The sun was setting in the west.
Kitazawa stopped practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He slowly let out a breath and felt the fatigue all over his body.
The Flying Thunder God was just as difficult as he'd expected. It would be hard to make any real progress in a short time.
After adjusting himself with Yin Seal healing, his body quickly returned to normal.
He went back inside, changed his shoes, and walked into the living room.
Kurenai was lying face down on the sofa with her eyes closed, her elegant curves outlined clearly, especially the way her hips were raised.
"You look exhausted."
Kitazawa walked over and gently rubbed her head.
"I've been practicing Yin Release: Rasengan all day."
Kurenai replied weakly.
Unlike Kitazawa, she didn't have that much chakra, and Yin Release: Rasengan was an A-rank jutsu. It was a real challenge for her.
"Move over and make some space for me."
Kitazawa patted her on the butt and said.
"Don't wanna move."
Kurenai answered lazily.
"Then don't move. I'll move you."
Kitazawa bent down, one arm sliding under her upper body, the other wrapping around her thighs.
Kurenai couldn't help letting out a small sound.
"I'll give you a massage."
Kitazawa pulled his hands back, sat on the edge of the sofa, and said.
"Mm."
Feeling his hands kneading her shoulders, Kurenai stretched her arms out and said, "My arms are the most tired."
"It's hard to massage your arms while you're lying like this. I'll work on your back first, then you can roll over later."
Kitazawa thought for a moment and said.
"Okay."
Kurenai agreed softly.
"How's the Yin Release: Rasengan coming along?"
Kitazawa asked casually.
"Pretty smoothly."
Kurenai's lips curved up into a smile. "I should have it down by the end of the month."
Kitazawa nodded. That didn't surprise him.
She had already learned the regular Rasengan; once she successfully added Yin Release chakra to it, she'd be able to master the Yin Release: Rasengan.
And she was already an excellent genjutsu specialist, very skilled with Yin Release.
After a while, Kitazawa's hands moved lower, sliding down to her waist.
He pressed a couple of times, then stopped.
"I feel like massaging over clothes cuts the effect in half."
He said this with a perfectly serious expression.
"Why is it that the moment you get home, the first thing on your mind is taking advantage of me?"
Kurenai complained, but she still reached back, lifted her top, and revealed the smooth, pale skin of her waist.
Kitazawa looked at her slim, hand-span waist and wrapped both hands around it.
Kurenai bit her lip.
The warmth of his palms made her heart beat faster. She couldn't help remembering how things tended to go when he touched her like this.
Her legs tensed, toes curling slightly.
"Is the pressure okay?"
Kitazawa kneaded as he asked.
"Yeah."
Kurenai snapped back to herself and quickly changed the topic. "Why did this mission of yours take so long?"
"Something unexpected came up."
Kitazawa's eyes glinted. "How about we make a bet?"
"What kind of bet?"
Kurenai asked, curious. "Does it have to do with this mission?"
"I ran into a ninja I should never have been able to meet on this mission."
Kitazawa replied. "The bet is whether you can guess who it was."
"A ninja you should never have been able to meet?"
Kurenai thought for a bit, then pouted. "No way. That's way too little to go on. I'd never guess it. I'm not betting."
"I can give you three clear hints."
Kitazawa's thumb slid lightly across the smooth skin of her back.
"What are we betting for?"
Kurenai's interest rose.
"One request. How about that?"
Kitazawa considered it. "Whoever wins gets to ask for one thing."
"Deal."
Kurenai perked up.
"First hint: you've met him and you know who he is."
Kitazawa's right hand rested on her soft backside.
Well, it was a full-body massage—he wasn't going to skip anywhere.
Kurenai fell into thought.
She'd met plenty of people, but if she added the condition that it was someone Kitazawa "shouldn't be able to meet," the range suddenly got much smaller.
Still, with only those two conditions, it was nowhere near enough.
"Give me the second hint."
When she got nowhere, Kurenai chose to give up on guessing for the moment.
"Second hint: he's one of Konoha's top brass."
Kitazawa stood up and moved his focus to her hips and thighs.
A tingling sensation ran through Kurenai, nearly shattering her concentration.
She forced herself to focus, and a name surfaced in her mind.
"Is it… the Hokage?"
Kurenai blurted out.
"Nope."
Kitazawa shook his head.
Though Tsunade did fit all three hints, so it was no wonder Kurenai thought of her.
"Not even the Hokage?"
Kurenai couldn't help turning her head to look at him. "You're not just denying it to mess with me, right?"
"Don't question my integrity. I'm always fair."
Kitazawa gave her a firm squeeze on the butt. "Turn over, I'll massage your arms."
Kurenai's hips tensed on reflex, her cheeks flushing.
She shot him a glare, then rolled over and stretched out her arm.
"Third hint: it's a man."
Kitazawa grabbed her wrist and gave it a light flick.
Her arm trembled, the motion rippling along her body so that her clothes rose and fell.
He glanced at the outline this created, then started kneading her arm.
Kurenai was just about to speak when he cut in.
"You've still got two more guesses. Think carefully."
He reminded her.
"It's one of the Hokage's advisors."
Kurenai blinked and said.
Konoha had three Hokage advisors; she was clearly trying to game the question by giving a vague answer.
"Nope."
Kitazawa saw right through her little trick but didn't bother calling her on it.
It didn't matter how many times she guessed—she wasn't getting it.
"Still wrong?"
Kurenai froze, confusion written all over her face.
There weren't that many people in Konoha's upper ranks to begin with. If you took the women out of the equation, the list was tiny.
If it wasn't Mitokado Homura or Nara Shikaku, then who?
"I've got it!"
Kurenai's eyes suddenly lit up. "The Third Hokage!"
"Nope."
Kitazawa smiled.
"Then who is it?"
Kurenai couldn't help blurting out.
"The Fourth Hokage."
Kitazawa answered.
"…?"
Kurenai's mind filled with question marks.
"So here's what happened…"
While he worked on her arm, Kitazawa told her what he'd gone through on this mission.
"You're not messing with me?"
Kurenai listened in stunned silence.
"You can ask Kakashi and the others if you don't believe me."
Kitazawa gave the same answer he'd given before.
"That's… really hard to imagine."
Kurenai sighed. "Compared to your mission, the one we did was so normal it's boring."
This monthly test, Kitazawa had kicked off early as a practical exam.
It wasn't just him and Hatake Kakashi. He'd also had Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kurenai each lead their own teams on missions.
"A bet's a bet."
Kitazawa pulled out a pair of black stockings. "Let me put these on you."
"That's your big request?"
Kurenai rolled her eyes, helpless.
She sat up, lifted her leg, and pointed her toes.
Kitazawa pinched the top of the stocking, slid it on from her toes upward, and finally let go when he reached her thigh.
The elastic snapped against her skin with a crisp sound.
Since they were at home, she didn't have her usual bandages wrapped around her thighs.
Moments later, Kurenai had changed into the black stockings.
She lay back down on the sofa and put her stocking-clad feet on Kitazawa's lap.
"Are the others done with their missions?"
Kitazawa gently kneaded her silk-wrapped feet and asked casually.
"Everyone's done. You and Kakashi were the last ones."
Kurenai closed her eyes, a relaxed look on her face.
With Kitazawa being one of the strongest shinobi in the world and also a medical ninja, his massages were always just right.
Not only was the pressure perfect, but he always hit the right spots, both soothing and satisfying.
"Then we can hold the written exam tomorrow."
Kitazawa thought about it. "Might as well get this monthly test wrapped up early."
Kurenai didn't answer. She was drifting in that hazy space between sleep and wakefulness.
Seeing this, Kitazawa didn't say anything more.
Time slipped by quietly.
Once he finished with her legs, Kitazawa stood up again.
He helped Kurenai sit up a bit so she was half-reclining in his arms.
Suddenly, Kurenai felt a jolt in her chest.
She looked down and saw that at some point, Kitazawa's hand had slipped under her clothes.
A deeper flush spread across her face, and her breathing quickened.
"Is this what you call a massage?"
She asked, half annoyed, half flustered.
Kitazawa looked deadly serious. "Why wouldn't it be?"
Kurenai was left speechless.
"I don't see you stopping me."
Kitazawa lowered his head and gently bit her ear as he spoke.
Kurenai shivered, a faint pink rising over her pale skin.
She bit her lip, doing her best to stay quiet.
Kitazawa watched her expression with obvious enjoyment, his fingers gradually applying more pressure.
No one knew how long it was before Kurenai finally couldn't take it anymore, pushed herself up, and pulled free of his arms.
She didn't go far, though. She turned, glaring at him fiercely.
Before Kitazawa could say anything, she stepped in close.
She sat right down on his lap, dropping her full weight onto him.
Kitazawa's expression changed, and he hissed in a breath.
Kurenai had deliberately channeled her monstrous strength into it to get back at him.
The impact was so strong that for a moment, even he struggled to bear it.
He grimaced.
If this had been the old him, before he had his system, his legs might honestly have broken.
Fortunately, he was no longer the same as before—he managed to withstand Kurenai's sudden "attack."
And since he'd recovered, it was his turn to move.
Thinking that, Kitazawa narrowed his eyes, a playful hint of menace in them.
He reached out and put his hands on Kurenai's waist.
"W–wait!"
Kurenai's heart skipped. She tried to stop him, but it was already too late.
Her thoughts quickly turned to mush, and her words became incoherent.
The night deepened.
Kurenai was slumped bonelessly in Kitazawa's arms.
Her face was flushed, a sheen of sweat on her forehead. Her lips were parted as she panted softly.
Her eyes were still open, but they'd long since lost focus. Her gaze was hazy, not really landing anywhere.
"Let's go take a bath."
Kitazawa picked her up and headed for the bathroom.
Steam rose from the hot water.
Kurenai felt like she'd come back to life.
Leaning back against the edge of the tub, she grumbled, "If I'd known, I wouldn't have let you massage me."
She felt even more worn out after the "massage" than before; it really felt like a losing deal.
"But you looked like you were enjoying every second of it."
Kitazawa laughed as he scrubbed her arms.
Kurenai, both embarrassed and annoyed, gave him a light kick.
She was too tired, though—there wasn't much strength in it.
Kitazawa didn't mind at all.
Very soon, Kurenai was thoroughly washed from head to toe.
Kitazawa scooped her up again and carried her back to the bedroom.
Since she'd already been "worked over" earlier, he didn't push things while they were in the bath.
Kurenai didn't have the energy to tease him either.
She rested her cheek against his chest and glanced up.
A little earlier, when she'd been feeling truly helpless, she had even thought about calling for outside help.
Kurenai closed her eyes and quickly drifted off.
Kitazawa flipped off the lights with a wave, and the two of them slipped under the covers together.
The quiet night passed in no time.
The next day, Kurenai still hadn't woken up.
In the past, Kitazawa would've let her sleep in to recover.
But now that she was a teacher in the Advanced Class, he didn't have that luxury.
He raised his hand and set it on her forehead, sending a gentle stream of green healing chakra into her.
Kurenai immediately relaxed.
The fatigue on her face vanished, and she soon opened her eyes.
"Thanks."
She sat up and stretched, feeling refreshed and energized.
"I'll go make breakfast."
Kitazawa changed, washed up, and headed for the kitchen.
Kurenai quickly dressed and ran off to wash up as well.
By the time she came into the kitchen, a delicious smell was already in the air.
"Pork rib ramen."
Kurenai sniffed. "Smells great."
"Correct. Come here, I've got a reward for you."
Kitazawa said casually.
"What reward?"
Kurenai walked up to him, curious.
Kitazawa turned and kissed her on her glossy lips.
"That's your idea of a reward?"
Kurenai couldn't help smacking him lightly in the side.
"How about this, then?"
Kitazawa set a bowl of pork rib ramen in front of her.
Kurenai immediately swallowed, suddenly aware of how hungry she was.
She'd burned through a lot of energy the previous day, after all.
"Let's eat in the living room."
Kurenai picked up the ramen and followed Kitazawa back to the living room.
They sat facing each other at the low table and started breakfast.
"I feel alive again!"
When she finished the ramen, Kurenai rubbed her stomach with a deeply satisfied sigh.
"Is it really that dramatic?"
Kitazawa couldn't help laughing.
"After everything you did, you seriously don't remember why I'm this tired?"
Kurenai shot him a glare.
Kitazawa blinked. He really didn't have a comeback for that.
"You do the dishes."
Kurenai crossed her arms.
Normally, she did them, but after that "reunion" yesterday, she felt so wrung out she didn't even want to move.
Kitazawa nodded and headed back to the kitchen.
Once the dishes were done, the two of them went to the ninja academy.
It wasn't even nine yet, but quite a few of the Advanced Class students were already training.
"Iruka."
Kitazawa called out.
"Kitazawa-senpai."
Umino Iruka hurried over.
Lately, aside from teaching theory classes, he'd been tutoring Shion as well.
"Are the written exam papers ready?"
Kitazawa asked him.
"I've had them ready for a while. We can hold the written exam anytime."
Iruka answered immediately.
"Then let's do it today."
Kitazawa nodded.
"So soon?"
Iruka was briefly stunned.
"Whether we do it today or tomorrow doesn't really matter."
Kitazawa said casually.
"I'll let them know once everyone's here."
Iruka didn't argue further.
"We'll skip the morning. Hold it this afternoon."
Kitazawa added after a moment's thought.
Some of the Advanced Class students were already in the middle of training.
And Maruboshi Kosuke and Master Chen were there as well. Calling them back home now would just waste their trip.
As for the written exam, taking it in the morning or in the afternoon made no difference.
Besides, he was the vice-principal of the academy; he had the authority to change the exam time.
"Got it."
Iruka naturally had no objections.
At nine o'clock, all the Advanced Class students had arrived.
Iruka announced that the written exam would be held that afternoon.
Though it was a bit sudden, none of them reacted too strongly.
It was going to be either today or tomorrow anyway.
"Start training!"
Iruka shouted.
The Advanced Class students each went to find their instructor.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Kurama Yakumo ran straight over to him.
"How's your kekkei genkai coming along?"
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.
"Mm."
Yakumo's face lit up, her voice full of excitement. "Yesterday I successfully used my new ability for the first time."
"Congrats."
Kitazawa paused, then asked, "Is it the five-senses control I mentioned before?"
"I call it the Illusionary Five Senses."
Yakumo explained. "Anyone who falls into my illusion—I can control all five of their senses. They won't realize they've been caught in a genjutsu."
In the original story, her genjutsu kekkei genkai had three abilities: Terror Dreamscape, Genjutsu Manifestation, and Illusionary Five Senses.
Kitazawa thought Illusionary Five Senses was the most overpowered of the three.
Normally, genjutsu damage was limited to the mind.
The classic example was Kakashi being hit by Itachi's Tsukuyomi and ending up in the hospital for a long time.
But that was purely mental damage; his body wasn't actually injured.
Illusionary Five Senses was different—it caused both mental and physical damage at the same time. It was basically a buffed version of Tsukuyomi.
The worst part was that once all five senses were being controlled, even up to the moment of death, the victim would struggle to tell illusion from reality.
Yakumo had already mastered all three abilities.
In Kitazawa's eyes, she was basically on the same level as an Uchiha with a Mangekyo Sharingan.
But that was also her ceiling. It would be very hard for her to go much further, let alone reach Rinnegan-tier heights.
Even so, she already qualified as one of the top-tier shinobi in the world in terms of combat potential.
Considering she was still just an academy student, that was terrifying.
"Get used to your ability for a while. After that, I'll teach you some new jutsu."
Kitazawa thought it over and said.
In genjutsu, Yakumo had already hit the limit; he could only teach her other kinds of jutsu.
As for what, he hadn't decided yet.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei."
Yakumo nodded happily.
Once she left, Kitazawa looked over the other students' training.
He had already promised Naruto and Sasuke he'd teach them Yang Release: Rasengan and Yin Release: Rasengan—but not yet.
They were still working on Leaf Dragon God and the Hatake sword style.
Only once they'd fully mastered those would he move on to Yang and Yin Rasengan.
Judging from their current progress, they should be able to learn Leaf Dragon God and the Hatake style within the next two months.
Kitazawa's gaze fell on Yamanaka Ino.
Right now she was learning the Leaf Body Flicker Technique.
After this much time, she'd more or less gotten it down.
Kitazawa stroked his chin.
He was thinking about what new jutsu to teach her.
Suddenly, Ninja Art: Mind Body Transmission Technique popped into his head.
It didn't directly boost combat power, but its effect was far from useless—in key moments, it could be incredibly valuable.
Once she graduated, Ino would definitely be part of the new Ino–Shika–Cho trio. Mind Body Transmission would suit her perfectly.
It was a secret technique from the Yamanaka clan to begin with.
An idea flickered across Kitazawa's mind.
He'd just come up with a new way to run the next practical exam: adding team battles.
Up to now, it was either one-on-one sparring or sending everyone on separate missions and grading them. There hadn't been many large team melees.
But in the Chunin Exams, team battles were already a thing.
In the second stage, when they were fighting over the Heaven and Earth scrolls, it was all squad-versus-squad.
"Ino."
Kitazawa set that thought aside for now and called out.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Ino ran over quickly.
"Do you know Ninja Art: Mind Body Transmission?"
Kitazawa asked.
"That's one of our clan's secret techniques."
Ino answered right away.
"That's what you'll be learning next."
Kitazawa paused, then added, "Once this monthly test is over, you can start practicing it at home."
"Eh?"
Ino hesitated for a couple of seconds. "I kind of want a jutsu I can use in battle…"
"What, still thinking about beating Sakura?"
Kitazawa chuckled.
"Of course!"
Ino clenched her fists. "There's no way I'm losing to her!"
"Then you should learn this even more."
Kitazawa hinted, "It's going to be really useful in the next term-end exam."
"Really?"
Ino's eyes lit up.
"Have I ever lied to you?"
Kitazawa flicked her lightly on the forehead.
"Nope!"
Ino grinned. "I'll start practicing as soon as I get home after school!"
"Go train, then."
Kitazawa ruffled her hair.
"Mm!"
Ino skipped off, cheerful as ever.
When Kitazawa turned his head, he locked eyes with Hinata.
She panicked, quickly looking away and bending her bow to practice Multiple Arrows again.
Kitazawa chuckled softly and turned his gaze to Haku.
Haku had already mastered three Ice Release jutsu. If he wanted to learn more, he'd basically have to start creating new ones.
But Kitazawa was short on time right now. After some thought, he decided to teach Haku Water Release instead.
In the original story, Haku's Water Release had been quite good.
He'd used secret techniques like Water Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death and Water Release: Flight of the Obliterating Water—and no one else had used them.
In terms of Water Release talent, Haku was better than Sakura.
Besides, as strong as Ice Release was, if Haku wanted to reach jonin level, he couldn't rely on a single element. Learning Water Release was essential.
[Current Mission: Teach Haku five Water Release jutsu.]
[Mission Reward: Master-level Water Release chakra nature transformation.]
[Accept?]
Five Water Release techniques, huh?
That was a lot, but the reward made it more than worth it.
Master-level Water Release chakra nature transformation wasn't something he'd pass up.
Right now, he only had three elements at Master level: Lightning Release, Yin Release, and Yang Release.
"Haku."
Kitazawa called him over.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Haku greeted him politely.
"For your age, knowing three Ice Release jutsu is more than enough. If you keep piling them on, each new one will take a long time to learn."
Kitazawa said calmly. "So next, you're going to learn Water Release."
"Can I learn Water Release?"
Haku asked, a bit uncertain.
"Of course you can."
Kitazawa smiled. "We'll start with basic Water Release chakra nature training."
"Okay."
Haku nodded.
"Let's go to the artificial lake."
Kitazawa led him over to the man-made lake.
"Haku's got Water Release talent?"
Maruboshi Kosuke had been teaching Sakura Water Release near the lake. Noticing them, he came over curiously.
"Perfect timing, Kosuke-senpai."
Kitazawa's eyes brightened. "Haku will be training at the lake for a while—can I trouble you to keep an eye on him?"
"No problem."
Kosuke agreed without hesitation.
Unlike Kitazawa, he wasn't busy learning a bunch of new jutsu every day.
These days, he was focused solely on being a teacher for the Advanced Class.
Adding Haku to his load was nothing.
And if Haku really did have Water Release talent, he could inherit Kosuke's Water Release just like Sakura.
Normally, a ninja would have three formal students in their career.
"Thanks, Kosuke-senpai."
After giving Haku his initial instruction, Kitazawa went off to train his Flying Thunder God again.
Time passed, and afternoon rolled around.
The Advanced Class students took their first written exam of the term.
Just like before, Kitazawa had Iruka handle the proctoring and grading while he played the hands-off boss.
Partly because Iruka was already more than capable enough.
Partly because Kitazawa really didn't have the time.
On top of training Flying Thunder God, he still had to learn Wood Release: Cutting Technique, plus more Shikotsumyaku and Ice Release.
He'd already learned three Shikotsumyaku dances, which was enough for now.
Ice Release had lower priority for him; he'd only work on it now and then.
The sun went down, and before he knew it, it was dusk.
Kitazawa wrapped up his training and stretched.
Then he realized something—why hadn't Iruka come to find him?
Just then, footsteps approached.
"Kitazawa."
Konan appeared in front of him.
"When did you come back?"
Kitazawa asked, surprised. "Didn't I give you a month off?"
"I got back today."
Konan explained. "The Akatsuki is short on people lately, so I didn't stay long."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she shouldn't have said that.
While the Akatsuki's manpower issues weren't exactly top-secret, they were still an internal matter.
"I see."
Kitazawa nodded.
His first thought when he heard the Akatsuki was short-staffed was that it was his fault.
Because of him, Kisame and Itachi had never joined the Akatsuki.
"Aren't you supposed to be recruiting? Why are you back in Konoha already?"
Kitazawa noticed something off and walked closer with a smile.
"The 'one month' you mentioned was… an estimate."
Konan turned her gaze away. "So I came back early to check in."
"Doing missions for a month was the estimate. Giving you a month off was not."
Kitazawa lifted her chin with a finger.
"I misunderstood."
Konan replied.
But the way her eyes drifted made it obvious she wasn't being completely honest.
"What did you come to see me about?"
Kitazawa withdrew his hand.
"The Advanced Class ranking sheet for the written exam."
Konan took out a scroll.
"Why do you have it?"
Kitazawa took the scroll, puzzled.
"I saw you were training, so I intercepted it for you."
Konan said.
"How thoughtful."
Kitazawa blinked, genuinely impressed.
Konan's expression didn't change.
Kitazawa couldn't see her face anyway—she was wearing her Anbu mask.
He opened the scroll and glanced over it.
Overall, it was about what he'd expected.
Taking their mission performances into account, the final ranking had Sasuke in first place again.
Before, he would sometimes "flip" his ranking and lose first place because he hadn't done as well in the practicals compared to Naruto and Yakumo.
Now that they were doing actual missions, he flipped far less. On difficult missions, he pretty much always got full marks.
Other students could also get full marks, but in the written exams he frequently came in third.
The two ahead of him were Shikamaru and Sakura. In terms of missions, they were a bit weaker than him, so he often ended up first overall.
Strictly speaking, for a profession like shinobi, written exams shouldn't count for half the overall score.
But the system had been in place for a while, so Kitazawa hadn't changed it.
Knowledge was still important.
He was planning to add team battles to the practical portion of the term-end exams anyway. Once that happened, the rankings would definitely shift.
"How are you planning to recruit now?"
Kitazawa asked after finishing the scroll.
"I've already sent the other Akatsuki members to scout for candidates."
Konan answered. "I'll just wait here in Konoha for word."
Since she'd already let slip that the Akatsuki was short on manpower, she didn't bother hiding that much.
Of course, she didn't go into detail.
Kitazawa immediately guessed who she meant by "other members"—White Zetsu, obviously.
He had to admit, White Zetsu was a bizarre creature with all sorts of strange abilities and uses.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
If he thought about it, there weren't that many shinobi left in the current world who were worthy of joining the Akatsuki.
The Five Great Villages had plenty of powerful people, but none of them were realistically going to join.
The Akatsuki knew that too, so they mostly targeted rogue ninja.
Kitazawa thought it through and still couldn't come up with any especially suitable candidates.
Then another idea came to him: should he plant a mole in the Akatsuki?
After a brief consideration, he decided against it.
He already knew nearly everything there was to know about the organization.
Besides, joining the Akatsuki was dangerous.
Take Kakuzu, for instance—an Akatsuki member who routinely hunted his own teammates for bounty money.
Kitazawa dropped the subject. He wasn't an Akatsuki member anyway.
He rolled up the scroll. "It's the end of the workday. Go home and rest."
Konan nodded and vanished.
Kitazawa retracted his gaze and headed home.
The next day, at nine in the morning.
Since the practical exam had been held early, wrapping up the written exam meant it was time to announce the rankings.
Aside from the ranking announcement, this monthly test didn't come with a break.
Still, Kitazawa was planning to give them two extra days off for the next one.
Because the rankings would be announced and then class would continue, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Kakashi, Kurenai, and the other teachers were all present.
"I'll announce the rankings now. We'll start with the written exam."
Kitazawa picked up the grade sheet and started reading.
In under ten minutes, he'd finished announcing the written rankings, the practical rankings, and the final combined rankings.
"Sasuke-kun is first again!"
Sakura said with open admiration. "From now on, all the first places are going to be Sasuke-kun's!"
Sasuke, who had been quite pleased with himself a moment ago, felt his face stiffen.
Wasn't that basically cursing every future exam?
"Sakura, don't jinx it."
Ino laughed.
"With Sasuke-kun's strength…"
Sakura trailed off mid-sentence as she realized it herself.
She was doing it again, wasn't she?
She clapped a hand over her mouth.
"In the future, the term-end exams will introduce a new practical format, but the monthly tests will stay the same."
Kitazawa said.
Sasuke, Ino, and the others instinctively turned to look at Sakura.
"This has nothing to do with me!"
Sakura shook her head vigorously.
How would she know that Kitazawa was suddenly going to change the practical format?
"Kitazawa-sensei, what's the new format?"
Kiba asked eagerly.
He wanted to improve his ranking so badly, but whether it was in practicals or missions, he just couldn't match up to Sasuke and the others.
His written exam scores were only average, which meant he almost never had a shot at first place.
Kimimaro, Tayuya, and the others also looked at Kitazawa.
"Team battles."
Kitazawa replied. "Three-man squads sparring against each other."
"Huh?"
Kiba stared in disbelief.
Sakura and the others were also taken aback.
A few of them felt this format really wasn't in their favor—for example, Sasuke.
He thought his teammates would only drag him down.
Ino suddenly remembered something.
She thought back to Kitazawa telling her to learn Mind Body Transmission.
There was no doubt that it would shine in team battles.
Kitazawa-sensei really was looking out for her.
Ino couldn't help showing a bright smile.
"Kitazawa-sensei, how will the team battles be graded?"
Kiba asked again.
"First, there's a team score—the winners all get points. Then, the standout member on the team earns extra points as 'captain's points.'"
Kitazawa explained.
"That's great!"
Kiba's eyes lit up.
The strong got extra points, and the weaker ones at least had a baseline from the team score.
"Do the losing team get any points?"
Ino raised her hand.
"They do."
Kitazawa nodded. "The scoring rules are the same, but the losing team's overall team score will be much lower."
In essence, it wasn't that different from the previous one-on-one practical exams.
The only real change was that it went from one-on-one to three-on-three.
"Kitazawa-sensei, is it going to be free-form team selection?"
Sakura asked hopefully. "Then I want to be on Sasuke-kun's team!"
"What are you thinking?"
Ino shook her head. "There's no way it's free-form."
"The participants will still be the top eighteen from the Advanced Class practical rankings—that makes six teams."
Kitazawa said evenly. "The top six will be temporary captains, and they'll choose their teammates in order."
Given how Naruto and the others did on written exams, he hadn't used the overall rankings to pick captains.
If Sasuke and Naruto ended up on the same team, who would stand a chance?
"What?"
The whole class broke into chatter.
Sasuke clenched his fist.
He was ranked first, which meant he had first pick of teammates.
Aside from the other five captains, everyone else was fair game.
No question, he'd have the biggest advantage.
"Damn it…"
Kiba grabbed his hair. "So I can only wait for someone to pick me?"
"Sasuke-kun, you have to pick me!"
Sakura turned eagerly to him.
"We'll see."
Sasuke did think she was a good choice.
A medical ninja plus a Water Release user was a pretty handy combo.
There was no need to rush the decision, though.
"Lee!"
Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "From today, the Youth Team is officially born!"
"Naruto!"
Rock Lee's eyes shone. "That's amazing! Our Youth Team will be invincible!"
Kiba and the others immediately went pale.
If Naruto was one of the top six in the practical rankings—and he would be—then he'd be a captain.
If he picked Lee, who would be the unlucky one who got dragged in as the third member?
Pretty clearly, it was going to be one of them.
"Neji, you've gotta save me when the time comes!"
Tenten said in a panic.
Her only solution was to join another team and avoid getting drafted into the Youth Team.
"I'll do what I can."
Neji replied, face twitching slightly.
Even if he wanted to pick Tenten, Naruto outranked him and would get first pick.
If Naruto took Tenten first, there was nothing he could do.
"Just thinking about it scares me."
Tayuya grimaced. "I'm definitely not joining the Youth Team."
"It'd be a nightmare."
Shikamaru shook his head.
Kimimaro suddenly felt pretty grateful.
At least he'd be in the top six—he wouldn't lose the right to choose.
Hinata was already agonizing over who she should pick.
Thing was, because of her personality, she got along pretty well with everyone in the Advanced Class.
She didn't have a best-friend relationship like Sakura and Ino, though.
That made choosing all the harder.
"There's one more thing about the rules."
Kitazawa clapped his hands. "To keep things fair, you can't pick the exact same teammates as last time for the next term-end team battle."
He really didn't want every term-end exam to feature the same Youth Team over and over. That would be a huge headache.
"Kitazawa."
Hiruzen chuckled. "So what do us teachers have to do?"
"Each team will have one teacher as an advisor."
Kitazawa said.
"Tactical planning?"
Kosuke mused.
"Not just tactics."
Kitazawa explained. "In the future, team battles will also take place in special, complex environments—not just on the training field."
A lot of students visibly perked up at that.
Like Shino, for example.
As a member of the Aburame clan, he loved complicated terrain.
A flat training ground did nothing for his kikaichu.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.
Wasn't this just like the Chunin Exams?
Suddenly, he found himself looking forward to the real Chunin Exams.
When they rolled around, he was definitely going to recommend that Tsunade hold a joint exam and invite all the hidden villages.
Just imagining Naruto and the others crushing the other villages' prodigies made him excited.
~~~
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