Saturday morning.
Half-asleep, Kitazawa sensed light shimmering before his eyes. He opened them on instinct. The first thing he saw was Kurenai's sleeping face. Beads of sweat still clung to her forehead; the strands of hair stuck together said everything about last night.
Kitazawa blinked and glanced at the three lines of text that suddenly appeared.
[Current Mission: Help Yamanaka Ino research a C-rank offensive jutsu.]
[Reward: Four-Corner Sealing Barrier.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
He froze for a second. So Ino had already mastered Ninja Art: Ten Thousand Flowers Profusion? Training first thing in the morning?
He glanced at the clock on the wall and understood at once—it was already nine o'clock. Beauty is a distraction! From today on, I'm quitting alcohol!
He gently lifted Kurenai's long, fair leg off his waist. A flood of information poured into his mind. The Four-Corner Sealing Formation is fundamentally a sealing technique, normally requiring four people to perform. Of course, if you have enough chakra, you can do it solo by using three shadow clones.
After receiving the system's download, Kitazawa realized the formation had more functions than he'd expected—three, in fact:
First, Search: it can be used to locate a target.
Second, Bind: it can restrain a target.
Third, Seal: it can seal a target.
In the original story, Shizune, Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, and Hyūga Hinata once tried to use it to seal the Three-Tails, Isobu. That alone shows how powerful it is. Of course, powerful or not, your target won't just stand there and wait to be sealed. It has its drawbacks, but there's no question the Four-Corner Sealing Formation is practical.
Snapping back to the moment, Kitazawa stroked Kurenai's hair. If Ino had learned Ten Thousand Flowers Profusion, then it was time to teach her the next technique. He recalled a move from the official game. With a thought, he decided that Ninja Art: Moonlight Beauty would be a good fit.
Like Ten Thousand Flowers Profusion, Moonlight Beauty combines genjutsu and taijutsu. Its effect is to conjure a swirl of petals with genjutsu to distract and mislead the enemy; the caster then uses the opening to descend from above for a surprise strike.
His gaze drifted down to Kurenai's pale skin rising and falling with her breathing, and it hit him that these two arts would actually suit Kurenai too. They're specialized genjutsu applications, and she's an exceptional genjutsu kunoichi—she'd pick them up fast. He decided he could finish developing Moonlight Beauty first and then teach both techniques to Kurenai.
His right hand slid from her hair and paused over her chest.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Kurenai gave a muffled groan and woke. "It's nine. Yakumo will be here any minute. You don't want her seeing you like this, do you?" he said, amused by the pressure under his palm.
"Pervert." Kurenai rolled her eyes. "Can't you wake me up like a normal person?" She sat up and slipped out of his grasp.
"Not my fault you're so beautiful," he said, grinning at the snow-white skin before him.
"Sweet talker." She shot him a glare and swung her legs off the bed—only for them to go numb under her, forcing her to sit back down, cheeks flushing. As a kunoichi her physique was excellent, but she still lagged a fair bit behind Kitazawa. The leftover exhaustion from last night made her take a few seconds to steady herself before she stood, dressed, and headed to the kitchen.
It was Saturday. Kurama Yakumo would arrive soon to head next door with Kitazawa to treat Tsunade. Kurenai didn't dare waste time.
Kitazawa stretched, got dressed, and went to wash up. Since Kurenai was already making breakfast, he left her to it and moved to the living room afterward, sinking into the couch and thinking.
He planned to set out for the ruins of the former Land of Neck this afternoon. The question was—who should he bring?
Tenten, definitely. Once they obtained the contract scroll, she'd need to sign immediately. Otherwise, like in the original plot, the Shiromari would end up an uncontracted summoning beast and vanish without a trace.
In the original, the team was Uzumaki Naruto, Hyūga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba. Naruto was too sensitive a figure at the moment and likely couldn't go. Hinata and Kiba could. After a moment's thought, he decided to swap Kiba for Yamanaka Ino—he could use the next couple of days to develop Moonlight Beauty anyway.
A knock sounded. Kitazawa didn't need to guess—it had to be Kurama Yakumo. He opened the door. "Come in and sit. Once Kurenai and I eat, we'll go see Tsunade-sama."
Yakumo blinked—past nine and they still hadn't eaten? She didn't pry, just took a seat on the couch and waited. Seeing her, Kurenai felt a twinge of embarrassment and swore she wouldn't let things run so late next time.
After breakfast, Kitazawa and Yakumo headed next door. Tsunade was already waiting. "Let's begin," she said without preamble.
Kitazawa looked to Yakumo. They had discussed alternating approaches for today's therapy: give Tsunade a sweet dream first, then confront her with Nawaki's death, and see how long she could endure the illusion this time. When the day came that Tsunade no longer resisted the illusion, they could move her hemophobia treatment to the next stage.
Kitazawa sat beside Tsunade and, before she could speak, took her hand. Tsunade glanced down and said nothing, looking instead at Yakumo. The treatment began.
Because it started as a good dream, Tsunade remained calm throughout—until the moment Nawaki became Hokage and the scene reset. Nawaki's death appeared before her again. Inside the illusion, Yakumo immediately used the Emotion Substitution Technique.
Seconds ticked by. At seven minutes, the illusion shattered. Tsunade's eyes flew open and she gulped in the air, chest heaving. Kitazawa instinctively looked, then turned his eyes away and gently kneaded her hand. "You okay?" Seven minutes—two minutes longer than last time. Their strategy was working.
"I'm… fine," Tsunade said, leaning unsteadily against him. He felt the soft weight against his side.
"Again." It was several minutes before she'd recovered enough to speak. Yakumo unfolded the Dreamscape once more. The process was the same, but this time Tsunade lasted no longer—still seven minutes.
"That's enough for today," Kitazawa murmured, holding her. Yakumo took the hint and slipped out.
"Thank you." After a few more minutes of quiet, Tsunade sat up straighter. She instinctively tried to withdraw her hand—and then realized he was still holding it. "Sorry," Kitazawa said quickly, meeting her eyes and letting go.
"You…" Tsunade began, then stopped. She'd meant to tell him not to get the wrong idea, but she realized she couldn't fully say she hadn't.
"You've worked hard this morning. If you're free this afternoon, we could hit the casino," she said, back to her usual languid tone.
"I'm heading out for a bit this afternoon," Kitazawa replied after a pause. "Give me a couple of days, and I'll go with you."
"Mm." Tsunade blinked. "If you need help, say so."
"Do you have a travel writ for leaving the village?" Kitazawa asked. Normally you needed the Hokage's authorization to leave. His trip to Shiromari wasn't an official mission, so he had no permit. He'd planned to pick up some random assignment to slip out, but since Tsunade mentioned it, an idea came to mind. She didn't need to report to the Hokage anyway.
"I think the old man gave me one a long time ago," Tsunade said, rising. "I haven't used it in ages. I'll go look."
As one of the famed Sannin, she'd long come and gone from the village on reputation alone. Before long she returned, tossed the writ to Kitazawa, and said, "No need to give it back. Use it."
"Thanks, Tsunade-sama." His eyes lit up as he tucked it away. With this exit pass, he wouldn't have to run to Hiruzen for everything. And when something less aboveboard came up, he could use it to slip out of the village.
With the treatment done, Shizune and Uzumaki Rina came into the living room. Karin was in her room studying sealing techniques and didn't join them. "Let's eat here today," Tsunade said, glancing at Shizune. "Go call Kurenai."
"Okay," Shizune nodded.
"I'll cook," Rina said softly. She'd been recuperating since being rescued and brought back to Konoha—years of strain had badly sapped her health. Beyond healing, she'd taken it on herself to manage Tsunade's household, leaving Shizune with surprisingly little to do. And Rina was the best cook of them all.
After lunch, Kitazawa headed to the Hyūga compound. Big clans don't slack off—not even on weekends. From the gate he could already see Hyūga Neji and Hyūga Hinata sparring in the courtyard. Not far away, Hyūga Hiashi and Hyūga Hanabi watched—one stern, one excited, a sharp contrast.
Kitazawa watched for a while, and the result matched his expectations. Hinata eked out a narrow win by adding two extra strikes to Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. It was a hard-fought victory. If they ran a hundred bouts, he figured Hinata would win sixty and lose forty—basically even.
Strictly speaking, Neji's talent in Gentle Fist surpassed Hinata's; he was the genius who'd learned both Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven on his own. Without Kitazawa's special training, Hinata would have seemed fairly average, just like in canon.
"Kitazawa-sensei?" Neji had noticed him at the gate. "Kitazawa-sensei!" The usually composed Hinata jogged over at once. Hiashi frowned—such informality violated Hyūga decorum. But given who Kitazawa was, he held his tongue. Tsunade's star had never burned brighter in Konoha, especially after her recent crackdowns on Shimura Danzō and Root—her prestige now eclipsed even before.
"Good afternoon," Kitazawa said, ruffling Hinata's hair. "Kitazawa-sensei," Neji greeted, walking over at an unhurried pace.
Kitazawa nodded, then looked to Hiashi. "Clan Head Hiashi, I'd like to take Hinata out on a two-day assignment."
"An assignment?" Hiashi narrowed his eyes. "She hasn't yet been cleared for missions."
"I want to go," Hinata said, firm.
Hiashi fell silent. Couldn't she spare him a little face in front of guests?
"What kind of assignment?" he asked, meeting Hinata's gaze and realizing she wouldn't budge. Kitazawa quickly explained the whole situation.
"You really are a good teacher," Hiashi said after a brief pause. From Kitazawa's attitude toward both Neji and Hinata, it was obvious—he genuinely put his students first.
"I'll have Tokuma shadow you," Hiashi decided.
"Thank you, Father," Hinata beamed.
"We'll head out then, Clan Head Hiashi," Kitazawa said, taking Hinata along to recruit the next teammate.
Yamanaka Ino's father, Inoichi, was easygoing—he agreed without even asking about the mission. As for Tenten, there was nothing to discuss; the whole point of this trip was her summoning.
The four of them met at the village gate. With Tsunade's writ, they exited without a hitch.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Tenten blurted, "what summoning beast is it?"
"It's called the Shiromari, the Chameleon," he said. "Huh? A Chameleon?" Tenten looked unsure.
"It doesn't sound very cute," Ino admitted, voicing Tenten's thoughts. Hinata nodded in agreement.
"When it's not pretty enough, raw power makes up the difference. That's called the beauty of strength." Kitazawa cleared his throat and told them the lizard's story.
"That strong?" Tenten's eyes sparkled; the fact that it was a lizard no longer mattered—something that massive with that kind of power was top-tier among summons.
"Guarding for fifty years?" Ino breathed. "That's real loyalty."
"Just that is enough for me," Tenten nodded.
"The bond between ninja and summons isn't master and servant," Kitazawa added. "Plenty of summons flee mid-battle—or even turn on their summoners. The snakes of Ryūchi Cave, for example. Orochimaru had to offer them sacrifices—live humans, at that. If they can't win, they run. Happens all the time."
"All right, to reach the destination sooner, we need to pick up the pace." He accelerated, and the three women hurried after him. They headed west, leaving the Land of Fire by nightfall and entering the Land of Rivers.
"We'll rest here tonight and set out again in the morning," Kitazawa said after scanning the area. In the original plot, Naruto's team runs into a ghost at Shiromari Castle. Showing up at night would spook the three of them, and they'd been traveling all afternoon—they were tired.
"Let's do it by the book. I'll assign tasks," he said with a grin. "Hinata, pitch the tents. Tenten, set the traps. Ino, forage."
"Yes, Sensei," the three answered, moving at once. Kitazawa watched and coached as needed.
Night fell. Hinata finished two tents. Tenten rigged four traps around the perimeter with explosive tags and tools. Ino hauled back a deer. After dinner, he sent the three to sleep while he stood first watch and refined Moonlight Beauty in his head. It was their first assignment outside the village; excitement kept the three of them whispering for a long while before they drifted off.
Once he had a solid blueprint for Moonlight Beauty, he set a few more traps in the area and then turned in to the other tent. The night passed without incident.
After breakfast, they were on the road again. In under an hour they reached their destination: the ruins of the former Land of Neck.
"We're going in," Kitazawa said, eyeing the foreboding mass of Kubisaki Castle.
"Stay sharp." He knew the "castle" before them was actually the Shiromari in disguise.
"Right!" The three moved with heightened vigilance.
The moment they stepped inside, the structure shifted. Masses of blood-red flesh surged from the walls like a tide, rushing them.
"Look out!" Tenten unfurled a scroll; a volley of ninja tools shot forth, sinking into the flesh. A deep, muffled roar answered.
"What is happening?" Ino stared.
"We're inside the Shiromari," Kitazawa said evenly. "Don't panic. Its contract scroll is in one of these rooms. We just have to find it."
"Here it comes again!" Tenten warned.
"I'll try the Mind Body Switch Jutsu," Ino said, raising her hands. An invisible wave of will rippled out—hit—and the next instant everything went black as she was kicked out effortlessly. That's the limitation of Mind Body Switch: it doesn't work on iron-willed or terrifying targets.
"Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Hinata set her jaw and drove the flesh back with a flurry of strikes.
"Hold them off and follow me," Kitazawa said. He didn't attack, letting them tangle with the lizard—it was a good training opportunity.
The three threw everything they had into it and barely held the tide. Meanwhile, Kitazawa searched for the ghost—the lizard's master, the daimyo Kubisaki Kōza. Seeing Hinata focused on the fight, he simply activated the Byakugan. Chakra flooded his vision. The ghost's chakra was different from the chameleon's—a Yin-Release signature.
"Excuse me—Daimyo Kubisaki Kōza?" Kitazawa found the spirit quickly. He didn't waste words; he ran the speed-clear just like in the original: "The Shiromari has guarded you for fifty years. It's time to set it free."
~~~
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