After the monthly exam wrapped up, the Genius Class slipped back into its usual rhythm.

Lessons continued, missions continued, and the only lingering question was whether Uchiha Sasuke would return before the final exams.

The semester was short—only three months. Two had already passed. The next monthly exam was the final exam.

Two days later, on Wednesday after school, Kitazawa met Konan.

“Kitazawa,” Konan greeted him first. “Nagato has already reached the appointed location.”

“I’ll have a Shadow Clone accompany you.”

Kitazawa remained cautious. His relationship with Konan was warm now, but Nagato was another matter entirely.

The current Nagato saw Konoha as nothing more than a thorn to be removed.

Konan nodded lightly. “Mm. Thank you.”

Kitazawa formed hand seals and created a clone.

The Shadow Clone followed her.

Once they disappeared, Kitazawa turned away and headed toward the Forest of Death.

Classes had just ended; dinner was still a while off. A perfect window to train.

After mastering Wood Release: Four Pillar House, he’d set his sights on its sister technique—Wood Release: Consecutive Connecting Houses.

Both were similar enough that he estimated one or two weeks to master it.

An hour and a half later, Kitazawa halted mid-movement as three lines of text flashed before him.

[Mission: Help Nagato recover his legs.]

[Reward: Improved Life Reincarnation Jutsu.]

[Mission complete. Reward issued.]

Kitazawa stood silently as knowledge poured into his mind.

The original Life Reincarnation The jutsu converted all of the user’s chakra into life force—resurrecting the dead at the cost of the caster’s life.

A one-for-one exchange.

It could also restore life force to human puppets—something Chiyo had intended for her son and daughter-in-law before ultimately using it on Gaara instead.

But the version Kitazawa received was improved.

He had assumed it would let him use another person’s life force like a conduit, but no—it wasn’t that broken.

Instead, it rewrote the fundamentals:

The caster could share life force.

Different people possessed different levels of life force—The Senju and Uzumaki clans, for example, had overwhelming vitality.

Before, regardless of how powerful a caster’s life force was, it could revive one person only.

Now?

If the caster’s life force was strong enough, they could save multiple people.

It resembled the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique—but with one key difference.

The caster didn’t have to die.

Once the target revived, if the caster’s life force remained, they lived.

This alone made the technique priceless.

The trade-off remained: it used Chakra converted into life force.

Kitazawa estimated he could save two people with his current reserves without dying.

A third… would almost certainly kill him.

He thought back to Chiyo reviving Gaara—she didn’t have enough Chakra and had needed Naruto’s help. The cost must have been immense.

“I still need way more Chakra,” Kitazawa muttered, rubbing his chin.

A new problem surfaced.

Only high-level Wood Release had triggered system missions so far.

Deep Forest Emergence rewarded Chakra.

But Four Pillar House and Consecutive Connecting Houses had not.

Did that mean he needed to learn monsters like Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, Wood Dragon Technique, or Wood Golem Technique to trigger system rewards?

The issue:

His current Chakra wasn’t enough to learn those techniques.

Not a lack of talent—those techniques were simply absurd.

Wood Dragon had restrained the Nine Tails.

Wood Golem could fight on equal footing with Madara’s Complete Body Susanoo.

He was stuck in a loop.

To gain Chakra, he needed to learn high-level Wood Release.

But to learn high-level Wood Release, he needed more Chakra.

Kitazawa’s mind wandered to Uzumaki Naruto.

Would Sasuke be able to pressure him when he returned?

Unlikely.

Naruto wasn’t susceptible to Genjutsu—meaning Sasuke’s greatest advantage would be neutralized.

Then an idea struck him.

“…A new type of monthly exam?” he murmured.

Not a simulation.

Not a staged mission.

But—A Monthly Exam featuring real, official ninja.

The thought sounded outrageous at first—But the more he considered it, the more reasonable it became.

The top eighteen of the Genius Class already possessed Chunin-level strength or higher.

What they lacked was experience—and experience came from fighting real ninja.

If they could spar with actual Shinobi, their growth would skyrocket.

But that wasn’t the exciting part.

Kitazawa’s eyes lit up.

His system mission—The emergence of the New Konoha Sannin.

For a new Sannin to rise, strength wasn’t enough.

They needed fame.

If Genius Class students defeated official ninja, even in controlled exams, their reputations would explode across the village.

Given time…

The New Konoha’s Three Sannin would naturally emerge.

And then—

Kitazawa would receive the reward he wanted most:

Sage Art Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands.

A small smile tugged at his lips.

Things were just beginning.

However, the idea still needed a proper framework before it could be implemented.

With that in mind, Kitazawa made his way toward his home.

Halfway there, his Shadow Clone dispersed on its own—its memories rushing into him.

Nagato’s treatment had progressed smoothly.

After all, the man had practically drowned himself in rare medicinal herbs; it would have been stranger if there had been complications.

What shocked Kitazawa instead… was Konan.

She claimed Nagato’s legs had “healed but required observation,” and so she continued staying in Konoha.

This way, if anything happened, she could “immediately consult Kitazawa.”

He almost laughed.

Konan’s excuse was thinner than paper—but he didn’t point it out.

Next day

Once morning classes wrapped up, Kitazawa headed to the Hokage’s Office.

The moment he pushed the door open, a warm aroma drifted toward him.

“Where’s Shizune-senpai?” Kitazawa asked, spotting Tsunade eating lunch alone on the sofa.

She was leaning forward… precariously.

“She hasn’t finished her paperwork yet,” Tsunade replied, chewing a fried shrimp.

“More importantly—what brings you here at this hour? Something urgent?”

“Nothing urgent.”

Kitazawa sat opposite her and placed his own bento on the table.

“Let’s eat first.”

He opened his bento.

“Want to try some? I cooked it myself. Should taste better.”

Tsunade didn’t hesitate—she pushed her own bento toward the center and reached her chopsticks into his.

Kitazawa picked up his chopsticks.

“What do you think of the Genius Class’s current strength?”

Tsunade snorted.

“Do you even need to ask? Half your class could take the Chunin Exams tomorrow.”

Especially Naruto, Yakumo, and Sasuke.

If they were adults, she could justify promoting them straight to Jonin.

“Exactly,” Kitazawa said. “Which is why I want to change the format of the monthly exam.”

“Oh?” Tsunade raised a brow. “How?”

The exam already included mission performance; she couldn’t imagine what else he wanted to add.

“The students are familiar with each other, but a real ninja needs experience fighting different opponents.”

Kitazawa rested his elbows on his knees.

“I’m thinking of inviting official ninja to spar with them—give them exposure and broaden their horizons.”

Tsunade blinked once.

Then twice.

“…Kitazawa, are you trying to turn the monthly exam into the Chunin Exams?

Actually—no, the Chunin Exams aren’t even this intense. This sounds like a Special Jonin test.”

Kitazawa coughed lightly.

“They’re still young, and since we’re not in a war era, it’s fine to keep them in the academy longer. But missions are usually chaotic melee battles. One-on-one combat experience is rare.”

Tsunade considered this… then nodded.

“Alright. We’ll try it. If it causes problems, I’ll cancel it immediately.”

Her reasoning was simple:

The Genius Class was Konoha’s future.

She would protect them at all costs.

“I plan to test it during the final exam,” Kitazawa said. “The top eighteen students will spar with official ninja instead of doing missions.”

“That’s fine.” Tsunade took another bite. “Just make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Kitazawa opened his mouth to reply—And three lines of text flashed across his vision.

[Final Exam Mission: Achieve ten victories against official ninja.]

[Reward: Compound Ninjutsu—Gentle Fist: Twin Lion Rasengan.]

[Accept?]

Kitazawa mentally sighed.

No Chakra reward this time.

What a shame.

But the reward was powerful: a fusion of Rasengan and Gentle Fist, Twin Lion Fists.

And he already had Twin Lion Fists from an earlier mission. Once he taught it to Hinata, the two of them could even perform joint techniques.

Ten victories out of eighteen matches?

Child’s play.

He was the one choosing the opponents, after all.

The system still seemed convinced he was a student.

Ridiculous.

“There’s one more thing,” Tsunade said suddenly. “Since you’ve learned so much Wood Release, you should consider revealing it publicly.”

Her tone carried weight.

Wood Release was a symbol—Senju Hashirama’s legacy, and by extension, the heart of Konoha.

Announcing a new Wood Release user would bring enormous benefits:

It would declare that the First Hokage’s power had found a successor.

It would reassure the village; nothing boosts morale like Wood Release.

And it would dramatically raise Kitazawa’s prestige.

That last point mattered most to Tsunade.

If Kitazawa’s reputation surpassed hers, she could finally retire with dignity—and spend her days relaxing at the casino.

Hokage?

She’d never wanted the job anyway.

“We can announce it,” Kitazawa agreed, “but simply making a statement isn’t enough. We should wait for a moment where I can use Wood Release in public—something flashy, something memorable.”

After all…What was the point of having power if you didn’t show it off a little?

And of course—He wasn’t just doing it for show.

Based on how well he had come to understand the system, Kitazawa was certain a mission would be triggered the moment Wood Release went public.

And with it—hopefully—the Chakra reward he’d been longing for.

“Even if what you say makes sense, opportunities like that don’t come often,” Tsunade replied after a moment of thought.

If the Hidden Mist conflict were still ongoing, that would have been the perfect stage.

But the war had ended.

And Tsunade would never spark a conflict herself.

War was too great a gamble; if Konoha lost, its golden age would end in an instant.

The same applied to Kitazawa.

He wasn’t yet strong enough to stand at Hashirama’s level, and he certainly couldn’t afford the price of a war.

“It may be difficult,” Kitazawa said with a small smile, “but ‘difficult’ doesn’t mean ‘impossible.’ We’ll wait for an opening. If there truly isn’t one… we’ll announce it openly.”

Tsunade nodded. “Fine.”

After lunch, Kitazawa returned to the ANBU Base.

Once again, he rested his head on Konan’s lap, letting her absentmindedly massage his temples while he pondered his Wood Release debut.

There were no major crises in the ninja world right now.

He couldn’t simply march off and fight Nagato and the Akatsuki—nor was the Akatsuki just Nagato.

Obito and Black Zetsu were still lurking.

No main story arcs were unfolding.

So he turned to another source:

The movie arcs.

A spark lit in Kitazawa’s eyes.

Mōryō… the monster from the Land of Demons.

Perfect.

Of the four bows he intended to forge, only two were currently inhabited—Satori and the Zero-Tails.

Mōryō could easily become the third spirit.

And with the Land of Demons’ unique situation—a powerful enemy, a neutral territory, and an audience composed of ninja from all five Great Villages—it was the perfect stage for unveiling Wood Release.

Right on cue, blue text flashed before his eyes:

[Current Mission: Let the ninja world know the name of your Wood Release.]

[Reward: Two-tails of Chakra.]

[Accept?]

Kitazawa couldn’t suppress a grin. As expected.

A second mission followed:

[Current Mission: Defeat Mōryō.]

[Reward: Edo Tensei.]

[Accept?]

Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.

Not surprising that Mōryō triggered a mission—Satori had done the same.

What was surprising was the reward.

Edo Tensei.

Probably because Mōryō commanded an undead army. Fitting.

With Edo Tensei, he could even go to Hidden Mist someday and recover Second Mizukage Hōzuki Gengetsu—still missing his Giant Clam summoning, which Gato had yet to find.

Kitazawa closed his eyes, recalling the entire Land of Demons plot.

The Land of Demons had no ninja—only priestesses with unique powers.

The current Priestess, Shion, could foresee death itself.

In the original story, she predicted Naruto’s death the moment she met him.

Naruto, being Naruto, survived anyway—breaking her undefeated prophecy streak.

The Priestess’s power came from the same origin as Mōryō’s—hence why the monster relentlessly pursued the Priestesses.

Devouring their power would make it truly unstoppable.

The ninja world’s energy systems were, in truth, only two:

Chakra from Kaguya.

Natural energy indigenous to the world.

Mōryō’s nature seemed closer to Yin Release, but Kitazawa would confirm that later.

The story itself was simple:

Mōryō once commanded an undead army.

The former priestess Miroku sealed its soul in the Land of Demons and its body in the Land of Swamps.

It wasn’t supposed to awaken until Naruto was around fifteen.

Yomi—a fanatic follower—revived it early, sacrificing himself as Mōryō’s vessel.

The Five Great Nations were summoned for aid.

Konoha sent Neji, Naruto, Sakura, and Lee.

The crisis ended well, and Shion even tried to confess to Naruto—or as close as she could manage.

Having reviewed the entire plot, Kitazawa quickly pieced together a rough operation plan:

Step one: Locate Yomi.

Once Yomi released Mōryō’s soul, all Kitazawa had to do was wait for Shion’s request for aid.

He could leave the searching to ANBU.

Before that, though, he needed to finalize which official ninja would participate in the Genius Class final exam.

He planned to divide the top eighteen students into three tiers by strength—then invite Chūnin, Special Jōnin, and Jōnin accordingly.

Perhaps even add spectators.

Let their brilliance spread through Konoha like wildfire.

It was, after all, the perfect prelude to the rise of the New Sannin.

——————————–

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