Kitazawa stopped training and gave a small nod.
He'd asked Konan to act as his alarm.
After all, while training in the Forest of Death, he had no idea what time it was.
"Let's head back."
Kitazawa returned to the Ninja Academy.
The Advanced Class had finished their exam a while ago and everyone had already gone home.
So he didn't bother going to the classroom and went straight to his office instead.
"Kitazawa-senpai."
Iruka Umino, who had been waiting for him, immediately stood up. "These are the Advanced Class rankings for the written exam."
"Nice work, Iruka."
Kitazawa took the grade sheet. "You can head home."
"Alright then, see you tomorrow."
Iruka left the office.
Kitazawa took the grade sheet and walked toward the sofa.
But Konan beat him to it.
She sat down first, legs together, smoothing her skirt lightly with her hands.
Then she took off her Anbu mask, tilted her head up to look at Kitazawa with a cool, expressionless face, and said nothing.
"It's kind of hard to read while lying down, you know."
Kitazawa blinked.
"I'll read it for you."
Konan thought for a moment and offered.
"That works too."
Kitazawa didn't turn down the kindness. He lay down on the sofa, resting his head on her thighs.
Konan picked up the sheet and started reading from the top.
First and second place were still Nara Shikamaru and Haruno Sakura.
But Uchiha Sasuke, who used to be third, had dropped two spots. Third and fourth were now Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Hinata.
Kitazawa figured Neji and Hinata had secretly put in extra work.
Though maybe not—lately Sasuke had been pouring most of his focus into Hatake-style swordsmanship.
The original story never spelled out the difficulty level of the Hatake sword style, but there was no question it was S-rank.
It had been the sword style of Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo.
Sakumo's style was actually a bit similar to Namikaze Minato's—both leaned toward the assassin type, appearing and disappearing without a trace.
One was thanks to the Hatake sword style, the other thanks to Flying Thunder God.
At Sasuke's age, trying to master the Hatake sword style was obviously exhausting; he didn't have much energy left for theory classes.
Neji and Hinata's written scores had always been close to his anyway, so it was perfectly normal for their rankings to shuffle by a place or two.
The rest of the rankings hadn't shifted much, including Kaguya Kimimaro and Haku.
They'd been in the Advanced Class for quite a while now, so their theory grades had already caught up and stabilized.
Among them, Tayuya's written grades were the weakest, consistently stuck in the bottom ten.
But the unshakable last place was Rock Lee.
Kitazawa had seen his test paper—no matter what the question was asking, he somehow managed to bring it back to "youth."
One standout was Shion. She'd only just joined the Advanced Class, but her written performance was pretty good—she landed right at twenty-fourth place.
As the shrine maiden and future ruler of the Land of Demons, she'd basically been soaked in studies since childhood; her learning ability was excellent.
Given time, she might even be able to compete with Haruno Sakura for second place.
As for first place, her IQ probably still couldn't quite match Nara Shikamaru.
"Tomorrow at eight, wait for me in the Anbu office."
Kitazawa said after hearing the written rankings.
Tomorrow was the Advanced Class practical exam. The top eighteen would be going out on a mission.
Kitazawa planned to use Edo Tensei to summon the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu.
But he couldn't exactly perform Edo Tensei right in front of Sasuke and the others—that would completely tank his image.
So his plan was to use Edo Tensei beforehand, then have Gengetsu "run into" Sasuke's group in a staged encounter.
"Okay."
Konan nodded and didn't pry.
"Konan, you're more 'Anbu' than the actual Anbu at this point."
Kitazawa looked up at her and joked.
Konan froze for a moment.
She almost answered "I am Anbu," then suddenly remembered she… wasn't.
Words rose to her lips, then stalled; for a moment she didn't know what to say.
[Current Mission: Cultivate four trusted subordinates.]
[Mission Reward: Improved Caged Bird Seal.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa had been about to tease Konan a bit more—there was a special kind of fun in messing with a cold, big-sister type like her—but he suddenly stopped short.
Three words popped into his head: What the hell?
Why did the quest finish now?
After thinking it over, he could only come up with one explanation: Konan.
If that was the case, then by the system's standards, his four trusted subordinates were probably Kurenai, Yakushi Kabuto, Uchiha Itachi, and Konan.
Honestly?
That didn't sound wrong at all.
Kitazawa looked thoughtful.
So that meant Konan also trusted him to a certain extent.
Otherwise, the system wouldn't have flagged her as a "trusted subordinate."
Kitazawa shook his head and stopped trying to figure out exactly which four people it was.
In the end, it might not even be Konan; it could be Uchiha Izumi or some other Anbu who qualified.
The important thing was that he got the reward.
Kitazawa began digesting the intel on the improved Caged Bird Seal.
Where the original Caged Bird Seal came from was already impossible to say.
At least on the moon, where the Otsutsuki clan shared a common origin with the Hyuga, the distinction between main and branch families had nothing to do with the Caged Bird.
Their divide was purely ideological. After a long, brutal civil war, only Otsutsuki Toneri was left.
And Toneri came from the branch family, not the main.
In the system's classification, the Caged Bird Seal was an S-rank sealing jutsu.
Its effects were to protect the Byakugan and destroy it when the bearer died.
If that were all it did, the Hyuga branch family wouldn't have so much resentment.
The real problem was the second effect: the caster could control the Caged Bird Seal and use it to punish the bearer.
In other words, the Hyuga main family held literal power of life and death over the branch family—"master and slave" wasn't much of an exaggeration.
What Kitazawa had received was an improved version of the Caged Bird Seal.
It removed both of the original's problematic effects and left only one: protecting the Byakugan.
Kitazawa mulled it over.
Strictly speaking, the improved Caged Bird Seal wasn't something he personally needed.
But for the Hyuga branch family, it was an entirely different story.
Nobody wants their life tied to someone else's whim, even if that person has never shown malicious intent.
Now that he had the improved version, he also had the ability to modify the existing Caged Bird Seal.
Kitazawa was weighing one question: should he help the Hyuga branch family or not?
As one of the great clans, the Hyuga held a certain degree of autonomy in Konoha.
Under normal circumstances, the village leadership—including the Hokage—wouldn't interfere in their internal affairs.
What Kitazawa was thinking of doing would be a clear violation of that unspoken rule.
But there were always exceptions.
Like Hyuga Hinata and Hyuga Hanabi.
By clan rules, once the main branch succession was decided, the other child should receive the Caged Bird Seal at the age of three.
Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi—the two brothers—had gone through exactly that.
Yet Hanabi, who was already four, still hadn't been branded.
The only possible explanation was Hiashi's protection.
In the original story, Hiashi's attitude toward the Caged Bird Seal was indeed different from the other main-family members.
Probably because of Hizashi's death in his place.
Kitazawa thought it over. Even if he didn't help the entire branch family, he at least had to help Hyuga Neji.
A genius without shackles would have a far more open heart.
And that would, without question, have a positive effect on his strength—even if it wasn't an overnight power-up.
[New Mission: Help the Hyuga branch family replace the Caged Bird Seal.]
[Mission Reward: 20% Byakugan purity.]
[Accept quest?]
Kitazawa couldn't help but smile.
And there it was—another system quest.
And the reward was the long-missed boost to Byakugan purity.
With the additional 20%, stacked on his existing 60%, he'd reach a staggering 80% Byakugan purity.
Once he hit 100%, he figured he'd practically qualify as half an Otsutsuki.
Of course, he meant the branch of the Otsutsuki clan living on the moon.
Kitazawa's eyes narrowed slightly.
This was something he'd have to approach through Hyuga Hanabi.
He didn't know exactly how Hiashi had handled it in the original timeline, but he knew there had to have been serious internal pressure.
After all, the Hyuga also had an elder from the main family.
He'd been the one who decided Hizashi would die in Hiashi's place back then.
Hiashi had been against it from the start.
"Konan, go get Itachi for me."
Kitazawa said, sitting up as the plan came together.
Konan nodded, put her Anbu mask back on, stood, and left.
It didn't take long before Uchiha Itachi knocked and stepped into the office.
Kitazawa glanced at Konan.
She immediately withdrew from the room and closed the door behind her.
"Itachi, I've got something I need you to look into."
Kitazawa got straight to the point. "I want you to investigate the current situation of the Hyuga main-family elder."
Itachi's heart tightened.
That was not the kind of assignment he'd expected.
Had the Hyuga offended Kitazawa somehow? That didn't add up.
Hinata and Neji were both his students; logically, relations between Kitazawa and the Hyuga should be at an all-time high.
And the Hyuga had always been well-behaved and orderly, never causing trouble for the village.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sama."
Even though he was puzzled, Itachi didn't ask questions. He accepted the task immediately.
"There's no rush."
Kitazawa added. "Just don't get caught."
As a member of Konoha's leadership, it would look bad if word spread that he was investigating the Hyuga main-family elder. It could damage his relationship with the clan.
"I understand."
Itachi nodded.
Honestly, investigating a Hyuga main-family elder was a huge source of pressure for him.
The Byakugan's capabilities were what they were—no matter who went, chances of being discovered were high.
But since Kitazawa had given the order, he'd simply do everything he could to get it done.
At least there was no time limit. He could take it slow.
The next day—Friday.
It was the last day of finals for the Advanced Class, which meant the practical exam.
At eight in the morning, Kitazawa arrived at the Anbu base.
Konan had gotten there early and was already waiting for him in the office.
"Come with me."
Kitazawa nodded and headed outside.
To perform Edo Tensei, aside from a piece of the target's body, you needed a living human sacrifice.
Kitazawa had originally thought about grabbing some bandit or enemy village ninja from outside, but then realized he didn't have to make it that complicated.
Konoha had a place called the Konoha Maximum Security Prison—just like the name said, it was where they kept high-risk criminals.
In the original story, there was a related arc involving Mizuki.
After Mizuki tricked Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals, he was locked up in that prison.
There, he met the brothers Fūjin and Raijin.
The two brothers were absurdly strong; after Mizuki used them, they managed to pull off a prison break.
After escaping, Mizuki went to find Orochimaru and got a drug that let him transform into a tiger-like form.
In the end, he was defeated by Naruto and Iruka, and Fūjin, Raijin, and the other prisoners were all captured and thrown back in by Tsunade.
Of course, thanks to Kitazawa's butterfly effect, Mizuki was already dead—no chance of that breakout arc ever happening.
The prison warden was already waiting at the front gate.
The middle-aged man hurried up as soon as he saw Kitazawa.
"Kitazawa-sama." he said respectfully. "The man you requested is ready. Please, this way."
He led the way down the corridor, and before long they stood before a cell.
Inside was a young man, bound and unconscious.
"He's a spy from Kumogakure. We caught him half a month ago and have already forced out all his intel."
the warden explained. "We were planning to execute him next week."
"Got it."
Kitazawa nodded. "Just leave him to me."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sama."
The warden stepped up and opened the cell door.
Kitazawa flicked his hand; chakra wrapped around the young man and lifted him into the air like a puppet.
He turned and walked out.
The prison was within Konoha territory, but it was extremely remote; there was nobody nearby.
So he didn't bother hiding what he was doing.
Once they'd left the prison grounds, he glanced at Konan.
"Konan, we're heading to the former Land of Whirlpools."
Kitazawa said after thinking for a moment.
Gengetsu's summoning beast, Shin, lived by the sea.
The Land of Whirlpools made the most sense, and it was closer to Konoha.
Before they set off, Kitazawa formed a seal and created a shadow clone.
He planned to have the clone take Sasuke and the others toward the Land of Whirlpools, so when he doubled back later, he could save time on the meetup.
Konan stepped close, wrapped her arms around him, and lifted off.
She was already used to carrying Kitazawa when she flew; it felt natural now.
The unconscious young man dangled behind them, dragged along by Kitazawa's chakra like a human-shaped kite.
Because they were flying, they reached the Land of Whirlpools by nightfall.
In the past, the Land of Whirlpools had been the country founded by the Uzumaki clan.
After their destruction, the Land of Whirlpools vanished as well.
The island now officially belonged to the Land of Water.
"Here's good."
Kitazawa looked around to make sure no one else was nearby, then nodded.
Konan held him as they descended.
Once they were steady on the ground, she let go and stepped back.
Kitazawa flicked his hand again, dropping the unconscious prisoner to the ground.
He immediately pulled out the scroll Konan had given him, set it on the ground in front of him, and unrolled it.
"Edo Tensei."
Kitazawa stood in place and formed the hand seals.
His chakra wrapped around the unconscious young man.
In Kitazawa's eyes, Edo Tensei was basically a different kind of summoning technique.
Its effect was to call a dead person's soul from the Pure Land into the living world and bind it to a sacrifice.
In his previous life, he'd always wondered about one thing.
The Pure Land was, in simple terms, the ninja world's "afterlife." When shinobi died, their souls went there.
From the original story, the Sage of Six Paths clearly had some authority over the Pure Land—maybe he was even its administrator.
He could pull any dead soul out of there at will.
So, theoretically, couldn't he block Edo Tensei at the source?
Kitazawa shook his head, pushing away those random thoughts, because Hōzuki Gengetsu was already coming back to life.
The prisoner's appearance and build changed rapidly.
In short, he transformed into Hōzuki Gengetsu.
"W–where is this…?"
Gengetsu looked around, baffled.
Kitazawa couldn't be bothered to chat.
He raised his hand and stabbed a kunai inscribed with seals into the back of Gengetsu's head, wiping out his consciousness.
With his mind intact, Gengetsu would indeed be stronger, but Kitazawa didn't need him at full power.
"Summon Shin."
Kitazawa ordered.
Gengetsu formed hand seals and performed the summoning jutsu.
A sea of mist billowed out, and a massive white clam emerged.
Kitazawa glanced at it and silently noted that it truly was "too big to fit in a pot."
He then had Gengetsu bring out Shin's summoning contract scroll, and only then let him cancel the summoning.
With the scroll in hand, Kitazawa signed his name on it, officially becoming Shin's new contractor.
Of course, summoning contracts were equal.
If you tried to sign a contract like this with some bad-tempered summoning beast, it might refuse to acknowledge you at all.
Fortunately, Shin seemed pretty mild-mannered.
Once he brought it back and had Kurenai Yuhi try a summon, they'd know for sure.
"Find a good place to hide."
Kitazawa said after storing the scroll.
Gengetsu's expression was blank as he turned and walked toward the nearby forest.
"Whatever you want to ask, just ask."
Kitazawa turned to Konan with a smile.
Her eyes had flickered more than once since Gengetsu appeared.
He wasn't surprised.
Anyone seeing Edo Tensei for the first time would be shaken.
"Is… is he really the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu?"
Konan hesitated for two seconds but couldn't stop herself from asking.
"That's right."
Kitazawa nodded. "Have you ever heard of Edo Tensei?"
In the original story, it was mentioned that Tobirama Senju had used Edo Tensei while he was alive.
People like Chiyo, Mū, and the Gold and Silver Brothers all knew of it.
"No."
Konan shook her head.
So Kitazawa gave her a simple rundown of what it did.
Konan couldn't help thinking about the Akatsuki's manpower problem.
If they had Edo Tensei, they wouldn't need to wander around recruiting new members.
On top of that, it could be used for the Akatsuki's business operations and drastically cut labor costs.
"It's late. We'll rest here and head back tomorrow."
Kitazawa estimated that Sasuke, Naruto, Hinata and the others probably hadn't even left the Land of Fire yet.
By the time they returned tomorrow, they'd most likely run into each other somewhere along the coast or at sea.
"Wood Release: Four-Pillar House."
Kitazawa formed hand seals.
A wooden house immediately rose from the ground in front of him.
Konan was already used to this. She walked up and opened the door without being told.
"You set up the living room. I'll make dinner."
Kitazawa handed her a storage scroll.
"Okay."
Konan nodded.
~~~
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