Tuesday
After breakfast, Mizuki called out to Umino Iruka so they could head to the Ninja Academy together.
"I wonder if Kitazawa‑senpai will show up for work today."
Iruka sighed.
"I filled in for him yesterday, and the class practically hated it. They didn't say anything outright, but I could see they were disappointed it wasn't Kitazawa teaching."
The simple truth was that his teaching skills were nowhere near Kitazawa's.
"He didn't come in yesterday?"
Mizuki was surprised.
"The friendly match between our two first‑year classes is this Friday—how can he be so carefree? Has he already decided he can't beat Class A and given up?"
"Mm‑hmm," Iruka nodded. "He took the whole day off."
"Looks like our class is going to win that match then," Mizuki laughed.
"If you really want to win, you don't take a day off at a critical time like this."
"I'm not so sure," Iruka muttered, thinking back to yesterday's practical lesson.
Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto—even Haruno Sakura—all of them had shocked him.
Are students these days really this strong?
No, he knew it was Class A that was strong—because they had a teacher named Kitazawa.
"How long have you even known Kitazawa?" Mizuki grumbled. "Why put so much faith in him?"
"I…I trust you," Iruka said awkwardly.
Mizuki could hear the insincerity in his voice.
Damn that Kitazawa…
…
They reached the staff building of the academy.
"Mizuki, Iruka," a middle‑aged man called, handing them a notice. "This just came down from the principal."
Mizuki glanced at it and felt as if lightning had struck him.
"What?" Iruka gasped. "Kitazawa‑senpai has been promoted to Special Jōnin?"
The notice was brief: Kitazawa had passed the Special Jōnin qualification exam.
More details would follow—his compensation at the academy would have to change.
In the shinobi world, strength ultimately ruled; a Special Jōnin remaining a mere teacher was unusual. In civilian terms, Kitazawa was now a "senior lecturer," even a professor.
"So he took yesterday off to sit for the Special Jōnin exam," the man added before walking off to deliver more notices.
"I remember—ever since the academy was founded, fewer than ten teachers have ever earned Special Jōnin rank through a specialty exam," Iruka breathed. "That's…terrifying."
Good teachers often lacked power; powerful shinobi rarely taught, and if they did, they weren't always good at it.
As a result, Special Jōnin or full Jōnin instructors were rare—the vast majority were only Chūnin.
Mizuki's hand tightened around the notice, his face twisting.
Why should Kitazawa become a Special Jōnin?
He must have pulled strings—Hiruzen Sarutobi must have gone easy on him!
The more Mizuki thought, the more convinced he became, a knot of resentment and frustration tightening in his chest.
Iruka noticed Mizuki's expression and instinctively took half a step back.
That tiny retreat felt like a double blow.
"I'm going back to the office," Mizuki snapped, spinning on his heel.
Moments later, muffled sounds of his helpless fury echoed from inside.
…
Kitazawa strolled down the main street, mulling over a new jutsu.
After having grilled fish with Yūhi Kurenai yesterday, he'd run into Tsunade, fresh from the betting hall—and thoroughly cleaned out. To raise money, she proposed creating a new medical ninjutsu and pulled them into a brainstorming session.
After an afternoon and an entire night they had a draft: two branches, "treatment" and "cure."
Treatment aimed to ease the pain of psychological trauma—techniques like emotional substitution.
A cure meant eliminating the root cause—such as selective memory erasure.
Exactly which path to take would depend on each patient.
The fourth jutsu they settled on developing was "Memory Erasure."
Similar jutsu existed in the shinobi world, but only for infiltration or surveillance; using them medically would require heavy modification.
Deep in thought, Kitazawa soon reached the academy.
The moment he entered the staff building he was greeted with enthusiasm.
"Congratulations, Kitazawa!"
"Kitazawa‑senpai, amazing! Please take care of us."
"You're the only teacher in five years to make Special Jōnin!"
He thanked everyone, taking five minutes longer than usual to reach his office.
Only then did he see the posted notice: the Third Hokage had publicized his promotion.
That old man isn't half bad, Kitazawa mused.
But he understood the reason—Sarutobi wanted him to train Naruto and the others into true inheritors of the Will of Fire. If Kitazawa ever threatened that will, these perks would vanish. Strength was what truly mattered.
Still, since he'd been promoted, he certainly wouldn't turn down the better pay.
…
"Kitazawa‑sensei."
Hyūga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino stepped in.
"Where's Sakura?" he asked, setting out the breakfast he'd bought.
"She ate already—she and Sasuke are at the training field," Ino replied.
"No surprise there." Kitazawa chuckled. "Come on, eat."
"Sensei, why didn't you come yesterday?" Ino bit into her rice ball. "You have no idea how much we missed you!"
Hinata nodded shyly in agreement, then ducked her head when Kitazawa looked at her.
After breakfast they went to the training field.
Ino, as usual, paired with Sakura for water‑walking practice.
Kitazawa sent a shadow clone to work on Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique, while he helped Hinata with her leaf‑catching exercise.
Half an hour later he suddenly froze.
[Current Mission: Learn a B‑rank jutsu within two weeks.]
[Reward: 10 % Senju bloodline.]
[Mission Complete—Reward Granted.]
[Senju bloodline awakened: Yang Release unlocked automatically.]
Kitazawa clenched his fist.
So this really is a world ruled by bloodlines.
Even a mere ten percent Senju lineage brought remarkable changes:
1. He gained Yang Release.
2. His chakra reserves grew by roughly one‑fifth.
3. His body—healing ability, stamina, overall durability—became noticeably stronger.
~~~
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