Chapter 171: Chapter 171

“Kitazawa-sensei, until next time.”

Mikoto stood at the doorway, her calm eyes following Kitazawa’s retreating back.

“Aunt Mikoto…”

Izumi finally broke her silence. “I already have a squad leader and teammates.”

“I know.”

Mikoto withdrew her gaze and turned toward her niece.

“Then why agree to Kitazawa-sensei?” Izumi asked, startled by her own boldness.

“Your squad leader is a jonin from the clan, isn’t he? All I need to do is speak with him.” Mikoto’s voice was even, almost indifferent.

Normally, after graduating from the Academy, students were assigned a jonin leader and teammates. But the Uchiha Clan, as one of Konoha’s great clans, held certain privileges—appointing their own instructors among them.

Izumi was a rare talent, so naturally, the clan had placed her under the tutelage of an Uchiha jonin. There was another reason, too.

The Sharingan—no outsider could teach it. An Uchiha mentor would help her grow more quickly.

“I… don’t get it.” Izumi’s brows furrowed. Kitazawa wasn’t an Uchiha. He had no Sharingan. How could he possibly guide her better than the clan’s own?

“Kitazawa’s position is… special,” Mikoto said gently. “Becoming his student will benefit not only you, but the Uchiha as a whole.” She reached out and stroked Izumi’s hair with a small smile. “As for the Sharingan, I’ll let Itachi teach you. How about that?”

“Really?” Izumi’s face lit up instantly.

“Of course.” Mikoto’s smile softened before she added, “And Kitazawa-sensei is far more formidable than you think. You’ll gain much by learning from him.”

Her confidence came from what she’d seen with Sasuke. Before enrollment, he was a bright child but nowhere near Itachi. After joining Kitazawa’s class, though, his growth was astonishing. He awakened his Sharingan early, mastered fire techniques, taijutsu, and even genjutsu.

Before, he’d been an ordinary genius. Now, he was nothing short of extraordinary.

The difference was Kitazawa.

“Mm.” Izumi nodded, though a new worry crept into her mind. “I just don’t know how strong my new teammates are.”

“Anyone chosen by Kitazawa won’t be weak,” Mikoto assured her. “Besides, with your strength, passing the Chunin Exams won’t be difficult.”

“That’s true.” Izumi’s lips curved into a determined smile. “Itachi’s already an Anbu captain… I can’t fall too far behind him.”

By afternoon, the training ground buzzed with students from Class 1-A and Class 2-A, all gathered for their weekly sparring test.

Kitazawa, with a subtle bit of arranging, had paired Sasuke against Yakumo.

Predictably, Sasuke lost—again.

He stood frozen, trembling with frustration. Losing so miserably each time burned his pride, yet only fanned his determination. If anything, the humiliation hardened his resolve to complete Kitazawa’s special training as quickly as possible.

“Class dismissed. See you tomorrow.”

Kitazawa’s hands clapped sharply, ending the session.

To his surprise, the real highlight of the day had been the Hyuga cousins. Neji had advanced to twelve palms of the Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, while Hinata had pushed ahead with fourteen.

Meanwhile, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kiba had performed within expectations—no breakthroughs, no disasters.

“Goodbye, Kitazawa-sensei!” the students chorused as they scattered.

Sasuke lingered only a moment, face tight, before turning away wordlessly. Kitazawa’s smile at the boy’s stubborn back faded quickly—he had his own ordeal to face.

Three more grueling hours of Tsunade’s “training” in Super Strength. By the time evening fell, Monday had finally come to a punishing close.

Saturday morning.

The Academy grounds were quiet, empty of the usual chatter. But on the training field, three students waited: Kabuto, Torune, and Izumi.

Kitazawa arrived to find a familiar scene—Kabuto chatting animatedly, drawing his teammates in with ease.

“As expected,” Kitazawa thought, amused. “The future snake’s right-hand man already has social skills maxed out.”

The week itself had been uneventful—aside from Sasuke’s two crushing defeats. But there was good news: the boy had finally mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Combined with Body Flicker, his chances against Naruto had improved. Not reliable yet, but promising.

For now, though, Kitazawa had another duty.

“Kitazawa-sensei.”

Kabuto noticed him first, falling silent. Torune and Izumi quickly followed with respectful greetings.

“Since you’ve already met, I’ll keep this short,” Kitazawa said. “The three of you will enter the Chunin Exams together as a team.”

“Yes,” they answered in unison.

“The exam has three parts: a written test, a team battle, and individual duels.”

Konoha’s internal exams were much like the joint exams in the future, Kitazawa knew—minus the infamous Forest of Death scroll hunt.

“For the next two days, your task is simple: build team cohesion.” He smiled faintly. “And how do shinobi bond best? Through battle.”

Izumi raised a hand, curiosity in her eyes. “Do you mean the three of us sparring with each other?”

“No.” Kitazawa shook his head. “The three of you will fight me.”

“Eh?” Izumi blinked in surprise. Kabuto and Torune exchanged stunned looks.

“I’m confident in your written and solo skills,” Kitazawa explained. “But as a team, you’ve never worked together. This exercise will be your whetstone.”

Torune hesitated. “Kitazawa-sensei… may I use my kikaichu?”

Kitazawa chuckled. “Worried about poisoning me? I’m a medical ninja, Torune. Don’t hold back.”

Torune’s nanoscale insects were lethal, yes, but Kitazawa had more than enough counters. Between Tsunade and Nono, he’d learned detoxification that would make most poisons useless.

“The team battle stage won’t be on flat ground,” Kitazawa continued. “Usually it’s a terrain like a forest. Which is why…” He gestured toward a nearby grove. “We’ll spar there.”

The three students followed him in.

“You have ten minutes to plan.”

Kabuto immediately pulled the others into discussion, whispering strategies. Kitazawa didn’t eavesdrop, waiting patiently.

“We’re ready, Kitazawa-sensei,” Kabuto announced after only a few minutes.

“Then begin.”

The moment he spoke, the three vanished into the trees.

Kitazawa arched an eyebrow. At least they understood the basics—stealth and surprise were the essence of shinobi combat.

He assessed their capabilities: Kabuto with medical ninjutsu and wind release, Torune with his nano insects, Izumi with her one-tomoe Sharingan, fire release, and taijutsu.

A sudden distortion in the air drew his attention—then a massive fireball roared forth, amplified by a gust of wind. The flames swelled into something like a miniature sun.

“Wind and fire combination… clever,” Kitazawa mused, though the mastermind was obvious. With Kabuto leading, it was only natural.

“Will it work?” Izumi’s voice was taut, her eyes narrowed.

“It’s unlikely,” Kabuto admitted. “Kitazawa-sensei’s on another level. Our attacks probably won’t land.”

“He’s really that strong?” Izumi asked, disbelief flickering in her eyes.

Her knowledge of Kitazawa came mostly from Itachi’s words—high praise for his teaching and medical skill. But beyond that? Itachi had left much unsaid.

“Kitazawa-sensei has the strength of an Elite Jōnin.”

Unlike Izumi, Kabuto had witnessed Kitazawa’s clash with an Iwagakure Jōnin firsthand and knew exactly how terrifying his power was.

“Elite Jōnin?”

Izumi’s eyes widened in shock.

A simple Academy teacher with that kind of strength?

Her disbelief didn’t last long. In the next instant, Kitazawa revealed his power before her very eyes.

A thunderous roar split the grove. From nothing, a ferocious Water Dragon surged forth, colliding head-on with a blazing fireball. Water and fire clashed violently, the explosion producing a deafening boom and thick rolling mist.

In moments, the flames were completely swallowed by the rushing torrent.

“So that was a three-pronged attack.”

Kitazawa raised an eyebrow calmly.

His Water Dragon had struck not only the fireball, but something else hidden within it—Torune Aburame’s nano-sized venomous insects, cleverly concealed behind Kabuto and Izumi’s techniques.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!”

Kitazawa’s hands blurred through signs. The Water Dragon couldn’t harm the microscopic insects, but fire could. He exhaled sharply, unleashing a blazing sphere nearly ten meters tall.

The inferno roared, consuming every last insect.

“So big!” Izumi gasped. Her Sharingan trembled as she watched in awe. She had seen countless Fireballs before—but Kitazawa’s dwarfed them all.

How could an outsider wield an Uchiha’s specialty better than the Uchiha themselves?

“As expected, it won’t be that easy.”

Kabuto’s glasses glinted as he glanced at Torune. “You still holding up?”

“I’ll live,” Torune replied, pale-faced. “But too many of my insects were destroyed. I’ll need to use Secret Jutsu: Insect Cocoon to replenish them.”

Whether kikaichū or nano-insects, both thrived on chakra. Torune’s tone was calm, but his loss was significant.

“Izumi—initiate the second plan,” Kabuto ordered sharply.

His hands blurred again—Shadow Clone. In an instant, a clone transformed into Izumi’s likeness.

The air howled. A fierce gust of wind rushed Kitazawa’s way.

“Water Release: Water Wall!”

A towering wall of water rose before him, splitting the gale to either side. Kabuto appeared at his flank, Body Flicker carrying him forward.

“Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!”

His kunai shimmered with cutting wind chakra as he slashed. At the same time, Izumi attacked from the opposite side, showering Kitazawa with kunai and shuriken.

Kitazawa’s response was casual. He drew his own kunai and parried with ease.

Clang!

Kabuto staggered back, shocked at the sheer force transferred through his weapon.

Kitazawa didn’t even spare him another glance. Instead, he twisted, his blade flashing. Kunai and shuriken alike were deflected in a single sweep.

In the next instant, Izumi flickered forward, her foot slamming toward his abdomen.

Kabuto steadied himself, forming more seals. “Wind Release: Shuriken!”

The spinning projectile shot forward just as Izumi’s kick landed—perfect synchronization.

Kitazawa prepared to counter, but his eyes narrowed sharply. From beneath his feet, a swarm of nano-insects erupted.

“Leaf Body Flicker!”

In a blur of scattering leaves, his body vanished.

Kabuto’s face fell. “Damn!”

The Wind Shuriken struck Izumi squarely—puff—only for her to dissolve into smoke.

“As expected, just a clone.” Kitazawa reappeared calmly.

With a one-handed seal, he turned to face the real Izumi. Their eyes met.

“Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death.”

Izumi froze. In her vision, roots and branches twisted around her body, binding her against a massive tree.

’Genjutsu!’ Her Sharingan flared, dispelling it—but too late.

Kitazawa’s whirlwind kick slammed into her, sending her tumbling across the ground. Of course, he had held back.

“Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!” Kabuto didn’t hesitate, exhaling a surging gust.

Torune seized the opening, directing another wave of venomous insects forward.

Izumi forced herself up, her hands tugging sharply. Shuriken on the ground leapt back into motion, curving through the air under her control.

“Hoho…” Kitazawa’s eyes flickered with mild surprise.

Their teamwork was remarkable. Smooth, coordinated, tactical. This wasn’t the work of a group fighting together for the first time.

The credit, of course, went to Kabuto. He had the mind of a strategist and the experience of a veteran spy. Under his lead, their small squad fought like seasoned shinobi.

And yet, Torune and Izumi were hardly average genin to begin with.

An hour later, the battle was over.

Kabuto, Izumi, and Torune lay sprawled on the ground, completely exhausted. They had thrown everything they had at Kitazawa—and it hadn’t been enough.

“Your teamwork is strong,” Kitazawa said, his tone even, “but there are still flaws. Fix them, and you’ll go far.”

Despite his critique, there was approval in his eyes. Among ordinary chūnin, the three of them would already be considered unbeatable.

Kabuto especially impressed him. Fighter, healer, tactician—he was the kind of teammate every shinobi squad dreamed of. No wonder, in another story, he would become a true monster.

“I look forward to seeing your performance in the Chūnin Exams,” Kitazawa concluded.

Kabuto wiped sweat from his brow, still catching his breath. “Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei.”

Originally, he had only sought Kitazawa’s help to fill a vacant spot. He hadn’t expected to gain two prodigies as teammates. Now, the thought of forming a permanent team with Izumi and Torune burned in his mind.

Izumi, meanwhile, finally understood what her Mikoto had meant. Kitazawa was stronger than her former jōnin squad leader—far stronger. The only thing he lacked was a Sharingan.

As for Torune, his Root training left him with no thoughts of his own. He would follow orders, nothing more.

“This morning’s training ends here,” Kitazawa said after a moment’s thought. “We’ll resume at four in the afternoon.”

Two sessions per day would push Kabuto’s squad to their limits without breaking them.

With that, Kitazawa turned and left. His responsibilities weren’t over yet—he still needed to cultivate Super Strength and pass sealing techniques on to Kurenai.

Time was short.

—

Monday morning. Ninja Academy training ground.

“Kitazawa-sensei!” Sasuke was the first to rush over, eager for his session.

“Let’s begin,” Kitazawa nodded. “Follow me.”

They left the field to avoid disturbing Shikamaru and Hinata’s own practice.

“To make this feel real,” Kitazawa explained, “I’ll take Naruto’s form and only use his ninjutsu and taijutsu.”

Before Sasuke could respond, Kitazawa transformed. In a blink, he became Uzumaki Naruto.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Something about the way he looked—something—felt off.

“Begin.”

With a flash of hand seals, Kitazawa unleashed Naruto’s signature jutsu.

“Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

In an instant, forty clones surrounded Sasuke.

Sasuke’s mouth twitched. ’You didn’t have to be THAT accurate…’

The fight began, and Sasuke was swallowed in a storm of fists.

Compared to the reckless Naruto, Kitazawa fought with cunning precision. For the first time, Sasuke truly realized how terrifying the Shadow Clone Jutsu could be.

Even holding back, Kitazawa overwhelmed him completely.

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