Chapter 73: Chapter 73

The air split with a hiss as Nezumi drew his blade, the glint of steel slashing toward Kitazawa in a deadly arc.

On the sidelines, Kurenai’s eyes narrowed, her pupils contracting in alarm.

The instant Hayate struck, she knew: this man’s strength was the real deal.

Wind Release: Vacuum Bullet!

Kitazawa’s hands blurred through seals. A barrage of wind bullets erupted from his mouth like machine-gun fire, screaming through the air.

Hayate’s chest clenched in shock.

’So fast…’

He slashed with precise swings, deflecting the wind bullets as best he could. At the same time, he pivoted left, dodging the remainder of the storm.

But before his feet even found solid ground, Kitazawa was already there, a whirlwind of motion.

Leaf Great Whirlwind!

Kitazawa spun into a vicious roundhouse kick aimed for Hayate’s ribs.

’He’s good at taijutsu too?!’

Hayate’s mind flashed with surprise, but his reflexes kicked in.

With a flick of his wrist, he angled his blade upward, slashing toward Kitazawa’s incoming leg.

But in the next instant, Hayate’s eyes widened in disbelief.

His blade passed cleanly through Kitazawa’s leg—yet drew no blood.

Before he could process what had happened, gnarled branches erupted behind him like living serpents, snaring his body and slamming him against a tree.

“Genjutsu?! When did he—?”

Hayate’s voice was strangled with alarm.

Kurenai stared in shock.

“Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death…?” she breathed.

Kitazawa… knew her genjutsu?

And she’d seen it all with perfect clarity: the reason Hayate fell for the illusion so easily was because Kitazawa had performed his hand seals one-handed.

Most shinobi defaulted to two-handed seals—a subtle trick that made all the difference.

Kitazawa stepped down from the treetop, kunai flashing as he lunged forward.

“Damn it!”

Hayate struggled violently against the branches, but he was just a hair too slow.

The kunai grazed across his cheek, a thin line of blood blossoming in its wake.

Genjutsu: Release!

The pain snapped Hayate out of the illusion, and the towering tree vanished like smoke.

He stared at Kitazawa, silent for a long moment.

In a real battle, that kunai would have pierced his heart.

But he wasn’t ready to concede yet.

“One last move!”

Hayate’s eyes glimmered with fierce resolve.

Leaf-Style Kenjutsu: Dance of the Crescent Moon!

His body blurred as two Shadow Clones split off to flank Kitazawa on either side.

Three Hayates rushed in from the left, right, and above, blades flashing, killing intent pouring off them like a suffocating fog.

There was nowhere to run.

“Be careful!” Kurenai cried out involuntarily.

In Kitazawa’s place, she knew she’d stand no chance if her genjutsu failed and she faced the Dance of the Crescent Moon.

But Kitazawa’s reaction was instantaneous.

Shadow Clone Jutsu!

Two clones exploded into being beside him.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!

All three Kitazawas formed seals in perfect sync, spewing enormous fireballs into the air.

The battlefield lit up like dawn.

Three blazing suns surrounded Kitazawa, searing heat rolling off them in waves.

Hayate stumbled back, sweat pouring down his face, his mind spinning.

He and his clones couldn’t get anywhere near Kitazawa—and were forced into retreat, scattering under the roaring flames.

“You win, Kitazawa-senpai,” Hayate said at last, lowering his blade in surrender.

There was no shame in the admission.

No one would question promoting a Chūnin capable of wielding Wind Release, Fire Release, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu to Special Jōnin.

Kurenai stood frozen, a mix of awe and disbelief swirling in her crimson eyes.

’Was that Kitazawa’s full power…?’

Though they’d never truly sparred, she realized now that a gulf had quietly opened between them.

“Thank you,” Kitazawa said with a faint smile.

Had he used his Byakugan, he could have ended the fight even faster—but he was content.

After all, Hayate was a named character in the original timeline. Battling him had solidified Kitazawa’s own confidence in his strength.

“Congratulations, Kitazawa,” Haru said, stepping forward. “I’ll inform Hokage-sama of your assessment results. Expect your official notice tomorrow.”

“Understood.” Kitazawa nodded.

And with that, the training grounds slowly fell silent again—though Kurenai’s mind was anything but quiet.

“Ki… cough cough… Kitazawa-senpai,” Nezumi rasped between coughs, “I hope… cough… we’ll have a chance to work together next time.”

His unspoken meaning was clear: with the strength Kitazawa had just displayed, there was no way he’d remain a simple Academy sensei for long.

“Mm.”

Kitazawa gave a quiet nod.

Nezumi and Haru exchanged brief farewells and left together, their footsteps fading into the distance.

Mission Update: Pass the Special Jōnin assessment.

Reward: Master-level Chakra Shape Transformation.

Status: Mission complete.

Reward issued.

A flood of knowledge crashed into Kitazawa’s mind.

He flexed his hands, feeling an electric thrill surge through him.

Until now, his claim about being able to manually create the Rasengan had been a mere theory—but suddenly, he knew with certainty that he could do it.

The Rasengan: an A-rank Jutsu renowned as the pinnacle of Chakra shape manipulation.

It used pure, non-elemental chakra and didn’t rely on nature transformation—but it could be combined with elemental chakra to devastating effect.

A formidable and practical jutsu, it was a staple of Naruto Uzumaki’s arsenal right until the end of the original timeline.

Kitazawa’s eyes glimmered as possibilities bloomed in his mind.

“What are you spacing out for?”

Kurenai’s voice snapped him from his thoughts as she stepped closer, reaching out to flick him lightly on the forehead.

“You…”

She hesitated, at a rare loss for words.

Today’s sparring match had shown her, for the first time, the true measure of Kitazawa’s strength. It rattled her—upending how she’d thought of him until now.

“You’ve been hiding all this so well,” she said at last, letting out a soft sigh.

“I just don’t like fighting and killing,” Kitazawa said, clearing his throat. “And in front of real powerhouses, my strength is nothing special.”

“That’s the kind of thing that makes people want to hit you,” Kurenai retorted, pouting as she reached out and pinched his side.

’If your ’little strength’ is nothing… then what does that make me, who’s even weaker than you?’

“Okay, okay—my bad,” Kitazawa said quickly, wincing. He could tell she hadn’t pinched him very hard.

“So… what now? Are you going back to the Academy?” she asked, pulling her hand away.

“Back to the Academy?” Kitazawa lifted an eyebrow. “I took a day off for you, remember? Or did you already forget what you said yesterday?”

“I was just talking!” Kurenai said, startled, her eyes widening slightly. “You didn’t have to take it so seriously.”

“Our first date deserves to be taken seriously,” Kitazawa said firmly.

“Wha— How did this turn into a date?” Kurenai stammered, flustered.

“Isn’t it a date?” Kitazawa replied, putting on a crestfallen look.

Kurenai gazed at him, a swirl of warmth and exasperation rising in her chest.

She was hardly the shy type—and her decision came quickly.

“…You can think of it as a date,” she said, cheeks tinted pink.

“What do you mean, ’think of it as’?” Kitazawa teased, eyes fixed on her delicate, flushed face.

Kurenai felt her heartbeat skitter.

Biting her lip, she suddenly rose onto her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

“Do you understand now what I mean?” she demanded, rolling her eyes at him even as her face burned.

“Nope,” Kitazawa said innocently, blinking at her.

“Hey—!” Kurenai began, indignation bubbling up. “Don’t you—mmph!”

Her eyes flew wide.

Kitazawa had seized her in his arms, cutting off her protest with a kiss that pressed softly but firmly against her lips.

A rush of heat washed through her, and she felt the world tilt.

A delicate pink flush spread across her cheeks and down her neck, her fair skin glowing with warmth.

A few breathless seconds later, her brain spinning, Kurenai found herself pushing him back—her mind a haze of embarrassment, surprise, and something she dared not name.

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