Haruki glanced at the Sunagakure ninja who had just hastily retreated.
They still had some sense after all.
Since they had the sense to retreat, he naturally saw no need to kill them.
Before him, the seal was completely released, revealing a semi-transparent, dragon-shaped entity.
But unlike the tailed beasts, it lacked true consciousness, acting purely on instinct.
The moment it emerged onto the surface, it immediately went berserk.
From its center, chakra surged into the sky, kicking up massive clouds of sand and dust.
Haruki already had experience dealing with tailed beasts—or large creatures in general.
Though communication wasn't possible, capturing it was simple.
A seed fell to the ground.
Instantly, from the desert arose another dragon—identical in appearance.
A wooden dragon.
It swiftly coiled around the dragon vein.
The once-raging creature could no longer move.
Haruki observed the dragon vein.
Besides chakra, it also contained natural energy.
A smile crossed Haruki's face.
The dragon vein resembled the God Tree—it could convert natural energy into chakra.
If that were the case, he had essentially acquired an endless energy source.
An idea quickly formed in Haruki's mind.
He intended to bury the dragon vein beneath the new metropolis in Summer Country, using it as the core to power a protective barrier.
Of course, aside from the barrier, there would be other things too.
Such as floating vessels.
With infinite energy from the dragon vein, he could build a futuristic city.
Thinking about this, Haruki couldn't help but feel delighted.
In his previous life, he'd loved the grand spectacles seen in sci-fi movies.
Normally, building such a city would be nearly impossible.
But thanks to the all-powerful chakra, those dreams could finally become reality.
Haruki sent the dragon vein back to Konoha.
After thinking it over, he temporarily stored it in Kurama's ecological base.
By the scenic riverside, there was currently no one—or tailed beasts—around at the moment.
Haruki finally remembered—they should be floating as airborne platforms, acting as flying transports.
He didn't wish to disturb Kurama, who was diligently carrying out his duties.
He found a clearing and resealed the dragon vein once more.
This time, he used a Konoha sealing method instead of the Uzumaki Sealing Technique.
Normally, it wouldn't have been very effective.
But when quality wasn't enough, sheer quantity could make up the difference.
As long as there was enough chakra, the sealing effect could still be achieved.
After resolving the matter with Sunagakure, Haruki could finally return to being a carefree teacher again.
Resuming his former role.
Head Instructor at Konoha Ninja University.
However, several of his students rarely attended class anymore.
Minato, Mikoto, and Kushina, of course, had already graduated.
Each of them now had their own responsibilities—busier even than he was.
Obito had joined the Akatsuki Organization.
Although Kakashi and Rin had entered university as current students, after becoming Chunin, they focused most of their attention on missions.
Considering one fewer person,
Haruki decided to assign Might Dai, making him the teammate for both of them.
Kakashi looked genuinely pleased, clenching his jaw as he muttered thanks through gritted teeth.
What a truly outstanding teacher I am.
With Might Dai's motivation, Kakashi is sure to improve rapidly.
It's worth mentioning that since Mikoto had taken Might Dai's place and defeated the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist,
Might Dai survived and had more time to guide Lee.
Therefore, Lee's strength was noticeably greater than in the original timeline at the same age.
Of course, even without utilizing the last two gates of the Eight Gates, Kakashi still held the advantage.
Free from the burden of the Sharingan, and having received the true teachings of Niten Ichi-ryu and Iai Beheading techniques, Kakashi could rightfully be considered the true successor to the legendary White Fang of Konoha.
By the time he reached his late twenties, when his physical abilities peaked, surpassing his father would be no issue at all.
His remaining student—or apprentice, if you will—was Uchiha Shisui.
Although he had passed the Chunin Exams, he was still very young.
He was still at an age where he should focus on learning.
Besides, he himself was also eager to study.
Haruki, worried that Shisui might end up going down the wrong path like in the original story, closely monitored Shisui's life at the academy.
The results were highly satisfactory.
Shisui's academic performance exceeded all expectations.
Especially in the theory classes focused on Tsunade's Will of Fire philosophy,
his understanding was exceptionally deep and insightful.
In terms of his past life, it was like scoring full marks in political theory class.
Such remarkable results were incredibly rare.
Haruki then thought of Itachi Uchiha and Haku Uchiha.
They were two years younger than Shisui.
Maybe they could be placed in the same class.
That idea appealed to Haruki.
He turned around and made his way toward the Uchiha Clan compound.
"Is Mikoto not home?"
Haruki raised an eyebrow.
He recalled how Mikoto had defeated the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist upon her return and was later appointed as one of the Hokage's assistants.
This was Tsunade's suggestion.
Because Tsunade felt that Haruki constantly ran around everywhere, loved slacking off during work hours, and even prevented her from working normally—she kept getting her clothes wet from all the interruptions.
Mikoto, however, possessed strong skills and a conscientious personality.
Serving as the Hokage's assistant suited her perfectly.
As far as individual strength went, Konoha's power structure at the moment was clear:
Tsunade stood at the top.
She held titles such as Hokage, Leader of the Xia Organization, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Ninja Forces, and Emperor.
Beneath her were key members of the Executive Department.
Chief among them were the Hokage's assistants, the Hokage's secretary, various department heads, army generals, and powerful, renowned ninja.
In fact, the Executive Department had coordinating personnel—
those were the Hokage's assistants.
Of course, this didn't necessarily mean they ranked higher than others.
Originally, there was only Haruki.
Later at the award ceremony, Tsunade added Mikoto and Sakumo Hatake to the position.
That was also why Haruki could wander around so freely.
He arrived at Mikoto's residence.
Itachi Uchiha and Haku were in the middle of a sparring match.
Clearly, Haku was losing ground.
Although he possessed Ice Release, his basics were still too shaky.
Thanks to Mikoto's rigorous training, it could be said that Itachi was the strongest among his peers.
After all, it was forged through blood and tears.
Even Haruki wondered if Itachi was really her biological son.
Yet he managed to endure and persist.
Give someone with less talent and an average mindset this kind of pressure, and they would've already broken down mentally, or even cut ties completely.
But his difficult days were over.
Once Mikoto came to understand things properly, she stopped being so strict.
However, Itachi had already become accustomed to this intense training. With Shisui as his role model, he kept pushing forward willingly.
And he remained diligent in his routine as always.
The spar came to an end.
As the only spectator, Haruki Seimei was generous with his applause.
Their only limitations were age and chakra reserves.
Otherwise, defeating an average genin would be no problem.
"Haruki Seimei-sama."
Itachi Uchiha immediately brushed the ice shards from his clothes and bowed slightly toward Haruki Seimei.
Seeing this, Haku behind him followed suit, calling out cheerfully, "Haruki Seimei-sama."
Compared to Itachi's maturity, Haku clearly seemed more like a child—his demeanor was quite stiff.
Haruki Seimei walked up to him, ruffled his hair, and asked, "Why aren't you in school today?"
Itachi had recently enrolled.
He replied, "Mother had something to take care of, so I took the day off to stay home with Haku."
Haruki Seimei raised an eyebrow.
There it was—the classic Itachi younger-brother affection!
Actually, maybe it was a general Uchiha Clan trait—
It had started all the way back with Madara Uchiha.
Now he wondered, with Haku around, when Sasuke was eventually born, would there be a rivalry over younger brother affection?
A real family drama.
Haruki Seimei glanced at Haku.
Sasuke would be handsome, while Haku was delicate and pretty.
So which kind of younger brother did Itachi prefer?