"Choji." Kitazawa looked at the newly joined Akimichi Choji and said, "Your chakra control is a bit lacking. Start with tree climbing."
He found the thickest tree near the training ground, explained the key points, and then let him start training on his own.
"Shikamaru." Kitazawa, having been delayed for ten minutes, returned to the training ground.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Shikamaru heard him and had no choice but to stand up.
"Your Yin Release chakra nature transformation is progressing well. You can learn a new secret technique," Kitazawa said casually. "Your Shadow Imitation Technique and Shadow Sewing Technique have obvious drawbacks, so learn the Shadow Imitation Shuriken."
Shikamaru couldn't help but feel pleased, a look of surprise unconsciously appearing on his face.
Shadow Imitation Shuriken involves infusing Yin Release chakra into a shuriken, which, when thrown, can fix the target's shadow.
It has two advantages. One is a long-range attack. The other is that after fixing the target's shadow, he can move freely.
Both the Shadow Imitation Technique and Shadow Sewing Technique connect the shadows of both parties, making them synchronized.
Shikamaru was surprised that Kitazawa understood the Nara Clan's secret technique so well. But then he thought, he is Tsunade's student, so it's normal for him to know a lot.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei." Shikamaru sighed inwardly and agreed.
"Ino, your training content remains unchanged." Kitazawa instructed, "Come find me after you complete your training."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei!" Ino smiled sweetly, looking full of youthful vitality.
She understood Kitazawa's implied meaning. He wanted her to learn Ninja Art: Hundred Flower Chaos before coming to him to learn new ninjutsu.
"Hinata, Karin, Shino, and Sakura." Kitazawa reeled off four names. "You are all like Ino; you will continue with your original training."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei." Hinata and the other four said in unison.
"Kitazawa-sensei, what about me?" Kiba asked impatiently.
Although he had learned Fang Over Fang during the winter break, after joining the Genius Class, he felt a great sense of crisis.
"This is for you." Kitazawa was already prepared and threw him a scroll.
"Three-Headed Hell Hound?" Kiba took a look and immediately became excited.
This was clearly an enhanced version of the Hell Hound. The Hell Hound is two-headed, formed by him and his shadow clone combining.
The Three-Headed Hell Hound, with an additional shadow clone, would be larger in size and stronger in attack power. However, the learning difficulty would also be higher.
"Go find a place to practice. If you don't understand anything, come ask me." Kitazawa waved his hand and said.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei!" Kiba, holding the scroll, excitedly ran to an open space.
"Rock Lee, just train according to what Might Guy taught you." Kitazawa looked at Rock Lee and said.
He had just fought Rock Lee with a shadow clone, and his conclusion was that he was a weakened version of Uzumaki Naruto. Aside from not having Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan, in terms of taijutsu, they were essentially identical.
And for taijutsu, Kitazawa didn't need to worry; Guy would teach according to Rock Lee's learning progress. After he finished learning the Konoha Whirlwind series of taijutsu, he would begin training in the Eight Gates. Kitazawa didn't need to intervene.
Lee was not surprised by this. In fact, his thoughts were the same as Kitazawa's. Might Guy's guidance was already enough for him.
"Tenten." Kitazawa looked at the bun-haired Tenten and said, "Ninja Tool throwing is a very good direction and can be further deepened."
In the original work, Tenten developed many related ninjutsu in ninja tool throwing. During the recent battle, she used three: Manipulating Tools: Heavenly Chain Disaster, Manipulating Tools: Binding Meteor, and Twin Rising Dragons.
Kitazawa's idea was to have her learn the ninjutsu from the original work in advance. It didn't matter if he didn't know; giving her a general idea to practice was enough.
"But I think Ninja Tools alone aren't enough. You can add another attack method." Kitazawa smiled and said, "Summoning Animals."
"Summoning Animals?" Tenten couldn't help but pause.
"Whether it's summoning Ninja Tools or summoning Summoning Animals, it's the same principle." Kitazawa smiled and said, "If you form contracts with several Summoning Animals, you can do more in battle."
"That sounds great!" The more Tenten thought about it, the more suitable it seemed.
Ninja Tool throwing was good, but against Sasuke and Hinata, it wasn't as effective. If she had Summoning Animals, it would be different.
Summoning Animals could serve as harassment, defense, and attack, and she would be more composed when throwing Ninja Tools. The only issue was that it would consume more chakra.
"But—I don't have suitable Summoning Animals." Tenten looked at Kitazawa and asked expectantly, "Kitazawa-sensei, can you find powerful Summoning Animals? I can pay for them!"
You really are a rich loli. Kitazawa's mouth twitched involuntarily.
But it was normal; her family owned a ninja tool shop, so they weren't short on money. As far as Kitazawa knew, the ninja blade Hinata gave him was forged by Tenten's father. He easily earned tens of millions of ryō.
Besides, Kitazawa's suggestion could indeed greatly enhance Tenten's strength. In the future, Tenten, as a weapons master and summoner, would have no problem becoming an Elite Jōnin.
As long as she didn't encounter those at the pinnacle of the ninja world, she would be fine.
[Current Mission: Help Tenten find a Summoning Animal.]
[Mission Reward: Awarded based on the Summoning Animal's strength.]
[Do you accept?]
Kitazawa let out a soft sound. He had encountered a mission with variable rewards like this once before. That was the "find a teacher" mission from a long time ago.
Different rewards were given based on who the teacher found was. But he hadn't expected Tenten to trigger such a rare mission. He could only say—wonderful!
But how to put it? It wouldn't be easy to get a high reward from this mission.
Because the powerful Summoning Animals in the Ninja World were limited. The Three Great Sage Lands were out of the question; Tenten definitely couldn't get one from there.
Kitazawa himself couldn't get one either. He estimated that after he officially became Tsunade's student, he might be able to sign a contract with the Shikkotsu Forest.
But apart from the Three Great Sage Lands, other Summoning Animals were quite ordinary—things like Ninja Hounds, Ninja Cats, crows, hawks, and turtles.
Kitazawa estimated that these Summoning Animals could at most fetch a C-Ranked or B-Ranked Ninjutsu as a reward.
Of course, there were powerful ones. For example, Sarutobi Hiruzen's Enma, Danzo's Baku, and Hanzō's Salamander. But these all belonged to others; Tenten couldn't possibly obtain them.
"Summoning Animals are hard to come by."
Kitazawa couldn't think of any powerful Summoning Animals, so he temporarily gave up and said, "I'll help you ask around if I have time."
If it really didn't work out, he could only ask the Inuzuka Clan for a Ninja Hound or the Uchiha Clan for a Ninja Cat. With his current strength and status, he could still manage that.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Tenten said gratefully.
"Back to your special training. Your Ninja Tools rely solely on Summoning Jutsu, which is too singular." Kitazawa thought for a moment and said, "Today I will teach you the Manipulating Shuriken Technique."
"That's great! I've long heard of the famous Manipulating Shuriken Technique!" Tenten said very happily.
"The Manipulating Shuriken Technique's power will be somewhat reduced without a Sharingan, but it's still not bad." Kitazawa casually took out two shuriken and handed them to her.
After Tenten took them, she noticed that the shuriken were tied with translucent rubber strings.
"The rubber strings can be replaced with more lethal steel wires," Kitazawa paused and said. "However, rubber strings also have their advantages, which are greater flexibility and elasticity."
After explaining the key points to Tenten for fifteen minutes, he sent her off to practice by herself.
"Hana, your training content is the same as Choji's; first, improve your Chakra control," Kitazawa looked at Kiba's older sister, Inuka Hana, and said.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei." Inuka Hana immediately replied.
For the familiar students, Kitazawa had already made individual arrangements. The remaining students were all newly joined members of the Genius Class, mostly students from the original fifth and sixth grades.
Kitazawa divided their arrangements into two parts: Students who had already mastered the Basic Three E-rank Techniques could practice tree climbing.
Students who hadn't mastered the Basic Three E-rank Techniques continued to learn them.
After all, before learning Release Ninjutsu, the Basic Three E-rank Techniques were a must-master.
In less than two hours, Kitazawa had completed all the training arrangements for the three groups. He then toured the Water Release, Lightning Release, and Earth Release groups and found that they were also immersed in training.
Kakashi and Maruboshi Kosuke had similar ideas to his. First, practice the Basic Three E-rank Techniques, then tree climbing and water walking, and finally teach the corresponding Release Ninjutsu.
Kitazawa formed hand signs and created two Shadow Clones. One Shadow Clone was responsible for guidance. The other Shadow Clone went to help Shino Aburame with his Kikaichu mutation experiment. He himself found a place to practice Earth Release.
---
The time came to noon. The Genius Class students, who had trained all morning, welcomed their break. Just like regular classes, lunch break and mealtime lasted two hours.
Kitazawa did not eat with Hinata and Sasuke; instead, he invited Maruboshi Kosuke and Kakashi to eat. The three of them went to an izakaya near the Ninja Academy.
"How was your first day of class?" After ordering, Kitazawa asked.
"It was alright." Kakashi was as taciturn as ever.
But he wasn't lying. Life in the Anbu and life at the Ninja Academy were worlds apart. Training with these energetic children made him feel warm inside, as if he had come back to life.
"These children all have excellent talent. Given time, they will undoubtedly become the mainstays of Konoha Village," Kosuke said with a smile. "I feel honored to teach them."
He had been punishing himself for a mistake he made in his youth, refusing promotion. Now, seeing the students in the Genius Class, he found a new way to atone.
"Kitazawa." Kosuke hesitated. "I have an impertinent request."
"Senior Kosuke, there's no need to be so polite. Just say what's on your mind," Kitazawa waved his hand and said.
He still admired Kosuke quite a bit. To be willing to compensate for a momentary mistake with an entire lifetime—such determination and perseverance are rare in the Ninja World.
"Although the students in the Genius Class are all good, there are differences in their talent," Kosuke slowly said. "I want to find two students to inherit my Water Release and swordsmanship, respectively."
Kitazawa was taken aback. Kakashi also showed surprise. But they quickly understood the reason.
Kosuke was a Genin; theoretically, he couldn't be a squad leader. For so many years, he had been alone. Now, becoming a Ninja Academy teacher, he finally had the right to teach students.
In fact, with his strength and status, he could just tell Sarutobi Hiruzen. But he had his own principles and always strictly adhered to the rules.
"Senior Kosuke, of course, you can," Kitazawa recovered and said. "It would be their great fortune to be your students."
"It's not that exaggerated," Kosuke said with a smile. "I'm old, and I don't want what I've learned to be taken to the grave. Fortunately, Hiruzen gave me this opportunity."
Kitazawa thought to himself, What can you say when he calls Hiruzen by his first name?
However, Ninjas like him, who didn't use special privileges, were indeed rare.
If it were him, he definitely wouldn't be able to maintain such persistence. He just wondered which two lucky individuals would become Maruboshi Kosuke's students.
Kitazawa was pensive. He guessed it would likely be one of the Konoha 12, Karin, or Yakumo.
Kosuke was a genuine Jonin, and his Water Release and swordsmanship were also Jonin-level. Ordinary students simply couldn't learn them. Kitazawa did not interfere.
After all, this was a good thing. He would see if he could learn some of his Konoha Style Swordsmanship then. After all, the ninja blade Hinata gave him had never been officially used.
"Let's go, I'll take you to the office." After lunch, Kitazawa stood up and said.
Most teachers only got a private office when they reached the level of grade head. But Kosuke and Kakashi were different; their status and strength allowed for an exception.
Kitazawa cleared out an office for each of them on either side of his own office. To make it convenient for them to rest, he even put a single bed in the corner.
"See you this afternoon."
Kakashi walked into his office. Kitazawa and Kosuke greeted each other, and Kitazawa went home.
After all, the Ninja Academy wasn't far from Kurenai's house. If he was going to take a nap, sleeping at home was more comfortable.
Since he had class in the afternoon, Kitazawa didn't fool around with Kurenai. After a nap, he returned to the Ninja Academy.
As soon as class started, the students of the Genius Class began their training. Kitazawa cultivated Earth Release while pondering Tenten's mission.
Time slowly passed. He suddenly froze, a special summoning beast, the Kubisaki Giant Lizard, appearing in his mind.
In the Ninja World, there was a small country called the Land of Neck. Its last Daimyo was named Kubisaki Koza. Before the country fell, he summoned the Giant chameleon to protect Kubisaki Castle.
It wasn't until Naruto, Hinata, and Kiba received a mission to find the Daimyo's wife that they came to Kubisaki Castle. They found the Kubisaki's summon contract scroll, and after tearing it, ended its mission.
In the original work, Kubisaki's summoning beast, Shiromari, showed impressive strength.
First, it possessed incredible camouflage, which even the Byakugan couldn't see through. Second, its enormous size, comparable to a castle, gave it astonishing defense. Third, it had the ability to transform, turning into a castle.
Interestingly, the Shiromari's previous-previous contractor was named Masashi Kishimoto. This was also why Kitazawa thought of the Kubisaki's summon beast.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin. The Land of Neck had already fallen, and he wasn't sure where its former site was now. However, not using such a power was a waste.
He planned to ask Itachi Uchiha to use the Anbu's intelligence and the Uchiha Clan's resources to investigate. Moreover, Itachi would probably be very happy if he did this. After all, it could bring him closer to Tsunade.
The Kubisaki's Giant chameleon, to strong individuals, might not seem like much, at most a meat shield. But for ninja of average strength, such as Genin and Chunin, it was definitely a super weapon.
If Tenten obtained it, her progress would be phenomenal. Kitazawa estimated this could be exchanged for an A-ranked Ninjutsu in the system.
The sun set in the west. After bidding farewell to Kakashi, Naruto, and others, Kitazawa went to the Anbu office. The Anbu's quitting time was relatively late. He easily met Itachi Uchiha.
"The former site of the Land of Neck? It shouldn't be hard to find; results should come quickly." Itachi agreed without any hesitation.
"Thank you." Kitazawa left the Hokage Building.
As he walked down the street, an idea formed in his mind. That was, it would be easier to get things done if he had his own forces.
But he wasn't in a hurry; once Tsunade became Hokage, forming his own forces would be very simple. Perhaps Tsunade would directly hand the Anbu over to him.
After all, unlike the hard-working Naruto, when she was Hokage, she would escape whenever possible, hide whenever possible, and primarily focus on slacking off.
Time passed quickly. The first week of the third semester soon came to an end.
---
Friday.
After school, Kitazawa saw Itachi waiting at the school gate.
"Brother!" However, someone beat him to it, and that was Uchiha Sasuke.
"Teacher Kitazawa." Itachi stroked Sasuke's head, then pulled out a scroll and said, "This is a map of the Land of Neck."
"Thank you." Kitazawa took the scroll and said, "I won't bother you two. See you next time."
He returned home before opening the scroll to look. According to the map, the Land of Neck was west of the Land of Fire, not far away. A round trip would take about two days.
Kitazawa fell into thought. He had previously promised Itachi to arrange for Izumi on Sunday. Now, there was a conflict in timing. After a brief thought, Kitazawa decided to entrust this matter to Kurenai.
Firstly, because there was no danger in this matter, the entire process was a half-true, half-false act. Secondly, because there was no directly related mission, he didn't have to go.
Conversely, Kubisaki's Giant chameleon was related to Tenten's rare mission. Plus, only he had seen the original work, so he had to make the trip.
"What are you looking at?" Kurenai walked over, bringing with her a fresh scent.
"A map of the Land of Neck. I heard there's a powerful summoning beast there, so I want to go check it out." Kitazawa didn't hide anything and spoke directly.
"Are you still in need of a summoning beast?" Kurenai asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I don't need one; I'm looking for one for my student." Kitazawa smiled, looked up at her, and said, "I need your help with something."
He recounted the plan to set up Uchiha Izumi with Itachi Uchiha.
"Uchiha ninja are really—"
Kurenai couldn't find the right adjective for a moment. She both envied the Sharingan but found the cost of awakening it difficult to bear.
"Then you'll take my three students and go in my place." Kitazawa reached out and pinched her cheek.
"Mm." Kurenai nodded.
After all, Kitazawa had already explained it clearly.
The plan was for Itachi to be surrounded by enemy village ninja, his location unknown, and their ninja squad dispatched to rescue him. By chance, they would find Itachi and engage in a major battle with the enemy village ninja.
In reality, those enemy village ninja were controlled by Itachi; it was just an act to put some pressure on Uchiha Izumi. Kurenai wouldn't even need to make a move.