On Sunday night, Kitazawa's group returned to Konoha.
The Land of River borders the Land of Fire. Normally, the round trip takes two days. They took less than an hour to kill Aoi Rokushō; most of the time was spent on the road, so this run took half a day less than last weekend's mission to look for Haku.
"Go home and get some rest," Kitazawa told Uchiha Sasuke and the other two. "I'll distribute the mission reward tomorrow."
"There's a mission reward?" Uzumaki Naruto blinked.
"Complete a mission, get a reward—obviously." Kitazawa flicked him on the forehead. "Or did you think I'd pocket your pay?"
Naruto laughed awkwardly and shook his head.
"See you tomorrow." Kitazawa and Kurenai headed home. It was late, Tsunade was already off work, so he planned to turn the mission in the next day.
"I'm heading out!" Uchiha Sasuke could barely contain himself. He wasn't rushing home for dinner—he wanted to tell Fugaku and the others all about the mission. He'd slain a jōnin. They were bound to praise him.
"Why's Sasuke walking so fast?" Naruto scratched his head.
"Probably wants to get home for dinner," Hyuga Neji guessed.
"Neji, wanna hit Ichiraku with me?" As soon as Naruto mentioned food, he remembered they hadn't eaten dinner yet.
"Sure." Neji nodded. Like Naruto, he was an orphan; going home meant eating alone—might as well go to Ichiraku.
At the Uchiha compound—
"Dad! Mom! Nii-san!" Sasuke burst through the door, calling out. "I'm back!"
"Back already?" Uchiha Mikoto came to the entryway. "You finished your mission?"
"Mm! Perfectly!" Sasuke swapped shoes in a hurry. "Where are Dad and Nii-san?"
"In the study." Mikoto caught him before he could dash off. "Have you eaten?"
"No." Sasuke looked up, impatient. "But I want to tell you about my mission first!"
"You child…" Mikoto smiled helplessly. She could guess what he wanted—after a strong showing, he was eager for Fugaku and Itachi's praise.
"I'll call them." She ruffled his hair.
"Thanks, Mom!" Sasuke plopped onto the sofa to wait. A moment later, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi appeared.
"Dad! Nii-san!" Sasuke said excitedly. "I killed a jōnin on this mission!"
"A jōnin?" Mikoto was stunned. "You aren't even official shinobi yet—how did your mission put you up against a jōnin?"
Fugaku and Itachi, who hadn't thought much of it at first, both looked surprised.
"Kitazawa-sensei picked the mission—pursue a missing-nin named Aoi Rokushō," Sasuke explained.
"Aoi Rokushō?" Itachi thought for a moment. "I remember him. He defected after stealing Lord Second Hokage's Sword of the Thunder God."
Catching missing-nin is usually Anbu work. As Anbu, Itachi knew plenty of them. Aoi Rokushō wasn't that strong, but stealing the Sword of the Thunder God made him noteworthy.
"Did your Kitazawa-sensei beat him half to death and then leave him to you to finish?" Fugaku asked. That's what he'd done when he took four-year-old Itachi to the battlefield.
"No!" Sasuke said proudly. "Kitazawa-sensei never stepped in from start to finish!"
"That's impossible." Fugaku found it hard to believe. Aoi Rokushō was a jōnin, with years of experience—how would a six- or seven-year-old kill him?
"Tell us in detail," Itachi said with a smile, sitting beside him, curious as well.
"Here's what happened!" Sasuke retold the entire operation, including their prep and plan before the fight.
"Your two teammates aren't any worse than you," Mikoto—herself a jōnin—concluded after listening. "Three prodigies executing a tight team plan—that's why you pulled off such a stunning result."
"You did great, Sasuke. As expected of my son," Fugaku said without stinting on praise. Even by his high standards, Sasuke's performance in that battle was impeccable.
"You're already stronger than I was at your age," Itachi added with a nod. To be fair, even he couldn't have teamed up at seven to take down a jōnin.
Getting the praise he'd hoped for, Sasuke couldn't suppress his grin.
"That's enough talk—I'll make you dinner," Mikoto said warmly.
"Oh, right!" Sasuke suddenly remembered, beaming. "Kitazawa-sensei even gave me the Sword of the Thunder God!"
He took it out as he spoke.
"What?" Fugaku's expression changed—almost as much as when he'd heard Sasuke killed a jōnin. "What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, puzzled.
"The Sword of the Thunder God is Lord Second Hokage's ninja tool," Itachi said, smiling faintly. "Your Kitazawa-sensei may be seeing you as Hokage material."
"That's what I thought!" Fugaku laughed twice. "Looks like our Uchiha clan isn't far from its peak again!"
"…?" Sasuke still didn't get why getting the sword meant all that.
In truth, Fugaku and Itachi were reading too much into it. You can't really blame them, though—Tobirama Senju's tool is immensely powerful. Normally, you'd never give it to a seven-year-old. The only explanation, to them, was that Kitazawa valued Sasuke highly.
Given that Kitazawa was very likely to become the Sixth Hokage, the odds of Sasuke becoming the Seventh would rise.
What they didn't know was that Kitazawa had already given the greatsword Samehada to Uzumaki Naruto. Giving Sasuke the Sword of the Thunder God was simply not wanting to play favorites. All in all, a beautiful misunderstanding.
Night passed, and a new week began. Once June arrived, Konoha had many more sunny days. Monday was clear as ever.
After breakfast, Kitazawa headed to the Academy. He didn't know what missions Kakashi Hatake and Maruboshi Kosuke had taken, but they wouldn't be higher than B-rank. He planned to finalize the Advanced Class rankings today—and complete his system task.
In the Advanced Class classroom, Naruto was animatedly recounting how they took down Aoi Rokushō. Sasuke stood beside him, hands in pockets, soaking up his classmates' awed looks.
"Damn!" Inuzuka Kiba was sour. A show-off moment like this, and he wasn't in it?
"Sasuke-kun is amazing!" Haruno Sakura listened with hearts in her eyes. Sure, it had been team play by Sasuke, Naruto, and Hyuga Neji—but to her, it looked like Sasuke's Sharingan did the killing and Naruto and Neji just assisted.
"No doubt—the strongest prodigies," Nara Shikamaru clicked his tongue. "Killing a jōnin at seven… hard to imagine what they'll do after graduation."
Aburame Shino nodded. He'd thought their squad taking down three Mist chūnin would be enough for a top-three finish in the practicals, but he hadn't expected monsters like these. No question: Naruto, Sasuke, and Neji would sweep the top three in the practical exam.
"This isn't fair! Why was our team's mission just an escort?" Yamanaka Ino huffed. "With Yakumo on our team, I think we could beat a jōnin too!"
"With Yakumo's genjutsu, it's possible," Tenten agreed.
Shikamaru glanced at her, remembering she had summoned "Shiromari." Used well, maybe even that could trouble a jōnin. He twitched a smile. What kind of Advanced Class was this? Seven- and eight-year-olds beating jōnin? Ridiculous. He felt like a husky that had wandered into a wolf pack.
At the classroom door, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hatake Kakashi, Maruboshi Kosuke, and Umino Iruka were listening in.
"Terrifying prodigies," Kosuke murmured. "At seven, I didn't even know what a jōnin was."
"Konoha's future is in their hands," Hiruzen said, gratified. Seven years old and beating a jōnin—unprecedented. Clearly, Naruto and Sasuke would grow into world-shaking forces.
"They already have chūnin-level strength," Kakashi said after thinking.
"Just a bit below you," Hiruzen chuckled. "You became a chūnin at six, you super prodigy."
"When I first became chūnin, I wasn't as strong as they are now," Kakashi shook his head.
"At the next monthly exam, have Kitazawa assign Naruto to me," Hiruzen said, interested. He wanted to see their strength with his own eyes—hearsay is hearsay.
"I probably can't beat Naruto and his team anymore," Iruka couldn't help saying.
"You teach theory; you don't have to compare yourself to them," Hiruzen comforted him. Iruka nodded, a little conflicted—still, being surpassed by seven-year-olds stung.
"You're early," Kitazawa's voice sounded behind them.
"We're listening to Naruto's mission recap," Hiruzen said, giving him a look. "You're bold, letting them go up against a jōnin."
"Aoi Rokushō's strength is average—bottom tier among jōnin. Good practice for them," Kitazawa replied.
"The result was excellent, though," Hiruzen pivoted to praise. "Their teamwork was first-rate, which means you've been teaching them well." Teamwork is a core subject at the Academy.
"Thank you for the compliment, Third," Kitazawa smiled. "They're the ones who work hard and learn fast."
"Let me lead the squad for the next monthly exam," Hiruzen said with interest.
"Alright." Kitazawa blinked, then agreed. He couldn't shake the feeling Hiruzen looked like he'd just gotten a fun new toy. Still, with Kitazawa's strength, even if they bumped into another village's Kage, he could get Naruto and the others out.
Not that they'd actually meet a Kage. He could only offer a moment of silence for any enemy ninja fated to cross their path. "What did we do to deserve this? We just took a mission and got chased by the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen! We're nobodies!"
"Kosuke-senpai, Kakashi, do you have your grades ready?" Kitazawa asked, getting back to business. They each handed him a scroll—the scores for the twelve students they'd led over the past two weeks. He skimmed them. Kurama Yakumo, Nara Shikamaru, and others had solid marks.
"Iruka," Kitazawa said, "bring me the practical exam scores for the rest of the Advanced Class."
"I'll grab them now." Iruka jogged back to the office.
Kitazawa took out another scroll—the scores he'd given the six students he personally led. Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Hyuga Neji all had perfect scores. They'd beaten a jōnin—anything less would be unreasonable. Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Hana were all high marks as well—over ninety out of a hundred.
There were seven scores on the scroll, though. The extra one was his own. His system task required him to place first in the practical exam. To satisfy it, he added himself—with a perfect score plus ten. The justification: he'd soloed a Mist jōnin. Sasuke's team needed three to down one jōnin—so they couldn't measure up.
"I'm back," Iruka said, returning. Kitazawa nodded and started compiling the practical rankings. Unsurprisingly, he took first with the highest score.
[Current Mission: Place first in the new practical exam.]
[Reward: Fire Release chakra nature transformation—Proficient.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Three lines flashed before Kitazawa's eyes as he finished. From then on, all seven of his chakra natures were at Proficient level; his Lightning Release was at Master level.
What pleased him most was that he could begin training the Five Styles: Great Combo Technique. He'd nearly finished with Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall anyway and could pause it. At this point, Kitazawa was a true seven-style shinobi—a full-spectrum chakra user.
Even Kakashi was far behind him in that regard. He figured he could spar evenly with Hiruzen—though Proficient might still be a bit short. If he pushed all seven natures to Master level, he'd certainly surpass the Third.
"Quiet," Kitazawa said, snapping back and stepping into the classroom. Naruto had almost finished his story and sat down at once.
"I'm announcing the practical exam rankings," Kitazawa said from the lectern. Sasuke and the others straightened, eyes bright.
In past practicals, Naruto and Kurama Yakumo were too dominant, so first place was a foregone conclusion. This time was different. With real missions added to the format, no one could say for sure who would be first.
"First place: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyuga Neji," Kitazawa announced after a beat.
Sasuke's face fell at first, then shot back up when he heard his name, a smile tugging at his mouth.
"Alright!" Naruto whooped. "Our squad really is the strongest!" The fight with Aoi Rokushō had taught him the value of teammates. Sasuke and Neji's performances spoke for themselves; he was thrilled. If he could, he'd team with them for life.
No one else had any complaints—they'd beaten a jōnin.
"Next up, the final rankings for this month's exam," Kitazawa said after the practical results. Sasuke's heart leapt. The practical title was great, but the overall ranking mattered more. If he missed overall first, the practical first wouldn't feel nearly as sweet.
"First place: Uchiha Sasuke," Kitazawa said with a smile. Sasuke's theory score edged out Naruto and Neji, putting him on top.
"What a pity," Neji murmured. His theory score was just one spot below Sasuke's, their points nearly identical. With a bit more luck, he might've had it. Since joining the Advanced Class, he still hadn't taken first.
Sasuke couldn't help grinning. If not for the setting, he'd have burst out laughing.
"Congrats, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura beamed. Yamanaka Ino and the others offered their congratulations as well. This time, first place was fully deserved.
"Second place: Hyuga Neji," Kitazawa continued. Naruto's theory ranking was simply too low. Well—not terrible; he still placed fourteenth. It was just low compared to Sasuke and Neji.
Naruto didn't mind. He knew he wouldn't climb much in theory; as long as he held his practical rank, he was fine.
"Rankings are done. Back to class," Kitazawa said, leaving the room to Iruka. It was Monday—the Advanced Class had theory. Kitazawa said goodbye to Hiruzen and the others and headed for the Hokage's office.
~~~
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