CHAPTER 124: CHAPTER 124

Kitazawa arrived swiftly at the Uchiha Clan compound, his presence drawing a few curious glances.

But as expected of the Uchiha, those glances were restrained—merely cool observation, not open hostility.

Most Uchiha were... relatively normal.

The real problem lay with the hardliners, the radicals who still dreamed of claiming the Hokage’s seat by force, goaded by Danzo’s constant oppression.

As for Fugaku Uchiha... in the original timeline, he had always struck Kitazawa as a hesitant fence-sitter.

At first, he stalled the hardliners.

When he could no longer hold them back, he reluctantly leaned toward rebellion—only to surrender without a fight when Itachi finally stood before him.

A few steps later, Kitazawa spotted Itachi and Sasuke in the courtyard, their Sharingan glimmering as they sparred.

"Kitazawa-sensei."

Sasuke noticed him first, turning to greet him.

Itachi echoed the greeting with that same polite, calm tone—though his version carried the weight of a silent guardian.

Being pinned by two Sharingan at once sent a faint prickling sensation down Kitazawa’s spine.

He could easily imagine how suffocating it would be to stand in front of a whole squad of Uchiha staring like this.

’This must be what walking into the Hyuga compound feels like,’ he mused. ’Except with them, it’s Byakugan beams from every angle.’

"It’s enough for today, Sasuke," Itachi said gently, ruffling his brother’s hair before stepping toward Kitazawa.

"Kitazawa-sensei, please come in."

With perfect manners, he opened the door and gestured inside.

"Thank you," Kitazawa replied with a small nod.

"Dad! Kitazawa-sensei’s here!"

Sasuke practically bounced into the living room.

The last two days had been a dream for him:

He had awakened his Sharingan and finally received open recognition from his father.

Double the joy.

Even better, both Fugaku and Itachi had been personally guiding him on Sharingan training—something Sasuke had never experienced before.

Before this, they had always been "too busy" to teach him seriously.

Even when he learned the Great Fireball Jutsu, Fugaku had given a few pointers... and then vanished, leaving him to figure it out alone.

"Clan Head Fugaku."

Kitazawa greeted politely.

"Kitazawa, welcome."

Fugaku rose from his seat, his tone measured and dignified.

"You’ve done much for Sasuke. I owe you my thanks."

"I’m his teacher. It’s my duty."

Kitazawa smiled lightly.

Fugaku’s sharp gaze lingered on him, as if weighing that answer.

After Sasuke’s sudden Sharingan awakening, he had made discreet inquiries about the process.

The method... was unlike anything he had ever seen.

Still, an awakened Sharingan was a blessing.

And for Sasuke to achieve it at only six years old—that was beyond rare.

"Please, sit," Fugaku said, gesturing to the sofa. "Itachi, bring tea."

Kitazawa sat opposite him. Moments later, Itachi returned with a steaming cup, setting it before him with perfect composure.

"You two," Fugaku said, glancing at his sons, "go help your mother in the kitchen."

"Understood," Itachi replied, immediately recognizing his father’s intent.

He wasn’t truly sending him away—he was removing Sasuke from the conversation.

The boy was still too young to hear what would come next.

Only when the brothers left did Fugaku lean forward slightly.

"Kitazawa. Why did you help Sasuke awaken his Sharingan?"

The question was calm, but laced with quiet scrutiny.

Kitazawa’s expression didn’t change.

"It was Sasuke’s request."

’Certainly not a "system mission," and definitely not Tsunade’s idea,’ he thought wryly.

Fugaku’s eyes narrowed.

"Then why did Lady Tsunade tell you about the Uchiha’s... unique awakening conditions?"

"She mentioned it in passing—while performing eye surgery on a patient," Kitazawa said smoothly.

Then, with a mild smile, he added, "If you ever want to seek Lady Tsunade’s assistance directly, I can deliver the message for you."

He had already guessed Fugaku’s line of thought.

It was best to go along with the assumptions of powerful people, rather than contradict them.

Fugaku’s gaze flickered, as if confirming his own suspicions.

’As I thought...’

Tsunade wasn’t truly disinterested in the Hokage position.

Her return to Konoha and her lingering presence made perfect sense if she was waiting for the right opportunity.

For the Uchiha, that possibility was a lifeline.

If Tsunade became Hokage and lent them support, they could avoid a hopeless rebellion.

Perhaps they could even place a clan member in Konoha’s higher command.

"Thank you for the information."

A faint smile tugged at Fugaku’s lips.

"Dinner’s ready!"

Mikoto emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray of dishes, followed by Sasuke with chopsticks and Itachi with a bowl.

"Please," Fugaku said, gesturing for Kitazawa to join them.

The meal was relaxed, almost warm.

In Fugaku’s eyes, Kitazawa was no longer just a teacher—he was now Tsunade’s representative, whether he liked it or not.

Before Kitazawa left, Mikoto quietly handed him a scroll.

She didn’t specify its contents, only that it was a thank-you gift for helping Sasuke awaken his Sharingan.

Once he left the compound, Kitazawa unrolled it.

"Wind Release, huh..." he murmured.

It wasn’t Fire Release, as one might expect from the Uchiha, but a collection of six Wind Release Jutsu—exactly the ones Danzo favored.

Two he already knew:

Vacuum Bullet

Great Vacuum Bullet

The remaining four were:

Vacuum Wave

Continuous Vacuum Wave

Vacuum Shuriken

Vacuum Blade

Kitazawa couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Is this... a subtle way to annoy Danzo?"

Either way, it was a nice bonus.

Even without the Sharingan, the Uchiha could easily obtain these jutsu as war contributors to Konoha.

’A full Wind Release starter pack. Not bad at all.’

Six solid Wind techniques were enough to make someone a Wind Release specialist at Jōnin level.

After all, even most seasoned Jōnin only mastered seven or eight jutsu per element.

[You have accepted Mikoto Uchiha’s gift. As a genius, you cannot waste it.]

[Current Mission: Learn four Wind Release jutsu by the end of the second semester.]

[Reward: Proficient Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation.]

Kitazawa froze for a moment, then grinned.

’What a thoughtful system.’

He already had Proficient Yin and Yang Release, and now Wind Release was next.

With this, he could even consider creating Wind Release: Rasengan... and eventually, Rasenshuriken.

The memory of its raw destructive power came to mind—

Even 50% complete, it had obliterated two of Kakuzu’s hearts.

The only thing that puzzled him was the time limit.

"By the second semester, huh?"

He stroked his chin.

’Probably because of the Genjutsu mission... summer vacation will be packed anyway.’

Between Genjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu, this summer was shaping up to be anything but restful.

Time flowed with the rhythm of training.

The third week of summer vacation arrived, and though August brought a slight drop in temperature, the air was still thick with heat.

As usual, Kitazawa strolled into the Ninja Academy after breakfast.

Across the Artificial Lake, a swarm of Narutos in bright green jumpsuits marched back and forth on the water.

’Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu really is absurd,’ Kitazawa thought.

Naruto’s chakra control was notoriously bad thanks to the Nine-Tails’ interference, yet the sheer number of clones made up for it.

Quantity had finally birthed quality.

Two weeks of constant water walking had paid off.

Naruto’s control was still crude, but undeniably better.

’If only he were older...’ Kitazawa mused.

’In his teens, like in the original story, he’d already be spamming hundreds—maybe thousands—of clones.’

He rubbed his chin, considering Naruto’s problem.

There were only two real ways to fix his control:

Sealing Jutsu

Reconciliation with the Nine-Tails

The first option was impossible.

Minato had deliberately left a gap in the seal so Naruto could gradually access the fox’s Chakra.

If a simple seal reinforcement could fix the interference, Hiruzen or Jiraiya would’ve done it long ago.

In the original timeline, Naruto only achieved balance through the second method—

’but that was years after graduation,’ Kitazawa reminded himself.

’Six... maybe ten years from now.’

He could, in theory, push Naruto to interact with the Nine-Tails early—

but he didn’t yet have the authority to meddle in jinchūriki affairs.

’Once I officially become Tsunade-sama’s disciple... maybe then.’

’If it triggers a system mission, the reward will probably be Chakra. And right now, I need that more than anything.’

"Naruto! Come here!"

Kitazawa’s voice boomed across the lake.

"Kitazawa-sensei, you need me?"

"Hey, let me go first!"

"Move! I’m the original, he’s calling for me!"

Dozens of Narutos came crashing toward him in a noisy tide.

The original finally squeezed through.

"What’s up, Kitazawa-sensei?"

"Water Walking Training ends here," Kitazawa said. "It’s time I taught you... Rasengan."

Naruto’s eyes practically lit up like fireworks.

"YES! Finally! No more falling into the lake every day! My youth can burn freely!"

"I’ll master it first!"

"No way, I’m the first!"

Kitazawa’s mouth twitched.

’Why do Shadow Clones have to come with independent chatterboxes...?’

"Quiet!"

The clones snapped to attention.

"Rasengan training has three stages," Kitazawa explained, producing a water balloon from a scroll.

"This is stage one. Naruto, hand these out—one per clone."

It took the boy three minutes to distribute the balloons.

"Condense your Chakra into your palm, rotate it inside the balloon, and keep increasing the turbulence... until the balloon pops."

Kitazawa demonstrated, his balloon bursting instantly with a satisfying splash.

"Pfft, that looks easy!" Naruto said, scratching his head.

"Youth is an explosion!"

"Watch me do it first!"

"I’m gonna be the first Shadow Clone to win!"

Without waiting for the original, the army of Narutos all started spinning balloons furiously.

Kitazawa observed for a while. Not one balloon popped.

’Learning this years earlier than the original story... yeah, this is gonna be slow.’

Fortunately, Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was basically a cheat.

With enough grinding, they’d get there.

"You all keep training," Kitazawa said. "If you have questions, ask me."

He walked over to Hinata Hyuga, who had been quietly watching the chaos.

"Naruto looks so lively," she said softly.

"Want to learn Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Kitazawa teased with a grin.

"Imagine a whole squad of little Hinatas... unbearably cute."

"I... I’ll learn it later," she said, blushing.

"First, I want to master Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."

"You’ve already nailed the first six palms. I bet by the end of summer, you’ll hit ten palms in a single combo."

He ruffled her hair lightly.

"Last semester, Neji was nowhere near your speed."

"R-Really?!"

Her eyes sparkled in disbelief.

Catching up to Neji, the genius she had always admired from a distance, seemed like a distant dream.

"Mm-hm." Kitazawa nodded, then added,

"But after this summer... who knows? He’ll definitely improve too."

Self-study couldn’t match direct instruction from both him and Hiashi, but Neji was still a prodigy.

"I’ll work hard!" Hinata said, fists clenched in determination.

"Good. Then let’s start."

Kitazawa smiled. He really liked her spirit—gentle but resilient, willing to push herself without complaint.

After lunch, Kitazawa left a Shadow Clone with Naruto and Hinata, returning to Kurenai’s home.

In just one week and two days, he had learned two Genjutsu:

Temple of Nirvana (A-rank)

Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing (C-rank)

One more Genjutsu, and the system mission would be complete.

He walked into the living room and nearly called out "Yuhi-sensei"—

but stopped when he saw Lady Tsunade and Shizune there as well.

The unusual gathering made a thought click in his mind.

’Wait... did the new jutsu succeed?’

"Did it work?" he asked directly.

"I had a flash of inspiration at the casino this morning," Tsunade said, yawning.

"Came home and finished the jutsu."

Kitazawa’s lips twitched.

’Casino inspiration?’

’So, is the secret to inventing new Ninjutsu losing all your money first?’

"As expected of Lady Tsunade," he said sincerely. "You make what we struggle with look effortless."

"You’re not bad yourself," she replied with a faint smile.

"Shizune tells me you’ve already started on the Chakra Scalpel?"

"Yes," Kitazawa nodded.

He had, of course, already mastered it through the system.

"So fast?" Kurenai said in shock.

He was learning Genjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu simultaneously, breezing through both.

It was almost unfair.

Shizune patted Kurenai’s shoulder in sympathy.

"You’ll get used to it. I already know I’m going to be the kouhai soon."

"So... what’s this new Genjutsu like?" Kitazawa asked, steering back to the topic.

"It’s similar to Yakumo’s illusion world—you trap the target in a constructed reality," Kurenai explained.

"But strong ninja can break free fairly easily. I’d call it B-rank."

Kitazawa’s eyes lit up.

"Then let’s give it a name... how about Mirror Dimension?"

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