December 1st.
Konoha Village welcomed its first snowfall.
At the northern training ground, Kitazawa was sparring against a puppet Sasori had given him.
He used Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow, his movements flowing like water as he weaved around the puppet, launching a relentless series of attacks.
The puppet could only defend desperately, unable to strike back. After ten seconds of continuous clashing, the sounds finally ceased.
Kitazawa pulled back.
With this battle, he had completely mastered Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Willow. Next, he only needed to learn Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Camellia to complete his system mission.
Over the past month, he hadn't only mastered Dance of the Willow—he had also learned Wood Release: Multiple Wood Clone Technique.
As for new Wood Release techniques, he had chosen Wood Release: Cutting Technique.
In the original story, Wood Release: Cutting Technique was one of Uchiha Obito's signature techniques.
Kitazawa had initially assumed it was exclusive to Obito since he was the only one shown using it. But he discovered its record in the basement of the Senju Clan's compound.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Obito's Wood Release was taught by Uchiha Madara, and Madara's Wood Release obviously wasn't self-created; he likely learned it from Konoha's archives.
Kitazawa learned Wood Release: Cutting Technique purely for its overwhelming killing power.
Among Wood Release techniques below the advanced tier, its lethality could be considered the highest.
Sharp wooden spikes would grow from the arm, pierce through a target's body, then branch out and continue extending—a brutal and deadly technique.
Footsteps sounded nearby.
Kitazawa turned his head instinctively and saw Konan approaching. He raised an eyebrow.
Back in late October, he had given Konan a month of leave to investigate the political landscape in the Land of Rain.
Like the major countries outside the ninja villages, the Land of Rain was trapped in a feudal era. One could easily imagine how rotten and oppressive its political scene must be.
After all, ninja were essentially mercenaries—they took money to do jobs, not govern nations.
The rule of strength that prevailed among the ninja did not apply to the governments of the major countries.
Still, Kitazawa didn't expect Konan to return today, after a month and a half.
"Kitazawa." Konan hesitated, at a loss for how to begin.
Her horizons had expanded drastically during her month and a half in the Land of Rain.
The way the Daimyo and noble officials exploited the common people was appalling.
Konan even discovered that half of the funds the Akatsuki Organization provided to improve the Land of Rain were being pocketed by these officials.
Only the remaining half benefited the citizens—and that was even with Akatsuki's military deterrence.
There were also numerous heavy taxes. Even ordinary residents who engaged in the silver jewelry and rainwater businesses had to pay exorbitant extra taxes.
Konan couldn't imagine how much worse these parasites would act without the Akatsuki Organization restraining them.
"It seems you've grown." Kitazawa chuckled. "Well? Did my words come true?"
"Mm." Konan nodded. "I didn't expect the situation in the Land of Rain to be that terrible."
"This is actually the norm," Kitazawa explained. "It's not just the Land of Rain. All major countries are like this."
It was, at its core, the inevitable result of a feudal society.
"Then what should I do?" Konan asked immediately.
"Just replace them." Kitazawa paused briefly. "If you don't want to replace them, you can use Genjutsu."
Konan froze. From a ninja's perspective, Kitazawa's words were nearly rebellious.
According to the ninja code, ninja must never harm their employers.
In theory, every Daimyo, noble, official, and wealthy merchant counted as a ninja's "employer." Because of this, almost no ninja dared challenge them.
Even the Akatsuki Organization—despite being composed largely of rogue ninja—did not dare move directly against them. Much less the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Konan had expected Kitazawa to suggest some clever political maneuver. She didn't expect such a straightforward, crude answer.
"You've been with me for so long—do you still have traditional ninja thinking?" Kitazawa asked with a smile.
Konan's expression changed as realization hit her.
She was already managing the silver jewelry and rainwater businesses—things far outside the duties of a traditional ninja.
"You're right." Konan firmed her resolve and nodded.
As a member of Akatsuki, a rogue ninja destined to oppose the Five Great Nations, she had no need to cling to the old ninja code.
Still, she couldn't help but be shocked by Kitazawa's approach. How could someone raised entirely within Konoha grow to think so differently from traditional ninja?
She couldn't understand—so she simply concluded he was a genius.
"Go handle it. Come back soon." Kitazawa waved his hand.
"Thank you." Konan bowed her head with sincere gratitude.
"It's nothing," Kitazawa replied lightly.
[Current Mission: Help Haku learn three Ice Release Ninjutsu.]
[Mission Reward: Ice Release.]
[Host has completed the mission, reward issued.]
Kitazawa wasn't surprised by the three lines of text that appeared. After all, Haku had been studying Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals for quite some time.
He waited a moment but did not receive a follow-up system mission similar to Shikotsumyaku.
Was it because Ice Release techniques were too rare in the original story? It seemed he would have to create new ones himself.
Kitazawa shook his head, put away the puppet, and headed toward the Ninja Academy.
Despite the snowfall, training in the Genius Class continued as usual.
"Konoha Dragon God!" Naruto's excited voice echoed loudly.
Kitazawa looked over. Beside Naruto stood Chen, watching with full anticipation.
The cold wind howled.
Naruto began to spin rapidly.
A massive surge of Chakra burst out from him in all directions, forming a swirling blue current of air. Snow caught in the vortex shattered into powder.
As the airflow reached its peak, a blue giant dragon manifested.
"Have you learned it?" Kitazawa observed the swirling blue giant dragon.
"Too strong!" Rock Lee clenched his fists, eyes blazing. "I must learn it—in the name of youth!"
Although he had learned Konoha Dragon God alongside Naruto, his progress was clearly a step behind.
Sasuke subconsciously tightened his grip on his Sword of the Thunder God. Without a doubt, in future sparring matches, he would have to face this terrifying Konoha Dragon God head-on.
Originally, he could have learned it as well, but he had chosen Hatake Swordsmanship over Konoha Dragon God.
Unfortunately, Hatake Swordsmanship was far more difficult than expected, and he still hadn't mastered it.
Neji instinctively activated his Byakugan. Only then did he realize Konoha Dragon God was far more than simple Taijutsu.
This fierce, spiraling airflow was like the sharpest blade, enough to make one's heart quiver.
Neji's first reaction was that his Gentle Fist would struggle against it. In these conditions, he couldn't get close—nor would he dare step into that tornado.
His only option was to rely on his Fate Breaking Bow. But even then, could he truly break through this vortex?
Kimimaro's brows furrowed, his expression turning solemn.
Even though Shikotsumyaku was the bane of Taijutsu users, this Konoha Dragon God clearly wasn't afraid of his counters.
If he rushed in, he would be shredded by the whirlwind.
"He's a freak!" Kiba complained helplessly.
Still, his mentality was decent. With or without Konoha Dragon God, he couldn't defeat Naruto anyway.
"This is a true genius." Jugo sighed.
Akimichi Choji nodded.
"…" Tayuya's lips twitched.
She simply couldn't understand why someone like Naruto existed—someone so explosively gifted it felt unfair.
"It looks like Naruto will hold first place for a long time." Shikamaru shook his head.
"Hmph! Sasuke-kun definitely won't lose!" Sakura immediately snapped back.
The very next second, the blue giant dragon trembled. The airflow scattered, revealing a dizzy, wobbling Naruto.
"Looks like Naruto hasn't fully mastered Konoha Dragon God yet," Shikamaru commented lazily.
Sasuke, Neji, and Kimimaro all let out a synchronized sigh of relief. They still had time to catch up.
"Everyone, continue training." Kitazawa stepped forward and addressed the class.
It wasn't surprising that Naruto hadn't mastered the Konoha Dragon God. After all, he was still young—and it was an S-rank Taijutsu.
"Yes, Teacher Kitazawa!"
Everyone snapped out of their daze and dispersed to begin training again. As for Naruto, he quickly recovered and resumed receiving guidance from Chen.
"Shion," Kitazawa called out to Shion, who had been heading toward the Artificial Lake for Chakra control practice.
"Teacher Kitazawa." Shion immediately hurried over.
"Your Water-Walking Training ends here," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"Finally, no more Water Walking!"
Shion beamed with joy. Repeating the same training endlessly was indeed tiring.
"Although you possess immense power, your physical ability hasn't caught up yet. So you'll begin with Konoha-Style Taijutsu." Kitazawa decided.
"Okay!" Shion didn't mind—she was just happy to change her training routine.
"Iruka." Kitazawa didn't plan to teach her personally. Instead, he called Iruka.
"What? You need me for something?" Iruka asked in surprise.
"You're a teacher of the Genius Class, after all," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"That's true, but my strength is nowhere near yours," Iruka replied honestly.
"Shion has only trained in Chakra control and is just beginning her ninja path." Kitazawa explained. "Teach her Konoha-Style Taijutsu first, then the basic Three E-rank Technique."
"No problem, I can handle those." Iruka immediately regained his confidence.
Kitazawa nodded.
He wasn't teaching Shion because he had other students to train—and he needed time to train himself as well. Iruka's schedule was light, so it was convenient.
Kitazawa then approached Hyuga Neji.
Neji's Multiple Arrows had reached nine simultaneous shots, so today he would teach him Explosive Arrow.
The Fate Breaking Bow, like the Moon Chasing Bow, was sealed with Yin-Release monsters; therefore, the mechanism behind Explosive Arrow remained essentially the same.
After teaching Neji, Kitazawa turned his gaze to Hinata. Her Multiple Arrows had reached six shots at once.
Kitazawa pondered what bow-style secret technique she should learn next.
The Spiral Arrow emphasized destructive power.
Multiple Arrows emphasized quantity.
Explosive Arrow targeted emotional disruption.
Kitazawa stroked his chin. They needed a true finishing move.
In theory, if Multiple Arrows reached ten thousand simultaneous shots, that alone would be a killing technique—but neither of them could achieve that yet.
Kitazawa suddenly thought of Shinnō's Ancor Vantian. Powered by the Zero-Tails, it could launch a Chakra cannon comparable to a Tailed Beast Ball.
Using this as inspiration, he decided he could create a fully-powered—World-Destroying Arrow.
Its advantages and drawbacks were obvious.
The advantage: Overwhelming destructive power.
The drawback: It would consume an enormous amount of Yin-Release energy in one shot, leaving the bows temporarily unusable until they recharged.
But in a life-or-death battle, disadvantages didn't matter.
Kitazawa nodded to himself. He had decided... he would create this World-Destroying Arrow.
However, although it sounded simple, it was still extremely troublesome to implement.
The biggest issue was that neither Hinata's nor Neji's bows were suitable for creating the World-Destroying Arrow.
After all, using it even once required a long recovery period, which was not conducive to their regular training.
Kitazawa's Demon-Slaying Bow had the same problem.
He suddenly thought of the Ryūmyaku. Using the Ryūmyaku's terrifying Chakra to forge the World-Destroying Arrow would be ideal.
With that thought, Kitazawa decided to postpone creating the World-Destroying Arrow for now.
"Teacher Kitazawa!" Kiba came running over excitedly, shouting, "I've learned Earth Release: Consecutive Fang Bullet!"
Kitazawa nodded. He maintained a detailed understanding of every Genius Class student's progress.
Kiba learning Earth Release: Consecutive Fang Bullet at this time was completely within expectations.
"Then I'll teach you a new Earth Release Ninjutsu—Earth Release: Earth Splitting Bullet."
Kitazawa had long prepared a new Earth Release technique for him, so he immediately brought it out.
"What does it do?" Kiba asked impatiently.
"This Earth Release: Earth Splitting Bullet is a further development of Earth Release: Earth Fang Bullet," Kitazawa explained. "It incorporates shape transformation. To put it simply, it explodes."
Kiba's eyes instantly lit up. Just from that description, he could tell Earth Splitting Bullet was far more powerful than Earth Fang Bullet or Earth Release: Consecutive Fang Bullet.
This was normal. Earth Release: Earth Splitting Bullet was roughly B-rank in difficulty and packed far greater destructive power.
Kitazawa created a Shadow Clone to teach Kiba while he himself went to find Nara Shikamaru.
Shikamaru was diligent these days.
Kitazawa had taught him the Shadow Wall earlier, and Shikamaru had perfected it. He should have been taught new Ninjutsu much earlier.
But the reason Kitazawa had delayed until now was that he had been crafting a tailor-made Yin Release Secret Technique for him.
"Teacher Kitazawa." Shikamaru saw him and immediately guessed it. "Are you going to teach me a new Ninjutsu?"
"Indeed." Kitazawa smiled. "I'm going to teach you the Shadow Substitution Technique."
"Shadow Substitution Technique?" Shikamaru frowned, searching his memory.
It wasn't a technique from the Nara Clan. Clearly, it was another original creation of Kitazawa.
"What's the difference between that and a normal Substitution Jutsu?" Shikamaru asked.
"Substitution Jutsu swaps your body with an object like a wooden log to deceive the enemy," Kitazawa explained. "Shadow Substitution Technique lets you exchange places with your shadow."
"So I… become a shadow?" Shikamaru asked instinctively.
"You enter the shadow," Kitazawa corrected. "Attack me, and I'll demonstrate."
"Alright." Shikamaru immediately threw two kunai at him.
Just before they struck, Kitazawa vanished—leaving only his shadow on the ground. The kunai flew past harmlessly.
Shikamaru blinked, then hurled another kunai at the shadow. It pierced through, but the shadow remained unaffected.
Then, the shadow shifted, lifted, and transformed back into Kitazawa.
Shikamaru's eyes widened in disbelief.
"When you become a shadow, you can ignore physical attacks," Kitazawa explained. "But you cannot ignore Ninjutsu damage—such as Fire Release."
"That's amazing!" Shikamaru said sincerely.
"The difficulty is high—beyond B-rank, roughly A-rank," Kitazawa said. "With your talent, it will likely take half a year to a year."
He smiled. "Alright, let's not waste time. I'll begin teaching you."
---
A full day passed in a flash.
After the Genius Class was dismissed, Iruka hurried over and stopped Kitazawa.
"Is something wrong with Shion?" Kitazawa asked.
"No." Iruka shook his head quickly. "It's about the final exam."
"The final exam is set for December 15th," Kitazawa said after thinking briefly.
"Will there be any changes to the format of the practical exam?" Iruka asked.
"No changes needed. Proceed as usual." Kitazawa shook his head.
Although the final exam was important, it wasn't that important—especially for the Genius Class, whose daily training mattered more.
However, next year, things might change. After all, it would be a new year, and their Genius Class's reputation needed to spread further.
"I understand. I'll begin preparations tomorrow," Iruka said with a nod.
"Thanks, Iruka." Kitazawa waved and left the Ninja Academy.
---
A week later, at the ANBU Base—
Kitazawa received intelligence from Uchiha Itachi.
The report contained only two sentences, but those two sentences were invaluable: Mukade had left Sunagakure and arrived in Rōran.
After visiting the Ryūmyaku(Dragon Veins), he settled nearby and began researching Minato Namikaze's Ryūmyaku Seal.
Kitazawa recalled the original story.
Strictly speaking, Mukade hadn't deciphered Minato's Ryūmyaku Seal. Minato's seal originated from the Uzumaki Clan's sealing arts—Mukade had nowhere near that level of ability.
However, he cleverly used the Power of the Dragon Vein to clash against the Ryūmyaku Seal. Because of that clash, he, Naruto, and the others present were all sent spiraling through time.
Thinking of this, Kitazawa sent a reply to Itachi:
Once Mukade completes his research, notify me immediately. If I cannot arrive in time, Mukade must be stopped.
If he wasn't present when the seal activated, he wouldn't be able to travel through time.
After delivering the message through ANBU, there was nothing left but to wait.
---
Time moved to December 15th.
The Genius Class's final exam officially began.
The next day, Kitazawa led Hinata, Rock Lee, and Akimichi Choji on a mission. This time, they didn't go far—he selected an escort mission within the Land of Fire.
With the New Year approaching, he didn't want to waste too much time.
There was also Hinata's birthday on December 27th.
She was the last among the Konoha 12 to celebrate a birthday. After the New Year, they would all be turning ten.