Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't give a long speech. He simply said two sentences, then turned to leave.
Hiashi Hyuga, Fugaku Uchiha, and the others accompanied him to the school gate. Kitazawa didn't follow; he still had school matters to attend to.
Although Hiruzen had told him to visit the Hokage's Office when he had time, Kitazawa's thoughts were similar to Tsunade's.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had specifically come just to say those two sentences—clearly to set up and pave the way for Tsunade. Kitazawa guessed the main reason he did this was that Tsunade had finally accepted treatment for her hemophobia.
Hiruzen understood her personality well. When she compromised, it meant she had already made her decision. His job was to give her a head start.
How should he put it? Kitazawa was naturally happy to see Hiruzen do this. After all, the sooner Tsunade became Hokage, the better it would be for him.
From another perspective, Sarutobi Hiruzen's voluntary abdication would also allow him to avoid the fate of dying in battle as in the original story.
Kitazawa retracted his gaze and looked back at the students.
Since tomorrow was the start of winter break, as soon as the Student Council selection exam ended, most scattered like prisoners released from jail, disappearing without a trace.
But a few students remained—Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba Inuzuka, Ino, Neji Hyuga, and Hinata Hyuga. One reason was that they wanted to talk to Kitazawa. The other was that they were waiting for their parents to return after seeing Hiruzen off.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Sasuke walked up first.
"Sasuke, congratulations on awakening your Two-Tomoe Sharingan." Kitazawa patted his shoulder with a faint smile.
Sasuke fell silent. Awakening the Two-Tomoe Sharingan was something he had always longed for. But why did he not feel happy now that he had achieved it?
"Kitazawa-sensei, I want to defeat Naruto." Sasuke took a deep breath and spoke directly.
"Have you thought about why you lost to Naruto this time?" Kitazawa asked in return.
"It was the Rasengan," Sasuke answered without hesitation.
Kitazawa thought, As expected.
In truth, Naruto's most troublesome ability wasn't the Rasengan—it was the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.
The Rasengan was indeed powerful, but it couldn't be thrown. To hit the target, Naruto had to close in. He used Shadow Clones as diversions to create that opening. Without the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, dodging the Rasengan with the Body Flicker Technique wouldn't have been difficult.
Moreover, the Shadow Clones combined with shurikenjutsu were already troublesome. If one day Naruto replaced shurikenjutsu with long-range ninjutsu attacks, the threat would be even greater.
"I can teach you a ninjutsu no less powerful than the Rasengan," Kitazawa said with a small smile.
"Really?" Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, disbelief in his tone. After all, the Rasengan was an A-rank ninjutsu created by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
"Of course it's real." As Kitazawa finished speaking, three lines of text appeared before him:
[Current Mission: Help Sasuke learn Lightning Release: Chidori.]
[Mission Reward: Lightning Release: False Darkness.]
[Do you accept?]
It was not surprising. The reward was also decent.
Lightning Release: False Darkness could unleash multiple bolts of lightning, forming large lightning spears to pierce the target. It wasn't a Konoha jutsu but originated from Kakuzu, the rogue ninja from Takigakure and a member of the Akatsuki.
Though it was a B-rank jutsu, its power was not inferior to Lightning Release: Chidori.
"Go home and rest for two days. I'll notify you then," Kitazawa said, regaining his composure.
At present, he didn't know Chidori himself. Besides, it was a technique created by Kakashi Hatake. If Kitazawa taught it privately to Sasuke and Kakashi found out, it would be troublesome.
It needed to be laundered and legitimized.
Fortunately, the system mission had not directly instructed him to teach Chidori, which left room for maneuver.
"Mm." Although Sasuke was anxious, since Kitazawa had said so, he didn't press further.
"Your father and brother are here; go home with them," Kitazawa reminded, glancing toward Fugaku and Itachi Uchiha.
Sasuke hesitated, a worried look flashing across his face. His performance in this exam had been poor—first losing to Naruto, then to Yakumo Kurama. It could be said he had shamed the Uchiha.
Now, facing his father and brother, he suddenly felt overwhelmed.
"They won't blame you," Kitazawa said with a chuckle.
Sasuke subconsciously looked up at him. After receiving Kitazawa's confirming gaze, he hesitated for two seconds before walking forward.
"Sasuke, you did great today!" Mikoto Uchiha pulled him into her arms, stroking his head gently.
"But—" Sasuke hesitated.
"Awakening the Two-Tomoe Sharingan at seven years old," Itachi interrupted with a faint smile. "In that regard, you've already surpassed me."
"Let's go home first," Fugaku said after a pause. "You really did well this time. Let's invite Yashiro and the others to celebrate tonight."
"Huh?" Sasuke was taken aback. Clan-wide celebrations usually only happened on the New Year or during major occasions.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Fugaku said calmly. "I am the clan head."
The true reason was simple. Awakened at just seven, Sasuke's Two-Tomoe Sharingan was astonishing. More importantly, Fugaku wanted to warn the restless clansmen.
Now that new hope had appeared, there was no need to resort to extreme measures like rebellion.
"No." Sasuke was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said. After he finished speaking, he remembered what Kitazawa had just said.
It was actually true?
Not only was he not blamed, but he received many compliments, and a celebration was even being held for him. Sasuke couldn't help but smile as he thought about it. An unimaginable joy and happiness filled his heart. The earlier frustration of losing to Naruto and Yakumo Kurama also vanished.
Just then, Fugaku Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha subconsciously glanced at him. The two of them exchanged looks, both feeling astonished.
Because they discovered that just now, Sasuke's Yin Release power had increased a little bit. Although it was very little, it was enough to open their eyes.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" As soon as Sasuke left, Kiba Inuzuka and the others gathered around.
"Kitazawa-sensei is still the best." Ino said with great admiration, "Just a few words and Sasuke returned to normal."
The reason they hadn't approached earlier was that Sasuke had a dark look on his face, appearing quite intimidating.
"It's nothing." Kitazawa smiled and said, "I just told him that if he participates in the winter break special training, he'll become stronger."
"I want to participate too!" Ino quickly said.
"Me too!" Kiba Inuzuka immediately declared.
"Me, me, me!" Naruto said, jumping up and down.
Subsequently, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Neji Hyuga all raised their hands.
"It's undoubtedly a good thing that you all want to participate in the winter break special training." Kitazawa changed the topic and said, "But not everyone needs to train with me."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto scratched his head and asked in confusion.
"Kiba, why do you want to participate in the winter break special training?" Kitazawa didn't directly answer Naruto's question, looking at Kiba Inuzuka and asking.
"I want to make my Hellhound more aggressive!" Kiba Inuzuka immediately said.
"I guessed you'd think that." Kitazawa waited for a moment, and seeing no new mission triggered, he asked in return, "Don't your Inuzuka Clan have a ready-made secret technique?"
"What secret technique?" Kiba Inuzuka was stunned for a moment and asked.
"Fang Over Fang." Kitazawa replied.
A look of realization immediately appeared on Kiba Inuzuka's face. Fang Over Fang was a secret technique that transformed the Ninja Dog into the appearance of a Ninja, with both Ninja transforming into a tornado to attack.
Kiba Inuzuka didn't have a Ninja Dog, but he had Shadow Clones, so he could directly skip the prerequisite.
"Your winter break special training is to go home and learn Fang Over Fang," Kitazawa concluded.
"I understand! Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Kiba paused and said, "Then I'll be going. See you all next semester."
He turned around, found Tsume Inuzuka and Hana Inuzuka, and went home with them.
"As for the rest of you, come find me at school in two days."
Kitazawa thought for a moment and said. During the winter break, they would all undergo new special training to varying degrees, which couldn't be explained in a short time.
And their parents had returned after seeing off Sarutobi Hiruzen, so he couldn't delay them any longer.
As for the triggering of new missions, there was no rush; what was meant to happen would happen eventually.
"Sister!" Hanabi's voice rang out.
Kitazawa unconsciously glanced at her. She stood beside Hiashi Hyuga, looking like a finely carved jade doll.
"I—I'll be leaving now, Teacher Kitazawa." Hinata greeted him, then walked over to Hiashi Hyuga and Hanabi Hyuga.
"Teacher Kitazawa, goodbye!" Naruto and Ino also left, each heading home.
The once lively Ninja Academy suddenly became quiet.
---
"What are you standing there stupidly for?" A familiar voice came from behind Kitazawa.
"Aren't I waiting for you?" Kitazawa turned around, looked at Kurenai, and asked with a smile.
"You noticed me a long time ago?" Kurenai asked with a beaming smile.
"No." Kitazawa blinked and said, "But you would definitely wait for me."
In reality, he had noticed Kurenai a long time ago.
"Then let's go home." Kurenai was momentarily stunned, then stepped forward and took his hand. The two left the Ninja Academy.
"Kakashi and Might Guy are still the same; nothing has changed."
Kurenai's lips curved into a smile as she said, "Kakashi initially said he could teach Naruto better, but then—"
Kitazawa listened to her telling interesting stories, but his thoughts had already drifted far away.
[Current Mission: A Bolt from the Blue, select the most outstanding students to form the Student Council, and become the Student Council President.]
[Mission Reward: Obtain Lightning Release affinity and master-level Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation.]
[Host has completed the mission. Rewards are being distributed.]
Kitazawa's mission, which he had worked hard on for a semester, finally came to an end at this moment. And its reward was worth the long wait.
After obtaining Lightning Release affinity, Kitazawa became one of the rare all-element Ninja.
Of course, that wasn't the main point. The main point was the mastery-level Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation.
Kitazawa currently has two masteries: one in Chakra control and one in Chakra shape transformation. Now, he finally had a third mastery.
In terms of effect, it was no less impressive than the first two masteries. With mastery-level Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation, Kitazawa immediately became an elite Lightning Release Jonin—although he didn't know a single Lightning Release Ninjutsu at the moment.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin. He found that he was a bit like a copy of Kakashi Hatake.
With the Sharingan and seven affinities, becoming Konoha Village's second technician wouldn't be a problem for him.
"What are you thinking about?" Kurenai noticed Kitazawa's distraction. Seeing no one around, she swayed her hips and bumped him with her backside.
"I'm thinking about how to get Kakashi to teach First Year Class A," Kitazawa snapped back to reality, patted her bottom, and said.
"Hmm?" Kurenai frowned slightly and asked, "Why would you have such an idea?"
In her opinion, Kakashi Hatake would never go to the Ninja Academy to teach. He was a student of the Fourth Hokage, a prominent figure among Jonin; teaching would be too much of a waste.
"He's about to leave Anbu and become a squad leader," Kitazawa said casually. "His requirements will probably be very high. I think only the students in our class will meet his expectations."
"I see." Kurenai nodded and said, "But I still think it's very difficult."
"It's certainly not easy." Kitazawa put his arm around her shoulder, leaned in, kissed her fair neck, and said, "But it's not impossible."
"What are you doing?" Kurenai pushed him away and said, "We're not home yet, don't mess around!"
"Does that mean I can mess around once we're home?" Kitazawa asked seriously.
"No, you can't!" Kurenai glared at him and said, "It's daytime!"
"Then I'll teach you a new Sealing Technique." Kitazawa thought for a moment and said.
"That's fine." Kurenai finished speaking, then stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek before walking forward.
"What are your plans for the winter break?" Kitazawa couldn't help but smile and quickly followed her.
"No plans," Kurenai said casually. "The New Year is coming soon, and I don't want to go out on missions. I'll just stay home and learn Sealing Technique."
"That's a shame, I was planning to take my three students out on a mission." Kitazawa turned to look at her. "I was even going to ask you to come with us."
"Since you've already said so, how can I not go?" Kurenai rolled her eyes and said.
Besides, after Kitazawa left, she wasn't used to being home alone.
"Indeed, when a person is beautiful, even rolling their eyes looks good." Kitazawa praised her.
Kurenai couldn't help but feel pleased. She suddenly thought of something, her face flushed slightly, and she quickly walked a few steps forward.
"Why are you blushing?" Although her movements were quick, Kitazawa still noticed the issue.
"It's nothing." Kurenai dispelled the chaotic images floating in her mind.
She walked up, took out her key, opened the door, and then performed the classic bend-down-to-take-off-shoes move.
Kitazawa stood behind her, admiring her firm, perky backside and straight, slender legs.
"You see it every day, aren't you tired of looking?" Kurenai changed her shoes, turned her head to look at him, and asked.
"Of course not." Kitazawa closed the door, cupped her face, and kissed her.
Kurenai was startled for a moment. Although she was caught off guard, she responded very actively.
"Do we really have to wait until night?" Kitazawa looked at her rosy lips, still unsatisfied, and asked.
"Aren't you tired after being busy for most of the day?" Kurenai's face flushed at his words, and she took a breath, asking.
"Don't you know if I'm tired or not?" Kitazawa finished speaking, then picked her up.
"You—pervert!" Kurenai's eyes suddenly widened. Her clothes lay on the carpet.
"But you didn't refuse." Kitazawa exhaled, saying playfully.
"You—"
Kurenai was about to speak, but her face immediately turned pale, and she instinctively hugged him tightly.
Because Kitazawa took a step forward. She was now completely suspended in the air, naturally feeling terrified.
"Don't worry, you won't fall." Kitazawa held her waist with one hand and supported her bottom with the other.
Kurenai bit her lip, and her toes unconsciously curled up.
Kitazawa glanced at her, then walked into the room, but he walked very slowly.
Not too long after, Kurenai's face was flushed, sweat beaded on her forehead, and her breathing became rapid.
"You look more tired than I do." Kitazawa raised his hand and brushed the hair from her forehead.
Kurenai gave him a charming side-eye, her face full of allure. She lowered her head and buried it in Kitazawa's neck.
Kitazawa's gaze followed her hair downwards, along her smooth back, to her rounded, peachy bottom.
Kitazawa inhaled her scent and entered the room.
---
The time came the next day.
How does that saying go? Plans can't keep up with changes.
Kitazawa had originally planned to teach Kurenai the Sealing Technique yesterday afternoon and then go to the Hokage Building to find Sarutobi Hiruzen, but none of it happened.
There was nothing he could do; the embrace of a gentle woman was indeed hard to leave.
"Hokage-sama." After breakfast, Kitazawa came to the Hokage Office.
"The Student Council selection practical yesterday gave me a great surprise," Sarutobi Hiruzen said directly.
"It's all thanks to Hokage-sama," Kitazawa said humbly. "Without your approval, there would be no Student Council today."
"The students of the Ninja Academy are the future of Konoha Village. You have played an indispensable role in their growth."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a wide smile, "After we finish talking, you can go and claim an A-Ranked Ninjutsu."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Kitazawa immediately said. A reward of an A-ranked Ninjutsu was quite generous.
After all, the Student Council wasn't necessarily of great use. The main reason was Naruto and Sasuke. Sarutobi Hiruzen was satisfied with the increase in their strength.
Kitazawa's first thought was to exchange for Lightning Release: Chidori. But on second thought, with Kakashi Hatake around, he didn't need to waste this opportunity.
Kitazawa felt he could choose a Water Release Ninjutsu. He had also thought about choosing a Sealing Technique, but with Karin around, he could indirectly obtain Sealing Technique through Tsunade.
In fact, if he really asked Tsunade for help, most Ninjutsu could be obtained. However, they weren't teacher and student yet, and he couldn't learn that much in a short time, so progressing gradually was better.
--
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P@atreon/Arvinstorm (45+ Advanced Chapters)