Ino and Shikamaru were both learning their clan's secret techniques, so Kitazawa couldn't help them for the time being.
His gaze fell on Yakushi Kabuto.
After a week of practicing Wind Release Chakra nature transformation, he learned his first Wind Release Ninjutsu, Wind Release: Gale Palm.
It was a C-rank Wind style jutsu, neither too difficult nor too easy, making it quite suitable for Yakushi Kabuto.
Kitazawa watched for a while, felt he didn't need to offer any guidance, and then went to Hinata.
Body Flicker Technique is a D-rank Ninjutsu, but Konoha-Style Body Flicker Technique is a B-rank Ninjutsu.
Hinata had been learning it for over a week and had barely gotten the hang of it; she was still very unpracticed.
Kitazawa wasn't sure if she would be able to use the Konoha-Style Body Flicker Technique in the monthly exam.
In the distance, Hyuga Neji was training.
He was learning Gentle Fist: Sixty-Four Palms; he had already mastered the first eight palms and was working towards the goal of the first ten palms.
And Hinata's progress was also the first ten palms. Although their progress was similar, she was already quite a bit ahead.
Kitazawa pondered for a moment, formed hand signs, and created a Shadow Clone.
He then went to the school's Artificial Lake.
Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba were training there.
Kiba had finished his tree-climbing practice and begun Water Walking Training.
Sasuke was doing both at once.
While practicing Fire Release Chakra nature transformation, he also began learning his second Sharingan genjutsu with Uchiha Itachi.
Evidently, after defeating Neji, Sasuke had started to take genjutsu seriously as well.
However, Kitazawa came today not because of Sasuke or Kiba, but because of Sakura. In the past two weeks, she had learned two Medical Ninjutsu.
Although both were D-rank, it once again proved her talent in Medical Ninjutsu. However, she was now somewhat stuck in a bottleneck. The reason was her young age and insufficient Chakra.
"Sakura," Kitazawa waved to her and called out.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Sakura immediately came before him and asked, "What can I do for you?"
"As a Medical Ninja, Medical Ninjutsu is certainly very important, but there's something else that's equally important." Kitazawa chuckled softly and asked, "Do you know what it is?"
"Knowledge?" Sakura pondered for a moment, then asked hesitantly.
"It's practice," Kitazawa replied, "The ultimate goal of a Medical Ninja is to apply the Medical Ninjutsu they've learned to patients."
"Kitazawa-sensei, do you mean for me to treat patients?" Sakura asked, her face showing surprise.
When she wasn't consumed by her crush, she was undoubtedly very smart. After all, she was an excellent student.
"You got half of it right. With your current level, how could I let you treat patients?" Kitazawa tapped her forehead and said, "I want you to be my assistant, or rather, my apprentice."
"Assistant?" Sakura looked at him with some confusion.
"I am currently a Medical Ninja on assignment at Konoha Hospital, and I can already perform surgeries independently." Kitazawa explained, "Having you as an assistant will allow you to adapt to the role of a Medical Ninja in advance and accumulate experience."
Sakura's mouth immediately fell open. She didn't know much about Kitazawa, only that he was an excellent Ninja Academy teacher.
But she knew a little about Medical Ninjas on assignment at Konoha Hospital. She occasionally went to Konoha Hospital with her parents for treatment.
Those assigned Medical Ninjas were among the most outstanding Medical Ninjas in Konoha Village.
"Why are you so surprised?" Kitazawa asked, somewhat amused.
"Kitazawa-sensei, you're so amazing!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Let's go to Konoha Hospital." Kitazawa turned and walked out.
Calling on Sakura was just an afterthought, to see if it might trigger any missions. The main reason was that he had learned the Mystical Palm Technique, and Yakushi Nono allowed him to perform surgeries independently.
Especially high-difficulty surgeries. After all, Kitazawa still had a mission that required him to complete nine high-difficulty surgeries.
Now he could finally begin.
"Nono-senpai." Kitazawa introduced, "This is Sakura, my student."
"To be taken as your student, she must be very talented." Yakushi Nono observed Sakura, feeling surprised. Because she looked really young, only about six or seven years old.
"She's a First Year Class A student." Kitazawa, seeing her misunderstanding, explained.
"I see." Yakushi Nono nodded.
"But her Medical Ninjutsu talent is indeed quite good." Kitazawa smiled and said, "I want her to be my assistant."
"Is she old enough?" Yakushi Nono couldn't help but feel a little doubtful.
"I can do it!" Sakura patted her chest and said.
"Alright then." Yakushi Nono thought for a moment and agreed, "With you watching her, nothing should go wrong."
Still, if something went wrong, they could just call Lady Tsunade over, and the patient certainly wouldn't be angry.
"Thank you, Nono-senpai." Kitazawa expressed his gratitude.
Since Lady Tsunade wasn't managing things, Yakushi Nono was in charge of Konoha Hospital. Only after she agreed could Sakura become a formal assistant.
"Thank you, Director!" Sakura quickly said.
"It's a small matter, no need to be so polite." Yakushi Nono shook her head and added, "Sakura is young, and the hospital doesn't have a suitable nurse uniform, so I'll have one custom-made."
"Thank you for the trouble, Nono-senpai."
Kitazawa chatted for a few more minutes, then took Sakura back to his office.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Sakura curiously looked around the office and asked, "As an assistant, what do I need to do?"
"I've written it all in the scroll." Kitazawa picked up the scroll from his desk and handed it to her.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei." Sakura sat on the sofa, opened the scroll, and began to read it carefully.
Kitazawa wasn't idle either; like her, he started reading a scroll. But he was reading about Medical Ninjutsu.
He had almost learned all the conventional Medical Ninjutsu, with only one A-rank, the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique, remaining.
Although this Ninjutsu was A-rank, in Kitazawa's opinion, it was no less than S-rank. Because it was a large-scale Medical Ninjutsu requiring multiple people to cooperate.
Moreover, ordinary Medical Ninja Genin and Chunin couldn't participate; only Medical Ninja Jonin could.
Simply put, if a certain surgery required the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique, then it was definitely a high-difficulty surgery.
But unfortunately, high-difficulty surgeries weren't that common. Especially now, the Ninja World was generally relatively peaceful.
Fortunately, Kitazawa was learning the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique while teaching Sakura, so it wasn't too boring.
Until Friday, when he finally had his first high-difficulty surgery.
"Kitazawa-sensei, how do I look in this nurse uniform?" Sakura changed into her nurse uniform and asked excitedly.
"It looks good," Kitazawa glanced at her and said.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't beautiful, but it was a bit cute. After all, her age was a factor.
"Hehe." Sakura covered her face and said expectantly, "I wonder when I'll be able to treat Sasuke."
"Maybe during the monthly exam in a couple of days." Kitazawa said casually, "When Sasuke gets injured, then, I'll leave him to you."
"That's great!" Sakura immediately became excited.
Just then, a knock on the door sounded.
"Come in." Kitazawa looked up towards the door.
If he wasn't mistaken, it was the nurse coming to inform him about a surgery; he just didn't know what kind of surgery it would be.
But when the door opened, it wasn't a nurse, but Yakushi Nono.
"There's an emergency surgery." Nono said with a serious expression, "I think it would be more suitable for you to perform it."
"Where is the patient?" Kitazawa immediately stood up and asked.
"Follow me." Yakushi Nono explained, "This time you'll be in charge, and I'll be your assistant."
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.
Two Medical Ninja Jonin are performing a surgery together; it must be the high-difficulty surgery he had been dreaming of.
"Itachi, what are you doing here?" Kitazawa arrived at the operating room and saw Uchiha Itachi at the door.
"You're performing surgery?" Itachi asked with a look of surprise.
He knew Kitazawa was learning Medical Ninjutsu from Lady Tsunade, but had he already become a chief Medical Ninja so quickly?
"Yes." Kitazawa nodded and said, "Let's talk after the surgery."
He turned and entered the operating room with Yakushi Nono.
"Lady Nono, Lord Kitazawa." The nurse in the operating room respectfully handed them a patient file.
Uchiha Yashiro? Kitazawa's face showed understanding when he saw the name on the file.
No wonder Uchiha Itachi was here. Uchiha Yashiro was a senior Jonin of the Uchiha Clan; even Uchiha Fugaku held him in high regard.
"Prepare for surgery." Kitazawa put down the patient file and said.
Uchiha Yashiro was covered in injuries, having barely escaped with his life. The most severe injury, however, was to his heart, where he had been cut by a Kunai.
Fortunately, it wasn't deep, just short of being fatal. After an entire afternoon, the surgery finally concluded.
A progress bar appeared before Kitazawa's eyes. He had finally completed one of his nine high-difficulty surgeries.
"How is he?" Uchiha Itachi saw him and hurried over.
"He's out of danger. He should recover after two or three months of rest." Kitazawa replied.
"That's good." Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
Nono Yakushi saw the two of them chatting and took Uchiha Yashiro to the hospital room.
Sakura followed her. Aside from gaining experience at Konoha Hospital, she also had the job of being a nurse.
"Are you Lady Tsunade's student now?" Itachi's gaze flickered slightly as he asked.
Because of the dinner invitation during the summer break, Kitazawa had already become Tsunade's spokesperson.
But there's a difference between a spokesperson and a student.
A spokesperson can be replaced at any time, but a student cannot; barring any accidents, they share honor and disgrace with their teacher.
The reason Uchiha Itachi asked this was because he understood the severity of Uchiha Yashiro's injuries.
Only a Medical Ninja Jonin could have healed him. Kitazawa's high level of Medical Ninjutsu indicated that he had received Tsunade's true teachings.
"Not yet, temporarily." Kitazawa smiled and said.
Itachi looked thoughtful. Becoming Tsunade's student was naturally something every Medical Ninja hoped for.
From Kitazawa's expression, he seemed very calm. This indicated that he was very confident.
"How did he get injured?" Kitazawa asked curiously, "From the injuries, it looks like Water Release Ninjutsu."
"He was ambushed by a Hidden Mist Village Ninja." Itachi was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I suspect the information provided by Root was incorrect."
"What did Root say?" Kitazawa's thoughts stirred as he asked.
"They said the information had no problems." Itachi shook his head and said.
"That's troublesome." Kitazawa looked at Itachi, recalling his actions in the original story during the Night of the Clan's Downfall.
Even though he knew Danzo and Root were targeting the Uchiha Clan, he still chose to believe them. It could only be said that in his heart, Konoha Village was more important than the Uchiha Clan.
However, with Tsunade now, everything was different. Itachi naturally knew whom to choose between Tsunade and Danzo.
"We have no evidence to prove that Root's information was wrong, so we can only let this matter go," Itachi said with some helplessness.
"Lady Tsunade won't let him continue to act recklessly." Kitazawa thought for a moment and said.
Itachi's eyes lit up, and he had a guess in his heart. In fact, Tsunade leading Anbu to take Nono and Kabuto had already caused quite a stir in Konoha Village.
Many people felt that she had ambitions to contend for the position of Hokage. But unfortunately, after that incident, Tsunade became quiet again.
Now with Kitazawa's words, Itachi felt much more at ease.
"If Lady Tsunade has any matters, feel free to come to Uchiha," Itachi said understandingly.
"I will convey that to her." Kitazawa chose to make promises so that Itachi wouldn't side with Danzo.
This way, he could try to prevent the Night of the Clan Downfall from happening. But besides Danzo, there was another key figure: Uchiha Obito.
Kitazawa temporarily didn't know how to deal with him.
"I'm going to the hospital room first. Let's chat next time." Itachi greeted him and walked towards the hospital room.
Kitazawa looked at his retreating figure and thought to himself that he needed to find a way to get Tsunade to accept psychological treatment.
It was now late September, and there were two months until next year.
In the original story, the exact month of the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall was not mentioned.
Coupled with his current butterfly effect, it was even harder to predict; it could happen any month. In short, time was running out.
"Sakura, you don't need to come tomorrow and the day after. Go home and rest well, and prepare for Monday's monthly exam."
Kitazawa returned to the office and saw Sakura resting on the sofa, exhausted.
"Okay, Teacher Kitazawa." Sakura forced herself to cheer up and left Konoha Hospital.
Kitazawa stretched. This high-difficulty surgery was indeed tormenting, consuming most of his Chakra. If he had another one, he estimated he would be as exhausted as Sakura.
Kitazawa rested for a moment and returned to the Ninja Academy.
He still had one last practical class to teach. However, there wasn't much to teach; it was still the same old Clone Jutsu and Konoha-style Taijutsu.
The only good news was that Hinata had basically mastered the Konoha-Style Body Flicker Technique. Unfortunately, Naruto wouldn't be able to use Rasengan in the monthly exam.
Kitazawa suddenly thought of Tsunade. He felt he could invite Tsunade to watch the match, to see Naruto and the others, which might change her mind.
Anyway, there was no harm in trying.
---
After school, Kitazawa returned to Kurenai's home.
"Come on, let's go to the Hokage Building." Kurenai saw him return, walked to the door, and started putting on her shoes.
"What are we going to the Hokage Building for?" Kitazawa looked at her bent waist and hips and asked in confusion.
"To the mission hall to see if there are any missions suitable for us." Kurenai put on her shoes, straightened up, and said.
"Monday is the monthly exam." Kitazawa shook his head and said, "We'll go next week."
Going out on a mission, the time it would take was uncertain; if they couldn't return in two days, he would miss the monthly exam.
"I think you haven't done missions for too long and have forgotten that most missions are posted a week or half a month in advance."
Kurenai said with a smile, "We can accept a mission this week and do it next week."
"Alright then." Kitazawa suddenly thought of something and said, "Coincidentally, I can also go see Hokage-sama."
"Do you have something else?" Kurenai closed the door, took two steps forward, held his hand, and asked.
"It's not my matter, it's the school's matter." Kitazawa was referring to the plan to create a student council. He had already written it, but hadn't shown it to Hiruzen Sarutobi yet.
"Oh." Kurenai didn't ask further upon hearing that.
"Where do you plan to go for this mission?" Kitazawa asked casually.
"Why does it sound like you're saying we're going on a trip?" Kurenai felt a strong sense of déjà vu and retorted.
"We can just pick a low-level mission and treat it like a trip." Kitazawa smiled and said.
"If Hokage-sama heard you say that, he'd definitely give you a good lecture." Kurenai rolled her eyes at him and said.
"That's why I'm only telling you." Kitazawa tickled her palm and said.
"Smooth talker." Kurenai snorted lightly and said, "Since that's what you think, let's choose a small country."
Missions involving the Five Great Nations and Five Great Villages are usually more difficult. Small countries, on the other hand, are much simpler. After all, some small countries don't even have Ninja.
The two arrived at the Hokage Building's mission hall.
Kurenai let go of his hand and immediately walked forward, looking at the missions on the mission board.
The missions were diverse, with various difficulty levels, but S-rank missions were rare.
Kitazawa stroked his chin and looked at the B-rank missions. He was a Special Jonin, and Kurenai was a Chunin; by the rules, it was difficult to accept A-rank and S-rank missions.
These two types of high-level missions usually require at least one Jonin.
"How about the Land of Grass?" Kurenai raised her hand, pointed to a mission on the wall, and asked.
"Why are you thinking of going to the Land of Grass?" Kitazawa was slightly startled and immediately thought of the Land of Grass's role in the original story.
One instance was in a movie, related to the Six Paths Sage's tool, the Box of Ultimate Bliss, which could grant any wish.
Another instance involved Karin and her mother. After the Uzumaki Clan's downfall, they were adopted by the Hidden Grass Village, but only used as mobile blood bags.
Ultimately, Karin's mother died after her Chakra was drained, and Karin was destined for the same fate, but was saved by Orochimaru.
Kitazawa stroked his chin. Karin was the same age as Sasuke and the others. And as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, she naturally possessed immense Chakra and Sealing Jutsu.
So, could this trigger some mission?
Sealing Jutsu was definitely an outrageous Ninjutsu in the Ninja World, comparable to a Bloodline Limit, and incredibly insidious.
Kitazawa was naturally very interested in Sealing Jutsu, and he could also do Tsunade a favor along the way.