"Konan, have the other Akatsuki members go to Konoha," Nagato, who had been silent, finally said. He'd always held a grudge against Konoha—his parents were killed by two Konoha jōnin during the Second Great Ninja War.
He awakened the Rinnegan and killed them after witnessing it with his own eyes. On top of that, Yahiko's death was tied to Konoha as well—it was a trap set by Shimura Danzō in collusion with Hanzō.
Konan was his dearest friend; if anything happened to her in Konoha, Nagato could never forgive himself. As for the rest of Akatsuki, he wouldn't care if they died.
"I don't trust anyone else," Konan shook her head.
Nagato frowned.
"The current Hokage is Tsunade. She just took office—she won't do anything that would damage Konoha's reputation," Konan continued.
Nagato fell silent for two seconds, then nodded. Tsunade's reputation was well-known; he could trust that much—plus, she'd been Jiraiya's teammate.
"I'll come find you tomorrow," Konan said to Kitazawa.
"Make it tomorrow afternoon," Kitazawa said, thinking of the jōnin meeting scheduled for the morning.
"Thank you," Konan nodded.
"It's nothing—just a fair trade," Kitazawa replied casually.
Nagato and Konan didn't trust him, and he didn't trust Akatsuki—or rather, Obito and Zetsu. He'd come here with a shadow clone for exactly that reason.
"How much do you want as payment?" Konan offered.
"I don't need money." Kitazawa pretended to ponder. "How about three conditions instead?"
"Name them first," Konan didn't agree outright, but not asking for money actually suited her—Akatsuki was strapped for cash.
"Do you know Aoi Rokushō?" Kitazawa asked back.
"Aoi Rokushō?" Konan thought for a moment and recalled the name. "A former Konoha missing-nin, currently a jōnin of Amegakure."
"Right." Kitazawa nodded. "Next Sunday, send him on a mission to the Land of Rivers."
Konan immediately caught his drift. She glanced at Nagato. "Fine."
Aoi Rokushō had already betrayed Konoha; a man who could betray Konoha could betray Amegakure, too. More importantly, he had little value to them.
"What's the second condition?" Konan asked again. The first one was painless for Akatsuki, but she knew the real ask usually came later.
"Akatsuki is a well-known mercenary outfit. Do you have clients from Sunagakure?" Kitazawa asked after a beat.
"Yes," Konan paused, then added, "but client confidentiality is our rule."
"I understand," Kitazawa smiled. "I want you to put me in touch with them. I want a puppet."
"You're a puppeteer?" Konan was a little surprised, though the request wasn't difficult—Akatsuki had the strongest puppeteer in the ninja world among its members.
"No," Kitazawa said. "I'm just curious and want to study one."
"Alright," Konan didn't press further.
"The puppet needs to be at least special jōnin-class," Kitazawa added.
Konan nodded. With Sasori's skills, even jōnin-class puppets were doable.
"As for the third condition, I'll tell you when his legs enter the treatment phase," Kitazawa spread his hands. "If I can't heal him, I've got no right to ask for anything."
In truth, he hadn't decided yet.
Konan blinked. It was a small detail, but it made her trust Kitazawa a little more. She'd seen plenty of ninjas who never knew when to stop asking.
"Then that's that. See you tomorrow." Kitazawa dissipated in a puff of smoke.
"I don't like Konoha," Nagato said coolly, shaking his head. "You don't need to go yourself."
"You know what the other Akatsuki members are like," Konan said as she moved behind him to push his chair. "They all joined with their own agendas."
"In the face of a god's power, they won't dare betray us," Nagato said with confidence.
"This concerns your legs. Being cautious isn't wrong," Konan said, steering him out.
Nagato said nothing more. In some matters, Konan was as stubborn as he was.
Konoha Anbu base.
When the shadow clone's memories rushed back, Kitazawa felt a momentary daze.
[As a student, aim to surpass your teacher—especially in medical ninjutsu.]
[Current Mission: Help Nagato restore his legs.]
[Mission Reward: Improved Kishō Tensei (One's Own Life Reincarnation).]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa wasn't surprised that a system task triggered around Nagato, but the reward did catch him off guard. Kishō Tensei was an S-rank forbidden medical jutsu developed by Chiyo of Sunagakure. Its effect was to use all of one's chakra as a medium to share one's life entirely with another—and it could even grant life to a puppet. Put simply, it was a one-for-one resurrection.
As for giving a puppet life, that referred to human puppets. Human puppets weren't ordinary puppets—in the most literal sense, they were made from living people. In the original story, only Sasori could make them—taboo among taboos.
The price of Kishō Tensei was far too steep; Kitazawa would never use it. But the task's reward was an improved version. How would it be improved? He'd only know after he received it. Still, it was an S-rank medical jutsu—he couldn't help looking forward to it.
"Why isn't the Limb Regeneration task marked complete yet?" Kitazawa rubbed his chin, puzzled.
[Current Mission: Modify or create a new jutsu.]
[Mission Reward: Granted based on the jutsu's rank, utility, and impact.]
In theory, this should have completed when the Limb Regeneration Technique was developed. The only explanation was that the system believed the technique's utility and impact hadn't hit their ceiling. Kitazawa thought of his medical-ninja training class. Maybe it wouldn't complete until other medical ninja learned Limb Regeneration?
Fine by him. The harder it was, the richer the reward.
Kitazawa picked up the freshly written mission report and headed to the Hokage's office.
"When did you get back?" Tsunade looked up, a little surprised.
"Just now," Kitazawa said, stopping in front of her. "Here's the mission rundown."
"You need me to personally review a C-rank mission?" Tsunade asked, taking the report.
"You'll see why," Kitazawa said with a smile.
Tsunade unrolled the scroll and began reading. When she reached the part about encountering a Kirigakure jōnin, it clicked: the mission had gone sideways and needed reclassification.
"An Ice Release user?" Tsunade's calm expression finally shifted. A Kirigakure jōnin wasn't much to her—even if they'd met the Mizukage, Kitazawa could have gotten out alive. But the fact that he'd brought back an Ice Release user far exceeded expectations.
Any kekkei genkai generally outclassed standard five-nature users. Barring surprises, an Ice Release user would become a jōnin. One more jōnin meant a stronger Konoha—undeniably a good thing.
"Nicely done," Tsunade said, closing the scroll.
"For now, let Yakushi Nono look after him day-to-day," Kitazawa said after a pause. "As for Ice Release, I'll check on him tomorrow and help him develop it."
His image now was that of a "creator-type" ninja. Developing Ice Release wouldn't be hard anyway; plenty of Ice Release jutsu existed in the original timeline. He just needed to describe the broad strokes to Haku. Besides, Zabuza didn't know Ice Release and Haku still became an excellent Ice Release shinobi.
"Mm." Tsunade smiled. "You've arranged everything already; I've got nothing to add."
"I know you value efficiency," Kitazawa said with a wink.
"Why does that sound off?" Tsunade's face changed on a dime as she shot him a glare. "Are you calling me lazy?"
"Of course not." Kitazawa cleared his throat. "I'll get going—see you this afternoon."
"Impertinent," Tsunade muttered, pouting.
Kitazawa returned to Kurenai's place. After learning Wind Release: Rasengan, she'd started studying the Typhoon Water Vortex Technique. Once they got the feel for it, they could try some blood-pumping combo moves.
"I'm back!" Kitazawa called as he stepped into the living room.
"Do you need a rest?" Kurenai looked up. "Planning a nap?"
"Yeah, a quick one." Kitazawa reached out to pinch her cheek. "Want to nap together?"
"No, I still have ninjutsu to practice this afternoon." Tempted as she was, Kurenai quickly refused.
"Look at you, mind always in the gutter." Kitazawa couldn't help laughing.
"Shut up!" Flushed by his teasing, Kurenai kicked him lightly with her soft, pale foot.
"Call me when lunch is ready," Kitazawa said, glanced at her bare feet, and headed to the bedroom.
Time flowed on.
The next day—Tuesday.
After breakfast, Kitazawa went to the Ninja Academy. There was a jōnin meeting at 9 a.m.—Tsunade's first since becoming Hokage, and likely a long one. So he needed to set up plans for the Advanced Class and the Medical Ninja Class beforehand.
On the academy field, the Advanced Class had gathered.
"You'll never guess what we ran into last weekend!" Yamanaka Ino folded her arms, brimming with pride. She, Akimichi Choji, and Nara Shikamaru had gone on a mission with Kakashi.
"What, what?" Naruto blurted. "Did you run into enemy ninja?"
"Nope." Ino grinned. "We went to the Land of Iron and met real samurai!"
"There are still samurai?" Tenten asked, puzzled. "I thought the traditional samurai all got replaced by ninja."
"The old-school samurai are gone. The 'samurai' in the Land of Iron all use chakra," Shikamaru yawned. "If you ask me, they're basically taijutsu ninja."
In the shinobi world, swordsmen and bladesmen alike fell under taijutsu users.
"Taijutsu ninja?" Rock Lee lit up. "I hope I get to go to the Land of Iron on next weekend's mission!"
"It's full of katana-wielding taijutsu types," Shikamaru glanced at him and shook his head. "Better for Sasuke than you."
"Their potato chips are terrible," Choji grumbled.
"What about you, Sakura? Where did you go?" Ino asked.
"Still in the Land of Fire," Sakura sighed. "An escort mission. Two days and nothing happened."
"Pretty boring," Tenten agreed. Kurama Yakumo nodded too—she'd expected her first mission to be thrilling; it was anything but.
"Then we shouldn't take escort missions next weekend," Naruto declared.
"The teacher picks the mission," Kiba slung an arm around him. "Sis, what about you guys? Following Kitazawa can't be easy."
"It was tough," Hana Inuzuka said, recounting their experience.
"You ran into three Kirigakure chūnin?" Naruto's eyes went round. Uchiha Sasuke and Hyūga Neji were surprised too—and secretly hoped to meet enemy ninja like Hana's team; harder fights meant higher scores and rankings.
"Sounds dangerous," Shikamaru said, relieved. "Good thing our leader wasn't Kitazawa."
"This is youth!" Naruto flashed a sparkling grin. "If you want to be a ninja, you've got to face danger!"
"But didn't Kirigakure just lose the war? How dare they attack you?" Karin asked, puzzled.
"They probably thought we were easy marks because of our age," Aburame Shino said evenly.
"Or the lure of the Byakugan," Shikamaru added, glancing at Hinata.
"Kirigakure shinobi are pretty unhinged," Neji shook his head. "You've heard of Zabuza Momochi? He slaughtered his entire class at graduation."
"How could anyone do that?" Naruto fumed. He couldn't imagine killing Sasuke and Neji at graduation—it was absurd.
"That's the origin of the 'Bloody Mist,'" Shikamaru sighed. "Compared to that, Konoha's a good place."
"Totally," everyone nodded. They'd grown up in Konoha and never thought much of it—until they compared it to the Mist and realized how good they had it.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto spotted him and waved. But someone moved faster—Hinata dashed straight to Kitazawa.
"Morning," Kitazawa said, giving Hinata's cheek a gentle pinch. She ducked her head, flustered.
"Kitazawa-sensei, what mission are we doing next weekend?" Naruto asked eagerly.
"You'll find out then. I won't let you down," Kitazawa replied.
"Then it's gotta be a combat mission!" Naruto gave a big thumbs-up. "I'll give it everything I've got!"
Kitazawa felt Guy had rubbed off on him—battle on the brain, all day long.
"Just stick behind me," Sasuke said coolly, hands in his pockets.
Great—another kill-stealer. Kitazawa chuckled. Aoi Rokushō might be weak, but he was still a jōnin with way more experience than Sasuke and company. He'd give them a surprise. If they wanted "kills," they'd have to cooperate just to beat him.
"Alright, get to training," Kitazawa said, noticing Kōsuke Maruboshi and Kakashi approaching.
"Kitazawa," Kōsuke stepped up. "I think Yakumo should adjust her training."
"Adjust how?" Kitazawa raised a brow. Yakumo had been working on Leaf Great Whirlwind after picking up Leaf-Style Taijutsu.
"She's better suited for Leaf-Style Kenjutsu," Kōsuke said. He'd taken Yakumo, Tenten, and Sakura on a mission over the weekend. They hadn't fought, but he'd sparred with them beforehand to gauge their strengths. Because of her genjutsu kekkei genkai, Yakumo's physique was average; the Leaf Whirlwind line of taijutsu demanded high physical stats to reach full power.
"Works for me," Kitazawa agreed after a moment. With so many students in the Advanced Class, an occasional mismatch in training plans was normal.
"Kōsuke-senpai, I'll leave the class to you this morning. Kakashi and I have a jōnin meeting," Kitazawa added.
"No problem," Kōsuke nodded.
Leaving two shadow clones behind, Kitazawa headed to the Hokage building with Kakashi. They were a bit late; the conference room was already packed with jōnin.
"Kakashi! Kitazawa!" Might Guy waved them over. Sarutobi Asuma, Yakushi Nono, and Yakushi Kabuto were nearby as well.
"I'll go over first," Kakashi said—he knew Kitazawa wouldn't be sitting in the same row as them given his current status.
Kitazawa nodded and walked toward the front row.
"Kitazawa, sit here," Uchiha Fugaku and Hyūga Hiashi said, one after the other. After speaking, the two men exchanged a glance, each faintly sensing the other's competitive edge.
Nara Shikaku, Aburame Shibi, and the others felt the subtle tension. It was rare to see someone on good terms with both the Hyūga and the Uchiha power blocs. Kitazawa ultimately sat beside Shizune—offending neither the Uchiha nor the Hyūga.
"You're quite the popular one now," Shizune murmured.
"The burden of being handsome," Kitazawa joked.
"…" Shizune was speechless. Sure, he was handsome—but Fugaku and Hiashi clearly weren't courting him for his looks. They were thinking long-term interests… maybe even investing in Kitazawa as a potential Sixth Hokage.
~~~
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