After sending Hyūga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino off to train, Kitazawa taught the Advanced Class for a bit longer.
More precisely, he was covering for Hatake Kakashi, who hadn't returned from a mission with his team.
That same question surfaced in Kitazawa's mind again: should he add more teachers to the Advanced Class?
Up to now Hatake Kakashi and Maruboshi Kosuke took two weeks to lead two squads on missions. If he added two more instructors, they could shave that down by a week. With eighteen students, six teachers—one per three-person squad—was just right. That way the field exam could finish in a single week instead of dragging on for two.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin. He figured Kurenai could be a teacher. These days, besides training, she mostly ran missions with him and had plenty of free time. Teaching at the academy wouldn't take much; it was mainly guiding the students' practice. And guiding students wouldn't hinder her own training—she could use shadow clones.
But he had no immediate idea for the second teacher. Personality aside, Might Guy wasn't a bad choice. Still, Kitazawa knew he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face, and neither would Kakashi and the rest; if Guy's style rubbed off on a few more students, that'd be terrifying.
"Hm?" Kitazawa made a small sound. A candidate came to him: Master Chen, hailed as Konoha's strongest taijutsu user and creator of Leaf Dragon God.
In some ways, Chen was even more suitable than Guy—not because he was more "normal," but because he could teach his taijutsu to Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee, especially the latter. Lee was too young to learn the Eight Gates, so his growth had stalled. If he couldn't learn the Eight Gates, he could learn Chen's Leaf Gust and Leaf Dragon God. If he really mastered them, his strength would skyrocket.
Kitazawa recalled the canon storyline. Publicly, Chen died in the Third Great Ninja War; in reality he hadn't—he'd fallen into despair over a student's death. When Rock Lee went to pay his respects at Chen's grave, he met Chen's granddaughter Azami there. Azami brought him meals every day and told Lee her grandfather wasn't dead.
With that in mind, Kitazawa sent Anbu to locate Chen's grave and kept training at the academy. Half an hour later, a shadow clone's memories returned. Kitazawa paused, then quickly grasped Nagato's condition—just about as expected; he was recovering well. After one more course of medicine, Kitazawa could perform the Medical Ninjutsu: Limb Regeneration on him.
By noon, Kitazawa arrived at the Anbu base. Konan showed up soon after. She'd been waiting a while but hadn't interrupted his class.
"I'll write his prescription now." Kitazawa sat at the desk and picked up a pen. Konan stood by quietly. After two full courses, she trusted Kitazawa completely; she didn't even look at the prescription—she wouldn't understand it anyway.
"Alright, go get the medicine filled." Kitazawa exhaled and handed it to her.
"Thanks." Konan accepted it, then said, "The processing plant in the Land of Rain is finished. We can start using it."
"Do you know how to segment a market?" Kitazawa asked with a smile.
Konan thought for two seconds, then shook her head.
"The simplest split is two tiers," Kitazawa said, raising one finger. "First, the high-end market—daimyō, nobles, wealthy merchants."
Konan's expression cleared. The ultra-expensive necklaces Kitazawa designed were clearly high-end, made for the rich. She could guess the second tier too: the low end.
"You're mining silver in the Land of Rain. Silver isn't as valuable as gold or gems," Kitazawa said evenly. "I think you should focus on the second tier—ordinary residents and ninja."
Konan fell into thought. Low-end sales wouldn't bring money in as fast, but the market was larger with many more targets—small margins, big volume. Most importantly, they wouldn't be competing head-to-head with other jewelry stores. The only issue was capacity.
"We're short on manpower," Konan said after a moment.
"How are you short? Aren't the people of the Land of Rain your workforce?" Kitazawa smiled. "If you bring everyone in, they can earn a living. In the long run, the Land of Rain will prosper."
Konan's heart trembled; she looked at Kitazawa, eyes full of surprise. A prosperous Land of Rain had been her, Yahiko's, and Nagato's original dream. But even with the Akatsuki, the country hadn't developed—harsh weather and a lack of special resources. Now Kitazawa's words gave her hope. Maybe a silver-jewelry industry really could lift the Land of Rain.
"Of course, that's long-term. The urgent task is to start production," Kitazawa added after a beat. "I'll design three silver pieces for you and handle the promotion—but I want half the profits."
Konan frowned instinctively. Her first thought: too much—half, right off the bat? But thinking it through, half might not be unfair. The Heart of the Ocean stores had shown that design and promotion mattered most; raw materials were secondary.
"If selling jewelry can double the revenue over just selling ore, I'll agree," Konan said after a long think, setting a condition. Normally, they planned to sell the silver ore outright. If jewelry profits doubled what ore would fetch, giving Kitazawa half was acceptable.
"You really do have a good economic head on your shoulders," Kitazawa chuckled. "Alright, we'll do it your way—but you'll follow my lead unconditionally on marketing."
Doubling was underselling him. Heart of the Ocean had delivered tenfold, even hundredfold markups. Still, he understood Konan—she just needed the Akatsuki to make at least ore money. As for silver jewelry, the idea had arisen under Kitazawa's influence anyway.
"I'll give you the designs tomorrow," Kitazawa said. He'd seen plenty of silver pieces; for launch, he'd pick three that really grabbed the eye.
Konan nodded.
A knock sounded. "Come in," Kitazawa called. An Anbu ninja entered and reported the location of Master Chen's grave.
"You're dismissed." After the ninja left, Kitazawa headed out as well. It was right around noon; he might catch Azami bringing lunch.
Soon he stood before Chen's grave. He focused; his sensory perception spread out and quickly found him—Chen was perched in a nearby tree. Kitazawa had thought he'd be in the tomb, but lying in a grave would be uncomfortable. He didn't call out, just waited.
A little girl with a lunch box appeared. "Who are you?" Azami asked, puzzled. "You look familiar."
"I'm Kitazawa, a friend of your grandfather," he said with a smile.
"You're way younger than Grandpa. How are you friends?"
"That's a long story," Kitazawa winked, then changed the subject. "Are you here to pay your respects too?"
"I'm not," Azami shook her head. "I'm here to bring my grandpa food."
"Azami, how many times have I told you—don't tell outsiders I'm still alive," a sudden voice cut in. A short, elderly man in sunglasses stepped out.
"Ah? I forgot—sorry, Grandpa," Azami said sheepishly.
"Kitazawa-sama," Chen looked at him. "This should be our first meeting—how are we friends?"
"I'm friends with Guy, so by extension I'm friends with you," Kitazawa said with a small cough. As for how Chen knew of him—unsurprising; there were few in Konoha who didn't know Kitazawa by now.
"What can I do for you, Kitazawa-sama?" Chen got straight to the point.
"Chen-senpai, I'd like to invite you to teach the Advanced Class at the academy," Kitazawa said.
"I refuse," Chen answered without thinking. His current withdrawal was because his student had died in the Third Great Ninja War. Not the only reason, though; he'd meant to teach Leaf Dragon God to that student, but the war broke out first. He always felt the death was on him—if he'd taught it earlier, maybe the student would've lived. Teaching now would only reopen old wounds.
"Don't you want your taijutsu to be passed down?" Kitazawa asked after a beat.
Chen fell silent.
"Your Leaf Dragon God is known across the ninja world. It'd be a shame if it disappeared," Kitazawa continued. Ninja valued master–disciple ties—sometimes more than family. Chen was getting on in years; even if he pretended not to care, he wouldn't want his art to die with him. He'd created it himself, after all.
"If you join as a teacher, your granddaughter will also have a chance to enter the Advanced Class," Kitazawa added from another angle.
Chen glanced at Azami. The Advanced Class had been around long enough that most of Konoha knew of it. No exaggeration: getting in meant a boundless future—their teachers included Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kitazawa.
"You're a capable ninja. Spending the rest of your life hiding here is a waste," Kitazawa said earnestly. "Look forward. A change of scene might be better."
"I'll try for one month first," Chen said at last, nodding. Kitazawa was Konoha's leadership; coming personally and with this attitude already gave him ample face. Even if not for himself, he'd do it for his family. And he truly didn't want Leaf Dragon God to be lost. Back then his regret was not teaching it in time; now he had a chance to make up for it.
"Chen-senpai, the Advanced Class won't disappoint you," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"I've heard of those students," Chen nodded. "I'll come find you at the academy tomorrow morning."
"Great. See you tomorrow." Kitazawa didn't linger and turned to leave.
"Never thought I'd be a teacher again," Chen murmured.
"I remember now!" Azami blurted out, excited. "He's the Hokage's student! I saw him once before!" When Konoha defeated the Hidden Mist and Tsunade and Kitazawa returned in triumph, she'd joined the crowd to watch.
"Yeah." Chen ruffled her hair. "Come on, let's go home."
"Grandpa, you haven't been home in ages!" Azami said, surprised.
"Sorry. That's on me," Chen said, walking her home.
A new day—Wednesday. At 8:30 a.m., Kitazawa stopped by the Anbu base to hand Konan the silver-jewelry designs, then headed to the academy with Kurenai. Unlike Chen's hesitation, Kurenai agreed to teach without a second thought. She'd run plenty of missions with Kitazawa and already had a good rapport with the students, so becoming a teacher felt natural.
As soon as Kitazawa stepped onto the field, he saw Sarutobi Hiruzen, Maruboshi Kosuke, Hatake Kakashi, and Master Chen chatting. He didn't know what they were discussing, but the mood was great—smiles all around.
"Kitazawa," Hiruzen noticed him and grinned. "Inviting Chen to teach—only you would think of that."
"I think it's an excellent choice," Maruboshi Kosuke said with a nostalgic look. "I even did missions with Chen as a teammate."
"That was ages ago. Never thought I'd be coworkers with Kosuke-senpai again," Chen said.
"We have Kitazawa's Advanced Class to thank," Kosuke added, glancing at Kitazawa. "I never thought I'd be colleagues with Hiruzen-sama again, either."
"Indeed," Hiruzen said, moved. "Life now is far beyond what I imagined." His vision of retirement had been fishing when bored and mooching meals off old friends otherwise.
Kakashi and Kurenai exchanged a look, both feeling the pressure. Their colleagues were heavyweights like Hiruzen, Kosuke, and Chen—great in seniority and strength; working with them would be a test.
At 9:00 a.m., all the Advanced Class students had arrived.
"Before we begin, let me introduce two new teachers," Kitazawa said, presenting Kurenai and Chen.
"What do they teach?" Ino Yamanaka raised her hand—her current instructor was Kitazawa, and she didn't want to switch.
"Yuhi Kurenai—will teach genjutsu and sealing," Kitazawa said. "Chen-senpai will teach taijutsu."
"Taijutsu?" Naruto and Rock Lee glanced at Chen, doubt in their eyes—he looked plain and was frankly quite short. The others had similar doubts. Kurenai's strength they already knew from her missions with Kitazawa.
"Lee, come up. Let Chen-senpai give you a pointer," Kitazawa went straight at the issue.
"You two Guy's students?" Chen asked, eyeing their green tights.
"You know Guy-sensei?" Lee stood up. "Naruto and I are his students."
"I know him," Chen beckoned. "Show me what you've got."
"Leaf Whirlwind!" Lee snapped a kick—but Chen was faster. One kick to the shin sent Lee stumbling back several steps.
"Amazing!" Lee charged again. "Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
"Leaf Gust!" Chen called out, mirroring him. He vaulted and unleashed a triple spinning kick that left Lee no chance to counter.
"There's another taijutsu master as strong as Guy-sensei?" Naruto gaped.
"I used to be called Konoha's strongest taijutsu ninja," Chen said, quite pleased with himself.
"Chen-sensei, can I jump in?" Naruto asked, fired up.
"Come on. One more doesn't matter," Chen said confidently.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto hit the field and instantly flooded it with hundreds of clones.
"...?" Chen's face froze. Did I get caught in a genjutsu? How is a seven-year-old using Multiple Shadow Clone?
"Leaf Dragon God!" Facing the onrushing sea of Narutos, Chen used his original technique. In a flash a massive azure dragon roared forth, mowing down clones like grass.
Kitazawa darted in and whisked Naruto and Lee out of harm's way.
Kimimaro, Tayuya, and Jugo felt a familiar aura—Kitazawa had used Leaf Dragon God against them back in Otogakure. By that measure, Chen's strength was real. Naruto and Lee were even more shocked—it was their first time seeing Leaf Dragon God.
"Chen-sensei, I want to learn that!" Naruto and Lee said in unison.
"That depends on your performance," Chen smiled. Showing the Dragon God before so many students made him feel alive again.
"???" Uchiha Sasuke stared. Multiple Shadow Clone plus Leaf Dragon God? How dirty would that be—how was he supposed to fight that? Of course, Leaf Dragon God wasn't easy—at least an A-rank taijutsu. And if Naruto could learn it, so could he.
After that demo, the class accepted Chen. Kurenai and Chen also slipped into their teacher roles quickly.
Mid-October came. Another week began. All eighteen students finally finished their missions, and the monthly exam rankings were released. Uchiha Sasuke took first again and couldn't help bursting into laughter.
Seeing his carefree grin, Kitazawa suddenly had an idea: when Sasuke used the Box of Ultimate Bliss, he'd bring Uchiha Itachi along—maybe they could stage the brothers' showdown ahead of schedule.
~~~
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