“Tsunade? Which Tsunade?”

“Which other Tsunade could there be in Konoha? Of course, it’s the Tsunade—one of the Legendary Three Ninjas!”

“What? Lady Tsunade actually came here to see Kitazawa-senpai?” After a moment of stunned silence, the first-year teachers all wore expressions of disbelief.

“Lady Tsunade,” A young teacher stood up and said, “Senior Kitazawa is in the first office on the second floor.”

Upon hearing that, Tsunade closed the door and made her way upstairs. She was just about to push the door open when she paused for a second and decided to knock instead.

“Come in.” Kitazawa raised his head.

He had just finished teaching Second-Year Class A, and after returning to his office, he had started organizing the final exams.

Compared to the monthly assessments, the final exams were undoubtedly more important.

It was the first time he was overseeing them, and he couldn’t afford any mistakes—he needed to make them perfect.

“Lady Tsunade?” Kitazawa blinked in surprise when he saw her walk in.

“Are you free right now?” Tsunade got straight to the point. “Let’s go see the old man.”

“Alright.” Kitazawa nodded. It wouldn’t take long to visit the Hokage’s office.

More importantly, they were going to collect the promised money and the ninjutsu reward.

The two stepped outside.

“About last night… sorry to trouble you, Kitazawa.” Tsunade hesitated before speaking.

“It was no trouble at all. Just a small matter.” Kitazawa shook his head.

Tsunade bit her lip, but didn’t know what else to say.

—

Soon, the two arrived at the Hokage’s office.

Bang!

Tsunade kicked the door open without hesitation.

“You’re going to scare me to death one of these days!” Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn’t help but complain.

“It’s fine,” Tsunade said sweetly, “I can help heal your heart condition.”

Hiruzen was so angry that he nearly choked and immediately began coughing.

“Cut back on smoking, and maybe you’ll live a few years longer.” Tsunade walked over, snatched the pipe from his hand, and added, “You’ll thank me later.”

“Stop provoking me—just tell me what you want.” Hiruzen exhaled deeply and asked, “So? What brings you here?”

“Here.” Tsunade tossed him a ninjutsu scroll.

“Memory Sealing Jutsu?” Sarutobi glanced at the scroll and asked thoughtfully, “Is this different from ordinary memory seals?”

“First, it doesn’t damage the target’s spirit.” Tsunade held up three fingers, “Second, the effect is permanent. Third, the target is aware that the memory was sealed.”

“That does sound more humane.” Hiruzen nodded slightly.

Standard memory seals were mostly used on enemies—brutal and simple, often leaving mental side effects.

“You can go to the Anbu division later and collect one million ryo.” Sarutobi closed the scroll.

“One million’s too low,” Tsunade shook her head. “This involves sealing arts and counts as B-rank ninjutsu.”

“Alright, then… one and a half million ryo.” Hiruzen sighed. “And Kitazawa can choose one B-rank ninjutsu as well.”

Ever since Kitazawa had learned the Rasengan, he considered him a genuine high-level combatant. With his elite teaching skills and a strong family background, Hiruzen didn’t mind helping him grow stronger.

“That’s more like it.” Tsunade turned around, waved her hand, and said, “Let’s go, Kitazawa.”

“Thank you, Lord Hokage.” Kitazawa respectfully bowed to Sarutobi and followed after her.

“I’ll take 700,000 ryo.” Tsunade, as before, split the reward almost evenly—claiming nearly half.

Kitazawa didn’t object. After all, the major credit was hers.

“We’ll discuss new ninjutsu tonight,” Tsunade added with a grin. “But for now, I think I’ll hit the casino for some fun.”

—

Kitazawa turned and followed Anbu member Haru toward the ninjutsu storage vault.

He had already made up his mind the night before. Without much hesitation, he selected the B-rank Wind Release: Great Vacuum Sphere.

It was an enhanced version of the standard Vacuum Sphere. If the original was like a blast of wind bullets, this was more like a wind-propelled rocket barrage.

However, the increase in power came with a trade-off: slower speed. That’s why both were classified as B-rank wind-style techniques.

After claiming the scroll, Kitazawa returned to the ninja school and continued preparing for the final exams.

By the afternoon, his preparations were mostly complete. All that remained was for the other teachers to set their exam papers.

[Current Task: Help Yamanaka Ino master the Mind Body Switch Technique.

Task Reward: Mind Body Switch Technique.]

[Host has completed the task. Reward issued.]

“So it’s finally complete?” Kitazawa wasn’t surprised.

After all, Yamanaka Ino had been training for quite a while. Kitazawa shook his head as he absorbed the newly received technique.

The Mind Body Switch Technique had numerous limitations and was risky when used solo. Kitazawa rubbed his chin in thought.

For someone of Ino’s age, just learning it at all was an achievement. For now, her training wouldn’t need to change. He’d continue guiding her to deepen her chakra control and Yin Release nature transformation.

The same applied to Shikamaru. If he wanted to learn a second secret technique, it would take time to lay the proper foundation.

Kitazawa shifted focus and opened his system task list.

There were many missions queued up, but two were directly related to the upcoming finals.

The first: Help Uzumaki Naruto defeat Uchiha Sasuke.

The second: Achieve first place in the final exam.

There were also two missions Kitazawa planned to complete over summer vacation:

One: Help Hyuga Hinata defeat Hyuga Neji.

Two: Help Uchiha Sasuke defeat Hyuga Neji.

In simple terms, both Hinata and Sasuke needed targeted training.

Kitazawa couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why is everyone aiming at Neji Hyuga?”

He could already picture how devastated Neji would be if he lost twice in a row. Still, that wasn’t his concern.

Kitazawa suspected that when the time came, Neji would trigger a whole new mission for him.

He thought of Choji Akimichi again.

Shikamaru and Ino had both triggered tasks, so there was no reason why Choji couldn’t. But the Akimichi clan was unique—overeating was their form of training.

Kitazawa exhaled softly in surprise. Overeating?

The big eater competition held by Ichiraku Ramen in the original work flashed through his mind. Maybe he could do something with that concept.

Kitazawa got up and walked to the training ground of the ninja school.

Sakura’s speed remained as quick as ever, and it was likely she’d learn the Blood Coagulation Technique by tomorrow. Kitazawa planned to teach her the Anesthesia Technique next, and then let her focus on practicing the nature transformation of the Yang-attribute chakra.

His own Yang-attribute chakra change, which had just reached a skilled level, would come in handy here.

Kitazawa turned his gaze and walked toward Hinata, beginning to instruct her.

The sun was setting.

Thursday was coming to an end.

—

Kitazawa left the ninja school on time. He arrived at Kurenai’s house, but as he opened the door, he suddenly froze.

Beyond the door wasn’t the familiar entryway or living room—it was a boundless starry sky.

Had he opened the wrong door? Kitazawa instinctively shut the door and opened it again, only to be greeted once more by the same dazzling night sky.

After a moment of thought, he realized what it was.

It was one of the abilities of Kurama Yakumo’s genjutsu-based bloodline limit called Boundary Manipulation. In the original story, Kurenai once fell victim to this illusion and nearly died.

And at the time, she was already a jonin-level illusionist.

Kitazawa stepped inside. The surrounding starlight seemed to welcome him, dancing like fireflies and creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

A moment later, he spotted Kurenai and Yakumo. They were sitting beside the sea, barefoot, their white feet submerged in the water.

“Here, Kitazawa!” Kurenai saw him and waved.

Kitazawa walked over and noticed that it wasn’t normal seawater, but something sparkling—like liquid gemstones. He sat beside Kurenai and dipped his feet into the water.

The cool sensation sent a shiver through his body—it was incredibly refreshing.

“This is one of Yakumo’s new abilities,” Kurenai explained. “She can create real illusions—no matter how absurd they are, they feel real.”

Kitazawa thought of Uchiha Itachi’s Tsukuyomi, the Mangekyō Sharingan’s unique power. In Tsukuyomi, every factor—time, space, sensation—was under the caster’s control.

Kurama Yakumo’s Boundary Manipulation was comparable to Tsukuyomi in that regard.

Kitazawa looked down at the sea. Kurenai’s slender legs were clearly visible, as warm and delicate as polished jade. With a glint in his eye, he raised his leg and brushed it against hers.

Kurenai shot him a glare, her eyes warning him to behave since Yakumo was present.

Kitazawa simply smiled. At the same time, he pressed his left leg against her thigh, gently rubbing her soft skin.

Kurenai instinctively clamped her legs together, her toes curling in embarrassment. She was about to scold him when footsteps echoed nearby.

“Is this Yakumo’s bloodline limit?” Tsunade looked around and sighed in amazement. “No wonder that old man Danzo refused to let her go.”

Shizune was left speechless. She had never seen such a gorgeous illusion before.

What was even more terrifying was that they hadn’t realized they were in an illusion—they had just opened a door and entered.

“That’s enough!” Kurenai leaned over and whispered urgently in Kitazawa’s ear. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably.

If Tsunade and Shizune discovered their subtle movements, she’d be mortified beyond belief.

“Tsunade-sama, Shizune-sister, come soak your feet too.” Kitazawa withdrew his leg and gave Kurenai some space.

Tsunade and Shizune came to the shoreline, sat down, and stretched out their pale feet.

The five of them soaked in the water. Except for Yakumo, everyone was astonished by the illusion’s beauty and realism.

“Our next ninjutsu will be modeled after Yakumo’s illusion,” Tsunade said suddenly, raising her foot and examining the water droplets on her skin.

“Isn’t that a bit difficult?” Kurenai turned her head and asked.

“There’s a simpler way.” Tsunade let her leg fall, splashing water lightly. “We only need to replicate about one-tenth of its effect.”

“And our version is for healing,” Shizune added. “It doesn’t need to be extravagant—just whatever makes the patient feel most at peace.”

“That’s a great idea,” Kitazawa nodded in agreement.

This time, he could truly relax. After all, he wouldn’t be much help with illusion-based ninjutsu anyway.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep