Kitazawa didn't destroy all the bodies — he deliberately left two.
This was because their ninja team had a system mission to expand their fame.
Ameyuri Ringo was extremely well-known in the Hidden Mist Village. She was somewhat like Itachi Uchiha's status in Konoha — a leader among the younger generation.
Her death would greatly enhance Kitazawa's team's renown.
If they didn't leave two bodies, the Hidden Mist Village would have no way of knowing who killed Ameyuri Ringo and her companions.
That night, Kitazawa and the others successfully returned to Konoha's main camp.
The round trip had taken nearly an entire day, most of that time spent on travel.
Because they had ventured deep behind enemy lines in the Hidden Mist's territory, they were forced to constantly avoid Mist patrols.
"You all go back and rest," Kitazawa said, waving his hand. "I'm going to see Lady Tsunade."
"Yes, Teacher Kitazawa," Kabuto and the other two replied in unison.
"I'll go back and wait for you first," Kurenai said softly, then turned toward their tent.
Kitazawa walked toward the central command tent of Konoha's main camp.
When he entered, he paused slightly. Inside were Tsunade and Shizune — along with Nara Shikaku and an Anbu operative, Haru.
"How was the mission?" Tsunade asked casually.
"The mission was successfully completed. Both of Hidden Mist Village's supply ships were completely destroyed," Kitazawa reported.
"Well done," Tsunade said, clearly pleased. "You've worked hard. Go collect your mission reward and rest."
Kitazawa was her student — the better he performed, the more prestige she gained.
"Alright." Kitazawa nodded.
Missions during wartime, like those during peacetime, always came with rewards.
Ninjas were, at their core, mercenaries.
Only with both the Will of Fire and tangible mission rewards would they continue to fight for Konoha.
For most ninja, the rewards were more crucial than ideology. If they couldn't even fill their stomachs, what use was the Will of Fire?
"This time, we encountered three Jonin," Kitazawa said, taking out a summoning scroll. "One of them was Ameyuri Ringo."
"The Hidden Mist Village's sword and Lightning Release genius?" Nara Shikaku asked, his tone showing surprise.
"Yes, it was her," Kitazawa confirmed.
"It seems the Hidden Mist Village has suffered another heavy loss," Shikaku sighed.
Tsunade appeared somewhat surprised, but not overly so.
After all, Kitazawa had already killed Kurosuki Raiga — so taking down Ameyuri as well was hardly shocking.
One could only say that Ameyuri had been too unfortunate to encounter Kitazawa at such a young age.
The life of a genius had ended before it could even truly begin.
"Haru, spread the news of Ameyuri Ringo's death," Tsunade ordered.
Ameyuri was a well-known and powerful ninja in the Hidden Mist Village. Her death could effectively boost the morale of Konoha's forces.
Of course, Tsunade was also helping Kitazawa build his reputation.
"Your merits will be recorded. After the war, go to the Hokage's Office and claim your reward," Tsunade said as she accepted the summoning scroll.
"Understood. I'll take my leave then."
After leaving the main tent, Kitazawa went to the logistics tent on the left to collect his mission reward.
Their mission had been S-rank — the reward totaled 1.2 million ryō.
Kitazawa claimed the reward, distributed shares to Kabuto and the others, and then returned to his own tent.
"Combat makes one progress faster," Kurenai said with a bright smile, clenching her fist. "I feel like I'll soon master Chakra Enhanced Strength."
"The risks of combat are directly proportional to the rewards," Kitazawa replied, lying on the carpet. "Otherwise, Root's training wouldn't be so brutal."
"Root's training is too extreme… It's inhumane." Kurenai snuggled closer into Kitazawa's arms, resting her head on his shoulder as she spoke.
While the two conversed in warmth, the atmosphere in the Hidden Mist's main camp was heavy and grim.
"It's Kitazawa again?" Ao frowned deeply. "So, besides Water Release, he's also a powerful Lightning Release user?"
Kisame Hoshigaki couldn't help but speak up. "Although I didn't see the fight myself, it's clear his Lightning Release is even stronger than Ameyuri's."
"So what?" Zabuza Momochi snorted coldly. "Are we supposed to be afraid of him?"
As one of the Hidden Mist's famed young geniuses, his pride was sky-high. In his opinion, he too could have slain both Kurosuki Raiga and Ameyuri Ringo.
"It's not about fear — but about caution," Terumī Mei said evenly.
"Indeed," Ao nodded. "You might not fear him, but most other ninja who encounter him won't stand a chance."
"Kitazawa killing Ameyuri will shake our morale," Suikazan Fuguki said coldly. "We must retaliate in kind!"
Ao frowned slightly at his words. He was following the Elder's orders to wage a long, drawn-out war with Konoha — to buy time.
But Suikazan Fuguki was different.
He followed only the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, and was far more aggressive — constantly urging preemptive strikes and large-scale raids.
"I think Lord Fuguki makes sense," Zabuza said with a confident smirk. "Why not let me lead a team deep into the Land of Fire? I'll bring back Kitazawa's head."
Ao fell silent in thought. Suikazan Fuguki's reasoning this time was sound — he couldn't easily refuse.
However, he couldn't allow Zabuza to go. He needed to send Fuguki instead.
As vice-commander, Fuguki's power was second only to Ao's, and his reckless nature would inevitably cause problems sooner or later.
Better to send him into the Land of Fire to harass Konoha — with just a small team.
He wouldn't be able to stir up too much trouble that way.
"Fuguki, you'll go," Ao said after a moment of thought. "This mission is dangerous, and your experience makes you the most suitable."
"My experience isn't bad either!" Zabuza shouted, visibly displeased.
"I'm the commander," Ao said calmly, cutting him off.
"Alright then." Suikazan Fuguki grinned and said, "I hope I encounter Kitazawa. His corpse will surely boost our morale then."
"Do not get bogged down in combat," Ao cautioned. "Your mission is to cause as many casualties to Konoha's ninja as possible."
Although he disliked Suikazan Fuguki, they were still comrades of the same village.
"I know," Suikazan Fuguki replied indifferently.
---
The night passed without incident.
After breakfast, Kitazawa arrived at the main tent.
"Good morning," Tsunade said, her voice slightly muffled as she bit into a rice ball.
"Good morning, Lady Tsunade," Kitazawa greeted with a smile.
Seeing that Tsunade was alone in the main tent, he didn't bother with formalities and walked straight to the mission table.
"This one," Tsunade said, picking up a scroll and tossing it to him.
Kitazawa caught it, briefly stunned, then opened it.
He immediately understood why she wanted him to take this mission — it was marked as urgent.
Just half an hour earlier, a Konoha outpost on the coast had been seized by a Hidden Mist squad.
"Then I'll depart now," Kitazawa said, putting away the scroll.
"Mm." Tsunade finished her rice ball and picked up another.
As the front-line commander overseeing more than eight thousand ninja across both sides of the battlefield, the situation changed by the second. She was so busy that she had to work even while eating breakfast.
"Lady Tsunade." Kitazawa took a few steps, then stopped. He seemed to notice something and walked closer to her.
"Wha… what is it?" Tsunade looked up, slightly flustered as Kitazawa leaned in.
"There's a grain of rice." He reached out and brushed it away from the corner of her mouth.
"Thank you," Tsunade said softly, momentarily stunned.
"Lady Tsunade, see you next time," Kitazawa said with a faint smile.
"This guy is always so bold," Tsunade murmured, wiping the corner of her mouth as she shook her head.
After leaving the main tent, Kitazawa found Kurenai and Kabuto.
"What's the mission today?" Kurenai asked as they walked.
"An A-rank mission — to retake an outpost," Kitazawa replied. "The enemy lineup includes two Special Jonin and two Chunin."
"Then we can totally handle it!" Kurenai said, giving him a playful elbow.
"Kabuto, you take command," Kitazawa said with a grin. "If you can't handle them, I'll step in."
As a squad leader, he believed in maximizing his students' growth rather than doing everything himself.
And, naturally, Kitazawa had a tendency to slack off whenever he could.
Since Kabuto and Kurenai could handle this, there was no need for him to interfere.
"We'll definitely be fine," Uchiha Izumi said confidently.
Torune stayed silent but nodded in agreement.
The group soon arrived at a forest near the sea.
"There are explosive tag traps three hundred meters ahead," Torune warned.
"Kurenai-senpai, Izumi — circle around to the rear of the outpost," Kabuto said after thinking briefly. "Once I've disarmed this trap, you two move in."
"Understood." Kurenai and Izumi accelerated, dashing through the forest.
"They're in position," Torune reported moments later.
"Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken!" Kabuto pulled out a kunai and threw it forward.
The kunai struck the explosive tag trap precisely, and a surge of wind chakra detonated the tags instantly.
Boom! The explosion alerted four Hidden Mist ninja, who quickly emerged atop the outpost.
"There are two Konoha ninja straight ahead!" The middle-aged captain immediately formed hand signs.
Water Release chakra swelled in his throat, then burst forth as a roaring water dragon.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet!" Kabuto inhaled sharply, then exhaled several condensed air bullets that pierced through the water dragon's torrent.
"There are two more Konoha ninja behind us!" another Special Jonin shouted, spotting Kurenai and Izumi.
"We'll handle them!" Two Hidden Mist Chunin lunged toward them, one forming hand signs before exhaling a thick mist.
"Be careful!" Kurenai warned. "That's Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
Uchiha Izumi activated her Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
Although the Sharingan couldn't completely see through the mist, it heightened her reactions to close-range attacks far beyond normal levels.
"Sharingan?" The young female ninja realized the two Chunin with her were outmatched. She leapt into the mist, charging straight for Izumi.
"Chakra Enhanced Strength!" Kurenai clenched her fist and swung.
The tremendous force blasted through the air, dispersing a large portion of the mist in an instant.
Through the thinning fog, the figures of the young female ninja and the two Chunin came into view.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Crimson Claw!"
After forming hand signs, Izumi hurled a cluster of shuriken — each wreathed in flames — toward them.
The female Mist ninja had planned to ambush Izumi under the cover of the mist, but Kurenai's punch ruined her plan.
With no choice, she quickly formed hand signs and raised a water wall in front of them.
The two Chunin reacted fast as well, leaping up and hurling shuriken over the water wall toward Izumi.
Seeing this, Kurenai raised her hands.
A flurry of petals surged into the air, scattering through the mist — many infused with chakra, deflecting the incoming shuriken.
"Where is she?" The two Chunin glanced around, confused — only to realize Kurenai had vanished.
"It's a genjutsu!" the young female ninja shouted, suddenly aware.
She extended her hands, about to release her comrades from the illusion — when a sharp, whistling sound sliced through the air.
Kurenai appeared to her left and threw a powerful punch, the force creating a gust of wind.
Seeing this, the young female Ninja's heart trembled. She didn't dare to take it lightly — Chakra burst from her fists as she met the attack head-on.
Bang!
Shock filled the young woman's face. Even though she had braced herself, Kurenai's strength far exceeded her expectations, knocking her back several steps with a single blow.
At the same time, Uchiha Izumi flashed in front of the two Hidden Mist Village Chunin. The moment they dispelled Kurenai's genjutsu, they were met by those crimson Sharingan.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
Izumi unleashed a massive torrent of flames without hesitation. The fire expanded with the wind, engulfing the two Hidden Mist Village Chunin in an inferno.
Screams echoed briefly before Izumi ended them — her shuriken flew true, piercing their hearts. Their cries stopped, and the bodies of the two Mist Ninja fell lifelessly to the ground.
"Damn it!" The young female Ninja turned, her rage igniting.
She gathered all her Chakra, formed rapid hand seals, and spat out a massive sphere of water like a falling meteor toward Kurenai.
Kitazawa recognized it instantly. This was Water Release: Water Formation Pillar— a technique once used by Mei Terumī, powerful enough to suppress Uchiha Madara's flames.
Kitazawa's three-tomoe Sharingan spun, instantly copying it. None of the others noticed that his eyes had already changed.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Seeing the attack, Uchiha Izumi countered with a massive fireball, while Kurenai quickly withdrew. But they both underestimated the sheer power of the Water Formation Pillar.
The two jutsu collided violently — the enormous water sphere burst apart like a balloon, scattering water in all directions. The blast doused Izumi's fire and flooded the area, drenching both her and Kurenai.
Rasengan! Kurenai condensed Chakra into her palm and drove it forward.
The swirling sphere tore into the surging water, splitting it apart with violent force and scattering waves in every direction.
"What—!?" The young female Ninja's pupils contracted sharply.
Infinite Darkness jutsu!
The instant their eyes met, Kurenai weaved hand signs. Darkness fell — complete, impenetrable blackness. The Mist kunoichi froze in shock, her vision completely stolen.
Chakra Enhanced Strength!
Using the Body Flicker Technique, Kurenai appeared right in front of her. She unleashed her full power — one devastating punch sent the young female Ninja flying.
"What kind of ninjutsu is that...?" Uchiha Izumi took a sharp breath.
The Infinite Darkness Genjutsu blinded everyone within its range except the caster — even the Sharingan could not see through it.
And for a Sharingan user, that kind of blindness was terrifying.
Kurenai dispelled the Infinite Darkness Genjutsu. Stepping forward, she looked down at the unconscious Mist kunoichi and delivered a final, merciless strike — ending her life.
Turning her gaze toward Kabuto, she saw his battle nearing its end.
Kabuto's Wind Release clashed evenly with the Mist captain's Water Release. But Kabuto wasn't alone — once Torune joined, the tide turned.
Kabuto used the Body Flicker Technique, landing atop the outpost. The Mist captain dodged Torune's Phosphorus Destruction Bugs, but that moment of distraction was fatal.
Kabuto closed in, kunai in hand. The enemy quickly raised a water wall in defense — but Kabuto exhaled a cutting gust.
Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!
The Wind Chakra coated his kunai like a thin, sharp film. One slash split the water wall cleanly in two.
As the captain tried to flee using Body Flicker, Torune's bugs erupted from the ground and wrapped around his legs. Kabuto struck instantly — his kunai cleaved through the man's neck.
"Clear the battlefield," Kitazawa ordered, forming hand seals.
With a puff of smoke, a Shadow Clone appeared beside him.
"You return to the Main Camp and have them send a squad to relieve us," he instructed. Their mission was to recapture, not hold the outpost.
Kabuto and the others began sweeping the area. Soon after, a reinforcement team from Konoha arrived.
"Kitazawa-sama," the leading Special Jonin greeted respectfully.
Kitazawa gave him brief instructions, then turned back toward the Main Camp with Kurenai, Kabuto, and the rest.
Their A-rank mission was complete.
---
Days passed.
Kitazawa's squad maintained a flawless record — one mission per day. Within ten days, their reputation spread rapidly across both the Konoha and Mist camps.
They were known for their speed, precision, and extraordinary success rate. And word had already spread — Kitazawa was Lady Tsunade's disciple.
[Current Mission: Lead the squad to complete ten A-rank or S-rank missions.]
[Mission Reward: Compound Ninjutsu — Strange Mask Exploding Flame.]
[Mission complete. Reward issued.]
Kitazawa received his reward — a combination ninjutsu, or rather, two techniques fused into one.
Strange Mask Exploding Flame combined Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work and Wind Release: Pressure Damage.
Since Kitazawa hadn't learned either technique before, the system granted both as a bonus.
It was, as he thought with a smirk, a buy-one-get-two-free deal — and a massive gain.