Chapter 64: Chapter 64

It was Friday morning, and the sun glinted off the surface of the Ninja academy’s artificial lake, casting rippling reflections like a stage spotlighting a showdown.

A tense atmosphere crackled between Ino and Sakura as they faced each other.

Kitazawa felt like he could practically see sparks flying between their eyes.

“Sakura.”

Ino planted her hands on her hips, chin held high. “Tonight, your homework is going to double!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?” Sakura shot back, clenching her fists. “You’ve never beaten me, not even once!”

“Well, today’s the day!”

Ino stepped boldly onto the water’s surface. Her gaze sharpened. “Come on!”

Sakura’s expression turned serious. Without hesitation, she whipped out a wooden kunai, gripping it tightly in her small hand.

Ino eyed her cautiously and began circling to the far side of the lake.

Suddenly—whoosh!

A wooden kunai hurtled toward her from the left.

Ino didn’t even glance at it. She bent low, smoothly dodging the projectile.

All those days of special training with Kitazawa, dodging leaves, were finally paying off.

“That was just luck!” Sakura huffed, brow furrowing as she pulled out another wooden kunai.

But Ino was already back on her feet.

Sakura took a few light steps, then flicked her wrist, sending a kunai flying at a difficult angle toward Ino’s blind spot.

“Huh?!”

Sakura’s eyes widened as Ino dodged yet again.

In their previous trainings, Ino would have toppled into the water by now, too distracted by dodging to remember the delicate chakra balance needed to stay afloat.

“I don’t believe this!”

Sakura gritted her teeth and hurled two kunai at once with both hands.

Ino spun gracefully in midair, dodging both projectiles before landing lightly back on the lake’s surface. She smirked and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, flashing Sakura a brilliant, almost smug, smile.

“Ugh!”

Sakura felt mocked just looking at her.

Refusing to give up, Sakura kept launching kunai one after another.

But Ino was on fire today. Not a single kunai managed to hit her.

Finally, Ino reached the opposite bank, leaping up onto solid ground. She raised both arms in triumph, practically glowing.

“Yatta!” she cheered. “Victory belongs to Lady Ino!”

Sakura stood frozen in the middle of the lake, clutching her wooden kunai like it weighed a ton.

“…Tch.”

Ino marched back toward her, chin lifted. “Your turn, Sakura. If I hit you even once, your homework doubles!”

“Hmph! We’ll see about that!” Sakura shot back. But the fiercer her determination, the more mistakes crept into her movements.

By the end of the training session, Sakura had been struck three times by Ino’s wooden kunai.

“I win!” Ino practically bounced in place, as though she’d just conquered the world.

Sakura fell silent. Her mouth felt as though someone had squeezed a lemon into it—everything was bitter and sour.

Kitazawa watched Ino, who now radiated confidence like a blooming cosmos flower, and couldn’t help smiling in satisfaction.

At that very moment, a glowing panel flickered before his eyes:

Current Mission: Help Ino Yamanaka defeat Sakura in water-walking training.

Mission Reward: Master-level Chakra Control.

Mission Complete. Reward Issued.

A flood of knowledge and sensations poured into Kitazawa’s mind. He felt momentarily dizzy.

’Master-level Chakra Control…’

It was even more powerful than he’d imagined.

’With this level of control, I could probably even create a Rasengan…’

But more importantly, this new skill was the final piece of Kitazawa’s plan.

He intended to get closer to Tsunade, demonstrate talent as a medical ninja, and persuade her to take him as her student.

Even though Kitazawa was older, he knew that true medical expertise took time—and late-bloomers weren’t unheard of. But faking medical-nin talent wouldn’t be easy.

First, he’d need Yang Release.

Second, he’d have to master a wide array of medical ninjutsu through his system so he could convincingly appear like a genius in front of Tsunade.

And third—and most crucially—was having master-level chakra control.

Kitazawa’s eyes slid toward Sakura.

’Fitting, since my only medical ninjutsu so far—the Hemostasis Technique—came from her.’

“Sakura.”

Ino extended her hand toward her friend, wearing a cheeky grin. “Are you going to admit defeat?”

“As if!” Sakura snapped, grasping Ino’s hand firmly. “That’s only one win. Don’t get cocky!”

“Well, I did get special training from Kitazawa-sensei!” Ino declared proudly.

“Ohhh… so that’s why,” Sakura said, realization dawning on her face. Then she immediately turned toward Kitazawa and shouted, “Kitazawa-sensei, I want special training too!”

A bright panel popped up in Kitazawa’s vision:

New Mission: Help Sakura complete water-walking special training.

Mission Reward: Healing Jutsu.

Accept Mission?

Kitazawa stood frozen for a moment, eyes wide in surprise.

Well done, Ino.

It was like hitting the jackpot at precisely the right time.

Healing Jutsu. A C-rank jutsu, designed to rapidly mend physical injuries—a simplified, less potent version of the Mystical Palm Jutsu.

“No problem,” Kitazawa said, breaking into a smile. “You can join Ino’s training.”

One more student, one less—it made no real difference to him.

What mattered was that he now saw a path to learning even more medical ninjutsu. As long as Ino and Sakura kept up their not-so-sisterly rivalry, everything would fall into place.

“Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!” Sakura chirped. She shot a look at Ino, huffed, and declared, “Our competition isn’t over yet. Just wait—you’re going down next time!”

“Sure thing,” Ino replied breezily.

In truth, she’d let the information slip on purpose.

It was enough to win once with Kitazawa’s help. Beating Sakura every time would just be cruel. After all, they were best friends—even if that friendship was peppered with rivalry—and they ought to share the benefit of Kitazawa’s special training fairly.

“You two, follow me to the training ground,” Kitazawa instructed, turning on his heel.

As they approached the nearby practice area, sparks danced in the air. Sasuke was there, practicing the Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu.

Judging by the sheer force of his flames, he’d already gained considerable mastery over it. Not surprising, since both the Phoenix Flower and the Great Fireball were C-rank jutsus.

“Sasuke-kun!”

Sakura lit up like a lantern and took an eager step forward.

Startled, Sasuke jerked in surprise and lost control. A burst of smoke exploded from his mouth, sending him into a fit of violent coughing.

“I-I didn’t mean to!” Sakura stammered, blushing with embarrassment.

“Come on. Focus on your training,” Ino said, patting Sakura’s shoulder. “Let’s see if you can last more than three minutes this time.”

“Three minutes?!” Sakura shot back, eyes flashing. “I’ll definitely last longer than you!”

Before long, the school day came to an end.

After class, Sasuke headed home. To his surprise, he found his older brother already there—an unusual sight.

“I’ve got two days off,” Itachi explained calmly. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, so I’ll help you practice your Fire Release jutsus over the weekend.”

“Look, Brother!” Sasuke’s eyes sparkled as he formed hand seals and performed the Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu.

Flames blossomed from his lips in fiery bursts.

“Not bad,” Itachi said, eyebrows lifting ever so slightly. “You’ve already learned your second Fire Release jutsu. Impressive.”

He paused, then added, “Did Father teach you?”

“Kitazawa-sensei taught me!” Sasuke declared proudly, a wide grin spreading across his face after his brother’s praise.

“Kitazawa-sensei?” Itachi blinked, a faint frown creasing his brow. “That’s… a little improper.”

“Huh?” Sasuke blinked at him in confusion.

“Theoretically, Academy teachers are only supposed to teach the basic three jutsu.. Other ninjutsu are either passed down within the family or taught by your squad leader after graduation,” Itachi explained, gently ruffling Sasuke’s hair.

He continued, voice low and thoughtful, “Strictly speaking, it’s against the rules for you to be learning Fire Release from Kitazawa-sensei.”

“Then what should I do?” Sasuke asked, looking up anxiously.

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