Kitazawa let out a big yawn.
After hanging out with Tsunade all night, it was already past midnight by the time he got home.
Ever since he became a ninja, he'd never stayed up this late.
Back in his old life, sure—he was up till 1 or 2 AM all the time.
But that was because he had a phone and computer to mess around with. Scroll a few videos, and boom—the day's gone.
Here in the ninja world? Not much in the way of entertainment. Plus, he had a job. So early nights became the norm.
Still, tonight wasn't a total loss.
He'd finally created Kurama Yakumo's fourth jutsu: Memory Seal Technique.
Tomorrow, he and Tsunade would swing by the Hokage's office to cash in on that old geezer Hiruzen.
And it wouldn't just be money. He'd probably snag a B-rank jutsu too.
He already had one in mind—Wind Release.
Right now, his Genjutsu came from Kurenai, Fire Release from Sasuke, and Medical Ninjutsu from Tsunade.
Wind and Water Release? No leads. And the system hadn't handed out any freebies lately either.
As for stuff like Gentle Fist or Shadow Imitation—they weren't easy to launder.
Kitazawa showered, got into bed, and had just closed his eyes when three glowing lines of text suddenly popped up.
He blinked and sat up straight.
[Current Mission: Earn Tsunade's Initial Approval]
[Reward: Chakra Scalpel]
[Mission Completed — Reward Delivered]
"…Huh?" Kitazawa muttered.
He didn't even know how he completed that mission—it just kind of… happened?
Maybe it was the drinking session with Tsunade? That little heart-to-heart?
He rubbed his chin.
That probably played a part.
But the real reason, he figured, was the insane medical talent he'd been showing lately.
Either way, mission complete = win.
And this time, the reward was amazing—Chakra Scalpel, an A-rank medical ninjutsu.
He formed the seals quickly. Chakra surged into his right hand.
In an instant, a pale green chakra blade extended from his fingers—bright, clean, and razor-sharp.
Despite the name, the Chakra Scalpel didn't cut like a normal blade. It sliced through nerves and muscle tissue, often without leaving a single mark on the skin.
In surgery, it could remove necrotic tissue or stop internal bleeding with precision.
In battle? It was straight-up savage. One good hit could leave an opponent paralyzed.
Kitazawa nodded, pleased.
Total profit tonight.
If all it took to finish missions was drinking with Tsunade and chatting a bit, he'd happily do it every night.
With that, he closed his eyes and drifted off.
…
Kitazawa woke up right on time—7:30 AM.
He stretched, got dressed, freshened up, and started walking to the ninja academy.
Halfway there, he spotted four familiar figures: Might Guy, Naruto, Rock Lee, and Sasuke.
He paused to watch.
The three green jumpsuit bros were full of energy, shouting about youth like they were in a shampoo commercial.
Meanwhile, Sasuke looked like death—pale, teeth clenched, barely hanging in there.
"Yo, Sasuke?"
Naruto turned his head. "Still got gas in the tank?"
"Worry about yourself," Sasuke huffed.
"We're almost at the finish line!" Naruto gave him a thumbs-up. "C'mon! Youth's waiting for you!"
"Say one more thing and I'll pass you," Sasuke grumbled.
"Oh yeah? I'll say two more!" Naruto joked. "Sasu—"
"Shut up!"
Sasuke snapped, shooting him a death glare.
Naruto scratched his head, totally confused.
Ignoring him, Sasuke focused on the breathing technique Guy had taught him.
Suddenly, his body surged with a fresh burst of speed.
"There we go, Sasuke!" Naruto got pumped. "Now it's my turn—Youth Sprint!"
He lunged forward like a bullet.
"No way!"
Sasuke's eyes widened. The finish line was right there, but Naruto crossed it first.
Sasuke stumbled across just after, collapsing on the ground, completely drenched in sweat and panting hard.
He'd been running for an hour straight—this training was killer.
Glancing over at Guy, Lee, and Naruto, he twitched. Freakin' beasts.
Now he got it—why Naruto was so ahead of him in taijutsu and stamina.
It wasn't talent—it was this kind of insane training combined with a freak-of-nature body. Of course Naruto won.
Sasuke sighed. Taijutsu wasn't really his thing. At best, it was for conditioning. His real strength had to come from ninjutsu.
Kitazawa watched a bit longer, then headed on his way to the academy.
…
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
The second the door opened, Hinata's face lit up. She jumped off the couch and ran straight to him.
"Morning, Hinata," Kitazawa said, gently patting her head.
Hinata closed her eyes slightly like a content kitten.
"Come eat," Kitazawa said, laying out the breakfast he brought.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Hinata grinned. "My father praised me again yesterday!"
"Oh yeah? What'd he say?" he asked, handing her a rice ball.
"He said I'm improving really fast with the Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. I can do the first four strikes in a row now!"
"Nice," Kitazawa smiled.
Seeing her like this, so cheerful and confident—it was hard to believe she used to be so shy.
That technique wasn't actually 64 different moves. It was one advanced style—a rapid combo meant to seal off 64 chakra points in the blink of an eye.
Speed and flow were everything.
Just doing one or two strikes meant nothing.
Hinata could now land four in sequence—not bad for a six-year-old.
No wonder Hiashi was impressed.
"Oh! And one more thing!"
Hinata wiggled her little feet, super happy.
"Hanabi called me 'Onee-chan' for the first time!"
"Then it's your job to live up to it," Kitazawa said with a grin.
He remembered that in the original story, Hinata and Hanabi were pretty close.
"Got it!" Hinata nodded seriously.
"Got any plans for summer break?"
Kitazawa suddenly remembered it was coming up soon.
"Nope," she said, shaking her head.
"Wanna join my summer training camp?"
He smiled.
"Yes!" she said instantly.
"Alright then," Kitazawa nodded. "I'll let you know after finals."
"Okay!"
Hinata felt a little skip of excitement in her chest.
After breakfast, Kitazawa headed to Class 1-A to start his lesson.
Hinata went straight to the training ground, where she joined Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sasuke for some sparring.
…
Tsunade groaned awake.
She sat up and rubbed her forehead. Her whole body felt like crap—too much drinking last night.
Good thing she had the Yin Seal.
As an S-rank medical technique, it was totally broken. One of its perks? Keeping your body at peak condition all the time—including ageless youth.
She activated the seal and quickly felt normal again.
Looking around, she frowned. "How the hell did I get home?"
She tried to remember.
Kitazawa bought her drinks… she ended up talking about Nawaki… and he walked her back afterward.
She stared, dumbfounded.
Did I really say all that?
"…Why'd I even bring up Nawaki?"
She ruffled her golden hair and sighed.
"Alcohol is the worst…"
Still, what's done is done. Tsunade wasn't the type to dwell.
Thinking about Kitazawa, though… made her feel a little weird.
Nothing happened, but somehow, they'd gotten closer.
"…Kid's actually not bad."
She got up, got dressed, and stepped out of the room.
…
"Tsunade-sama, you're awake?"
Shizune turned around when she heard footsteps.
"Mm."
Tsunade nodded, flopped onto the couch, and asked, "What time is it?"
"Ten AM," Shizune replied.
"That late?" Tsunade blinked.
"You've got some nerve," Shizune teased. "You didn't get home till almost midnight."
She'd been with Tsunade long enough to know how to call her out.
"I'm starving. Make me some ramen. After I eat, I'm going to see Kitazawa."
"Kitazawa? Why?"
Shizune looked genuinely curious.
"To collect our reward from the old man," Tsunade said. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing…"
Shizune stood up, disappointed she wasn't getting any juicy gossip.
"I'll go make the ramen."
She knew something must've happened last night—maybe cuddling, maybe more—but neither of them would say a word.
…
After breakfast, Tsunade headed straight to the academy and walked confidently to Kitazawa's office—she'd been there once, so it was easy to find.
She tried the door.
Locked.
Probably teaching.
She swung by Class 1‑A, but Iruka was in the middle of a lesson.
Not wanting to interrupt, she headed to the teachers' office instead.
She pushed open the door.
All the first-grade teachers turned to look at her.
"I'm Tsunade," she said bluntly. "Where's Kitazawa?"
The whole room immediately fell silent.
~~~
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