The next day.
After breakfast, Kitazawa dispelled Wood Release: Four-Pillar House. In a blink, the wooden residence vanished without a trace.
Tenten and the others couldn't help marveling again—this jutsu was just too handy.
"Next, we'll enter the Land of Wind. We could run into Sand ninja at any time there," Kitazawa instructed. "Neji, Hinata—you're on sensing."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Hinata answered in unison.
"I'll help too!" Tenten formed a seal and summoned her ninja dog.
With two Byakugan plus a tracking hound, there was basically no way an enemy could approach them unnoticed.
They left the Land of Fire and headed for Takumi Village. At first there was still vegetation along the road, but three hours later they were in open desert—higher temperatures, and yellow sand drifting on the wind.
"Stay behind me," Kitazawa said, taking the lead. As his chakra flowed out, he blocked all the wind and sand for the group.
Normally shinobi traveling a desert wouldn't burn chakra like this. But he had chakra to spare—why not?
"Kitazawa-sensei is the best!" Tenten blurted, and the other three nodded in agreement.
Maybe it was good luck, but they didn't run into any Sand ninja. By nightfall the following day, they reached Takumi Village.
"Kitazawa-sama." Uchiha Itachi suddenly appeared before them.
"How are things?" Kitazawa nodded and asked.
"All normal," Itachi replied. "The Four Celestial Symbols Men haven't realized we've already uncovered their corner-cutting."
"Rest for the night. We'll see them tomorrow," Kitazawa said, glancing at Hinata and the others. Two days on the road—most of it crossing desert—had left them exhausted.
"Please follow me," Itachi said, raising a hand. "We've prepared lodgings."
He led the way to a walled courtyard on the outskirts—part of Takumi but remote from the center: good for staying, and unlikely to be disturbed. Itachi's find was no small feat.
"At nine tomorrow morning, go invite the Four Celestials here," Kitazawa decided after a moment. The area was empty of people and buildings—ideal for a fight.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sama," Itachi answered at once.
"You four get ready," Kitazawa told Hinata and the others with a smile. "If talks don't go well, there'll be a fight."
The night passed without incident.
Takumi Village leadership building.
Uchiha Itachi walked in openly.
"Who are you?" Nearby shinobi spotted him and hurried over.
"I'm Anbu from Konoha," Itachi said calmly. "Kitazawa-sama has arrived. He invites your leaders to discuss the matter of the ninja tools."
"Kitazawa?" A stir ran through the hall.
Takumi wasn't some sealed-off minor village; they'd long sold tools to the Five Great Villages, so they kept up with the larger shinobi world. Kitazawa's name had already spread far and wide—they all knew of him.
"Please wait." A middle-aged man turned and went upstairs, quickly reaching the office of the Four Celestial Symbols Men—the village's leadership.
The Four Celestials were two men and two women. The women were Kujaku and Ryugan, who used the Weaknessless Soaring Shortswords and the Garian Sword; the men were Hoki and Suiko, who wielded the Infinite Armour and Fire Sword, respectively.
"What did you say?" Kujaku's face changed.
"That Kitazawa? Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage's student?" Suiko frowned.
"What other Kitazawa would Konoha have?" Hoki said, worry on his face. "Our tools aren't finished yet. If Kitazawa suddenly shows up, does that mean…?"
He didn't finish, but the other three understood.
"Not necessarily," Ryugan shook her head. "No need to spook ourselves."
"Right," Kujaku calmed down. "We've kept everything under wraps from the start. Konoha shouldn't have discovered anything."
"And even if they did, so what?" Ryugan said, unafraid. "At worst, we return the materials."
"Exactly. Konoha won't move against us—they rely on our tools," Suiko nodded. "No reason to be afraid."
"A pity the timing's not ripe," Ryugan snorted. "If we unveiled Takumi's ultimate ninja tool, we wouldn't have to give Konoha a second thought."
"Let's go meet him," Kujaku said, drawing a breath.
They left the office, exchanged a few words with Itachi, and went together to see Kitazawa.
Before long, they stood before him.
"Kitazawa-sama," Kujaku stepped forward with a smile. "Welcome."
"How are my four bows coming?" Kitazawa asked casually.
"Two are finished. We can complete all four within half a month," Kujaku replied.
"May I see the finished ones?" Kitazawa asked.
"Of course," Kujaku said confidently. "I'm sure you'll be very satisfied."
Given their craftsmanship, she was certain Kitazawa wouldn't notice the corner-cutting.
Kujaku opened a summoning storage scroll and took out two bows—charcoal gray-black throughout, exuding a faint chill. Kitazawa took one and found it lighter than expected. A glance over the exterior revealed nothing wrong.
He willed chakra into his palm and fed it into the bow—and there the problem showed. When he'd channeled chakra into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, the transfer had been lightning fast. Now it was markedly slower, with resistance at both ends of the bow.
Those blockages could only be impurities—other materials.
"Why did you add other materials to the bows?" Kitazawa asked, looking at Kujaku.
"Are you sure you're not mistaken, Kitazawa-sama? We didn't add anything," Kujaku said, a jolt running through her chest though her face stayed calm.
"Really?" Kitazawa flicked a dossier to her.
A bad feeling hit Kujaku. She opened it, skimmed it—and her face froze. Everything they'd done was recorded.
"Kitazawa-sama," Kujaku closed the file. "We can compensate you."
Ryugan and Suiko's faces changed, but they didn't object. At this point, arguing was useless.
"All right then," Kitazawa raised a hand. "These are four of our Academy students—third-years. And there are four of you."
The Four Celestials looked at him, puzzled by where this was going.
"How about a spar? If you win, I'll let this slide," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"You're insulting us!" Kujaku's face darkened.
"Your Konoha may be one of the Five Great Villages, but Takumi isn't so easily pushed around!" Ryugan said coldly.
"Arrogant!" Hoki snapped. "Those four students of yours—I can beat them all by myself!"
Suiko kept silent, but his expression was ugly.
"I don't joke," Kitazawa said, stepping back. "Begin."
"If you insist on sending your students to their deaths, don't blame us," Kujaku said, drawing her Weaknessless Soaring Shortswords without hesitation. She swept them, and a storm of wind blades slashed toward Neji and the others—while Ryugan, Hoki, and Suiko hung back, certain Kujaku alone could finish it. After all, the kids looked eight or nine at most; a jōnin like Kujaku should cruise.
Kurama Yakumo tossed out a painting. The wind blades tore it apart, chakra flared, and it became a wall of water.
"What is that?" Kujaku blinked.
Terror Dreamscape!
Yakumo gave her no time to react, dragging her straight into a genjutsu.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!
Hinata and Neji formed seals together, launching two invisible shockwaves at Kujaku.
Blood sprayed.
Pain snapped Kujaku out of the illusion, but by the time her senses returned she was already flying backward.
"Kujaku!" Ryugan darted up to catch her.
"How is this possible?" Hoki's eyes went wide.
"Kujaku got dropped just like that?" Suiko's face changed; for a moment he wondered if he'd been caught in a genjutsu himself. The four of them were roughly equal—swap any one in and they'd be one-shotted too. These were Academy students? What had Konoha turned into?
"Careful!" Hoki yelled as Yakumo hurled another scroll. He sSatoring his meteor hammer and smashed it—lightning exploded outward, racing toward him.
Hoki threw his arms wide; the armor on his body shuddered and absorbed all the lightning.
"My turn!" Tenten snapped open a summoning scroll. A dense rain of ninja tools poured down toward Hoki. He hastily retreated—his special armor could absorb chakra, but not physical weapons.
"Move!" Ryugan arrived in time. Her Garian Sword seemed to come alive, becoming three blue-white "dragons." Twining together, they battered the incoming weapons aside.
Suiko flashed through hand seals. Two green beams lanced toward Tenten like blades.
Neji flickered in front of her, both palms striking—the beams shattered.
"Watch his Gentle Fist!" Kujaku wasn't dead, but two direct hits from the Vacuum Palm had taken her out of the fight.
Ryugan sent the three blue-white dragons spiraling at Neji. He slapped a palm into them and immediately felt something wrong—they weren't pure chakra constructs. Under his Gentle Fist, they only trembled instead of dispersing.
"Neji!" Seeing the danger, Tenten used Manipulated Tools: Binding Meteor. A chain shot out and cinched the three blue-white dragons together.
Neji burst chakra from his legs and surged forward, both palms driving at Ryugan.
Her face changed—the Garian Sword was bound by Tenten's chain. Fortunately, Hoki stepped between them. Neji's palms struck his armor; he felt the armor drinking his chakra and cut off the flow at once.
"Think you can run?" Hoki grinned, swinging his meteor hammer down—
Leaf Body Flicker!
Hinata appeared at his flank.
Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!
Her hands blurred, striking at his exposed forearms.
"Damn!" Ryugan and Suiko hadn't expected Hinata to appear there; by the time they moved, it was too late. Hinata landed twelve hits in a breath; Hoki's arms went numb and his hammer thudded to the ground.
Neji seized the opening, slipped in, and unleashed the Sixty-Four Palms as well—targeting Hoki's legs. In under a second, all four of Hoki's limbs were out of commission and he toppled backward.
"Hoki!" Suiko drew his light blade and whipped out two green beams, one at Neji, one at Hinata.
Ryugan started forward to help—then heard the whistle of steel. She turned to see a storm of weapons arcing in from Tenten. She snapped her wrist; the three blue-white dragons coalesced back into the extending blade as she fell back, batting weapons aside.
Meanwhile, Neji and Hinata dodged the Fire Sword in tandem.
"Neji! Hinata!" Yakumo called, casting Terror Dreamscape again.
Suiko went slack, mind seized by the illusion.
Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!
Neji and Hinata rushed in together, palms flying. Suiko's chakra ground to a halt, and he crashed to the ground.
On the sidelines, Kujaku blanched. How had Suiko and Hoki lost the ability to resist in the blink of an eye?
Left alone, Ryugan glanced at the ring of opponents closing in and tightened her grip on the extending sword. By now she understood perfectly: these four "students" were geniuses among geniuses.
"We concede!" Kujaku shouted from not far away.
Ryugan gritted her teeth, then let the Garian Sword sag with a defeated sigh.
Yakumo and the others looked to Kitazawa.
"Itachi," Kitazawa said, "have them reforge the tools."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sama." Itachi opened his Mangekyō Sharingan. Kujaku, Suiko, and Hoki were already incapable of resisting and fell under his control with ease. Ryugan hadn't been hurt, but even she couldn't fight free of a Mangekyō.
Kitazawa stepped up and healed them; before long, they were back on their feet.
"How fast can you reforge one bow?" Kitazawa asked Kujaku.
"Three days!" she answered quickly.
"That fast?" Kitazawa was a little surprised.
"Because two bows are already finished, and the extra materials were only added at the ends," Kujaku explained. "If the whole village works through the night, three days should do."
"Itachi, I'm leaving the rest to you. Keep control of Takumi from the shadows," Kitazawa said after a pause. "Try not to let the other villages find out."
His plan was simple: leave Takumi running as usual, still supplying tools to the Five Great Villages. When the next shinobi war came—or if relations soured with a village—they could make their move.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sama," Itachi said with a nod.
"Mission accomplished. You all did well," Kitazawa told Hinata and the others. After a moment's thought, he added, "You're all getting perfect scores this time."
The Four Celestials were jōnin—watered down or not, still jōnin. And in this fight Yakumo, Neji, and the rest had coordinated smoothly with no major mistakes.
"I didn't think I'd get a perfect score too!" Tenten said, eyes lighting up with delight.
Neji's fist tightened unconsciously. As long as Nara Shikamaru and Haruno Sakura didn't ace their practicals, he'd take first overall again this month. Sure, it was while Sasuke Uchiha was away—but it still proved his strength.
Hinata and Yakumo were much calmer; they didn't care much about rankings, and they'd both earned perfect scores before.
"We'll stay in Takumi for three days," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Tenten asked curiously, "are you switching to a bow?"
"The bows are for Hinata and Neji," he said, shaking his head.
Hinata had known for a while, so she wasn't surprised. Neji had guessed too—Kitazawa had had him training archery for so long.
Three days passed quickly. Kitazawa received the first bow truly reforged from the Box of Ultimate Bliss's material from Kujaku. The other three would take roughly another half month.
Kitazawa took out the sealing scroll that held Satori and began the transfer. As Satori entered the bow, the dusty gray brightened like a gemstone—eye-catching where before it had looked like something fished out of a coal pile.
"Beautiful!" Hinata blurted.
"Give it a try," Kitazawa said with a smile.
Neji, Yakumo, and Tenten all turned to Hinata—they wanted to see what the bow could do.
Hinata nodded hard, activated her Byakugan, and picked a tree 800 meters away. She drew the string; the bow thrummed, and the Yin Release power sealed within siphoned off a portion—an iridescent, semi-transparent arrow manifested from nothing.
She released. The arrow vanished.
A sharp crack. The target tree was pierced clean through.
"So fast!" Neji's heart jolted—he hadn't activated his Byakugan and couldn't even catch the arrow's path.
"This'll shake up the Advanced Class rankings again," Tenten said, eyes shining. Her favorite hobby was collecting ninja tools—and this bow was a prize. A pity it belonged to Hinata… but at least she'd gotten a light blade out of the deal. Kurama Yakumo, for her part, had received the Garian Sword.
~~~
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