2:00 PM
The meeting room was already filled with Jōnin. Sarutobi Hiruzen, Homura Mitokado, and Utatane Koharu walked in.
A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and the others. Danzo Shimura wasn't there.
Although Root had been disbanded and he was no longer its leader, he was still a Hokage aide and a Jōnin. Logically, he should have attended the Jōnin meeting — unless Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't informed him.
Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and the others all had the same thought: Danzo probably wouldn't be reinstated.
For their respective ninja clans, this was undoubtedly good news.
"Today's Jōnin meeting will only discuss one matter." Hiruzen sat at the head of the table and stated directly, "How to arrange for the Hidden Mist Village ninja delegation visiting next Monday?"
After he finished speaking, he looked at Nara Shikaku.
"I will first announce the list of the Hidden Mist Village ninja delegation members."
Nara Shikaku immediately stood up and said, "Suikazan Fuguki… Mei Terumī…"
After listening, Kitazawa only recognized two people — or rather, only had an impression of two names.
One was Suikazan Fuguki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
In the original work, while he and Kisame Hoshigaki were on a mission, they encountered an ambush by Konoha's Morino Ibiki and others.
He was killed by Kisame Hoshigaki for selling information, and his greatsword, Samehada, was taken.
The other was Mei Terumī, the future Fifth Mizukage. Compared to Suikazan Fuguki, she had a much larger role in the original work.
She and Tsunade were rare female Kage — extremely powerful, possessing two Bloodline Limits: Lava Release and Boil Release.
Judging from these two, this configuration showed considerable sincerity, although Mei Terumī was still in her unknown period at the time.
"Since the Hidden Mist Village is led by Suikazan Fuguki of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, we must take this seriously," Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, feigning seriousness. "Do you have any good candidates?"
"Negotiations with other villages are usually handled by Shikaku," Homura Mitokado pondered aloud.
Due to their high intelligence, the Nara Clan's role in Konoha Village was that of strategists. They were adept at both devising plans and conducting negotiations.
"Shikaku, what do you think?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked.
"I believe Lady Tsunade is more suitable than I am," Nara Shikaku said with a serious expression.
"Why all these twists and turns?" Tsunade pouted.
"I now appoint Tsunade as our village's negotiation representative, fully responsible for the negotiations with the Hidden Mist Village," Sarutobi Hiruzen cleared his throat and said.
Not just Tsunade, but everyone else also realized what was happening. Sarutobi Hiruzen and Nara Shikaku were putting on an act.
Although the negotiation representative held no real power, they represented the face of Konoha Village. Sarutobi Hiruzen's painstaking efforts to have Tsunade lead the delegation — the meaning of this was self-evident.
It seemed there was no longer any suspense about who the next Hokage would be. The clan heads of the major ninja clans all came to the same conclusion.
"Next, let's discuss the specific personnel for the negotiation team," Sarutobi Hiruzen continued.
Although Tsunade's status was sufficient, sending only one person would be too meager. Moreover, Sarutobi Hiruzen understood Tsunade; she didn't like negotiations. To be safe, it was better to find a few more people.
Kitazawa yawned. He had killed Kurosuki Raiga, and to avoid provoking the Hidden Mist Village, he would not join the negotiation team.
This Jōnin meeting was very boring for him. Fortunately, it didn't take too much time, ending in half an hour.
Kitazawa left the meeting room. Tsunade did not; she had to stay and meet her negotiation team.
"Itachi?" Kitazawa noticed Itachi standing by the door.
"This is a map of the Land of the Sky," Itachi took out a scroll and said.
"Thank you." Kitazawa opened the scroll and glanced at it. It turned out to be near the Land of Birds.
"It's nothing," Uchiha Itachi replied. "I'll take my leave now. If you need any help, feel free to come find me."
Anyone who didn't know him might think he was some kind of warm-hearted person who loved to help others. But with the pride of the Uchiha, that was naturally impossible.
They only showed respect to a select few ninja. Tsunade happened to be one of them. Kitazawa was currently benefiting from her reputation.
Leaving Tsunade aside, with his current strength and status, it would be impossible to earn the respect of the Uchiha Clan.
After bidding farewell to Uchiha Itachi, Kitazawa returned to the Ninja Academy.
Tomorrow was Saturday. He planned to take Kabuto and the others to the Land of Birds.
The Land of Birds was a small country between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. If they traveled quickly, the round trip would take about three days.
Previously, Kitazawa had been a bit uncertain about facing Shinno. But now, with Senju Chakra Mode, he only hoped Shinno could give him a good fight.
However, to avoid a wasted trip, Kitazawa immediately sent a Shadow Clone to Hidden Sky Village overnight.
Only after confirming Shinno was there would he bring Kurenai and the others. If he wasn't there, they would have to wait until next week.
---
5:00 PM
The Genius Class finished another day of training. Kitazawa called everyone over, including Kakashi and Maruboshi Kosuke.
"The second monthly exam of this semester will be held next Thursday and Friday," Kitazawa announced.
"The monthly exam is finally here again!" Naruto said excitedly.
He was the type who had to use new Ninjutsu as soon as he learned it. Now that he had just learned Wind Release: Gale Palm, he was worried about not having a chance to use it.
Furthermore, he had lost to Neji and Sasuke in the previous monthly exam, and he had been holding in his frustration for a long time.
"What a pain," Shikamaru, standing next to him, said with a headache.
The expressions of the two formed a perfect contrast.
Sasuke instinctively gripped the hilt of his sword. He wanted to maintain his first-place position, just like in the previous monthly exam. Only by achieving first place twice in a row could he prove his strength.
He was confident he could do it again because his abilities had improved during this time, especially his Konoha Style Swordsmanship, which had become more proficient. He could even barely use Konoha Style: Willow now.
Neji's expression grew slightly solemn. There was still a week left; he wondered if he could master Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms.
He was only four palms short. Only by learning that technique would he be more confident when facing Sasuke and Naruto.
"Sakura, want to compete?" Ino asked provocatively.
She had learned four ninjutsu from Kitazawa in quick succession and was brimming with confidence.
"Compete in what?" Sakura saw through her friend's thoughts at a glance. But since it was Ino, she couldn't back down either.
Besides, she had already mastered Water Release: Water Formation Wall, and together with Water Release: Water Bullet, if used properly for defense and offense, her chances of winning were not small.
"Of course, we'll compete to see whose rank is higher in the practical exam," Ino said with a bright smile. "Whoever loses treats."
"No problem," Sakura readily agreed.
"What passionate youth!" Naruto turned around, gave a thumbs-up, and asked, "Sasuke, let's compete too. How about it?"
"I'm not interested in defeated opponents," Sasuke replied calmly.
"As expected of Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said with a lovesick expression. "So cool!"
"Naruto, I'll compete with you!" Rock Lee grinned, flashing his teeth.
"Okay!" Naruto said excitedly. "Then let's have a youthful taijutsu showdown!"
"How can I be left out?" Kiba jumped in, grinning. "Whoever has the lowest rank treats at Ichiraku Ramen."
"No problem!" Rock Lee agreed instantly.
"You fell for it," Tenten reminded him helplessly. "You shouldn't compete with them for rank."
Although Rock Lee performed well in practical exams, his theoretical exams were a mess. Without even checking, Tenten could guess whose rank would end up lower.
"It's fine!" Rock Lee said carelessly. "Win or lose, it's all youth!"
"…" Tenten was speechless.
Shino Aburame adjusted his glasses. He had no desire to compete; he only cared about his Kikaichu mutation experiments.
Yet Kikaichu with Water Release resistance were still nowhere to be found, appearing later than his Kikaichu with Fire Release resistance.
Shino speculated that Fire Release was more destructive, forcing Kikaichu to evolve faster, while Water Release was relatively gentle.
"Children are still so energetic," Maruboshi Kosuke said with a chuckle.
Kakashi subconsciously nodded, but he quickly realized something and thought, Is he saying I'm not energetic enough?
"Everyone, go back and prepare well," Kitazawa reminded them. "After this monthly exam, the next one will be the final exam. Cherish these two opportunities."
The Ninja Academy operated on a three-semester system, with the third semester being the shortest, lasting less than three months.
"After the final exams, will we become second-year students?" Naruto asked, raising his hand.
"Currently, this is the Genius Class, so there are no grades," Kitazawa said, smiling as he changed the subject. "But you are indeed one year closer to graduation."
"I'm not in a hurry to graduate," Naruto said, scratching his head.
Although he wanted to become a full-fledged ninja, his time at the Academy brought him much joy — and a reluctance to leave.
"Graduation is still a long way off," Kitazawa said after a pause. "Alright, everyone, go home."
"Goodbye, Kitazawa-sensei!" The students of the Genius Class all said their goodbyes and turned to leave.
"See you next time." Kitazawa waved goodbye to Kosuke and Kakashi before heading home.
---
The Next Morning
While still asleep, a large amount of information suddenly surged into Kitazawa's mind. It was his Shadow Clone, which had disbanded itself and returned after confirming the situation in the Land of the Sky Village.
"Looks like my luck isn't bad." Kitazawa sat up and stretched.
According to the memories transmitted by the Shadow Clone, Shinno was currently in the Land of the Sky Village.
Kitazawa glanced at the sleeping Kurenai and got out of bed. He changed his clothes and went to the training ground for their ninja squad at the Academy.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Kabuto, Torune, and Uchiha Izumi immediately walked up to him.
"At 1 PM this afternoon, we will gather at the village gate, and then we'll go out on a mission," Kitazawa said directly, without unnecessary words.
"What kind of mission is it?" Kabuto asked after acknowledging him.
"In terms of difficulty, it's roughly an S-rank mission," Kitazawa said truthfully. "But this isn't a mission issued by Konoha Village, so we won't receive S-rank mission rewards."
Kabuto's expression became serious upon hearing this. S-rank missions were genuinely high-difficulty missions, incomparable to the previous B-rank ones.
As for not getting paid, they didn't care. After all, Kitazawa had distributed the 1.2 million ryō he obtained after killing Kurosuki Raiga among them.
They hadn't even seen Kurosuki Raiga, let alone helped in any way; it was like free money.
"The destination for this mission is the Land of the Sky," Kitazawa said with a smile. "I'll tell you the specifics then; you can also try to look up some information."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei." Kabuto's spirits lifted, and he became interested.
He had never heard of a place called the Land of the Sky. This was a challenge to his intelligence-gathering abilities.
"See you this afternoon." Kitazawa patted Kabuto's shoulder.
He did it on purpose. Kabuto's abilities were strong and naturally shouldn't be wasted. Cultivating him more would surely lead to him playing a significant role in the future.
For example, after Kitazawa became Hokage, Kabuto could completely replace Danzo.
A ninja village definitely needed someone to do the dirty work — but not like Danzo Shimura. Being too dirty wasn't good.
Kitazawa left the Ninja Academy and returned to Kurenai's house.
"You're back?" Kurenai had already woken up and was sitting on the sofa in a black silk nightgown.
"You're up so early today?" Kitazawa was a little surprised.
"What do you mean by that?" Kurenai's face flushed, and she glared at him.
Although she had indeed behaved rather poorly last night, she didn't know why, but she felt Kitazawa had become much stronger.
"Ahem." Kitazawa paused, then said, "We're going out on a mission this afternoon."
"What kind of mission?" Kurenai snorted lightly. "It better not be B-rank!"
"It's S-rank." Kitazawa couldn't help but smile at her reaction. "I'm sure you'll be satisfied this time."
"S-rank?" Kurenai frowned slightly, her attitude changing. "Won't it be too dangerous?"
"What? Are you scared?" Kitazawa pinched her cheek.
"Of course I'm not scared!" Kurenai crossed her arms. "I'm worried about Izumi and the others."
S-rank missions, most likely, would involve encountering jōnin. Uchiha Izumi and the others were only chūnin, and fighting jōnin was too risky.
"Now Kabuto is a jōnin, and you're a special jōnin. The three of us jōnin doing an S-rank mission shouldn't be a big problem," Kitazawa said nonchalantly.
Moreover, as someone who knew the original story, he knew that while there were many ninja in the Land of the Sky Village, only Shinno truly possessed jōnin-level strength.
"That's true." Kurenai relaxed. "You are a jōnin who can kill Kurosuki Raiga."
In her opinion, most jōnin encountered on S-rank missions were ordinary jōnin. With Kitazawa present, there really wouldn't be any danger.
"I'll go make breakfast." Kitazawa didn't elaborate.
Shinno's strength after using the Medical Forbidden Technique was actually far superior to Kurosuki Raiga's.
Especially under the effects of Medical Forbidden Technique: Somatic Rebirth, he could use the Eight Gates for an extended period.
But from the original work, his Eight Gates seemed like a pirated version. Its power couldn't compare to Might Guy's, nor to Might Duy's.
After breakfast, Kitazawa and Yakumo went next door. After finishing Tsunade's treatment, he headed straight to the Hokage Building's mission hall.
Eliminating Shinno was his personal mission, and to leave the village normally, he had to go to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
The Hokage's order Kitazawa had obtained from Tsunade could only be used by him personally. To save trouble, he casually accepted a mission to suppress bandits in the Land of Birds as a cover.
At the Konoha Village gate.
When Kitazawa arrived, Kurenai, Kabuto, Aburame Torune, and Uchiha Izumi were already waiting.
After some greetings, they registered with the two gatekeepers of Konoha Village.
"Let's go!" Kitazawa waved his hand.
The five of them quickly left Konoha Village.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Kabuto took out a scroll. "This is the information I've gathered about the Land of the Sky."
"Land of the Sky?" Kurenai asked in confusion. "How come I've never heard of this ninja clan?"
"It's normal you haven't heard of the Land of the Sky," Kitazawa said while looking at the scroll. "It was already destroyed during the Second Ninja World War."
"No wonder." A look of realization appeared on Kurenai's face. After all, she had only recently been born around the time of the Second Ninja World War.
"Are we going to the Land of the Sky?" Kurenai asked again. "Wasn't it destroyed?"
Kabuto instinctively looked at Kitazawa upon hearing this. He also wanted to know the answer to this question.
"It was destroyed, but some Land of the Sky ninja survived," Kitazawa replied. "They have been accumulating strength over the years, attempting to seek revenge against us, Konoha."
"Is this a secret mission from Hokage-sama?" Kurenai asked curiously.
"No," Kitazawa said truthfully. "Shinno, the leader of the Land of the Sky Village, possesses the medical ninjutsu I desire."
"It seems he is also an excellent medical ninja." Kurenai chuckled. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have taken an interest in him."
"Don't underestimate him just because he's a medical ninja," Kitazawa closed the scroll. "His combat abilities are also not weak."
"Mm." Kurenai nodded.
"Kitazawa-sensei, to the Land of Birds, which path do we take?" Kabuto asked after they finished talking.
"Which path do you think we should take?" Kitazawa countered.
"Through the Land of Wind," Kabuto said after a moment of thought.
"Why not go through the Land of Rain?" Kitazawa asked with interest.
"The Hidden Rain Village in the Land of Rain has stopped contact with the outside world since the Third Ninja World War. No one knows what Hanzo is thinking," Kabuto analyzed.
"Considering the grudges between the Hidden Rain Village and our Konoha, I think going through the Land of Wind is safer."
"Kitazawa, your student is really good," Kurenai said with approval.
"When you become a squad leader in the future, you'll also have excellent students," Kitazawa smiled. "Then we'll go through the Land of Wind."
Although Kabuto's analysis was far from the actual situation, he couldn't be blamed.
Not only him, but even the ninja of the Five Great Villages couldn't have imagined that the once-invincible Hanzo had already passed away.
One must know that Hanzo, at his peak, could single-handedly suppress Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. Even the "Konoha's Sannin" title was bestowed by him.
One can only say that each generation has its own god. Hanzo was like a god from an early version encountering a god from a later version.
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P@atreon/Arvinstorm (45+ Advanced Chapters)