Chapter 176: Chapter 176

Two days later—Thursday’s practical combat class.

“Raise your right hand higher. Stand firmly on both legs. Konoha-style Taijutsu demands power.”

Kitazawa circled the training ground, his voice carrying across the students as he corrected their stances.

After canceling Monday’s combat test, he had both classes focus solely on Clone Technique drills and Konoha-style Taijutsu. His method was simple: let them practice, then strike down their mistakes with precision. It was the “targeted strengthening” he’d promised.

Geniuses like Sasuke and Neji didn’t need such basics—but for the rest, it was invaluable. Their ceilings weren’t high; if they could master the three basic jutsu and Konoha-style Taijutsu, they’d already be considered solid Genin after graduation.

Halfway through the lesson, two lines of glowing text suddenly appeared before Kitazawa’s eyes:

[Mission Complete: Help Uzumaki Naruto learn the Rasengan.]

[Reward: 20% Senju Bloodline.]

Kitazawa froze.

A surge of chakra exploded inside him, rushing through his veins like a flood. He clenched his fists, feeling raw strength coil within. The difference was staggering—this wasn’t the faint ripple from last time’s 10%. This was a leap.

Now, his body carried 40% Senju blood.

Combined with other mission rewards—his Byakugan purity boost and chakra growth—the total increase was massive. His reserves had nearly doubled.

’Quantitative change becomes qualitative change,’ he mused, stroking his chin. On paper, each 10% boost should’ve been one-fifth chakra increase. Four boosts meant four-fifths. But reality had proved him wrong—he had gained a full unit, if not more.

Which meant that a full 100% Senju bloodline… would yield far more than a mere two units.

He snapped back to the present, dispatching a Shadow Clone to continue guiding the class. With this much chakra, maintaining an extra clone was child’s play.

“Kitazawa-sensei!”

Naruto’s voice reached him before the boy himself did. A streak of green burst forward, skidding to a stop.

“You learned it?” Kitazawa asked, already guessing the answer.

“Look!” Naruto held out his hand, grinning ear to ear. A spinning sphere of compressed chakra whirled in his palm—Rasengan, completed without shortcuts.

“Congratulations.” Kitazawa smiled.

“Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!” Naruto beamed, eyes bright with gratitude. Even he understood—without Kitazawa’s guidance, the Rasengan would’ve been out of reach.

“Now that you’ve mastered Rasengan, pause on learning new jutsu for the moment,” Kitazawa advised. “Instead, focus on weaving it into combat—especially alongside your Shadow Clones.”

Naruto’s eyes lit up. ’Me and my clones… all with Rasengan? Invincible!’

“There’s still half a class left. I’ll teach you a tactic for dealing with Sasuke.”

“What is it?!” Naruto leaned forward, barely containing himself.

“Another way to use Shadow Clones—something you’ve never tried. If you unleash it during the Student Council battle, Sasuke won’t know what hit him.”

Naruto’s curiosity spiked.

“This tactic can also break his Shuriken Technique.”

“I wanna learn it!”

Kitazawa chuckled. “Then start. Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu.”

“Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

With a puff of chakra smoke, fifty Narutos crowded the field.

“See that tree?” Kitazawa pointed at a trunk five meters away.

“Yes, we do!” fifty-one Narutos chorused.

“Good. Attack it with kunai.”

A storm of steel erupted—fifty-one blades thudded into the tree, almost burying it alive. Naruto’s throwing wasn’t half-bad on stationary targets, thanks to Kitazawa’s earlier drilling.

“This,” Kitazawa explained, “is your new tactic: long-range group assault.”

Naruto frowned. “But the kunai don’t feel strong enough.”

“You’re not limited to kunai,” Kitazawa countered. “Picture fifty Sasukes firing Great Fireball Jutsu at once.”

Naruto froze. He’d faced Sasuke’s fireballs before—one was bad enough. Fifty? Impossible to dodge.

“…But I don’t know Fireball Jutsu. And honestly, I kinda like Taijutsu better.”

Kitazawa sighed inwardly. Of course. Naruto’s obsession with brawling came from his meddling—introducing Gai too early. The boy was drifting toward Taijutsu specialization, when in canon, his core was Ninjutsu.

Still, Naruto wasn’t Lee—he wasn’t limited to one path.

“Naruto,” Kitazawa said pointedly, “a pure Taijutsu ninja will never surpass the Hokage.”

Naruto blinked, then straightened immediately. “Right! I’ll learn Fire Release!”

“Not Fire Release. Ninjutsu,” Kitazawa corrected. “Your natural chakra is Wind. Rasengan’s fine for now, but it’s incomplete—it can’t be thrown.”

Naruto’s jaw dropped. “Rasengan can be thrown?!”

“It can. But not by you—yet.”

Kitazawa thought ahead. Rasenshuriken. Vanishing Rasengan. Both options, but both too advanced for now. Still, the potential was there.

“Alright. Back to training. Hitting trees isn’t enough.”

“Yes, sensei!”

“You and your clones—attack me.”

Kitazawa transformed into Sasuke with a poof of smoke.

“Target Kitazawa-sensei! Kunai attack!” Naruto ordered.

Kunai rained down like arrows. Kitazawa weaved between them with ease. “Too scattered. Control your rhythm—throw in waves.”

“Got it! Everyone, three rows!” Naruto barked.

His clones reorganized. Row one attacked, row two followed Kitazawa’s dodge, row three predicted his next movement. Then they cycled again, replenishing weapons.

For the first time, Kitazawa felt real pressure. ’This jutsu is practically a cheat code. And this was only fifty clones—what about two or three thousand? Against most ninja, Naruto’s style would be unstoppable.

But not against monsters like Hashirama or Madara. Against them, it was still child’s play.

“Remember, Naruto,” Kitazawa called as he slipped through the barrage, “long-range has one weakness—close combat!”

He blurred forward, reappearing inside the formation. Clones collapsed under friendly fire and his shuriken tricks, the field descending into chaos.

But Naruto didn’t panic—he dove in with Taijutsu, closing the distance.

“Good instinct. Still rough around the edges, though.” Kitazawa retreated a step, appraising him. “Spread your clone rows farther apart. And if your enemy also uses clones, reset. Dispel and recast. Then switch to Rasengan and Taijutsu.”

Naruto blinked. “Wait… isn’t that just my old style?”

“Exactly. One style isn’t enough—you need to mix them.” Kitazawa’s tone turned sharp. “Deception. Adaptability. That’s real combat.”

“I get it!” Naruto shouted.

“What do you get?” Kitazawa raised a brow.

Naruto scratched his head. “…Uh, just use close-range first. If that fails, long-range. If that fails, back to close-range!”

Kitazawa pinched the bridge of his nose, suppressing a laugh. Technically, Naruto wasn’t wrong.

“Continue with the practical training.”

Kitazawa returned to his spot.

“Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!”

Naruto formed the seals in an instant, filling the field with his clones before charging headfirst into battle once again.

Twenty minutes later, the dust settled, and the fight came to an end.

“That’s enough for today. Go get some rest,” Kitazawa said, patting Naruto on the shoulder.

“See you tomorrow, Kitazawa-sensei!” Naruto replied, breathing heavily but still brimming with energy.

Kitazawa twitched his lips. Somehow, the boy’s stamina far outclassed his own—and that was no exaggeration.

The Uzumaki bloodline was ridiculous. In his past life, Kitazawa had been stunned when he first saw Kushina’s Adamantine Sealing Chains rip through an enemy like it was nothing. That wasn’t just talent—it was outright cheating. And that wasn’t even all. The clan’s Kagura Mind’s Eye and natural vitality made them terrifying in almost every aspect of shinobi combat.

It was no wonder Naruto had what it took to be one of the main protagonists of this world.

Later, at the Academy training grounds, Kitazawa encountered another such protagonist.

“Kitazawa-sensei,” Sasuke greeted curtly, his expression sharp. “I’ve already mastered Genjutsu: Unknown Fire.”

Kitazawa gave a faint smile. That technique hadn’t come from him, but from Itachi. Sasuke had been working at it for quite some time.

So why seek him out now? The answer was obvious—Sasuke wanted to learn something new.

Kitazawa did intend to teach him more jutsu, but only after the upcoming Student Council selection exams. After Sasuke’s crushing defeat, he would introduce him to Lightning Release—the element Sasuke had always excelled in, far more than Fire Release. In fact, Kitazawa even had two system missions tied to Lightning Release training, but those could only be completed after the exams.

“The assessment is right around the corner,” Kitazawa said after a moment’s thought. “It’s too late to pick up something new now. For the next few days, focus on polishing what you’ve already learned—and start tree-climbing training to increase your chakra reserves.”

“Understood. Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei.”

Sasuke’s eyes lit with anticipation. Every jutsu Kitazawa had taught him so far had been practical and powerful. In fact, it was thanks to Kitazawa’s teachings that he’d easily defeated Naruto in their last bout.

“Kitazawa-sensei, see you tomorrow.”

Having achieved his goal, Sasuke didn’t linger and walked off toward home.

School might have been out, but Kitazawa’s day wasn’t finished. He still had to check on his squad.

Not far from the training field, Kabuto was practicing Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, while Torune and Izumi worked on the simpler Shadow Clone.

“Kitazawa-sensei,” Kabuto greeted, walking over with a scroll. “Here are the D-rank missions we completed today.”

Kitazawa scanned through the record. He had initially set a quota of three missions per day, but now that they had clones, the team could easily manage five or six. With simpler assignments, even more.

Thanks to that, his own system mission progress was already halfway done. At this rate, they’d be finished in two days.

“Once winter break is over, I’ll take you all on higher-ranked missions,” Kitazawa said, rolling the scroll shut.

“Understood.”

Kabuto remained calm and collected, never once complaining about the monotony of low-ranked work. Torune, raised under Root, was even more obedient—compliance was practically etched into his bones. Izumi, with her gentle nature, followed along without objection, even when she didn’t quite understand.

“Training’s over for today. Let’s get some barbecue—I’ll treat.”

To be honest, Kitazawa was making good use of them. The missions fueled both his system and his wallet. D-rank missions paid anywhere from 500 to 10,000 ryō, and as squad leader, he took more than half the reward. Strictly speaking, it sounded unfair—but in truth, it was standard. The leader not only guided and trained the team but was also responsible for their safety.

As they headed toward the barbecue restaurant, two familiar figures came into view—Kakashi and Gai.

Or rather, Kakashi being relentlessly pestered by Gai.

“Kitazawa?” Kakashi’s eye lit up as though spotting a savior. He quickly shook Gai off.

“What are you two doing, tugging at each other in the middle of the street?” Kitazawa teased.

Kakashi choked on a reply. He’d just left ANBU not long ago, only to get cornered by Gai and held hostage to his “youthful challenge” for several minutes.

“Kitazawa! Perfect timing!” Gai exclaimed, pumping his fist. “You can be our referee!”

“I haven’t agreed to your match,” Kakashi said flatly.

“Kakashi! Can’t you feel my blazing youth?” Guy declared, giving a thumbs-up that radiated passion.

“No,” Kakashi deadpanned.

“This is youth—sometimes fiery, sometimes bitter!” Gai pressed on, utterly undeterred.

Kabuto adjusted his glasses, quietly observing. He’d met all kinds of odd shinobi while spying, but Gai was… unique. Borderline unreliable, yet if he could challenge Kakashi, his strength was clearly formidable.

“We were just on our way to eat barbecue,” Kitazawa said with a grin. “Why don’t you two join us? A chance meeting like this is fate.”

“Gladly,” Kakashi agreed without hesitation. A meal sounded far more appealing than another endless spar with Gai. Not that he minded training—but once Gai started, he never stopped.

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