The fierce battle came to an abrupt end.
Neither Shion nor Kitsuchi and the others had expected this kind of result; even the way things unfolded was completely beyond their expectations.
In their minds, the script should have been: they stop the undead army, and Shion sacrifices her life to seal Mōryō.
Instead, it turned into Kitazawa releasing Mōryō's physical body, then brutally suppressing it with Wood Release.
This kind of outcome left all of them completely wrong-footed.
Kitazawa ignored the group, who were still stunned by his Wood Release.
He opened a storage summoning scroll and took out his bow.
Kitazawa lifted his head and looked up at Mōryō.
After thinking for a moment, he leaped up, ran along the wooden dragon's body, and finally came to a stop on top of its head.
Seeing Mōryō up close, it was honestly unbelievably ugly.
Fortunately, when you're using something as a weapon spirit, it doesn't matter whether it's good-looking or not.
Kitazawa set the bow down at his feet and began forming hand seals.
"Four Symbols Seal!"
Black sealing marks, carried by his chakra, surged toward Mōryō.
In the middle of its screams, Mōryō sensed something was very wrong and struggled even harder, trying to break free of the wooden dragon's restraint.
But its actions were destined to be pointless.
Even the Nine Lamas, who was countless times stronger than it, could do nothing but scream when facing the wooden dragon.
Once the sealing formula had crawled over every inch of Mōryō's body, it shuddered violently, then, dragged by chakra, turned into a thick plume of smoke that drilled into the bow.
The dull bow instantly took on a dark purple sheen, gaining an extra hint of strangeness and mystery compared to before.
Kitazawa kept forming hand seals.
Two Four Symbols Seals combined into an Eight Trigrams Seal, completely locking Mōryō away inside the bow.
Kitazawa looked at the bow and started thinking about a name.
He'd always been terrible at naming things, so after thinking for a bit he decided to just go with something simple and straightforward: "Demon-Slaying Bow."
Mōryō was known as a demonic monster, and this bow had sealed Mōryō away, so calling it the Demon-Slaying Bow was fitting enough.
Kitazawa stowed the bow.
He didn't test it here; this wasn't the right place. He'd try it out once they were back in the village.
[Current Mission: Stir up the shinobi world and successfully help the Land of Demons release Mōryō.]
[Mission Reward: Wood Release: Strong Spear Trees.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa gave a slight nod.
Wood Release: Strong Spear Trees wasn't some top-tier Wood Release, but it had decent power.
Right now he didn't actually know that many Wood Release techniques.
Mainly because he'd spent a huge amount of time learning Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees and Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique.
He didn't need to say much about how powerful those two were, but they burned through chakra like crazy.
There was no way Kitazawa could use them in every single fight.
That would be way too much overkill.
[Current Mission: Defeat Mōryō.]
[Mission Reward: Impure World Reincarnation.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Three lines of text floated up again in front of Kitazawa's eyes.
This time, what he received was a massive chunk of information.
Impure World Reincarnation was an S-rank forbidden jutsu, far more complicated than Wood Release: Strong Spear Trees.
In the original story, Impure World Reincarnation had an absolutely huge presence.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Yakushi Kabuto used Impure World Reincarnation to summon a huge number of dead shinobi.
They fought a desperate battle against the Allied Shinobi Forces, led by the Five Great Villages.
That's also why Kabuto was jokingly called a "wish-granting master."
Most of the resurrected shinobi he summoned were from the Five Great Villages.
Even though it was basically friends and family slaughtering each other, being able to talk to deceased loved ones again kind of counted as granting a wish.
But the version Kabuto used was his own improved version.
What Kitazawa had received was the original version.
How to put it?
The original was pretty middling.
Shinobi brought back with the original Impure World Reincarnation couldn't get anywhere near their full strength from when they were alive. They probably didn't even have half of it.
You can see that from how Tobirama used it.
He had a forbidden jutsu meant to be used in tandem with Impure World Reincarnation called Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
In simple terms, you plaster explosive tags onto the resurrected shinobi and send them to blow themselves up at the enemy.
If you used White Zetsu infused with Hashirama's cells as the sacrifice, then the resurrected shinobi could get close to their original strength.
Like how, in the original series, Orochimaru used White Zetsu as sacrifices to reincarnate Hashirama, Tobirama, and the others.
Close, but still not quite there.
Kitazawa waited for a while and realized there was no prompt for a third system mission being completed.
His third system mission was to make his Wood Release famous across the shinobi world.
Kitazawa thought it over and more or less understood why.
Right now the only ones who knew he could use Wood Release were people like Kitsuchi and Baki; word hadn't fully spread across the shinobi world yet.
Only after they returned to their villages and the Land of Demons publicized it would his Wood Release truly become renowned.
Standing on the wooden dragon's head, Kitazawa slowly descended from the sky.
Kitsuchi and Baki and the others instinctively stepped back.
They couldn't help it—the wooden dragon was just too huge. It gave them the illusion of seeing a tailed beast.
In the original story, the Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique cast by Hashirama was no smaller than the Nine-Tails.
On top of that, all their villages had grudges with Konoha.
What if Kitazawa suddenly decided to go on a rampage?
"That was so cool!"
Naruto watched all this, unable to hold back his excitement.
Compared to this wooden dragon, those summoning beasts in Preta Path or the Shiromari looked way less imposing.
Sasuke nodded in agreement.
He normally didn't care that much about summoning beasts, but if he could have something like a wooden dragon, he absolutely wouldn't turn it down.
Strong and stylish—basically no downsides.
"This is what a real powerhouse looks like!"
Neji gripped his Fatefeather Bow tightly, feeling he'd found his goal for the future.
If he could become as strong as Kitazawa, his destiny would definitely change.
Hinata, on the other hand, didn't have that many complicated thoughts.
In her heart, Kitazawa had always been someone who could do anything.
Seeing him beat Mōryō down with Wood Release this time just deepened that impression again.
Kitazawa jumped down from the wooden dragon's head.
Once he'd landed steadily, he dispelled Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees and Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique.
As the wooden dragon and the vast forest vanished, Sealing Mountain returned to how it had originally looked.
But there was one difference.
Now there were dense ranks of stone soldiers all over it.
With Mōryō sealed away, the terracotta soldiers had lost their controller and turned into ordinary stone figures.
If Mōryō were ever released again, they would come back to life.
But this time was different from before. Mōryō had been sealed into Kitazawa's bow.
In theory, it would never get its freedom again.
"Kitazawa-sama."
Kitsuchi was the first to recover. He stepped forward and said, "Now that the mission is complete, we'll be taking our leave."
That was a lie.
At this point, the mission didn't matter to him anymore. What mattered was getting back to his village as fast as possible.
Then he could tell his father—the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki—that Kitazawa could use Wood Release.
"Same for us."
Ao and Baki snapped out of it when they heard him.
They greeted Kitazawa and then hurried off without even saying a word to Shion.
Now that the mission was done, Shion was no longer their employer, so there was no need to fuss over her.
"Kitazawa-sama!"
Shion hurried a few steps to stand in front of Kitazawa and asked, "What about Mōryō?"
"Mōryō has already been sealed by me," Kitazawa replied. "I'll be taking it back to Konoha."
"Really?"
Shion couldn't help showing an excited expression.
This didn't just mean that she no longer had to sacrifice herself to seal Mōryō; it also meant the Land of Demons would no longer need to fear Mōryō's rampages.
Simply put, Kitazawa had solved their Mōryō problem once and for all.
"Of course it's true."
Kitazawa smiled as he spoke.
"Thank you!"
Shion quickly said, "You will always be an honored guest of the Land of Demons. Whatever you want, our country will do its best to provide!"
"Priestess, you're too polite. I only completed my mission."
Kitazawa didn't react much to her promise.
With his current strength and status, there really wasn't anything the Land of Demons could offer him.
As far as he was concerned, Mōryō itself had been their most valuable asset.
"If you really want to repay me, you can sign an alliance with Konoha," Kitazawa thought for a moment and said.
The Land of Demons was still a country, and it received plenty of missions over the course of a year.
Up to now it had been neutral, with missions divided equally among the major villages.
Once they signed an alliance, they could give priority to hiring Konoha shinobi.
Beyond that, the Land of Demons was in a good spot on the map—Land of Earth to the east, Land of Wind to the south.
If there was another shinobi world war in the future, Konoha could request passage through it.
"No problem!"
Shion agreed at once.
Taruho, standing to the side, didn't object either.
Even though an alliance with Konoha would mean the Land of Demons was no longer neutral, it was more than worth it.
Because with Mōryō gone, future priestesses would no longer have to sacrifice themselves.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto ran up and asked, "Can we learn Wood Release? Especially that dragon just now—it was insanely cool!"
Sasuke curled his lip when he heard that.
Idiot.
That was Wood Release, not Wind or Fire Release. Did he really think it was that easy to learn?
Konoha had existed for this long and, on record, the only Wood Release users were Hashirama and Kitazawa.
Sasuke didn't know about Yamato, so he didn't count him.
"You can't learn it right now. Maybe in the future."
Kitazawa smiled as he spoke.
"Kitazawa-sama," Shion said, "you've all worked hard. Please come back to the Land of Demons with me to join the celebration."
"What celebration?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Because you helped us defeat Mōryō, I've decided to establish a festival," Shion said, thinking for a moment. "We'll call it Kitazawa Festival. How does that sound?"
"As expected of Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto said dreamily, "I want a festival named after me too. I'll call it Youth Festival!"
Sasuke and Neji glanced at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes.
"'Kitazawa Festival' sounds a little odd."
Kitazawa paused for a second, then suggested, "How about calling it the Summer Festival instead?"
It was currently July, in the middle of summer.
"All right."
Shion nodded.
"Okay then, we'll head back after the festival."
Kitazawa wasn't in any rush, and besides, it would take time for word of his Wood Release to spread.
Even if Kitsuchi and Baki raced back, it would still take them a full day to reach their villages.
"Awesome!"
Naruto said, face full of excitement.
Festivals weren't just lively; they also meant lots of food and games.
For someone his age, that was incredibly appealing.
And this festival was being held specifically in their honor, which made the idea even more exciting.
"At the festival, you can eat and drink as much as you like for free," Shion said with a smile.
Because of the priestess's duty to seal Mōryō, she had always been weighed down by worry.
Now that Mōryō had been completely dealt with, her true personality came out again.
When it came down to it, she was still very young at heart.
Kitazawa glanced at her and suddenly had a thought.
Could he lure her into the Advanced Class?
Shion might look like an ordinary girl, but in reality she was a prodigy with tremendous power.
Her power was sealed away, though.
In the original story, Miroku gave her a bell.
The bell's function was to suppress the priestess power inside her.
Judging purely from the original, Shion was basically another Kurama Yakumo—her potential was incredible.
But her identity was special. In the Land of Demons, the priestess was on the same level as a daimyo.
Still, he could look for a chance to ask her.
Kitazawa and the others returned to the Land of Demons.
Once news of Mōryō's defeat spread, the entire country erupted in celebration.
At Shion's command, the Land of Demons threw itself into preparing for the festival.
Kitazawa and his group couldn't stay more than two days, so the festival was scheduled for nine the morning after next.
A day and a half wasn't much time to set up a festival—that was cutting it close.
But for Kitazawa and the others, it meant they suddenly had free time.
The next day arrived.
Konoha, Hokage Building.
The first person to receive the news wasn't Onoki or Rasa, but Tsunade.
After sealing Mōryō, Kitazawa had sent Uchiha Itachi back to Konoha.
"Hokage-sama."
Itachi took out a scroll and said, "This is Kitazawa-sama's mission report on sealing Mōryō."
As a shinobi, he'd always been meticulous about following the rules.
If it had been Kitazawa, he would've been too lazy to write a mission report and just given Tsunade an oral report instead.
Tsunade opened the scroll and began reading.
Itachi had written it in great detail.
Even though she hadn't personally witnessed the battle, she could more or less replay Kitazawa's fight with Mōryō in her mind.
"Kitazawa did an excellent job," Tsunade said with a broad smile once she'd finished.
Itachi noticed her expression and thought to himself that she had clearly known all along that Kitazawa had mastered Wood Release.
If she hadn't known beforehand, there's no way she'd be this calm.
"When is he coming back?" Tsunade closed the scroll and asked.
"Kitazawa-sama said he'll return after attending tomorrow's festival in the Land of Demons," Itachi replied.
"Mm."
Tsunade nodded. "Have the Anbu spread the word."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Itachi's heart trembled slightly.
Once all of Konoha knew that Kitazawa could use Wood Release, the resulting shock went without saying.
But no matter how you looked at it, this was a good thing.
For the people and shinobi of Konoha, the return of Wood Release would be a massive morale boost.
And for the Uchiha clan, certain clansmen's rebellious thoughts would be completely shut down.
Because this was Wood Release.
In Uchiha history, their strongest man, Uchiha Madara, had lost to Hashirama's Wood Release.
They wouldn't dare challenge Wood Release.
Itachi bowed slightly and left the Hokage's office.
He made his way to the Anbu office with practiced ease.
"It's you, Itachi."
Sarutobi Asuma saw him and greeted him with a smile. "Long time no see."
With Kitazawa out on a mission, Asuma was temporarily in charge of Anbu.
"Asuma-senpai," Itachi said as he walked over. "Hokage-sama has something she wants you to pass along."
He handed Asuma the scroll.
Asuma opened it, took a glance, and froze on the spot.
What did he just read?
Kitazawa had used Wood Release to defeat Mōryō, the monster of the Land of Demons?
Asuma instinctively looked up at Itachi.
"It's true," Itachi said before he could speak, already guessing what he wanted to ask.
"This is… just too unbelievable!"
Asuma couldn't help blurting out, "That Kitazawa sure hid it deep. Not a single person noticed he could use Wood Release!"
"Probably because Kitazawa-sama simply hadn't met an opponent that forced him to use Wood Release before," Itachi thought for a moment and said.
"Comparisons will drive you insane," Asuma sighed. "I'll have Anbu spread the news right away."
"Sorry to trouble you, Asuma-senpai."
Itachi didn't stay.
First, because he was no longer a member of Anbu.
Second, because he had something else to take care of.
Itachi went to the Konoha Police Department and met with Uchiha Fugaku.
"I remember you left for the Land of Demons with Kitazawa. When did you get back?" Fugaku asked.
"Just now," Itachi replied. "I came to tell you something, and it'll be all over Konoha soon anyway."
"What is it?"
Fugaku raised an eyebrow, sensing it had to be something big.
"Kitazawa-sama has mastered Wood Release," Itachi said slowly.
"???"
Fugaku's eyes flew wide open, his whole face one giant question mark.
"I saw it with my own eyes," Itachi added.
"How does Kitazawa know Wood Release? Is he secretly from the Senju clan?" Fugaku only recovered after a long moment.
"I don't know," Itachi shook his head. "Hokage-sama chose this timing for Kitazawa to reveal his Wood Release clearly to pave the way for him. It looks like the next Hokage will definitely be Kitazawa."
"Good thing our Uchiha clan has maintained a good relationship with him," Fugaku said with obvious relief.
"Even without Wood Release, there aren't many who could compete with him for the next Hokage," Itachi said quietly.
"True, but Wood Release is different. It has a special meaning," Fugaku thought it over. "Some people in the clan need to calm down. From now on we'll fully support Kitazawa."
So you've finally decided?
Itachi couldn't help letting out a breath in his heart.
With Tsunade and Kitazawa around, the Uchiha clan and Konoha would get a long period of peace.
The wish he and Shisui had fought for was already more than halfway fulfilled.
While father and son were talking, the news that Kitazawa had mastered Wood Release spread through Konoha faster than ever before.
The atmosphere in the village was like New Year's; plenty of people had already started celebrating.
Wood Release wasn't just symbolically important—it also meant Konoha had someone standing at the very top of the shinobi world.
To both the villagers and the shinobi, Konoha's future suddenly looked brilliantly bright.
At the ninja academy, even though Kitazawa had taken leave, the Advanced Class training still went on as usual.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hatake Kakashi, Kurenai, Master Chen, and Maruboshi Kosuke stood on the training field, instructing the students as always.
Just then, a figure approached from the distance and landed in front of them.
It was the Anbu kunoichi, Haru.
"Haru, haven't seen you in a while. Does Tsunade need me for something?" Hiruzen asked with a chuckle.
"Hokage-sama has ordered me to inform you of something," Haru said, bowing slightly. "Kitazawa-sama has mastered Wood Release and has defeated Mōryō of the Land of Demons."
Hiruzen's expression changed instantly.
Kosuke, Kakashi, and the others also found it hard to believe.
Only Kurenai remained calm.
As someone who knew Kitazawa inside and out, she'd known about this for a long time.
"Here's what happened," Haru said, recounting how Kitazawa had defeated Mōryō.
"So he really mastered Wood Release?" Hiruzen understood right away that Kitazawa's Wood Release and Yamato's were on completely different levels.
With Yamato's Wood Release, there was no way he could've so easily suppressed a monster like Mōryō, whose power was comparable to a tailed beast.
Even if Kitazawa's Wood Release still couldn't match Hashirama's, it was already terrifying.
Hiruzen stroked his beard.
Just how had Kitazawa acquired Wood Release?
He knew Kitazawa's background very well and knew he had no apparent connection to the Senju.
"Kurenai," Kosuke asked, "how is it that you never let slip even a hint of this with Kitazawa?"
"I was just following Hokage-sama's orders," Kurenai said with a smile.
"If we'd announced it too early, it would've drawn too much attention from the other villages," Kakashi mused. "Now that Kitazawa has fully mastered it, revealing it at this timing has the best effect."
"Either way, this is an enormous blessing!" Chen Baojun said excitedly.
"It certainly is!" Hiruzen laughed. "From now on, Konoha will no longer have any hidden dangers!"
Kosuke and Chen Baojun nodded along.
They didn't think Hiruzen was exaggerating.
The weight of Wood Release spoke for itself.
In Iwagakure of the Land of Earth.
Because the Land of Earth bordered the Land of Demons directly, Kitsuchi arrived back in his own village before Baki and Ao.
After sending his three teammates off to rest, he headed straight for the Tsuchikage Building.
Without thinking, he pushed open the door to the Tsuchikage's office.
"Kitsuchi, what's going on? Did the mission fail? Did Mōryō escape?" Onoki froze for a moment, then asked.
Kitsuchi was usually calm and steady no matter what.
There were very few times he'd barged in without even knocking like this.
"The mission was a complete success," Kitsuchi said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Mōryō has been sealed."
"Then why the look on your face?" Onoki asked, puzzled.
"The Konoha shinobi they sent this time was Kitazawa," Kitsuchi said gravely. "In the battle with Mōryō, Kitazawa used Wood Release."
"What did you say?" Onoki jumped to his feet.
A moment later he winced, letting out an "ow" and grabbing his lower back.
He'd twisted it from moving too suddenly.
"Are you all right?" Kitsuchi asked quickly.
"I'm fine, you know this is an old problem of mine," Onoki shook his head. "Are you sure it was Wood Release?"
"There's no need to be 'sure.' It definitely was." Kitsuchi sighed and described the situation in detail.
Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees and Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique were both so spectacular that they were unmistakable, and only one person in the entire shinobi world had ever used them.
No matter how other shinobi tried, they couldn't replicate Wood Release.
Onoki sat back down, still massaging his back, his face full of shock.
"The power of Kitazawa's Wood Release already far surpasses a normal kekkei genkai. It might even be able to catch up to Hashirama's," Kitsuchi couldn't help saying.
Those two techniques had left too deep an impression on him.
"No, it can't," Onoki shook his head. "You never lived through Hashirama's era. His Wood Release was far more terrifying than Kitazawa's."
When Onoki was young, Hashirama had still been alive.
Back then, he and his teacher, the Second Tsuchikage Mu, had encountered Uchiha Madara and been beaten half to death.
And the Madara they'd found so overwhelmingly strong had, in turn, been beaten down by Hashirama.
From Kitsuchi's description, Kitazawa's Wood Release was indeed powerful, but not to the point where people would tremble at his name. At most, it was on the Kage level.
But even a Kage-level opponent was extremely troublesome. Onoki felt that in the current Iwagakure, only he and the two jinchuriki could properly stand against Kitazawa.
"No wonder Hashirama was called the God of Shinobi," Kitsuchi sighed.
Up to now, his impression of Hashirama had come only from legends—how he'd used Wood Release to end the Warring States period.
Now that he'd seen Kitazawa's Wood Release with his own eyes, he finally had a concrete concept to attach to those stories.
And even this ridiculous Wood Release still fell far short of Hashirama's. Just how strong had his really been?
"The fact that Kitazawa isn't as strong as Hashirama is actually something to be thankful for," Onoki said once he'd collected himself.
"That's true," Kitsuchi agreed.
If Kitazawa's Wood Release had reached the level of sweeping over the entire shinobi world, the other villages might as well do what they'd done back then and directly proclaim their submission.
"Compared to Konoha, Iwagakure is really in a rough spot," Onoki rubbed his lower back. "If someone could inherit my Dust Release, I could finally retire in peace."
"Sorry," Kitsuchi said awkwardly. "My talent just isn't up to it."
He was one of the standouts of Iwa's younger generation and should have been the one to inherit Dust Release, but he just couldn't master it.
"It's not your fault. Dust Release is just that hard," Onoki shook his head. "Now we'll just have to see if Deidara or Kurotsuchi can learn it."
"That reminds me of something else," Kitsuchi said when he heard those names, and told Onoki about the four students Kitazawa had brought with him.
"Why does Konoha always have so many geniuses?" Onoki groaned once he finished.
He'd been satisfied that Iwa had produced two geniuses, but Konoha clearly had even more.
"We need to call Deidara back and increase the training for the younger generation," Kitsuchi suggested after thinking it over. "We can set up an Advanced Class like Konoha's."
"That works," Onoki exhaled. "We'll set up an Advanced Class too."
"What about Kitazawa?" Kitsuchi brought the topic back.
"What can we do about him? With that kind of strength, unless I personally go to Konoha, no one can kill him," Onoki said after a pause. "We'll wait and see. If Konoha starts a war, we'll join the other villages against them."
In Sunagakure of the Land of Wind.
Because there was a small country called the Land of Bears between the Land of Demons and the Land of Wind, Baki and his group arrived two or three hours after Kitsuchi.
As soon as he reached Suna, Baki went straight to the Kazekage's office.
He knocked, then pushed the door open when he was given permission.
"Kazekage-sama," Baki said at once, "Kitazawa has mastered Wood Release!"
"Kitazawa? Wood Release?" Rasa's instinctive reaction was skepticism. "You're not joking, are you? Isn't Kitazawa supposed to specialize in Water Release and medical ninjutsu?"
"I led a team to the Land of Demons to seal Mōryō," Baki said rapidly. "Konoha sent Kitazawa. He used Wood Release to subdue Mōryō!"
"Explain everything in detail," Rasa said after staring for a couple of seconds, finally snapping out of it.
Baki quickly recounted the events.
"His Wood Release is already no weaker than my Magnet Release," Rasa said in shock when he finished.
His Magnet Release could suppress Shukaku, the One-Tail.
Mōryō wasn't quite at Shukaku's level, but it was close.
"Kazekage-sama, what should we do?" Baki couldn't help asking.
"Konoha has too many powerhouses. We sand-ninjas would have a hard time beating them," Rasa said helplessly.
As Kazekage, openly admitting that Suna was inferior to Konoha was a blow to his pride.
But it was the truth.
Baki fell silent.
Konoha didn't just have Kitazawa; they also had Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and other powerhouses.
Meanwhile, in Suna, aside from Rasa, there were only two retired advisors, Chiyo and Ebizo.
They lacked top-tier fighters, and their younger generation wasn't promising either.
In the entire village, only Gaara had the potential to become a Kage.
"The only thing we can do is watch and wait," Rasa said with a long sigh.
Putting aside individual power, even in terms of overall strength, Sunagakure lagged far behind Konoha.
Especially since, with their chronic lack of funds, Suna had been forced down the so-called "elite route."
The phrase sounded good, but the reality was ugly.
In short, it meant pouring limited resources into a few elite shinobi and leaving everyone else to scrape by.
"Kazekage-sama, we could copy Konoha and set up an Advanced Class," Baki said, much like Kitsuchi had, and told Rasa about Sasuke and Naruto's performance.
"Konoha really is unfairly blessed," Rasa said after a short silence. "You'll take charge of setting up the Advanced Class."
"Yes, Kazekage-sama," Baki answered.
By afternoon, in Kirigakure of the Land of Water.
Ao didn't stop for even a second before barging into the Mizukage's office.
Mei Terumi looked at him in puzzlement.
"Kitazawa has mastered Wood Release!" Ao said bluntly.
"What?" Mei blurted out.
Ao immediately told her everything that had happened in the Land of Demons.
"I thought his strength was already at its peak, but I didn't expect he was still hiding Wood Release," Mei sighed.
She was very shocked, but her reaction was calmer than Onoki's or Rasa's.
After all, Kiri had already lost to Konoha.
Long ago she'd settled on a strategy: as long as Tsunade and Kitazawa lived, Kirigakure would always remain Konoha's ally.
Kitazawa gaining Wood Release only further proved how right that strategy was.
"Anyway, until we close the gap, Kirigakure must not provoke Konoha," Mei said in conclusion.
Ao could only nod helplessly.
While the shinobi world was shaken by the return of Wood Release, Kitazawa was attending the Land of Demons' festival with his students.
How to describe it?
It wasn't much different from Konoha's festivals.
After wandering around for an hour, Kitazawa let Sasuke, Naruto, and the others go off on their own.
He headed to the Priestess Shrine and found Shion.
"Kitazawa-sama," Shion said, standing up quickly to greet him.
"Priestess, what are you looking at? Why aren't you at the festival?" Kitazawa nodded and asked.
"This is the draft of the alliance treaty between the Land of Demons and Konoha," Shion replied. "Once I'm sure there are no problems, I'll send a delegation to Konoha."
"You're not going yourself?" Kitazawa asked.
"Me?" Shion was taken aback.
She was both the priestess and the daimyo of the Land of Demons. Under normal circumstances, there was no way she would leave.
"Now that Mōryō is sealed, the Land of Demons has no more looming threat. Priestess, don't you want to go out and see the world?" Kitazawa asked with a smile.
"I… I…" Shion hesitated.
She'd grown up in the shrine. She'd never even left the shrine grounds, let alone the Land of Demons.
But after what Kitazawa said, the idea suddenly took root.
"I'll go talk to the others!" Shion said, making up her mind, her face lighting up. "If it's okay, I'll visit Konoha for a few days!"
"Konoha will be honored to welcome you, Priestess," Kitazawa said, keeping his true motives to himself.
"When I get there, I definitely want to visit the ninja academy!" Shion said eagerly.
After seeing how strong Naruto and Sasuke were, she'd become very curious about the academy.
"You won't be disappointed," Kitazawa smiled, feeling his plan was already more than halfway done.
Shion might be the priestess of the Land of Demons, but at the end of the day she was still very young.
After seeing Konoha's prosperity and the atmosphere in the academy, she definitely wouldn't want to leave.
Then, when Kitazawa brought up the Advanced Class, she'd probably agree without too much persuasion.
"I'm going to find Taruho and the others right now!" Shion said, and dashed out excitedly.
Kitazawa watched her go, then left the capital of the Land of Demons.
He wasn't interested in the festival itself and simply went outside to train his Wood Release.
For high-end Wood Release, Nativity of a World of Trees and Wood Dragon were enough for now. What he wanted to learn next were Wood Release techniques he could use in everyday combat.
Things like Wood Release: Wood Transformation Technique, Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique, and Wood Release: Multiple Wood Clone Technique.
Compared to the regular Transformation, Clone, and Multiple Shadow Clone Techniques, these Wood Release versions had much better results.
The next day, once the festival ended, Kitazawa and his group started their journey home.
With them was a delegation from the Land of Demons, led by Shion.
Because most of them were ordinary people, the return trip took twice as long.
By the time they reached Konoha, it was already August.
In other words, the trip to the Land of Demons had taken nearly half a month in total.
[Current Mission: Make your Wood Release known throughout the shinobi world.]
[Mission Reward: Five cards of chakra.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa felt the change in his chakra and nodded in satisfaction.
From now on, his normal chakra reserves were at a staggering twenty cards.
If he activated his Yang Release Chakra Mode, that amount could double.
Across the entire shinobi world, aside from Nagato and a few other Uzumaki-type shinobi, there probably wasn't anyone who could surpass him in chakra volume.
"There are so many people!" Shion looked around, eyes bright with excitement.
As one of the Five Great Hidden Villages, Konoha's land area and population both far exceeded the Land of Demons' capital.
Even though Shion was the daimyo of a small country, Konoha still felt incredibly fresh and novel to her.
"Kitazawa."
Shikaku came forward to meet them.
Even though the Land of Demons was small, the proper courtesies couldn't be skipped.
Tsunade had appointed Shikaku to greet them and handle the signing of the alliance.
"Shikaku-senpai," Kitazawa said with a light laugh. "I figured Tsunade-sensei would put you in charge of this."
"It's nothing big," Shikaku said. "Your Wood Release is shaking the shinobi world—now that's big."
"Not worth mentioning," Kitazawa said modestly.
"…"
Shikaku's mouth twitched.
If Wood Release wasn't worth mentioning, what was?
"Let me introduce you," Kitazawa said with a cough. "This is the priestess of the Land of Demons, Shion."
"An honor, Priestess," Shikaku said, taking the initiative. "I'm Nara Shikaku, Hokage's advisor. I'll be handling the alliance talks with your country."
"They've been traveling for about a week. Let them rest and handle business tomorrow," Kitazawa reminded him.
"Priestess, if you'll come with me," Shikaku nodded. "We've already arranged lodging for you in Konoha."
"Thank you," Shion said. After exchanging a quick goodbye with Kitazawa, she left with Taruho and the others.
"You four have worked hard too. Go home and rest," Kitazawa said to Sasuke, Hinata, and the others, smiling.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," the four answered, then headed off in different directions.
Kitazawa thought for a moment. Instead of going to see Tsunade, he walked to a nearby training ground.
He took out his Demon-Slaying Bow, ready to test its power.
He pinched the bowstring, and an arrow made of pure Yin Release chakra appeared out of thin air.
When he let go, the arrow instantly punched through a wooden post on the training field.
Kitazawa nodded slightly.
Even without adding any of his own chakra, the Demon-Slaying Bow's basic performance was stronger than the Fatefeather Bow and Moonchaser Bow.
That had everything to do with the weapon spirit sealed inside.
If Kitazawa had to rank them, from strongest to weakest it would be Mōryō, Satori, and the Zero-Tails.
As for Mōryō's abilities, he'd already seen them in action and felt they were somewhat similar to Satori's.
Kitazawa thought that Burst Arrows would also pair well with the Demon-Slaying Bow.
With that thought, he drew the bowstring again.
Dark purple chakra surged out, forming a special Yin Release arrow.
Boom!
The instant it touched the wooden post, the arrow detonated.
Every nearby post was obliterated, and an invisible spiritual shockwave rippled outward in all directions.
Kitazawa didn't resist it and immediately felt like his head was about to split open.
He quickly pressed his hand to his forehead.
Soft green chakra flowed in, and only then did that discomfort finally fade.
~~~
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