A new day.
After breakfast, Kitazawa dispelled Wood Release: Four-Pillar House.
Konan didn't even need him to say anything. She walked up to him on her own, white wings spreading from her back.
She wrapped her arms around Kitazawa, spread her wings, and took off into the sky.
By the time the sun was fully up—around noon—Kitazawa dispelled his shadow clone.
A flood of memories came rushing back, and he instantly knew where Uchiha Sasuke and the others were.
"Konan."
Kitazawa came back to his senses, raised his hand, and said, "Head that way."
"Okay."
Konan quickly adjusted their direction.
Before long, Kitazawa could already see Sasuke and the others waiting by the shore in the distance.
Konan twisted her body and landed smoothly on the ground.
"Don't move."
Kitazawa looked at Konan's beautiful face and reached out his hand.
Konan's breath hitched without thinking. For some reason she felt a little nervous.
"Your hair got messed up by the wind. I'll fix it."
Kitazawa ran his fingers through her long blue-violet hair and said with a smile.
"Thank you."
Konan froze for a second. She hadn't expected it to be something like that.
"No big deal."
Kitazawa pulled his hand back and walked toward Sasuke and the others.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Hyūga Hinata was the first to notice him. Her face lit up with a smile and she quickly ran over.
"Kitazawa-sensei, you finally showed up!"
Uzumaki Naruto said happily, "You suddenly disappeared. I said we should go look for you, but Sasuke and Hinata wouldn't agree!"
"That was a shadow clone."
Sasuke said calmly, "Staying put and waiting here was the best choice."
He didn't know when Kitazawa had left a shadow clone, but if Kitazawa suddenly dispelled it, he definitely had his reasons.
If they just ran around blindly, it would be pointless—or at least wouldn't lead to anything good.
"But you guys weren't worried about Kitazawa-sensei at all?"
Naruto scratched his head.
"With Kitazawa-sensei's strength, nothing's going to happen to him."
Hinata said firmly.
"You and Sasuke did very well. Two bonus points for both of you."
Kitazawa smiled.
"Huh?!"
Naruto instantly regretted it. If he'd known, he wouldn't have opened his big mouth.
Sasuke couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl up.
Two more points meant he could pull ahead of Naruto for the time being, and that put him a little closer to taking first place in the practical exam.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Hinata raised her head to look at him and asked, "What's our mission this time?"
She might be quiet and reserved most of the time, but around Kitazawa she was a lot livelier.
"This time the mission is S-rank. The target is a jōnin from the Hidden Mist."
Kitazawa replied.
"We're gonna beat him, right?"
Naruto's eyes lit up. He asked excitedly.
"Yeah."
Kitazawa nodded.
"How strong is he?"
Sasuke asked.
"Very strong."
Kitazawa warned them. "If you don't work together, you won't be able to beat him."
Sasuke and Hinata were both taken aback.
After all, the three of them were already on par with jōnin.
Naruto had beaten Sarutobi Asuma; Hinata had beaten Namiashi Raidō; Sasuke had beaten Uchiha Inabi.
Three jōnin against one jōnin and they still needed teamwork? Was this Mist jōnin a Mizukage or something?
"Youth is all about fighting strong opponents!"
Naruto gave a big thumbs-up, utterly fearless.
"I've gathered some intel on the target for this mission."
Kitazawa glanced at the sky. "We'll get moving first. You can read it when we stop to rest tonight."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei."
The three of them answered in unison.
"Alright, get on the boat."
Kitazawa walked to the shore, opened his summoning storage scroll, and released a small boat.
The boat wasn't large; with four or five people it felt a little cramped. But as ninja, they weren't picky—it was fine.
The group boarded and set off toward the Land of Whirlpools.
As for rowing, that job went to Naruto and Sasuke.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Naruto asked while rowing, "Does the Land of Whirlpools have anything to do with me?"
"Why do you ask?"
Kitazawa looked at him, a little surprised.
Even though Naruto already knew who his parents were, Kitazawa hadn't told him about the status of the Uzumaki clan and the Land of Whirlpools back then.
"My surname is Uzumaki, and the country's called the Land of Whirlpools. There might be some family connection there, right?"
Naruto explained his reasoning.
"You think it's that much of a coincidence?"
Sasuke glanced over, clearly not buying it at all.
"I mean… I don't know."
Naruto scratched his head.
"Your mother really was from the Land of Whirlpools."
Kitazawa thought for a moment, then said.
"Eh?!"
Naruto's eyes went wide.
"…?"
Sasuke's expression also showed surprise.
It actually was that kind of coincidence.
"Kitazawa-sensei, didn't you say before that the Land of Whirlpools no longer exists?"
Hinata asked curiously.
"Naruto's mother came to Konoha before the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed."
Kitazawa explained.
"That's really lucky!"
Naruto said with lingering fear.
"How was the Land of Whirlpools wiped out?"
Sasuke couldn't help asking.
Whether it was Naruto or Karin, they'd both had terrifying chakra reserves from a young age.
A shinobi clan like that should be producing powerhouses nonstop. How did they get wiped out?
"The Land of Whirlpools vanished in a single night. Konoha didn't make it in time to help."
Kitazawa thought a bit and said, "As for who did it specifically, nobody really knows."
Naruto and the others were still too young. There was no need to tell them things that dark.
Plus, in the original story it's pretty vague about this. It never actually says who the culprit was.
"When I grow up, I'm gonna find out the truth!"
Naruto clenched his fists.
He wasn't familiar with the Uzumaki clan, but it was still his mother's clan.
"After this mission, we can pay a visit to the Uzumaki clan's old domain."
Kitazawa suddenly thought of the Namian Hall.
Namian Hall was where the Uzumaki clan stored the Shinigami masks.
In the original, Sasuke went there to get a Shinigami mask so he could revive Orochimaru.
"That's awesome!"
Naruto nodded hard.
He was really curious about the Uzumaki clan. Maybe he'd find some of his mother's old belongings.
As the sun set, they landed on the shore of the Land of Whirlpools.
Wood Release: Four-Pillar House!
Kitazawa found a patch of open ground and summoned a wooden house right there.
Hinata was the first to run up and open the door.
"Let's go in."
Kitazawa ruffled her hair, then went into the living room.
Sasuke was last to enter, so he closed the door behind them.
"Take a look at the intel on our target for this mission."
Kitazawa took out a scroll.
"Okay, Kitazawa-sensei."
Sasuke took the scroll and unrolled it.
"Let me see!"
Naruto immediately shoved his head in.
"Don't crowd me."
Sasuke shifted the scroll aside a bit.
"You two go ahead."
Hinata wasn't in a rush.
Once Kitazawa sat down on the sofa, she sat right next to him.
Sasuke glanced over the scroll and couldn't help frowning.
He realized he'd never heard of these Water Release techniques.
Even though he didn't know how to use Water Release, he still knew quite a bit about it.
After all, Haruno Sakura would talk to him about Water Release whenever she had free time.
And her Water Release came from the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
Tobirama could practically be called the master of Water Release. Many of his Water Release techniques overlapped with those used in the Hidden Mist.
Like the classic Water Release: Water Formation Wall and Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet.
But Tobirama's were a cut above—he'd modified them.
How to put it…
The major villages reverse-engineered and learned each other's ninjutsu all the time.
Whenever they captured enemy shinobi, they'd interrogate them, including about their jutsu.
What surprised Sasuke was that these Water Release techniques were very rare, more like something unique to this particular Mist jōnin.
That kind of thing usually only happened with members of major bloodline clans.
And in fact, that was exactly the case.
Hōzuki Gengetsu was from the Hōzuki clan and possessed secret Water Release techniques.
But for various reasons the Hōzuki clan had fallen apart, leaving only one little brat, Hōzuki Suigetsu.
So it was perfectly normal that Sasuke knew nothing about the Hōzuki clan's Water Release.
"He really does look tough."
Naruto nodded.
The scroll's contents were detailed, even going as far as to explain the exact effects of each Water Release ninjutsu.
Naruto might be reckless, but that didn't mean he lacked battle smarts.
In the original, he was even called the "number one unpredictable ninja."
After Sasuke finished reading, he handed the scroll to Hinata and began thinking.
Hinata looked at the scroll curiously.
Her teammates' reactions were enough for her to know this Mist jōnin was no ordinary opponent.
The scroll recorded a lot of Water Release techniques.
After reading, she felt that three of them were the worst to deal with:
Water Release: Hydrification Technique, Water Release: Steaming Multistoried Building, and Steaming Danger Tyranny.
The first two were extremely useful for both escape and evasion.
The last one sounded terrifying just from the description.
Steaming Danger Tyranny was an infinite explosion style jutsu. It created a child-sized clone.
That clone was not only fast, with high attack power and free flight, but the more it moved, the more heat it built up—and then it exploded.
The worst part was that the explosions could loop over and over.
The only drawback was that each explosion left the main body in a weakened state for a while.
Hinata and Sasuke were still very young; if this were an older shinobi looking at it, their face would've already gone pale.
Because Steaming Danger Tyranny was the signature jutsu of the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu.
Among the Chiyo and Sarutobi Hiruzen generation, its fame was no less than Ōnoki's Dust Release or Tobirama's Water Release.
"You guys work out your tactics—I'll go cook."
Kitazawa stood up and headed toward the kitchen.
"Need any help?"
Konan's cool voice suddenly came from behind.
"No, I've got it."
Kitazawa glanced at her and asked, "What do you feel like eating? Grilled fish?"
"Yeah. Grilled fish."
Konan nodded.
"I've noticed you really like grilled fish. Why's that?"
Kitazawa asked curiously.
Konan paused for a moment and fell silent.
"I was just asking casually."
Seeing her expression, Kitazawa shook his head. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"It's not something I can't talk about."
Konan hesitated for two seconds, then began explaining.
It had to do with her childhood.
She was an orphan, and the Land of Rain was engulfed in war at the time.
With no ability to fend for herself, she could only wander around every day, picking up anything edible she could find.
Until one day she tasted grilled fish and realized food could be that good. She never forgot it after that.
"So that's how it is."
Kitazawa recalled Konan's story from the original.
There was a lot left unsaid in what she'd just told him.
For example, that she wandered the Land of Rain with Nagato and Yahiko.
Back then it was the Second Great Ninja War, and they were lucky enough to meet Konoha's Legendary Sannin.
Because of Nagato's Rinnegan, and the prophecy of the Child of Destiny, Jiraiya stayed behind to teach them for three years.
Their fates changed from that point on.
After Jiraiya left, they founded the original Akatsuki, hoping to bring peace to the Land of Rain and the ninja world.
Kitazawa didn't call Konan out on any of it.
Nagato and Yahiko really weren't something she should casually reveal to a Leaf ninja.
Besides, just the fact that she was willing to talk about her past at all was already proof their relationship had gotten closer.
"Here."
Kitazawa handed Konan a lunchbox.
"Thanks."
Konan watched him carry the rest of the dishes out of the kitchen, then turned and went upstairs.
After going out on missions with Kitazawa so many times, her room arrangement had become pretty fixed.
"Come eat."
While Konan ate in her room, Kitazawa and the others ate in the living room.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei."
Hinata took the chopsticks from him.
"So, how's your discussion going?"
Kitazawa asked with a smile.
"We haven't decided yet."
Sasuke answered.
"Then talk it through after dinner."
Kitazawa clapped his hands. "I'm digging in!"
Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto followed his lead.
Dinner officially began.
After eating, Kitazawa cleared the table and carried the dishes into the kitchen.
As soon as he went in, he saw Konan wearing an apron.
"I'll wash them."
Konan stepped forward and took the bowls and chopsticks from him.
Looking at her, four words popped into Kitazawa's head: the perfect wife.
That made him think of something.
In the original, most kunoichi ended up looking very much like the "good wife and mother" type.
Even Haruno Sakura's temper mellowed a lot after she got married.
That was probably the traditional yamato nadeshiko ideal at work.
Speaking of that, Hinata fit that image best. Then there was Ino Yamanaka, Kurenai Yūhi, and Sakura.
As for Tsunade… well, let's not even try to connect her to "yamato nadeshiko."
Kitazawa snapped out of it and left the kitchen.
In the living room, Naruto and Sasuke were still discussing how to deal with the Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu.
Kitazawa didn't interrupt them. He went outside and continued practicing his Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique.
Night deepened.
Footsteps approached.
Kitazawa turned around and saw Hinata.
He chuckled and waved her over.
Hinata ran to him right away.
"All done talking?"
Kitazawa asked.
"Mm."
Hinata nodded. "Sasuke and Naruto have already gone to bed."
"Then why aren't you sleeping?"
Kitazawa tapped a finger lightly against her forehead.
"I… I'll go now."
Hinata lowered her head, a little embarrassed.
"Come on, go sleep."
Kitazawa patted her hair. "We've got a tough fight tomorrow. Rest early."
"Okay."
Hinata walked back into the house with him.
When they reached the second floor, she said goodnight and went into her room.
The night passed without incident.
A new day.
After breakfast, Kitazawa led them to the forest where Hōzuki Gengetsu was located.
"He's seventy meters to the left."
Hinata immediately activated her Byakugan.
"Stick to the plan."
Sasuke looked over at Naruto.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto shouted in a low voice.
Poof, poof, poof!
Over a hundred shadow clones appeared.
Hinata and Sasuke formed hand signs and used Transformation Jutsu to take on Naruto's appearance.
Kitazawa gave a small nod.
He'd already seen this tactic a few times.
But he had to admit it was very effective—especially paired with Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, which made it incredibly hard to tell who was who.
Of course, there's that saying: no plan survives contact with reality.
Having a tactic was good, but adapting on the fly was just as important to really show teamwork.
"Good luck."
Kitazawa vanished from where he stood.
"Let's move."
Sasuke took a deep breath.
"Charge!"
At Naruto's command, the shadow clones rushed toward Hōzuki Gengetsu.
"Konan."
Kitazawa called.
Konan immediately appeared in front of him.
"Fly me up so I can watch the fight from midair."
Kitazawa said evenly.
For him, spectating was simple.
He could just flip on the Byakugan or Sharingan and see everything clearly.
Honestly, he didn't even need that—just sensing chakra was enough to know what was happening.
But Kitazawa chose the most comfortable viewing angle.
Konan didn't overthink it. She stepped forward, grabbed him, and flew into the sky.
Kitazawa felt the softness of her body as he wrapped an arm around her slender waist and looked down.
Hōzuki Gengetsu had already noticed Naruto's approach.
With over a hundred shadow clones, hiding wasn't exactly easy.
Water Release: Water Balloon Technique!
Seeing Naruto's clones, Hōzuki Gengetsu quickly formed hand signs.
Bubbles appeared all around him.
"Wind Release: Shuriken!"
Naruto instantly remembered what the Water Balloon did and shouted.
His clones halted, lined up, channeled Wind Release chakra into their shuriken, and flung them all at once.
Countless kunai-like projectiles shot toward Hōzuki Gengetsu like a dark cloud.
Spiral Arrow!
Hidden behind a tree, Hinata loosed her bowstring.
A spinning Yin Release arrow followed right behind the storm of shuriken, shooting toward Hōzuki Gengetsu.
Sasuke didn't use any jutsu yet. He was completely hidden.
Hōzuki Gengetsu flicked his hand.
The bubbles around him surged forward to intercept.
Boom!
The instant the bubbles touched the shuriken, massive explosions went off.
Even though the shuriken were incredibly sharp thanks to the Wind Release chakra, the explosions still blew them all away.
At that moment, the Spiral Arrow punched through the heart of the blast and hit Hōzuki Gengetsu dead on.
Water Release: Oilification!
Hōzuki Gengetsu's entire body turned to oil.
The Spiral Arrow bored a hole clear through him, but because his body was oil, it didn't actually hurt him.
The hole in his body began to rapidly close.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire!
Sasuke suddenly appeared and spat out a flurry of fist-sized fireballs.
The fireballs fanned out like a blooming flower, attacking Hōzuki Gengetsu from all directions.
Hōzuki Gengetsu's expression changed slightly.
Right now he was nothing but oil, and oil feared fire more than anything.
He burst into motion, dodging every fireball with ease and incredible speed.
"So fast!"
Sasuke's heart lurched.
Just from that alone he could tell Hōzuki Gengetsu was no ordinary Mist jōnin.
But he didn't have time to dwell on it, because Hōzuki Gengetsu was already in front of him.
Sasuke instinctively raised both arms to block.
Boom!
Hōzuki Gengetsu's kick sent him flying.
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
Nearby clones clapped their hands together.
Powerful air currents burst from their palms, turning into a raging windstorm.
Water Gun Technique!
Hōzuki Gengetsu raised both hands.
A rapid stream of liquid bullets punched through the storm and mowed down Naruto's clones on both sides.
Screams rang out in an instant.
By the time the storm fully closed in, Hōzuki Gengetsu used Body Flicker and vanished.
"On the left!"
Hinata immediately spotted him with her Byakugan.
"No, that's Steaming Danger Tyranny!"
Sasuke's eyes sharpened when he saw the slightly smaller "Hōzuki Gengetsu."
A blade sprouted from the clone's right arm and his entire body spun like a shuriken, slicing through the crowd of Naruto's clones.
In a single instant, half of the hundred clones were gone.
"Naruto, don't get close to him!"
Sasuke shouted while forming hand signs.
A shrill chorus of birds cried out.
Lightning Release: Chidori Senbon!
Sasuke swung his arm toward the clone.
Lightning flared and turned into countless dazzling senbon.
Hōzuki Gengetsu's real body suddenly appeared, blocking the attack.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
He clapped his hands and a water wall surged up.
When the lightning senbon struck the wall, arcs of electricity spread wildly in all directions.
Using that opening, the clone leapt toward Naruto to cut him down.
Naruto didn't dare meet him head-on. He hurriedly fell back.
He knew that if this special clone took a heavy hit, it would explode.
If he was too close, he'd be seriously injured if not killed.
Spiral Arrow!
At the critical moment, Hinata bent her bow and fired.
The spinning Yin Release arrow nailed the clone.
An enormous explosion followed, with a deafening roar that rippled outward.
The mixture of oil and water reacted in an instant, turning into a violent blast of air.
The trees and ground nearby were shredded to pieces.
"That power is insane!"
Naruto couldn't help but shudder.
Good thing he hadn't rushed in.
"Naruto!"
Sasuke yelled.
Then he didn't waste a second, drew the Sword of the Thunder God, and slashed toward Hōzuki Gengetsu.
After the explosion, the clone still existed, but the main body was left significantly weakened.
"Rasengan!"
Hearing Sasuke, Naruto charged straight at Hōzuki Gengetsu.
But Hinata didn't move. Instead, she bent her bow and aimed at the clone.
As the clone made to rush in and help Hōzuki Gengetsu, she released the string.
Blast Arrow!
A Yin Release arrow shot out.
The clone instinctively swung his blade to cut the arrow.
Boom!
The Yin arrow exploded, unleashing an invisible wave of mental shock.
The clone froze on the spot, stunned and unable to back up the main body for the moment.
At the same time, the real Hōzuki Gengetsu came under a pincer attack.
Sasuke in front, Naruto behind.
But he was still the Second Mizukage.
In that split second, he responded.
Water Release: Great Water Arm!
Hōzuki Gengetsu clenched his fist and smashed it into the Sword of the Thunder God.
Sasuke had just been about to pour lightning through the blade when he felt an overwhelming force surge back along it.
He staggered backward uncontrollably, his right arm going numb.
Great Water Arm's effect was similar to monstrous strength, except it concentrated the body's moisture to unleash tremendous power.
It was a secret Water Release technique unique to the Hōzuki clan.
Naruto accelerated, driving the Rasengan toward Hōzuki Gengetsu's back.
Hōzuki Gengetsu flashed to the left, slipping past the Rasengan.
But as he dodged, Sasuke ended up right in its path.
"Sasuke, move!"
Naruto's face paled.
Sasuke's pupils shrank. Without hesitation, he let go of the Sword of the Thunder God.
Body Flicker!
He barely got out of the way in time.
Before Naruto could breathe out, Hōzuki Gengetsu pointed a finger at him.
Water Release: Water Gun Technique!
A liquid bullet shot straight at Naruto.
"Naruto!"
Sasuke instinctively lunged forward, but he was too far.
Whoosh!
A Yin Release arrow smashed into the bullet.
"Leaf Rising Wind!"
Naruto sprang forward toward Hōzuki Gengetsu.
Seeing that, Sasuke relaxed slightly and followed up with Leaf Rising Wind himself.
Two spinning kicks swept in from left and right.
The clone had just shaken off the Blast Arrow's effect and was about to move when another arrow came flying in.
Hinata's expression sharpened.
In her Byakugan's vision, she could see the clone was at its limit—another hit and it would explode.
Hinata quickly weighed her options.
The clone's explosion was terrifying, but it would force the main body into a weakened state.
For Naruto and Sasuke, that would be the perfect chance.
Bang!
Hōzuki Gengetsu crossed his arms and blocked both Leaf Rising Winds.
But the two of them twisted mid-air and immediately chained into a second set of kicks.
He blocked those too, but the force was much greater this time, driving him back two steps.
As they prepared to throw out a third kick, he refused to give them the chance.
Body Flicker!
Hōzuki Gengetsu pulled away, clapped his hands.
Water Release: Water Hail!
Countless droplets shot out like bullets.
Naruto and Sasuke hurriedly dropped Leaf Rising Wind and dodged to either side.
"Naruto! Sasuke!"
Hinata pinched the bowstring. "His clone is about to explode!"
Sasuke reacted immediately.
He bent down and grabbed his right hand.
Lightning Release: Chidori!
The screech of a thousand birds filled the air.
With a Body Flicker, he charged straight at Hōzuki Gengetsu.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Naruto created another hundred clones.
He directed them to form a circle around Sasuke and Hōzuki Gengetsu.
Water Release: Water Balloon Technique!
Hōzuki Gengetsu had just started making hand signs when he suddenly felt weak.
The jutsu fizzled.
The reason was obvious—his clone had already been triggered to explode.
Sasuke seized the chance and drove the Chidori right through Hōzuki Gengetsu's heart.
His heart was pierced instantly, yet no blood came out.
Sasuke froze.
What the hell?
Hōzuki Gengetsu snapped back to himself and swung a fist at him.
Sharingan: Genjutsu!
Sasuke still didn't understand why there was no blood, but he stuck to the plan.
He was a three-tomoe Sharingan user now.
"Naruto!"
Sasuke immediately retreated.
Hōzuki Gengetsu fell into the illusion, but freed himself a heartbeat later.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Shuriken!"
Naruto, who'd been waiting for this, hurled his shuriken.
His clones did the same.
The sound of slicing air filled the forest.
Hōzuki Gengetsu broke the genjutsu only to see a black cloud of shuriken raining down from above.
He quickly made hand signs, releasing another wave of bubbles.
Blast Arrow!
Hinata took that moment to fire a Yin Release arrow.
The bubbles rose up, collided with the shuriken, and detonated in a chain of massive blasts.
The Yin arrow then detonated as well, scrambling Hōzuki Gengetsu's senses and leaving him blank-faced on the spot.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Shuriken!"
Seeing that, Naruto threw another volley.
The bubbles were blasted apart, and in that split second of stunned inaction, Hōzuki Gengetsu was swallowed by an uncountable number of shuriken.
"We did it!"
Naruto shouted excitedly.
"Watch out!"
Sasuke snatched up the Sword of the Thunder God and lunged.
Clang!
The clone blocked the blade with its sword.
Sasuke immediately poured Lightning Release chakra into the Sword of the Thunder God.
Brilliant arcs of lightning erupted, wrapping the clone in a web of electricity.
"Sasuke, get away!"
Hinata saw the clone's insides beginning to react violently.
Boom!
The clone exploded.
Thanks to Hinata's warning, Sasuke retreated in time and wasn't caught in the blast.
"He looks really wrong."
Naruto stared at Hōzuki Gengetsu.
Sasuke's expression was grim as he nodded.
Hōzuki Gengetsu had taken Sasuke's Chidori, then Naruto's Wind Release: Vacuum Shuriken.
Under normal circumstances he should've died—but he hadn't.
His body was slowly mending itself.
What really shocked Naruto and Sasuke was that he no longer had normal human flesh.
Just then, Kitazawa dropped down in front of them.
"Kitazawa-sensei, watch out, he might attack you!"
Naruto shouted.
Hinata raised her Moonchaser Bow and aimed at Hōzuki Gengetsu.
"He can't attack anymore. Your mission ends here."
Kitazawa shook his head.
"Huh?"
Naruto looked at Hōzuki Gengetsu, confused.
Sasuke and Hinata also felt baffled.
What was the deal with this Mist jōnin, anyway? He didn't seem like a normal person at all.
"This is a special kind of forbidden jutsu."
Kitazawa walked up to Hōzuki Gengetsu and formed a string of hand signs.
Hōzuki Gengetsu had been badly damaged by Chidori and Wind Release: Vacuum Shuriken. There was no way he could recover quickly.
Impure World Reincarnation might grant an immortal body, but its regeneration rate was extremely slow.
In other words, Sasuke and the others had already beaten Hōzuki Gengetsu.
Normally, at this point you'd use a sealing technique on the reanimated corpse.
If the Impure World Reincarnation subject still had their own consciousness, you could even talk them through it and help them break free themselves.
Those were the two standard methods of dealing with Impure World Reincarnation.
Besides that, there were options like Kotoamatsukami or Yin–Yang Release.
As the caster, Kitazawa could simply dispel the technique directly.
When he did, Hōzuki Gengetsu collapsed.
His face shifted, returning to the young prison spy from Konoha's maximum security prison.
But he was already just a corpse.
"Wait for me outside."
Kitazawa waved them away.
Sasuke and the others exchanged looks, but still followed orders and left the forest.
Kitazawa flicked his hand and released Fire Release chakra.
The corpse went up in flames.
Only when the body was completely burned did Kitazawa turn and walk away.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Hinata walked up as soon as she saw him.
"Kitazawa-sensei, what was up with that Mist jōnin?"
Naruto couldn't wait to ask.
"Here's the situation."
Kitazawa began spinning a story on the spot.
Though it wasn't entirely made up—there was some truth mixed in.
He told them that someone had used a secret technique to revive this Mist jōnin and planned to use him against Konoha, but Kitazawa discovered it in advance.
He also said the reason he'd left earlier with a shadow clone was to track down the Mist jōnin's exact location.
"There's a jutsu like that?"
Naruto's jaw dropped.
"Sounds pretty sinister."
Sasuke thought it over.
"Disturbing the dead's souls crosses the line for shinobi."
Kitazawa said solemnly.
"Did you find the person who cast the jutsu?"
Hinata asked curiously.
"Yeah."
Kitazawa nodded. "Anbu already has him in custody."
"Scum like that deserves to be brought to justice!"
Naruto stuck up his thumb.
"…"
Kitazawa's mouth twitched.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Sasuke suddenly thought of something. "How did we score on this mission?"
"Full marks."
Kitazawa said in evaluation. "The three of you were flawless in both individual performance and teamwork."
"Awesome!"
Naruto's face lit up.
Sasuke also let out a quiet breath of relief.
Now everything depended on where he placed in the theory exam. As long as he made the top five, he still had a shot at finishing first overall.
Hinata didn't think that far ahead.
As long as she hadn't let Kitazawa down, she was happy.
"Next, we're heading to the Land of Whirlpools."
Kitazawa clapped his hands. "Let's move."
Under his lead, they arrived at the ruins of the Uzumaki clan.
"It's so desolate…"
Naruto stared at the scene before him in a daze.
All he could see were weeds, vines, and broken ruins—no sign of the bustling life that once existed here.
"No one's lived here in a long time."
Sasuke glanced at Naruto.
"There's a building over there that's still intact."
Hinata activated her Byakugan and said in surprise.
"Where?"
Naruto asked quickly.
"Hinata, lead the way."
Kitazawa already had a good guess what building it was.
"Mm."
Hinata nodded and walked ahead.
After cutting through a stretch of forest, they arrived in front of a structure.
From the outside, it was a shrine. The most eye-catching part was the three rows of masks hanging over the entrance.
"This place looks weird."
Naruto scratched his head.
"This is Namian Hall," Kitazawa explained. "The Uzumaki clan's shrine."
Sasuke immediately thought of the Uchiha clan's shrine, Naka Shrine.
Naka Shrine wasn't anything special in itself; the Uchiha used it mostly for clan meetings.
If Kitazawa knew what he was thinking, he'd tell him Naka Shrine was actually the most special of all—because it housed the tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.
After Black Zetsu's modifications, that tablet became arguably the single most important thing driving the main plot of the original story.
Both Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Itachi had their paths warped because of it.
"Since we're here, you might as well go take a look."
Kitazawa added.
Naruto instantly bolted inside.
Sasuke followed closely behind.
Only Hinata stayed in place.
Kitazawa gave her a quick look and smiled, then turned his attention to the masks.
They were all Shinigami masks.
Judging from the original story, the Shinigami should be a native god, and not really connected to the alien Ōtsutsuki clan.
As for where the Shinigami lived, no one knew. At the very least, it wasn't in the Pure Land.
The Shinigami was tied to an Uzumaki sealing technique called Reaper Death Seal.
It was a forbidden technique that demanded the user's life in exchange.
But the effect was insane—it could devour a target's soul and seal it away forever.
The target's soul would remain in the Shinigami's stomach for eternity, never reaching the Pure Land.
In the original, during the Konoha Crush, Sarutobi Hiruzen used the Reaper Death Seal to take down Hashirama, Tobirama, and Orochimaru's arms.
And it could do more than just seal souls.
Minato Namikaze used the Reaper Death Seal to split the Nine-Tails in two.
He gave the Yin half to Naruto and sealed the Yang half in the Shinigami's belly.
After thinking it over, Kitazawa decided to take the Shinigami masks with him.
Leaving them out here in the middle of nowhere, just waiting for someone to swipe them someday, was asking for trouble.
After all, he'd probably want to let the Yin half of Kurama out someday.
Half of the Nine-Tails was still incredibly strong, but it wasn't the same as a complete Kurama.
In any case, better to be prepared.
After packing away the masks, Kitazawa watched Naruto and Sasuke wander around for a bit before they came back out.
The shrine only had one purpose: storing the Shinigami masks.
Aside from that, there was nothing.
"Let's head back."
Kitazawa patted Naruto on the shoulder.
"Okay."
Naruto answered with a hint of sadness, but not too much.
After all, he'd grown up in Konoha.
His only real regret was that he hadn't found any keepsakes related to his mother.
Kitazawa glanced at him, wondering if he should let Naruto meet Minato and Kushina.
He didn't mean through Impure World Reincarnation.
When they'd sealed the Nine-Tails, Minato and Kushina had left fragments of their consciousness in the seal—in other words, inside Naruto.
Those fragments were only temporary, though. They would eventually fade away.
And using Impure World Reincarnation felt unnecessary.
Kitazawa didn't dwell on it. He set off on the road home with Sasuke and the others.
~~~
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