"Kitazawa-sensei!"
When Yamanaka Ino saw Kitazawa appear out of nowhere, she immediately stopped chatting, ran over, and clung to his arm.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Yakushi Kabuto greeted as well, along with Uchiha Sasuke and the others right behind him.
"Do you know why I called you all here?" Kitazawa asked, tapping Ino on the forehead and smoothly pulling his right arm out of her embrace.
"Kakashi-sensei and Kabuto-senpai already told us!" Ino said with a bright, excited grin.
She didn't look down on jinchūriki. If anything, after seeing how terrifying Uzumaki Naruto's strength was, she wanted that kind of power. More than anything, becoming a jinchūriki meant a massive leap in strength—and then beating Haruno Sakura would be easy.
"Good. Then I'll skip the small talk and start implanting the tailed beasts," Kitazawa said.
He stepped forward and opened his Rinnegan. Biting his thumb, he slammed his hand to the ground.
In an instant, the earth trembled and the Gedo Statue appeared out of thin air.
Hatake Kakashi and the others wore expressions that were equal parts awe and confusion.
Awe, because the statue's sheer size was monstrous—no matter how many times you saw it, it still felt terrifying.
Confusion, because… why could Kitazawa summon the Gedo Statue? Wasn't it Nagato's summon?
"Kakashi," Kitazawa said.
Kakashi stepped forward—and the moment his eyes landed on Kitazawa's Rinnegan, his pupils practically shook.
What was going on?
Did he… transplant Nagato's Rinnegan?
"I'll implant the Three-Tails into you first," Kitazawa said. He knew exactly what Kakashi was thinking, but he couldn't be bothered to explain.
He was the Hokage now. He didn't need to.
Kitazawa turned to the Gedo Statue. His Rinnegan pulsed, and the statue immediately opened its mouth.
The next second, it spat out a mass of chakra shaped like a giant turtle.
It hit the ground and formed into the Three-Tails—Isobu.
Kitazawa gave it no chance to react. With his Rinnegan, he locked it down completely.
He extended a hand toward Kakashi's abdomen.
Kitazawa used the same Eight Trigrams Seal used to seal the Nine-Tails—essentially a double Four Symbols Seal. If even the Nine-Tails couldn't break out, the other tailed beasts certainly couldn't.
And with Kitazawa's current level of strength, the seal he cast was far beyond what Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki had managed back then.
His chakra surged, wrapping Isobu.
A moment later, Isobu's body shrank, turned into a streak of light, and flowed straight into Kakashi's abdomen.
When the sealing space stabilized, Kitazawa withdrew his hand.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, letting out a long breath.
He could clearly sense the Three-Tails inside the sealed space—along with its near bottomless chakra.
Ever since Kakashi gained Obito Uchiha's Sharingan, chakra had never felt like enough.
Now it felt like getting rich overnight. From here on out, he could finally stop rationing every last drop of chakra.
That said, he had only just become a jinchūriki—he still didn't know how to properly use the Three-Tails' power yet.
"Sasuke," Kitazawa said, nodding as he called the next person.
Sasuke strode up in a few steps. When he saw the Rinnegan, he paused briefly—but he didn't ask questions.
Kitazawa had already shattered his expectations too many times.
From the moment Kitazawa became his teacher, Sasuke had felt like this man could do anything.
The same procedure repeated. Before long, Sasuke became the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki.
He clenched his fist without thinking.
Now that he had become a jinchūriki himself, he finally understood why Naruto always had so much chakra.
Sasuke felt like he could fight Naruto for three days and three nights straight.
One after another, until all seven of them had successfully become jinchūriki.
"Jinchūriki are really terrifying," Ino said, genuinely stunned.
It felt like all her past effort had been for nothing—because the moment she became a jinchūriki, her strength skyrocketed.
"But there are only nine tailed beasts," Kabuto reminded her. "Most shinobi will never get the chance to become a jinchūriki."
"That's true," Haku agreed.
"That's all because of Kitazawa-sensei," Ino said immediately.
"You're thanking me too early," Kitazawa replied.
He released the summoning technique, and the Gedo Statue vanished.
Closing his Rinnegan, he looked at Ino and the others.
"This is a tailed-beast chakra mode I created for you," Kitazawa said, taking out seven scrolls and handing them over.
Normally, a jinchūriki had three common states.
The first: borrowing the tailed beast's chakra. In that state, tailed-beast chakra would manifest on the body's surface, but the user stayed human-shaped.
The second: partial tailed-beast transformation. Chakra would cloak the jinchūriki, tails would appear, and they could draw out more of the beast's chakra.
The third: full tailed-beast transformation. The jinchūriki would stop being human entirely and become the tailed beast, fully unleashing its power.
If you were a perfect jinchūriki, your own consciousness remained in control.
If not, it became a tailed-beast rampage—the beast's will took over.
That was something every village tried hard to avoid.
For example, in the original timeline, Shukaku would emerge when Gaara fell asleep.
Kakashi and the others most likely couldn't become perfect jinchūriki—because that required genuine reconciliation with the tailed beast.
And their tailed beasts had all been forcibly captured by Kitazawa.
They would obviously resent them.
Reconciliation would be extremely difficult.
In other words, they could only reliably use the first two states.
But even just those two states were already a massive boost.
Borrowing tailed-beast chakra didn't need much adjustment.
But Kitazawa did modify the partial transformation.
By combining Hinata Hyūga's Yin Release chakra mode with Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra mode, he created a new tailed-beast chakra mode.
In simple terms: no tails—just a "chakra cloak," like wearing a coat of tailed-beast chakra.
In this state, Kakashi and the others could bring out the tailed beast's power far more smoothly and safely.
Sasuke was, without question, the happiest.
He felt the gap between him and Naruto shrinking rapidly.
Of course, Ino and the others were thrilled too.
"Once you've mastered tailed-beast chakra mode, you can join the Hokage Guard," Kitazawa said with a smile.
Kabuto's eyes narrowed slightly.
Since Konoha's founding, only Tobirama Senju had established a Hokage Guard.
And calling it a "guard" was almost an understatement—it was basically a pipeline for future leadership.
After all, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzō Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane had all been members when they were young.
Haku straightened, suddenly energized.
His long-time dream had been to join Anbu—to repay Kitazawa.
The Hokage Guard sounded like an even higher tier of that same path, and it would still let him fulfill that dream.
"I'll work hard!" Ino declared, fist clenched, burning with determination.
The Hokage Guard protected the Hokage. That meant she'd get to see Kitazawa often.
Kakashi wasn't surprised—he'd already known about the plan.
What stunned him more was this tailed-beast chakra mode itself.
It was genuinely frightening.
No wonder so many people said Kitazawa's talent for creating techniques rivaled Tobirama's.
"For the next while, focus on learning how to use tailed-beast chakra," Kitazawa said, patting Ino on the head.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Ino and the others nodded hard.
"I'll send you back to Konoha," Kitazawa said, and immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique.
In the blink of an eye, they appeared at the entrance to the Hokage Tower.
"Go train. If you don't understand something, come ask me," Kitazawa said. Then he paused. "Kakashi, you come with me."
"Hokage-sama… is something wrong?" Kakashi asked after Ino and the others left.
"Your Sharingan clone is ready. We can do the surgery today," Kitazawa said, opening a storage summoning scroll and taking out a glass container.
Inside was the other eye of Obito.
Notably, it currently displayed as a three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Alright," Kakashi said after examining it briefly.
"Go find Nono Yakushi. Have her do the operation," Kitazawa said.
He didn't plan to do it himself—eye replacement surgery wasn't difficult. Any competent jōnin, even many chūnin, could handle it.
After watching Kakashi leave, Kitazawa walked into the Hokage Tower.
He soon reached the Hokage's office.
But the moment he pushed open the door, he froze in surprise.
A very unexpected visitor was there.
Tsunade was sprawled on the sofa in an unusually relaxed pose.
Shoes off, legs up on the table, her foot swinging idly.
"Tsunade-sensei," Kitazawa said as he walked over with a smile. "It's rare to see you in my office."
He sat down beside her.
"I'm not here to see you," Tsunade said, shifting slightly and resting her legs across his lap.
"Then who are you here to see?" Kitazawa asked, gently massaging her ankle.
"Kurenai," Tsunade said, shooting him a look.
Kitazawa's heart skipped. "So… are you giving me my 'reward' tonight?"
"Not that fast," Tsunade said, lightly kicking him with her foot. "You need to let Kurenai think it through."
"Will she be angry?" Kitazawa asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
"She'll be angry, sure. But with her personality, she won't cut you off completely," Tsunade said after a pause. "Worst case, I step back."
"No," Kitazawa said instantly.
"You really are greedy," Tsunade muttered, rolling her eyes. "Fine. If it comes to that, we'll keep things discreet."
Kitazawa finally exhaled in relief. He didn't want to lose either of them.
"Thank you," he said softly.
Tsunade quickly pulled herself upright. "Enough. I'm going to see her now."
If she stayed any longer, she might not make it out of the office at all.
Kitazawa watched her leave, lingering warmth still in his hands—his chest full of both anticipation and nerves.
No matter what, he could only trust Tsunade.
Tsunade soon arrived at the Film and Media Department office and pushed the door open.
"Tsunade-sensei? What brings you here?" Yūhi Kurenai asked, startled.
Ever since Tsunade retired, she spent most of her time at the casino—she almost never came to the Hokage Tower, much less sought Kurenai out.
"I want to talk to you about Kitazawa," Tsunade said calmly.
"Kitazawa?" Kurenai asked, confused.
"Have you been having a hard time every night?" Tsunade asked back.
"Huh—?" Kurenai froze, and her whole face turned bright red.
What did that even mean?
Had Tsunade heard her saying nonsense at night?
For a moment, Kurenai wanted nothing more than to bolt out the door.
"Kitazawa's strength is frightening. It's normal that you can't beat him," Tsunade said with a faint smile.
"T-Tsunade-sensei… what are you trying to say?" Kurenai lowered her head, forcing herself to ask through the embarrassment.
"What do you think of Kitazawa?" Tsunade stepped closer and asked.
"He… he's outstanding," Kurenai said after thinking for a moment. "Very outstanding."
"Exactly. He's outstanding," Tsunade sighed. "To any woman, he's dangerously attractive. Including me."
"W-What?" Kurenai blurted, instinctively looking up at her.
"Kurenai, I'm here today to apologize to you," Tsunade said, leaning in and speaking quietly.
"There's no way…" Kurenai's eyes widened in shock.
She stared at Tsunade, unable to believe she could do something like that… to her own student.
"I'm sorry. It was my fault," Tsunade said sincerely.
"B-But…" Kurenai's thoughts were a mess.
"We can work together," Tsunade said, finally revealing her true purpose.
"…Huh?" Kurenai's mind went blank under the sheer weight of what she'd just heard—so blank she forgot to be angry.
"My status is too different from Kitazawa's. No one will know about my relationship with him," Tsunade said, taking Kurenai's hand. "I'll support you marrying him."
Kurenai stopped thinking altogether.
She stood there rigidly, not even sure what words could exist for this situation.
Tsunade felt a bit more at ease.
Her strategy was working.
If she took all the blame onto herself, Kurenai wouldn't break with Kitazawa.
And honestly… Tsunade did believe it was her fault. She hadn't held the line.
"Kurenai, you can take your time," Tsunade said with a sigh. "If you don't agree, I won't interfere anymore. I'll cut ties with Kitazawa."
Kurenai immediately felt trapped.
She opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.
Back in the Hokage's office, Kitazawa stared at the documents in his hands, restless and distracted.
Then the door opened again, and he sprang up without thinking.
"Well?" he asked, striding toward Tsunade. "How did it go?"
"I talked to Kurenai. She said she needs time to think," Tsunade said. "But it looks promising."
"Thank you," Kitazawa said, pulling her into a hug.
Tsunade gave him a look, but didn't shove him away.
After a moment, she caught her breath and held out her hand.
"I made a big sacrifice for you," she said. "Pay up."
"Done," Kitazawa said immediately, producing a bankbook.
"You're generous," Tsunade said, flipping it open and breaking into a wide grin. "I'm heading to the casino. When Kurenai decides, I'll tell you."
She tucked the bankbook away, waved, and left the office.
Kitazawa had just started to head back to his desk when the door opened again.
This time, it was Kurenai.
Kitazawa's stomach tightened—guilt and awkwardness hitting at once.
"You bastard," Kurenai snapped, stepping forward and biting down hard on his shoulder.
Kitazawa blinked, but didn't dodge.
Warm pain spread immediately, but to him it was nothing.
He lifted a hand and gently stroked Kurenai's hair.
After biting him, Kurenai's expression softened into concern, and she lightly tended to the mark as if making up for it.
Kitazawa shuddered despite himself.
Kurenai's eyes glimmered, her cheeks flushed, and she said through gritted teeth, "Today, I'm going to teach you a lesson."
With that, she shoved him onto the sofa.
In a corner not far away, Konan, hidden in Anbu guise, watched it all, feeling an uncomfortable itch in her chest.
But she didn't dare step forward.
Only after about an hour—after Kitazawa escorted Kurenai home—did Konan finally take her place again.
A new day began.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Come in," Kitazawa said, looking up.
Shizune walked in. "Kitazawa, we just received an invitation from the Fourth Raikage."
"An invitation?" Kitazawa raised an eyebrow. "A Five Kage Summit?"
"How did you know?" Shizune asked, astonished.
"Just a guess," Kitazawa said with a light chuckle. "What does it say?"
"One week from now, the Five Kage Summit will be held in the Land of Iron's main metropolis," Shizune reported.
Kitazawa nodded slightly.
It was basically the same as the original timeline: still in the Land of Iron.
And that made sense.
If the summit were held in Kumogakure, Kitazawa might dare to attend—but the Fourth Raikage wouldn't dare let him.
And Rasa, Mei Terumī, and Ōnoki certainly wouldn't walk casually into Kumogakure either. If the Raikage laid a trap, they'd be in serious danger.
"How do we respond?" Shizune asked.
"We don't," Kitazawa said, shaking his head. "Pretend we never received it."
Shizune went blank.
Was he trying to start the Fourth Great Ninja War?
A thousand thoughts flashed through her mind, but she didn't ask.
She held the invitation, turned around, and left the office.
After all, she wasn't the Hokage—Kitazawa was.
As the Hokage's secretary, she just needed to follow orders.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
If he didn't attend, then the summit's discussion would definitely shift into one topic: how to deal with Konoha.
But whether that would truly ignite a Fourth Great Ninja War was still hard to say.
He thought about the list he'd drafted earlier.
He planned to pick one high-ranking figure from each of the four major villages and either turn them… or control them.
Then, at the summit, those four could push the other villages to cooperate—and declare war on Konoha together.
But the timing needed to be delayed.
His students weren't ready yet.
Ino and the others needed time to master tailed-beast chakra mode. Naruto needed to become a perfect jinchūriki. Hinata needed the Tenseigan, and so on.
All of that took time.
Still, war preparation also took time.
Especially when facing a monster like Konoha, the four villages would be extremely cautious—gathering every ounce of strength and preparing to fight to the bitter end.
"After the New Year would be a better time," Kitazawa decided after a moment.
It was August now—about four months until the New Year. That should be enough.
And after the New Year, his students would be around eighteen, in line with graduation-age for this era of the story.
By that math, the Five Kage Summit had been moved up by about five years compared to the original timeline.
"Konan, call White Zetsu," Kitazawa said, looking toward her.
Konan nodded and left the office.
A moment later, a White Zetsu wearing an Anbu mask walked in.
"Where are Baki, Ao, Mabui, and Kitsuchi right now?" Kitazawa asked directly.
They were the four targets he intended to flip.
In their respective villages, they were top leadership—second only to the Kage themselves, with enormous influence.
"They're all in their villages," White Zetsu answered.
"You can go," Kitazawa said, waving him off.
White Zetsu immediately sank into the ground and vanished.
"Konan, I'm heading out," Kitazawa said, standing up and using Flying Thunder God.
The next second, he appeared in Sunagakure.
After learning Flying Thunder God, he had left marks all over the shinobi world.
He activated the Byakugan, quickly locked onto Maki's location, walked straight over, and used his Rinnegan to plant a subtle suggestion.
After that, he went to Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure in succession.
The whole trip took less than half an hour.
That was the power of Flying Thunder God.
Of course, even without it, dual Kamui could achieve something similar.
Konoha's Training Ground One.
Kitazawa steadied himself and looked toward Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Hinata Hyūga, who were training.
He had just returned from Kumogakure.
"Hinata," Kitazawa called, waving her over.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Hinata said, jogging up.
"Tomorrow, you're coming with me on a mission," Kitazawa said. After a short pause, he added, "Bring Neji too."
He planned to take the two of them to the moon.
What he could confirm now was this: Ōtsutsuki chakra combined with the Hyūga clan's Byakugan could evolve into the Tenseigan.
In other words, Hinata or Neji could gain a pair of Tenseigan.
But he still needed one more.
Kitazawa's idea was to extract the ocular power from the Giant Tenseigan.
How to put it…
The Giant Tenseigan could only be used like a tool.
Konoha didn't truly need it.
But if he could transfer its power—or compress it so that a Byakugan could absorb it—that would be ideal.
Then both Hinata and Neji could awaken the Tenseigan.
As for Hanabi, there was no rush.
By then, Kitazawa would be even stronger.
With near-infinite chakra, he could directly pour ocular power into Hanabi and help her awaken the Tenseigan as well.
The only uncertainty was whether the Giant Tenseigan's power could actually be transferred.
He wouldn't know until tomorrow—until he saw it with his own eyes.
~~~
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