"Chōji."
Kitazawa looked to the newly added Akimichi Chōji. "Your chakra control is a bit weak—start with tree-walking."
He picked the thickest tree near the field, explained the key points, and let him begin training on his own.
"Shikamaru."
After a ten-minute detour, Kitazawa returned to the practice field.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Nara Shikamaru said, forced to his feet.
"Your Yin Release nature transformation is coming along well, so you can learn a new secret technique," Kitazawa said casually. "Your Shadow Imitation and Shadow Gathering both have obvious drawbacks, so learn the Shadow Imitation Shuriken."
Shikamaru blinked, surprise flickering across his face.
Shadow Imitation Shuriken channels Yin Release chakra into a shuriken; when thrown, it pins the target's shadow. It has two advantages: it works at range, and once you pin the target's shadow, you yourself remain free to move. By contrast, Shadow Imitation and Shadow Gathering link your shadows and force you into synchronization.
What surprised Shikamaru most was how well Kitazawa knew the Nara clan's secret arts. Then again, he was Tsunade's student—of course he'd know a lot.
"Understood, Kitazawa-sensei," Shikamaru sighed inwardly and agreed.
"Ino, your training stays the same," Kitazawa instructed. "Come find me after you finish."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei!" Yamanaka Ino beamed, all youthful energy.
She caught the subtext: learn Ninja Art: Ten Thousand Flowers Profusion first, then come to him for a new jutsu.
"Hinatа, Karin, Shino, Sakura," Kitazawa called four names in a row. "Same as Ino—stick to your existing regimen."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," the four answered in unison.
"What about me, sensei?" Inuzuka Kiba asked, unable to wait. He'd learned Fang Over Fang over the winter break, but once he joined the Genius Class he felt a huge sense of pressure.
"This is for you." Kitazawa was ready; he tossed over a scroll.
"Three-Headed Hellhound?" Kiba's eyes lit up at a glance.
It was clearly an upgraded version of the Hellhound. The standard Hellhound is two-headed, formed by fusing with his shadow clone. Three-Headed Hellhound adds another clone—bigger body, stronger attacks. But it's harder to learn.
"Find a spot to practice. If you get stuck, come ask me," Kitazawa waved him off.
"Got it, Kitazawa-sensei!" Kiba ran to an open area clutching the scroll.
"Lee, just keep training under Guy's program," Kitazawa told Rock Lee.
He'd just had a clone spar with Lee and concluded Lee was a "light" version of Naruto—minus Multiple Shadow Clone and Rasengan, they were basically the same in taijutsu.
And in taijutsu, Kitazawa had nothing to worry about; Might Guy would tailor the lessons to Lee's progress. Once Lee finished the Leaf Whirlwind series, he'd begin Eight Gates training. No need for Kitazawa to interfere.
Lee wasn't surprised; truthfully, he felt the same. With Might Guy teaching him, he had all he needed.
"Tenten." Kitazawa looked at the bun-haired Tenten. "Thrown-weapon ninjutsu is a great path—keep pushing it."
In the original story, Tenten developed a lot of techniques around weapon throwing. She'd just used three of them in the bout: Manipulated Tools: Heavenly Chain Disaster, Manipulated Tools: Binding Meteor, and Twin Rising Dragons.
Kitazawa's plan was to have her learn those moves ahead of schedule. He didn't need to know them himself—he could lay out the approach and let her practice.
"But I don't think weapons alone are enough. Add another offensive option," he smiled. "A summoning beast."
"A summoning beast?" Tenten blinked.
"Whether you're summoning weapons or summoning beasts, it's the same idea," Kitazawa said with a chuckle. "Make contracts with a few summons and you can do a lot more in battle."
"Sounds great!" The more she thought about it, the more it fit. Weapons were fine, but they weren't so useful against the likes of Uchiha Sasuke or Hyūga Hinata. With a summoning beast, that would change—harass, defend, attack—while she threw weapons with far less pressure. The only issue was the extra chakra cost.
"But… I don't have a suitable summoning," she said, looking up at Kitazawa with hope.
"Kitazawa-sensei, could you find a strong one? I can pay!"
You really are… a rich little heiress. Kitazawa couldn't help the twitch at the corner of his mouth. It figured—her family ran a ninja tool shop; money wasn't a problem. As far as he knew, the ninja sword Hinata had gifted him was crafted by Tenten's father—an easy seven figures.
And his suggestion would massively power Tenten up; weapon master + summoner could absolutely land her in elite jōnin territory—so long as she didn't run into the true monsters at the top of the ninja world.
[Current Mission: Help Tenten find a summoning beast.]
[Reward: Scales with the summon's strength.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa made a small sound of surprise. He'd seen this kind of variable-reward quest once before—way back when he was searching for a teacher: different teacher, different reward. He hadn't expected Tenten to trigger such a rare quest. Neat.
But… high rewards wouldn't be easy. Powerful summons are scarce. The Three Great Sacred Lands were out of the question—Tenten couldn't get those. He couldn't either. Maybe once he officially became Tsunade's student, he could sign with the Slugs of Shikkotsu Forest.
Outside the Big Three, most summons were just average—ninja dogs, ninja cats, crows, hawks, turtles and the like. Those would maybe trade for a C- or B-rank jutsu at best.
There were exceptions—Hiruzen's Enma, Danzo's Baku, Hanzō's salamander—but those all belonged to someone already. Tenten couldn't get them.
"Summons are something you run into, not something you force," Kitazawa said, shelving the idea for now. "I'll ask around when I have time."
Worst case, he could source a ninja dog from the Inuzuka clan or a ninja cat from the Uchiha. With his current strength and status, that was doable.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Tenten said gratefully.
"Back to your special training: all your weapons rely on summoning techniques—that's too one-note," Kitazawa added after a moment's thought. "Today I'll teach you the Manipulated Shuriken Technique."
"Awesome! I've heard so much about it!" Tenten was thrilled.
"Without a Sharingan it's not as deadly, but it's still good." Kitazawa handed her two shuriken. Only after taking them did she notice the semi-transparent rubber cords tied to them.
"You can swap the rubber for steel wire if you want more cutting power," Kitazawa said. "But rubber has benefits too—it's more flexible and springy."
He walked her through the key points for fifteen minutes, then sent her off to practice.
"Hana, your training's the same as Chōji's for now—focus on chakra control," he told Kiba's older sister, Inuzuka Hana.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," Hana replied at once.
He'd now given assignments to all the students he knew well. The rest were new to the Genius Class, mostly from the former fifth- and sixth-year cohorts. He split their plans in two: those who'd already mastered the Three Basic Techniques would move on to tree-walking; those who hadn't would keep drilling the basics. You had to have the Three Basics down before studying elemental ninjutsu.
In under two hours, Kitazawa had all three of his groups set up with training. He strolled over to the Water, Lightning, and Earth groups as well and found them hard at work. Kakashi and Maruboshi Kosuke had similar ideas: drill the Three Basics, then tree-walking and water-walking, and finally the elemental releases.
Kitazawa formed seals and created two shadow clones—one to coach, and one to help Aburame Shino with his Parasitic Destruction Insect mutation experiments. He himself found a spot to practice Earth Release.
By noon, the Genius Class wrapped the morning session and broke for lunch—two hours, same as regular school days.
Instead of eating with Hinata, Sasuke and the others, Kitazawa took Maruboshi Kosuke and Hatake Kakashi out for a meal at an izakaya near the academy.
"How did the first day feel?" Kitazawa asked after ordering.
"Fine," Kakashi said, as laconic as ever—but he wasn't lying. Anbu life and academy life were worlds apart. Training with these energetic kids made his once-cold body feel warm again—like he'd come back to life a little.
"These kids have great talent. Give them time and they'll be Konoha's backbone," Maruboshi Kosuke said with a smile. "I feel honored to teach them."
He'd punished himself for a youthful mistake by refusing promotion, forever a genin. Seeing the Genius Class gave him a new way to atone.
"Kitazawa," Kosuke said, hesitating. "I have a favor to ask."
"No need to be so formal, senpai. Just say it," Kitazawa waved a hand. He truly respected Kosuke—few in the ninja world had the resolve to spend a lifetime making up for a single mistake.
"The Genius Class students are all good, but there are differences in talent," Kosuke said slowly. "I want to pick two students to inherit my Water Release and my swordsmanship."
Kitazawa froze for a moment; Kakashi also looked surprised. Then they both understood. As a genin, Kosuke wasn't supposed to take on a squad. He'd been alone for years. Now, as an academy instructor, he finally had the right to teach. Realistically, with his strength and reputation, he only had to ask Hiruzen. But he had his principles and clung to the rules.
"Of course, senpai," Kitazawa said when he came back to himself. "Whoever becomes your student will be incredibly lucky."
"It's not that grand," Kosuke laughed. "I'm old. I don't want what I've learned to go into the grave with me. Fortunately, Hiruzen gave me this chance."
Kitazawa thought, You're calling him "Hiruzen" and still saying you're not pulling rank? But a ninja who refuses to use privilege was rare. If it were him, he doubted he could keep to that line.
He wondered which two would be chosen—probably one from the Konoha Twelve, Karin, or Kurama Yakumo. Kosuke was a bona fide jōnin in all but title; his Water Release and swordsmanship were jōnin-level. Ordinary students couldn't handle them.
Kitazawa didn't interfere—this was a good thing. Maybe he could even snag a bit of Konoha-style swordsmanship himself; that ninja blade Hinata gave him had yet to see proper use.
"Come on, I'll show you to your offices," Kitazawa said after lunch.
Normally, you needed to be a grade lead to get a private office. But Kosuke and Kakashi were exceptions; their status and strength warranted it. Kitazawa cleared out a room on each side of his own office for them, even adding a single bed in the corner so they could rest.
"See you this afternoon." Kakashi slipped into his office. Kitazawa said a quick goodbye to Kosuke and headed home—Kurenai's place was close to the academy, and a noon nap was always better at home. Since there was class in the afternoon, he didn't fool around with Kurenai. He slept, then returned to the academy.
When class started, the Genius Class resumed training. Kitazawa practiced Earth Release while turning over Tenten's quest in his mind. Time drifted by—then he froze, a particular summoning flashing in his head: the Shiromari.
In the ninja world there was a small country called the Land of Neck. Its last daimyō was Kubisaki Kōza.
Before the country fell, he summoned the Shiromari to protect Kubisaki Castle. Much later, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyūga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba took on a mission to find the daimyō's wife and arrived at Kubisaki Castle. They found the summoning contract scroll for the Chameleon and tore it up, ending its duty.
In the original story, the Shiromari showed solid power: first, incredible camouflage—even the Byakugan couldn't see through it; second, colossal size—castle-scale—and tremendous defense; third, transformation—it could turn into a castle.
Amusingly, one of its earlier contractors was named Masashi Kishimoto. That's what made Kitazawa think of it.
He rubbed his chin. The Land of Neck was gone; he didn't know where its ruins were now. But it'd be a waste not to use his connections. He planned to ask Uchiha Itachi to leverage Anbu intel and Uchiha resources to track it down. Itachi would probably be pleased—good way to cozy up to Tsunade.
To top-tier shinobi, the Chameleon wasn't much—at best a meat shield. But for average ninja—genin and chūnin—it was a super weapon. If Tenten got it, her growth would be explosive. Kitazawa figured that could net him an A-rank jutsu from the system.
At sunset, Kitazawa said his goodbyes to Kakashi, Naruto, and the others and headed to the Anbu office. Anbu clocked out late, so he easily met Itachi.
"The old site of the Land of Neck? Shouldn't be hard. I'll have results soon," Itachi agreed without a moment's hesitation.
"Thanks." Kitazawa left the Hokage building and walked through the streets, one thought rising: he needed his own faction to get things done. No rush, though—once Tsunade became Hokage, setting one up would be easy. She might even hand Anbu to him—unlike hardworking Naruto, Tsunade's tenure was all about dodging work whenever possible.
Time flew, and the first week of the third term was almost over. Friday, after school, Kitazawa saw Uchiha Itachi waiting by the gate.
"Niisan!" Uchiha Sasuke beat him to it.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Itachi said, patting Sasuke's head and taking out a scroll. "This is a map of the Land of Neck."
"Thanks." Kitazawa accepted it. "I'll leave you two to it. See you next time."
He didn't open the map until he got home. According to it, the Land of Neck lay west of the Land of Fire, not far—about two days round-trip.
Kitazawa frowned in thought. He'd promised Itachi to set something up for Uchiha Izumi on Sunday; now the timing conflicted. After a moment, he decided to hand that job to Kurenai.
First, it wasn't dangerous—half real, half staged.
Second, there wasn't a direct quest tied to it, so he didn't have to go himself. By contrast, Shiromari was tied to Tenten's rare mission—and only he knew the original story—so he had to make the trip.
"What are you looking at?" Kurenai walked over, a light fragrance in her wake.
"A map of the Land of Neck. I heard there's a decent summoning there, so I want to check it out," Kitazawa said openly.
"Do you need a summoning?" she asked, puzzled.
"Not me—one of my students." He smiled up at her. "I do need your help with something."
He explained the plan he and Itachi had cooked up regarding Uchiha Izumi.
"Uchiha ninja really are…" Kurenai trailed off, lacking the right word. She envied the Sharingan, but couldn't stomach the price of awakening it.
"Take three of my students and run the op for me," Kitazawa said, reaching up to pinch her cheek.
"Mm." Kurenai nodded. Kitazawa had made it clear: Itachi would "fall" into an enemy ambush and go missing; their squad would be dispatched to search and rescue.
By "chance" they'd find Itachi and fight the enemy ninja—who would, in fact, be under Itachi's control. They'd put on a show and apply just enough pressure to Izumi. Kurenai wouldn't even have to lift a finger.