“Kitazawa-sensei, where did you find such a large summoning beast?” Naruto asked excitedly.

“Kitazawa-sensei, are there any more summoning beasts like that?” Kiba added impatiently. “I want one too!”

“Kiba, if Mom hears you say that, she’ll beat you so badly you won’t be able to get out of bed,” Inuzuka Hana warned with a wry smile.

Although the Chameleon Lizard looked incredibly powerful, she still preferred her Haimaru brothers, whom she had raised since they were pups.

“I’m just curious. Don’t tell Mom!” Kiba shrank back, quickly conceding as he explained.

“Obtaining a summoning beast is all about luck. It would be very difficult for me to find another one like this,” Kitazawa said firmly, stopping their discussion. “Your own strength is what matters most—don’t always rely on external things.”

“Kitazawa-sensei is right,” Kiba nodded quickly. “I’m not envious at all!”

“Ah? Then you just—” Naruto began, but Kiba cut him off by covering his mouth.

“I was just joking earlier,” Kiba said seriously.

“Since Kiba doesn’t want it, Kitazawa-sensei, next time there’s a summoning beast like that, give it to me!” Ino leaned forward, grabbed Kitazawa’s arm, and smiled brightly.

Hinata, seeing this, instinctively pursed her lips.

“We’ll see,” Kitazawa replied. “Your top priority is to prepare for next week’s monthly exam. Don’t forget that those who rank lower will face challenges from other classes.”

“Oh, right!” Kiba immediately felt a sense of crisis. “I don’t want to leave the Genius Class!”

“Me too!” Naruto grinned. “I want to be classmates with you guys forever!”

“Why are you suddenly saying something like that?” Tenten complained. “I always feel like there’s some ominous premonition.”

“Youth is about embracing challenges!” Rock Lee clenched his fists. “I’m really looking forward to the challenges from students in other classes!”

“Are you already anticipating that you’ll come in last?” Tenten teased, cutting him down.

Rock Lee scratched his head sheepishly. Although his practical exams were decent, his theoretical results were a mess, making him a tail-ender overall.

“With our strength, we won’t be kicked out of the Genius Class,” Shino said calmly.

“Alright, let’s go train.” Kitazawa stopped at the Ninja Academy’s training ground. “Neji, you stay.”

Sasuke and the others immediately left, heading to their respective groups to train with Maruboshi Kosuke and Kakashi Hatake.

“Kitazawa-sensei.” Neji looked at him curiously. Was he keeping him behind to teach him a new jutsu?

“Today you’ll still have special combat training, but it will be more targeted,” Kitazawa said with a smile. “Don’t you want to defeat Naruto? Then I’ll fight you using the jutsu Naruto has learned.”

Neji felt touched. In his eyes, such an approach would be completely unfair to Naruto. Kitazawa going to such lengths for him truly made him a good teacher.

However, the next second, he felt a subtle strangeness—Kitazawa used the Transformation Technique and turned into Naruto. It looked very odd.

“Come on,” Kitazawa beckoned.

Neji immediately accelerated and charged forward.

“Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!” Kitazawa shouted, creating thirty shadow clones.

Neji’s gaze sharpened, but he didn’t slow down. Because Kitazawa imitated Naruto’s jutsu call, he exposed which one was the main body.

“Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!”

Neji reached Kitazawa’s main body and, without hesitation, struck out with both palms.

“Good, very decisive.” Kitazawa stood firm, commenting before calling out, “Konoha Whirlwind!”

He kicked out a leg.

Seeing this, Neji was delighted. He slammed his palm onto Kitazawa’s leg, and the immense force caused Kitazawa to stumble back two steps.

Enduring the pain, Neji struck another palm at the chakra point in Kitazawa’s calf.

A dull thud sounded. Kitazawa felt the chakra in his right leg stagnate. He quickly retracted his leg but, unused to the disruption, became unstable.

Neji was about to press his advantage, but forgot about Kitazawa’s shadow clones.

“Konoha Double Whirlwind!” A spinning kick came from both left and right. Neji had no choice but to defend.

Just then, Kitazawa’s main body elbowed him directly, knocking him to the ground.

Neji felt dizzy but struggled back to his feet after a few seconds.

“This is how I would respond based on Naruto’s personality,” Kitazawa said calmly. “If his main body gets entangled with you, he’ll most likely trade blows and then have his shadow clones finish you.”

“Then what should I do?” Neji asked humbly.

“Either defeat him instantly, or use a feint attack,” Kitazawa replied.

“Naruto’s taijutsu isn’t weak; it would be very difficult for me to defeat him before his shadow clones react,” Neji admitted after thinking for a moment.

“Very good—you have a clear understanding of your own strength,” Kitazawa said with satisfaction. “Then use a feint attack.”

“How do I feint?” Neji asked, puzzled.

“Simply put, stall him. Once you find an opening, defeat him with your Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm,” Kitazawa said, patting his shoulder. “Ninja battles are intelligence battles; he doesn’t know you can use the Vacuum Palm.”

Neji’s face grew thoughtful. This method was actually similar to the strategy he used in his last battle with Naruto—only back then, he hadn’t learned the Vacuum Palm yet.

“It’s easy for me to say but hard for you to do,” Kitazawa continued. “You need to last longer under the encirclement of Naruto and his shadow clones.”

“Mmm.” Neji nodded.

“Besides his Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, you also need to learn how to deal with his Rasengan,” Kitazawa added. “The Rasengan is incredibly powerful; strictly speaking, it’s even trickier than the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.”

Neji’s expression involuntarily turned serious.

Kitazawa’s meaning was actually very simple: the Rasengan is far more direct and lethal than the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. Once it lands, Neji would have no choice but to concede.

“But the Rasengan also has a weakness: it cannot be released from the hand,” Kitazawa said with a smile. “I’m going to imitate Naruto using various methods to conceal the Rasengan, and you’ll have to find a way to counter it.”

Neji’s heart trembled. This was truly targeted combat training. If he still couldn’t defeat Naruto after this, he would really be letting Kitazawa down.

Thinking this, Neji focused all of his attention. Kitazawa couldn’t help but smile at his student’s determined demeanor.

If it were anyone else, they might be countered effectively. But Naruto was hard to predict because he improved so quickly.

Right now, he wasn’t yet the invincible powerhouse he would become. Once he mastered the Nine-Tails’ power, everything Neji learned today would be rendered useless.

And it wasn’t just Neji—aside from Sasuke, there was hardly anyone among their peers who could rival Naruto. Still, future matters would be dealt with in the future.

—

Night fell.

A Root underground base outside Konoha Village. Although it was already past quitting time, the base still bustled with activity.

Uchiha Itachi silently infiltrated the room where documents were stored. A barrier sealed the entrance; only Root operatives could open it.

Itachi’s method was simple—he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and controlled a Root ninja, using him to pass through the barrier. Once inside, he had the controlled ninja stand guard.

Seeing the vast array of documents, Itachi let out a quiet breath of relief. Tracking down Shigaraki Tanuki’s experimental base had not been easy. There were countless Root facilities, each excessively well-guarded.

More critically, every Root member bore the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal. Even one controlled by the Mangekyō Sharingan would trigger it, alerting Danzo.

Fortunately, Itachi’s skill was formidable. After tailing Root operatives multiple times, he had finally located this experimental base. He stepped forward and began rifling through the documents.

The more he read, the more shocked he became. Root’s research was disturbingly twisted, most of it involving human experimentation.

Experiments capable of drawing Tsunade’s attention had to be extraordinary. Although what he saw here was terrifying enough, he still felt something was missing.

Forming hand seals, he created three shadow clones. The four of them searched together and soon found an unusual file.

“Shigaraki Tanuki—Lead Experimenter. Top Secret.”

Itachi’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the cover. He quickly flipped it open. The file recorded a series of failed experiments—page after page of identical notes: on a certain date, the nth experiment failed due to chakra loss of control and an explosion.

One detail stood out: the test subject was a summoning beast marked by Gozu Tennō.

“Explosion…” Itachi murmured.

He had, of course, investigated Shigaraki Tanuki before. Kitazawa had asked him to uncover the nature of the man’s research. Unfortunately, Tanuki had not returned to work—he was recuperating at a Root base from severe injuries.

But Itachi had seen his treatment records. The injuries were caused by an explosion.

“This must be the experiment.” Itachi’s spirits lifted. After searching for so long, he had finally found a lead.

“Since it’s an experiment, there must also be an experimental site…a laboratory.”

He set the documents down and began searching the underground base. But after circling several times, he still couldn’t find any laboratory related to the Gozu Tennō research.

“It’s not here? Or is it hidden?” he thought, frowning. The latter seemed far more likely. From this, he concluded that the number of people who knew about the Gozu Tennō experiment was extremely small.

The best option was to wait for Shigaraki Tanuki’s return.

“It seems I’ll have to wait a few more days.” Itachi wasn’t in a hurry.

Firstly, Kitazawa hadn’t set a deadline. Secondly, he wanted to do this perfectly—to leave a good impression on Tsunade.

—

Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was a new week.

Tuesday morning.

Kitazawa arrived at the Ninja Academy’s training ground on time. As usual, he checked the progress of the Genius Class students.

The fastest progress had been made by Sakura, who had already mastered Water Release: Water Disruption and begun practicing Water Release: Water Formation Wall.

Next was Uchiha Sasuke. His Konoha-Style Swordsmanship had reached the introductory level, and he was expected to learn Konoha Style: Willow after the monthly exam.

Kitazawa’s shadow clone synchronized with him, taking the opportunity to study Konoha-Style Swordsmanship as well. Once he mastered Konoha Style: Willow, his system mission would be complete.

Uzumaki Naruto, Hyūga Hinata, Yakumo Kurama, and Inuzuka Kiba showed no significant changes.

Kitazawa pondered this as he arrived at the Academy’s artificial lake, where Inuzuka Hana and Chōji Akimichi were practicing Water-Walking Training.

“You two, come here.” After observing for a while, Kitazawa called out.

Inuzuka Hana and Chōji immediately stopped and walked over.

“After a month of training, your chakra control has improved significantly,” Kitazawa said with a smile. “You can now move on to the next round of special training.”

“Is it finally over?” Choji Akimichi wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking relieved.

Tree Climbing and Water Walking Training had been nothing short of torture for him. Because of his heavier build, he had to use far more chakra to maintain balance.

Inuzuka Hana, however, felt perfectly fine. As an older student, her foundation was much stronger than Choji’s, so both exercises were relatively easy for her.

“Choji, you will now learn the Partial Multi-Size Technique.” Kitazawa thought for a moment before adding, “You can go home for special training these two days.”

He couldn’t personally teach Choji the Partial Multi-Size Technique, so he could only have him return home and learn from Choza Akimichi instead.

“With your current chakra control, I estimate you’ll master the Partial Multi-Size Technique in about half a month at most.” Kitazawa’s face grew serious. “If you still haven’t learned it after half a month, you won’t be allowed to eat potato chips during your time at the academy.”

“What?” Choji’s eyes widened like copper bells. Not eating potato chips was worse than death for him.

“I will definitely master the Partial Multi-Size Technique!” After a brief pause, Choji burst with fighting spirit.

“Kitazawa-sensei, what should I do?” Inuzuka Hana asked eagerly.

She had witnessed Kiba’s rapid growth, and as his older sister, she felt tremendous pressure.

It would be embarrassing if Kiba surpassed her — and if nothing unexpected happened, that moment would soon arrive. She had already seen the Hell Hound Kiba was training.

[Current Mission: Help Inuzuka Hana develop a new Ninjutsu.]

[Mission Reward: 10% Senju Bloodline.]

[Do you accept?]

Just as Kitazawa was about to speak, the sudden mission prompt interrupted his thoughts.

As expected of the older sister, even the triggered mission was identical to Kiba’s. Yet the reward was a huge surprise — 10% of the Senju Bloodline, practically a freebie.

But why would developing a new Ninjutsu grant that bloodline? Could it be related to Senju Tobirama, the famed inventor of countless jutsu? Kitazawa’s thoughts raced as he began considering what new technique to create for Hana.

He had given Kiba the Hell Hound because Kiba didn’t have ninja hounds of his own. Hana, however, had her own, which meant she could fully develop the Inuzuka Clan’s secret technique — Inuzuka Style: Human Beast Transformation: Wolf Fang.

This had also inspired Kitazawa to develop the Hell Hound and Triple-Headed Hell Hound. Having Hana learn the Hell Hound would be against the natural order — and besides, it was no longer a new jutsu.

Kitazawa’s gaze fell on the three Harimaru siblings at Hana’s feet. A thought struck him.

Hana currently uses two secret techniques: Fang Over Fang and Four Legs Technique. But Fang Over Fang could only be performed with her and Harimaru ; the other two hounds couldn’t join in. So… could a Quadruple Fang Over Fang be created?

“Hana, I can help you modify Fang Over Fang,” Kitazawa said at last.

“?” A look of bewilderment appeared on Hana’s face. In her opinion, Fang Over Fang was already perfect and didn’t need modification.

“Although Fang Over Fang is very good, its developer didn’t consider one thing.” Kitazawa smiled. “You have three ninja hounds.”

Normally, the Inuzuka Clan had one ninja per hound; Hana’s situation was unusual.

“You mean—?” Realization flickered in Hana’s eyes, and she immediately looked expectant.

“That’s right,” Kitazawa replied. “I can help you modify Fang Over Fang so that you and the three Harimaru siblings can use it together.”

“Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!” Hana’s voice brimmed with excitement.

“Woof woof!” The three Harimaru siblings barked happily as well.

“I already have a concrete idea. Give me the jutsu scroll for Fang Over Fang, and I’ll teach you the new version tomorrow. For now, you’ll continue Water Walking Training today.”

“Yes, Kitazawa-sensei!” Hana immediately complied.

Kitazawa left two shadow clones and returned to his office with the Fang Over Fang scroll. He formed hand seals again, creating two more clones.

For the sake of that 10% Senju Bloodline, he planned to work tirelessly to complete Quadruple Fang Over Fang before nightfall.

As the night deepened, only Kitazawa’s office at the Ninja Academy remained lit.

[Current Mission: Help Inuzuka Hana develop a new Ninjutsu.]

[Mission Reward: 10% Senju Bloodline.]

[Host has completed the mission. Reward issued.]

Kitazawa looked at the three lines of text before him and couldn’t help but smile.

His body immediately began to change with the increase in the Senju Bloodline. A day’s fatigue vanished, and his chakra limit increased by another fifth.

He clenched his fists. He estimated that an ordinary Senju Clan member possessed two or three units of chakra.

One could tell by looking at Tsunade: excluding the Yin Seal, her regular chakra wasn’t much more than Kakashi’s — and this referred to Kakashi as Hokage in the late stages.

Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama were, after all, exceptional clan members. If every member had a chakra like theirs, the clan wouldn’t have fallen to its current neglected state.

Besides the chakra, the Senju Bloodline also brought improvements in recovery and stamina.

Kitazawa put away the completed Quadruple Fang Over Fang, stood up, and stretched. It was late, and Kurenai was probably getting anxious waiting.

Having just gained another 10% of the Senju Bloodline, he could go home and test his stamina and new limits.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep