After a long while, their lips parted. Kitazawa took a breath and looked at Tsunade.
Her red lips were slightly open, drawing in fresh air; her fair skin carried a faint blush, and her eyes were hazy. Kitazawa couldn't help but lean in again.
Tsunade froze for a moment, but she didn't push him away; instead, she quietly savored the moment. Her heart, long dormant, began beating rapidly.
Having reached this point, she already understood her own feelings. She knew it shouldn't be, but she ultimately couldn't control it.
"You… do you need anything else?" Tsunade turned her head, feeling parched. "If not, don't disturb my work."
"I don't have much to do this afternoon, I can help you with your work." Kitazawa looked at her beautiful face, still lingering, and said.
"No need." Tsunade instinctively refused.
"If there's not much work, we can go to the casino." Kitazawa changed the subject, winked, and said.
Tsunade's movements paused involuntarily, and she hesitated.
Although she knew Kitazawa was tempting her, the choice between continuing to work and going to the casino was obvious.
"You're paying?" Tsunade looked at Kitazawa and asked.
"I'll pay." Kitazawa nodded, smiling, and said, "If I'm not paying, are you? You don't have any money."
"Annoying!" Tsunade stood up, stomped on his foot, and said, "Let's go!"
Kitazawa watched her retreating figure, his gaze subconsciously falling on her swaying hips. Round and full, they looked like peaches.
"Why are you still standing there?" Tsunade stopped at the door, turned to look at him, and asked.
Kitazawa walked up to her, leaned into her ear, and said, "I'll go ask Shizune-sensei for leave first."
After speaking, he bit her ear before walking toward the Hokage Secretariat.
Tsunade's body stiffened, feeling as if an electric current had passed through her. She touched her ear, looking at Kitazawa, lost in thought.
Not too long after, Kitazawa reappeared. He said with a smile, "It's settled, let's go."
Tsunade nodded, and she and Kitazawa left the Hokage Building.
At the casino, Tsunade returned to normal, and as usual, she was thoroughly defeated at the gambling tables.
Kitazawa was already used to it; he reached out and gently massaged her thigh while simultaneously multitasking, cultivating his Yang Release Chakra Mode.
Tsunade slapped his hand hard, but seeing that he was unmoved, she could only let him be.
The afternoon quickly passed. As expected, Tsunade lost everything.
She left the casino with a gloomy expression, and only after being hit by the evening breeze did her expression soften considerably.
"Are you cultivating Yang Release Chakra Mode?" Tsunade glanced at Kitazawa and asked.
She had heard Kitazawa mention Yang Release Chakra Mode before. And in the casino just now, she had uncharacteristically paid him a moment of attention.
"Yes." Kitazawa replied, "I estimate I'll master it by next month, and then I'll teach it to you."
"Thank you." Tsunade was silent for two seconds, then said.
Although Yang Release Chakra Mode is only B-rank, it's comparable to Lightning Release Chakra Mode, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it S-rank.
"Given our relationship, do you still need to say thank you?" Kitazawa smiled and retorted.
Tsunade hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
What was their relationship now? They were teacher and student, but it didn't quite feel like it.
"What are the effects of Yang Release Chakra Mode?" Tsunade changed the subject and asked.
"It greatly enhances the body, primarily in Chakra, speed, stamina, and recovery power." Kitazawa thought for a moment and replied.
"Sounds like Ninjutsu: Creation Rebirth: Strength of a Hundred Technique." Tsunade raised an eyebrow and said.
"It is similar, but it's more controllable and has no side effects." Kitazawa emphasized, "Most importantly, it can increase Chakra reserves, though only temporarily."
Ninjutsu: Creation Rebirth: Strength of a Hundred Technique uses the Chakra stored in the Yin Seal.
Yang Release Chakra Mode is different; it rapidly activates and generates Chakra within the Ninja's body through full-body activation.
After all, Yang Release Chakra Mode comes from Shinnō's Body Revival Technique. And Shinnō was able to use the Eight Gates with the help of Cellular Activation Jutsu.
As for not dying when opening the Eighth Gate, that was due to the Body Revival Technique.
"How much Chakra can Yang Release Chakra Mode increase?" Tsunade asked curiously.
The importance of Chakra to a Ninja is self-evident. The simplest way to increase the power of a Ninjutsu is to increase Chakra output.
But increasing the Chakra is incredibly difficult. In the entire Ninja World, even temporary methods to boost Chakra are rare, let alone permanent increases.
Yang Release Chakra Mode, solely based on its ability to temporarily increase Chakra, is enough to make it a village-protecting Secret Technique for Konoha Village. Although not many ninjas can learn it.
"Everyone is different." Kitazawa shook his head and said, "It depends on your degree of activation and physical strength."
"I see." Tsunade smiled confidently and said, "Then my Chakra increase should be quite good."
"I estimate you can double it." Kitazawa paused and said, "I might get a bit more."
"What do you mean?" Tsunade glared at him and asked, "Are you trying to say you're already stronger than me?"
"It's only a matter of time before a student surpasses their teacher." Kitazawa said with a smile, "And I'm just estimating; maybe my Chakra increase will be less than yours then."
Tsunade pouted. She naturally didn't believe the latter half of what he said.
But it was good; if his strength surpassed hers, then she could retire earlier.
"If Yang Release Chakra Mode really has the effects you say, then can your Wood Release reach the level of the First Hokage?" Tsunade suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but ask.
As the Hokage and the granddaughter of Senju Hashirama, she was undoubtedly one of the people who most hoped for Wood Release to reappear in the Ninja World.
Kitazawa's current Wood Release was indeed stronger than Yamato's, but it was still much weaker than the Wood Release in her memory.
The Wood Release in her memory naturally came from Senju Hashirama's Wood Release.
"It's getting close, but to fully reach the level of the First Hokage-sama still requires effort," Kitazawa said truthfully.
Even if his Chakra doubled, it would only reach thirty cards. Senju Hashirama's Chakra far exceeded thirty cards; it surpassed three thousand, utterly inhuman.
Tsunade clearly had no concrete concept of her grandfather's Chakra. After all, she hadn't been very old at the time.
And she couldn't be blamed; no one would have imagined that Senju Hashirama's Chakra was no weaker than the Nine-Tails itself.
"But it's already enough to protect Konoha," Kitazawa added.
"That's true." Tsunade nodded and said.
It was enough for Konoha to have a powerful Wood Release. There was no need to demand that Kitazawa's Wood Release match Senju Hashirama's exactly.
The two walked and chatted, soon arriving home.
"I'm going back first, see you tomorrow." Tsunade waved, opened the door, and went inside.
Kitazawa withdrew his gaze and walked to the house next door.
---
Time flowed into the next day—the first day of the holiday.
Ninja Academy Training Ground.
Kitazawa looked at the Genius Class students, momentarily stunned.
He knew students would come to train during the holidays, but he hadn't expected this many.
There were thirty-four people in the Genius Class, and twenty-six had shown up today, with only a few absent.
In other words, aside from top-ranked students like Sasuke and Hinata, many lower-ranked students had also come.
Kitazawa stroked his chin. Birds of a feather indeed flock together.
Sasuke and Naruto placed enormous pressure on the other students, driving all of them to become competitive.
Kitazawa suddenly recalled his college hostel in his previous life—when everyone else was studying, he felt uneasy playing games alone.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Hinata ran up to him, holding her Moon Chasing bow.
"Good morning, Hinata." Kitazawa reached out and patted her head.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Neji followed closely behind, greeting him.
Kitazawa nodded. He could already guess why Neji had come looking for him.
"You've pretty much mastered Spiral Arrow, so today I'll teach you a new bow-style Secret Technique." Kitazawa casually took his bow and said.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Neji immediately said.
"Your Fate Breaking Bow seals the Zero-Tails." Kitazawa walked as he spoke. "The Zero-Tails has many tentacles, and each tentacle can use Chakra."
Neji frowned slightly. Satori sensed emotions, and the Zero-Tails' ability was… tentacles?
He couldn't immediately see the connection between tentacles and a bow Secret Technique.
Would the arrows sprout countless small tentacles? That image alone was bizarre.
"The new bow Secret Technique is called Multiple Arrows." Kitazawa stopped walking.
They had reached the training area for Ninja tool throwing. Targets and wooden stakes were neatly lined up in the distance.
Neji's eyes lit up. Multiple Arrows—its name alone implied shooting several arrows at once.
"I'll demonstrate for you." Kitazawa pinched the bowstring and slowly drew it back.
A Yin Release Arrow materialized. When he released the string, the arrow shot forward, vibrated mid-air, and split into nine.
In an instant, the nine arrows pierced all nine wooden stakes.
"That's amazing!" Hinata exclaimed in admiration.
"Nine arrows are not the limit." Kitazawa handed the bow back to Neji. "Theoretically, as long as your Chakra is sufficient, you can split it into countless arrows."
The inspiration for Multiple Arrows undoubtedly came from the A-rank Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique created by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Learning it would take Neji quite a long time. Tenten still hadn't mastered the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, though her main obstacle was insufficient Chakra.
To prevent Neji from falling into the same trap, Kitazawa divided Multiple Arrows into stages. They would begin with the simplest: Triple Arrows, using three as the multiplier.
"Neji, I'll have my Shadow Clone teach you." After creating a Shadow Clone, Kitazawa looked toward Hinata.
"Instead of Multiple Arrows, you will learn Exploding Arrow."
Since Satori didn't possess the Zero-Tails' tentacles, Multiple Arrows would be slower for Hinata. She could still learn it, but Kitazawa planned for her to master Exploding Arrow first.
For Neji, it would be the opposite.
"Is it an arrow that explodes?" Hinata blinked in confusion and asked.
"Your arrows are generated from Yin Release power." Kitazawa smiled. "What do you think happens when a Yin Release Arrow explodes?"
Hinata thought carefully. She remembered Satori's emotion-sensing ability and asked, "Does it cause emotional confusion?"
"That's very clever." Kitazawa pinched her cheek. "It is indeed emotional confusion."
Hinata smiled awkwardly. The essence of Yin Release is spiritual power.
Exploding Arrow was somewhat similar to Ninja Art: Mind Butterfly, which Kitazawa had taught Ino—But one caused confusion, the other dizziness.
Confusion meant all emotions spiking chaotically in an instant.
Most Ninjas struck by an Exploding Arrow will find it difficult to clear their minds quickly. And in combat, sudden emotional turbulence drastically affected performance.
In a sense, Exploding Arrow complemented Satori's emotion-sensing ability.
Satori's ability was ineffective against Ninjas with perfectly calm minds. But Exploding Arrow made "calm" impossible, even if only for a moment.
Thinking about it this way, after receiving the Moon Chasing bow, Hinata's growth was nothing short of explosive.
Unless overwhelmed by numbers, even Jonin would find her troublesome. But that was normal.
The Moon-Chasing Bow sealed Satori, a Yin Release monster second only to a Tailed Beast. Even Killer Bee, the Jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails, had no effective counter to Satori.
Likewise for Neji and his Fate Breaking Bow.
After Kitazawa explained everything to Hinata for half an hour, he let her begin practicing.
He turned his gaze to the distance. A flash of red entered his sight.
A few seconds later, Tayuya poked her head out.
After her eyes met Kitazawa's, she quickly withdrew—like a startled bird.
"Aren't you usually very bold?" Kitazawa asked.
Tayuya gritted her teeth and walked up to him.
"What do you want?" Kitazawa had already noticed her long ago.
"I… I want to learn a new Ninjutsu." Tayuya lowered her head and whispered.
"If you want to learn Ninjutsu, just say so. Why act so sneaky?" Kitazawa asked with a smile.
"I wasn't!" Tayuya subconsciously raised her head to defend herself. "I… I just saw you were busy teaching Hinata!"
"Your strength mainly comes from your Three Angry Demons(Doki)," Kitazawa recalled her Ninjutsu from the original story. "Your Demonic Flute: Illusionary Warrior Manipulating Melody lets you control their movements, but only to that extent."
Tayuya couldn't help but nod.
"Your next Ninjutsu should allow your Three Angry Demons to play a greater role." Kitazawa continued.
"What kind of way?" Tayuya looked at him, full of anticipation.
"By releasing the spiritual energy within their bodies." Kitazawa was referring to Demonic Flute: Revolt of the Demon World, the technique Tayuya used in the original story.
Demonic Flute: Revolt of the Demon World resembled the Spirit Transformation Technique.
Its effect was that the Three Angry Demons released their spiritual energy, which attacked the enemy's physical body, and once they bit down, they absorbed Chakra.
Tayuya was stunned.
With Kitazawa's hint, she really did gain direction.
Her Three Angry Demons, though physical, leaned heavily toward Yin Release constructs, so focusing on the spiritual aspect was indeed the correct approach.
Tayuya had to admit Kitazawa's brilliance. She had possessed the Three Angry Demons for so long without ever thinking of this, yet Kitazawa understood instantly after observing them only a few times.
"Thank you." Tayuya snapped out of her daze and said.
Kitazawa reached out and stroked her head. Tayuya instinctively wanted to dodge, but ultimately didn't.
"I call this Ninjutsu Demonic Flute: Revolt of the Demon World." Kitazawa chuckled. "Let's start the experimentation now."
He called it experimentation because he didn't actually know Demonic Flute: Revolt of the Demon World.
Fortunately, he currently possessed Master-level Yin Release Chakra Nature Transformation, and he had already grasped the technique's core principle.
And since Demonic Flute: Revolt of the Demon World was only B-rank, creating it was simply a matter of time.
Indeed, it turned out exactly like that. A week later, Demonic Flute: Revolt of the Demon World was completed.
Of course, Kitazawa hadn't spent the whole week on that alone; his main focus remained the Yang Release Chakra Mode.
He felt he would achieve initial mastery in just a few days, after which he could attempt those advanced Wood Release techniques.
Though his Chakra was still far inferior to Senju Hashirama's, even if the effect reached only one-tenth of Hashirama's, he could still dominate the current Ninja World.
Aside from a few exceptions like Nagato, most Ninja would be unable to withstand his Wood Release.
---
A new Monday.
Kitazawa called Haku over. Haku had already learned two Ice Release Ninjutsu; it was time to learn the third.
The third, and most difficult, was Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
Its effect was to form a series of ice mirrors around the enemy, allowing the user to move rapidly between them.
In the original story, Haku used Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to trap and suppress Sasuke.
After Kitazawa finished teaching, he walked toward a tree in the distance.
"Kitazawa." Konan appeared, wearing an Anbu mask. "This is the scroll Uchiha Itachi gave you."
Kitazawa had already guessed the contents. He opened the scroll and read.
As expected, it was related to Yomi.
After Moryo was sealed, Yomi had begun researching what he called Dark Medical Ninjutsu.
In essence, these were unconventional Medical Forbidden Techniques with high costs and severe side effects.
In the original story, Yomi used Dark Medical Ninjutsu on his subordinates, granting them short-term boosts.
But his true goal was far more extreme—to modify his own body so it could withstand Moryo's soul without dying.
In that sense, Yomi was fiercely loyal.
Kitazawa stroked his chin.
According to Itachi's investigation, Yomi's Dark Medical Ninjutsu was not yet complete. That was expected—the current timeline was at least five or six years ahead of the original plot.
This was troublesome. If the Dark Medical Ninjutsu wasn't finished, Yomi wouldn't attempt to rescue Moryo.
Kitazawa suddenly paused.
Speaking of immortality, he himself possessed the Body Revival Technique, inherited from Shinnō.
A new idea flashed through Kitazawa's mind.
He could send people disguised as Soragakure remnants to approach Yomi, seeking cooperation under the guise of avenging Shinnō by overthrowing Konoha.
Conveniently, Konoha was already one of Yomi's targets. After all, once Moryo was revived, Yomi intended to unify the entire Ninja World.