The earth shook as endless snow and ice merged into a raging white torrent.
A few minutes later, when the avalanche finally stopped, everything in sight was buried under a thick layer of snow.
Koyuki Kazahana withdrew her gaze and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
That terrifying, violent wave of snow had slammed into the wooden dragon over and over. For a moment, she'd actually been worried that even the wood dragon might not withstand it.
But reality proved her worry unnecessary.
An avalanche of that size hadn't managed to cause it any damage at all.
"No wonder the First Hokage was honored as the God of Shinobi."
Asama Sandayū sighed from the bottom of his heart. "This Wood Release is just absurdly powerful."
He'd heard of Wood Release for a long time, but had never witnessed it with his own eyes.
Now that he had, there was only one thing he could say—its reputation was well deserved.
One man holding back a natural disaster all by himself.
"Kitazawa-sensei is definitely going to become the second God of Shinobi!"
Ino Yamanaka casually brushed a lock of blond hair off her forehead and said this with total confidence.
"I think so too."
Kiba Inuzuka immediately agreed.
Haku also nodded in support.
In his mind, Kitazawa's strength felt like it had no limits.
"Kitazawa-sama, thank you so much for your help!"
Koyuki walked to Kitazawa, bowed deeply, and spoke with sincere gratitude.
Now that Doto Kazahana was dead, she had not only avenged her father Sosetsu, but also successfully become the new daimyo of the Land of Snow.
From now on, she no longer had to hide her identity and run from Doto's hunters.
"It's nothing. We're allies now, after all."
Kitazawa snapped his fingers. "Next up is your inauguration trip."
With a thought, the wooden dragon beneath his feet suddenly accelerated and sped toward the capital of the Land of Snow.
"Kitazawa-sensei, aren't we going to recover Doto's and the others' bodies?"
Kiba glanced at the snowy field behind them and asked.
"Their corpses aren't worth anything."
Kitazawa said casually, "And with the avalanche, finding the bodies will waste a lot of time. No point."
Kiba nodded. He didn't ask again.
Asama Sandayū suddenly thought of something. He opened his mouth, then hesitated and stayed quiet.
Doto had ruled the Land of Snow for years. He definitely had plenty of loyal subordinates.
If they brought his corpse back, crushing those people's will to resist would be much easier.
But after Sandayū glanced at the massive wooden dragon under his feet, he shut his mouth.
The four strongest people in the Land of Snow had been Doto and his three elites.
Now that they were gone, it didn't matter how many people were left. Against this dragon, numbers were meaningless.
The wood dragon charged across the snow like an unstoppable force and quickly arrived at the Snow Capital.
"What is that?!"
The soldiers standing at the gate and on the city walls went pale at once, eyes full of horror.
The wooden dragon's size was no less than a tailed beast's.
As it surged across the snowfield, even the capital itself trembled slightly, as if struck by an earthquake.
Combined with the crushing pressure from its sheer bulk, even the normally brave Snow Country soldiers were scared half to death.
The wooden dragon came to a sudden halt, and the trembling of the ground stopped with it.
"Hey! Go get whoever's in charge out here to see me!"
Kiba shouted arrogantly.
With a beast-sized wood dragon under his feet and Kitazawa behind him, it was hard not to be cocky.
Besides, when would he ever get such a perfect chance to show off?
Even if a chance did come, it usually got snatched away by Sasuke Uchiha or Naruto Uzumaki.
Kiba had finally found his moment to shine.
Ino watched this, secretly thinking it was a shame.
She'd been just a step too slow this time.
Only Haku didn't care at all about this kind of showing off.
"There are people on top?"
The Snow Country soldiers finally steadied themselves and noticed the six figures standing on the wooden dragon's head.
They looked at each other, then quickly realized what that meant—and were even more shocked.
So this wooden dragon was being controlled by someone?
Who could possibly have that kind of terrifying power?
Whoever they were, they were definitely not someone the Land of Snow could afford to offend.
The soldiers immediately did as they were told and sent four men running to fetch their commanding officer.
[Current Mission: Help Koyuki Kazahana reclaim her country.]
[Mission Reward: Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
While they were waiting, three lines of text appeared in front of Kitazawa's eyes.
There weren't many Ice Release techniques in the original story, and Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals was basically the strongest one.
Haku had used it in the earlier battle—summoning multiple ice mirrors and slipping between them at high speed.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals was good, but its power still felt a bit lacking.
Thinking it over, his mind drifted to the "neighboring" Aokiji and his Ice-Ice Fruit.
There were lots of tricks in that ability that might inspire new Ice Release jutsu.
For example—Ice Age.
Its effect was to freeze a massive area: turning the sea between several islands into solid land that stayed frozen for a week.
If he could create a similar Ice Release technique, Kitazawa would be the natural enemy of every Water Release user.
If he ever decided to go after the Hidden Mist, he could cast something like Ice Age, freeze the surrounding seas, and leave all their Water Release shinobi stunned.
And in theory, Ice Age wasn't complicated at all—it was basically "hit hard enough." Just pour in enough chakra and convert it into Ice Release.
"Kitazawa-sama, I still have some credibility in the Land of Snow. Let me go down and talk to them."
Sandayū looked at the panicking Snow Country soldiers and said.
"Alright."
Kitazawa nodded.
He guided the wooden dragon to lower its head.
Sandayū and Koyuki immediately leapt down to the ground.
They spoke with the frightened soldiers.
As expected, everything went smoothly.
Once the soldiers learned Doto was dead, they dropped to their knees without hesitation and welcomed Koyuki back to the Land of Snow with absolute loyalty.
Seeing that, Kitazawa released the Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu.
He had brought the dragon for two reasons: as transportation, and to intimidate the Land of Snow.
Now that both goals were achieved, there was no need to maintain it.
"Kitazawa-sama."
Koyuki didn't enter the city right away. Instead, she came back over to Kitazawa and said respectfully, "Please go ahead."
The Land of Snow wasn't one of the Five Great Nations, and on top of that, her restoration had only succeeded because of Kitazawa. Naturally, she kept her attitude very humble.
Kitazawa nodded.
He didn't care much for etiquette, but her attitude did make this whole trip feel worthwhile.
"This whole city wall is made of ice?"
As they got closer, Kiba suddenly realized the walls were entirely carved from ice.
"It snows all year in the Land of Snow, and ice doesn't melt easily here. It's excellent building material."
Koyuki explained.
Kitazawa suddenly thought of the big ice-and-snow theme parks from his previous life.
Combined with Koyuki's identity as a movie star, he felt like the Land of Snow was perfect for building a theme park to boost the economy.
The group entered the city.
The nobles and officials of the Land of Snow had already heard that Koyuki had returned.
They all gathered outside the palace to welcome her.
Under Doto's rule, their lives had been miserable.
His coup had been driven by his obsession with Sosetsu's "treasure."
None of them actually knew what that treasure was.
Doto refused to believe that. He tortured them, and many died.
When he finally accepted that no one knew, he forced them to scour the entire country for the treasure.
Between that and his habit of killing people at the slightest displeasure, Koyuki's return understandably had them all thrilled.
After a round of greetings, Koyuki handed them over to Sandayū.
He needed to catch up on everything that had happened in the Land of Snow over the years.
"Kitazawa-sama."
Koyuki walked back to Kitazawa and the others. "Let me take you to rest."
"We'll be heading back to Konoha tomorrow."
Kitazawa nodded and reminded her.
"In such a hurry?"
Koyuki spoke quickly. "Why not stay a few more days and let the Land of Snow properly thank you all?"
"There's no need to make a big deal of it."
Kitazawa said lightly, "Besides, you just became daimyo. You've got a lot on your plate."
Koyuki hesitated for a moment.
But Kitazawa's tone was firm, so she didn't press further.
"You all go rest first."
Kitazawa stopped walking. "I have one more thing to discuss with the daimyo."
"Okay, Kitazawa-sensei."
Ino and the others didn't pry. They went straight into the rooms prepared for them.
"Kitazawa-sama, just call me Koyuki."
Koyuki smiled.
"In the alliance agreement we signed, there was one more item—that you'd serve as our spokesperson."
Kitazawa thought for a moment. "Now that you're daimyo of the Land of Snow, are you still going to keep acting in films?"
"I will."
Koyuki answered after a brief pause. "Acting is something I love—and it can help earn money to develop the Land of Snow."
The country's development was poor.
Its environment wasn't much better than the Land of Rain.
Sosetsu had studied the climate-modification device in the first place partly because of that.
Kitazawa had plenty of ways to help develop the Land of Snow, but all of them came from his previous life.
No one in this world would think that way on their own.
"Good."
Kitazawa smiled. "Orika, you handle the talk with her."
"Orika" was Konan's codename in the Anbu.
With outsiders present, it wouldn't be appropriate to call her by name.
Masked Konan appeared in front of the two of them.
She subconsciously glanced at Kitazawa.
He had mentioned before that he wanted to hire a TV or movie star as a spokesperson, but it'd only been a passing remark.
She'd never imagined he would go to all this trouble—personally traveling to the Land of Snow—just to invite Koyuki as their spokesperson.
Konan couldn't help feeling a little conflicted.
"What kind of endorsement is this?"
Koyuki looked at Konan and asked.
Konan collected herself and began explaining the water business in the Land of Rain.
Koyuki was a bit puzzled why she'd be endorsing the Land of Rain instead of Konoha, but she still agreed without hesitation.
"Besides the endorsement, there's also the technology."
Kitazawa reminded them. "Including Doto's chakra armor."
He himself had no need for the armor, but other Konoha shinobi certainly could use it.
"I'll send everything over first thing tomorrow morning."
Koyuki nodded.
Once they finished, she excused herself and left.
Just as Kitazawa had said, she had a lot to do now—an unfamiliar Land of Snow waiting for her to take over.
Kitazawa pushed the door open.
The residence Koyuki had arranged for him was quite nice—a small palace, so spacious that it felt a bit empty for just one person.
"Kitazawa."
Konan followed him inside. "Thank you."
"The water business is yours as much as it's mine."
Kitazawa sat on the sofa. "I'm just doing what I should."
Konan opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.
Even though half the profits were going to Kitazawa, the ones truly benefiting were still the Land of Rain, Amegakure, and the Akatsuki.
Without Kitazawa, they wouldn't be making even that other half.
Compared to that, whatever they earned from commissions and bounties was less than a tenth of what Kitazawa brought in.
"Alright, let's not talk about this."
Kitazawa waved his hand.
"Do you want a massage?"
Konan stepped forward, sat beside him on the sofa with her legs together, and asked initiative.
"I'll give you the massage."
Kitazawa blinked. "Lie down."
Konan froze for a second, then leaned over and rested her head on his thigh.
Kitazawa reached out and gently kneaded her cheek.
Konan's eyelashes trembled slightly, her thoughts drifting.
She'd realized Kitazawa really liked playing with her face.
"Let me quiz you on something."
Kitazawa suddenly thought of something and smiled. "Don't you think the Land of Snow is a lot like the Land of Rain?"
"The weather is similar."
Konan thought about it and replied.
"So how do you think the Land of Snow should develop?"
Kitazawa looked down at her pretty face and asked.
Konan fell into deep thought.
The Land of Rain had plenty of water, so they'd naturally built a water business around it. The Land of Snow, obviously, had the most ice.
"They could sell ice to hot regions."
Konan answered.
"Pretty standard answer."
Kitazawa commented.
Konan paused slightly but didn't ask. She just watched him, waiting for his explanation.
"The only truly hot place in the ninja world is basically the Land of Wind."
Kitazawa explained. "Ice isn't like water. It melts easily during transport, so the cost is very high."
Konan immediately got it.
Even though refrigerators existed in the ninja world, using them just to ship ice would be very expensive.
Unless they had Ice Release users.
But right now, the only Ice Release users in the ninja world were Kitazawa and Haku.
Then there was the price issue.
In the summer, the only people willing to pay for ice to cool off would be the rich.
Ordinary civilians barely scraped by. They weren't about to spend money on that kind of luxury.
Konan's thoughts drifted to ice cream, popsicles, and other summer treats.
But the ice here came from falling snow. Eating it directly was hardly sanitary.
"The best path is tourism."
Kitazawa began telling her about his theme park idea.
Konan felt it was completely wild.
There were no theme parks in the ninja world, much less ski resorts or giant ice amusement zones.
Mainly, the world lacked the conditions.
First, endless wars.
Second, poor economies. There was no demand for that kind of entertainment.
Kitazawa was really just bouncing ideas with Konan, broadening her horizons a bit.
Actually building such a theme park would be a lot of work.
Still, the Land of Snow really did have potential.
They could use local materials, keeping costs relatively low.
Plus, they already had railways and airships, which would make it easy for tourists to travel back and forth.
As he talked, Kitazawa kept "taking advantage of—uh, helping" Konan with her massage.
That evening, Koyuki held a grand banquet and invited them all.
The meal was lively and cheerful.
The next day, Kitazawa received the railway, airship, and chakra armor technology.
In return, he talked Koyuki through his ice-world theme park concept.
After that, Kitazawa, Ino, and the others left the Land of Snow.
Of course, Koyuki would later send an envoy to Konoha to negotiate more detailed cooperation.
After all, signing an alliance was just the first step. There was still plenty to work out.
But none of that had anything to do with Kitazawa.
Once he got back to Konoha, he handed everything over to Shikaku Nara.
Like Tsunade, Kitazawa would slack off whenever he could.
After seeing Shikaku, he went to the Ninja Academy to find Iruka Umino.
"Kitazawa-senpai."
Iruka reported, "Four of the student squads have already returned. We're only waiting on Lord Third and Kakashi-senpai's teams."
"Let me know when they get back."
Kitazawa nodded.
This monthly exam was a bit more important than usual.
Because this time, the rankings—especially the practical-combat rankings—would determine who got picked for the end-of-term team battle.
After leaving the Academy, Kitazawa thought for a bit, then headed to the Hokage's office.
His trip had taken about a week, so he should at least give Tsunade a heads-up.
He knocked, and when he got permission, walked in.
"Where did this mission take you this time?"
Tsunade put down the file in her hands and asked casually.
"The Land of Snow."
Kitazawa chuckled. "And I also turned them into Konoha's ally while I was at it."
"That easy?"
Tsunade was a little stunned.
Normally, whether it was major villages or major nations, they rarely signed alliances with each other.
Alliances created ties that sometimes did more harm than good.
Especially for small countries.
If they stayed neutral, they could hire any ninja village for missions.
Once they allied with Konoha, commissions would go to Konoha by default.
For Konoha, that was great.
But for a small country, losing that freedom also meant offending other villages.
"I just realized you've already signed alliances with quite a few countries."
Tsunade finally processed it, sounding a bit amazed.
Besides the Land of Snow, there was also the Land of Grass and the Land of Demons.
Strictly speaking, the Village of Artisans and the Sound Village also counted.
"That's a bad thing?"
Kitazawa walked around to her side and smiled.
"Of course it's a good thing."
Tsunade nodded. "Thanks to you, Konoha's getting more and more missions."
That suddenly made her think of Danzo.
The results of his "work" across the ninja world were the complete opposite of Kitazawa's—and he'd ended up branded "the darkness of the ninja world."
It sounded cool, but really it just meant he'd accomplished nothing useful and only caused damage.
"And there's this."
Kitazawa took out a scroll and handed it to her.
Tsunade opened it and read through.
Before long, surprise appeared on her elegant features.
"Who would've thought such advanced tech was hiding in a remote place like the Land of Snow?"
She looked up. "You want to promote railways and airships in Konoha?"
"Konoha may be big, but not so big it needs railways and airships inside the village."
Kitazawa shook his head. "I'm planning to use both for the Heart of the Ocean Jewelry Shop instead. It'll cut down on transport time."
The Heart of the Ocean's main market was in the Land of Fire.
But their mining operations were in the seas of the Land of Water. Going back and forth took time.
With railways and airships, it'd be much more convenient.
"Not a bad idea."
Tsunade closed the scroll.
"These technologies are actually more suited to the Land of Fire as a whole, rather than just Konoha."
Kitazawa smiled.
"True."
Tsunade nodded. "Next time we get the chance, we can talk to the Fire Daimyo about it."
"Just remember—I worked hard to bring that tech back. We're not giving it away for free."
Kitazawa reminded her.
"Obviously."
Tsunade's lips curved. "The Fire Daimyo will have to add extra funding."
Hearing that, Kitazawa had nothing more to say. Getting the Land of Fire to build railways wasn't a bad thing at all.
Railroads were expensive. If the Land of Fire was willing to pay, Konoha would save a lot of money.
More importantly, in his long-term vision, the Land of Fire—and really, the whole ninja world—was part of his target.
Provided he became invincible, of course.
He wasn't an idealist like Hashirama. He wasn't going to unify the ninja world and then step back and hand out tailed beasts.
Reality had proven that Hashirama's method didn't work. After his death, war broke out again.
In the original story, plenty of people had their own ideas on how to achieve peace.
Jiraiya pinned his hopes on a Child of Prophecy.
Obito wanted to use Infinite Tsukuyomi to create a new world.
Nagato's idea was to make the ninja world taste real pain so they'd stop starting wars—to end war through war.
From a realistic standpoint, Kitazawa found Nagato's approach the most feasible.
But it shared Hashirama's weakness: once they died, peace vanished.
That was when you needed an invincible, immortal overseer.
Kitazawa chuckled and handed her another scroll.
This one contained Doto's chakra armor technology.
"From a tech standpoint, the Land of Snow might actually be ahead of Konoha."
Tsunade couldn't help saying after she finished reading.
"I wouldn't go that far."
Kitazawa corrected her. "Orochimaru-sama's tech leaves the Land of Snow in the dust."
"Right."
Tsunade blinked, then laughed. "I actually forgot about Orochimaru."
Ever since he returned to the village, Orochimaru had basically locked himself in the lab.
She barely saw him once a year, so it was easy to forget he existed.
"In terms of effect, the chakra armor is decent, but it's still inferior to the Earth Curse Mark."
Kitazawa analyzed. "It also has a major downside—cost."
"Yeah, that's not exactly practical."
Tsunade frowned slightly.
"I suggest we set up a Scientific Ninja Tools Department."
Kitazawa thought for a moment. "Put Orochimaru-sama in charge, and transfer a batch of craftsmen from the Village of Artisans."
Scientific ninja tools were introduced in Boruto.
To Kitazawa, it was basically a blanket term for special ninja gear.
Things like the Sword of the Thunder God, Chakra Armor, or the four bows he'd crafted all counted.
There was nothing wrong with studying that kind of gear.
For ordinary ninja, scientific tools provided huge boosts.
And in a way, the Four Celestial Symbols Men of the Village of Artisans had been the earliest researchers of scientific ninja tools.
"You want them to study chakra armor and bring down the cost?"
Tsunade understood.
"Yeah."
Kitazawa nodded. "Not just chakra armor—other ninja tools as well."
"Alright."
Tsunade agreed without much hesitation. "Find some time and handle it."
Kitazawa nodded.
It wouldn't be difficult.
The Village of Artisans was already under Konoha's control. One order was all it would take.
After that, it was just a matter of time.
If they managed to create some excellent tools, it would be worth it.
"You've been running around for a week. Go get some rest."
Once everything was settled, Tsunade waved him off.
"Tsunade-sensei."
Kitazawa coughed lightly. "According to Konoha rules, when I go above and beyond on a mission, shouldn't there be a bonus reward?"
"What kind of reward do you want?"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him.
"I've been traveling non-stop and I'm exhausted. I need a warm hug to rest in."
Kitazawa said with a straight face.
Tsunade actually laughed from sheer exasperation.
Only Kitazawa could make taking advantage sound so righteous.
His shamelessness really was on par with hers.
She glared at him, stood, and snapped, "Sit down!"
Kitazawa didn't mind her tone at all and sat in the Hokage's chair.
Tsunade stepped forward, grabbed his head, and shoved his face into her chest.
Before he could react, his face was surrounded by softness.
He instinctively drew in a breath; her scent immediately filled his nose.
Tsunade's body trembled slightly.
The warm breath against her chest made her feel strangely self-conscious.
She forced down that odd feeling, looking at Kitazawa with a rare gentle expression.
But it didn't last long.
Her brows suddenly furrowed, and she pushed him away.
Kitazawa coughed lightly and withdrew his hands.
Tsunade's reaction had been too quick—he hadn't even had a chance to "help relieve" any strain on her clothes.
"I'll head back first. See you tomorrow."
He stood, face perfectly calm.
Tsunade gave him a swift kick before dropping back into the Hokage's chair.
Three days later.
It was the end of February.
In the past, they'd be about to start preparing for final exams around now, but once missions were added, the monthly exam schedule got stretched out badly.
A monthly exam that used to wrap up in two days now took a week, half a month, or even longer.
Kitazawa was considering cutting back the number of monthly exams.
Normally, each term had two monthly exams and one final.
The Academy had three terms a year, so that meant nine exams total.
Before, nine exams just meant eighteen days—but with the new format, the time commitment was totally different.
Kitazawa felt two exams per term were enough: one midterm, one final.
When he got to school, he brought it up with Hiruzen and the others.
"I think that works."
Maruboshi Kosuke agreed.
Master Chen, Kurenai, and Kakashi also nodded.
"Then we'll cut one monthly exam."
Seeing the consensus, Hiruzen approved it on the spot.
At nine in the morning, all the students in the "Advanced Class" were present.
"I have an announcement to make first."
Kitazawa said, "Since missions take so long now, we'll only have two exams per term from here on."
After a beat of surprise, most of the class looked excited.
Aside from Naruto and a few others, nobody actually liked exams.
To be precise, Naruto only liked the combat portion and hated the written test.
"Next, I'll announce the practical combat rankings for this monthly exam."
Kitazawa paused, then added, "The top six this time will be temporary captains for the final team battle and will have the right to choose their teammates."
Everyone's attention focused on him.
A small number of students were hoping to make the top five so they could freely form their own teams.
Most of them knew they weren't getting that high, but they still wanted to know who their future captains would be.
"First place: Naruto Uzumaki."
Kitazawa announced.
This combat exam had one difference from before:
No perfect scores.
A perfect score would mean a tie for first—and they needed a clear ranking.
After some discussion between Hiruzen, Kakashi, and the others, they decided to deliberately differentiate the top five scores.
"Awesome!"
Naruto shouted, thrilled.
He'd ranked first plenty of times, but each one still made him just as happy.
"Naruto, remember to pick me! We'll form the 'Youth Team' and totally crush everyone!"
Rock Lee thrust a thumbs-up into the air, excited and eager.
For this first team battle, there were no restrictions on picking teammates.
"No problem!"
Naruto returned the thumbs-up. "This is our youth!"
Sasuke silently clicked his tongue.
He hadn't known about the new rules; he just felt he'd been a step short and lost to Naruto.
But he wasn't discouraged—this wasn't his first loss.
And with Naruto in first, he'd definitely pick Rock Lee first.
The teams would be chosen over three rounds, not all at once. Each round, captains could only pick one person.
In a way, first and second place weren't that different.
"Second place: Kurama Yakumo."
Kitazawa continued.
"I feel like Yakumo's going to be totally busted in a team battle."
Kiba suddenly widened his eyes. "She can probably just lock all three opponents with one genjutsu and win right there."
At that, Sasuke, Neji, and a few others couldn't help frowning.
Because Kiba wasn't wrong—something like that could definitely happen.
"Not necessarily."
Shikamaru spoke up. "Team battle terrain is complicated. As long as you don't bunch up, that kind of scenario is avoidable."
"True."
Tenten agreed. "We can also use long-range attacks to take Yakumo out."
"In a one-on-one fight, breaking genjutsu is tricky. But three-on-three, with teammates' help, it gets much easier."
Shino adjusted his glasses.
"Hearing you guys talk, I feel like I've got a shot at beating Yakumo too."
Kiba said, suddenly energized.
He'd been crushed every time they matched up before.
Sasuke and Neji's eyes lit up slightly as well.
It was indeed a good opportunity.
"It's not that easy."
Ino shook her head.
She was a genjutsu user herself and understood just how terrifying Yakumo's illusions really were.
Chances were, your teammates would fall into genjutsu before they could even help you.
Still, Tenten's point about long-range attacks was valid.
Yakumo listened to all this without getting upset. Instead, she smiled.
For some reason, she suddenly felt like the main villain everyone was plotting against.
"Third place: Sasuke Uchiha. Fourth place: Hinata Hyuga."
Kitazawa read on, "Fifth place: Neji Hyuga. Sixth place: Shino Aburame."
"No Kimimaro?"
Tayuya stared, outraged. Clearly, she smelled a conspiracy.
Kimimaro unconsciously clenched his fists.
After mastering Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch, his strength had skyrocketed. Normally, his ranking was fifth or sixth.
This time, he'd just been unlucky and dropped to seventh, barely missing out on being a temporary captain.
"It doesn't really matter who the captain is."
Jugo comforted him. "The real captain is whoever ends up with the highest team score."
"So whichever team gets Kimimaro will have a huge advantage?"
Choji asked around a mouthful of chips.
After so many exams, the Advanced Class had a pretty solid grasp of each other's abilities.
The top seven were clearly the first tier.
"In theory, yeah. But we don't know all the details of how the team battle will work yet."
Shikamaru shook his head. "We'll have to wait for the final exam."
"The six students I just named will be the temporary captains for the team battle."
Kitazawa paused, then continued with the rest of the rankings.
He only stopped once he'd reached eighteenth place.
"Those ranked seventh through eighteenth will be eligible to be chosen."
He reminded them, "The top six should think carefully this month about who you want as teammates."
A lot of students fell deep into thought.
Kitazawa glanced at Kimimaro.
At this point, the Advanced Class could realistically field seven complete teams.
But Shion and Karin were still a bit behind. For now, they couldn't quite match the top eighteen.
Given some time, catching up wouldn't be a problem.
Next year, they'd probably be able to form seven teams; for now, six would have to do.
"Alright, go train."
Kitazawa finished announcing the combat rankings, written-test rankings, and overall rankings.
The students scattered to find their individual instructors.
[Current Mission: Lead a team to take first place in the final exam.]
[Mission Reward: Featureless Byakugan Awakening.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa instinctively stopped in his tracks, frowning.
Was the system trying to screw him over?
But after looking more closely, he spotted a loophole.
The system only said he had to "lead a team" to first place. Temporary captains were team leaders, but so were supervising instructors.
All he needed to do was pick the strongest team and become their supervising teacher.
In the past, he could've shamelessly jumped into the exam himself and beaten up the students.
Now, with his status and position, doing that would be a bit too shameless.
Fortunately, this system was badly designed enough that he could play word games with it.
Still, if push came to shove and he really had to get involved personally, he would.
The reward was just too good.
A featureless Byakugan would completely solve his problem of not being able to use the Byakugan in public.
He already had featureless Sharingan, but Sharingan and Byakugan were different.
In some situations, the Byakugan was far more practical.
Kitazawa accepted the mission, then called Jugo over.
Lately, Jugo had been working on the Leaf Whirlwind series of taijutsu.
He'd already learned Leaf Strong Whirlwind, so this time Kitazawa taught him the advanced version—Violent — Leaf Adamantine-Strength Whirlwind.
After finishing with Jugo, Kitazawa called Karin.
After so much training, she'd mastered the Evil-Sealing Method and Konoha-Style Flowing Fist.
"Karin, for someone your age, you've hit the ceiling for sealing jutsu. You can take a break from that for now."
Kitazawa decided.
She'd already learned six low- and mid-level sealing techniques.
Anything beyond that would require even finer chakra control.
"Do you want to keep focusing on taijutsu, or start learning medical ninjutsu?"
He gave Karin the choice.
"I can learn medical ninjutsu?"
She stared, surprised.
"You've got talent for it."
Kitazawa patted her head.
"Then I want to start with medical ninjutsu."
Karin thought it over at length before deciding.
There were lots of benefits to becoming a medical ninja.
Plus, with both Kitazawa and Tsunade being medical nin, she'd long envied that path.
She could still study taijutsu later.
But in terms of talent, she couldn't keep up with the other Advanced Class students.
Starting from medical ninjutsu, though, she'd eventually become indispensable.
Especially now that the final exam included a team battle; having a medic gave any team a huge edge in sustain.
"If you're learning med-nin, we'll study at Konoha Hospital."
Kitazawa decided.
In the original story, Karin had already shown great talent as a medic.
She'd learned Mystical Palm with almost no guidance.
By training at Konoha Hospital, she'd be able to get hands-on experience and progress faster.
Plus, Yakushi Nono and the others could teach her.
Kitazawa took Karin to Konoha Hospital.
After he explained the situation, Nono and the others agreed without hesitation.
Previously, Sakura had been interning at the hospital, but ever since she started learning Water Release, she rarely came by.
With Karin arriving, they had the perfect opportunity for her to take Sakura's place.
Kitazawa didn't linger at the hospital.
Karin had just stepped onto the path of a medic. She couldn't start with advanced techniques right away—she needed to learn the basics first.
And those basics were best left to Nono and the staff.
Leaving the hospital, Kitazawa walked out of the village and headed into the Forest of Death.
He was planning to learn Wood Release: Hiding Behind Shields.
That high-level technique needed a very large open space; otherwise, it simply wouldn't fit.
Wood Release: Hōbi Technique was basically summoning a massive wooden shield in the shape of a fanged demon face for defense.
"Bōhai" was the legendary artifact associated with Thousand-Armed Kannon.
As for Wood Release: Cutting Technique, he'd already nearly mastered it.
And it wasn't just Hōbi Technique—he still had to train Flying Thunder God too.
Combined with his duties teaching the Advanced Class, Kitazawa was really feeling the time crunch.
Thankfully, the Akatsuki's Eye of the Moon Plan was still far off. There was no need to rush.
Time slid into March, and another graduation season came for the Academy.
A small number of students from the Advanced Class would be graduating, but the future "Konoha Twelve" still had some time left.
Though saying "still early" wasn't entirely accurate. Sasuke, Naruto, and the others would be ready to graduate in about two years.
Kitazawa had already told Tsunade that once those two years were up, he'd step down as their teacher.
Being Hokage would be more than enough to keep him busy.
There was another reason too.
Once Sasuke and Naruto's generation graduated, there wouldn't be many named students left from the original story.
And that, from Kitazawa's perspective, wasn't exactly ideal for triggering new system missions.
~~~
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