Two days later, at the ninja academy.
Watching the Advanced Class train, Kitazawa found himself thinking about one question.
Should he form a student squad and take them to the Land of Demons?
They wouldn't be able to beat Mōryō itself, but they could definitely deal with its immortal army.
In fact, that was how it went in the original timeline—Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Haruno Sakura all took part.
With that in mind, Kitazawa decided to bring Hyuga Hinata, Hyuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto along.
Hinata and Neji both had bows now, so they could pick off Mōryō's immortal soldiers from a distance.
As for Naruto, there was nothing more to say—his Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu could completely flip the numbers game.
Sasuke had the Sharingan, plus Lightning Style, Fire Style, and swordsmanship, so he wasn't afraid of being outnumbered either.
Just then, Kitazawa felt a familiar presence and walked over to a nearby tree.
"Kitazawa."
Konan appeared in front of him. "The plea for help from the Priestess Shion of the Land of Demons has already reached Konoha."
"Got it."
Kitazawa nodded and left the academy.
Hokage's office.
With Tsunade's permission, he stepped inside.
"Looks like you already know about the situation in the Land of Demons."
Tsunade didn't seem surprised to see him.
After all, the most well-informed department in Konoha was Anbu.
More precisely, most intel would be sent to Anbu first for preliminary processing.
"Yeah."
Kitazawa nodded.
"When the Priestess was still Miroku, Mōryō broke free once already."
Tsunade said thoughtfully, "Judging from its performance then, it might not be quite on a tailed beast's level, but it isn't far off. It's a real pain to deal with."
"Then I'll go personally."
Kitazawa smiled. "Don't you think this is a perfect chance to show off Wood Release?"
"Not bad!"
Tsunade snorted lightly, but her eyes lit up.
Given Mōryō's strength, it was more than enough as a target for Wood Release's grand reappearance in the ninja world.
"Besides, my bow just happens to be missing a weapon spirit."
Kitazawa continued.
"But if I remember right, Mōryō has the trait of being immortal. Only the Priestess of the Land of Demons can seal it."
Tsunade reminded him.
"That's not necessarily true."
Kitazawa shook his head and asked, "The Uzumaki clan's sealing arts can seal tailed beasts. You really think they can't seal Mōryō?"
"Fair point."
Tsunade laughed.
During the last Mōryō incident, the Land of Demons had just been unlucky.
It happened after Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina sacrificed their lives.
With Sarutobi Hiruzen unable to leave the village, Konoha's ninja didn't have the sealing ability required to deal with Mōryō.
As for the other villages, their sealing techniques were even worse.
Take the Sand, for example.
The reason Gaara, their jinchuriki, had those panda eyes was because every time he fell asleep, Shukaku tried to get out.
The root of it was that the Sand's sealing arts were trash.
"The situation's urgent. Take your people and head out now."
Tsunade paused, then added, "Be careful."
"Yeah."
After saying goodbye to her, Kitazawa returned to the academy.
He immediately called over Hinata, Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Naruto guessed, "Are you going to teach us a new jutsu?"
"No."
Kitazawa shook his head. "I'm taking you to do a mission."
"Is it an S-rank mission?"
Naruto lit up on the spot, quickly asking.
"It is an S-rank mission."
Kitazawa chuckled. "And we'll be working together with ninja from other hidden villages."
"Awesome!"
Naruto gave a big thumbs-up. "Perfect chance to show the other villages Konoha's way of youth!"
Sasuke's mouth twitched.
You sure you're not wrecking Konoha's image?
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Neji asked calmly, "What's the mission objective?"
"A monster called Mōryō has appeared in the Land of Demons."
Kitazawa replied. "Our goal is to seal it."
"That sounds really familiar."
Naruto scratched his head.
"It's a lot like that mission to Hozuki Castle."
Prompted by him, Sasuke suddenly thought of the Box of Ultimate Bliss and Satori.
"Oh, right!"
Naruto's face lit up. "Kitazawa-sensei, is there a wishing segment this time too?"
"Not this time."
Kitazawa shook his head.
Neji hesitated.
Last time at Hozuki Castle, he hadn't done anything—he was just a spectator.
He suspected this mission to the Land of Demons would turn out similar for him.
"Relax."
Noticing his expression, Kitazawa smiled. "You'll all be very busy this time."
"Will we run into lots of enemies?"
Naruto asked excitedly.
"Loads."
Kitazawa teased. "I'm just worried you'll be so worn out by the end you won't even want to keep fighting."
"I won't get tired!"
Naruto thumped his chest. "I can definitely fight to the very end!"
"That's not guaranteed."
Sasuke glanced at him.
"In my youth, there's no such thing as giving up!"
Naruto's teeth sparkled as he grinned. "Sasuke, when the time comes, let's have a youth endurance showdown!"
"Not interested."
Sasuke refused without hesitation.
He wasn't an idiot. Competing with Naruto in stamina was asking to suffer.
"Alright, I'll give you one hour to get ready."
Kitazawa cut them off. "Meet at Konoha's main gate in an hour. We're heading to the Land of Demons."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei."
The four answered in unison.
After they left, Kitazawa went to inform Sarutobi Hiruzen, Kurenai, and the others.
This trip would probably keep him away for about a week, so he needed them to cover his classes.
He didn't just sit around for that hour.
He went back to the Anbu base, laid his head on Konan's lap, and read through the list of villages that had accepted Shion's plea for help.
There were four in total. Besides Konoha, there were the Sand, the Mist, and the Stone.
The Sand and the Stone being on the list was no surprise.
The Land of Demons lay south of the Land of Wind and east of the Land of Earth.
If the Mōryō incident spread outward, those two countries would very likely be next.
The Lands of Lightning and Water were both far away.
They could help or not—either way was understandable.
Especially the Hidden Cloud. They had blood feuds with practically every other village.
On top of that, their people had hot tempers. If they showed up, they might start a fight before anything else.
As for the Mist, Kitazawa guessed their decision to hurry over had a lot to do with Terumi Mei.
After she became Mizukage, the Mist ended the Bloody Mist era and actively began forming ties with other villages and countries.
The Mōryō crisis in the Land of Demons was a good opportunity for them.
In a sense, their goal overlapped with Kitazawa's.
Even without the Cloud, having ninja from the Sand, Mist, and Stone as witnesses was more than enough.
Kitazawa closed the file, rested for half an hour, then got up and left the Anbu base.
This time, aside from Konan and Uchiha Itachi, he didn't bring any other ninja.
He planned to personally suppress Mōryō with Wood Release. Any extra ninja would just be there to watch anyway.
The main reason for bringing Konan and Itachi was to have them look after Sasuke, Hinata, and the others.
If anything went wrong, they could step in right away.
At Konoha's front gate—
Looking at the familiar lineup, Neji's expression turned a bit complicated.
Last time they'd gone to Hozuki Castle, it had also been the four of them plus Itachi.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was pretty happy.
He'd get to do another mission with Itachi.
Hinata felt about the same.
She was especially happy that Kitazawa was the one leading this mission.
"Let's go."
Once everyone had assembled, Kitazawa set off at a run.
With this many people, he couldn't just have Konan fly him over again.
Personally, he found that a bit of a shame.
Sasuke and the others hurried after him.
Three days later, they arrived at their destination: the Priestess's temple in the Land of Demons.
"You're the ninja from Konoha?"
Taruho looked at Kitazawa and the others, suspicion in his eyes.
He wasn't questioning their identities—he was questioning their strength.
Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, and Hinata all looked too young, nothing like full-fledged ninja at all.
As Anbu, Itachi and Konan remained hidden.
"I'm Kitazawa."
Kitazawa said calmly.
"Kitazawa?"
Taruho blinked, then quickly showed a shocked expression.
Because he suddenly remembered who Kitazawa was.
After the battle between Konoha and the Mist, Kitazawa's reputation had spread everywhere.
With the subsequent promotion of his Limb Regeneration medical ninjutsu, his name had become known to every corner of the ninja world.
"Kitazawa-sama, welcome."
Taruho's attitude flipped instantly, his face breaking into a smile.
With Kitazawa's strength, one of him was worth ten jōnin—bringing four "tag-alongs" didn't matter.
"Hey, old man, we're really strong too!"
Naruto stuck his thumb up and flashed his shiny teeth. "Don't underestimate our way of youth!"
A question mark slowly appeared on Taruho's face.
Sasuke instinctively put a hand to his forehead.
He just hoped that after graduating he'd never end up on the same team as Naruto.
Oh, and Rock Lee. Add him too.
Neji's expression remained rigid, but he and Sasuke were thinking the exact same thing.
Teammates like that… no thanks.
"Have the other villages' ninja arrived yet?"
Kitazawa cleared his throat and asked.
"The Stone ninja are here. The Sand and Mist haven't arrived yet."
Taruho replied. "Please rest for now. Once everyone's here, we'll depart together."
"And Mōryō?"
Kitazawa asked again.
"It hasn't reached the Land of Swamps yet."
Taruho explained, "The immortal army moves slowly, and they don't know where the sealing site is."
"Doesn't Mōryō's soul resonate with its body?"
Kitazawa asked, a bit puzzled.
"The seal weakens the resonance. But given enough time, it will eventually find the sealing site."
Taruho paused. "We probably have about a week."
Kitazawa was about to respond when four ninja wearing Stone forehead protectors walked out from inside the temple.
"Kitazawa-sama."
The leader of the Stone squad stepped forward and introduced himself. "My name is Kitsuchi."
"So it's Kitsuchi-sama. A pleasure."
Kitazawa smiled. "I've heard of you for quite some time."
Kitsuchi was the son of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, and the father of the Fourth Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi.
"Compared to you, Kitazawa-sama, my fame is nothing."
Kitsuchi replied politely.
Personality-wise, he was very different from Onoki—calm and steady.
He then introduced his three teammates to Kitazawa.
All three were jōnin, though none had appeared in the original story.
"These are my four students."
Kitazawa returned the courtesy.
"I'm sure they're all top-class geniuses."
Kitsuchi instinctively gave them a once-over.
He didn't know them personally, but their family names were famous enough.
He was even more curious about Uzumaki Naruto.
Blond hair but the surname "Uzumaki"—that alone invited questions.
Still, he didn't ask.
After some brief small talk, Taruho led Kitazawa and his students to their quarters.
"The Stone ninja all look really serious."
Naruto couldn't help remarking.
"That's the normal reaction."
Neji reminded him. "We're not their teammates. Naturally, they're cautious around us."
"But Kitazawa-sensei seems really easygoing."
Naruto scratched his head.
"Kitazawa-sensei is… different."
Neji stumbled for a second before answering.
"They all feel pretty strong to me."
Sasuke said suddenly.
"Yeah."
Neji agreed. "They don't seem like ordinary jōnin."
"Looks like all that mission work has sharpened your eye."
Kitazawa laughed, then told them who Kitsuchi was.
"The Third Tsuchikage's son?"
Naruto yelped. "Then he's kind of like Uncle Asuma, right?"
"He's a bit stronger than Asuma."
Kitazawa considered it, then replied.
Just then, they heard voices outside the door.
"That voice sounds really familiar."
Naruto instinctively looked toward the window.
Kitazawa already knew who it was—Ao from the Mist.
He stood up and opened the door.
"Kitazawa-sama."
Ao froze for a moment, then walked over to greet him first.
"Chojuro!"
Naruto spotted a familiar face and shouted warmly.
The Mist had brought four ninja as well.
Kitazawa only recognized two: Ao and Chojuro.
Chojuro had already taken on his classic look from the original story, with the twin swords Hiramekarei strapped to his back.
"Naruto."
Chojuro blinked, then answered.
He had lost to Naruto, but he'd accepted that loss wholeheartedly, even seeing Naruto as a target to chase.
Ao swept his gaze over them and looked surprised.
He'd thought bringing Chojuro along for real combat experience was already bold, but Kitazawa had gone further and brought four students.
Those four had performed brilliantly at the earlier exchange event between Konoha and the Mist.
Naruto especially.
With that insane chakra and Samehada, Ao estimated he was already at jōnin level.
As for Sasuke, Neji, and Hinata, they were a bit behind in his mind.
His impression of them was still stuck at that exchange, so he had no idea how strong they'd become since.
And he didn't really believe they could have improved that much in such a short time.
After exchanging greetings, Ao and his team left with Taruho.
"Go back to your rooms and rest."
Kitazawa reminded his students. "You'll need your strength for the battles ahead."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei."
Sasuke, Hinata, and the others each returned to their rooms.
By dusk, the Sand ninja finally arrived—also a group of four.
Kitazawa recognized one of them: Baki.
In the original story, Baki held a very high status in the Sand. He was the team leader for Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari.
Of course, at this point in time, Gaara and the others were still young and hadn't appeared in the Land of Demons yet.
The night passed uneventfully.
The next morning, at nine o'clock.
Ninja from all four villages gathered in the Priestess's temple.
Kitazawa finally met the Priestess Shion. She looked more or less the same as in the original, just even younger.
"On behalf of the Land of Demons, I thank you all for your assistance."
Shion stood up from her seat and spoke.
As she finished, her eyes lingered on Sasuke and Hinata's group.
She couldn't help it. Among a crowd of ninja, four kids stood out immediately.
Still, she didn't comment.
For her, just having Kitazawa there was more than enough.
After a brief hesitation, Shion walked toward the group.
"Priestess-sama, do you have instructions for us?"
Kitsuchi asked as she stopped in front of him.
"Nothing much."
Shion met his gaze and instantly activated her foresight.
Images flashed before her eyes.
But to her surprise, they were the same scenes she'd seen when she looked at Taruho.
Thinking it over, Shion moved on to stand before Baki.
After two seconds, she went to Ao.
The vision still didn't change—it was all the same.
Until she looked at Kitazawa.
"Why is there nothing?"
Shion blurted out.
It was the first time she'd ever met someone completely immune to her foresight.
Kitazawa's brows rose slightly.
The only truly special thing about him was the system.
Could this be the system's doing?
"I've heard that Priestess-sama can foresee people's lives and deaths."
Kitsuchi suddenly said, as if something had occurred to him.
"That's impossible."
Baki frowned.
Ao was thoughtful.
Before coming here, he'd investigated and confirmed that Shion really did have that kind of power.
But he'd treated it as just a legend.
In the Land of Demons, Priestesss held a status equal to that of gods; it was normal for rumors to get exaggerated.
"I overstepped. My apologies."
Shion snapped out of it and bowed.
The ninja all looked at each other but didn't say anything.
Shion was their employer. According to the ninja rules, during a mission everything followed the employer's lead—and they were absolutely forbidden to harm the employer.
Even Zabuza, who'd become a rogue ninja, followed that rule.
In the original story, he'd endured Gato's barking orders. Only when he'd decided he didn't want to live anymore did he kill Gato and drag him along as company in death.
"I won't waste words. We set out now. We must stop Mōryō and its immortal army."
With her second sentence, Shion ended the brief meeting.
Everyone understood and filed out of the temple together.
The Land of Demons only sent two people with them: Shion and Taruho.
The reason was simple.
Aside from Shion, no one else would be of any real use.
"Kitazawa-sama, could I trouble you to carry me?"
Once they reached the temple steps, Shion spoke up.
She might have the Priestess's power, but physically she was no different from an ordinary young girl.
In the original story, Naruto had carried her on his back on the way to their destination.
Now she chose Kitazawa instead because the failure of her foresight on him made her realize he might be the key figure this time.
"I'll carry her."
Hinata spoke up immediately.
"Naruto, you carry her."
Kitazawa glanced at Hinata and gave the order.
"Eh?"
Doubt flashed across Shion's face.
"Don't worry!"
Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "I've got plenty of strength—and plenty of youth!"
The group set out for the Land of Swamps.
From this moment on, the stage for Wood Release was fully prepared.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 100 Chapters Ahead of Others!