In the Hokage's office,
Hinata Hyuga sat properly on the sofa.
Kitazawa, meanwhile, had his eyes closed as he lay with his head in her lap.
The soft cushion of her thighs made him feel pleasantly drowsy.
Hinata looked down at him and gently massaged his forehead with both hands.
On the other end of the sofa, Konan had his legs resting on her black-stockinged thighs as she rubbed them with both hands.
"Hinata," Kitazawa asked casually, "is it nine yet?"
"Fifteen minutes to go," Hinata replied gently.
Four years had already passed since Kitazawa married Tsunade and Kurenai Yuhi.
Hinata was now twenty-four.
Compared to the shy girl she had been at eighteen, she had matured a great deal, both in temperament and in figure.
"About time. We should head to the Ninja Academy. If I'm late, Hanabi will definitely complain," Kitazawa said with a smile as he sat up.
Today was the Ninja Academy's annual graduation ceremony.
Hanabi Hyuga, Konohamaru Sarutobi, Moegi Kazamatsuri, and the others in their class had all turned eighteen and were graduating.
"Hanabi won't blame you," Hinata said, shaking her head.
She knew better than anyone that her little sister admired Kitazawa more than anyone.
In that respect, Hanabi was a lot like how she herself used to be.
"Let's go," Kitazawa said as he stood up. "We'll go together."
"Should we call Ino too?" Hinata asked, taking his hand as she stood.
"No need," Kitazawa said after thinking for a moment. "None of this year's graduates have any direct connection to her."
"Okay," Hinata answered.
"Konan, stay here. I'll be back soon," Kitazawa said, reaching out to pinch her cheek.
Hinata showed no reaction at all.
She had long since known about the relationship between Kitazawa and Konan, and Ino knew as well.
The three of them could practically be called close sisters now.
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique, Kitazawa appeared with Hinata in the Ninja Academy plaza.
There were less than fifteen minutes left before the graduation ceremony began, and all the students had already arrived.
"Your Majesty," Iruka Umino greeted him as he approached.
"Iruka-sensei," Kitazawa said with a nod. "Don't worry about me. Go take care of your work."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Iruka Umino returned to the platform.
At nine o'clock sharp, the Ninja Academy's graduation ceremony officially began.
Compared to the graduation ceremony of Naruto Uzumaki's class five years ago, there was now an extra segment: a speech from the outstanding graduate.
This year's outstanding graduate was, naturally, Hanabi Hyuga.
She had ranked first in the entire school ever since she enrolled.
And when she was twelve, Kitazawa had used the remaining power of the Great Tenseigan to help her awaken the Tenseigan.
From that moment on, her position as the school's number one had become even more untouchable.
Hanabi stood on the platform.
At a glance, she spotted Kitazawa and Hinata.
Because of the occasion, she didn't greet them.
Hanabi took a deep breath and began her speech.
Kitazawa stood where he was, quietly watching her.
Hanabi looked much like she did in the original story—long hair, wearing a kimono styled somewhat like shrine maiden robes.
Compared to Hinata, she was far more outgoing, and in personality she was somewhat similar to Ino Yamanaka.
At eleven in the morning, the graduation ceremony came to an end.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Hanabi immediately ran over to him.
"Congratulations on graduating," Kitazawa said, reaching out to pat her on the head.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Hanabi said with a bright smile.
Just then, Kitazawa's gaze suddenly sharpened.
The puppet he had wandering the cosmos had finally made a move again after a long silence.
"You two talk. I still have work to finish," Kitazawa said, pulling his hand back before vanishing on the spot.
Hanabi opened her mouth as if to say something, then stopped herself, disappointment rising in her heart.
"Hanabi," Hinata said, taking her hand, "let's go home and eat. To celebrate your graduation, Father and the others are all waiting."
"Okay," Hanabi said, snapping back to herself.
"Today's dishes are all your fav—"
Before Hinata could finish, she suddenly covered her mouth and retched softly.
"Big sis, what's wrong?" Hanabi asked immediately, concern filling her face.
"It's nothing," Hinata said, shaking her head. "I'm just not feeling very well."
"With your strength, how could you possibly feel unwell?" Hanabi asked, confused.
She, like Hinata, had awakened the Tenseigan by now.
She knew very well what kind of abilities the Tenseigan granted.
On top of that, Hinata also had the Strength of a Hundred Seal. There was no way she should be physically unwell.
Hanabi instinctively activated her Byakugan to examine her sister's body.
The next second, she was struck dumb.
Hinata wasn't sick at all.
She was pregnant.
But how was that even possible?
Hanabi knew Hinata very well.
The men she interacted with regularly were basically limited to people like Shikamaru Nara and Sasuke Uchiha.
But even then, not much.
The man she had the most contact with was… Kitazawa.
Hanabi froze in place.
In the boundless sea of stars,
Kitazawa suddenly appeared.
The moment he received the images transmitted back by his puppet, he immediately brought Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Tsunade, and Kurenai Yuhi with him.
More precisely, he had the four of them enter his Amenominaka so they could lie in wait.
Kitazawa opened his Jōgan and swept his gaze across the surroundings.
Very quickly, he discovered an area where space itself seemed distorted.
Then he waited in silence.
His puppet had discovered Urashiki Otsutsuki and the other two at the previous spatial node.
At the time, the three of them had just stepped out of Yomotsu Hirasaka.
After resting for a short while, they had used Yomotsu Hirasaka again.
Now Kitazawa was camping right at the point where that portal would open.
They had not noticed his puppet at all.
One reason was that his puppet possessed extremely powerful concealment abilities.
The other was that it had never occurred to them that someone would ambush them, so they had not stayed very alert.
"They're here," Kitazawa said, narrowing his eyes.
At that very moment, the distorted patch of space twisted open into a black portal.
Urashiki Otsutsuki, Momoshiki Otsutsuki, and Kinshiki Otsutsuki stepped out at the same time.
Without the slightest hesitation, Kitazawa activated Otsutsuki Mode.
At the peak of his power, he used Amenominaka.
Before Urashiki and the others could even react, they were dragged into separate dimensions.
Kitazawa also entered Amenominaka.
"This is Amenominaka?" Urashiki reacted at once, his heart jolting.
He looked around and found that Momoshiki and Kinshiki were no longer by his side.
"Who are you?" Urashiki asked, turning instinctively toward Kitazawa.
His mind was full of confusion.
He knew every member of the Otsutsuki clan.
So how could there be an Otsutsuki with a Rinne Sharingan whom he had never seen before?
At that moment, Kaguya Otsutsuki never even crossed his mind.
After all, this place was still at least four or five years away from the ninja world.
Kitazawa didn't answer him.
He was looking at the three system missions that had just been triggered.
Put simply, the missions were to defeat Urashiki Otsutsuki, Momoshiki Otsutsuki, and Kinshiki Otsutsuki.
The rewards were also tied directly to their respective abilities.
In order, they were Temporal Rewind, Takamimusubinokami, and Amanohabaya.
"You dare ignore me? Looking for death!" Urashiki snapped.
Already arrogant by nature, he attacked the moment Kitazawa failed to answer.
Amenosubaruboshinomikoto!
He pulled out his red fishing rod and lashed countless hooks toward Kitazawa.
This was Urashiki Otsutsuki's ability.
Once the hooks struck a target, they could fish out the target's chakra.
Its weakness, however, was that it could only absorb chakra, not directly injure the target.
At the same time, if the target's chakra was sealed by a special formula, then the technique would not work at all.
Since Kitazawa knew the intel in advance, he naturally wasn't going to waste it.
He stood there without moving and let the hooks land on him.
"So you're just trash after all!" Urashiki blurted out.
Ordinarily, someone with a Rinne Sharingan like Kitazawa should have been able to dodge Amenosubaruboshinomikoto.
Failing to dodge it could only mean his strength was nothing special.
Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!
Kitazawa suddenly smiled.
He clenched his fist and threw a punch.
"What?" Urashiki's eyes widened.
Targets struck by the hooks weren't supposed to be able to move.
Unless Amenosubaruboshinomikoto hadn't worked at all.
But he had no time left to think.
With a scream, he was blasted away.
Still, his reaction speed was fast enough that he didn't let Kitazawa unleash the full force of the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.
After taking half the blow, he used Origami Replacement Technique.
The remaining punches struck empty air.
Urashiki dissolved into several red paper cranes and vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already far from Kitazawa.
But his condition was terrible, blood covering his body from head to toe.
Urashiki stared at Kitazawa in horror.
If he hadn't used Origami Replacement Technique in time, he would probably already be at death's door.
True, an Otsutsuki with a Karma mark wouldn't truly die—but in a barren place like this, there was no suitable vessel for him to use.
Kitazawa's strength had far exceeded his expectations.
At this point, Urashiki had completely lost his will to fight.
Without any hesitation, he used Yomotsu Hirasaka.
He plunged into the black portal and fled at top speed.
Urashiki quickly escaped Amenominaka.
When he emerged again, he was already on an unfamiliar planet.
He finally let out a breath of relief.
As for Kinshiki and Momoshiki, all he could do was hope they somehow survived.
"Where the hell did that bastard come from?" Urashiki cursed, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He had never suffered such a huge loss in all his life.
"Once I reclaim Kaguya's Divine Tree fruit, I'll come back and kill him!"
Urashiki clenched his fists, hatred flashing through his eyes.
Then suddenly, he sensed something. His whole body went rigid, and shock flooded his face.
He spun around and saw four bone spikes.
Urashiki recognized them instantly.
They were All-Killing Ash Bones.
He had no time to wonder how Kitazawa had known he would teleport here.
If he delayed even a moment longer, he would be reduced to ash.
Temporal Rewind!
At the last possible instant, Urashiki's Rinnegan trembled sharply.
His ability activated in an instant.
To his eyes, the four bones about to pierce him seemed to come to a halt.
But Urashiki knew they hadn't stopped.
Rather, it was his own personal time that had begun to rewind.
That was the effect of Temporal Rewind.
It allowed his own time to return to a few seconds earlier, giving him the chance to choose the best possible response.
Put more simply, it gave him more time to react.
Origami Replacement Technique!
Urashiki completed his transformation.
From Kitazawa's point of view, it looked as though Urashiki had somehow predicted the future and dodged the All-Killing Ash Bones in advance.
But Kitazawa wasn't surprised in the slightest.
After all, he had already known that Urashiki possessed the power of Temporal Rewind.
In the original story, there was a class of jutsu known as space-time ninjutsu.
Flying Thunder God, Kamui, and Amenotejikara were examples.
But in reality, those were all only spatial techniques.
Flying Thunder God combined with the Dragon Vein to travel through time was an exception.
In the original story, the only one who truly wielded time-based ninjutsu in the strictest sense was Urashiki Otsutsuki.
One ability—Temporal Rewind—came from his Rinnegan.
Another—Time Freeze—came from a special ninja tool.
Kitazawa had been guarding against both of them the entire time.
Urashiki reappeared, his face deathly pale.
The greater the effect of an ability, the greater the cost.
A broken power like Temporal Rewind naturally consumed a terrifying amount of energy.
He would not be able to use it again anytime soon.
But he also couldn't run.
Kitazawa had already proven that he was capable of pinpointing where Yomotsu Hirasaka would lead.
Time Freeze!
Without hesitation, Urashiki threw out a black box.
The moment it hit the ground, a massive cloud of white smoke billowed out.
At the same time, Urashiki seized his red fishing rod.
Amenosubaruboshinomikoto: Ryūgū!
Now that he knew how strong Kitazawa really was, he immediately used his most powerful killing move.
A massive black-purple ribbonfish appeared, its body comparable in size to a tailed beast.
Opening its jaws, it launched a chakra sphere toward Kitazawa that was even more terrifying than a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Urashiki's plan was simple.
Freeze Kitazawa in time, then kill him with Amanosubaruboshinomikoto: Ryugu.
To be fair, that combination would destroy almost anyone who lacked prior knowledge of it.
In the original story, Toneri Otsutsuki had been instantly defeated by Time Freeze.
But Kitazawa knew the intel.
The instant he saw the black box, he used Amenotejikara.
In a flash, he swapped places with a distant stone and appeared far away.
Then, the moment he steadied himself, he slapped his hands together.
Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!
Susanoo!
Top Transformed Buddha!
A colossal Thousand-Armed Buddha statue clad in armor appeared.
Countless fists rained down on Urashiki.
At that very moment, he was focused on controlling Amanosubaruboshinomikoto: Ryugu and had never expected Kitazawa to appear behind him.
"No!" Urashiki screamed, only to be swallowed by the dense storm of punches.
With a casual wave of his hand, Kitazawa collected the black box from the ground.
This ninja tool was undoubtedly a terrifying trump card.
Used properly, it could completely reverse the outcome of a battle.
And the Otsutsuki clan had more than one time-based ninja tool.
In the original story, there had also been a tool called the Plow.
Urashiki had used it to travel back to the past in an attempt to seize the Nine-Tails chakra from the young Naruto Uzumaki.
But that had never happened here.
Kitazawa stroked his chin.
Most likely, that had something to do with his ambush on Urashiki and the others in advance.
Under normal circumstances, Urashiki would only discover the Plow after arriving in the ninja world and reaching Konoha.
But now he would never set foot there at all, cutting that possibility off at its source.
Kitazawa walked over to Urashiki.
After being hit by Top Transformed Buddha, Urashiki was already heavily wounded and unconscious.
But he still wasn't dead.
Chakra Edible!
Kitazawa stretched out a hand.
Urashiki's body shuddered violently as he woke up, his expression twisting in agony.
But there was nothing he could do.
In the end, he was refined into a glowing pill.
[Current Mission: Defeat Urashiki Otsutsuki.]
[Mission Reward: Temporal Rewind.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa gave a slight nod.
There was no need to explain how rare and powerful Temporal Rewind was.
Paired with Time Freeze, it could even allow the weak to defeat the strong.
Of course, that only worked if the opponent didn't already know what those two time-based techniques did.
Kitazawa put away the pill Urashiki had become.
With a casual wave of his hand, he opened Yomotsu Hirasaka.
Kitazawa stepped through the black portal.
When he emerged, he was back inside Amenominaka.
An intense battle unfolded before his eyes.
More precisely, it was a one-sided battle.
Tsunade and Kurenai Yuhi held the upper hand, while Kinshiki Otsutsuki was clearly on the brink of collapse.
Kinshiki didn't have a Rinnegan—only the Byakugan.
His Byakugan granted him two abilities.
One was called Amanohabaya.
That was also the reward from the system mission tied to him.
In simple terms, Amanohabaya turned Kinshiki into a master of weapons.
He could use chakra to forge all kinds of incredibly powerful weapons.
His second ability was called Intangibility.
From the name alone, it sounded a lot like Obito Uchiha's Kamui.
And in effect, it really was similar.
Kinshiki could make either himself or nearby objects intangible, shifting them back and forth between real space and a separate dimension.
Kitazawa did not immediately step in to help.
For Tsunade and Kurenai, this was a rare chance to sharpen themselves.
Only after half an hour passed, when Kinshiki was injured and tried to use Intangibility to escape, did Kitazawa finally throw out the black box.
White smoke spread through the air, freezing him in place.
Chakra Edible!
Kitazawa walked over and turned him into a pill as well.
[Current mission: Defeat Kinshiki Otsutsuki.]
[Mission reward: Amanohabaya.]
[Mission Reward. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa casually put away the pill.
After greeting Tsunade and Kurenai, he headed for another dimension.
Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Momoshiki Otsutsuki were in the middle of fierce combat.
Momoshiki was far stronger than Kinshiki. Though he was at a disadvantage, he still managed to fight back and forth with them.
But defeat was only a matter of time.
Kitazawa waited for two hours, then seized an opening and used the same method as before, freezing Momoshiki in time.
[Current mission: Defeat Momoshiki Otsutsuki.]
[Mission reward: Takamimusubinokami.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa slowly let out a breath.
At last, the three Otsutsuki who had threatened the ninja world had all been taken down by them.
Of course, no one knew how many Otsutsuki there really were.
If nothing unexpected happened, new Otsutsuki would descend on the ninja world sooner or later.
But by then, to Kitazawa, they would be nothing more than walking pills.