"Your students really are one more incredible than the last."
After finishing the mission report, Tsunade couldn't help sighing in admiration. She'd seen a lot in her time, but seven-year-old students defeating a jōnin was a first for her—even if the way Uchiha Sasuke's team brought down Aoi Rokushō was perfectly logical.
"They're talented and they work hard. With that combo, the outcome isn't surprising," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Even so, it still sounds a bit unbelievable." Tsunade set the report down and asked, "And the Sword of the Thunder God?"
"I gave it to Sasuke," Kitazawa replied.
"Sasuke? That's fine." Tsunade nodded. "With his talent, he won't disgrace my grand-uncle's sword."
The Sword of the Thunder God was important, but not that important. Tobirama Senju hadn't used it much. His fame came from Water Release, the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Impure World Reincarnation. Since the sword was lightning-related, it wasn't even in his wheelhouse.
"Since Aoi Rokushō is dead, let Ibiki know," Tsunade said after a moment's thought. Aoi Rokushō had incited Morino Ibiki's younger brother, Morino Idate, to steal the Sword of the Thunder God.
"I already had Anbu check. Morino Idate is in the Land of Tea," Kitazawa suggested. "Let Ibiki go see him."
Idate hadn't defected to another village like Aoi Rokushō, and he hadn't even continued as a shinobi. Having Ibiki meet him would help untie a knot in his heart. Ibiki was a special jōnin and head of Konoha's Torture & Interrogation. This would bind him closer to Konoha and to Tsunade. That alone made it worthwhile—and it cost almost no effort.
"With you around, things really do run themselves," Tsunade said, blinking in pleasant surprise.
Kitazawa just gave a small wink. He hadn't overthought it; in the original timeline, Naruto and Sasuke had met Morino Idate in the Land of Tea. Since Tsunade brought it up, he simply made arrangements along those lines. The misunderstanding worked in his favor; no need to explain.
"Barring surprises, the Kirigakure diplomatic delegation should arrive this afternoon." Tsunade handed him a file. "These are the shinobi who'll go greet them with you. Add names if you want."
"No need. This list is plenty," Kitazawa said after a glance.
"I've already asked Shikaku to arrange accommodations for them," Tsunade went on. "Have dinner with the delegation tonight. Formal talks start tomorrow."
"I won't be there tomorrow. Leave that to Shikaku," Kitazawa said with a grin, setting the file down. "I've got classes and jutsu training."
"What are you training? Still not giving up on Wood Release?" Tsunade arched a brow.
"No." Kitazawa met her eyes. "About Wood Release—I've found a problem… or rather I've got a hypothesis."
"What hypothesis?" Tsunade's interest piqued.
"Wood Release is synthesized from Earth and Water natures," Kitazawa said. "But don't you think that in the First Hokage's hands, Wood Release goes far beyond a normal kekkei genkai?"
Tsunade immediately thought of Yamato. Same Wood Release, yet Yamato's power was nowhere near Hashirama's, even though Yamato's output fit what a regular kekkei genkai should look like.
"Yang Release," Kitazawa continued. "I suspect the First mixed Yang Release into his Wood Release, making it a kekkei tōta."
A kekkei genkai combines two chakra natures. A kekkei tōta combines three; the only known example in the shinobi world was Dust Release, used by Mū, the Second Tsuchikage, and Ōnoki, the Third.
"Kekkei Tōta?" Tsunade frowned, mulling it over. "It does sound plausible."
By that logic, it was normal that Hiruzen couldn't form Wood Release—he was missing a third chakra nature.
"If you're right, synthesizing Wood Release becomes even less realistic," Tsunade sighed. "We'd be talking about Kekkei Tōta—orders of magnitude harder than a kekkei genkai."
"It's only a hypothesis. No harm in trying," Kitazawa said lightly.
He had Wood Release already; this was just laying groundwork so Tsunade wouldn't be too shocked when his Wood Release started looking like Hashirama's. For now, his Wood Release was the "Yamato" version, but with his system, it would evolve sooner or later.
"Suit yourself," Tsunade said, letting it drop.
"One more thing," Kitazawa said as a thought struck him. "I want to add a condition to the talks with Kirigakure: a stretch of ocean."
"The sea? Whatever for?" Tsunade asked. "Fishing? We're shinobi—we don't need to do that."
"Not fishing—seabed resources." Kitazawa explained the new water-breathing kikaichū variant Aburame Shino had cultivated. He had to loop Tsunade in; something that big would never slip past the Hokage. Best to pull her in as a partner.
"So there's a kikaichū like that?" Tsunade's eyes lit up. She held up a finger, smiling. "I'm the Hokage. I want ten percent of the proceeds."
"You can have ten percent, but I'll hold the money," Kitazawa said with a nod.
"Come again?" Tsunade's face fell. "Why would you hold my money? Which of us is the teacher here?"
"I just don't want you losing it all at the casino," Kitazawa said, meeting her gaze without flinching.
"How do you know I'd lose before I've even placed a bet?" Tsunade shot to her feet, fuming. "I'd win!"
Her sudden movement set her robe swaying; the sight made Kitazawa's heart skip. "What are you staring at?" she glared. "Answer the question!"
"Sorry—can't be helped," he said, looking away, the line carrying a double meaning.
"Not budging?" she ground out.
"I didn't say no. I'll just safekeep it. If you need cash, you ask me," Kitazawa said evenly.
"You—!" Tsunade clenched a fist, then let it go and sighed. "Fine. We'll do it your way."
At least he was quicker to part with money than Shizune ever was.
"As for the other ninety percent, I'll give half to Konoha," Kitazawa added. The key was getting a chunk of ocean from Kirigakure—or the Land of Water. That windfall came from Konoha's victory, so he and the Aburame couldn't swallow it all. Giving it to Konoha was, in effect, giving it to Tsunade and himself—after all, on paper the two of them would be running the village for decades.
"That's going to be a lot of money," Tsunade mused. "We should pick a more trustworthy finance chief."
Konoha had a Finance Department that paid mission rewards and processed the annual stipends from the Land of Fire.
"Agreed," Kitazawa said. With him around, Konoha would have plenty of ways to make money. They needed a loyal steward.
"How about Rina?" Tsunade asked after a pause.
"Rina-san is certainly trustworthy, but her strength and standing could be an issue," Kitazawa cautioned.
Uzumaki Rina had been rescued by Tsunade and Kitazawa from the Grass Village; in Konoha she could only rely on them. Her daughter Karin was Kitazawa's student. Betrayal simply wasn't in the cards.
"Finance isn't a combat post. If anyone has an opinion, they can take it up with me," Tsunade said breezily. "And she's an Uzumaki. Konoha owes the Uzumaki clan."
"As expected of Tsunade-sensei," Kitazawa chuckled. "I'll go speak with Clan Head Shibi about forming the undersea exploration team."
"The sooner the better," Tsunade said, barely hiding her impatience.
Kitazawa's idea gave her a new perspective: as Hokage, she could make money legitimately. Maybe one day she'd pay off all those debts.
Leaving the Hokage's office, Kitazawa headed for the Aburame compound. People greeted him warmly along the way. Before he even reached Aburame Shibi's house, Shibi came out to meet him.
"Kitazawa," Shibi said with a broad smile.
"Clan Head Shibi," Kitazawa nodded. "You've heard about Shino's successful water-breathing kikaichū mutation?"
"We've already started breeding the new insects," Shibi said gratefully. "Thanks to you, our clan gained such a powerful kikaichū."
"No need for extra thanks. I'm here to convey a directive from Tsunade-sensei," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"I'm listening," Shibi said, face turning serious.
"Tsunade-sensei is ordering the formation of an undersea exploration team." Kitazawa explained the whole plan.
Shibi's heart skipped. At first he'd thought, "Exploration? That's not ninja business." But once he heard about the wealth of seabed resources, he immediately recognized a huge opportunity. Ninjas need money; clans need money. With money, you grow.
"No problem!" Shibi said, reining in his excitement. "We can have it assembled within a week!"
"The main thing is the kikaichū," Kitazawa reminded him. "There's pressure at the ocean floor."
Water-breathing kikaichū could breathe underwater, but the sea and the seabed were different environments. The pressure down there could crush them. The Aburame would need to shield them with chakra, or else try to evolve a new variant. The latter was uncertain. For now, ramp up numbers—if quality is lacking, use quantity.
"I understand," Shibi said after thinking it over. "We should be able to breed a good number within half a month."
"The talks with Kirigakure will probably take ten days to a couple of weeks too," Kitazawa nodded. "This exploration team will report directly to the Hokage."
Direct to the Hokage meant no one but Tsunade could give orders—preventing opportunists from muscling in.
Kitazawa didn't linger; once things were settled, he returned to the Anbu base.
"Kitazawa, I need to head back to Akatsuki," Konan appeared before him.
"Take two days," he said without hesitation.
He knew why she was going—she'd mentioned gathering medicinal ingredients for Nagato's treatment and delivering the puppet she'd promised.
He watched her leave.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Yakushi Kabuto knocked and entered. "These are the missions we've completed recently."
"Good work." Kitazawa took the scroll and skimmed it.
Anbu assignments had clearly gotten tougher. The floor was C-rank; B- and A-rank were common. With Uchiha Itachi leading, they'd done quite a few A-rank missions.
"Have you and Izumi learned the Combined Ninjutsu: Blazing Wind Wild Wave?" Kitazawa asked after reading.
"We can perform it successfully now," Kabuto said modestly. "Entry level."
"Time to teach you all something new, then," Kitazawa thought aloud. A jutsu all three of them could learn—Rasengan.
For most shinobi, Rasengan could serve as a trump card, and it required no hand seals—meaning very fast activation. One reason the Fourth Hokage carved through jōnin during the Third Shinobi World War was Rasengan's power. One clean hit and your average jōnin was out of the fight.
"Go get Torune and Izumi. Meet me at the Anbu Training Ground," Kitazawa said, standing.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," Kabuto nodded. New ninjutsu always got him excited.
Soon the three assembled at the training ground.
"I'm going to teach you a jutsu called Rasengan," Kitazawa announced.
"The Fourth Hokage's Rasengan?" Kabuto blurted in surprise.
"That's right." Kitazawa smiled and explained Phase One training and techniques. Whether you could learn Rasengan mainly came down to mastery of chakra shape transformation and fine control; it didn't involve nature transformation. That's why Jiraiya needed only three days to learn it. Kitazawa figured Kabuto would pick it up fastest, then Uchiha Izumi, then Aburame Torune. He demonstrated with a water-filled balloon.
"Alright, practice on your own. Ask me if you get stuck." Kitazawa moved to an open spot nearby and began training Five-Style: Great Combo Technique.
That composite ninjutsu had two steps: first, learn five elemental techniques; second, combine them simultaneously. Hiruzen's method was to use shadow clones—one body and four clones each using one element, then converging them for a joint release.
The difficulty lay in step two. Step one wasn't that hard for Kitazawa—he already had at least Proficient-level control over every chakra nature, i.e., jōnin level. He planned to consult Hiruzen once he reached step two. For step one, he'd just grind.
At five in the afternoon, Kitazawa paused his training and headed for the village gate. Nara Shikaku and the others were already waiting. After greeting him, they all stood by.
Within minutes, Mei Terumi and a large Kirigakure delegation came into view—over thirty in all, quite a sizeable group. For the Mist, this negotiation would determine their future.
"Lady Mizukage, welcome to Konoha," Kitazawa stepped forward, smiling as he offered his hand.
"Kitazawa-sama, it's been half a month, and your reputation has grown again," Mei said politely as they shook. She meant the Limb Regeneration Technique he'd created, which had made his name resound across the shinobi world.
"Please," Kitazawa gestured. "You've come a long way—rest for the night. We'll begin talks tomorrow morning."
"Kitazawa-sama, I have a small request," Mei said, walking beside him. "Could we include limb regeneration in the negotiations?"
Quite a few Mist shinobi had lost arms and legs in the war.
"Of course," Kitazawa said with a pleasant smile. He'd expected as much. He would treat them—so long as Kirigakure was ready to pay.
"Thank you," Mei said. She knew free treatment was impossible; that was why she brought it to the table.
After seeing them to their quarters and sharing a meal with the delegation, Kitazawa took his leave.
"I thought Tsunade would be the one to receive us," Ao said, a touch dissatisfied.
"It's fine," Mei replied calmly. "We were the losing side, after all."
"Why didn't you mention Haku just now, Lady Mizukage?" Ao pressed. Kitazawa had led Hyuga Hinata and the others into the Land of Water and taken Haku; naturally they couldn't hide that—an operation that cost a Mist jōnin and four chūnin. Their investigation had also revealed that Haku had awakened the rare Ice Release kekkei genkai.
"Haku wasn't, strictly speaking, a Mist shinobi," Mei shook her head. "And Kitazawa is Konoha's negotiator. We can't afford to offend him."
Ao fell silent, then could only sigh.
Kitazawa returned home. It was already late after dinner with Mei and the others. He unlocked the door.
"You're back?" came Kurenai's voice.
He looked over instinctively—first spotting her fair bare feet. She'd obviously bathed already and changed into a nightdress, long legs on display.
"I heard the Mist delegation has arrived?" she asked, stopping in front of him.
"Yeah," Kitazawa nodded. "I just had dinner with them."
"How was it?" Kurenai smiled.
"How was what?" Kitazawa slipped his arms around her soft waist. "You think they'd dare give me a hard time?"
"True," Kurenai laughed, looping her arms around his neck and lifting her legs slightly. The hem of the nightdress fell with gravity, revealing smooth, pale thigh.
Kitazawa gave her leg a playful pat; the soft flesh quivered. He lifted her by the hips and headed for the bathroom.
"I only wanted you to carry me to the living room," Kurenai said, nipping his shoulder.
"That's not what you meant," he teased, giving her a gentle squeeze.
"What are you doing?" she murmured, a low sound catching in her throat, ruby eyes taking on a hint of allure.
"No tub tonight—let's try the shower," Kitazawa said, a new idea occurring to him.
"I already showered. You shower by yourself," Kurenai shot him a glare, though her arms didn't let go.
He stepped into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. Steam rose quickly. Moments later the glass fogged. The water hissed down. Through the glazed pane, a white silhouette came into soft focus. Kitazawa hugged Kurenai from behind and helped her wash. She bit her lip; scattered handprints smudged the glass. Her jade-smooth back arched slightly; long, straight legs traced a clean curve, like a polished crescent. The mist grew denser. Two shadows blurred into one.
A new day—Tuesday.
Kitazawa got up early. Kurenai was still asleep; she'd "spent too long wiping the glass" last night. He didn't wake her, prepared breakfast, and headed out.
It was day one of the Konoha–Kirigakure talks. Kitazawa had no plans to attend—Shikaku could handle it. "Negotiations" mostly meant arguing, and he had no time to waste.
As usual, he coached the Advanced Class, then trained Five-Style: Great Combo Technique, splitting into four shadow clones to practice together. The only issue was that the day's worth of memory, gains, and fatigue all came back at once—brutal. Fortunately, with 100% Senju bloodline, he could handle it. He also didn't forget to lecture the Konoha Hospital med-ninja.
Two days flew by.
At the Anbu base, Kitazawa met Konan on her return. She handed him two summoning storage scrolls. He opened the first; a rich medicinal fragrance washed over him.
"Akatsuki really is something—gathering this many ingredients in one go," he said after a quick scan.
Konan nodded in silence. It had, in truth, taken a nation's resources—the Land of Rain and Amegakure had spent serious money to collect them. She worried the treatment would keep consuming funds; she would have to find ways to make money.
"I'll need about a week to refine and blend the medicine. Once it's ready, take it back and have him dose regularly," Kitazawa said, opening the second scroll.
A human-shaped puppet appeared, complete with a manual. The manual detailed three attack methods: first, senbon fired from the mouth; second, the arms unfolded into sharp blades; third, explosive tags and a cylinder of poison needles in the torso for a self-destruct-style attack. There was plenty of room for later mods. All in all, Sasori had done a thorough job. The puppet looked about as good as the three Kankurō used.
"We'll start the refining and blending tomorrow morning," Kitazawa said, putting the puppet away.
"Mhm." Konan vanished from sight—not leaving, just resuming her Anbu duty to guard Kitazawa.
Friday.
On the way to the Hokage building, Kitazawa ran into Shikaku and asked about the talks. As expected—no progress. The two sides had argued for days; Mei had even slapped two conference tables into splinters.
She looked poised most of the time, but when she got mad, she was a lot like Tsunade. Still, she wouldn't actually start a fight, and Shikaku wouldn't yield an inch. Given time, the Mist would agree. They couldn't drag this out for half a year, and Zabuza and the others were still locked up waiting to be rescued.
"Good work. Let me know if anything moves," Kitazawa said, staying the hands-off boss.
"It's my job," Shikaku said, unbothered. "Negotiation is my specialty."
Kitazawa left him and headed for the Hokage's office.
"I've basically mastered the Limb Regeneration medical technique," Tsunade said by way of greeting. "I've adjusted your surgical schedule."
Up to now, Kitazawa had been operating solo. With Tsunade learning the technique, she could take on some of the caseload. Lazy as she could be about paperwork, when it came to treating disabled shinobi she spared no effort.
"Just have the hospital ping me when it's time," Kitazawa said, glancing over the timetable.
"Mm." Tsunade nodded, then asked, "How's that undersea exploration team you formed?"
"I modeled it on Anbu squads—seventeen people, with Aburame Shibi as captain," Kitazawa said after a beat. "We're just waiting for the Mist to cede us a patch of ocean."
Konoha's southeast border touched the sea, but that was coastal shallows—thin on resources.
"Then we wait for good news from Shikaku," Tsunade said, stretching with a smile. "Here's hoping for a windfall."
Kitazawa was about to reply when four lines flashed before his eyes. He read them and froze.
[Current Mission: Modify or create a new jutsu.]
[Reward: Granted based on the jutsu's rank, use, and impact.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
[Limb Regeneration medical ninjutsu rated highest. Reward: 10% Ōtsutsuki bloodline.]
A straight reward of Ōtsutsuki lineage?
As everyone knew, the Sage of Six Paths was the progenitor of shinobi—but his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, came first.
The Ōtsutsuki clan sat at the pinnacle—the source—of all bloodlines in the original story. Senju, Uchiha, Hyūga—ultimately, all traced back to the Ōtsutsuki.
Kitazawa's first thought: the Tenseigan was now on the table. In the original, Ōtsutsuki Toneri awakened the Tenseigan by combining Hyūga Byakugan with Ōtsutsuki chakra.
Even without that, Ōtsutsuki Byakugan was terrifying—Kinshiki's Byakugan, for instance, had a phasing-style ocular technique reminiscent of Kamui.
That was for later. Right now he felt his chakra surge—roughly doubling in an instant.