"The winners: Uzumaki Naruto's squad!"
Kitazawa quickly announced the result.
Even though Uchiha Sasuke and Kaguya Kimimaro had already figured out how to break the Leaf Dragon God before, there were only two of them. One Leaf Dragon God and eighteen Leaf Dragon Gods are two completely different things, and their chakra was already running low, so they decisively admitted defeat.
"In the end, it's still Naruto's team that took first place, huh," Inuzuka Kiba said with a sigh.
"More accurately, it's Naruto who took first place," Nara Shikamaru shook his head and said.
Even though Rock Lee and Jugo had pinned down Kaguya Kimimaro and Haruno Sakura, the final outcome was still Naruto going one versus three.
"Naruto's chakra is so ridiculous it doesn't even feel like we're the same age!" Tenten complained.
Iruka Umino was left speechless.
It wasn't just them. No matter what age bracket you put Uzumaki Naruto in, his chakra reserves would be top tier.
Compared to him, Iruka felt like he'd wasted his twenty-something years. The gap between people really could be absurd.
"Even if it's called a team battle, personal strength still matters a lot," Yamanaka Ino said, glancing at Hyuga Neji. "Unless you've got some really good tactics."
Of the three rounds of team battles, the only real upset was Neji's team beating Kurama Yakumo's team.
But that kind of upset is hard to repeat. It required excellent teamwork plus the Byakugan and the bow.
In theory, only Hyuga Hinata's squad could reproduce that result.
Even so, when they went up against Naruto, they still couldn't do much.
"The good thing is, we can change teammates every team battle," Aburame Shino said, pushing up his glasses.
"Changing teammates only helps when everyone's around the same level," Kiba sighed.
"With Naruto's strength, he should be banned from joining team battles!" Tayuya suggested. "Otherwise, first place will always be his!"
Shikamaru instinctively fell into thought.
Not letting Naruto participate in team battles was obviously impossible.
But limiting his strength would be unfair too.
"Compared to this, missions are still more random," Shikamaru said, rubbing his temples.
He couldn't think of a good solution on the spot.
"Team battles are already pretty random, and the battlefield will definitely be different next time," Neji said calmly. "Beating Naruto is hard, but it's not impossible."
"Neji's right!" Tenten agreed.
Hinata, who'd been quietly listening to their discussion, subconsciously raised her head.
Kitazawa, Sasuke, and Naruto walked out of the arena and headed toward them.
At the same time, Tsunade and the others on the wooden dragon viewing platform came down one after another.
"This time, all of you did very well in the team battles," Kitazawa stopped in front of the Advanced Class and said.
"'Very well' is an understatement," Tsunade cut in after glancing at Kitazawa. "You're probably the strongest year since the Academy was founded."
"If you add 'at the same age' as a condition, then they really are the strongest group," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a cheerful smile.
Ever since the Academy was founded, only two years could really be called "full of geniuses."
In his year, there were people like Shimura Danzo, Uchiha Kagami, and Mitokado Homura.
Later there was the year of Hatake Kakashi, Kitazawa, and Sarutobi Asuma.
But even those two years couldn't compare to the Advanced Class.
At least among people of the same age, the Advanced Class was stronger.
Hiruzen stroked his beard.
Whether it was him, Kitazawa, Tsunade, or the others, they'd all been late bloomers.
Back when they were in the Academy, none of them had jōnin-level strength.
Hearing this, the Advanced Class students all lit up with excitement.
With Kitazawa and two Hokage saying this, it clearly wasn't just polite flattery.
"I'm really looking forward to your future," Tsunade said in a satisfied tone.
"I'll announce the rankings for the team battle now," Kitazawa said, only speaking after they'd finished.
Sasuke, Naruto, and the others all instinctively looked over at him.
Everyone else quieted down too.
"First place, Uzumaki Naruto. Second, Uchiha Sasuke. Third, Hyuga Neji," Kitazawa read in one breath.
There was nothing to say about the top three. They were all captains who had led their teams to victory across the three rounds.
But the rankings after that were very different from the previous practical exams.
Winning teams received team points and extra captain points.
Losing teams also received them, but fewer.
That meant it was very hard for members of a losing team to outrank members of a winning team.
"Fourth, Jugo. Fifth, Rock Lee," Kitazawa continued.
Jugo and Rock Lee were both Naruto's teammates.
As the members of the final winning squad, even without extra captain points, they still surpassed everyone else.
"My youth has finally broken through! It's burning hotter than ever!" Rock Lee clenched his fists, his whole body trembling as tears streamed from his eyes.
There was no need to mention the written tests—he was dead last every time.
The practical exams weren't as bad, but he basically never broke into the top ten.
There was no helping it. The Advanced Class really was full of monsters.
This time, he'd gotten fifth in the team battle. For him, that was unprecedented.
"Nice one, Lee!" Naruto gave him a thumbs up. "That was one seriously youthful team battle! Guy-sensei is definitely going to be proud of you!"
"Thanks, Naruto!" Lee said, brimming with fighting spirit. "My youth still hasn't reached its limit—I'll work hard to catch up to you and Guy-sensei!"
"Jugo actually got fourth?" Tayuya instinctively glanced over at Jugo, feeling a stab of envy.
She'd been in the Advanced Class for so long and had never placed fourth.
"Congrats, Jugo," Kimimaro said. He was disappointed not to make the top five himself, but seeing his friend get in still made him happy.
"I just got lucky," Jugo shook his head. "Next semester's monthly exam, I'm sure you'll be back in the top five."
Under normal circumstances, with his strength, it was hard enough just to break into the top ten.
Getting top five this time was entirely thanks to Naruto's terrifying power.
There are only team battles during the final exams. Next time, the monthly test will go back to the mission format.
When that happens, he'll probably have a hard time breaking into the top five again—but getting it once was already pretty amazing.
After all, this was the Advanced Class, where geniuses piled on top of geniuses.
"And me!" Tayuya added loudly. "Next semester I'm getting into the top five too!"
"I'm doomed," Kiba scratched his head. "I don't even know how far I dropped this time."
Hinata unconsciously clutched the hem of her clothes.
Now that the top five had been announced, and given how poorly she'd performed in the team battles, there was a real chance she'd fall out of the top ten for the first time.
Hinata actually didn't care much about rankings, but she cared about what Kitazawa and Hiashi thought.
If her ranking fell too much, they'd definitely be disappointed.
"It's just the first team battle," Ino noticed her expression and comforted her. "Just win it back next time."
"Yeah," Kurama Yakumo chimed in.
She hadn't cared about rankings before, but losing this team battle had made her take things more seriously.
Next time, there was no way she'd allow herself to get knocked out in the first round.
"Sixth, Aburame Shino. Seventh, Kaguya Kimimaro. Eighth, Tenten. Ninth, Kurama Yakumo," Kitazawa paused, then continued, "Tenth, Hyuga Hinata. Eleventh, Haruno Sakura. Twelfth, Tayuya."
The first round's winning squads had been Sasuke's team, Naruto's team, and Neji's team.
In terms of scores, aside from the captains, the members of Sasuke's team and Neji's team were about the same.
The other three squads lost, but with the extra captain points, their totals still ended up very close.
Specifically, that meant Shino, Yakumo, and Hinata as captains.
In short, from sixth to twelfth, the point gap between those seven was not that big.
The highest score went to Shino.
He'd performed extremely well against Sasuke's team.
If not for Sasuke's overwhelming personal strength, Shino's squad would have been the winners.
Kimimaro was a member of Sasuke's team.
He ranked lower than Shino because Shino had taken him down with a surprise attack.
Even so, his score was higher than most of the others.
In the fights against Neji's team and Naruto's team, he'd performed very well.
Sasuke was the main attacker, and he was the support.
Comparatively, Sakura had played more of a distraction and support role.
Tenten was on Neji's team.
She was the key player in their victory over Yakumo's squad, especially her Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, which caught them completely off guard.
That bumped her score above Yakumo's.
"Damn it!" Tayuya said, unwilling to accept it. "I actually dropped to twelfth!"
"Look on the bright side—you're at least still in the top twelve," Kiba said, opting to check out mentally. "I'm guessing I didn't even make top fifteen."
Kimimaro frowned.
Even though his ranking hadn't changed much, he didn't feel happy.
He'd thought learning "Dance of the Larch" of the Shikotsumyaku would cement him in the top five, but he'd missed it two exams in a row.
Hinata subconsciously let out a breath of relief.
She was still in the top ten—even if it was just barely at tenth, at least she hadn't fallen out.
Plus, once they combined this with the written exam results, her final ranking should still go up by one or two spots.
"Awesome!" Tenten said excitedly. "I finally made it into the top ten!"
After learning the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, her strength had skyrocketed.
She still wasn't one of the top-tier geniuses in the class, but she was in much better shape than before.
Sakura felt half happy, half worried.
Eleventh place was neither high nor low, but at least she'd beaten Ino.
And fighting side by side with Sasuke made her very happy.
For her, the result of this team battle was acceptable.
"Thirteenth, Inuzuka Kiba. Fourteenth, Haku. Fifteenth, Karin. Sixteenth, Yamanaka Ino," Kitazawa read out the rest. "Seventeenth, Akimichi Choji. Eighteenth, Nara Shikamaru."
The last six were all members of the three squads that had been eliminated in the first round.
Shikamaru was the unluckiest. He'd run into Naruto, who'd literally erased the battlefield, leaving him with no opportunity to do anything.
"Thank goodness I didn't fall out of the top fifteen!" Kiba suddenly perked up.
But after a couple of seconds he calmed down again. Thirteenth place really wasn't anything to celebrate.
Haku, on the other hand, was pretty happy.
He'd usually hovered around eighteenth. Getting fourteenth was a first.
Karin also felt it was acceptable.
Like Haku, she'd made some progress.
It wasn't much, but in the Advanced Class, that already meant a lot.
"Once break starts, I'm definitely going to train harder!" Ino flicked the golden hair off her forehead and said fiercely.
Being ranked low was bad enough—losing to Sakura on top of that was absolutely unforgivable.
"What's done is done. We'll just work harder next time," Shikamaru said lazily, holding his hands behind his head.
It really hadn't been his fault.
He'd run into Naruto. That was what you called an irresistible force.
"…And that concludes the final rankings for this exam," Kitazawa said after a pause. "This semester ends here. You've all worked hard. Go home and rest."
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" the Advanced Class students answered in unison, perking up again the moment they heard "vacation."
After all, the exams and rankings were already in the past.
Next up was break, a new term, and new exams.
Hinata hesitated for a couple of seconds but didn't stay behind. She left with Neji and the others.
Mainly because Tsunade and Hiruzen were both there.
She was worried about getting in Kitazawa's way.
But it was fine. She could come back to the Academy tomorrow.
Even though it was technically vacation, for many of the students, there wasn't much difference between break and regular class days.
"That was a pretty great team battle," Hiruzen said with a big smile. "I'm even more eager to see how they'll perform after graduation."
"They'll definitely exceed our expectations," Master Chen nodded. "Looks like I'll have to live a couple more years, then."
Nothing is more tragic than a dead heart.
In the original timeline, Master Chen had withdrawn from the world after losing a student.
They'd never said exactly when he died, but it was definitely before the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Because he showed up in that war as an Edo Tensei corpse.
"Yeah," Maruboshi Kosuke agreed. "We can't die before we see Naruto and the others become famous throughout the ninja world."
"Right now is the time to work hard. Talking about that is a bit premature," Hiruzen cut them off with a teasing tone.
"Even after they graduate, this group of students will still need guidance from veterans like you," Tsunade said with a soft laugh.
"She's right," Hiruzen said after a pause. "The finals are over, so we should be heading out too. Until next time."
[Current Mission: Lead your squad to take first place in the final exam.]
[Mission Reward: Featureless Byakugan activation.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Once Hiruzen and the others had left, three lines of text appeared in front of Kitazawa's eyes.
This was his reward from the team battles.
"Featureless Byakugan activation" was similar to featureless Sharingan activation.
Under normal circumstances, other shinobi wouldn't be able to tell he'd activated the Byakugan.
Unless he used moves like "Byakugan: Intimidation" or "Byakugan: Puppet Control."
"Kurenai, want to hit the casino?" Tsunade clenched her fist, full of confidence. "This afternoon I'm winning back everything I lost!"
Kurenai instinctively glanced at Kitazawa.
"I'll pay," Kitazawa met her eyes and said. "If you're interested, come play a few rounds."
"All right," Kurenai agreed after a brief thought.
"Let's go!" Tsunade grabbed Kurenai and Kitazawa, unable to wait any longer, and practically dragged them to the casino.
They arrived shortly after.
"Kurenai, you been to a casino before?" Tsunade asked as she moved around the tables like she owned the place.
"No," Kurenai shook her head.
"Good, I'll teach you," Tsunade said with a smirk. "I guarantee you'll win big just like me!"
Kitazawa and Kurenai exchanged a look.
They both saw the same thought in each other's eyes: Win big? And when exactly have we ever seen you do that?
Kitazawa didn't join in.
He sat off to the side and watched Tsunade and Kurenai gamble.
Because the team battle finals had eaten up time, it was already close to four o'clock.
There wasn't really enough time left to get in any meaningful personal training.
On a random impulse, Kitazawa activated his Byakugan.
The entire casino table setup appeared clearly in his vision.
He couldn't help thinking that this was actually a pretty decent way to get rich.
But this casino belonged to his own side anyway, so there was no need to use the Byakugan to make money.
He glanced left and right, then walked over to a large mirror.
Even with the Byakugan active, there were no bulging veins around his eyes.
Kitazawa couldn't help but sigh internally. This featureless Byakugan really was an amazing ability.
At five-thirty, the three of them left the casino.
Kurenai looked thrilled, making a sharp contrast with Tsunade.
Tsunade had, of course, lost non-stop.
Kurenai, on the other hand, had wins and losses; in the end, she was up a hundred thousand ryō.
Not a huge amount, but quite respectable for a first-timer.
"How could this happen?" Tsunade muttered unhappily, chewing on her thumb.
Kitazawa chuckled.
How could it happen? You really have no idea?
Then again, she really didn't. If she did, she wouldn't be someone who never won and still went to gamble all the time.
The next day arrived—it was Saturday, the first day of vacation.
This break was basically spring break. Compared to summer and winter, it was much shorter, not even a full month.
After breakfast, Kitazawa and Kurenai went to the Academy like they usually did.
More than half the Advanced Class was already there, training early.
Especially Kiba, Ino, and the others.
They'd done poorly in the team battles yesterday, so they were carrying a lot of frustration and pushing themselves harder.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Hinata took a deep breath and walked up in front of him.
"Good morning, Hinata," Kitazawa said, reaching out to ruffle her hair.
"Kitazawa-sensei, I… I didn't do very well yesterday," Hinata said quietly, head bowed with guilt.
"Says who?" Kitazawa raised a brow. "You did perfectly well."
"Eh?" Hinata looked up at him reflexively.
"Your squad was weaker than Naruto's to begin with. Being able to fight them like that was already impressive," Kitazawa said with a smile. "If it'd been some other squad, things might have gone a lot worse."
"R-Really?" Hinata couldn't help but smile shyly.
Her previous discouragement vanished, and her heart fluttered with joy.
"Do I look like I'd lie to you?" Kitazawa pinched her cheek lightly. "Perfect timing anyway—I'll teach you a new bow technique."
"Okay!" Hinata's eyes lit up, even happier now.
"This bow technique is called World-Ending Arrow," Kitazawa warned her. "It's extremely powerful. Unless it's a life-or-death situation, do not use it."
Hinata froze.
This was the first time she'd heard a warning like that.
Just how powerful was it if it could only be used in mortal danger?
"Not even in an exam?" Hinata thought for a moment and asked.
She'd been hoping this new bow technique would help her rank higher.
"No," Kitazawa shook his head.
Hearing that, Hinata grew even more curious.
"Neji, come here," Kitazawa called Hyuga Neji over as well.
If he was going to teach one of them, he might as well teach two.
And now that they were on break, it really was time to give the Advanced Class a mid-stage check-in.
Kitazawa watched them and started explaining World-Ending Arrow.
To keep them from abusing it, he first made sure they fully understood just how destructive it was.
He didn't waste his Dragon Vein power to demonstrate in person, though.
"Simply put, World-Ending Arrow can destroy one-fifth of the Konoha," Kitazawa said, giving them an example.
Neji's expression shifted in shock.
He didn't really have a solid sense of how strong a Tailed Beast Bomb was, but destroying a fifth of Konoha was something he understood perfectly.
Hinata's face was full of disbelief too.
She felt like she'd been learning E-Rank jutsu yesterday and gotten an S-Rank forbidden technique today.
"You two focus on learning World-Ending Arrow first," Kitazawa said after some thought. "When I have new bow techniques, I'll teach you those too."
Strictly speaking, Neji and Hinata were learning World-Ending Arrow a bit early.
But Kitazawa didn't have any other bow techniques for them right now, so he'd just have to make do with this one.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," Hinata and Neji replied together.
"Good," Kitazawa said, then formed a hand seal and split off a shadow clone.
Besides Hinata and Neji, he still had to teach Tayuya today.
What Tayuya wanted to learn was standard genjutsu.
Kitazawa taught her a D-Rank illusion, Magic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique.
Even though it was only D-Rank, its effect was excellent—arguably one of the best bang-for-your-buck illusions out there.
"Sasuke," Kitazawa walked over to Uchiha Sasuke.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Sasuke put away his Raijin Sword and looked at him.
"I promised you and Naruto I'd teach you an S-Rank jutsu," Kitazawa said, then paused. "But to learn that S-Rank jutsu, you've got to master the Rasengan first."
What Sasuke was actually slated to learn was Yin Release: Rasengan.
But the prerequisite for that was the standard Rasengan.
Sasuke felt a little conflicted.
After all, the Rasengan was Naruto's signature move.
But it wasn't a big deal.
As a student of Hatake Kakashi, the "Copy Ninja," you needed the mindset of: "That jutsu's pretty good; give it a second and it'll be mine."
Beating Naruto with his own Rasengan… just thinking about it sounded fun.
"Training the Rasengan has three stages," Kitazawa said.
He'd already taught the Rasengan to several people, so he was very practiced by now.
After an hour of instruction, he split off another shadow clone.
Under the watchful eye of that clone, Sasuke started the first stage of training—bursting a water balloon with rotating chakra.
Kitazawa thought for a moment, then went to find Yakumo and Tenten.
"Kitazawa-sensei, are you going to teach us a new jutsu?" Tenten asked, grinning from ear to ear.
The Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique had boosted her strength so much that she was really looking forward to learning something new.
Yakumo was more curious than anything.
She'd hit a bottleneck in genjutsu. Was she going to be learning taijutsu now?
"The jutsu I'm teaching you is called the Leaf Body Flicker Technique," Kitazawa said with a smile. "You're both long-range types. This will suit you very well."
Yakumo and Tenten's spirits shot up.
The Leaf Body Flicker perfectly patched their mobility issues.
Especially for Yakumo.
She immediately thought back to the fight against Neji's team—if she'd had the Leaf Body Flicker then, she wouldn't have been taken out so easily.
Kitazawa formed another shadow clone to teach them.
He swept his gaze around the training grounds and finally fixed it on Naruto.
Every other student was either continuing their existing training or had new drills to work on—everyone except him.
Naruto's previous regimen had been learning the Leaf Dragon God.
Now that he'd mastered it, Master Chen didn't have any more advanced taijutsu to teach him.
Only Might Guy still had one more—the Eight Gates.
But the Eight Gates were too difficult. Naruto and Rock Lee didn't have the foundation yet—it'd probably have to wait until next year.
Lee's Leaf Dragon God still wasn't at Naruto's level, so he could keep working on that.
Naruto, though, needed something new: Yang Release chakra.
Did Naruto have Yang Release? Of course he did.
In fact, the Uzumaki clan's powerful vitality and recovery were basically a form of Yang Release.
Naruto himself was the reincarnation of Asura's chakra.
Asura had inherited his father, the Sage of Six Paths' Yang Release power.
The only problem was that Naruto didn't know how to transform his chakra into Yang Release or change its nature.
Kitazawa stroked his chin.
He thought of the Medical Corps' Yang Release nature-change drills—repeatedly healing fish and giving them life.
There was also the Akimichi clan's secret techniques, which transformed their bodies through Yang Release.
"Looks like I still have to start with fish," Kitazawa decided.
His idea was to inject Yang Release chakra into fish and fill them with vitality.
"Naruto," Kitazawa called out.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto bolted over at high speed.
"You've already mastered the Rasengan. Next, you can try adding different chakra natures to it," Kitazawa said directly.
"Am I going to learn Wind Release: Rasengan?" Naruto asked excitedly.
He'd worked on that before, but had shelved it because his Wind nature change wasn't good enough.
"We'll start with Yang Release: Rasengan," Kitazawa shook his head.
"Yang Release?" Naruto blinked, confused. "But my chakra nature is only Wind."
"Yin and Yang are both hidden chakra natures. The paper test can't pick them up," Kitazawa explained. "Based on what I've seen of you, you definitely have Yang Release chakra."
"So that's how it is!" Naruto didn't overthink it and immediately believed him.
"Before you can use Yang Release: Rasengan, you need to improve your Yang Release nature change," Kitazawa said, patting him on the shoulder. "Come with me."
The two of them walked to the Academy's artificial lake.
It was big, and there were fish in it.
Kitazawa flicked his hand, chakra surging out to grab a fish from the water.
Once on land, the fish flopped around with intense energy.
That state was obviously bad for Yang Release nature-change training.
"I'll teach you how to convert your chakra into Yang Release first, then I'll show you the nature-change drills," Kitazawa said, and began to explain.
By the time he finished, the fish was on its last breath.
Kitazawa injected Yang Release chakra into it, and the fish suddenly perked up like it had just taken a stimulant, flopping around energetically again.
"That's awesome!" Naruto said in awe, then added curiously, "Can you use Yang Release chakra on yourself?"
He was thinking that if he got tired from training, he could use Yang Release to recover and just keep going.
"You can, but it takes a certain level of control," Kitazawa nodded.
In a sense, Yang Release Chakra Mode was based on that same principle.
The morning passed quickly.
Kitazawa didn't get any of his own training in—he spent all of it helping the Advanced Class adjust their routines.
In the afternoon, he finally had some free time.
He found a quiet spot and began his own training.
Time flowed by.
Soon after April began, the new term started.
For the last half month, Kitazawa had been working on Wood Release: Cutting Technique and the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Even though Wood Release: Cutting was the one he learned later, his progress on it was actually faster.
The Flying Thunder God involved space itself, which was harder for him.
He'd already gained Wood Release through the system.
Theoretically, any Wood Release jutsu was just a matter of time and practice.
On Monday, April 7th, the Advanced Class began their new term.
Because it was a Monday, Kitazawa didn't go to the Academy.
After breakfast, he headed straight for the Forest of Death.
For him, the most important thing right now was training the Flying Thunder God and Wood Release: Cutting.
The days ticked by, and soon it was late April.
Kitazawa began to get a headache thinking about the Advanced Class's first exam in May—the midterms now, since they'd cut one of the monthly tests, leaving only a midterm and a final.
Footsteps sounded in the Forest of Death.
Kitazawa stopped his training and looked at Konan.
"Kitazawa," Konan said as she walked up to him.
"Is there something from Anbu?" he asked, reaching out to remove her ANBU mask.
"No," Konan shook her head. "I want to ask for a week off."
"For what?" Kitazawa raised an eyebrow. "You going back to the Akatsuki?"
"I'm going recruiting," Konan replied.
"Recruiting who?" Kitazawa's interest was piqued immediately.
He was genuinely curious.
He'd thought about who the Akatsuki should recruit before, but hadn't come up with a good candidate.
"Oyashiro En," Konan hesitated for a couple seconds, then decided to tell the truth.
Under normal circumstances, she shouldn't be telling Kitazawa this.
He wasn't a member of the Akatsuki—in fact, he was a potential enemy of the organization.
"That name sounds familiar," Kitazawa frowned slightly.
"You know him?" Konan asked in surprise.
Oyashiro En wasn't known in the ninja world at all. He wasn't even a shinobi. He was a merchant living in the Land of Lightning.
A White Zetsu had accidentally noticed the massive chakra lurking in his body and guessed that he was very strong.
Once Konan heard, she decided to go personally and test him.
If he really was capable, she'd invite him to join the Akatsuki.
"Where does he live?" Kitazawa asked, a faint impression surfacing in his memory.
"The Land of Lightning," Konan answered.
Then Kitazawa remembered.
Oyashiro En was a survivor of the Chinoike clan—the Blood Pond clan.
They had some history with the Uchiha.
Back in the Warring States period, before the village system was founded, a member of the Chinoike clan had become a concubine to the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning.
The official wife of the Daimyo grew jealous.
She framed the Chinoike concubine for poisoning her husband and had the entire clan exiled to Hell Valley, then hired Uchiha shinobi to guard them.
Time passed. The Uchiha clan joined Konoha.
The Chinoike clan met with disaster.
Oyashiro En's own wife had been driven to death by their clan.
In a rage, he wiped out the Chinoike clan himself.
After that, he took his daughter Chino and fled to the Land of Lightning, becoming a merchant.
Strangely, he never acknowledged Chino as his daughter and left her to suffer through brutal training on her own.
After she escaped, she learned her clan's history and suddenly decided to take revenge on the Uchiha.
At that time, Uchiha Sasuke was the only Uchiha left. They fought in Hell Valley, and Chino suffered a complete defeat.
Later, thanks to Oyashiro En's intervention, she gave up her revenge and joined the Hidden Mist Village.
The Chinoike clan possessed a special kekkei genkai, the Ketsuryugan—the Blood Dragon Eye—somewhat similar to the Sharingan, with hypnotic abilities.
They also used secret techniques that took blood as a medium.
"I really do know him," Kitazawa said, returning to himself with a smile. "What do you want to know? I can fill you in."
"How strong is he?" Konan asked after thinking it over.
"That's exactly the kind of question I'd expect from the Akatsuki," Kitazawa said, gently cupping her cheek.
Konan's lashes trembled, but she didn't push him away.
"Strength-wise, he's more than qualified to join the Akatsuki," Kitazawa said, recalling the events from the original story. "You're planning to go alone?"
"Yeah," Konan paused, then asked, "Do you mean I can't beat him?"
"Hard to say," Kitazawa shook his head. "But going alone is dangerous."
"Then I'll go back to the Akatsuki and get another member," Konan said, very willing to listen.
"You could just ask me to come along," Kitazawa said, blinking at her.
"You're not a member of the Akatsuki," Konan said, a bit stunned, and refused.
"But I am the Akatsuki's advisor," Kitazawa stepped closer until they were almost touching.
He lowered his head and his gaze landed on her lips.
"Why?" Konan's heart skipped a beat. It didn't make sense to her.
She knew better than anyone how busy Kitazawa was.
For him to suddenly accompany her all the way to the Land of Lightning was odd.
"No reason," Kitazawa said lightly. "I can just turn it into a live-combat mission for the next midterm exam."
He was actually interested in Oyashiro En's daughter, Chino.
If he brought her back, he could add her to the Advanced Class.
That wasn't the main point, though—the main point was the Ketsuryugan.
Kitazawa felt like it was a mutation of the Sharingan, or that the Chinoike clan might be descendants of Indra.
After all, in the ninja world, almost every kekkei genkai could be traced back to the Sage of Six Paths and his family.
As for whether Chino would agree—she probably would.
Her life at the moment was miserable.
Kitazawa really couldn't understand Oyashiro En's thinking, being that cruel to his own daughter.
Then again, a man crazy enough to slaughter his own clan was capable of anything.
"But I'm going to recruit him," Konan said, puzzled. "What kind of mission are you going on?"
"I'm recruiting someone too," Kitazawa couldn't help laughing.
The Akatsuki wanted Oyashiro En.
He wanted Oyashiro En's daughter.
When you put it like that, it sounded… weird.
"Huh?" Konan's eyes were now full of confusion.
"What? You don't want me to go?" Kitazawa asked back.
"No," Konan shook her head quickly. "Let's go together."
If Kitazawa was with her, even if Oyashiro En was stronger than she was, he wouldn't be able to hurt her.
"How are you planning to convince Oyashiro En to join the Akatsuki?" Kitazawa asked, giving her cheek another gentle pinch.
"Beat him and make him join," Konan said in a cold tone.
"Exactly what I expected," Kitazawa nodded. "We'll head out next week."
"Okay," Konan replied, but she stayed where she was.
Kitazawa was still playing with her cheeks.
"How are things with Sunagakure?" Kitazawa suddenly thought to ask.
"In our competition with them, we have the upper hand," Konan answered. "Thanks to the methods you gave us."
"And how are you going to thank me?" Kitazawa asked, pressing his thumb lightly against her lips.
Konan hesitated for a moment, then parted her lips slightly.
Kitazawa immediately felt the warmth against his thumb.
He didn't hesitate to move his hand away and bend down, pressing his lips to hers.
Konan hadn't expected it at all.
Her eyes flew open and her hands came up to push him away.
But at the last moment, she stopped.
Her tense body slowly relaxed, and she leaned against him, returning the kiss.
Konan could feel her heartbeat speeding up bit by bit. Her whole body felt weak, and she relaxed into his arms.
She let out a muffled sound, amber eyes reflecting Kitazawa's face, her gaze hazy.
After a long moment, they parted.
Konan instinctively avoided his eyes, lowering her head and hiding her face against his chest.
Kitazawa gently stroked her hair.
[Current Mission: Defeat Oyashiro En.]
[Mission Reward: Ketsuryugan, can be fused into the Sharingan.]
[Accept?]
Seeing the three lines of text appear again, Kitazawa was briefly stunned.
Oyashiro En could trigger system missions too?
But that wasn't the main point.
His eyes fell on the words "can be fused."
Did that mean the Ketsuryugan and Sharingan really did share the same origin?
Would fusing them grant a new ability, or enhance the Sharingan's existing abilities?
Either way, it was a good deal for Kitazawa.
"Um… I'm going back to Anbu. I won't disturb your training," Konan said, taking half a step back.
Before Kitazawa could speak, she vanished from sight.
Kitazawa watched the spot where she'd stood, thoughtful.
The Akatsuki was clearly the biggest obstacle standing between him and Konan truly being together.
The only way was to defeat Nagato and bring the Akatsuki under his control.
After that, once he dealt with Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu, he'd finally be able to sleep easy.
~~~
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