Dusk settled over the village.
Kitazawa dismissed the first‑year Class A students and headed for the training grounds.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino, and Haruno Sakura—who had paused their practice—gathered around him.
"Sasuke, tomorrow you can start shuriken‑control training with moving targets," Kitazawa told him.
As an Uchiha, Sasuke had picked up the shuriken manipulation technique quickly.
Unfortunately he hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet; otherwise he could have mastered it in under an hour.
The Sharingan is like a cheat charm that easily overwhelms ordinary ninja—Hatake Kakashi learned over a thousand techniques after receiving one, whereas most ninja are considered impressive if they master a few dozen in a lifetime.
"All right, Kitazawa-sensei," Sasuke replied with a nod.
Kitazawa's gaze shifted to Hinata.
Of the four, she was the most diligent. Her training had reached its limit; she was just one trigger away from awakening her Byakugan.
Because she hadn't faced any external pressure, she hadn't noticed this.
Kitazawa planned to field her in Friday's friendly match against second‑year Class A, hoping the stimulus would open her eyes—though not against Hyūga Neji.
Even with her recent progress, she still stood little chance against him, and Kitazawa didn't want the clash to make her withdraw again.
Eventually, however, she would have to face Neji; it was her demon and had to be confronted.
"Sakura, Ino, your water‑walking practice is almost finished. After the match you'll start a new phase of training," he said after thinking for a moment.
"What new training?" Ino asked curiously.
"Ino, haven't you learned your clan's secret techniques?" Kitazawa asked instead of answering.
"My dad said my basics weren't solid enough and told me to wait," Ino replied.
"Then in a couple of days, ask him to teach you the Yamanaka techniques," Kitazawa said with a smile.
Secret techniques are still ninjutsu, whose fundamentals are always the same three pillars:
chakra control, chakra shape transformation, and chakra nature transformation.
Ino's chakra control was already good, so she could at least get started—even if full mastery would take time.
"Really?" Ino caught the hint at once and asked in delight. She had joined training to outdo Sakura and hadn't expected such a bonus.
"Mhm," Kitazawa confirmed.
"What about me?" Sakura couldn't help asking. She wasn't from a ninja clan and had no inherited techniques to study.
"What kind of ninjutsu would you like to learn?" Kitazawa asked, looking at her.
"I‑I want to learn medical ninjutsu!" Sakura blushed, then spoke with excitement—partly because Tsunade was her idol, partly because she pictured healing an injured Sasuke and then … having her way.
"Sakura!" Ino shot her a warning look. As the Yamanaka heiress she knew how hard medical ninjutsu was.
Kitazawa was strong, but he was only an ordinary chūnin; how could he possibly teach medical techniques?
If he knew them, he'd be working at Konoha Hospital, not teaching school. She spoke up only to spare Kitazawa embarrassment—such a good teacher was hard to find.
"You can," Kitazawa agreed.
Sakura's request was exactly what he had anticipated and fit perfectly into his next plan—he'd been looking for a chance to show Tsunade his interest in, and talent for, medical ninjutsu.
"That's wonderful!" Sakura cried, elated.
"Eh?" Ino stared, dumbfounded. What kind of world was this, where an ordinary teacher even knew medical ninjutsu? It made no sense—ninja or otherwise!
…
[Current Task: Help Haruno Sakura learn her first medical ninjutsu.]
[Task reward: Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow in pleasant surprise. Delicate Illness Extraction was a B‑rank medical jutsu that could remove poison or transplant organs—normally only medical‑ninja jonin could wield it.
"All right. For the next two days, stick to the usual routine. Let's win Friday's friendly match first," Kitazawa clapped his hands. "See you all tomorrow."
"Good‑bye, Kitazawa-sensei," the four replied in unison.
Leaving the school, Kitazawa went to Yūhi Kurenai's house.
"Tsunade-sama hasn't arrived yet," Kurenai said with a helpless sigh, flopping onto the sofa. "We can start discussing things ourselves."
"Is Yakumo here? I have a favor to ask her," Kitazawa said, standing and admiring Kurenai's beauty. She had changed back into her usual red‑sleeved white outfit, revealing snowy thighs.
"She's on the roof." Kurenai pointed upward.
"I'll find her first," Kitazawa said with a smile and climbed the stairs.
On the rooftop, Kurama Yakumo sat at her easel, painting a nearby tree.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Yakumo greeted him.
"Have you heard of Hyūga Neji?" he asked at once.
"Yes," Yakumo nodded. "He's the Hyūga clan's famous prodigy."
"Our class has a friendly match with second‑year Class A on Friday," Kitazawa explained. "Would you like to spar with Hyūga Neji?"
"Me? Can I?" Yakumo froze, uncertain.
"You don't understand your own strength," Kitazawa chuckled. "Your genjutsu alone gives most ninjas a headache."
Yakumo's Kekkei Genkai was terrifying because, without teammates, it was almost impossible to break.
Genjutsu can be dispelled in two ways: self‑release—if the victim realizes they're caught and disrupts their own chakra; or team release—when the illusion is unnoticed or unbreakable (such as Sharingan genjutsu) and an ally must intervene.
This was part of what made the Uchiha Sharingan so fearsome; ordinary people caught in it could rarely free themselves. Yakumo's ability had the same effect—against Neji she would be nearly unbeatable.
"Then I'll try," Yakumo agreed. She'd never fought anyone before, but she couldn't refuse Kitazawa, who had always helped her.
Half an hour later, Tsunade and Shizune arrived, and the group began discussing new ninjutsu.
Konoha had many memory sealing techniques they could reference, though Kitazawa knew none of them himself.
After a short discussion he slipped out to a secluded spot behind the house.
He took out the balloon he'd bought earlier—time to attempt the Rasengan.
The original training steps were clear:
1. Burst a water‑filled balloon with chakra rotation.
2. Burst a rubber ball a hundred times tougher than the balloon.
3. Discard all props and form a spinning sphere of chakra directly in the hand.
Each stage was harder than the last.
Gripping the water balloon, Kitazawa infused chakra; the water inside began to churn unpredictably.
[A genius should learn ninjutsu on their own.]
[Current task: Master the Rasengan without anyone's help.]
[Task reward: Leaf Body Flicker Technique.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa let out a quiet hum.
~~~
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