Ryūmyaku, he could unlock even more advanced Wood Release techniques.
Of course, sealing such a thing inside his body was out of the question.
He preferred a cleaner solution—sealing it into a weapon. A bow. A blade. Something he could draw upon when needed.
[Current Mission: Travel through time and facilitate the meeting between Uzumaki Naruto and his father.]
[Mission Reward: Space-Time Ninjutsu Talent]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's pupils constricted.
A system mission wasn't surprising—but that reward…
His first thought was immediate.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
The jutsu that elevated Minato from elite jōnin to an untouchable Kage-level monster.
The pinnacle of speed—instantaneous teleportation through marked formulas. Not just for oneself, but for anything: allies, weapons, even Tailed Beast Bombs.
Any shinobi who mastered it was nearly impossible to kill.
After all—if you couldn't win, you could simply leave.
Only the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Chakra Mode had ever come close to keeping up.
Kitazawa accepted without hesitation.
A moment later—
[Current Mission: Defeat Mukade and correct history.]
[Mission Reward: Taiji Rasengan]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa paused.
Another mission?
Then he understood.
Mukade—the main antagonist of The Lost Tower. The equivalent of Mōryō or Satori.
As for the reward—Taiji Rasengan.
A joint technique born from Naruto and Minato, combining two Rasengans into a single devastating attack.
An S-rank ninjutsu.
Powerful.
And brutally difficult to master.
Kitazawa's smile slowly deepened.
This trip… was going to be worth it.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Although the Taiji Rasengan was normally a technique that required two users, he should be able to execute it alone.
He pulled his thoughts back and examined the system mission again.
There was also a note about correcting history.
That almost certainly referred to Mukade.
Mukade had also traveled through time—journeying to Rōran, disguising himself as Anrokuzan, and attempting to unify the Ninja World by exploiting the Ryūmyaku's power.
It had to be said: villains from the theatrical arcs were always absurdly ambitious.
Correcting history would likely follow the original flow—defeat Mukade, restore the timeline, and send everyone back to their proper era.
Fortunately, Kitazawa had no intention of doing anything extra.
Any deviation would consume the Ryūmyaku's energy and potentially trigger unforeseen consequences. Too risky. Not worth it.
He fell into deeper thought.
Though he wanted to complete both system missions as soon as possible, haste would only backfire.
Under normal circumstances, the events of The Lost Tower wouldn't occur until Naruto and the others had already graduated—several years from now.
But Kitazawa had no intention of waiting that long.
The key lay with Mukade.
Mukade was originally a Hidden Sand shinobi. After defecting, he traveled to Rōran, broke the Ryūmyaku's seal, and caused the temporal distortion in the first place.
In short—he needed to locate Mukade now.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Kitazawa and Tsunade left the casino.
The result was as predictable as ever—they hadn't won a single round.
"Lady Tsunade! Kitazawa!"
A familiar voice called out.
They turned to see Kurenai Yūhi, with Kimimaro, Shino, and Sakura behind her.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Sakura and the others greeted respectfully.
"You just came from the ca—"
Kurenai stopped mid-sentence as Tsunade cut in.
"Don't tell Shizune about today."
Tsunade winked.
Kurenai smiled knowingly. "Understood."
"You three should head home and rest," Kitazawa said to Sakura's group.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei."
They quickly departed.
"Let's go back too," Tsunade yawned. "I gambled all afternoon—I'm starving. I need a drink tonight to make up for it."
"I'll drink with you," Kurenai said immediately.
"Good!" Tsunade grinned. "Then we don't stop until we're drunk. Kitazawa—go buy alcohol!"
"…."
Kitazawa sighed.
Two women who loved drinking—troublesome.
But also… complicated.
After all, his relationship with both of them was far from ordinary.
"You two go back first," he said, resigned.
Night fell.
Tsunade and Kurenai drank themselves into sisterly camaraderie, laughing and clinging to one another like blood relatives.
Kitazawa escorted Kurenai home afterward.
The next morning, Kurenai was still asleep.
Kitazawa quietly placed the Ohmadori summoning scroll beside her bed, then headed to the ANBU Base.
Konan had already returned to the Akatsuki, so his office was empty.
Fortunately, finding Mukade didn't require her help.
After some thought, Kitazawa entrusted the task to Asuma.
Itachi was already investigating the Hyuga main family elder—piling on another assignment would be unreasonable.
Moreover, Mukade was located in the Hidden Sand. Sending Itachi there would disrupt the Hyuga investigation entirely.
Once that was settled, Kitazawa headed to the Mission Archives within the Hokage Building.
Completed missions were all stored there.
What he needed was the report detailing Minato, Shibi, Chōza, and Kakashi's mission to Rōran.
The Ryūmyaku's time distortion occurred within a fixed space-time.
Minato's mission had already become history.
Kitazawa found the report quickly and began reading.
At the time, Rōran—under Mukade's identity as Anrokuzan—had constructed a massive puppet army using the Ryūmyaku.
Minato's team had been dispatched to stop him from threatening the Land of Fire and Konoha.
The report contained no mention of Naruto or the others.
Naturally—Minato and his team had sealed their memories before leaving Rōran.
But Kitazawa had already obtained what he needed.
The exact location of the Ryūmyaku.
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