Chapter 324: Cursed seal squad!

Orochimaru’s portion of the work focused entirely on raising the Curse Mark of Earth’s implantation success rate.

Compared to Kitazawa’s modifications, his task was far more complex—and naturally required much more time.

The modified Earth Seal Curse Mark itself had a simple foundation: the original Curse Mark of Earth reinforced with sealing techniques.

Any exceptional sealing specialist could theoretically replicate it—given enough time and talent.

But in the entire Shinobi World, sealing experts were exceedingly rare, and Konoha was no exception.

Days slipped by quietly.

After the monthly exam, the Genius Class returned to their daily routine.

Training, sparring, studying—nothing out of the ordinary.

Konan had already returned to Konoha, though reports from the Land of Rain spoke of bustling silver-jewelry production.

A promising industry was budding.

Half a month later, Kitazawa was summoned by the Anbu to the Hokage Office.

“There are two matters.”

Tsunade smiled as Kitazawa approached.

“First—Orochimaru has successfully improved the Curse Mark of Earth.”

She handed him a scroll.

Kitazawa unrolled it, scanning the contents.

Having already mastered the Curse Mark through the system, the principles were easy for him to understand.

“Lord Orochimaru truly lives up to his reputation,” Kitazawa murmured.

After his reinstatement, Kitazawa no longer addressed him casually.

Orochimaru was Tsunade’s teammate—a senior of an older generation.

“He was always the brightest among us,” Tsunade sighed. “A shame he chose the wrong path.”

Kitazawa finished reading and lowered the scroll.

“The success rate has increased ninefold. And even if it fails, the user lives—worst case, severe injury.”

He nodded, satisfied.

“With this, we can begin inoculating members of the Cursed Seal Unit immediately.”

“The second matter is the selection of personnel.”

Tsunade tapped a stack of documents.

“This is Anko’s preliminary list—one hundred candidates.”

Kitazawa flipped through several pages.

Though called documents, they were essentially one hundred ninja dossiers.

“You want me to pick the members?” he asked.

“Without you, there would be no Cursed Seal Unit,” Tsunade said warmly.

“So yes—choosing them is your right.”

Kitazawa closed the file.

“I say… we inoculate all one hundred. Whoever survives the process becomes a member.”

Tsunade blinked, then nodded slowly.

“That makes sense. The failure rate is still significant. We may not even reach sixty successful candidates.”

“Exactly.”

Tsunade straightened and gave the next instruction:

“Arrange scheduled inoculations with Orochimaru. After each successful case, they report to you.”

“Understood. I’ll have the Anbu notify them.”

Kitazawa then raised another question.

“By the way, has anyone in the Sealing Squad learned the modified curse seal formula yet?”

He had handed the technique to the squad’s Jonin earlier.

If any mastered it, they could help reduce his workload.

“It’s been only half a month,” Tsunade said, shooting him an exasperated look.

“And that technique is extremely difficult. Do you think everyone learns like you?”

“…Fair enough.”

Kitazawa laughed lightly.

“But Tsunade-sensei, I’ve been working awfully hard. Shouldn’t there be a reward?”

Tsunade instantly looked away.

“H-how can there be rewards before the results? We’ll talk about this after the unit is established.”

“So you’re saving it up. Noted.”

Kitazawa smiled. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll get to work.”

“That’s all for now,” she said, waving him off.

Kitazawa returned to the ANBU Base.

“Kitazawa.”

Konan rose from the sofa, setting aside her book.

She’d taken a liking to the texts he’d recommended, studying economics with surprising enthusiasm.

“Uchiha Itachi came by earlier,” she said, handing him a scroll.

“He left this for you.”

Kitazawa accepted it, unsurprised.

He had already guessed the contents—if anything, Itachi’s timing was later than expected.

Apparently, Mui and the staff at Hōzuki castle had kept the Box of Paradise extremely well hidden.

Kitazawa vaguely remembered its original resting place: some dark, sealed room.

“Konan,” he said, handing her the list of candidates.

“Have an Anbu squad notify four people per day for Curse Mark inoculation. Orochimaru can only handle that many.”

Even four a day was a heavy burden—but Orochimaru was hardly someone who needed rest.

Konan merely nodded, took the list, and left to handle the task with her usual quiet efficiency.

Kitazawa unfurled the scroll Itachi had left behind.

The information inside was astonishingly thorough.

Itachi had combed through Hōzuki castle inch by inch, marking every suspicious chamber… and pinpointing the exact location of the Box of Paradise.

No wonder it took him this long.

Then again—if it were anyone else, the investigation would’ve dragged on for years.

Only Itachi could pull off something like this in mere months.

In terms of reconnaissance and analysis, he truly sat at the top of the Anbu.

Kitazawa nodded, deeply satisfied.

When the time came, he’d bring Itachi along.

Let him personally witness his little brother awaken the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

That would be Kitazawa’s way of returning the favor.

Besides, seeing Sasuke evolve to three-tomoe at just eight years old would probably make Itachi laugh for three straight days.

And Fugaku? The entire Uchiha Clan would likely ignite with hope.

After all, Sasuke’s brilliance meant something vital to them—a future Hokage bearing the Uchiha name.

It was a dream the clan had never stopped chasing since Konoha’s founding.

“Kitazawa.”

Konan returned less than thirty seconds later.

“It’s arranged,” she reported, expression calm as always.

Kitazawa rubbed his temples.

Four people a day meant twenty-five days—twenty-five days of nonstop curse seal inscription.

Exhausting, but manageable.

Thankfully, the Genius Class now had several excellent instructors.

Even if he wasn’t around, training would continue seamlessly.

“Shall I give you a massage?” Konan asked plainly.

Since that lap-pillow incident, she’d grown strangely comfortable with such gestures.

In her view, these exchanges were simply… mutually beneficial.

After all, Kitazawa had taught her far more than she could repay.

“Thank you.”

He didn’t refuse.

Konan stepped behind him.

Her cool hands pressed gently onto his temples, fingertips warm.

Kitazawa let out a quiet breath, mind drifting.

The next major event was the final exam—less than a month away.

The system hadn’t triggered any missions related to it this time, so he didn’t need to interfere.

Everything could proceed naturally.

The real suspense was Ino versus Sakura.

Ino was inches away from mastering Ninja Art: Mind Butterfly.

By December, she would undoubtedly have it under control.

Knowing her personality, a direct challenge was inevitable—whether during the final exam or right after.

Team assignments would be simple this time too.

No manipulations.

Just choose three students, head to the Mission Hall, and take whatever C-rank came first.

The true focus now was the Box of Paradise—three system missions tied to that alone.

But before all that, he needed to update several students’ training plans.

For instance, Kiba.

He had grasped the basics of Earth Release nature transformation.

It was time for him to learn Earth Release: Earth Fang Bullet—

essentially infusing Earth Release chakra into a Fang Bullet to multiply its power.

Kitazawa let himself relax under Konan’s touch.

Half an hour later, he checked the time, thanked her, and headed to the Academy.

At the Training Ground, Shino approached immediately.

“Kitazawa-sensei, there has been progress.”

Kitazawa smiled.

“Show me.”

Shino extended his hand.

A black kikaichu rested on his palm—but unlike ordinary insects, this one had strangely shaped wings.

“It can accelerate by riding wind currents,” Shino explained.

“But only wind generated by Wind Release.”

Kitazawa nodded.

Wind Release had two primary styles:

gale-type Ninjutsu like Gale Palm, emphasizing force and velocity

cutting-type Ninjutsu like Vacuum Bullet, compressing wind into invisible blades

This kikaichu clearly relied on the former.

“And there’s a second type,” Shino continued, producing another black insect.

This one had a thick, glossy shell—far harder than any normal kikaichu.

“I named them Wind Speed Bug and Wind Riding Bug.”

His tone was calm, but Kitazawa could hear the excitement underneath.

“You can pause Wind Release experiments for now,” Kitazawa said.

“What’s next?”

He already saw system text flicker before him:

[Mission Complete: Help Shino Aburame cultivate Kikaichu with Wind Release resistance]

[Reward: Wind Release damage resistance +10%]

Another layer of defense added to Water and Fire resistance.

Small advantages—but life-saving when evenly matched.

“Lightning Release,” Shino answered after a moment of thought.

System text appeared again:

[New Mission: Assist Shino Aburame in cultivating Kikaichu with Lightning Release resistance]

[Reward: Lightning Release damage resistance +10%]

Kitazawa accepted instantly.

“I’ll lend you this for training.”

He handed Shino the reforged blade born from the Kiba swords.

Its natural lightning-attraction properties made it the perfect catalyst.

“And feel free to ask Lord Third, Kakashi, or Sasuke for help,” Kitazawa added.

Shino nodded respectfully.

“Thank you, sensei.”

He left to begin a new round of experiments.

Next, Kitazawa called Kiba over.

“Kitazawa-sensei!”

Kiba arrived with his usual energy.

“You can pause nature transformation training,” Kitazawa instructed.

“Start learning Earth Release: Earth Fang Bullet.”

Kiba’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Seriously?! That’s awesome!”

It wasn’t just Sasuke, Naruto, and Yakumo putting pressure on him.

Even Sakura, Ino, and Tayuya were rapidly growing stronger.

If he didn’t level up soon, he’d be left hopelessly behind.

“I’ll demonstrate it.”

Kitazawa formed a rapid string of hand seals, chakra surging into his throat.

A heartbeat later, he spat out a massive earthen projectile—like a cannon shell of solid stone.

Boom!

The projectile slammed into the training field, blasting open a crater and sending dust flying.

Kiba’s eyes sparkled instantly.

With power like that, hitting an unprepared ninja could easily knock them out cold.

“Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!” Kiba shouted, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Don’t thank me yet.” Kitazawa narrowed his eyes. “Infusing Earth Release chakra sounds simple, but the difficulty jumps an entire level. You’ll need to give this full effort.”

“I understand.”

Kiba straightened and forced himself into serious mode.

Since it was Kiba’s first lesson with the technique, Kitazawa created a Shadow Clone specifically to guide him through the fundamentals.

The real Kitazawa walked toward the other students.

Kimimaro, like Jugo, had already been inoculated with the modified Earth Seal Curse Mark.

As long as he avoided staying in State Two for too long, the mark wouldn’t accelerate the progress of his kekkei genkai illness.

In addition, Kimimaro spent two days each week in Konoha Hospital—monitored by an entire team of medical-nin.

It was true full-scale treatment.

Kitazawa glanced at Tayuya practicing her flute, then shifted his gaze to Haku.

Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome!

A ring of shimmering ice walls rose instantly around Haku.

Kitazawa nodded.

After weeks of study, Haku had finally grasped the basics of defensive Ice Release.

“Haku.”

The ice walls lowered. Haku stepped forward respectfully.

“This is the second Ice Release technique you’ll learn.”

Kitazawa handed him a scroll.

“Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei.”

Haku unrolled it and his eyes brightened.

Ice Release: Exploding Ice Shards.

A technique that formed ice crystals with chakra—crystals that shattered on impact, sending razor-edged fragments slicing into the target.

An offensive Ice Release.

If Haku mastered this, his combat ability would jump significantly.

His dream of becoming an elite ANBU operative suddenly felt much closer.

Kitazawa created another Shadow Clone to teach him, just as he had done for Kiba. Even without personally knowing Ice Release, the principles were universal—and Kitazawa understood principles extremely well.

Once every student had a teacher—real or clone—Kitazawa slipped away from the Academy to find a secluded spot to train Wood Release.

Deep Forest Emergence created far too much noise.

Destroying the Academy by accident was not on today’s agenda.

By sundown, the final bell rang.

Students went home—

except for a small, excited cluster: Naruto, Sasuke, Yakumo, Hinata, Kiba, and several others.

“Operation Kitazawa-sensei Birthday—Second Meeting—commence!”

Kiba declared dramatically.

It was the second one because the first had been last year.

Kitazawa had already been teaching them for nearly two years now.

This year’s meeting was bigger, with Kimimaro, Tayuya, Jugo, and Haku joining.

“I didn’t want to come,” Tayuya muttered. “Kimimaro and Jugo forced me.”

Kimimaro wanted to thank Kitazawa for treating his illness.

Jugo wanted to repay him for stabilizing his berserk Sage Transformation.

In other words, both had come voluntarily.

Tayuya… less so.

“Since you’re here, you’re participating,” Ino said sweetly.

After so long together, everyone had learned how to translate Tayuya-speech:

Whatever she says, invert it.

“Same agenda as last time.”

Shikamaru clasped his hands behind his head.

“One: where we’re eating. Two: what gift to give.”

“We already did the BBQ restaurant,” Sakura said.

“I think we should try somewhere new.”

“I know a good izakaya,” Ino offered.

“My dad and the other Ino-Shika-Cho elders like to drink there.”

“Oh yeah! Everything there is amazing,” Choji said immediately.

“Then the izakaya it is.”

Kiba swung his arm with authority.

No one objected.

“As for gifts,” Shikamaru added, “just don’t duplicate each other.”

“I don’t know what to get at all…”

Tenten sighed.

Neji, Sasuke, Shino, and the rest also fell silent, all struggling to think of ideas.

“Everyone go home and brainstorm. We’ve got time.”

Shikamaru concluded. “We’ll meet again after the final exam.”

The group agreed and dispersed.

Time flowed.

December arrived.

The Genius Class completed their final exams—and Sasuke reclaimed first place, walking as if he weighed half as much, practically glowing with smug satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Kitazawa received a small but meaningful power-up.

[Mission Complete: Modify Medical Forbidden Technique—Body Activation]

[Reward: Water Release: Water Severing Wave]

Kitazawa exhaled slowly.

After countless trials, he had finally reinvented the Body Activation Technique—

and in doing so, awakened Yang Release Chakra Mode.

And the reward?

One of Senju Tobirama’s most terrifying Water Release techniques—

Water Severing Wave.

A jet so sharp it could slice even the Divine Tree’s roots.

A fitting reward for the progress he’d made.

——————

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