March 13th, Thursday.
The Advanced Class's final exams officially began.
Today was the written test, handled by Umino Iruka, so Kitazawa didn't go to the Academy.
But he didn't go train either. Instead, he came to the Forest of Death.
After thinking it over, Kitazawa had decided that the team battle portion of the practical exam would be held in the Forest of Death.
Of course, the Forest of Death was huge, so there was no need to use all of it.
Kitazawa planned to fence off a suitable area as the exam field.
On top of that, he was also planning to add some artificial terrain.
"Konan."
Kitazawa stopped walking and asked, "What do you think of this spot?"
"The trees are a lot denser here."
Konan carefully swept her gaze around and replied, "It's a great place for an ambush."
"Then we'll use this point as the center. A radius of one kilometer around it will be the field."
Kitazawa thought for a moment and said.
Konan nodded.
"Follow the boundary I'll mark and set up these border markers."
Kitazawa casually handed her a scroll. "Just plant one marker every hundred meters."
Konan took the scroll and turned to leave.
Kitazawa walked on for a bit, and a stream appeared in front of him.
He formed hand seals, widening the stream and splitting off more tributaries.
But the man-made terrain he added was far from just a few streams.
Half an hour later, Kitazawa reached the left edge of the area.
Earth Release: Earth Flow River!
The ground rumbled, and under the molding of his earth chakra, it turned into a broad stretch of swamp.
After walking a little farther, he formed seals again.
Earth Release: Sticky Earth Drop!
A huge mass of earth chakra crashed down from the sky, piling up into a mid-sized peak roughly ten meters tall.
Kitazawa felt like he was playing some kind of game and was just spamming resources into the map.
Once he was mostly satisfied with that, he headed for the right side of the area.
Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!
Countless trees burst up from underground, merging seamlessly into the original Forest of Death and making it look even more dense.
"Kitazawa."
Konan reappeared. "All the border flags are in place."
"Take me up in the air."
Kitazawa thought for a moment and said, "I want to draw a map from above."
At that, Konan walked up to him, reached out, and pulled him into her arms.
Paper wings spread from her back; with a small movement of her body, she lifted them both into the sky.
Kitazawa glanced down at Konan.
Because of their height difference, even though Konan had been the one to hug him, it ended up looking like she was the one being held in his arms instead.
"Thanks."
Kitazawa looked at her cool, pretty face and couldn't help leaning in to kiss her cheek.
The unexpected kiss made Konan's heart tremble for a moment.
But she didn't say anything, still trying her best to keep her expression calm.
Kitazawa blinked.
With a reaction like that, she really made him want to bully her more.
Too obedient for her own good.
Kitazawa chuckled softly, enjoying the softness of her body against his, and looked down at the Forest of Death beneath them.
Technically, he had the Byakugan, so he didn't need to actually fly up here to see; he could take in the entire Forest of Death from the ground.
But he'd chosen the most comfortable option.
Kitazawa reached up, smoothed Konan's hair, then took out a summoning storage scroll.
As shinobi, they all had at least some drawing ability.
Sometimes you needed to draw formulae for jutsu.
And beyond that, there were techniques like Super Beast Imitating Drawing, which were extremely versatile.
Kitazawa took out a brush and started sketching.
When he finished and looked at it, the corner of his mouth twitched. He really should've brought Kurama Yakumo along.
How to put it…
The map he'd drawn was pretty rough. You could understand it, but it didn't really fit his current status and level of power.
"All right, let's go down."
Kitazawa came back to himself and put away the scroll.
Konan slowly descended and landed steadily on the ground.
She let go of him, took a step back, and dismissed her wings.
Kitazawa glanced at the sky, then headed toward the Academy.
Halfway there, he suddenly stopped.
Looking at the Hokage Rock in the distance, Kitazawa thought of a fun little contest.
For a team battle, the terrain was extremely important.
His original plan had just been to show everyone his map once.
But that would completely remove the element of the unknown.
Plus… his map really didn't look that good.
Kitazawa decided to use a fun contest to give them a certain amount of time to scout the field themselves.
That way, it'd also serve as training.
And the fun contest would be a "Hokage Rock Graffiti Contest."
Naruto doodling all over Hokage Rock was one of the iconic scenes in the original story.
But thanks to his butterfly effect, the current Naruto was training all day and didn't have time for pranks.
Might as well recreate that famous scene.
On top of that, there was another reason.
Paint—Kitazawa's general store had plenty.
He hadn't opened the shop in a long time; this was the perfect chance to clear some inventory.
[Current Mission: Paint graffiti on Hokage Rock together with Uzumaki Naruto.]
[Mission Reward: Super Beast Imitating Drawing.]
[Accept?]
A question mark appeared on Kitazawa's face.
This can trigger a system quest too?
Still, the reward being Super Beast Imitating Drawing was ridiculously on time.
By the time he reached the Academy, the Advanced Class's written exam still wasn't quite over, but it was close.
Kitazawa waited at the classroom door for a few minutes until the bell rang.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
The first one to rush out was Hyuga Hinata.
Kitazawa hadn't bothered to hide his chakra; the moment he reached the door, she'd already noticed him.
"How did it go?"
Kitazawa reached out and patted her head.
"I think… it was okay."
Hinata answered modestly.
Her written scores were always very steady; she'd never once fallen outside the top ten.
"Good."
Kitazawa nodded.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Besides Hinata, Yamanaka Ino and the others all trotted up to greet him.
"Those of you who placed in the top eighteen in the last practical exam stay. I have an announcement. Everyone else can head home."
Kitazawa looked over them as he spoke.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei."
The Advanced Class immediately split into two groups. The top eighteen went back into the classroom.
"Kitazawa-senpai."
Iruka walked up and asked, "Do I need to stay?"
"No."
Kitazawa shook his head.
"Then I'll go start grading the papers."
With that, Iruka took the stack of tests and left.
"Tomorrow is the team battle."
Kitazawa stood on the podium. "The field is already prepared. It'll be in the Forest of Death."
"Isn't that way too big?"
Inuzuka Kiba asked, looking stunned.
"Sounds like a real pain."
Naruto scratched his head.
As a close-quarters fighter, what he liked was straight-up brawling.
With the Forest of Death as their field, everyone would probably be hiding all over the place. Fights wouldn't be nearly as direct.
"So what if it's the Forest of Death?"
Rock Lee flashed a thumbs-up. "Youth is all about accepting every challenge!"
Aburame Shino adjusted his glasses.
With the Forest of Death as the field, he might actually have a shot at first place this time.
A forest environment like that was practically made for him.
Whether it was kikaichu or bees, they were totally in their element there.
Hyuga Neji's heart stirred as well; he felt his chances of taking first place had gone up a lot.
The Forest of Death's trees were mostly towering giants that blocked line of sight.
But for someone with the Byakugan, that turned into an advantage.
Most importantly, he now had the Fatefeather Bow.
The Fatefeather Bow plus the Byakugan meant that, as long as he had enough chakra, his effective range was practically infinite.
Uchiha Sasuke's expression didn't change; he remained calm.
For him, a forest wasn't particularly good or bad.
His strength was high to begin with, and with the Sharingan, sniping him from range would be extremely difficult.
"Shikamaru, a forest is perfect for you."
Akimichi Choji looked over at Nara Shikamaru.
The Nara clan's Shadow Imitation techniques needed shadows as a medium.
In the Forest of Death, the canopy blocked out much of the light, and shadows were everywhere.
Comparatively, it was a debuff for the Akimichi clan; their secret arts didn't really fit the environment.
"It's definitely a lot better than the schoolyard."
Shikamaru nodded.
"Then I'm screwed!"
Kiba put on a pained expression.
"Feels like my chance!"
Tayuya was practically buzzing.
Her sound-based genjutsu could easily remain unseen in a forest—only the voice would carry.
Perfect for ambushes, with a very high success rate.
Kimimaro frowned slightly.
As a close-combat fighter, he didn't really have any environmental advantage.
"I like forests."
Jugo smiled.
He could understand animal speech, and a forest was guaranteed to be full of animals.
"I kept you all after class to set up a fun contest."
Kitazawa cut into their chatter.
"A fun contest?"
Naruto immediately perked up. "That already sounds full of youth!"
"Kitazawa-sensei, what kind of fun contest is it?"
Ino quickly asked, afraid Naruto would derail the topic.
"A Hokage Rock graffiti contest."
Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Eh?"
Ino stared. "Graffiti… on Hokage Rock?"
If anyone but Kitazawa had said that, she'd have thought they had a death wish. That was Hokage Rock.
For a lot of shinobi, Hokage Rock was sacred and full of honor.
The faces of the past Hokage were carved into it.
Most shinobi dreamed of seeing their face carved there one day.
If some random person tried to paint on Hokage Rock, they'd be arrested before they finished their first stroke.
"I'll explain the detailed rules when we get there."
Kitazawa shook his head. "For now, go have lunch. After you eat, meet me at Hokage Rock. I'll go pick up the paint."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei."
Still full of questions, everyone left the classroom.
Kitazawa ate first, then fetched the paint, and finally arrived at Hokage Rock.
As the name suggested, Hokage Rock was a sheer cliff face carved into stone.
By the time he got there, the Advanced Class had already arrived and were craning their necks, staring at the five Hokage faces.
One thing to note: they didn't wait for a Hokage to die before carving their face. The carving started as soon as a new Hokage took office.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto and the others spotted him and shouted.
"For this graffiti contest, we'll use the Third Hokage and the Fifth Hokage's faces as our targets."
Kitazawa got straight to the point.
Hashirama, Tobirama, and Namikaze Minato had all passed away. Out of respect, there was no need to paint on their faces.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade, on the other hand, wouldn't really care even if they found out.
"Before the contest starts, we'll handle team assignments."
Kitazawa paused. "We'll use the same groupings as the team battle."
"We're picking teams now?"
Ino immediately caught on.
"Yeah."
Kitazawa nodded. "Naruto, you choose one teammate first."
"Bushy Brows!"
Naruto shouted without hesitation.
"Naruto!"
Lee instantly burst into tears. "I can feel our youth burning!"
"This is youth!"
Naruto rushed over, hugged him, and started bawling as well.
"…?"
The corner of Kitazawa's mouth twitched.
How do you two switch moods that fast?
I look away for one second and you're crying already?
Sasuke and the others instinctively took half a step back.
"Yakumo, your turn. Who do you pick?"
Kitazawa quickly cut them off and asked.
"I choose Ino."
Kurama Yakumo answered gently.
She was a transfer student; she knew everyone in the Advanced Class, but the one she was closest to was Ino.
"With Yakumo on our side, we're definitely getting first place!"
Ino said excitedly.
"This is a team battle."
Haruno Sakura huffed. "First place will obviously be me and Sasuke-kun. Our teamwork is perfect."
"That's only if Sasuke picks you."
Ino shot back.
"Who else would Sasuke-kun pick but me?"
Sakura smiled confidently.
"I pick Kimimaro."
Sasuke said in a flat tone.
"Eh?"
Sakura turned to stone.
Sasuke met her gaze and thought, Sorry, but I'm all about winning.
He did want to pick Sakura, but Kimimaro's strength did a lot more to help him secure first place.
If Sakura was still available in the next round, he'd pick her then.
"What about Hinata?"
Kitazawa couldn't help smiling.
He understood Sasuke—his head was completely filled with "first place."
"Shikamaru."
Hinata thought for a bit.
She'd carefully weighed things. In terms of raw strength, she didn't have any real edge over Sasuke or Naruto.
So she'd decided to lean on strategy instead. Maybe she could snag first place through tactics.
"Tenten."
Neji said her name under Tenten's hopeful gaze.
"Yes!"
Tenten's face lit up.
"I pick Choji."
Shino adjusted his glasses.
He wanted a defensive teammate.
As an Aburame, he was already extremely good at sensing and scouting.
And with the Kamizuru Clan techniques he'd learned, he'd patched his offensive power as well.
"First round of picks is done. On to round two."
Kitazawa nodded.
Tayuya stood frozen.
No one chose her in the first round?
Damn it!
Do I really look that weak?
"Jugo!"
Naruto answered instantly.
His reasoning was simple: Jugo also used taijutsu.
"Thanks."
Jugo nodded.
Joined up with Naruto's team, he might actually get first place this time.
It was just a shame he wasn't teamed up with Kimimaro.
"Karin."
Yakumo thought for a moment.
Karin knew sealing techniques, which could be very handy in a team battle.
Plus, the two of them got along well.
"Sakura."
Sasuke didn't even hesitate.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura rushed over to his side.
Even though he hadn't picked her in the first round, at least he'd picked her in the second. She hadn't "lost."
"I pick Haku."
Hinata continued.
"Tayuya."
Neji thought for a moment.
He felt their team lacked a controller, and sound genjutsu filled that gap nicely.
"I'm really the last one to get picked?"
Kiba stared in disbelief.
"All right, teams are set. Let's start the graffiti contest."
Kitazawa clapped, drawing everyone's attention back.
Kiba subconsciously clenched his fists.
He was absolutely going to take first place to prove himself.
Everyone else looked at Kitazawa.
"There are six teams. We'll run three rounds."
Kitazawa explained. "Very simple rules: paint over a Hokage face, then clean it off. Whoever finishes fastest wins."
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Tenten raised her hand. "What's the prize for the winners?"
"Field scouting time."
Kitazawa smiled. "First place gets an hour to scout the field. Each rank after that gets ten minutes less, for a total of six placements."
The room immediately erupted.
Obviously, the more familiar you were with the terrain, the earlier you could set traps and plan tactics.
With a whole hour, the first-place team could map things out very thoroughly.
But the sixth-place team only got ten minutes.
With three people per team, each person might only manage to memorize one small area.
Of course, if your strength was high enough, you could just ignore terrain.
"This contest isn't head-to-head. All six teams are being ranked by completion time."
Kitazawa reminded them. "Naruto and Sasuke, you go first. The rest of you line yourselves up."
"Team Youth, let's go!"
Naruto threw up a thumbs-up.
"In the name of youth, we can't lose!"
Lee mirrored him.
"…?"
Jugo stared at the two of them. Under their combined pressure, he reluctantly raised a thumbs-up as well.
"Jugo looks so done."
Tayuya couldn't help laughing.
"Ahem, don't put it like that."
Tenten fought to keep the corners of her mouth down. "This is called team spirit."
Neji and the others could only shake their heads.
"Oh, one more rule."
Kitazawa added. "You can use chakra to climb Hokage Rock, but you can't use ninjutsu."
"Eh…"
Sakura looked disappointed.
She'd planned to just blast the rock clean with a Water Release.
Naruto also felt it was a shame.
If ninjutsu were allowed, his Multiple Shadow Clone would be a ridiculous advantage.
"All right, begin."
Kitazawa set identical sets of paint on the ground.
Naruto grabbed a paint bucket and leapt up.
Sasuke and the others followed suit.
A heated graffiti contest had officially started.
Watching them, Kitazawa couldn't help thinking he really was a genius.
Half an hour later, the results were in.
"Haha, we won!"
Naruto shouted excitedly. "This is our youth!"
Sasuke tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Their team had been one minute slower and missed the win.
They'd lost the chance at first, so at best they could try for second.
"Next two teams."
Kitazawa reminded them.
Yakumo and Neji stepped forward.
The remaining two teams were Hinata's and Shino's.
"What are you doing?"
A familiar voice rang out.
Kitazawa turned his head and saw Tsunade.
She was wearing a light tea-green haori, standing not far away.
"Why are you here?"
Kitazawa walked over.
"Why do you think? This is Hokage Rock."
Tsunade glared at him. "I just got a message and thought some suicidal spy was vandalizing the place."
"I'm not a spy."
Kitazawa said seriously.
"If a Wood Release user were a spy, Konoha might as well give up now, don't you think?"
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Why are you painting on Hokage Rock?"
"It's like this…"
Kitazawa explained the purpose of the contest.
"I mean why not pick somewhere else?"
Tsunade glanced at her own face on the rock, now smeared into a mess.
"The rock wall here is the biggest."
Kitazawa coughed lightly.
"…"
Tsunade was speechless.
"Tsunade-sensei."
Kitazawa changed the subject. "The Advanced Class team battle is tomorrow. Do you want to come watch?"
"Since you're inviting me, of course I'll go."
Tsunade paused, then asked, "Will it be over by noon?"
"It should be."
Kitazawa thought for a bit. "But it's the first team battle, so I'm not totally sure when it'll end."
"Then I'll take the whole day off."
Tsunade answered calmly.
"You're just looking for an excuse to slack off again, aren't you?"
Kitazawa realized what she was doing.
"You just said it might not end by noon."
Tsunade's lips curved. "Is there a problem with me taking a day off?"
"And the afternoon is for you to drag me to the casino, right?"
Kitazawa called her out.
"Of course."
Tsunade replied righteously. "You painted my Hokage face like this. You owe me an apology."
Kitazawa's mouth twitched.
He suspected she'd come in person purely for that reason.
The Anbu would have reported that he was holding a graffiti contest on Hokage Rock. She hadn't really needed to come herself.
"Fine."
Kitazawa could only agree.
If the Advanced Class students hadn't been here, he definitely would've launched into a long lecture.
"Then I'm going back to work. Remember to come get me early tomorrow."
Once she'd gotten what she wanted, Tsunade waved and left smiling.
Time slipped by.
Two hours later, the graffiti contest wrapped up.
[Current Mission: Paint graffiti on Hokage Rock together with Uzumaki Naruto.]
[Mission Reward: Super Beast Imitating Drawing.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa nodded.
That was basically a freebie.
In the original story, Super Beast Imitating Drawing was Sai's technique.
Whatever animals you drew would briefly come to life and act.
In that sense, it was similar to Kurama Yakumo's True Illusion, but its range was much smaller and it was limited to animals. Still extremely useful.
It was versatile—good for attacking, scouting, transmitting intel, and even flying.
People called it a single ninjutsu, but in reality it was an entire suite of techniques.
Kitazawa felt it might as well be called a secret art.
Judging from canon, Super Beast Imitating Drawing was very hard to learn. Even in Root, only Sai had mastered it.
"Everyone, follow me."
Kitazawa came back to himself and headed toward the Forest of Death.
Soon, a line of border flags appeared before everyone.
"Only the part of the Forest of Death inside the border flags is the team battle field."
Kitazawa reminded them. "Tomorrow, don't go past the boundary or you'll lose points."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei."
The reply was perfectly in sync.
"Naruto, your team goes in first. You've got one hour. I'll call you when time's up."
Kitazawa nodded.
Naruto, Rock Lee, and Jugo walked into the field at once, starting their scouting.
The others didn't just stand idle—they stared through the trees as best they could.
Even with the forest in the way, they could still make out some details.
"Why are there two mountains in there?"
Kiba asked, confused. "I've passed by the Forest of Death before and never saw those."
"Obviously they're man-made. Kitazawa-sensei put them there."
Shikamaru immediately guessed, thinking aloud. "I bet there are a lot of complicated artificial features inside."
"Damn, half an hour isn't going to be enough."
Kiba smacked his palm.
"At least you get half an hour."
Ino sighed. "We only get ten minutes."
"This area isn't that big. Ten minutes is basically enough."
Neji followed the line of border flags to the end.
Since he already knew the scope, he didn't bother using his Byakugan.
"It's fine, I'll draw it."
Yakumo said gently. "Ino, Karin, each of you memorize one sector. I'll sketch it out later."
"You're amazing, Yakumo!"
Ino praised her immediately.
Karin nodded in agreement.
"Good thing we have fifty minutes!"
Sakura glanced at Ino and smiled. "That's the power of my and Sasuke-kun's teamwork!"
"Hmph, don't get cocky yet."
Ino crossed her arms. "Tomorrow is the real team battle."
"Tomorrow we'll also—"
Sakura was mid-sentence when Sasuke cut her off.
"Sakura, you take the left sector later."
Sasuke said in time.
"Yes, Sasuke-kun!"
Without knowing it, Sakura's jinx was forcibly interrupted.
Chatting as they watched, everyone waited for Naruto's team to finish.
Kitazawa watched them and started thinking about something else.
He had to decide which team to take as lead instructor.
He still had a system quest to lead his assigned team to first place.
Statistically, the teams led by Yakumo, Sasuke, and Naruto had the best shot at winning.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
For the moment, he really couldn't say which of them had the edge.
Yakumo was obvious—Mangekyo-level genjutsu.
Sasuke had a three-tomoe Sharingan plus Fire Release, Lightning Release, and newly-learned Hatake swordsmanship. No slouch either.
Naruto, meanwhile, could massively boost his taijutsu and Wind Release via Multiple Shadow Clone.
He'd also recently learned the Leaf Dragon God technique, bumping his strength up yet again.
Unable to decide based on the captains alone, Kitazawa turned his attention to the teammates.
Among the teammates, Kimimaro was clearly the strongest.
Everyone else was about the same.
Then a thought struck him, and he looked toward Jugo.
He remembered Jugo could understand animals.
If they used animals to scout other teams, nobody would see it coming.
Plus Lee had almost mastered Leaf Dragon God as well. In the end, Kitazawa decided to pick Naruto's team.
Whether they could actually take first place, though, he couldn't guarantee.
As the Advanced Class got stronger, the instructors' influence was gradually shrinking.
Kitazawa couldn't easily "rig" the outcome from behind the scenes anymore.
But that was fine too.
His own strength and position were increasing as well.
These days, there weren't many system quests tied directly to exams anymore.
Evening approached.
All six teams finished their field scouting and headed home to rest.
Tomorrow would be the real battle.
Once the Advanced Class had dispersed, Konan reappeared.
Looking at her, Kitazawa suddenly remembered Super Beast Imitating Drawing.
Super Beast Imitating Drawing was said to be for drawing animals, and humans technically counted as animals.
But Sai almost never drew people.
They were too weak; they couldn't inherit or use ninjutsu.
Honestly, the same was true of other animals—they could only fight by instinct.
Kitazawa immediately opened a summoning storage scroll, took out a blank scroll and a brush.
At its core, Super Beast Imitating Drawing was like a Water Release technique; you infused chakra into ink and drew.
In the original, Sai even poured ink directly into rivers and lakes to spawn hordes of ink beasts and boost his combat power.
In that sense, it also felt like Water Release, drawing strength from the environment.
Kitazawa lifted his brush and began to draw.
You needed decent drawing skill to learn Super Beast Imitating Drawing.
Kitazawa personally did not have that—but the system's reward had come bundled with some drawing ability.
In an instant, an image appeared on the scroll.
"How is it?"
He held the scroll out to Konan.
Konan froze when she saw it.
It was a picture of her.
Not that detailed, but incredibly recognizable at a glance.
"It looks a lot like me."
Konan nodded.
"The cool part comes next."
Kitazawa snapped his fingers.
The image on the scroll suddenly moved.
Those black ink lines crawled out of the paper and took shape as another Konan.
Except this Konan was done in an ink-wash style.
The one holding the scroll was the "realistic," ultra high-res Konan.
"What kind of jutsu is this?"
Konan stared at her double, amazed.
"Super Beast Imitating Drawing."
Kitazawa smiled, then added with a bit of regret, "But sadly, this is the most I can do. I can't make them indistinguishable from the real thing."
"How strong is she?"
Konan asked curiously.
"She's not strong at all."
Kitazawa answered. "At most she can do a bit of taijutsu. She can't use your paper manipulation techniques."
Konan hesitated.
She wanted to say that it didn't seem very useful, but saying that to his face felt a little harsh.
"You can draw other animals and use them against ordinary shinobi."
Guessing what she was thinking, Kitazawa continued, "For me, though, the main use is intel gathering and flying."
"Flying?"
Konan's heart tightened.
Did that mean he wouldn't need her to fly him anymore?
"I can draw birds."
Kitazawa reached out and brushed her cheek. "If you're not around, I can just ride a bird."
Konan pressed her lips together, her thoughts in a jumble. She didn't know what to say.
If nothing unexpected happened, she'd probably part ways with Kitazawa sooner or later.
After all, Akatsuki was going to turn against the entire shinobi world—including Konoha.
With a wave of his hand, Kitazawa turned the ink-style Konan back into liquid ink, which splashed onto the ground.
He looked at the now-blank scroll, picked up his brush again, and drew another Konan—but this time he didn't infuse any chakra into it.
"A present for you."
Kitazawa handed her the scroll. "It's getting late. Go get some rest."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Konan stared in a daze at the portrait of herself on the scroll.
After a long moment, she put the scroll away and headed back to the Anbu base.
The night passed quietly.
The next day arrived.
The team battle would still start at nine in the morning.
After breakfast, Kitazawa went to the Academy with Kurenai.
He went over yesterday's team list with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others and told them he'd picked Naruto's team. The rest of the teams were theirs to assign.
Once he'd finished explaining, Kitazawa headed for the Hokage building.
Tsunade, as Hokage, started work earlier than he did. She was already in the Hokage's office.
After knocking and getting permission, Kitazawa went in.
Besides Tsunade, Shizune was there too.
"Kitazawa? What are you doing here? Isn't today the final exam?"
Shizune asked, puzzled.
Tsunade immediately shot Kitazawa a meaningful look.
"The Advanced Class final is using a new format—a team battle."
Kitazawa answered smoothly. "Since it's the first time, I wanted to invite Tsunade-sensei to watch and maybe give some pointers."
"In that case, I'll leave today's work to you, Shizune. I'm taking a day off."
Tsunade said solemnly.
Shizune glanced back and forth between them. Something felt off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Let's go."
Tsunade stood and headed for the door.
"See you next time, Shizune-senpai."
Kitazawa closed the door and followed Tsunade out.
He turned and saw her pretty face full of smiles.
"Are you really that happy?"
Kitazawa asked.
"Of course I'm happy not to be working."
Tsunade spoke with the voice of experience. "After you start working, you'll understand exactly how I feel."
"Sounds like I should delay working for another two years."
Kitazawa said with a grin.
"You dare?"
Tsunade's expression changed instantly. She turned and glared at him. "I said two years, so two years it is!"
"Why the big reaction?"
Kitazawa leaned in and nipped at her red lips. "Do I sound like I'm lying?"
Tsunade jumped, instinctively looking around. Only once she confirmed no one was nearby did she relax.
Then she snapped, "If you pull that again out of nowhere, I'll kick you through a wall!"
Kitazawa blinked and completely ignored the threat.
"If you think being Hokage is tiring, just find a successor sooner."
Tsunade suggested.
"My students are all still too young. I don't have it as easy as you."
Kitazawa shook his head.
For the next-next generation of Hokage, there were plenty of candidates—Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and so on.
The only problem was age.
Gaara becoming Kazekage at fifteen was basically an emergency measure.
The Sand had no one else; there was no second good option besides him.
Konoha was different. There were lots of strong people.
Even Naruto, the so-called savior, didn't become Hokage until he was almost thirty.
With Kitazawa in the mix now, it was even harder to predict.
"True."
Tsunade thought about it and nodded. "Then you can just do more work."
"You gave up on that pretty fast."
Kitazawa couldn't help complaining.
"It's your problem. You deal with it."
Tsunade said cleanly.
Chatting as they walked, they soon reached the Academy.
"Since you're here, why don't you draw the matches?"
Kitazawa suddenly had an idea.
There was no need for any rigging in a team battle; it was pure strength. No matter how you arranged the matches, you had to win every round for first place.
"Sure."
Tsunade nodded, not particularly concerned.
"Hokage-sama!"
The Advanced Class students shouted excitedly when they saw her.
They saw Hiruzen all the time, but Tsunade was different—she was the current Hokage, and they rarely saw her in person.
Hiruzen, Kakashi, Maruboshi Kosuke and the others also stepped up to greet her.
"Iruka."
Kitazawa called. "The roster."
Iruka immediately handed over the list.
"These are the six teams participating in the team battle."
Kitazawa passed the roster to Tsunade.
Tsunade skimmed through it.
Besides the six student teams, it also laid out the specific rules for the team battle.
"Feels a lot like the second stage of the Chunin Exams."
She commented.
"I think so too."
Hiruzen chuckled. "In two years, when they graduate, we really should hold a joint Chunin Exam."
"Leave the planning for two years from now to Kitazawa."
Tsunade said casually.
Hiruzen and the others froze.
Did that mean Kitazawa would be Hokage in two years?
Everyone already knew he was the next Hokage, but they hadn't expected him to take the hat that soon.
Tsunade wasn't old, and thanks to her Yin Seal she maintained her youth. In theory, she could easily serve another twenty years.
Honestly, that was normal in the Five Great Villages.
Without accidents, the Kage tended to serve for a long time—just look at Hiruzen or Onoki.
"All right, it's about time. Let's head to the Forest of Death."
Kitazawa cleared his throat and reminded them.
Then he took the lead.
Soon, they arrived at the site of the Advanced Class team battle: the Forest of Death.
"Tsunade-sensei."
Kitazawa took out a box. "Please draw the two teams for the first match."
Tsunade nodded and pulled out two slips of paper at random.
After glancing at them, she read, "Uchiha Sasuke's team vs. Aburame Shino's team."
"Both teams can enter the field now. You've got fifteen minutes before the battle starts."
Kitazawa announced.
The fifteen minutes were for them to set up the terrain and hash out their tactics.
The two teams exchanged glances, then headed into the forest from different directions.
Along with them went Maruboshi Kosuke and Kurenai.
They were the supervising instructors and safety officers; if anyone's life was in danger, they would step in.
At the same time, students were allowed to call for them on their own.
Either of those things happening meant that the student in question was out of the match.
~~~
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