After leaving the Hokage's office, Kitazawa immediately went to find Yakushi Kabuto.
Just like before, Kabuto didn't say much—he simply agreed.
Kitazawa thought about it and decided to take him straight to Ryūchi Cave.
The boost from Sage Mode was obvious. Since Kabuto had the talent for it—and his overall strength was already close—he might as well learn Sage Mode first.
As for studying under Orochimaru, that could be put on hold.
Orochimaru wasn't going anywhere anyway. Kabuto could come back and continue learning from him after mastering Sage Mode.
After greeting the White Snake Sage, Kitazawa returned to the Hokage Tower.
After a bit of thought, he headed to the newly established Film & Television Department.
"Kitazawa?"
Yūhi Kurenai looked up at him, surprised.
"What, I'm not allowed to come?" Kitazawa asked with a grin.
"Of course you are!" Kurenai stood up, walked over, and lifted her arms.
The meaning was obvious.
Kitazawa pulled her into his arms.
Kurenai hugged him back—then suddenly, instinctively tensed her hips.
She looked up and shot him an exasperated glare.
Because his hands were already kneading her backside.
"I still have work!" Kurenai said quickly.
She could feel subtle changes in her body.
Ever since she'd gone all the way with Kitazawa, her body didn't really feel like it belonged to her anymore.
"So you really are a little glutton," Kitazawa said, meeting her eyes with a smile.
Those ruby-like eyes were already a bit unfocused.
Kurenai perfectly embodied four words: weak at it, addicted to it.
Kitazawa suddenly thought of Tsunade.
Tsunade had clearly accepted Kurenai.
In other words, he was already halfway to enjoying the "best of both worlds." All he needed was to finish the other half, and then… Kitazawa couldn't help feeling excited.
As a man, it was an irresistible temptation.
"This is all your fault!" Kurenai said, blushing as she snapped in embarrassment.
"Oh? Is it?" Kitazawa took her hand and led her to the desk.
"I really still have work!" Kurenai's face turned even redder.
"I didn't say anything," Kitazawa said as he sat down in the office chair. "What are you imagining?"
"Then why are you sitting in my seat?" Kurenai huffed.
"Obviously to check on your work," Kitazawa replied, glancing at the papers on the desk. "You're writing a film script?"
"I'm not writing it. I'm just organizing the plot Tsunade-sama gave me," Kurenai shook her head.
Kitazawa casually picked up the file.
After flipping through a few pages, he understood.
Tsunade had given Kurenai a memoir about Senju Hashirama—but it was a mess, basically written as random thoughts, wherever the mind wandered.
And if they wanted to make it into a movie, they needed a complete storyline—something with a beginning, development, and an ending the audience could follow.
"So how's it going?" Kitazawa asked, setting the file down.
"I already have a rough idea," Kurenai answered. "I can hand it to the crew this week so they can start filming."
"Efficient," Kitazawa praised.
"My work skills are really good, you know!" Kurenai said proudly, clenching her fist.
"Then I'll have to reward you properly," Kitazawa said, taking her hand.
Kurenai naturally swung a leg over and sat on his lap.
When she realized what she'd done, her face flushed again.
She'd clearly refused—but her body didn't listen.
Kitazawa reached out and pressed a hand to her chest.
Kurenai let out a muffled sound, her body going soft.
But her legs tensed, and her toes curled and relaxed uncontrollably.
"K-Kitazawa…"
In no time, Kurenai's eyes turned watery.
Her red lips parted slightly, and a seductive look rose on her face.
Before Kitazawa could reply, she pushed his head into her chest.
A faint fragrance washed over him.
All Kitazawa could see was her fair skin.
His hands slid down, supporting her soft hips.
Kurenai straightened up, her long legs swaying lightly as she kicked off her shoes.
But she really wasn't very "strong" at this—she quickly collapsed back into Kitazawa's arms.
Kitazawa stood up and placed her on the office chair.
He looked at Kurenai's back, his gaze finally settling on her full hips.
They didn't compare to Tsunade's, but the way she was bent over the chair was unbelievably tempting.
Kitazawa stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist.
The sun set.
The office fell quiet.
Kurenai, utterly exhausted, fell asleep.
Kitazawa lifted her soft body and carried her back to her room.
After laying her on the bed, he returned to her office.
He picked up the clothes from the floor and quickly restored everything to how it was before.
He glanced at the clock on the wall, then left the Hokage Tower.
A new day.
Kitazawa arrived at the Ninja Academy.
"Kitazawa-sama!"
Uchiha Sasuke immediately came up to him.
Seeing how impatient Sasuke looked, Kitazawa couldn't help but smile.
Even though Sasuke usually seemed calm, he was basically like Uzumaki Naruto—both were impatient. The only difference was how they showed it: Sasuke was more restrained.
The ones who truly counted as calm were Aburame Shino and Kurama Yakumo.
Hyūga Neji and Hyūga Hinata also qualified.
"We're going to Takigakure now," Kitazawa reminded him. "But the Akatsuki haven't arrived yet, so we'll probably have to wait for a while."
Sasuke nodded.
Even though he didn't want to wait.
Kitazawa immediately activated Flying Thunder God.
His shadow clone had already arrived in Takigakure with the jonin long ago.
The two vanished from where they stood, and in the next moment reappeared in an unfamiliar room.
Clearly, Takigakure had arranged this room for his clone.
"Sasuke, you'll stay here for now. My shadow clone will teach you Lightning Release: Kirin," Kitazawa said as he walked to the window and looked outside.
Takigakure was isolated from the world, surrounded by mountains, with the feel of a hidden paradise.
"Understood, Kitazawa-sama," Sasuke answered immediately.
Kitazawa withdrew his gaze, nodded to the clone, and disappeared.
When the Akatsuki members arrived, the clone would dispel itself.
When its memories returned, he'd be notified immediately and could rush to Takigakure.
Kitazawa returned to Konoha.
He went to the Forest of Death to continue training his Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique, and when he had time, he also tried out Susanoo.
In the original story, Susanoo was roughly divided into six stages.
At the earliest stage, it was only ribs and arms; at full form, it became an armored war god with wings on its back.
Its size rivaled a tailed beast, it possessed terrifying strength and flight, and it could even form hand seals to use ninjutsu.
Beyond that, Susanoo had two especially special forms: Sage Art Susanoo, and Armor Susanoo.
The former was using senjutsu while in Susanoo; the latter was Susanoo layered over the Nine-Tails.
Of course, if it could be layered over the Nine-Tails, it could be layered over something else too—like that old rumor from his previous life: Susanoo over the Great Buddha.
Susanoo over the Great Buddha never appeared in the original story.
Because back before Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara fell out, everyone else in the ninja world was too weak.
They didn't need Susanoo over the Great Buddha to sweep the world.
And by the time a threat like Ōtsutsuki Kaguya appeared, Hashirama and Madara had already become bitter enemies.
So it was even more impossible.
Now, Kitazawa could already activate Susanoo.
But because he had the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he wanted to go straight to the top—unlock the full-body Susanoo immediately.
Then he could try that legendary Susanoo-over-the-Great-Buddha.
Time moved into May.
Sasuke didn't return to Konoha. He stayed in Takigakure, training Lightning Release: Kirin with Kitazawa's clone.
And the other students in the Prodigy Class weren't idle either.
After the new semester began, many of them started showing results in training.
For example, Rock Lee's Eight Gates had already reached the Third Gate.
Kitazawa estimated that by graduation, Lee would be able to open the Fifth Gate like he did during the Chūnin Exams in the original story—maybe even more.
And then there was Uzumaki Naruto.
Under Jiraiya's guidance, Naruto had already proven he had the talent for Sage Mode.
But on Kitazawa's advice, he hadn't learned it yet. Instead, he was first trying to master Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
However, Nine-Tails Chakra Mode had a key requirement: Turtle Island in Kumogakure.
Kumo's Turtle Island was beneficial for training a perfect jinchūriki.
In the original story, Naruto mastered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode at the Waterfall of Truth on Turtle Island.
But that had happened during the Fourth Great Ninja War, when the five villages had already allied.
Right now, it wouldn't be so easy to get Kumogakure's approval.
Kitazawa planned to watch the Akatsuki's moves first.
If Nagato really intended to invade Kumogakure, then Kitazawa would take advantage of the situation and bring Naruto to Turtle Island.
Third week of the new semester.
While Kitazawa was training Wood Release: Wood Golem Technique in the Forest of Death, he suddenly stopped.
A huge wave of memories returned—coming from the shadow clone in Takigakure.
Without hesitation, he used Flying Thunder God.
When Kitazawa opened his eyes again, he saw a girl with blue-green short hair and dark skin.
It was Fū, the Seven-Tails jinchūriki.
"Huh? How did you disappear and then suddenly show up again?" Fū asked curiously.
"Take me to Shibuki," Kitazawa said with a smile.
In the original story, Fū was extremely warm and enthusiastic—her personality rivaled Naruto's.
"Let's go!" Fū waved her arms, grinning.
Kitazawa and Sasuke followed her, and soon they saw Shibuki.
"Boss, we're here!" Fū jogged into the room.
"Fū, didn't I tell you to stay in your room?" Shibuki said unhappily. "You're in danger right now—don't run around."
"Shibuki-sama," Kitazawa said seriously. "Two Akatsuki members are rapidly approaching Takigakure."
"What?" Shibuki's heart jolted, panic flashing across his face.
He had only recently become leader, and he was still young—he wasn't steady enough yet.
In fact, in the original story, he was even worse.
"Boss, don't worry!" Fū clenched her fist. "I'll send them flying!"
"The Akatsuki have already captured five jinchūriki. You're not their opponent," Shibuki said, pacing back and forth nervously.
"I can send you to Konoha first," Kitazawa suggested, seeing Shibuki's expression and suddenly getting an idea.
"I can't leave!" Shibuki took a deep breath. "I'll live and die with Takigakure!"
"Me too!" Fū said immediately.
"Fū, you're different. You're their target—you can't stay," Shibuki hesitated for a moment, then said.
"I'm staying!" Fū's expression changed. "I'm a Takigakure ninja too—I'm not leaving!"
"Kitazawa-dono, please send her away first. Once we repel the Akatsuki, we'll bring her back," Shibuki said, making up his mind.
Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something.
He really wanted to ask: why leave?
With Kitazawa's strength—and his—driving off the Akatsuki should be easy.
But since it was Kitazawa's suggestion, Sasuke held it in and didn't ask.
If Tsunade were here, she'd understand Kitazawa's thinking.
He wanted to trick the Seven-Tails jinchūriki Fū into Konoha first.
"No!" Fū refused without hesitation.
But Kitazawa directly used Flying Thunder God and took her back to Konoha.
Their sudden appearance startled Jiraiya and Naruto.
"Jiraiya-sama, Naruto—this is Fū, the Seven-Tails jinchūriki. I'm leaving her with you for now," Kitazawa said, tossing Fū into their care before returning to Takigakure.
"I'll gather all Takigakure ninja to guard the exit right now!" Shibuki took a deep breath. "No matter what, we have to stop them!"
Even though he knew Kitazawa was strong, the Akatsuki's reputation in the ninja world had become too terrifying lately—he didn't have much confidence.
"Sasuke and I will go to the village entrance," Kitazawa said casually.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-dono," Shibuki nodded.
"Sasuke, let's go."
Kitazawa grabbed Sasuke and used Flying Thunder God.
When they reappeared, they were already in front of a waterfall.
This was Takigakure's entrance.
Behind the waterfall, only by passing through an extremely complicated passage could one reach Takigakure.
Kitazawa activated the Byakugan.
Immediately, he spotted Kakuzu and Hidan in the distance.
An unsurprising pair.
Takigakure was easy to defend and hard to attack, and its location was extremely remote—only Kakuzu, a former Takigakure rogue, could find it.
And because Hidan was immortal, he had become Kakuzu's fixed partner.
As for Kakuzu's previous partners, he'd killed them all and exchanged them for bounties in the underground market.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
He was thinking about how to handle Kakuzu and Hidan.
Because he had a system mission to incorporate the Akatsuki into Konoha, he didn't plan to kill them.
At the very least, Kakuzu had to be captured alive.
But Hidan… Kitazawa didn't care for him.
Mainly because he worshiped a cult and loved bloodshed.
In the original story, he was a lunatic—letting him join Konoha was out of the question.
[Current Mission: Capture Kakuzu alive.]
[Reward: Master-level Earth Release chakra nature transformation.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa narrowed his eyes slightly.
Only master-level Earth Release chakra nature transformation?
Was it because Earth Release was Kakuzu's original chakra nature?
Kitazawa chose to accept.
Once he completed this mission, the seven nature transformations would only have Fire Release left that hadn't reached the master level.
Kitazawa found that oddly amusing.
As Konoha's next Hokage, his Fire Release was actually the worst.
[Current Mission: Break Hidan's immortality.]
[Reward: Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa let out a small sound of surprise.
Death Controlling Possessed Blood was Hidan's unique secret technique.
Its effect was simple: trade injury for injury.
Any damage the target dealt to the user would be inflicted back on the target as well.
At a glance, it seemed useful—but for Kitazawa, it was pretty pointless.
At his current level, it wasn't easy for him to get hurt in the first place.
Compared to that, Kakuzu's mission was far more useful.
Still, Kitazawa accepted both.
"Kakuzu, I heard you're from Takigakure?" Hidan, with his silver hair, asked curiously.
"That's in the past," Kakuzu said, keeping up his pace.
"Great—then don't stop me later," Hidan said with a wicked grin. "I'm going to sacrifice the entire village of Takigakure ninja to Jashin-sama!"
"Do whatever you want," Kakuzu paused, then reminded him, "Don't forget our mission."
"It's just the Seven-Tails jinchūriki," Hidan said, regret showing on his face. "Too bad I can't offer her to Jashin-sama."
Fū had to be captured and brought back to the Akatsuki.
Because if a jinchūriki died, the tailed beast inside would "die" too.
Even though the tailed beast would eventually revive, it would take time—and that would affect the Akatsuki's Moon's Eye Plan.
"That waterfall up ahead is Takigakure's entrance," Kakuzu reminded him.
"Jashin-sama, your sacrifices are coming!" Hidan immediately pulled out his bloody triple-bladed scythe and charged forward.
Kakuzu followed close behind.
Soon, they reached the waterfall.
"Who's there?" Kakuzu instinctively turned his head.
Under a tree not far away, two people were standing.
His face changed drastically. Without hesitation, he turned and ran.
"Kakuzu, what are you running for?" Hidan froze, then shouted reflexively.
Kakuzu didn't look back, sprinting outward at full speed.
"Sasuke, go deal with Kakuzu," Kitazawa instructed.
Sasuke immediately accelerated and chased after him.
"What the hell?!" Hidan scratched his head, then turned to Kitazawa with a vicious grin. "Fine—I'll sacrifice you to Jashin-sama first!"
He didn't recognize Kitazawa—but even if he did, he wouldn't run.
Because he had an immortal body.
To be honest, that immortality combined with his blood technique really was troublesome—
especially if you didn't know his abilities beforehand.
But for Kitazawa, the only truly annoying part about Hidan was his immortality.
Even that wasn't really a problem—because in the original story, Nara Shikamaru had already provided the solution.
And Hidan wasn't truly immortal. If he went without nutrition long enough, he would still die.
"Die!" Hidan roared, swinging his bloody triple-bladed scythe as he charged at Kitazawa.
When they were less than three meters apart, he threw his full strength into a swing.
The scythe's cord extended instantly, and the three segmented blades, dragged by the rope, smashed toward Kitazawa.
Byakugan: Pressure!
Kitazawa didn't move.
Hidan was blasted backward at even greater speed.
The massive three-segmented scythe flew toward him.
He couldn't dodge in time and was struck directly.
Blood spilled out.
"Hahahaha!" Hidan staggered to his feet, laughing madly through the pain. "Jashin-sama will definitely love a sacrifice like you!"
Kitazawa's overwhelming strength only made Hidan more excited.
He yanked the scythe free, drenched in blood, and charged again.
But when he was one meter from Kitazawa, the three-bladed scythe stopped.
More precisely, Hidan stopped—his entire body froze in place.
Because Kitazawa had activated the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Genjutsu cast through the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was something only a handful of people in the entire ninja world could break.
Let alone Hidan.
He was a gimmick fighter, not a raw-stat monster—he couldn't withstand an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu.
After controlling Hidan, Kitazawa began digging a hole on the spot.
When the pit was finished, he tossed in a large number of explosive tags.
With a casual wave, he threw Hidan into the pit.
He formed hand seals—the pit was filled with earth, and a massive tree grew out of it.
The explosive tags detonated, and the ground trembled.
But under the great tree's "soothing," everything quickly fell silent again.
[Current mission: Break Hidan's immortality.]
[Reward: Death Controlling Possessed Blood.]
[Mission complete. Reward granted.]
Kitazawa dusted off his hands.
The explosive tags blew Hidan to pieces, and then the giant tree rooted itself through his body—both together meant he would soon die.
Kitazawa glanced at the three lines of text, then used Flying Thunder God.
He instantly appeared beside Sasuke.
Because the fight with Hidan ended so quickly, Sasuke and Kakuzu were still in the middle of a chase.
"Kakuzu, I've mastered Flying Thunder God. You can't escape. How about we make a deal?" Kitazawa said, looking at Kakuzu and getting straight to the point.
"What deal?" Kakuzu stopped, his face dark.
He understood Flying Thunder God's effect perfectly well.
Back then, Namikaze Minato had relied on Flying Thunder God to remain unbeaten—and earned the title "Yellow Flash."
More importantly, even without Flying Thunder God, Kakuzu knew there was no way he could escape from Kitazawa.
After all, with Konan's help, he'd fought Kitazawa once before. He knew exactly how terrifying his strength was.
The gap between them was like heaven and earth. If Kitazawa used Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique, Kakuzu wouldn't even have the chance to resist.
"This is my student, Uchiha Sasuke," Kitazawa introduced.
Uchiha…?
Kakuzu's eyes sharpened as he recalled the pursuit earlier.
He'd gotten a head start and ran first, yet still couldn't shake Sasuke.
Without a doubt, his strength wasn't weak.
"The deal is simple," Kitazawa said with a smile. "The two of you fight. If you win, I'll let you leave."
Kakuzu instinctively let out a breath—then tensed again.
Because he remembered the fame of Uzumaki Naruto.
Naruto and Sasuke were the same age and both Kitazawa's students.
More importantly, if Kitazawa proposed this deal, it meant he trusted Sasuke's strength.
But… did Kakuzu have any other choice?
"And if I lose?" Kakuzu asked after a moment of silence.
"We've got a bit of a history," Kitazawa said casually. "If you lose, you choose to join Konoha, and I won't kill you."
Kakuzu froze.
Join Konoha?
That sounded absurd.
After all, he had once tried to assassinate Konoha's First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
"I accept," Kakuzu nodded.
Same as always—he had no other option.
Refuse and die. Agree and live.
~~~
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