Tsunade wouldn't be surprised that Kitazawa could defeat Roshi.
Kitazawa was simply that strong now.
Whether it was standard ninjutsu like Water Release, or special kekkei genkai like Wood Release, any one of them was enough to pose a lethal threat to Roshi. Not to mention he also had the Flying Thunder God Technique and Sage Mode.
The former made him almost impossible to corner.
The latter gave him an all-around boost—taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu, all enhanced.
But for Kitazawa to take Roshi down in under a minute… to Tsunade, that felt unreal.
This was the Four-Tails' jinchūriki.
Tsunade had dealt with jinchūriki plenty of times. Even for someone as strong as her, fighting one was exhausting.
And it wasn't just her.
Even the Kage of the Five Great Villages wouldn't find it easy to suppress a jinchūriki. Their chakra reserves were simply too vast. In the shinobi world, having a massive chakra pool was a natural advantage.
And Kitazawa?
He had defeated Roshi with ease—without even using Wood Release.
Tsunade's first reaction after watching the whole fight was: Was that really the Four-Tails' jinchūriki?
But Roshi's partial tailed-beast transformation didn't lie. He really was.
Which meant there was only one explanation: Kitazawa's strength had surpassed her expectations by a huge margin.
Tsunade even suspected that among the Five Great Villages, Kitazawa might already be the strongest.
After the shock came pure happiness.
Because Kitazawa was her student—and a Konoha Shinobi.
With a powerhouse like this, Konoha would stand unshakable. The idea of producing another "god of the shinobi" no longer sounded like a fantasy.
At the rate Kitazawa was growing… catching up to Hashirama Senju might actually be possible.
[Current Mission: Defeat the Four-Tails' Jinchūriki, Roshi.]
[Mission Reward: Lava Release Chakra Mode.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa nodded.
He'd beaten Roshi extremely fast, but thinking it through, it made perfect sense.
He had used Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
And at this point, Roshi still couldn't fully transform into the tailed beast. A partial transformation failing to withstand it was normal.
Honestly, Kitazawa had even held back.
If he hadn't, Roshi would likely have died on the spot.
After receiving the system's information about Lava Release Chakra Mode, Kitazawa suddenly thought of a certain senjutsu technique.
It belonged to the same "series" as Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken—Sage Art: Lava Release: Rasenshuriken.
In the original story, Uzumaki Naruto used it to slice through the God Tree's main body.
Kitazawa figured that when he had time, he could research it.
After all, he already had Lava Release and Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. The only thing left was fusing them together.
"Tsunade-sensei, why are you spacing out?"
Kitazawa waved a hand in front of her face.
"Your Sage Mode is a lot stronger than Jiraiya's," Tsunade said, snapping back to herself with a sigh of admiration.
"Probably because my talent's better," Kitazawa joked, blinking at her.
"I think so too," Tsunade agreed without hesitation.
"So… we're heading back?" Kitazawa glanced at Roshi.
"We've been out for less than half an hour. I'm not rushing back just to clock in," Tsunade said with a slight curl of her lips. "Let's go have fun for a day first."
"Where to? The casino?" Kitazawa raised a brow, not surprised at all.
"See? You get me." Tsunade rose onto her toes and kissed him lightly, her eyes playful. "Taking me? And if you behave tonight… I'll reward you."
Kitazawa's heart skipped.
With that kind of offer, how could he hesitate?
"I'll use Flying Thunder God to send you straight to Konoha's Casino," Kitazawa said after a moment. "Then I'll take Roshi back to Anbu."
"Mm." Tsunade reminded him, "Don't let Shizune find out first. If she knows, she'll nag me for half the day."
"Trust me," Kitazawa said. "I've got this."
He walked up to Roshi, crouched, formed hand seals, and treated his injuries.
When he finished, he stacked several sealing techniques onto Roshi's body.
That way, even if Roshi woke up, he wouldn't be able to run.
Then Kitazawa teleported with both Roshi and Tsunade to Konoha's casino.
Tsunade immediately dashed for the tables without a second thought.
Kitazawa withdrew his gaze and carried Roshi to the Anbu base instead.
He found Antelope and had her lock Roshi up temporarily.
As for how they'd handle him, that could wait until tomorrow.
"Kitazawa."
Konan suddenly appeared in front of him.
Kitazawa, who had been about to head to the casino, immediately let his chakra settle and stepped closer.
"Why aren't you in the office?" he asked, curious.
"I saw you through the window, so I came over," Konan explained.
She spent most of her time in Kitazawa's office—either on the sofa or in the chair. Today she'd been in the chair, and the window was right beside it.
It was just a coincidence.
"Something up?" Kitazawa asked, lifting a hand to her cheek.
"No," Konan replied.
Kitazawa's hand drifted lower, and he noticed the cool metal of the ring at her navel.
Konan stayed perfectly still, her expression calm and aloof as she looked at him.
Meeting her eyes, Kitazawa suddenly felt an urge to tease her.
He thought it over.
Tsunade was absorbed in gambling—she wouldn't care if he showed up a bit late.
So he pulled his hand back, took Konan with him, and headed for his office.
He opened the door and sat down on the sofa.
Konan understood, came closer, and the two of them spent a quiet, private moment together.
In the comfort and warmth, Kitazawa soon drifted off into a deep nap.
When he woke up, refreshed, he finally went to the casino.
Tsunade didn't care that he was late.
All her attention was on the tables.
Kitazawa sat beside her, lost in thought.
He was thinking about what he could demand from Iwagakure in exchange for Roshi.
Dust Release?
It was powerful, sure—but it was slow to activate, and learning it would take time. Not worth it.
And even if Ōnoki started a war, he still wouldn't hand over Dust Release.
To Iwagakure, Dust Release mattered as much as Wood Release did to Konoha—strategic, irreplaceable, a village-level trump card.
As for Lava Release, there was no need to ask Iwagakure at all. They'd already captured Roshi. Hand him to Konoha's interrogation or analysis teams, and it wouldn't take long to extract the corresponding Lava Release techniques.
Kitazawa went back and forth in his mind, but couldn't find anything in Iwagakure that would meaningfully boost his strength.
In the end, he gave up. Negotiations and trades were better left to professionals like Nara Shikaku.
Casually, Kitazawa took out a ninjutsu scroll.
The technique recorded inside—more accurately, a senjutsu—was Sage Art: Myōjinmon.
There were many sealing techniques in the shinobi world, but Sage Art: Myōjinmon was among the strongest of them all.
The only seals that could truly stand alongside it were a rare few—like Adamantine Sealing Chains.
Of course, it was also notoriously difficult to learn.
"What are you reading?" Tsunade's voice suddenly sounded.
"Sage Art: Myōjinmon," Kitazawa replied offhandedly.
"Hearing that… it feels like you're getting closer and closer to my grandpa," Tsunade said.
"You're not gambling anymore—so are we going back?" Kitazawa glanced at the wall clock, surprised. "It's only been half a day."
"Not a chance," Tsunade stood up, her gaze turning suggestive. "We're going to a private room."
The casino's private rooms were basically smaller gambling lounges.
They generally came in two types—rooms filled with gambling machines, or rooms set up with tables.
Their main purpose was for solo play, or gambling with friends and family.
The main hall, on the other hand, was where you gambled with everyone.
"Alright," Kitazawa said, meeting her eyes. He had a pretty good idea what she was planning.
One kind of fun wasn't enough for her—she wanted two kinds at once.
The moment they entered the private room, Tsunade pulled him to a machine.
She lifted a leg and sat down right on his lap.
After a few seconds, she started gambling.
Kitazawa held her soft, warm body close, and the two of them stayed wrapped in a lazy, indulgent rhythm as the lights of the machine flickered.
By sunset, Tsunade had shifted position, her earlier excitement giving way to a satisfied, drowsy calm.
"Should we go back?" Kitazawa finally found a chance to ask.
"No," Tsunade said, hugging him. "I'm tired. I want to sleep."
"Shower first," Kitazawa said after thinking. "I've got a room here. I'll take you."
He used Flying Thunder God and teleported them straight into his room.
"Not bad," Tsunade said, glancing around.
Kitazawa carried her into the bathroom.
After they cleaned up, the two of them climbed into bed.
"Tsunade-sensei," Kitazawa said with a smile, holding her mature, full figure close, "good night."
Tsunade shifted, resting her head against his chest. Breathing in his scent, she closed her eyes and fell asleep, content.
The next morning came.
Kitazawa felt a soft weight pressing down on him.
He opened his eyes—and saw Tsunade sitting upright.
He immediately sensed the heat in the air and thought, Right… it really is summer break.
After a chaotic morning, they arrived at the Hokage Tower.
Tsunade immediately dispatched Anbu to Iwagakure to inform them to come redeem their man.
Kitazawa saw he wasn't needed and went to the ninja academy.
Another day.
Iwagakure, Tsuchikage Tower.
"This Roshi used to butt heads with me every day. Now he runs off and gets himself caught. Let's see how he has the nerve to show his face to me again."
Ōnoki snorted after reading the report in his hand.
"This isn't Roshi-senpai's fault," Kurotsuchi—no, rather, Akatsuchi shook his head. "Konoha has that Wood Release shinobi—Kitazawa."
"Konoha's changed," Ōnoki said, his tone shifting. "In the past, they'd never dare pull something like this."
"Right now, they actually have the capital to be arrogant," Akatsuchi said grimly. "Wood Release gives them confidence."
"Konoha's getting more and more dangerous," Ōnoki said, regaining his composure.
He was furious that Konoha had taken Roshi—furious, yes—but reality didn't allow him to act recklessly.
As things stood, Iwagakure alone would struggle to take on Konoha.
Unless they cooperated with other villages.
"How should we respond to Konoha?" Akatsuchi asked.
"A jinchūriki cannot be lost," Ōnoki sighed. "Get him back first. We'll talk about retaliation afterward."
"Yes," Akatsuchi replied, turning and leaving the Tsuchikage's office.
The very next day, Iwagakure's reply reached Konoha.
When Kitazawa heard, he wasn't surprised.
With Roshi in Konoha's hands, Iwagakure wouldn't act rashly for now.
If Konoha executed him, then after the Four-Tails died, it would take years for it to reform—and there was no guarantee it would reappear within the Land of Earth.
At that point, it would become a chaotic scramble among nations.
Iwagakure's envoy arrived quickly.
After sending their reply, they reached Konoha on the third day.
The negotiator was Ōnoki's son, Akatsuchi.
Kitazawa didn't participate at all. He kept his head down—working, training, and training more.
Time moved into September.
The Advanced Class's new semester officially began.
September 2nd, Tuesday.
Kitazawa and Kurenai arrived at the ninja academy.
A new semester meant new training.
Based on the students' progress, Kitazawa adjusted training plans for some of them.
The first was Kurama Yakumo.
Her Leaf Body Flicker was already quite refined, so she could start learning new techniques.
In genjutsu, because of her kekkei genkai, she had almost reached her ceiling.
In the end, Kitazawa decided to teach her Shadow Clone Substitution.
It was a Yin Release secret technique with extremely strong survival value—perfect for her.
And since Kitazawa had created it himself rather than it being a Nara clan secret, he could teach it freely.
The second was Tayuya.
She had already learned Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death.
More accurately, she had mastered most genjutsu, and what remained were mainly A-rank genjutsu—high difficulty.
After thinking, Kitazawa decided to teach her Leaf Body Flicker.
For a genjutsu specialist, learning that was never the wrong choice.
The third student was Chino.
She would continue with Water Release—Water Release: Water Bullet Barrage.
The fourth was Hotaru.
Like Chino, she would keep learning Water Release—Water Release: Heavenly Weeping.
Aside from those four, there were the four new students: Hyūga Hanabi, Sarutobi Konohamaru, Kazamatsuri Moegi, and Ise Udon.
They had enrolled back in March—about half a year ago now.
Hanabi and Konohamaru had successfully mastered the Three Basic Techniques and Leaf-Style Taijutsu.
But Moegi and Udon were still a step behind, so their training would remain the same.
Kitazawa planned to have Hanabi and Konohamaru focus first on chakra control and refinement.
After that, he would teach them ninjutsu.
With the plan set, Kitazawa began teaching.
After spending about half the day, he left a shadow clone behind to continue guiding them, while his real body headed to the Forest of Death.
Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto had already begun their combat training—and it was intense.
Kitazawa watched for a while and noticed Naruto's improvement.
Before long, Naruto would master partial tailed-beast transformation.
After partial transformation came full transformation.
Normally, only a perfect jinchūriki could use full Tailed-beast Transformation.
But Naruto, as the original story's protagonist, was different.
His new form after partial transformation was called Nine-Tails Chakra Mode—the so-called "Golden Cloak."
Golden chakra wrapped his entire body, his hair spiked up into two horn-like shapes, and six magatama marks appeared around his collar.
In this mode, he could use Kurama's chakra and sense malice, among other abilities.
Even so, Naruto with Nine-Tails Chakra Mode still wasn't a perfect jinchūriki.
Only after he and Kurama fully reconciled would he become one.
After that, the new form he could enter was called Nine-Tails Mode—or Kurama Mode.
Kitazawa estimated that Naruto would reach partial transformation earlier than Sasuke would awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He withdrew his gaze and began training Sage Art: Myōjinmon.
Besides Myōjinmon, he also planned to alternate training with Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique.
Wood Golem was a high-level Wood Release technique—essentially an advanced version of Wood Dragon.
Because the golem that was summoned had a wood dragon coiled around its neck.
As for its power, there was no need to elaborate—one comparison said it all: it rivaled a Perfect Susanoo.
It could catch a Nine-Tails Tailed Beast Bomb with one hand—and throw it right back.
As the sun set, the day quickly came to an end.
Kitazawa gave the Advanced Class a day off and prepared to go home with Kurenai.
But just outside the school gate, he saw Konan.
"I'll head back first," Kurenai said, glancing at Konan's Anbu mask before turning away.
"Not long ago, Nara Shikaku came by," Konan said, handing him two scrolls. "These are for you."
Kitazawa casually took one scroll and opened it.
Inside was the negotiation content—more accurately, the trade terms—regarding Roshi.
The two sides had argued for a month, and the final version was confirmed today.
Unsurprisingly, every term favored Konoha.
At the end, Shikaku added a reminder: the signing ceremony was set for tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
Kitazawa scanned it, then opened the second scroll.
It recorded six Lava Release techniques Roshi possessed.
Kitazawa nodded slightly.
All six appeared in the original story.
They were all quite decent in power.
But with Myōjinmon and Wood Golem on his plate, learning Lava Release techniques would have to wait.
"Thanks," Kitazawa said, rolling both scrolls up. "You can clock out. See you tomorrow."
"Mm," Konan replied, vanishing.
Kitazawa had no intention of attending the signing ceremony.
There was nothing for him to do—he'd just be watching.
He'd rather use the time to train.
After all, capturing Roshi meant he had completely offended Ōnoki and Iwagakure.
The sooner he mastered Myōjinmon and Wood Golem, the sooner he'd feel secure.
Half a month later, Forest of Death.
Chakra surged upward like an ocean, roaring into the sky.
Sasuke stared blankly at Naruto.
Naruto's entire body was shrouded in dark red chakra, and four tails extended behind him.
A wave of frustration hit Sasuke.
It was supposed to be his combat training, yet Naruto broke through first and climbed to a new level.
Worst of all, Naruto's training hadn't even been that painful.
Sasuke was the one taking the beating every day.
Sasuke clenched his fist instinctively, resentment reaching its peak.
His eyes manifested three tomoe.
The tomoe trembled violently with his emotions.
Kitazawa's gaze fell on him.
Is it happening?
But after waiting, Sasuke still only had the three-tomoe Sharingan.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
Was the emotional trigger not strong enough? Or was Sasuke's foundation insufficient?
Thinking carefully… it should be the former.
Sasuke was young, but his fundamentals and strength already far exceeded his original-story counterpart at the same age.
If anything, he was closer to the version of Sasuke trained by Orochimaru.
In other words, he already had the foundation to awaken Mangekyō.
If the issue was emotional stimulation, there was no need to rush—because Naruto was right there.
So Kitazawa didn't say anything to Sasuke.
At this moment, Sasuke needed comfort, but for the sake of building emotional pressure, Kitazawa could only ignore it.
Kitazawa looked back at Naruto.
In the original story, Naruto first erupted into a four-tailed state during his fight with Orochimaru.
But now, right after mastering partial transformation, he already had four tails—clearly because he had built a relationship with Kurama earlier than in canon.
On top of that, Naruto was simply stronger overall, for the same reason Sasuke was stronger.
Naturally, Kitazawa's teaching—and the Advanced Class's training—had played a big role.
In theory, if Naruto reached eight tails, he could defeat the Deva Path of Pain.
Of course, eight tails was still a long way off.
[Current Mission: Help Uzumaki Naruto achieve partial tailed-beast transformation.]
[Mission Reward: +10 "Kaka" Chakra Capacity.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa instinctively clenched his fist.
The sudden explosion of chakra inside him felt unfamiliar.
After all, "ten Kaka" meant ten times Hatake Kakashi's chakra volume.
Now, Kitazawa didn't even need Yang Release Chakra Mode—he could use advanced Wood Release techniques in his normal state.
Of course, that excluded Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
That technique required far too much chakra—nearly endless.
[Current Mission: Help Uzumaki Naruto achieve Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.]
[Mission Reward: Uzumaki Clan Bloodline.]
[Accept?]
The text in front of him changed.
Kitazawa froze slightly as he stared at the new system mission.
The mission itself wasn't surprising—he had expected something like it.
But the reward… was beyond what he'd anticipated.
A direct reward of the Uzumaki bloodline?
Kitazawa had thought it would be like the Senju bloodline reward—only 20% or 30%, something partial.
Still, it made sense.
This mission's difficulty was extremely high, and it wouldn't be completed anytime soon.
And Kitazawa was very much looking forward to the Uzumaki bloodline.
First would be a major boost in chakra.
Whether it was Naruto, Karin, or Nagato—every Uzumaki had absurd reserves.
Second were the bloodline's innate abilities.
Like Mind's Eye of the Kagura and Adamantine Sealing Chains.
And lastly, the sheer vitality that came with it.
Uzumaki Kushina didn't die immediately even after the Nine-Tails was extracted.
If it had been sealed back in at the time, she actually could have been saved.
~~~
This Fanfic is Already Completed in my Patreon Page! Thank you for reading!
–› Patreon(.)com/Bleam