Kazuma was not dead. He lay on the ground, screaming.
The intense pain from his broken arms made him break out in a cold sweat, his face completely drained of color.
Kitazawa walked forward and knocked him out with a punch.
Kazuma couldn't die just yet. He was Kitazawa's chosen target for the Imitation Technique.
Kitazawa stood up and looked at Kurenai, Kabuto, and the others; their battle was not yet over. He thought for a moment and did not go to help.
After all, gaining combat experience wasn't a bad thing. Nor could Kitazawa protect them every single moment.
Kurenai's opponent was named Fuen — a young woman with long black hair and vibrant makeup.
"Earth Release: Flying Sand and Crushing Rocks!"
Fuen formed hand seals; the ground cracked, and countless broken stones were stirred up, forming a cloud of dust around her.
Kurenai instinctively retreated, but she quickly realized the problem. This Earth Release: Flying Sand and Crushing Rocks was not an offensive ninjutsu but a disruptive one.
Fuen's body disappeared within the dust cloud. Just then, the ground beneath Kurenai's feet suddenly writhed, transforming into a sharp rock pillar.
The rock pillar was like a long spear, moving from top to bottom, intending to pierce her through.
"Rasengan!" Kurenai had already anticipated the sneak attack, so she was prepared.
With a crack, the rock pillar shattered, immediately spinning away.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Kurenai didn't pause for a moment. Chakra surged from her feet, and she instantly widened the distance with a sprint.
As time passed, the dust cloud dissipated considerably. Kurenai looked back and immediately saw Fuen's faint, flickering figure.
She threw her hands up, rapidly unleashing a large number of kunai.
"Earth Release: Rock Pillar Spears!"
Seeing this, Fuen immediately raised a giant rock pillar in front of herself.
The kunai all embedded themselves into the rock pillar. The rock pillar, like a wall, not only blocked the kunai but also obstructed her vision.
The moment Fuen lost her sight, Kurenai made her move. She Body Flickered to the front of the rock pillar and smashed it with a Rasengan.
With a boom, a large hole was torn through the center of the rock pillar.
"What—?" Fuen's eyes met Kurenai's. Her heart trembled, and just as she was about to flash away, the sky suddenly darkened.
Fuen instinctively froze. She looked left and right, only to find everything pitch black.
A sense of fear involuntarily arose in her heart. What kind of ninjutsu was this?
The surroundings became quiet. Fuen couldn't see anything, nor could she see Kurenai. She instinctively gripped her kunai tightly.
Just then, a sound came from behind her. She quickly flicked her hands, and the kunai flew out.
Kurenai appeared from her left, and a Rasengan struck her. Fuen screamed once before falling unconscious.
Kurenai let out a breath. Fuen's strength was not bad; although she wasn't a Jōnin, she was definitely a top-tier Chūnin.
Moreover, the Earth Release she specialized in could obscure vision, indirectly countering genjutsu.
Fortunately, the Infinite Darkness Genjutsu, combined with the Rasengan, was powerful enough to deal with her successfully.
Kurenai's lips curved slightly, feeling relieved. After being with Kitazawa, her strength had advanced by leaps and bounds.
If she fully mastered sealing techniques, she would become a proper Jōnin.
Seeing Kurenai win, Kitazawa looked at Kabuto. Kabuto's opponent was Fuka. Among Kazuma's three subordinates, Fuka was definitely the strongest.
Because she could freely use five types of Release Ninjutsu.
"Your strength is truly impressive." Fuka licked her lips, a seductive expression on her face. "Come into my arms, little brother. I'll let you experience unprecedented pleasure."
Kabuto's response was simple. "Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken!"
"You're so unromantic."
After Fuka spoke, she formed hand seals, and the rocks on the ground turned into earth spikes, directly colliding with the Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Chakra erupted from Kabuto's feet. He rapidly approached Fuka, holding a kunai imbued with Wind Release Chakra.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!"
The kunai flashed with a blue blade light. Its sharp edge was revealed, aimed at Fuka's neck.
"I've got you, little brother." Fuka's eyes widened, and invisible chakra surged out.
"Paralysis Jutsu!" Kabuto's body suddenly froze in place. The kunai he had swung was only a hair's breadth from Fuka, but he couldn't advance another step.
Fuka bypassed the kunai and slowly approached Kabuto. She offered her luscious lips.
This was her secret technique, called Execution by Kiss. Through kissing, she could absorb the target's chakra.
In the original story, Naruto had experienced this treatment. But Naruto wasn't fighting alone; he also had a nine-tailed fox.
Fuka absorbed Nine-Tailed Chakra, which brought her great misfortune, ultimately leading to her demise.
"I've discovered your weakness." Kabuto suddenly spoke.
"What did you say?" Fuka immediately stopped kissing upon hearing this, her gaze sharpening as she asked.
"You appear to use the five Release Ninjutsu without fluidity," Kabuto slowly said. "Especially when switching between different Release types, there's a time interval."
He had been entangled with Fuka. Through his observations, he finally made a discovery.
When Fuka used the same Release Ninjutsu consecutively, like Wind Release, she was very fluid. But when switching from Wind Release to Earth Release, there would be a momentary pause.
The most important thing was Fuka's strength. A ninja who could freely use five types of Release Ninjutsu — under normal circumstances, only a Jōnin could do that.
But Fuka definitely didn't have the level of a Jōnin. Something abnormal implies something sinister.
Since she wasn't a Jōnin, it must be some special secret technique.
"You truly are clever." Fuka chuckled charmingly. "Then I must devour you even more!"
"Hair Binding!" She tossed her head, and her hair rapidly lengthened, preparing to bind Kabuto.
But just then, Kabuto, who was under the Paralysis Jutsu, made a move. He had said so much earlier just to stall for time, allowing him to break free from the Paralysis Jutsu.
Because the Paralysis Jutsu was a special genjutsu.
Kabuto twisted his right hand, and his kunai sliced through her hair. Seizing the opportunity, he created distance.
"No! My hair!" Fuka was enraged at the sight. "Bastard, I'll kill you!"
Hair? Kabuto suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Thinking of Fuka's earlier comment about devouring him, he formed a guess in his mind.
"Water Release: Stormy Blockade!"
Fuka formed hand seals, and a large amount of chakra turned into water, creating a stream-like environment around her.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Rod!"
Fuka pressed her hands to the ground, injecting Lightning Release chakra into it. In an instant, lightning surged, following the stream and erupting with dazzling light.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
Kabuto quickly clapped his hands together. A violent gust of wind surged out.
The two collided. The lightning, enhanced by the stream, immediately broke through the strong wind.
Kabuto was engulfed by the lightning. His entire body became paralyzed and burned, and he immediately fell to the ground.
"This is what happens when you don't listen!" Fuka snorted coldly.
Then a smile returned to her face. "But your chakra can't be wasted."
She walked to Kabuto, crouched down, and prepared to use Execution by Kiss again.
Just then, a blue blade of light flashed and disappeared.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!" Kabuto, holding his kunai, sliced off her head.
"You… how did you wake up so quickly?" Fuka's head floated up, her bloody hair fluttering.
"It seems your true form really is hair." Kabuto remained perfectly calm at this horrifying sight.
As for why he woke up so quickly, it was thanks to Yin Healing Wound Destruction. He had calculated the main attack range of the lightning and pre-emptively covered it with Yang Release chakra to minimize damage.
Especially the Yin Healing Wound Destruction near his head kept him conscious.
Without waiting for her reply, Kabuto struck. The kunai waved several times consecutively in his hand.
That beautiful red hair instantly turned into countless segments, scattering on the ground.
"No!" Fuka's expression twisted, her eyes filled with disbelief. But it was already too late.
As all her hair was severed, she permanently lost consciousness.
Kabuto sat down on the ground, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Although he had Yin Healing Wound Destruction, the lightning's wide-range attack still made him very uncomfortable, leaving injuries all over his body.
Kitazawa appeared in front of him with a Body Flicker. He extended his hand, and light green chakra surged out.
"Thank you, Teacher Kitazawa." Kabuto felt his body relax, and the areas burned by lightning rapidly healed.
"Just don't blame me for not stepping in sooner," Kitazawa smiled and said.
"I understand." Kabuto had already noticed that Kitazawa had finished his battle before him, but he had remained standing, observing.
As for the purpose, he had naturally guessed it was to train them. In the cruel ninja world, this approach was undoubtedly correct.
Kabuto instinctively looked at Aburame Torune and Uchiha Izumi. Their battle had just ended.
Unlike Kabuto's one-on-one fight, they were two against one, and their opponent was Fudō, a male ninja, extremely burly, like some kind of strongman. He specialized in Earth Release.
As soon as the battle began, Uchiha Izumi activated her One-Tomoe Sharingan. She formed hand seals and spat out a large fireball.
"One-Tomoe Sharingan?" Fudō shook his head. "A mere Genin, truly not knowing her place."
"Earth Release: Hardening Technique!"
His body instantly became harder than rock. Fudō directly crashed into the large fireball but sustained no damage.
"What—?" Uchiha Izumi's pupils involuntarily constricted.
The next second, Fudō was in front of her. He punched her in the abdomen, sending her flying.
Uchiha Izumi landed on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Hm?" As soon as Fudō took a step, black insects emerged from the ground and crawled onto his feet. He didn't pay them any mind, trusting in his Earth Release: Hardening Technique.
Fudō vigorously shook his leg, flicking off most of the insects, then walked towards Uchiha Izumi. But after two steps, he suddenly froze.
The remaining insects spewed out a large amount of venom. The venom easily corroded his hardened skin and spread into his body.
"Ugh!" Fudō collapsed to the ground, losing his breath.
"Torune's poison insects are truly potent." Kabuto couldn't help but exclaim.
"His poison insects can even kill a Jōnin." Kitazawa retracted his hand and said, "You treat your remaining injuries yourself; I'll go check on Izumi."
"Alright, Teacher Kitazawa." Kabuto nodded. His injuries were mostly healed, with only a few minor details left.
"Izumi, how are you?" Kitazawa reached out and placed his hand on her forehead. Pale green chakra flowed into her.
Kabuto's injuries from the lightning were mostly external. But Uchiha Izumi had been punched in the abdomen, resulting in internal organ damage.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Kitazawa, I held you back." Uchiha Izumi said, feeling very embarrassed.
Both Kabuto and Aburame Torune had played decisive roles in the battle. But she had been injured by a single punch and lost her fighting capability.
[Your student Uchiha Izumi feels her strength is insufficient. As her teacher, you should help her improve.
Current Mission: Help Uchiha Izumi become an outstanding Chūnin.
Mission Reward: Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's eyebrows raised involuntarily. This was an unexpected pleasant surprise.
Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change is a Sharingan genjutsu. Its effect is to break and reflect the genjutsu cast by an enemy. Undoubtedly, it is the bane of all genjutsu ninja who do not possess the Sharingan.
Kitazawa's gaze fell on the mission details. His first thought was to help Uchiha Izumi awaken her Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
But her awakening method was different from Uchiha Sasuke's — more conventional. In the original work, she awakened her Three-Tomoe Sharingan after witnessing the Uchiha clan massacre.
Awakening the Two-Tomoe Sharingan would be more troublesome; he would have to find a way to stimulate her. However, besides the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, he could also find ways to improve her Fire Release and Genjutsu.
"Torune and Kabuto came from Root and underwent brutal training, so their strength is greater," Kitazawa said while healing her. "After this mission is over, I will teach you Genjutsu and Fire Release to help you strengthen your abilities."
"Thank you, Teacher Kitazawa!" Uchiha Izumi immediately said gratefully.
"It's nothing," Kitazawa replied indifferently. "I am your teacher; teaching you is a matter of course." In fact, even without this mission, he would have to find a way to increase Uchiha Izumi's strength.
"You all did very well, perfectly dealing with Kazuma's three subordinates." After the healing was complete, Kitazawa looked at Kurenai and the other three, praising them with a smile.
"After all, you already dealt with the most difficult one, Kazuma. If we couldn't even handle his subordinates, that would be too ungrateful to you." Kurenai gave him a charming glare as she spoke.
"But it's not over yet." Kitazawa pinched her cheek twice, which made her glare at him angrily.
After all, Kabuto and the other two were still there. However, they were all very self-aware, lowering their heads as if they had seen nothing.
"Kurenai, you take Kabuto and the others to find Asuma." Kitazawa returned to business, his tone becoming serious.
"What about you?" Kurenai couldn't help but frown slightly and ask.
"I will disguise myself as Kazuma and lead his supporting Guardian Ninja to assassinate the Daimyo of the Land of Fire," Kitazawa explained his plan. "You and Asuma will guard the Daimyo beforehand, so you can save him when the time comes."
"Won't you be recognized?" Kurenai said with some concern. "Those Guardian Ninja are all Special Jonin."
"I learned an Imitation Technique that guarantees they won't recognize me," Kitazawa explained.
"Be careful." Although Kurenai was still not entirely at ease, she ultimately chose to trust him.
"If Asuma asks about me, just say I went to monitor Kazuma and that I'll appear naturally when he attempts to assassinate the Daimyo of the Land of Fire," Kitazawa thought for a moment and said.
"Mm." Kurenai turned to look at Kabuto and the other two, saying, "Let's go."
After they left, Kitazawa glanced at the corpses of Fudō, Fuen, and Fuka.
After a brief thought, he used Fire Release Ninjutsu to burn them to ashes. Although corpses can speak, these three were Kazuma's subordinates, not Ninja from the Five Great Villages, and their value was not high. He didn't bother taking them back to Konoha.
Kitazawa came before the unconscious Kazuma. He reached out and formed hand seals.
Imitation Technique!
Chakra surged from Kitazawa's hands, completely covering Kazuma. Immediately after, his appearance began to change. Not only that, a large number of Ninjutsu also appeared in Kitazawa's mind.
"This Imitation Technique is truly abnormal."
Kitazawa looked left and right, sighing. He had now transformed into Kazuma and had mastered a large number of Wind Release and Earth Release techniques. But unfortunately, this mastery was only temporary.
After the Imitation Technique was dispelled, these Wind Release and Earth Release techniques would disappear without a trace. Otherwise, Kitazawa could quickly learn a vast amount of Ninjutsu by relying on the Imitation Technique.
Kitazawa grabbed Kazuma and disappeared from the spot.
---
Capital of the Land of Fire.
"What did you say?" Asuma said with a shocked expression. "Kazuma is actually going to assassinate the Daimyo? He's gone mad!"
"There's no time to lose," Kurenai said seriously. "You immediately inform Chiriku and the others. We will set up defenses in advance; Kazuma and his group will not succeed!"
"That's right!" Asuma thought about it carefully and felt this was a good thing.
He had been waiting for Kazuma to make a mistake, and now the opportunity had finally arrived.
Asuma's heart suddenly skipped a beat, because he remembered Kitazawa previously saying he had a way to make Kazuma and his group hated by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.
Was this his strategy? He didn't have time to think further and immediately took Chiriku and the others to the palace where the Daimyo resided.
After much hesitation, he did not notify the Daimyo in advance but instead ambushed near the palace. Kurenai, Kabuto, and the others also followed Asuma Sarutobi to act as hidden troops.
Time slowly passed.
In the evening, six figures openly arrived in front of the palace. The leader was none other than Kazuma.
"Did he really come?" Asuma's gaze fell on Kazuma. He had been thinking for a long time, believing that Kitazawa's plan was to impersonate Kazuma and assassinate the Daimyo.
But the five Guardian Ninja behind Kazuma made his thoughts waver. Because a normal Transformation Technique is easily seen through, especially in front of five Special Jonin. Could it really be Kazuma?
The next second, Asuma confirmed his thought. It was indeed Kazuma.
"Earth Release: Stone Pillar Prison!" Kazuma formed hand seals and slammed his hands on the ground.
In an instant, a large number of rock pillars rose, completely surrounding the palace, forming a temporary cage.
"Lord Kazuma, what do you intend to do?" The palace guards immediately surrounded Kazuma and his group.
"Wind Release: Petal Scatter Dance!" Without a word, Kazuma summoned a small whirlwind, blowing away all the guards. These guards were not Ninja, so they were completely defenseless.
"Ka… Kazuma, you…" The palace door was blown open, and a middle-aged man looked at him, trembling.
"Daimyo!" Kazuma said loudly, "Since you don't support me, I will replace you with a Daimyo who does!"
"Asuma!" The middle-aged man suddenly remembered something and quickly shouted, "Asuma, come save me!"
--
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P@atreon/Arvinstorm (45+ Advanced Chapters)