"Konan." Kitazawa put away the scroll and said, "After school, have Itachi come to my office."
"Is it the ANBU Base office?" Konan nodded, then asked again.
Kitazawa currently has three offices: one in the Hokage Building, one in the ANBU Base, and one in the Ninja Academy.
They corresponded to his three roles: Hokage Secretary, ANBU Captain, and Ninja Academy Vice Principal.
"Mn." Kitazawa waved his hand, dismissed her, and returned to the Training Ground.
He continued guiding Haku's Ice Release while cultivating Yang Release Chakra Mode.
The day passed quickly.
After school, the Genius Class students ended their training and headed home.
Kitazawa arrived at the ANBU Base. He opened the door and saw Uchiha Itachi waiting on the sofa.
Konan was not present—or rather, she was hidden in the shadows; she only appeared when Kitazawa was alone.
"Lord Kitazawa." Itachi immediately stood and greeted him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Itachi." Kitazawa smiled. "I already read the scroll you gave me this morning; it was very detailed."
"It was my duty," Itachi replied calmly.
"I have something else I need your help with." Kitazawa sat opposite him. "After thinking it over, you're the only one I feel confident entrusting with this matter."
"I will not disappoint Lord Kitazawa's trust." Itachi nodded seriously.
"It's still about Yomi." Kitazawa took out the Body Revival Technique scroll and explained his idea.
He sought out Itachi because Itachi possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan and had nothing to fear in terms of exposure.
If Yomi discovered anything unusual, Itachi could forcibly push the mission forward with his Mangekyō.
But Kitazawa felt that, with Itachi's ability, deceiving Yomi would be simple.
"Yes, Lord Kitazawa." Itachi accepted the mission without hesitation.
He had already guessed that Kitazawa intended to release Moryo. Moryo had previously wreaked havoc across the Land of Demons and nearby nations—under normal logic, it should never be released.
But Itachi believed Kitazawa would not harm Konoha. He must have his own reasons.
"Update me immediately on anything concerning Yomi." Kitazawa reminded him.
"I understand." Itachi took the scroll and left the office.
[Current Mission: Stir up the Ninja World, successfully help Yomi release Moryo.]
[Mission Reward: Wood Release: Spontaneous Tree Summoning.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa recalled that Spontaneous Tree Summoning was the only Wood Release Ninjutsu Danzo Shimura used in the original story.
Regardless, receiving a Wood Release technique for free was no loss.
Spontaneous Tree Summoning was a Wood Release Ninjutsu combining offense and defense.
It created a massive tree from the right arm—usable as both shield and weapon, with astonishing destructive power.
The door closed, and Konan reappeared.
Kitazawa came back to his senses, reached out, and patted the sofa. Seeing this, Konan walked over and sat beside him.
"How have things been in your Land of Rain recently?" Kitazawa leaned against her shoulder. A faint fragrance drifted toward him.
"Very smoothly." Konan didn't mind his closeness and began explaining the Land of Rain's water business.
After two months of work, the Akatsuki Organization had established two transportation routes: One, an aerial route handled by Summoning Beasts, and one underground pipeline managed by Biwa Jūzō.
Normally, underground water transport requires considering terrain elevations and other factors.
But Chakra was all-purpose—Biwa Jūzō and other Water Release Ninja could use Chakra traction.
They also filtered the rainwater. Though rainwater looked clear, it contained many impurities. Water Release could extract drinkable water.
"I have a suggestion," Kitazawa said after listening. "Establish a water brand."
"Water can have a brand?" Konan was stunned.
Having been around Kitazawa for so long, she understood what branding meant. Konoha's Ocean Heart jewelry shop was the perfect example.
"Of course it can." Kitazawa pointed out, "Look—soda sells very well in Konoha."
"You want us to sell soda to the Land of Wind?" Konan pondered and asked.
"Just sell drinking water." Kitazawa shook his head.
"Will that work?" Konan felt confused. She couldn't imagine why anyone would buy drinking water.
"You just need proper packaging. You can't say it's rainwater from the sky." Kitazawa chuckled. "Say it's mountain spring water—rich in minerals, refreshing and nutritious."
Konan immediately began thinking.
"There's another method." Kitazawa reached out and removed her ANBU mask.
"What method?" Konan's amber eyes focused on him.
"The Land of Wind is full of deserts. Many die of thirst every day." Kitazawa said casually. "You can establish airborne shops using Summoning Beasts—make one trip across the desert per day."
Konan's eyes instantly brightened.
People on the brink of death would gladly spend everything they had on drinking water. And for the Akatsuki, the cost was nearly zero.
Summoning Beasts could be summoned by one of Pain's Six Paths—the Animal Path.
"Selling packaged rainwater to the nobles of the Land of Wind can earn money, but it won't compare to one-on-one sales."
Kitazawa concluded. "And over time, nobles might try lowering prices. With your own brand, you won't need to rely on them."
"Mn." Konan nodded. "Then I'll request leave tomorrow to return to the Akatsuki."
"Go and return quickly." Kitazawa handed her mask back, stood up, and said, "I'm going home now. See you next time."
Konan held the mask and watched him leave. She lowered her gaze, thinking about the ideas he had just given her.
"Why does he know so much?" Konan felt a stir of curiosity.
The novelty Kitazawa brought her far surpassed that of anyone else.
Holidays always passed quickly. Time fast-forwarded into May, and the new semester for the Genius Class began.
This time, Kitazawa didn't attend the enrollment; he left it to Iruka. Mainly because he saw the Genius Class students every day, so there was no sense of a long-awaited reunion.
For the Genius Class students, the only major event was the graduation of Inuzuka Hana and the others.
However, even after graduating, they could still participate in Genius Class training, so there wasn't much difference.
The first day of the new semester—Monday.
Hokage Office.
Kitazawa raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Tsunade's voice came from inside.
"Tsunade-sensei." Kitazawa walked in.
He glanced around and saw that only Tsunade was present. Previously, Shizune would follow her all day, but after becoming Hokage Secretary, she spent most of her time buried in work.
"Oh, it's you." Tsunade stretched lazily, then asked, "What is it?"
"I've mastered Yang Release Chakra Mode." Kitazawa admired her breathtaking movements, smiling as he spoke.
"Oh?" Tsunade immediately sat up straighter. "How effective is it?"
"It's just as we discussed before." Kitazawa replied, "Once I activate Yang Release Chakra Mode, my Chakra almost doubles."
Simply put, his current Chakra had reached an astonishing thirty cards or so.
"You already have a lot of Chakra. After it doubles, only a handful in the entire Ninja World will surpass you." Tsunade smiled faintly. "How about I retire now?"
"Tsunade-sensei, don't joke." Kitazawa shook his head. He hadn't even become the Hokage's man yet—how could Tsunade retire?
"Can't I even say it?" Tsunade rolled her eyes.
In truth, if she really wanted to retire, no one could stop her. But as Hokage, she had to consider everything carefully.
The biggest issue was that her term had been too short. If she retired immediately, it could cause unrest in Konoha, and other villages might misunderstand and become restless.
Moreover, the Ninja and clans who rose to high positions under her would strongly oppose it—changing Hokage meant reshuffling power.
"Tsunade-sensei." Kitazawa took out a Ninjutsu scroll. "This is the scroll for Yang Release Chakra Mode."
Tsunade opened it and began reading.
"When are you free?" Kitazawa asked.
"In the afternoon." Tsunade thought briefly. "I'll try to finish my work this morning."
"Mhm." Kitazawa nodded. "With your talent, I estimate you won't take long to learn it."
"Why does that sound so strange?" Tsunade looked up.
"What's wrong? Something strange about it?" Kitazawa asked, slightly confused.
"That line made you sound like my teacher." Tsunade pouted.
Kitazawa coughed lightly. "You can call me teacher, I don't mind."
"Do you want me to kick you out?" Tsunade clenched her fist menacingly.
Kitazawa straightened. "I was just joking." Then, seriously, "Teacher Tsunade, I absolutely have the utmost respect for you."
"…" The memory of their last deep kiss flashed in Tsunade's mind.
Respect, huh? Where exactly? She shook the thought away, clearing her mind.
"We'll start learning Yang Release Chakra Mode tomorrow." Tsunade closed the scroll. "I'll read it through today."
"Then I'll come tomorrow afternoon," Kitazawa said.
After bidding her farewell, he went to the ANBU Base.
"Konan." Kitazawa entered his office. "Any new developments from Itachi?"
"Yes." Konan took out a scroll. "This is the latest intel."
"Read it to me." Kitazawa sat on the sofa, leaning back so his head rested on her lap.
Konan opened the scroll and read.
Itachi, as expected, was thorough. He detailed Yomi's progress on Dark Medical Ninjutsu experiments.
How should one put it? Dark Medical Ninjutsu had some merit, but none of it was useful to Kitazawa.
The key intelligence was that Yomi had made a breakthrough after obtaining the Body Revival Technique—success wasn't far off.
However, Itachi didn't specify the timing; he assumed Yomi himself wasn't sure.
In the original story, Yomi's strength was mediocre—just a regular Jonin. Mastering Body Revival would normally be incredibly difficult.
Fortunately, he only intended to reference and combine it, not truly learn it. That was why he managed a breakthrough.
If he had to learn it outright, it would take him a year or two.
Kitazawa wasn't worried. He had plenty of time—if Yomi stalled, so be it.
By the time Yomi resurfaced, Kitazawa's Wood Release would be far more than just Deep Forest Emergence.
Since he had already mastered Yang Release Chakra Mode, his next goal was Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique.
Among Senju Hashirama's advanced Wood Release techniques, Wood Dragon was relatively simpler. Even so, it was still S-rank.
In Hashirama's hands, Wood Dragon could restrain Kurama, rendering it immobile.
Kitazawa's Chakra was far inferior to Hashirama's. He didn't expect to suppress Kurama—but suppressing a Mōryō shouldn't be a problem.
---
It was the second day of the new semester, Tuesday.
Kitazawa and Kurenai arrived at the Ninja Academy.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Maruboshi Kosuke, Chen, and Kakashi had all arrived early and were chatting with the students of the Genius Class.
At nine in the morning, the Genius Class students found their respective teachers and began their daily training.
Kitazawa remained where he was, quietly observing.
Since it was the start of a new semester, he planned to check the training progress of everyone in the Genius Class and make adjustments based on their performance.
"Shikamaru." After watching for a while, Kitazawa called out.
Shikamaru walked over.
"I see that your Shadow Neck Binding Technique is already very proficient, so you can learn the next Secret Technique," Kitazawa said.
"Can I learn other Ninjutsu?" Shikamaru hesitated, then asked.
"Why?" Kitazawa tilted his head slightly, curious.
Shikamaru replied, "I already learned four Secret Techniques from my clan. That's enough for now."
He had sparred with many classmates in the Genius Class. In his opinion, his biggest issue was the lack of any counter-measures before using a Secret Technique—or rather, the difficulty of stalling for time.
His only relatively useful Ninjutsu was the Konoha-Style Body Flicker Technique, which he had only recently learned.
Kitazawa nodded lightly. Shikamaru had an extremely clear grasp of his own situation, as expected of him.
Kitazawa's first instinct was to teach him a defensive Ninjutsu. But his defensive techniques were Water Release, Earth Release, and Wood Release.
Did Yin Release have defensive Ninjutsu?
Kitazawa fell into deep thought. Suddenly, inspiration struck—he remembered a Secret Technique from one of the movies that Shikamaru had used: Shadow Release.
Its effect was to wrap the user in shadow to defend them.
The name "Shadow Release" sounded too much like a Bloodline Limit, so Kitazawa decided to rename it: Shadow Wall.
"Does your clan have any Secret Techniques used specifically for defense?" Kitazawa asked.
Shadow Release, in the original story, was something only Shikamaru used, and only in a movie. He suspected the Nara Clan didn't actually possess such a technique, but asked just in case.
"No." Shikamaru shook his head. "Most of the time, the Akimichi Clan protects us."
"Then I have an idea: using shadows to create a Shadow Wall to protect yourself." Kitazawa explained, "Just like Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall or Water Release: Water Formation Wall."
Shikamaru's eyes immediately brightened. Shadow Wall would perfectly make up for his weaknesses.
"I'll find you again in a couple of days," Kitazawa said, planning to create the Shadow Wall technique.
After all, he possessed master-level Yin Release Chakra Nature Transformation, and Shadow Wall wasn't some A-rank or S-rank Secret Technique.
"Thank you, Teacher Kitazawa!" Shikamaru bowed gratefully.
Next, Kitazawa called Jugo over. Last time, he had taught him the Konoha Great Whirlwind, so this time he taught him the Konoha Strong Whirlwind.
After Jugo came Kiba's turn.
Kitazawa created a new Ninjutsu based on Earth Release: Earth Fang Bullet—called Earth Release: Consecutive Fang Bullet.
Earth Release: Earth Fang Bullet produced one large rock from the Hell Hound form. But Earth Release: Consecutive Fang Bullet worked like Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet, continuously spitting out small rocks.
After teaching Kiba, Kitazawa moved to the other study groups. He soon arrived at Chen's.
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow. Chen was teaching Naruto and Rock Lee the Konoha Dragon God.
Kitazawa thought for a moment but didn't interfere. Although learning Konoha Dragon God might be slightly premature, at least it wasn't dangerous like the Eight Gates.
Next, he visited Kakashi's group.
Sasuke wasn't learning Lightning Release today—he was practicing swordsmanship.
"Is this the Hatake Swordsmanship?" Kitazawa muttered.
The movements were nothing like Konoha Style Taijutsu. They were fast, precise, ruthless—exactly like a true assassin.
Only one person fit that description: Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake.
"I really wonder what the future holds for Naruto and Sasuke…" Kitazawa sighed.
After making a round, he finally found an empty spot to continue learning Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique.
The morning passed quickly.
After lunch, Kitazawa arrived at the Hokage Office.
"How do you plan to teach me?" Tsunade asked with a smile.
"The ultimate goal of Yang Release Chakra Mode is full-body activation," Kitazawa replied. "So we'll start with your hands."
Hearing this, Tsunade held out her hands.
"I'll help you find the feeling first." Kitazawa gently took her hands.
"...?" Tsunade's mouth twitched.
Does this mean you'll be helping with other parts too? She strongly suspected Kitazawa was using this as an excuse to get closer.
"Focus and calm your mind," Kitazawa instructed seriously.
He slowly channeled Chakra into Tsunade's hands.
If it were Lightning Release Chakra, he wouldn't dare do this. Different Chakras blended poorly and caused repulsion.
But Yang Release Chakra was inherently gentle.
Tsunade immediately felt a subtle change in her hands. Her cells activated, Chakra circulated rapidly, and her skin grew fairer and smoother.
--
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P@atreon/Arvinstorm (45+ Advanced Chapters)