"What is this?" Naruto looked at the red Chakra in front of him and asked subconsciously.
"This is the Nine-Tails' Chakra," Kitazawa explained. "Although it's sealed inside you, it can hear our conversation."
"Ah?" Naruto immediately said, embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say you couldn't beat the First Hokage-sama."
His words caused the red Chakra's flickering frequency to suddenly increase, dancing wildly in the air.
Naruto scratched his head, subconsciously looking at Kitazawa. Why is it still so agitated after I apologized?
Kitazawa couldn't help but laugh. But just as he was about to speak, he saw the red Chakra retract. He raised an eyebrow, probably guessing the reason.
Minato Namikaze had left a gap when sealing the Nine-Tails. Logically, this gap shouldn't have allowed so much Chakra to surge out unless Naruto agreed.
But the Nine-Tails had forcefully broken through after hearing that it was inferior to Senju Hashirama, which was why such a large amount of red Chakra appeared.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked blankly. "Did it accept my apology?"
"I'll take you to see it." Kitazawa reached out and placed his hand on Naruto's forehead.
The Nine-Tails was sealed within Naruto's body. To enter the sealing space, one could only be a spiritual body. Spiritual bodies involved Yin Release.
Kitazawa now possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and was a Genjutsu Ninja, so letting Naruto enter the sealing space wasn't a big problem.
Naruto only felt his vision blur and the surroundings darken. He subconsciously closed his eyes and then opened them.
A massive cage appeared before his eyes.
"Human!" A voice filled with hatred rang out.
Endless Chakra transformed into a chilling gale that blew towards him. But none of this Chakra could break through the cage.
A deafening sound rang out as a huge red head slammed into the cage. The Nine-Tails bared its fangs and glared at him, its huge teeth gleaming coldly. Behind it, nine tails floated in the air like tentacles.
Naruto subconsciously took half a step back. His first thought was how big the Nine-Tails was, and then how fierce it was.
How powerful must the First Hokage-sama have been to defeat such a Tailed Beast?
Naruto was momentarily distracted.
"Human, I'm going to kill you!" The Nine-Tails' berserk aura filled the entire sealing space.
"Why do you want to kill me?" Naruto asked, confused.
"If I kill you, I'll regain my freedom!"
When the Nine-Tailed fox mentioned freedom, the killing intent in its eyes became even more evident.
"No, I can't die!" Naruto shook his head and said. "I still want to become the strongest Hokage!"
"Strongest Hokage?" The Nine-Tails aura paused, and it said disdainfully, "You're simply impossible!"
It had personally experienced Senju Hashirama's power. No one in the entire Ninja World could ever be stronger than him. Unless the Six Paths Sage was resurrected.
"Why is it impossible?" Naruto raised his thumb, his teeth gleaming as he said, "Youth holds infinite possibilities!"
"Because you simply can't beat Senju Hashirama!" The Nine-Tails said with indignation. It had been beaten too badly by Senju Hashirama back then.
"I can't beat him now, but that doesn't mean I can't beat him in the future!" Naruto said with great confidence.
"Ignorant human!" The Nine-Tails said contemptuously.
"You seem very afraid of the First Hokage-sama," Naruto tilted his head and said.
"Nonsense!" The Nine-Tailed seemed to have had its tail stepped on, and it said furiously, "I'm the strongest Tailed Beast, why would I be afraid of him?"
The sealing space shook violently, and a red gale swept through, as terrifying as the end of the world.
Naruto was a little worried. Is this seal stable? But fortunately, nothing happened.
In the gloomy sealing space, one person and one fox stared at each other, the atmosphere inexplicably awkward.
Just as Naruto was about to speak, he suddenly felt his vision go black and was kicked out. He was back on the Training Ground.
"How was it?" Kitazawa asked.
"I feel like it's very difficult to communicate with it," Naruto thought for a moment and said.
"It's normal for it to be difficult to communicate with," Kitazawa said with a smile. "You can chat with it when you have nothing to do; it can't harm you anyway."
[Current Mission: Inform Naruto of the Nine-Tails' existence.]
[Mission Reward: One-half card of Chakra limit.]
[Host has completed the mission, reward issued.]
A simple and unadorned mission reward. Kitazawa's total Chakra amount was about to reach seven cards.
"Mm!" Naruto nodded vigorously. He was used to being alone, so suddenly discovering a Nine-Tails that he could communicate with inside him felt novel.
"Let's go, we're going to the Training Ground." Kitazawa led him there.
The Genius Class had already finished their training, but none of them had left. Kitazawa had specifically instructed them earlier to stay and wait for him.
Besides the students, Kakashi and Kosuke were also there.
"This semester's first Monthly Exam will be held next Thursday and Friday," Kitazawa looked at them and said.
"Is it time for the Monthly Exam again?" Kiba said with a look of regret. "Too bad I haven't learned my Fang Bullet yet."
Sasuke frowned slightly. His Lightning Release: Chidori was also almost ready. Compared to the last final exam, his strength hadn't significantly improved.
But Naruto was different. He had received Samehada from Kitazawa. Sasuke hadn't beaten him in the last final exam, and it would be even less possible this time.
Forget it, I'll hold back for now! Sasuke could only hope to master Lightning Release: Chidori soon.
"For this Monthly Exam, I plan to add a special practical combat exam," Kitazawa said with a slight smile.
Everyone looked at each other in dismay. This news was too sudden, catching them off guard.
Kosuke and Kakashi exchanged glances, both surprised. They also didn't know about this. Kitazawa hadn't told them in advance.
"Kitazawa-sensei, what kind of method is it?" Kiba raised his hand and asked.
A practical combat exam would definitely involve actual combat.
In Kitazawa's opinion, for students like them, besides sparring with each other, there were no other forms of practical combat. Were they going to have a full-class melee?
"Doing missions," Kitazawa replied. "I, Kakashi, and Kosuke-senpai will lead teams, allowing you to experience true Ninja life in advance."
His decision wasn't made on a whim. He had thought of it when planning to obtain the Sword of the Thunder God.
Kitazawa had originally planned to take Sasuke on this mission, but taking one was the same as taking three. A Ninja's only job was to execute missions, and letting Sasuke and Naruto adapt in advance would do no harm.
Besides that, there was another reason: the Genius Class's Monthly Exam rankings had become stable, and it was difficult for there to be any significant changes, especially in the top twenty.
It was still Naruto and Sasuke going back and forth. The previous highlight was who could get first place, but with Naruto's rapid increase in strength, this suspense was gradually disappearing.
The top three were basically fixed as Naruto, Yakumo, and Sasuke. The rest, such as Neji, Hinata, and Shino Aburame, were also quite fixed.
"What?" Kiba's eyes widened.
Everyone else also showed surprised expressions. This type of practical combat exam method was unheard of.
According to Konoha Village's rules, only official Ninjas could execute missions. If the Hokage were still Hiruzen, Kitazawa wouldn't even dare to mention it.
But now it was Tsunade, so it was easier to discuss with their own people.
"It seems I'm not ready to retire yet," Kosuke smiled upon hearing this. He had recently wanted to go out and stretch his muscles and bones to test his new left leg.
Kakashi was a little surprised, but not overly so. He came from Anbu and was used to obeying orders.
Kitazawa was now the Anbu Commander and vice-principal of the Ninja Academy, so he was his leader everywhere.
"I like this kind of practical combat!" Naruto said excitedly.
He had wanted to become a Ninja for a long time, but because he couldn't bear to part with Kitazawa's teachings, he didn't want to graduate early.
Now that there was a way to be a Ninja without graduating, he was naturally very excited.
"I feel youth burning!" Rock Lee clenched his fists, wishing he could go on a mission immediately.
"Oh no, it's going to be even more troublesome," Shikamaru's eyes went dark upon hearing this, feeling that his future was bleak.
Doing missions was dangerous, time-consuming, and exhausting, often involving living in the wild for ten days or half a month. For a lazy person like him, it was torture.
"Looks like I'll have to bring more potato chips," Akimichi Choji chuckled naively. He had an easygoing personality; as long as he had potato chips to eat, he was fine.
"I think it's pretty good!" Ino smiled. "It would be even better if Kitazawa-sensei led the team!"
Hinata nodded in agreement.
Sasuke was stunned for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up. Given the current situation, it would be difficult for him to defeat Naruto in a head-on sparring match.
But if it were a mission, it was hard to say who would win or lose. Perhaps he would regain first place!
Neji had a similar thought. If they went out on missions, their Hyuga Clan would have the biggest advantage because they possessed the Byakugan. Overtaking Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't be a dream then.
"So how do we form teams?" Sakura suddenly thought of something and asked with an expectant look. "Can I team up with Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke instinctively wanted to refuse, but quickly changed his mind. Because Sakura was a rare Medical Ninja, with her joining, their team might perform even better.
"This involves the rules of this special practical exam," Kitazawa began to explain.
First, only eighteen students are eligible to participate in the special practical exam: one Team(Jonin) leader and three student members per team, which means a total of six teams. Kitazawa, Kakashi, and Kosuke would each lead two teams.
Second, the missions undertaken would, in principle, not exceed B-rank. In other words, only D-rank and C-rank missions could be accepted.
Although Sasuke and the others' strength was already comparable to a Chunin, they were still young and had poor psychological endurance.
Especially B-rank missions and above, which would most likely involve killing. If it left them with psychological trauma, that would not be good. They should start with simple missions and get used to Ninja life first.
To avoid situations like Team 7 encountering Zabuza Momochi during a C-rank mission in the original story, Kitazawa would send Anbu to protect them.
After all, not using power when you have it is a waste; he was now the Anbu Commander, so he should use it when necessary.
Third was Sakura's question about how to form teams. There were two methods: the main one was a random lottery, and the other was decided by the Team leader.
Fourth was the scoring rule. Scores would be given based on the students' performance during the mission execution.
Particularly excellent actions would earn bonus points, such as detecting enemies in advance. Finally, rankings would be determined based on the scores.
"Did you understand? If you have any questions, please raise your hand," Kitazawa asked after finishing his explanation.
"What is the standard for selecting these eighteen students?" Shikamaru's eyes darted around, and he raised his hand.
"Is it based on overall academic performance?" He was already thinking about how to keep his score outside the top eighteen.
"No." Kitazawa shook his head. "It's selected by us three teachers based on your usual training performance."
"..." Shikamaru's face immediately stiffened. How was he supposed to manage that?
During regular training, Kitazawa or his Shadow Clone constantly watched him, making it difficult for him to slack off.
No matter how he thought about it, he felt he couldn't escape. He looked utterly dejected, like a frost-bitten eggplant.
Seeing this, Kitazawa couldn't help but chuckle. This little guy was always thinking about how to slack off. But the cruelty of the Ninja World wouldn't allow slacking.
In the original story, Shikamaru only truly matured after Asuma Sarutobi's death. Such a thing was unlikely to happen now, so Kitazawa could only push him a bit.
[Current Mission: Achieve first place in the new practical exam.]
[Mission Reward: Proficient Fire Release Chakra Nature Transformation.]
[Do you accept?]
As expected, a new system mission was triggered. This mission reward was also good. Kitazawa's current proficient Chakra Nature Transformation lacked only Fire Release among the Seven Natures. Lightning Release was his only master-level Chakra Nature Transformation.
"If there are no other questions, then class is dismissed." Kitazawa waited for a moment before saying.
"Goodbye, Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto and the others greeted him, then turned and walked toward the school gate.
"Kosuke-senpai, Kakashi, I forgot to tell you about this in advance; I hope you don't mind." Kitazawa looked at Kosuke and Kakashi and said.
"This matter suits me perfectly," Kosuke said with a smile. "It's good to get some fresh air."
Kakashi said calmly, "Doing D-rank and C-rank missions is like going out for a stroll for me." Although he had neglected training, it was nothing to him.
"That's good." Kitazawa thought for a moment and said, "After the theory exam on Thursday, we will officially begin this new practical exam."
As for the students who were not eligible to participate, they would continue with the original practical exam under the guidance of Iruka.
Kosuke and Kakashi nodded. They had no objections.
"See you tomorrow." Kitazawa bid them farewell and left the Ninja Academy. He headed toward Yuhi's house.
Halfway there, he suddenly frowned. Someone was following him. But what surprised him was that this person made no effort to hide their tracks, appearing quite blatant.
"Come out." Kitazawa walked into a secluded alley.
If it were an enemy, at least fighting wouldn't affect the villagers. However, Kitazawa felt it was most likely not an enemy.
In Konoha Village, there were very few people in the entire Ninja World who would dare to openly challenge him.
"Kitazawa." A clear, cold voice rang out. Following it was a cold and beautiful face with no expression.
"Konan." Kitazawa's face showed surprise. He really hadn't expected to see Konan in Konoha Village.
This time, Konan wasn't wearing the classic Akatsuki Organization black cloak embroidered with red clouds, but rather a Hidden Rain Village Ninja vest.
Kitazawa roughly understood how she got in. She had disguised herself as a Hidden Rain Village Ninja. During non-Ninja war periods, Ninja from different villages were allowed to travel between them.
Of course, Ninjas from other villages entering Konoha Village would be monitored by the Konoha Military Police Force or Anbu to prevent them from causing trouble.
Konan must have used some method to bypass them and come to see him alone.
"Is there something you need me for?" Kitazawa asked with a smile.
He thought of Midori Aoi and the Sword of the Thunder God, a Ninja from Hidden Rain Village. If Konan had a request for him, a trade could be made.
As for whether she cared about the Hidden Rain Village Ninja, one could only say it was Schrödinger's care.
In the original story, there was such a plot. A Hidden Rain Village Ninja named Ajisai was sent on an S-rank mission right after passing the Chunin Exams, and then tragically died.
After her death, her corpse was made into the Animal Path, one of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain. It was clearly unreasonable for a Chunin to go on an S-rank mission; it seemed more like she was deliberately sent to her death.
Midori Aoi was also a Konoha Village rogue Ninja, so Konan, or rather the Akatsuki Organization, would care even less.
"I heard you created a Medical Ninjutsu that can regenerate limbs?" Konan asked in a calm tone.
Although she cared deeply about this Limb Regeneration Medical Ninjutsu, she knew that the more obvious her expression, the easier it would be to manipulate her.
"Indeed, I have." Kitazawa's heart stirred, and he thought of Nagato.
The only person who could make Konan travel thousands of miles to Konoha Village was Nagato. And his legs had been destroyed by Hanzo's explosive tags a long time ago.
"One of our Akatsuki Organization members has problems with his legs," Konan said unhurriedly. "I would like to ask you to treat him. Our Akatsuki Organization can pay a sufficient amount of money."
"What exactly is wrong with his legs?" Kitazawa looked at her unchanging expression. "I must understand clearly before I can know if I can save him."
Konan briefly described Nagato's leg condition. She replaced Nagato's Chakra and life force being extracted by the Gedo Mazo, with a side effect of having used a certain forbidden Ninjutsu.
"I'm afraid it will be very difficult to treat," Kitazawa said with a solemn expression. "This is not just a problem of leg disability, but also a problem of life force depletion."
"You don't need to worry about the life force depletion," Konan shook her head.
Although Kitazawa was an excellent Medical Ninja, she didn't think he could heal the damage caused by the Gedo Mazo.
"I can ignore other parts, but I can't ignore the legs," Kitazawa explained. "The principle of Limb Regeneration is to consume life force for organ regeneration."
"So, it can't be cured?" A flash of disappointment crossed Konan's heart, but her face still showed no significant change.
"That's not necessarily true," Kitazawa said with a slight smile.
"How can it be cured?" Konan asked instinctively upon hearing this.
Upon realizing there was hope of healing Nagato's legs, her face finally showed some expression.
"His condition is several times more complex than that of an ordinary patient," Kitazawa said in a deep voice.
"Saying how to cure it now would seem too fake. I need to personally examine him before I can determine the treatment plan."
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P@atreon/Arvinstorm (45+ Advanced Chapters)