"Kazuma!"
Hearing the daimyō of the Land of Fire cry for help, Sarutobi Asuma and the others revealed themselves.
"Why is Asuma here?" The five Guardian ninja behind Kazuma grew flustered.
"What does it matter if he's here?" Kazuma said with absolute confidence. "No matter how many show up, they all end the same way—dead!"
"Kazuma!" Asuma snorted. "You really don't know your place!"
"You can strut for now, but once the new daimyō takes the throne, Konoha will be finished," Kazuma said, laying bare his true intent.
"Impossible!" Asuma sliced his hand through the air. "Take them down!"
Chiriku and the Lightning Quartet behind him moved at once.
Asuma himself drew his chakra blades and charged Kazuma.
"Kabuto, you three protect the daimyō," Kurenai ordered.
"Understood." Yakushi Kabuto decisively pulled the Land of Fire's daimyō into the palace.
With so many tokubetsu-jōnin and jōnin clashing, the three of them really didn't have the power to join in. He and Aburame Torune could manage; throwing Uchiha Izumi into that brawl would be dangerous. And the daimyō's safety was crucial—if anything happened, Konoha would be in deep trouble.
Outside the palace, a six-on-seven melee erupted.
Kazuma alone faced Asuma and Kurenai.
From the opening exchange, he fell behind.
Asuma pressed hard with both fists and his chakra blades, striking mercilessly. In moments, Kazuma was forced to evade multiple times.
Kurenai knew "Kazuma" was Kitazawa, but she couldn't risk Asuma catching on. So she harried from range with genjutsu—exactly how Asuma remembered her fighting. He didn't find it suspicious.
"Earth Release: Rock Pillar!"
Kazuma hopped back and raised a wall-like stone pillar in front of him.
Asuma hammered both fists forward.
Boom!
Against those hard, keen chakra blades, the pillar shattered.
Suddenly Asuma's pupils tightened.
A surge of darkness swallowed his world.
"Bringer-of-Darkness Technique?" he blurted, instantly recognizing it. "Kurenai?"
The Bringer-of-Darkness was the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's signature genjutsu, and Kurenai was the only genjutsu specialist present. Naturally, he assumed she'd cast it.
"Asuma, I'm here to help!" Kitazawa's voice swept in from the dark—
—followed by a scream.
"Kitazawa, what's happening?" Asuma, blind, kept his guard tight and called out.
The darkness lifted.
He squinted, eyes adjusting—then saw Kitazawa, and at his feet, Kazuma's corpse.
One look told the tale: both of Kazuma's arms crushed by a Rasengan, then his throat cut.
"Nice work." Asuma didn't quibble about the finishing blow and spun back into the fray.
With Kazuma dead, the five remaining Guardians quickly collapsed under the combined assault—some killed, others knocked out.
"We won!"
The palace guards who'd been blown away earlier raised a cheer.
"Kitazawa!" Asuma shouted urgently. "Seito's badly hurt!"
"Everyone, back up," Kitazawa said, stepping in, brows rising.
Seito—one of the Lightning Quartet—had taken a desperate counterattack at the end: a stab straight to the heart. Anything touching the heart meant a top-difficulty operation.
"Kabuto, you're with me."
"Right." Fortunately, there was another excellent medical-nin here besides Kitazawa—Yakushi Kabuto.
They began the surgery.
Time slipped by.
"All right—he's out of danger." Kitazawa exhaled and stood.
Kurenai hurried up to wipe the sweat from his brow.
"…" Asuma's mouth twitched. He'd moved on, but ignoring scenes like that didn't come instantly. Still, Kitazawa was the real deal; what he'd just pulled off was the kind of operation only a jōnin-class medical-ninja could execute so cleanly.
"Kitazawa," Asuma said after a beat, "we owe you. Without you, Seito was a goner."
More than Seito, really. In the original timeline of the Guardian uprising, only Kazuma, Chiriku, and Asuma survived.
"No big deal," Kitazawa said, noticing his mission progress bar tick forward another notch. He'd completed six high-difficulty surgeries—three more to unlock that medical forbidden technique.
"Sorry to have tied you up this long," Asuma added. "If it ruins your mission timing, I'll explain things to the old man."
Kitazawa and Kurenai had told him earlier they were on assignment and only passing through the capital.
"Actually, our mission's already done," Kitazawa said after a moment, deciding to tell Asuma the truth. After these few days, this Asuma was the same man as in the story—no longer rebellious, but steady and mature.
"We were ordered by the Hokage to help you end the Guardian uprising."
Asuma froze, emotions surging.
"…Whatever the case, thank you," he said, drawing a long breath.
"Coming back to the village with us?" Kitazawa asked.
"After this, the daimyō probably won't trust me anymore," Asuma said after thinking it through. "You go on ahead. I'll resign and return once I've wrapped things up."
In this crisis he'd stood firmly with the Hokage—the so-called pro-Hokage faction—which would inevitably plant doubt in the daimyō's heart.
"Okay," Kitazawa said, and left it there.
He took Kabuto, Torune, and Izumi and departed the palace with Kurenai. Kazuma's body, he left to Asuma.
The next afternoon—
Kitazawa's team returned to Konoha.
They hadn't stayed the night in the capital; they hurried back through the dark. They'd already lost a week. Winter break training had barely begun and half the break was gone. And in two days, something big was coming: treating Tsunade's hemophobia.
"Go rest. Meet at the school training ground tomorrow morning," Kitazawa told the three.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," they chorused.
They'd been out a week; home was calling. With permission given, they hurried off.
"Kurenai, coming with me to see the Hokage, or heading home first?" Kitazawa asked, glancing at her tired but lovely face.
"I'll go home," Kurenai decided. "It's your squad's mission—better if you report."
"Alright." Kitazawa dipped down, nipped her lower lip, and murmured, "Wait for me."
"Mm." She licked her lips and smiled.
…
Hokage Tower.
Kitazawa went straight to the office. With permission granted, he stepped in.
"How did it go?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked first—no trace of his usual calm when it concerned Asuma.
"Mission accomplished," Kitazawa said, and laid out the events.
"Well done," Hiruzen nodded when he'd finished. On every front—flawless. Courage and brains in equal measure.
"Hokage-sama," Kitazawa said after a pause, "there's something I should apologize for."
"What is it?" Hiruzen asked, puzzled.
"I told Asuma the truth," Kitazawa admitted.
"What was his reaction?" Hiruzen's gaze sharpened.
"He said he'd resign from the Guardians soon and return to Konoha," Kitazawa replied.
"Hahaha!" Hiruzen suddenly laughed out loud. "Asuma's finally grown up!"
Kitazawa smiled quietly. This was deliberate—leveraging the incident to deepen Hiruzen's trust… and maybe earn a little extra. Hiruzen gained, too; knowing the truth would strengthen the bond between father and son.
"You've worked hard, Kitazawa," Hiruzen said after a moment's thought. "Also, each member of your squad may claim one B-rank—or lower—ninjutsu."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama!" Kitazawa's eyes lit up. The card had paid off.
Four people meant four jutsu. He wasn't skimming his team's rewards—he had a plan to teach them himself; they didn't need these scrolls urgently.
After collecting the one-million-ryō payout, Kitazawa headed to the jutsu archive.
He scanned the shelves, thinking. His Fire and Wind arsenals were solid. Water could wait; he still had two A-rank water jutsu unlearned. He was lightest on Lightning and Earth. He already had Lightning Release: Chidori—but no Earth Release at all.
On this trip to the capital, Kazuma and his three underlings had all been Earth users. Earth came in handy often—terrain on demand, chakra saved.
Decision made, he picked four Earth techniques:
Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall; Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet; Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu; and Earth Release: Earth Substitution.
The first—Hatake Kakashi's go-to—maxes defense. He already had Water Formation Wall, but elemental matchups matter; adding Earth-Style Wall makes it easier to seize advantage.
The second is a straight attacker. The third is also offensive, but stealthy—burrow beneath, slip in close, and ambush. The fourth is a beefed-up substitution using rock or soil.
In the original, Hiruzen survived Orochimaru's Hidden Shadow Snake Hands with Earth Substitution. Attack, defense, ambush, evasion—nice coverage.
[Current Mission: Learn four Earth Release jutsu within the third term.]
[Reward: Proficient-level Earth-nature chakra transformation.]
[Accept?]
There it was—almost a copy of the earlier "learn four Water Release" task. As expected, he accepted.
The text shifted again:
[Current Mission: Choose a high-profile mission that will raise your squad's name.]
[Reward: Composite Ninjutsu: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa stood still, digesting the influx of knowledge, then smiled. Composite Ninjutsu: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet was no joke—easily A-rank in difficulty.
Kekkei genkai fuse two chakra natures once; once fused, you study the suite of techniques. Composite ninjutsu is different: every cast recombines two full jutsu on the fly. Where kekkei genkai requires one fusion, composite requires combining every single time.
Lightning Water Dragon Bullet combines Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet with Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder. He already knew Water Dragon; the system, kindly, delivered full mastery of Electromagnetic Murder along with the reward.
Leaving the tower, he headed north to a deserted spot.
"Composite Ninjutsu: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!"
In a blink he ran two full chains of seals—one for Water Dragon, one for Electromagnetic Murder. So fast it looked like a single technique. That's the hard part with composite arts: greater power, but you need to finish more seals in the same window. Most users in the original did them as team combos.
A roaring water dragon coalesced, lightning crackling within its body, tinting it faint blue.
Boom!
The charged dragon slammed down. The ground bucked and split. Spray fanned out, soaking the earth—then lightning raced outward along the wet surface, conduction turning the area black in streaks.
Kitazawa nodded, satisfied. Even stronger than he'd imagined—worthy as his fourth finisher. The first three: Monster Strength, Rasengan, and Chidori.
Back on the main street, he didn't head home. He went to the Kurama clan.
"Yakumo."
He found Kurama Yakumo on a hillside, sketching.
"Kitazawa-sensei?" she said, surprised, setting down her brush and standing. "Do you need me for something?"
"How's that Emotion Substitution Technique I gave you?" he asked.
"I haven't learned it yet," Yakumo said honestly.
"It's an A-rank technique—slow going is normal," Kitazawa said after thinking. "Come to Kurenai's house at ten tomorrow morning."
"Special training?" she asked.
"A house call," he said. "Our psychological medical ninjutsu framework is basically in place. It's time you tried treating a real patient."
"Who's the patient?" Yakumo was surprised, but she didn't refuse. Kitazawa and Tsunade had invested so much in her—time to give back.
"You'll see tomorrow," Kitazawa said. "Steel yourself—she isn't an ordinary case."
"I understand!" Yakumo's heart tightened, but her answer was firm.
"See you tomorrow," Kitazawa said, and headed home.
…
Sunday.
After breakfast, Kitazawa went to the academy.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" After a week apart, Naruto, Kiba, and the others were extra enthusiastic. He chatted briefly, then sent them back to training.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Kabuto, Torune, and Izumi came over.
"This is your mission payout," Kitazawa said, handing them three bankbooks. "One hundred fifty thousand ryō each."
"I can't take it," Izumi said quickly, shaking her head. "I didn't contribute much this time."
"Don't say that. We're a team," Kitazawa said, ruffling her hair.
"Without you tying up Fudō, I wouldn't have finished him so easily," Torune added.
"Alright—let's not waste time. I'm assigning your special training," Kitazawa clapped.
"Yes, Sensei," Izumi said, warmth rising in her chest as she tucked the bankbook away.
"Izumi, I'll teach you a B-rank fire jutsu—Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson."
"Okay!" Her eyes lit up. She wasn't surprised Kitazawa knew Uchiha fire techniques; Itachi had told her Sasuke had gifted Kitazawa quite a few.
"Kabuto, you'll learn a new B-rank wind jutsu—Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere," Kitazawa continued, then looked to Torune. With his nano-poison bugs he could win with one trick, but as a teacher, Kitazawa would shore up his gaps. "Torune, I'll teach you the Leaf Body Flicker."
Torune's offense was more than set; he needed defense and evasion. Body Flicker suited him perfectly.
After an hour highlighting key points, Kitazawa left the academy.
It was time to take Kurama Yakumo to Tsunade—for her first real consultation.