The sun was setting, but the sky remained bright.
Since the beginning of July, daylight in Konoha Village had stretched longer, and temperatures had risen noticeably.
On the way back, Kitazawa bought three popsicles before hurrying home. Of course, it wasn't his home—it was Kurenai's.
"Kurenai, open your mouth!" Kitazawa stepped into the living room and popped the popsicle right into her mouth.
"You should've told me earlier you were getting popsicles," Kurenai complained as she pulled it out, "You just ruined my lipstick."
Kitazawa smiled faintly and glanced down. There were two pink lip marks on the translucent popsicle.
His gaze drifted upward and landed on her lips. Those soft lips shimmered with a moist luster, glowing a radiant red under the light.
"Sorry," Kitazawa scratched his head. "I rushed to stuff it in because I didn't want it to melt—I didn't even notice you were wearing lipstick."
"Don't do that again." Kurenai rolled her eyes at him.
"Isn't lipstick edible?" Kitazawa blinked.
"It is edible—mmph." Her words were cut off as he kissed her. Though a little helpless, Kurenai didn't push him away. After a few seconds of entanglement, they finally parted.
"If you don't give Yakumo her popsicle, it's really going to melt." Kurenai pursed her lips, reminding him.
"Your lipstick tastes great," Kitazawa said with a satisfied look.
"You wasted my lipstick again!" Kurenai grumbled. "You'll have to make it up to me."
"No problem," Kitazawa replied cheerfully. "Next time, I'll buy you a whole set. You can wear a different color every day."
"Why does that sound more like a reward than a punishment?" Kurenai frowned. "Are you a pervert?"
"What? No way!" Kitazawa defended himself, "I just enjoy shopping with you."
"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Kurenai snorted, lifted her snow-white foot, and kicked him lightly. "The popsicle's melting!"
"Right, I'll go give it to Yakumo." Kitazawa went upstairs and handed the popsicle to Kurama Yakumo.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei." Yakumo licked the surface of the popsicle with her pink tongue and instantly shuddered.
"Yakumo, how's your health now?" Kitazawa asked while taking a bite of his own popsicle.
"I've improved a lot after Lady Tsunade's treatment." Kurama Yakumo smiled brightly. "I think I'll be able to move like a normal ninja soon."
"That's great news, Yakumo," Kitazawa said with some emotion.
He had done a good deed. At this rate, Yakumo wouldn't end up killing her parents or nearly killing Kurenai like in the original timeline.
"If not for you, Mr. Kitazawa, I wouldn't be here," Yakumo said sincerely.
She understood clearly—it wasn't her bloodline limit that earned Tsunade's help, but Kitazawa's intervention.
He was the one who proposed the concept of psychological medical ninjutsu, which caught Tsunade's interest and brought her back to the village.
"Don't overstate it." Kitazawa waved her words away. "What do you want to do after you recover?"
"I want to go back to school," Yakumo answered without hesitation. "It's always been my dream to attend school like a normal person."
"Alright, you'll go back next semester." Kitazawa nodded, not at all surprised.
In the original work, Yakumo's descent into darkness was caused by her parents stopping her from attending school and forcing her to abandon her ninja path.
[The powerful transfer student Kurama Yakumo is about to return. You must keep your first place.
Current task: Learn five genjutsu during summer vacation.]
[Task reward: Genjutsu: Infinite Darkness Jutsu.]
[Do you accept?]
Kitazawa's eyes narrowed. The reward was actually Infinite Darkness Jutsu?
An A-rank genjutsu said to have been created by the legendary Senju Tobirama—specifically to counter the Sharingan. Its effect: plunging the target into a world of darkness by erasing all surrounding light, even the caster's own vision.
During the Konoha Crush arc in the original work, it was used after Tobirama's Impure World Reincarnation. Even the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, once caught in it, lost all visual cues and became a sitting target.
Among genjutsu not involving Mangekyō Sharingan, Infinite Darkness Jutsu was one of the most terrifying. It wasn't just a Sharingan counter—it was devastating against regular ninjas as well.
In short, a top-tier illusion. Of course, such a reward came with a tough challenge.
The ninja school's trimester system allowed only one month for summer break.
And although Kitazawa had mastered chakra control at a high level, he hadn't yet completed the corresponding Yin Release transformation.
Mastering five genjutsu in one month would be intense. But not impossible.
Kitazawa glanced at Yakumo and felt like he'd hit the jackpot. So far, she had triggered two missions.
One reward was the B-rank Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death, and the other was this A-rank Infinite Darkness Jutsu—both incredibly high-value techniques.
So far, Kitazawa had only learned two A-rank techniques: Chakra Scalpel and Rasengan.
If you added Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, that made three.
"What's wrong, Kitazawa-sensei?" Yakumo looked down and asked in confusion.
"Nothing," he smiled. "Your classmates in Grade 1, Class A miss you a lot."
"Really?" Yakumo was surprised.
She hadn't attended school much this term and barely recognized her classmates.
"Of course." Kitazawa chuckled. "Who could forget the classmate who defeated the genius Neji?"
"I only beat him because of my bloodline limit…" Yakumo said, a little embarrassed.
"So what?" Kitazawa shrugged. "You have a bloodline limit. Doesn't Neji?"
"That's true." Yakumo paused.
The Hyuga clan's Byakugan was far more famous than the Kurama clan's illusion-based kekkei genkai. Unfortunately, the Kurama bloodline came with dangerous side effects, and awakening it was rare.
If not for Tsunade, her fate might've been tragic.
Because of those drawbacks, the Kurama clan couldn't rise like the Hyuga or Uchiha clans.
"Alright, I won't bother you. Keep painting." Kitazawa finished his popsicle and went back downstairs.
"What took you so long?" Kurenai asked, glancing at him. She held a mirror in her left hand and was applying lipstick with her right.
As for her popsicle, it was long gone.
"We were chatting," Kitazawa replied. "I told her she could return to school next semester."
"Shizune stopped by earlier," Kurenai said more seriously. "She asked you to meet her at Konoha Hospital."
"Konoha Hospital?" Kitazawa raised an eyebrow. "Is Senior Sister Shizune performing surgery there?"
"Why not Lady Tsunade?" Kurenai asked casually. "With her skills, a single surgery could save so many."
She still didn't know about Tsunade's hemophobia and that she could no longer operate.
"I'll head to Konoha Hospital and check. Want to come along?" Kitazawa asked, not answering directly.
"Shizune specifically asked for you. She's probably planning to teach you a new medical ninjutsu. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to tag along." Kurenai shook her head.
"Alright then, wait for me to get back." Kitazawa stepped forward and kissed her.
"I just put on lipstick!" Kurenai glared at him, annoyed.
"You can always put it on again." With a smile, Kitazawa left and made his way to Konoha Hospital.
Although he had lived in Konoha Village for twenty-one years, he rarely visited the hospital.
First, he was seldom seriously injured. Second, minor wounds were easy enough to treat on his own. Slower, yes—but cheaper too.
Konoha Hospital wasn't a charity. Treatment and hospitalization came with a hefty price tag.
---
Kitazawa arrived quickly.
The hospital looked similar to the ones in his previous life, but with an older, more traditional architectural style.
"Excuse me, where can I find Lady Tsunade?" Kitazawa stepped inside and stopped a young female nurse to ask.
"Tsunade-sama is in the dean's office on the third floor." She replied after sizing him up.
Kitazawa walked upstairs.
It didn't take long to find the office—there was a placard on the door. He raised his hand and knocked.
"Please come in." A gentle female voice answered.
Kitazawa arched an eyebrow. That voice didn't belong to Tsunade—or to Shizune.
He opened the door and saw a woman he didn't recognize. She had fluffy light-blonde hair, wore glasses, and was dressed in a robe resembling a nun's.
Kitazawa stared for a moment and quickly made a guess. Yakushi Nono—the head of the Konoha Orphanage and a former elite member of Root.
In the original timeline, she had left Root but was later blackmailed by Shimura Danzo using the orphanage, forcing her to continue working in secret.
She also had a famous adoptive son: Yakushi Kabuto.
Because of his outstanding talent, Kabuto, too, was pulled into Root as a spy.
Yakushi Nono's fate was tragic. Due to the secrets she carried, Danzo eventually arranged for her and Kabuto to kill each other. She died, and Kabuto lost his way, turning into one of the series' major villains.
But that hadn't happened yet. If memory served, the assassination attempt occurred the same year as the Uchiha massacre—next year.
Kabuto was probably already stationed as a spy in Iwagakure, and Nono would soon be sent there as well.
"Who are you?" Nono asked, her face full of polite confusion. If she'd met Kitazawa before, she would have remembered him.
"He's Kitazawa." A lazy voice interrupted.
Kitazawa turned his head instinctively—though from his angle, he could only see a pair of flawless jade feet resting on the armrest of a sofa.
The soles were clean and white. Chakra truly worked wonders.
"Hello, I'm Yakushi Nono." She greeted him with a smile. "Tsunade-sama just told me about you. She says you're highly talented in medical ninjutsu."
"I've heard of you as well," Kitazawa replied politely. "They say you're the best medical ninja in Konoha—second only to Lady Tsunade."
"You flatter me. There are plenty of excellent medical ninjas in Konoha, more skilled than I am." Nono's tone was calm and composed, unaffected by the compliment.
"Alright, enough with the small talk." Tsunade sat up impatiently.
"Tsunade-sama, where's Senior Sister Shizune?" Kitazawa cleared his throat and got to the point.
"She went to check on a patient. She'll be back soon." Tsunade replied.
"She's still performing surgeries for Konoha Hospital?" Kitazawa asked with interest.
"She's doing it for your training," Tsunade said, lazily reclining again like a lounging cat. "She's picking the right case for your new medical ninjutsu."
Kitazawa understood immediately. Shizune said she was visiting a patient, but in truth, she was selecting a suitable subject.
So far, he had only learned C-rank and D-rank healing techniques. It made sense—if the patient were just a carp, there'd be no need to upgrade.
"Sit down and wait." Nono gestured softly.
Kitazawa nodded and sat across from Tsunade. His gaze drifted toward her again.
That mature, curvy figure exuded power and elegance—it was the perfect image of beauty at rest. Just as Tsunade turned her head, she caught him staring.
Kitazawa straightened his back at once, smiled awkwardly, and quickly looked away.
Moments later, a knock came at the door.
Shizune stepped in.
"Senior Sister Shizune!" Kitazawa stood up to greet her.
"Today you'll learn the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique." Shizune nodded. "An Anbu ninja was poisoned during a mission by a puppeteer from the Sand Village. You'll observe the procedure."
Kitazawa nodded inwardly. It all checked out.
But the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique was something the system had already prepared as a reward—this would just speed things up.
"Shizune, take him along," Tsunade added. "Nono, if you're free, come too."
Despite being the best healer, Tsunade's hemophobia made it impossible for her to assist directly. She needed Nono to oversee things.
"Understood, Tsunade-sama." Nono agreed without hesitation—after all, Tsunade was her superior.
Together, the three headed to the operating room.
On the table lay an Anbu operative—masked, with long purple hair.
"Because Anbu identities are confidential, we don't remove their masks," Shizune explained casually.
Kitazawa nodded. But he had a strong guess who it was.
An Anbu with long purple hair? It could only be Uzuki Yugao. She was known for her mastery of Konoha-style kenjutsu and was Gekko Hayate's girlfriend.
Kitazawa's gaze fell on her abdomen. There was a knife wound on her toned stomach, the edges discolored with black and purple—clear signs of poisoning.