After the Ninja World Youth Martial Arts Tournament ended, the results spread outward like a plague of locusts.
There had simply been too many spectators. In less than half a day, the entire ninja world already knew what had happened at the event.
Originally, the ones who were supposed to steal the spotlight were Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, but the one who caused the biggest sensation was Kitazawa.
Facing three opponents alone, he defeated Team 7, stole the attention that should have gone to them, and stood at the center of it all.
Five or six years earlier, when Kitazawa unified the ninja world and became Emperor, his fame had already reached its peak.
But back then, many people only saw him as the second God of Shinobi.
After this Youth Martial Arts Tournament, however, his invincibility was etched into everyone's mind.
The image people had of him had shifted from "the second God of Shinobi" to "the second Sage of Six Paths."
Of course, for some people, this tournament carried an unimaginable level of intimidation.
The Fourth Raikage, Onoki, Mei Terumi, and the others completely gave up on any hope of reviving the Four Great Ninja Villages.
Meanwhile, people like Hiashi Hyuga, Fugaku Uchiha, and Shikaku Nara only deepened both their fear of Kitazawa and their loyalty to him.
Kitazawa himself did not care much about that, but getting two birds with one stone was not bad.
Still, for him, the greatest gain remained the reward given by the system.
Especially the Otsutsuki Mode.
After logging out of the Divine Tree Game, Kitazawa returned to the imperial palace in the Fire Capital.
He did not head back to the Hokage's office right away. Instead, he went to the nearby training ground.
Bringing his hands together, Kitazawa entered Otsutsuki Mode.
The very first change he noticed came from the chakra inside his body.
Even though his chakra had already been close to limitless, he could clearly feel that it had increased again.
Compared to before, it had probably risen by about one-fifth.
That was an astonishing amount of chakra.
Kitazawa raised a hand and formed an ice mirror with Ice Release.
His reflection appeared in the mirror.
In the original story, both Momoshiki Otsutsuki and Urashiki Otsutsuki underwent transformations similar to curse-mark mutations after transforming.
Fortunately, he had not changed in that way.
The only real difference was his eyes.
The Byakugan, Jogan, Tenseigan, and Rinnegan had all merged together.
At the same time, the Rinne Sharingan on his forehead opened on its own.
At that moment, Kitazawa felt as though everything around him had come into view.
Whether underground or in the sky, he could see it all with perfect clarity.
He nodded in satisfaction.
Right now, he felt almost like a god. With a single thought, he could see whatever he wanted to see.
Before this, Kitazawa's strength had probably been on the level of an Otsutsuki who had eaten one and a half to two Divine Tree fruits.
But after activating Otsutsuki Mode, he could remove the "one and a half" and raise it directly to the level of an Otsutsuki who had eaten two Divine Tree fruits.
With his current strength, he was already more than capable of facing Momoshiki Otsutsuki, Urashiki Otsutsuki, and Kinshiki Otsutsuki.
Judging from how things played out in the original story, Kinshiki Otsutsuki was the weakest of the three, and his status was the lowest as well.
To help Momoshiki win, he had even willingly offered up his own chakra to be consumed.
He only possessed the Byakugan and not the Rinnegan, which clearly meant he had never eaten a Divine Tree fruit. That made him weaker than Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Momoshiki and Urashiki, however, were stronger still.
Besides the Byakugan, they both also possessed the Rinnegan.
From what could be seen in the original story, the Rinnegan was not an innate power of the Otsutsuki themselves, but something derived from the Rinne Sharingan.
Their strength was probably around the same level as Kaguya Otsutsuki.
But both of them had transformation abilities, and after transforming, their power would rise significantly.
Even so, at most they would only be comparable to Otsutsuki who had eaten one and a half to two Divine Tree fruits.
Kitazawa was still confident he could kill them.
His current plan was to intercept them halfway, use the Jogan to stop them, and drag them into Amenominaka.
If he did that, escaping would not be so easy for them.
When the time came, he would personally deal with Urashiki Otsutsuki.
After all, Urashiki possessed Yomotsu Hirasaka, which meant he could escape from Amenominaka.
Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki would deal with Momoshiki Otsutsuki.
In Boruto, after all, Momoshiki had been defeated by Sasuke and Naruto.
As for the weakest one, Kinshiki Otsutsuki, he would leave him to Tsunade and Kurenai Yuhi.
The two of them had already taken pills made from the chakra of Kaguya Otsutsuki and Isshiki Otsutsuki, so their strength was not inferior to Kinshiki's.
In a two-against-one fight, defeating Kinshiki would be more than manageable.
More importantly, Kitazawa already had a general understanding of the abilities of Momoshiki's group.
When the time came, he would tell Sasuke and the others everything.
With advance knowledge of their enemy's abilities, and with strength that was already more than enough, they might not even need Kitazawa's help at all.
Time passed, and July arrived.
The temperature in the Land of Fire rose as summer officially began.
At nine in the morning, Kitazawa walked into the Hokage's office.
"Your Majesty."
When Konan saw him, she immediately walked over.
"I'm giving you a task."
Kitazawa raised a hand and gently brushed her cheek as he spoke.
Konan lowered her gaze, then lightly caught his finger in a playful bite.
Kitazawa's brow lifted. With his other hand, he gave her a sharp tap on the hip.
Konan let out a muffled sound, though she still looked as provocative as before.
"Go to the Film Department," Kitazawa said, suppressing the urge to deal with her teasing right then and there. "Kurenai is taking half a year off. Yakumo is handling things there for the time being."
Kurenai Yuhi had taken six months of leave because she was already nearly four months pregnant, and it was becoming obvious.
She could still work, but there was no need.
More importantly, she needed to stay with Tsunade.
Tsunade had become pregnant around the same time, and now rarely went out.
Staying home alone all day would obviously be dull.
With Kurenai there to keep her company, things would be much better.
That was precisely why Kitazawa had temporarily handed Film Department affairs over to Yakumo Kurama.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Konan stepped back half a pace and replied in a cool tone.
Looking at her now, it was hard to connect that expression with what she had just done.
After Konan left the Hokage's office, Kitazawa glanced at his still-damp fingertip.
After thinking for a moment, he headed toward the office next door.
At this point, there were no major issues left in the ninja world for him to personally handle.
Every now and then, taking it easy was hardly a problem.
Kitazawa stopped in front of the door and knocked.
"Come in."
Hinata Hyuga's voice sounded from inside.
Kitazawa pushed the door open and entered.
When Hinata saw him, she froze for a moment, then immediately brightened.
Kitazawa shut the door behind him and walked over to her.
Under her gaze, he raised a hand and adjusted the shawl resting on her shoulders, exposing a little of her fair skin to the cool air.
Hinata felt a chill at her collarbone, and a faint blush rose to her face.
Still, for her, this kind of playful closeness had already become familiar.
Kitazawa lowered his head and leaned into her embrace.
Breathing in her soft fragrance and resting against her warmth, he closed his eyes for a moment.
Hinata gently stroked his hair.
A happy, sweet smile appeared on her face.
And yet... she had already begun to feel that this kind of special training was no longer enough.
"Good morning, Hinata."
Kitazawa pulled away from her soft embrace, greeted her, and walked toward her desk.
"G-Good morning."
Hinata blinked in surprise.
She did not understand why Kitazawa had ended the special training so quickly.
It had only just begun.
"So many documents? You've been working hard, Hinata."
After sitting down, Kitazawa glanced at the files stacked across the desk.
The Hokage's secretariat undoubtedly had the heaviest workload of any department.
As one of the people in charge, Hinata obviously could not have it easy.
"It's not hard."
Hinata instinctively shook her head.
But in her half-composed state, even that small movement made her look flustered and unexpectedly vulnerable.
"You deserve a reward."
Kitazawa crooked a finger at her.
Hinata immediately understood.
She walked over and knelt in front of him.
Kitazawa reached out and stroked her soft cheek.
Then he picked up the files on the desk and began reading through them.
Hinata puffed out her cheeks at once, feeling as if something were stuck in her throat, unable to say a word.
Kitazawa ignored her little protest.
As he read the content of the documents, he frowned.
Picking up a pen, Kitazawa began helping Hinata process the paperwork.
Time slowly passed.
At last, Kitazawa set the pen down and let out a breath.
He had finished handling every single file.
Naturally, the way he processed documents was different from the way Hinata would have done it herself.
To save her trouble later, Kitazawa signed his own name at the end of every file.
That way, it would be clear that he had handled them, and anyone with questions could come directly to him.
"You can take it easy this afternoon."
Kitazawa looked at Hinata, who still had her cheeks puffed up like a little hamster, and smiled.
"T-Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei."
After saying that, Hinata hesitated, as though she wanted to say something else.
"Is there something more?"
Kitazawa asked, puzzled.
"Um... I want to do a new kind of special training."
Hinata lowered her head, nervously twisting the corner of her clothes as she spoke in a small voice.
Kitazawa raised a brow.
Hinata had been doing this special training for a very long time.
Honestly speaking, they had already tried all kinds of it.
If there was really some "new" kind left, then only one final step remained.
Looking at her shy expression, Kitazawa thought that perhaps the time for that final training had finally come.
Besides, the fact that he had managed to hold out through all this training already meant his patience had reached its limit.
When Hinata took part in this special training, the one who suffered most was often him.
Especially in the early days.
"Then come find me at two this afternoon," Kitazawa said after thinking it over.
Hinata's eyes lit up at once, and anticipation welled up in her heart.
"I've already taken care of your documents, so go freshen up."
Kitazawa stood, patted her gently on the head, and spoke.
The moment he finished, he vanished from the spot.
The next second, he was back in the Hokage's office.
He had handled Hinata's paperwork for her, but he still had his own to take care of.
And of course, teaching Konan a lesson was also something that could not be skipped.
At two in the afternoon, Kitazawa sent the sleeping Konan home.
When he reappeared in the Hokage's office, Hinata was already there on time.
"Come on. We're going to your house."
Kitazawa lightly pinched her pale cheek as he spoke.
"Huh?"
Hinata asked instinctively, "Kitazawa-sensei, are you going to see my father?"
Seeing that she had misunderstood, Kitazawa could not help laughing.
Hinata stared at him blankly, still not quite understanding.
"Come with me."
This time, Kitazawa did not use Flying Thunder God. Instead, he simply walked out.
Hinata quickly snapped back to herself and hurried after him.
Before long, the two of them arrived at the Hyuga Clan compound.
Or rather, the Hyuga Clan compound that had been relocated to the Fire Capital.
Just as Hinata was about to head into the courtyard, Kitazawa caught her by the wrist.
She turned to look at him, confusion written on her face.
"We're sneaking in," Kitazawa whispered into her ear, his breath brushing against her skin. "Don't let anyone notice."
Hinata's body trembled, and her cheeks turned red.
For some reason, her heartbeat sped up. The whole thing felt strangely thrilling.
Kitazawa glanced around, then led her to a corner of the wall nearby.
He crossed his hands over one knee and signaled for her to step up.
Taking a deep breath, Hinata placed her foot on his hands and leaped upward, landing on top of the wall.
After steadying herself, she immediately crouched and reached a hand down to him.
Kitazawa looked up and smiled faintly before taking her hand, and together the two of them slipped inside.
"To your room."
Without letting go of her hand, Kitazawa spoke in a low voice.
Hinata nodded hard.
Leading the way, she carefully guided him past the Hyuga ninja patrolling the estate, and in the end the two of them successfully reached her room.
They did not go through the front door. Instead, they climbed in through the window.
Looking at her familiar room, Hinata finally let out a long breath of relief.
That was when she suddenly remembered the time Kitazawa had once made her climb over a wall and skip class.
It really had been a long time.
A smile unconsciously appeared on Hinata's face.
"Come here."
Kitazawa sat on the edge of the bed and beckoned to her.
Hinata came back to herself and immediately walked over to stand in front of him.
The moment she steadied herself, the outer layer of her clothing slipped from her shoulders.
Hinata froze for a second, then realized what had happened.
She did not refuse, only lowered her head shyly, too embarrassed to look at him.
"How does it feel, sneaking back into your own room?"
Kitazawa pulled her into his arms, one hand resting gently at her waist.
Hinata's body stiffened, her head growing dizzy, and she did not know what to say.
Kitazawa raised a hand and gave her a light pat on the side, snapping her out of it.
"S-Sorry..."
Hinata apologized on instinct.
"What are you apologizing for?"
Kitazawa slid his hands to her thighs.
With a little force, he lifted her into his arms.
Hinata immediately fell against him.
Lowering her head, she sat on his lap, curling up in his embrace.
Kitazawa casually snapped his fingers.
Chakra spread outward and formed a barrier around the entire room.
Leaning forward slightly, he guided Hinata under the covers.
Hinata looked up at him.
In the next instant, the blush on her face spread all the way to her ears.
She turned her gaze aside, yet could not help sneaking another look at him.
Kitazawa smiled.
Then he slipped beneath the covers as well.
"Hinata."
Looking down at the shy young woman in front of him, Kitazawa called her name softly.
"Mhm."
Hinata squeezed her eyes shut, her voice trembling slightly.
"You're beautiful right now."
Kitazawa let his gaze linger on her, quietly admiring her.
"A-As long as you like it..."
Hinata said helplessly, her hands unsure where to go.
"Of course I like it."
Kitazawa lowered his head and kissed her.
Hinata immediately responded.
A little while later, she wrapped both arms around him with all the strength she had.
"I... I'm so happy."
Hinata's eyes were wet as she spoke.
Kitazawa stroked her hair, but said nothing.
Hinata only felt her head growing heavier and heavier, until at last she drifted off to sleep.
~~~
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