March 11.
After breakfast, Kitazawa and Kurenai went to the Ninja Academy.
These two days were the Advanced Class's second monthly exam of the term. The written test had already finished yesterday.
Because Uchiha Sasuke was on leave, the top three were still Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura, and Hyuga Neji.
Once Kitazawa and Kurenai reached the training field, they found Sarutobi Hiruzen and Hatake Kakashi to discuss teams for the practical exam.
Since Kitazawa would be taking four students out on a mission, this time each team would have one more person than last time—the top nineteen would be drafted.
While they were discussing, the Advanced Class students trickled onto the field to assemble.
"Why isn't Sasuke back yet?" Sakura looked around and sighed.
"It's not like you didn't see him. Didn't we go to the Uchiha compound together last week?" Ino nudged her.
"Seeing him once isn't the same as seeing him every time," Sakura shot back.
"It's a three-tomoe Sharingan. Taking a bit longer is normal," Shikamaru yawned.
"Isn't today about team assignments?" Kiba clenched his fists. "With Sasuke gone, it'll be easier for us to take first!"
"You'll have to get past Neji first," Tenten said with a smile.
"On missions, anything can happen," Kiba was as confident as ever. "What if Neji doesn't run into any enemies this time?"
"That could happen to anyone," Shino said, pushing up his glasses.
"True," Tenten nodded. "What if the one who doesn't run into enemies is you, Kiba?"
"My luck's always great!" Kiba declared.
"Hmph, maybe first place will be mine!" Tayuya couldn't help chiming in.
"Final rankings include the written score," Ino reminded, blinking.
"I—" Tayuya's face stiffened.
After all this time studying, her grades still hadn't really improved. Kimimaro and Haku, on the other hand, had rocketed up and could already place in the Advanced Class top fifteen. Tayuya had to admit the truth: academics just weren't her thing.
"Kitazawa-sensei's coming. I hope I'm not grouped with Ino again," Sakura said, noticing Kitazawa.
"I don't want to be in your group either!" Ino put her hands on her hips.
"I hope my teammate is Naruto!" Rock Lee beamed. "Teaming with Naruto last time was a mission bursting with youth!"
Sakura reflexively pressed a hand to her forehead. For her, that mission had been terrifying.
Hinata pinched the hem of her jacket, her slender fingers rubbing lightly. She wondered if Kitazawa would be her team leader this time.
"I'll announce the teams for this practical exam," Kitazawa said as he walked up to them. "Team One will be led by me."
Hinata instantly tensed up. She stared at Kitazawa, hoping to hear her name.
Ino also looked expectant.
"Kurama Yakumo, Hyuga Neji, Hyuga Hinata, and Tenten," Kitazawa finished.
Surprised looks rippled through the class.
"Kitazawa-sensei, why does that team have four people?" Naruto raised his hand, curious.
"This mission's a bit troublesome, so it's four," Kitazawa explained.
"Doesn't that mean Yakumo and Neji have an easy path to a perfect score?" Kiba groaned, scratching his head. "There goes my first place!"
"What a shame," Ino said, disappointed she wasn't on Kitazawa's team again.
Hinata, in contrast, couldn't stop the little smile tugging at her lips. Her heart leapt—she was happy. As for whether the mission was hard, she didn't care.
"Yakumo and Hinata, huh?" Neji frowned slightly—tricky. Kurama Yakumo was stronger than he was, and Hinata wasn't weaker than him either. In theory, the harder the mission, the easier it was to earn a perfect score—but that didn't mean the perfect score would be his. His teammates weren't slouches; even Tenten might steal the spotlight. On a mission, she could summon Shiromari.
"Team Two will be led by Lord Third," Kitazawa continued.
In short order, six teams were assigned. Some were happy, some not, but it was only one practical exam. If you didn't like your team this time, there'd be another chance.
With teams settled, the practical officially began. The top nineteen didn't have to take the on-site test—they went to find their assigned leaders.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Tenten greeted him with a big grin. She was thrilled to be teammates with Neji.
Hinata took a few quick steps to stand on Kitazawa's left. "Kitazawa-sensei."
"Kitazawa-sensei," Kurama Yakumo and Neji said in unison.
"Our mission this time is to the Takumi Village. It's a long trip, so you have one hour to prepare," Kitazawa said, looking them over. "We meet at the Hidden Leaf's main gate in one hour."
The Takumi Village lies to the left of the Land of Wind. In the original story, traveling to the Land of Wind on normal ninja foot speed took three days. Getting to the Takumi Village and back would take about a week—a longest-yet mission for the Advanced Class.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," they answered together.
After they left, Kitazawa headed to the Anbu base. In addition to his four students, two Anbu squads were involved in the Takumi Village operation. In fact, those two squads had been in Takumi for some time, keeping tabs on the Four Celestial Symbols Men.
Kitazawa pushed open the door to his office. Konan was, as always, seated on the sofa.
He walked over and naturally lay his head on her lap. Konan set down her book. She said nothing, just reached out and gently kneaded his temples.
"Has Itachi left?" Kitazawa looked up at her past the edge of her cloak.
"He left Konoha two hours ago after receiving the Anbu notice," Konan replied coolly.
Kitazawa's goal in bringing Uchiha Itachi in was, of course, to secure control of Takumi Village in the end. But since Kitazawa would be taking four students on the mission, he had Itachi go first to link up with the Anbu squads already in Takumi.
"Is your Akatsuki member just about out of medicine?" Kitazawa estimated the timing.
"Mm." Konan nodded. "About a week left."
"When this mission's over, bring him to the Land of Fire," Kitazawa said, thinking of Nagato's system task. He wondered what the improved One's Own Life Reincarnation would actually do.
"Do you need me to come along on this mission?" Konan lowered her head to look at him. The motion made the lines of her clothes more distinct.
"We're headed to Takumi Village," Kitazawa thought for a moment. "We'll pass through the Land of Wind on the way back—you can return to Akatsuki from there."
Konan understood immediately. He was telling her to come.
"Wake me in half an hour," Kitazawa murmured, closing his eyes.
Konan didn't answer—she just continued to massage him in silence. A moment later her hands slid down to knead his neck and shoulders.
Time slid by. Konan glanced at the clock on the wall and called softly, "Time's up, Kitazawa."
Kitazawa sat up and stretched lazily. He hadn't been asleep; he'd been cultivating his Yang Release Chakra Mode.
He stood and met Konan's cool gaze. After two seconds, he reached out and pinched her cheek. A flicker of puzzlement flashed in her eyes.
"Let's go. We're heading out now," Kitazawa said, tamping down the impulse.
"Mm." Konan followed him out. Once they left the Anbu base, she vanished and shadowed them from the dark.
Kitazawa arrived at the village gate fifteen minutes early. Someone beat him there—Hinata.
"Kitazawa-sensei." She hurried over the moment she saw him.
"Why are you here alone?" he asked, ruffling her hair.
"I didn't have much to pack, so I came early," Hinata said softly, head lowered.
"Let's get you checked out, then," Kitazawa said, glancing at the two new gate guards who were sneaking looks their way.
"Kitazawa-sama!" The two guards snapped to attention the instant he looked their way.
"Good—plenty of spirit," Kitazawa smiled. "Help me with the paperwork."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sama!" they said, thrilled.
Kitazawa now had the same kind of renown—and admirers—as the Legendary Sannin once did. These two were among those admirers. When they'd taken over the post, Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu had sung Kitazawa's praises, saying it was thanks to Kitazawa's eye for talent that the two of them had been promoted and no longer had to guard the gate.
After the registry was done, Yakumo, Neji, and Tenten arrived early as well.
They set out for Takumi Village. At dusk, they reached the border between the Lands of Wind and Fire.
"We'll camp here tonight," Kitazawa said, scanning the area and picking a huge open space.
Normally you wouldn't choose such an exposed spot to spend the night in the wild. As the Academy taught, the more hidden your camp, the less likely you are to be discovered.
"Let's pitch tents," Tenten volunteered.
"No need," Kitazawa said, shaking his head.
"Eh?" The others looked puzzled. Sleep on the ground?
Smiling, Kitazawa formed a seal with both hands. "Wood Release: Four-Pillar House!"
In a blink, a complex wooden residence rose up before them.
"Whoa!" Tenten's eyes went wide.
"There's a jutsu for this too?" Yakumo and Neji were floored.
"Amazing," Hinata breathed, eyes shining at Kitazawa.
"Is this… a summoning?" Konan, watching from the shadows, didn't think of Wood Release at first. The legend of Hashirama's Wood Release was so deeply ingrained it had become a stereotype: an invincible force that swept the shinobi world—who would use that to build a house? It didn't fit the mythos. Besides, Kitazawa wasn't from the Senju. A summoning made more sense. In this world, you could summon anything—like the Triple Rashōmon Kitazawa had gotten before.
"Come in," Kitazawa said, pushing open the door and stepping into the living room.
Hinata followed first. She looked around and was stunned—the interior was even more complete than she'd imagined. Tables and chairs, a tea table, even a kitchen. The only thing missing was appliances.
"Kitazawa-sensei, can we learn this jutsu?" Tenten asked, full of envy.
Yakumo and Neji looked his way too. If they could learn it, missions away from home would be much more comfortable.
"Not for now," Kitazawa said, shaking his head.
Tenten looked disappointed.
"Have a look around and pick your rooms. I'll make dinner," Kitazawa said, waving them off and heading into the kitchen.
"Kitchen" was an exaggeration—it had nothing in it. Wood Release: Four-Pillar House only produced wooden furnishings. If it conjured pots and pans, that wouldn't be very scientific—or very ninja-like.
Kitazawa opened a summoning storage scroll, took out the cookware he'd prepared, and started to cook.
Meanwhile, in the living room, his four students started a discussion.
"Exactly five rooms," Tenten said in wonder. "Can this jutsu control how many rooms there are?"
"I think so," Yakumo said, impressed. "As expected of Kitazawa-sensei—he can do anything."
"Mm," Neji nodded. "There's one for each of us."
"Which one do you want?" Tenten asked Neji.
"I'm fine with any," he said.
"I'll… I'll pick last," Hinata said quickly, suddenly thinking of something.
"I'll take the room on the far right," Yakumo decided after a beat.
"In that case, let's go in order," Tenten smiled. "Neji and I will take the two next to yours."
"No problem," Neji agreed.
"Me neither," Hinata said, glancing up at the rooms and nodding firmly. In order, hers would be the fourth.
After more than half an hour of work, dinner was ready. Kitazawa was about to carry it out when he stopped. "Konan."
Konan appeared at once.
"This is yours." Kitazawa produced a bento and filled it for her.
"Thank you," Konan said, momentarily taken aback as she accepted it.
Kitazawa brought the dishes into the living room. The four students were already seated properly around the table.
"Eat," Kitazawa said, sitting down beside Hinata.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei," they chorused.
By the time they finished, night had fallen. The weather was nice and the moon was bright. It was still a bit dim, but more than enough for shinobi.
"Use the time you have left to keep training," Kitazawa said from the doorway.
Neji and Hinata practiced Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. After nearly two years of work, they were close—given a bit more time, they should be able to complete all sixty-four strikes.
Yakumo and Tenten worked on their specialties—Yakumo her genjutsu kekkei genkai, Tenten the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique.
Kitazawa's gaze fell on Hinata and Neji. He wondered what to teach them after they mastered the Sixty-Four Palms. Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven was good, but at their age it was a bit much.
He suddenly made a small sound. Why did it have to be Gentle Fist next? Once they obtained the Bow of Yin Release, they should learn archery.
Right now they only knew the most basic archery—fine against ordinary ninja, but not strong opponents. The best approach was to create ninja techniques built around the bow.
Thinking it through, there weren't really "bow-style ninja arts" in the shinobi world. If he could create a series of bow-based techniques—secret arts, even—he could form the backbone of a new "archer-clan," like the Ino–Shika–Cho.
[Current Mission: Create an original bow-based secret art.]
[Mission Reward: Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa looked at the three lines of text, pleasantly surprised. Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists—born of the Hyuga clan—was a Gentle Fist taijutsu that formed twin lion-shaped masses of chakra around the hands to unleash a fierce assault.
He fell into thought. What should the first bow secret art be?
The bow was fixed; to boost power, he'd have to work from the arrow. An idea struck him—Spiral Arrow. If the arrow spun at high speed in flight, it would gain speed and lethality. And it had an advanced form: Spiral Explosive Arrow—detonating as it neared the target to make up for any lack of precision. If accuracy wasn't enough, bring more firepower.
That made two bow-style secret arts already.
"All right, it's late. That's enough training for today," Kitazawa finally said. "Head back to your rooms and turn in early—we've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei." They stopped and went to their rooms at once.
Kitazawa closed the door casually and, after checking which rooms Hinata and the others had taken, went to the last one.
The room was spartan—a single wooden bed. For the wilderness, though, it was downright luxurious.
He made the bed and suddenly thought of Konan. He paused—when he'd used the Four-Pillar House earlier, he'd forgotten to add an extra room. Too late to tear it down and redo it now.
"Konan," Kitazawa called.
She appeared before him.
"Did you bring a sleeping bag?" Kitazawa asked, perfectly serious. "We can squeeze."
"I'll take the night watch," Konan said after a moment's hesitation.
~~~
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