Chapter 69: Chapter 69

Three lines of text suddenly flashed before Kitazawa’s eyes:

[Current Mission: Help your lifelong rival, Uzumaki Naruto, achieve a top ten ranking in the next monthly exam.]

[Mission Reward: Yin Release.]

[Host has completed the mission. Reward issued.]

Kitazawa nodded slightly, satisfied.

’At least the system’s rewards arrive on time.’

With Yin Release, Kitazawa now possessed four chakra natures: Wind, Fire, Water, and Yin.

Only Earth, Lightning, and Yang Release remained for him to collect, bringing him closer to mastering all seven basic types.

In the world of shinobi, there were extremely few who could wield every chakra nature.

Theoretically, once someone mastered them all, they could comprehend Yin-Yang Release and even create Truth-Seeking Orbs.

Of course, achieving that required complete mastery of both form and nature transformations for every element—an impossible task for most.

With Kitazawa’s talent, it was unrealistic… so the burden of progress fell squarely on the system’s shoulders.

“The May monthly exam ends here.”

After reading out the rankings, Kitazawa dismissed the students.

“All of you, go home and get some rest.”

“Kiba!”

Naruto grinned and called out, “Don’t forget our bet!”

“Hmph, as if I’d forget!”

Kiba waved a hand dismissively, saying with forced bravado, “It’s just Ichiraku Ramen. Eat as much as you want!”

“Awesome!” Naruto exclaimed, eyes gleaming. “Then I’m not holding back!”

“Don’t get cocky, Naruto. I’m beating you next time for sure!” Kiba declared, slinging an arm around his shoulders.

“You never know!” Naruto blinked at the unexpected show of camaraderie, then broke into a bright smile.

Kitazawa watched them with a faint chuckle.

’Bad company,’ he thought wryly.

Though, to be honest, he was relieved that Naruto had friends like Kiba by his side.

The kid had been through enough loneliness growing up.

Unfortunately, no new mission had been triggered this time.

But thinking about it realistically, even if the system did hand him a new quest, it might be too difficult to complete.

The next task would probably be something like getting Naruto into the top five… or even the top three—or first place.

And the difficulty of that was roughly on par with Kakuzu trying to assassinate Senju Hashirama.

“Sasuke-kun, want to walk home together?”

Sakura hurried to block Sasuke’s path, looking hopeful.

“No. We’re not going the same way.”

Sasuke spared her a glance and picked up his pace.

“Ugh!”

Sakura clenched her fists, glaring after him. “Am I really that annoying?”

“Sasuke dislikes everyone equally,” Ino said dryly, shaking her head.

Though Ino was certainly boy-crazy, she wasn’t quite as obsessive as Sakura. She could let go when necessary, which allowed her to see Sasuke’s personality more clearly.

Yet even Ino didn’t fully understand Sasuke’s motivations.

He wasn’t avoiding Sakura because he disliked her personally.

He was simply eager to get home.

After all, he’d finally secured first place this time—and he wanted nothing more than to hear his father’s praise.

’Dad, praise me. Big Brother, praise me…’

“Kitazawa!”

A voice called out suddenly.

Mizuki appeared, smiling as he approached.

“Let me guess,” Kitazawa said blandly. “Neji scored perfectly again?”

“…”

Mizuki stiffened.

His confident entrance faltered completely under Kitazawa’s casual prediction.

“…Congratulations,” Kitazawa said coolly.

Mizuki cleared his throat, trying to save face. “Actually, I came to ask about scheduling the friendly match between our classes.”

“How about next Friday?” Kitazawa suggested after a moment’s thought.

“No problem,” Mizuki said, puffing up his chest. “Makes no difference to me when it happens.”

“I think we should have a referee,” Kitazawa continued thoughtfully. “How about inviting Hokage-sama?”

“Are you serious?” Mizuki scoffed. “Why would the Hokage care about a friendly match between two school classes?”

“Under normal circumstances, of course he wouldn’t.”

Kitazawa’s smile turned mysterious. “But if I invite him, there’s a pretty good chance he’ll come.”

In truth, even if he didn’t issue a formal invitation, Hiruzen would probably sneak a look anyway.

“You?” Mizuki’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

Sure, Kitazawa had been summoned by the Hokage before—but in Mizuki’s mind, Kitazawa was still just a lowly Chunin instructor, nowhere near important enough to attract the Hokage’s attention.

“Then we’ll see,” Kitazawa said lightly, turning to leave.

“Hmph!”

Mizuki glared at his back, his pleasant facade vanishing.

’Let’s see how far you can actually go, Kitazawa!’

As for whether the Hokage would truly show up to referee… In Mizuki’s mind, that was absolutely impossible.

A simple sparring match between first- and second-year classes was far too trivial to interest the Hokage.

Sasuke sprinted all the way home, practically bursting with anticipation.

“Take a bath first.”

Before he could even speak, his mother, Mikoto, cut him off gently. “Your father and brother aren’t home yet.”

“Really?”

The excitement that had lit up Sasuke’s face dimmed slightly.

“You got first place in the monthly exam, didn’t you?” Mikoto asked as she walked toward the bathroom.

“Eh? How did you know?” Sasuke blinked in surprise.

“You’re my son. Of course I know.”

She gave him a knowing smile as she turned on the tap and started running a hot bath. “They should be back by the time you’re finished, but there’s no rush.”

“Got it!”

Sasuke shut the door behind him, stepped into the steaming bath, and sank into the warmth with a sigh of satisfaction.

Half an hour later, the front door opened.

“Father!”

Sasuke shot out of his room, practically thrusting his report card into Uchiha Fugaku’s hands.

“First place, huh?”

Fugaku gave it a quick glance, then nodded. “Well done.”

“I also learned Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!” Sasuke puffed out his chest with pride, silently begging for more praise.

“You didn’t disgrace the Uchiha name.”

For once, Fugaku offered a rare smile. “As expected of my son.”

“Thanks, Father!”

Sasuke fought the urge to shout with joy. His father had acknowledged him—truly acknowledged him.

Just then, the door opened again.

“Big Brother!”

Sasuke dashed to Itachi, eagerly pressing the report card into his hands.

“Congratulations on getting first place,” Itachi said warmly, without hesitation. “You’ll probably earn it more times than I ever did.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened. That thought hadn’t even crossed his mind.

Itachi had entered the Academy at age six and graduated by seven. With three semesters a year and four monthly exams per semester, Itachi hadn’t stayed long enough to rack up many first-place finishes.

If Sasuke stayed longer, he really could surpass his brother’s record.

The thought made him grin from ear to ear. In that moment, he felt like the happiest person in the entire Ninja World.

“Itachi, come to my room. I need to speak with you.”

Uchiha Fugaku turned and walked toward his study.

“Sasuke, wait for me,” Itachi said, patting his little brother on the head before following their father—his earlier smile vanishing.

Inside the study, Fugaku wasted no time.

“Any activity from within the village? Especially from Root?”

He had allowed Itachi to join the Anbu for one reason: to serve as the Uchiha Clan’s eyes and ears inside Konoha, especially keeping tabs on Danzo’s Root division.

“Nothing unusual,” Itachi replied coolly.

“What about your investigation into why Lady Tsunade returned to the village?”

Fugaku narrowed his eyes.

“It’s related to Kitazawa,” Itachi answered. “He proposed the creation of a Psychological Medical Ninja system to Lord Hokage.”

“Kitazawa?” Fugaku’s brow furrowed. “Who is that?”

“He’s a teacher at the Academy,” Itachi replied, a trace of disappointment creeping into his voice. “Also Sasuke’s homeroom teacher.”

It stung a little—how little attention Fugaku paid to his younger son.

Still, Itachi understood why his father found it hard to believe. For a mere Chunin to propose such a groundbreaking system… it was unprecedented.

“Explain in detail,” Fugaku said, voice firm.

“Yes.”

And so, Itachi explained everything he knew about Kitazawa and the system he was developing.

“I see…”

Fugaku fell silent, his brows knitting. “I wonder how long Tsunade intends to stay.”

“I think her presence is a good thing,” Itachi said after a short pause. “At the very least, it’ll keep the our clan in check for a while.”

Tsunade was no ordinary shinobi. As one of the Legendary Sannin, the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and a former student of the Third Hokage, her influence in the village was undeniable.

Ever since Shisui’s death, more and more hardliners had begun to rise within the clan.

But Tsunade’s return was… inconvenient for them.

Her power and prestige made any rebellion far more dangerous—and far more likely to fail.

“Itachi,” Fugaku said gravely, “don’t forget where your loyalties lie.”

“You are a shinobi of the Uchiha Clan.”

“I understand.”

Itachi fell silent for a long moment before replying softly.

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