Konoha Village has many ninja tool shops. The most famous is Granny Cat's Ninja Tool Shop, which is the designated supplier for the Uchiha clan's ninja.
But Kitazawa had a better option — Tenten's family's ninja tool shop.
The Zangetsu that Hinata had given him came from her family's shop, and Kitazawa was already used to its feel. The second sword didn't need any major changes; it just needed to be similar to Zangetsu.
It was Sunday.
Before Kitazawa even got close, he heard Tenten's voice. "Kitazawa-sensei!"
Tenten immediately ran up to him.
"Tenten." Kitazawa nodded and asked, "Is your dad here?"
"Is Kitazawa-sensei here to buy ninja tools?" Tenten quickly realized and immediately said, "I'll tell my dad to give you a discount!"
"You can decide on a discount?" Kitazawa asked with a smile.
"Of course!" Tenten patted her chest proudly. "My dad will definitely agree!"
"Agree to what?" A sudden voice rang out.
A young man stood at the door, looking at Kitazawa.
"Dad, this is Kitazawa-sensei, whom I often tell you about!" Tenten pulled Kitazawa forward, introducing him with a beaming smile.
"So you are Kitazawa-sama?" the young man said politely. "My name is Toso. Thank you for taking care of my daughter."
He knew from Tenten that Kitazawa was the vice principal of the Ninja Academy and was also learning medical ninjutsu from Lady Tsunade, so he addressed him as sama.
"Just call me Kitazawa."
Kitazawa shook his hand and asked directly, "Can you reforge a ninja sword?"
"No problem," Toso said confidently. "I guarantee you'll be satisfied."
"This is the ninja sword that needs to be reforged." Kitazawa took out the Lightning Blades.
Toso glanced at it, and his eyes widened. He quickly took the Lightning Blades and examined them carefully.
"What a good sword!" Toso couldn't help but exclaim. "The blacksmiths who forged these two swords are more skilled than me."
"There's actually a blacksmith more skilled than you?" Tenten asked in disbelief.
"Although my skills are good, there are so many blacksmiths in the ninja world; there are always some better than me," Toso replied. "And there's also the Artisan Village in the ninja world, said to be formed by many high-level blacksmiths."
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow. In the original work, there was indeed a plotline involving the Artisan Village.
The Artisan Village had four ninja known as the Four Celestial Symbols Men, who sought to resurrect their village founder, Seimei, and use him to seek revenge against the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
"Why do these two swords look a bit familiar?" Toso's gaze sharpened. "Kitazawa-sama, such fine swords should have a lot of renown, right?"
"They're called Kiba (Lightning Blades)," Kitazawa replied.
"One of the Seven Swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Hidden Mist Village?" Toso's eyes widened as he suddenly realized. "No wonder this sword is so perfect!"
Although he didn't know who forged them, these seven swords were created with the full strength of the Hidden Mist Village and were among the best in the entire village.
"How did the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist's swords end up in Kitazawa-sensei's hands?" Tenten asked, puzzled. She had heard of their fame.
"I met Kurosuki Raiga yesterday in the Land of Rivers and got them from him," Kitazawa said casually.
"So amazing!" Tenten exclaimed immediately.
Kurosuki Raiga certainly wouldn't have simply given Lightning Blades to Kitazawa. The only explanation was that Kitazawa had defeated him.
Toso also showed a shocked expression upon hearing this. He now understood why Kitazawa wanted to reforge the Lightning Blades.
"Kitazawa-sama," Toso took a deep breath and asked, "What kind of ninja sword do you want them reforged into?"
"Just like this one." Kitazawa drew Zangetsu.
"I forged this sword?" Toso recognized it at a glance.
"Hinata asked you to forge it," Tenten explained. "She gave this ninja sword to Kitazawa-sensei."
"I see." Toso thought to himself, What kind of rich behavior is this? Just giving away ten million ryo.
Should Tenten, as a student in the same class, also show some appreciation? He had noticed Tenten's recent changes.
Not only had she obtained a very powerful summoning beast, the Chameleon Lizard, but she had also learned the Manipulating Shuriken Technique and Shadow Clone Technique.
"Can you forge two ninja swords?" Kitazawa put away Zangetsu and asked.
"Roughly." Toso came back to his senses, weighed the Lightning Blades, and said.
"Then forge them into two ninja swords." Kitazawa nodded.
"Hm." Toso pondered for a moment. "It will probably take about a month. Once the reforging is complete, I'll have Tenten notify you."
"Thank you." Kitazawa then asked, "How much will it cost to reforge two swords?"
"I have all the materials; it's just the labor cost," Toso shook his head. "You're Tenten's teacher, so this small amount of money is waived. You don't need to pay."
"Isn't that inappropriate?" Kitazawa was momentarily stunned.
"There's nothing inappropriate about it," Toso said with a smile. "On the contrary, I should thank you for letting me see such splendid ninja swords."
"Thank you." Kitazawa no longer stood on ceremony upon hearing this. What he disliked most was insincere back-and-forth refusals; it was too troublesome.
Seeing that the matter was settled, Kitazawa greeted Tenten and went home.
---
He had spent most of today and yesterday on the road and was already physically and mentally exhausted. Upon returning home, he immediately felt refreshed.
"It's really comfortable at home." Kitazawa plopped down on the sofa and stretched.
"Where's Ranmaru?" Kurenai walked over and asked.
"I handed him over to Hokage-sama." Kitazawa's gaze fell on her fair thighs.
"How was it?" Kurenai asked with a smile. "What did Hokage-sama reward you with this time?"
With a strong individual like Kurosuki Raiga killed, Sarutobi Hiruzen should show some appreciation, both emotionally and rationally.
"An S-rank composite ninjutsu — Five Release Great Combo Technique." Kitazawa pulled her into his arms, his right hand already on her soft thigh.
"It's actually that ninjutsu?" Kurenai rolled her eyes at him, but didn't stop him. She said with a smile, "I feel like you've become a student of all the past Hokage now."
"Now that you mention it, it's true." Kitazawa paused slightly. "All that's missing is First Hokage-sama's Wood Release."
Second Hokage's Water Release, Third Hokage's Five Release Great Combo Technique, Fourth Hokage's Rasengan.
And also the Fifth Hokage's Chakra Enhanced Strength and Sixth Hokage's Lightning Release: Chidori.
Even the Eighth Hokage's Shadow Imitation Technique and Shadow Sewing Technique.
That's right — in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Shikamaru became the Eighth Hokage, albeit temporarily.
"Don't even think about Wood Release; there's no way you can learn it." Kurenai shook her head.
"Maybe I can learn it." Kitazawa put his arm around her and spoke nonsense. "After all, Wood Release is synthesized from Earth Release and Water Release chakras."
"Only I would believe that. If it got out, they'd just say you're overestimating yourself." Kurenai raised her hand, slapped his thigh, and said, "Come on, let's go train."
"You're so soft, yet why are you so heartless? You don't even give me time to rest?" Kitazawa raised his hand and placed it on her chest.
"Don't touch me there!" Kurenai's heart skipped a beat, and she grabbed his wrist. "I need to train hard to catch up to you."
"Alright then." Kitazawa released the fullness in his hand. "You train your Chakra Enhanced strength, I'll go see Lady Tsunade next door."
He planned to continue researching his S-rank medical ninjutsu. With Tsunade's help, his progress would be much faster.
Anyway, the system's mission didn't say a second person wasn't allowed to interfere.
"Lady Tsunade?" Kurenai tugged at her collar, reminding him. "She probably isn't back yet."
"I forgot about that." Kitazawa stood up. "Then let's train together."
The two of them went to the open space outside the house. Kitazawa drew Zangetsu. He gripped the hilt tightly, then infused Fire Release chakra.
Zangetsu was forged from chakra metal. Once the Fire Release chakra was poured in, it spread at an extremely fast rate.
With a whoosh! Zangetsu ignited, covered in a layer of flames on its blade surface.
This was Uchiha Shisui's Uchiha-Style: Blazing Sword Meteor. After enchanting it with Fire Release, its destructive power surged.
Uchiha-Style: Blazing Sword Meteor was not difficult; the difficult one was Uchiha-Style: Gale Sword.
Kitazawa's next step was to fling this blade of fire, creating a dual attack of sword art and Fire Release.
---
Night fell.
The Hokage's Office was still lit. Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't left work yet because he was waiting for Inoichi Yamanaka's analysis results on Kurosuki Raiga.
A knock on the door sounded.
"Hokage-sama." Yakushi Nono pushed the door open and entered. She curiously glanced at Ranmaru. "Did you call me for something?"
"This child is Ranmaru, an orphan who has also lost his memories." Sarutobi Hiruzen slightly beautified the act of erasing memories.
"Hokage-sama wants him to live in the orphanage?" Nono understood and asked.
"Precisely." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. "But he is different from other orphans; he possesses extremely high talent."
"What talent?" Nono was immediately surprised. If even Sarutobi Hiruzen called it 'extremely high talent,' it must be truly extraordinary.
"It's the Red Eye." Considering Nono's strength and status, Sarutobi Hiruzen informed her of the Red Eye's functions one by one.
"A bloodline limit similar to the Byakugan?" Nono was surprised yet also delighted. "He's suitable to help out at Konoha Hospital, and it would be even better if he could learn medical ninjutsu."
Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a soft sound of surprise. What she said was true.
Medical ninja, whether performing surgery or learning medical ninjutsu, all involve the human body.
But there are many parts of the human body that cannot be observed with the naked eye, such as cells. The Byakugan could see them.
In fact, the Hyuga clan was the most suitable for becoming medical ninja. But unfortunately, the Hyuga clan was too rigid, adhering to the rule that ancestral laws could not be changed — only learning Gentle Fist and not medical ninjutsu.
Of course, another reason was that medical ninjutsu was harder to learn than Gentle Fist.
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen was the Hokage, he would not easily interfere in the internal affairs of major ninja clans. However, Ranmaru was not a Hyuga clan ninja, so he didn't need to follow any restrictions.
"Then you will teach him." Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand. "Take him away."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Nono led Ranmaru out of the Hokage's Office.
A moment later, a knock on the door sounded once more.
"Hokage-sama." Inoichi Yamanaka took out two scrolls. "These are the intelligence reports from Kurosuki Raiga's memory."
"Why are there two scrolls?" Sarutobi Hiruzen casually picked up the first scroll.
"One is a ninjutsu scroll, and one is an intelligence scroll," Inoichi replied.
"I see." Hiruzen glanced at the scroll in his hand, which was filled with ninjutsu.
The majority of them were Lightning Release ninjutsu, followed by Water Release.
Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned slightly. Kurosuki Raiga's Lightning Release ninjutsu were all related to his Lightning Blades, Kiba. Without Kiba, the effectiveness of these Lightning Release ninjutsu would be greatly reduced.
"Haru, make a copy of these Lightning Release ninjutsu for Kitazawa," Sarutobi Hiruzen instructed after a moment's thought.
Since he had already given him the Five Release Great Combo Technique, he didn't mind granting him some additional Lightning Release techniques.
Strictly speaking, these Lightning Release jutsu were Kitazawa's spoils of war and should rightfully belong to him.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." The ANBU ninja Haru walked in and took the ninjutsu scroll.
Inoichi Yamanaka's heart, however, trembled. So many Lightning Release techniques, just given away like that?
It seemed that Kitazawa becoming Tsunade's student was already a foregone conclusion. After all, Sarutobi Hiruzen's actions clearly showed that he regarded him as a confidant.
Hiruzen then picked up the second scroll. This one contained intelligence related to the Hidden Mist Village.
"What exactly is the Fourth Mizukage trying to do?" Sarutobi Hiruzen grew even more puzzled as he read.
Kurosuki Raiga's memories were full of the tyranny of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi. Many of his actions were even more outrageous than Danzo Shimura's — for example, the extermination of the Kaguya Clan.
The Hidden Mist Village publicly announced that the Kaguya Clan had been annihilated for rebellion. In reality, there were many hidden truths.
The Kaguya Clan's "rebellion" had been deliberately instigated — or rather, set up — by Yagura Karatachi himself.
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't understand.
The Kaguya Clan possessed the Shikotsumyaku(Dead Bone Pulse) bloodline limit and were extremely powerful. In Konoha Village, they would be equivalent to the Uchiha and Hyuga clans.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, under any circumstances, would never actively destroy the Uchiha or Hyuga clans. After all, doing so would cause heavy losses to the village.
Besides the Kaguya Clan, the Fourth Mizukage also extensively hunted down other bloodline limits.
"No wonder even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist defected," Sarutobi Hiruzen muttered. He put down the scroll and said with a smile, "But for our Konoha Village, this is a good thing."
The Hidden Mist Village was self-destructing, and its strength would only decline. Once it reached a certain point, it would no longer pose a threat to Konoha.
"You've worked hard today, Inoichi." Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand. "It's getting late; you should go back and rest."
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Inoichi bowed slightly, turned, and left.
"Haru," Sarutobi Hiruzen said after a moment of thought, "send the intelligence that Kurosuki Raiga is dead to the Hidden Mist Village."
He naturally wouldn't miss such an opportunity to greatly enhance Konoha's prestige. Moreover, it could also squeeze out Kurosuki Raiga's last bit of value.
The Hidden Mist Village had issued a bounty mission for Raiga, so they would certainly retrieve his body.
In addition, they would likely try to reacquire Kiba, the Lightning Blades, through negotiation. But Kiba had already been given to Kitazawa, so it was impossible to return it.
There would likely be a period of negotiation and tug-of-war.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen was not afraid. He was certain that the Hidden Mist Village would never dare go to war with Konoha.
If it were the Hidden Cloud Village, he would have to consider more carefully. After all, the Hidden Cloud's strength was not inferior to Konoha's. With Tsunade not yet completely cured, the Hidden Cloud was even stronger.
---
Sunday ended, and a new week began.
Kitazawa met an unexpected visitor early in the morning — the ANBU ninja Haru.
"This is what Hokage-sama asked me to give you," Haru said, handing him a scroll.
"Thank you." Kitazawa opened the scroll curiously. As he glanced at it, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
It was full of Lightning Release techniques Kurosuki Raiga had used — a total of eight.
Kitazawa's first reaction was that he absolutely couldn't learn them all. He already had a lot to study, and now there were eight more Lightning Release techniques.
But one can never have too many skills.
Raiga's Lightning Release techniques were not bad either. Most importantly, they could be used in conjunction with the reforged Lightning Blades, making full use of their potential.
However, there were priorities.
Kitazawa planned to learn them after mastering the two sword arts given by Sasuke and completing his Water Release and Earth Release missions.
As for the Five Release Great Combo Technique, he had looked at it last night and realized he couldn't learn it yet.
He only had Master-level Lightning Release nature transformation and skilled-level Wind Release nature transformation. Kitazawa estimated he would only be able to learn it after all five releases reached the skilled level.
It could only be said that it was worthy of being Sarutobi Hiruzen's trump card.
In fact, every S-rank ninjutsu was difficult to master. For example, Lightning Release: Kirin — even though Kitazawa had explained the concept to him, Kakashi Hatake still hadn't made much progress.
Fortunately, there was no rush.
Kitazawa put away the scroll and continued to practice his sword arts. It was another uneventful day of training.
---
5 p.m.
Konoha Village was still bathed in bright sunlight, but the Hidden Mist Village was already enveloped in a thick fog.
Each of the Five Great Villages had its own unique characteristics. The Hidden Mist Village was known for its perpetual misty weather.
It was precisely because of this that Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu and Silent Killing were developed.
Mizukage's Office
A knock sounded at the door. The Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, raised his head. He had a baby face and looked very young, almost like a child.
"Come in," Yagura Karatachi said expressionlessly.
"Mizukage-sama." A chubby ninja with long orange hair walked in.
He was Suikazan Fuguki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and the wielder of the great sword Samehada. Unlike Kurosuki Raiga and Biwa Jūzō, he regularly carried out underground missions and was an extremely ruthless individual.
He played a significant role in the Hidden Mist Village becoming the Village of the Bloody Mist.
In the original work, even Obito Uchiha regarded him with special respect. Because of this, he chose not to defect but instead intensified his execution of Yagura Karatachi's orders.
"What is it?" Yagura Karatachi nodded and asked.
"I just received intelligence that Kurosuki Raiga died at the hands of Kitazawa from Konoha Village," Suikazan Fuguki said in a deep voice.
"Who is Kitazawa?" Yagura frowned slightly.
"He is a teacher at Konoha Village's Ninja Academy who started making a name for himself last year and recently ended the civil unrest of the Land of Fire's Guardian Ninja," Suikazan Fuguki said, listing facts as if from memory. "Most importantly, he also learned medical ninjutsu from Tsunade, and the two are very close."
"Tsunade's student, huh?" Yagura mused. "To be able to kill Raiga, he must be very strong."
"Mizukage-sama, do we need to contact Konoha Village?" Suikazan Fuguki asked.
"Raiga is already a corpse and is not important, but Kiba (Lightning Blades) must be retrieved," Yagura said mercilessly. "The Hidden Mist Village needs a second ninja who can use Kiba."
"I understand. I will send someone to Konoha Village to negotiate with them," Suikazan Fuguki immediately replied.
"Hmm… wait." A strange light flashed in Yagura Karatachi's eyes. "I will personally choose the person."
Suikazan Fuguki paused slightly, and although he didn't understand, he didn't ask any further questions. He bowed and turned to leave.
The Mizukage's Office returned to silence.
The next second, a masked, unfamiliar ninja appeared. Yagura immediately stood up and saluted him.
"I happen to be going to Konoha Village," the masked ninja said. "Arrange a spot for me."
"Yes," Yagura said respectfully.
"Obito, I have some news you might be interested in." Just then, a pale white figure emerged from the ground.
"White Zetsu, how many times have I told you — in front of outsiders, you must call me Uchiha Madara," Obito said with dissatisfaction.
"Kitazawa, who killed Kurosuki Raiga, is your classmate." White Zetsu chuckled. "How about it? Isn't that interesting?"
Obito frowned slightly upon hearing this. He vaguely recalled having some impression, but he quickly dismissed it from his mind.
"I've long forgotten him. Such a worthless person isn't worth remembering," Obito said indifferently.
"There's another piece of news," White Zetsu continued. "Kakashi Hatake has become a teacher at the Ninja Academy and is Kitazawa's colleague."
"What kind of genius? He's just a good-for-nothing!"
Obito was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. "Now he's even more of a good-for-nothing, becoming a teacher at the Ninja Academy!"
In his opinion, only some mediocre chūnin would go to the Ninja Academy to be teachers.
Kakashi should never have fallen to such a state. The only explanation was that he was still feeling guilty and had self-destructed over Rin Nohara's death.
"Rin, you misjudged him!" Obito stopped his frantic laughter and said angrily, "Such a person can't do anything!" He subconsciously clenched his fists.
As long as he completed Uchiha Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan, he could create a new world with Rin.
"How is the Akatsuki Organization doing now?" Obito suppressed his emotions and asked in a calm tone.
"The Akatsuki Organization has recruited a new member, Biwa Jūzō," White Zetsu replied.
"Still too slow," Obito said, shaking his head in dissatisfaction.
"We are already doing our best to find strong individuals in the Ninja World," White Zetsu paused and said. "Currently, we have two targets locked down."
Zetsu was divided into Black Zetsu and White Zetsu. White Zetsu possessed extremely strong stealth abilities and was numerous, allowing him to infiltrate various parts of the Ninja World and gather intelligence.
"Hmm," Obito waved his hand. "You may leave."
White Zetsu heard this, sank into the ground, and disappeared.
Obito looked up at the window.
He was returning to Konoha Village not for Kurosuki Raiga, nor for Kakashi Hatake, but for Rin— because it was almost Rin's death anniversary.
However, the intelligence provided by White Zetsu did make him want to go and see Kakashi Hatake's current situation.