Kitazawa let out a long yawn.
After spending the entire evening with Tsunade, he'd only made it home around dawn.
Since becoming a shinobi, this was the first time he had ever gone to bed so late.
In his previous life, staying up until one or two in the morning had been normal — after all, he'd had a phone and computer to keep him entertained.
A couple of videos and half the night was gone.
But in the shinobi world, where entertainment was scarce and daily work demanded discipline, he slept early.
Still, the night hadn't been wasted.
Yakumo fourth jutsu — Memory Seal Technique — had finally been completed.
Tomorrow, he and Tsunade would head to the Hokage's office and cash in on Hiruzen Sarutobi's promised reward.
And aside from money, they'd likely secure a B-rank ninjutsu scroll as well.
Kitazawa planned to pick a Wind Release technique.
At the moment, his genjutsu base came from Kurenai; Fire Release from Sasuke; Medical Ninjutsu from Tsunade.
But his Wind and Water Release foundations were empty, and the system hadn't granted him anything in those areas recently.
As for Gentle Fist or Shadow Possession — there was no way to "legitimately" acquire those abilities for now.
After showering, Kitazawa lay down in bed.
He had barely closed his eyes when three glowing lines of text appeared.
He glanced at them instinctively — and immediately shot upright.
[Current Mission: Gain Tsunade's preliminary acknowledgement.]
[Reward: Chakra Scalpel.]
[Mission complete. Reward issued.]
Kitazawa blinked in surprise.
He had no idea how he had managed to complete that mission — it felt completely sudden.
Was it just because he drank with Tsunade and had a personal talk with her?
He touched his chin.
That was probably part of it.
But he suspected the real reason was his performance over the last two days — showing an exceptional aptitude for Medical Ninjutsu.
Regardless, a completed mission was always good news.
And this reward was no small thing.
The Chakra Scalpel — an A-rank Medical Ninjutsu.
Kitazawa formed a hand seal.
Chakra instantly gathered in his right palm.
In a flash, pale green chakra extended outward, condensing into a sharp, shimmering blade.
Despite the name "scalpel," it didn't physically cut flesh — it severed nerves and muscle fibers.
And it could do so without leaving external wounds.
For treatment, it was used to remove necrotic tissue, seal internal bleeding points, and more.
For combat, it was decidedly vicious — aimed at crippling opponents by severing their motor control.
Kitazawa nodded with deep satisfaction. Tonight had been a major win.
If missions were this easy to complete, he wouldn't mind drinking and talking with Tsunade every night.
He closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.
The Next Morning — Thursday
Kitazawa woke exactly at 7:30 AM.
After stretching, changing, and washing up, he headed toward the Academy.
Halfway there, he spotted four familiar figures:
Might Guy, Uzumaki Naruto, Rock Lee, and Uchiha Sasuke.
He paused to observe.
Guy and his two green-clad students were full of their usual energy, shouting "Youth!" every few seconds.
Sasuke, however, was pale and breathing hard, struggling to keep up.
"Sasuke?"
Naruto glanced back. "You still got stamina left?"
"Worry about yourself."
Sasuke huffed through clenched teeth.
"We're almost there!"
Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "Sasuke! The flames of youth await you!"
"Say one more word and I'll outrun you," Sasuke snapped.
"Then I'll say MORE words!"
Naruto inhaled dramatically. "Sa—"
"Shut up!"
Sasuke glared daggers at him.
Naruto scratched his head, confused.
Sasuke ignored him, focusing instead on Guy's instructions.
With a sudden spark of effort, he accelerated.
"Nice, Sasuke!"
Naruto's eyes lit up. "Watch this! Youthful Charge!"
He burst forward and overtook him.
"No—!"
Sasuke's eyes widened.
The finish line was right there… yet that loudmouthed blond crossed it first.
Sasuke stumbled past the line and collapsed on the ground, drenched in sweat and gasping for air.
An hour-long run at full pace was torture for someone with his stamina.
Looking at Guy, Naruto, and Lee — all breathing normally — Sasuke's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably.
Monsters… every one of them.
He finally understood why Naruto excelled in taijutsu and physical endurance.
This inhuman training, combined with his absurd body…
Of course he'd win.
Sasuke concluded that taijutsu wasn't his path.
At best, it could support his body — but ninjutsu would remain his main strength.
Kitazawa watched for a moment, then continued toward the Academy.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
The door slid open, and Hinata's eyes lit up instantly.
She hopped off the sofa and ran to him.
"Good morning, Hinata."
He patted her head.
Hinata closed her eyes in contentment like a small, purring cat.
"Come eat."
Kitazawa laid out the breakfast he'd brought.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Hinata said happily, "Father praised me again yesterday."
"Oh?"
He handed her a rice ball. "For what?"
"He said my Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms is improving fast.
I can already execute the first four strikes in sequence!"
"Not bad at all."
Seeing her beaming face, it was hard to remember how shy and withdrawn she used to be.
The Sixty-Four Palms weren't sixty-four separate moves — they were one technique, requiring rapid consecutive strikes to seal sixty-four chakra points.
Execution speed and continuity were everything.
Using individual strikes wasn't meaningful.
Being able to chain the first four meant Hinata had finally reached the entry level.
Considering she was only six… Hyūga Hiashi must be ecstatic.
"And one more thing!"
Hinata kicked her little legs happily. "Hanabi called me 'big sister' for the first time today!"
"Then you'd better act like one," Kitazawa said with a smile.
Hinata nodded vigorously.
"Do you have plans for summer break?" he asked.
"No."
"Want to join my special training?"
"Yes!"
Her answer was instant.
"Good. I'll let you know after final exams."
Hinata felt a flutter of excitement in her chest.
After breakfast, Kitazawa headed to Class 1-A to teach, while Hinata went to the training field — where Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sasuke were also training today.
Meanwhile — Tsunade
Tsunade woke with a groan.
She sat up, clutching her forehead.
Her entire body felt awful — last night's drinking had been way too intense.
Luckily, she had the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
As an S-rank Medical Seal Technique, its effects were absurd.
One of its abilities was maintaining her body in peak condition — including halting aging.
In moments, the seal's power soothed her body, and she felt normal again.
She looked around the room and frowned.
"How did I get home yesterday?"
Bits and pieces surfaced —
Kitazawa treating her to drinks,
her talking about Nawaki,
and Kitazawa walking her home.
Tsunade froze.
She had really done all that?
"And I talked about Nawaki?"
She groaned, rubbing her golden hair.
"Alcohol is trouble…"
But it was done already. No point dwelling on it.
Her nature was straightforward — she quickly let it go.
Still… when she thought of Kitazawa, something in her chest felt subtly different.
Nothing happened last night, but the distance between them had clearly shifted.
"This kid's not bad," she muttered.
She changed, stepped into the living room—
"Lady Tsunade, you're awake?" Shizune asked.
"Yeah."
Tsunade lay down lazily on the sofa. "What time is it?"
"Ten in the morning."
"So late?"
"Late? You came home at almost midnight!" Shizune retorted.
After years together, she had no trouble lecturing her own teacher.
"I'm hungry. Go make me ramen," Tsunade said casually.
"After I eat, I'm going to see Kitazawa."
"See Kitazawa for what?" Shizune asked, eyes bright with curiosity.
"To get the reward from the old man," Tsunade replied, giving her a look. "What's with that expression?"
"Nothing…"
Disappointed at the lack of juicy gossip, Shizune went to cook ramen.
She had been certain something scandalous happened between Tsunade and Kitazawa last night.
But neither had given her anything.
After eating, Tsunade headed toward the Academy.
She walked straight to Kitazawa's office.
She had visited once before — the route was familiar.
She reached the door, pushed—
Locked.
Teaching?
She thought for a moment and went to Class 1-A, only to find Iruka teaching.
Without interrupting, she moved to the teachers' office.
Tsunade pushed the door open.
All the first-year teachers instinctively looked up.
"I'm Tsunade. Where's Kitazawa?"
The entire office immediately fell silent.