"Hinata."
After finishing breakfast, Kitazawa arrived at the Ninja Academy.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Hinata stopped her training and quickly walked over to him.
"Congratulations." Kitazawa reached out and gently patted her head. "You've already grasped the basics of Eight Trigrams Palms: Revolving Heaven."
"I'm still not proficient enough," Hinata replied honestly.
"Proficiency is only a matter of time," Kitazawa chuckled. "You've already done very well."
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei." Hinata looked up at him, then asked with curiosity, "Do I have new training today?"
"Not for the moment." Kitazawa shook his head. "But you do have a mission today."
"A mission?" Hinata's eyes immediately lit up as she asked expectantly, "Kitazawa-sensei, are you leading the team?"
"Why? If I said it wasn't me, would you refuse to go?" Kitazawa asked teasingly.
"I… I would still go." Hinata lowered her head, speaking shyly.
"Let's go." Kitazawa pinched her cheek lightly and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The two of them appeared within the Forest of Death.
The moment they steadied themselves, an ominous chakra spread through the surroundings.
Kitazawa looked up and saw Naruto in a partial Tailed Beast transformation. At this point, he had already reached Seven-Tails.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
In the original story, when Naruto erupted into the Eight-Tails, Minato would appear to stop him.
More precisely, it was a fragment of chakra—an imprint of Minato's will.
In fact, it wasn't only Minato Namikaze. Kushina's chakra also appeared later, helping Naruto suppress the Nine-Tails during his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode training.
Because of that, Naruto successfully completed his training and awakened Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
The current situation, however, was quite different.
Naruto didn't need to face Nagato alone, nor did he need to lose control and manifest the Eight-Tails.
Still, when it came time to seize the Nine-Tails' chakra, the chakra of Minato and Kushina should appear.
Kitazawa had no intention of preventing their appearance. After all, without them, it wouldn't be easy for Naruto to successfully activate Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
What Kitazawa intended to do was assist Naruto by allowing Minato Namikaze's and Uzumaki Kushina's chakra to persist a little longer.
In the original story, both of them vanished completely after helping Naruto.
After careful consideration, Kitazawa believed it was theoretically possible to help stabilize their chakra.
The prerequisite was that he could simulate the chakra of Uzumaki Kushina and Minato Namikaze.
And that prerequisite wasn't particularly difficult.
Kitazawa now possessed Master-level chakra nature transformation in six attributes, chakra shape transformation, and chakra control.
He speculated that the chakra left behind by Uzumaki Kushina and Minato Namikaze was either Yin Release or Yang Release.
"Kitazawa-sensei! Hinata!" Upon seeing them, Naruto immediately canceled his partial Tailed Beast transformation.
"Lord Jiraiya." Kitazawa nodded toward Jiraiya and said, "I'm taking Naruto out on a mission today."
Ever since returning to the village, Jiraiya had been teaching Naruto. Not Sage Mode, but how to properly function as a Jinchūriki.
In the original story, Jiraiya had also been the one to guide Naruto on the path of becoming an excellent Jinchūriki.
Kitazawa didn't mind this at all. First, it saved him effort and allowed him to focus on his own affairs.
Second, Jiraiya teaching Naruto did not interfere with his system missions.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
After greeting Jiraiya, Kitazawa took Naruto and Hinata straight to the Land of Lightning.
He didn't know the exact location of Turtle Island, but he knew it lay somewhere in the waters near the Land of Lightning.
"Wait here for a moment." Kitazawa leapt upward and used Magnet Release to fly into the sky.
As he flew, he scanned the surroundings with his Byakugan. In less than half an hour, he located Turtle Island.
Turtle Island was a massive tortoise, so enormous it resembled an island.
It was extremely difficult for ordinary people to find. Even if someone saw it, they would likely mistake it for a normal island.
But before Kitazawa's Byakugan, it had nowhere to hide. There was no need to disturb or tame it.
His true destination was the Falls of Truth on its back.
The purpose of the Falls of Truth was to force those who entered to confront the darkness buried deep within their hearts.
For most ninja, this had little practical value. But for a Jinchūriki, it was extraordinarily important.
To become a Perfect Jinchūriki, one had to reconcile with their Tailed Beast. This reconciliation was not verbal—it was a battle of chakra.
More precisely, the Jinchūriki had to seize the Tailed Beast's chakra. However, a Tailed Beast's chakra was saturated with malice and hatred.
With the slightest mistake, the Jinchūriki could be overwhelmed, their inner darkness triggered, resulting in a violent rampage.
With Turtle Island's Falls of Truth, one could first confront and overcome the darkness within oneself, then face the Tailed Beast.
This dramatically increased the success rate. Still, it only increased the chances—it did not guarantee success.
In the original story, if Uzumaki Kushina's chakra had not appeared at the critical moment, Naruto might not have been able to defeat the Nine-Tails.
Kitazawa descended from the sky. He headed straight toward the Falls of Truth.
The reason it was so easy to locate was the presence of four Hidden Cloud Village Jōnin guarding the area.
The moment Kitazawa appeared, the four surrounded him.
He gave them no opportunity to speak. His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan activated instantly.
A dazzling crimson light flared. The four Hidden Cloud Jōnin instinctively looked into his eyes.
In the very next second, all of them fell into a daze.
Kitazawa did not kill them. Because he didn't know how long Naruto's training on Turtle Island would take.
In the original story, it was actually very short—only one or two days. But this Naruto was not the Naruto of the original story.
The outcome was uncertain.
Keeping the four Hidden Cloud Jōnin alive might prove useful.
After all, the Hidden Cloud Village would be far too busy to notice Turtle Island anytime soon.
Kitazawa activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and vanished from the spot. In the next instant, he reappeared in front of Naruto and Hinata.
Without offering much explanation, Kitazawa led the two of them straight onto Turtle Island.
"Ninjas from the Hidden Cloud Village?" Hinata immediately noticed the four Hidden Cloud Jōnin who were under control.
"This is Turtle Island of the Hidden Cloud Village." Kitazawa then explained to Naruto the true purpose of Turtle Island.
"I see!" After hearing this, Naruto asked excitedly, "So I can start training right away?"
He didn't care about any so-called darkness buried deep within his heart. As long as he could become stronger, nothing else mattered to him.
"You can begin once you step into the waterfall," Kitazawa said with a smile. "We'll wait for you outside."
In the original story, overcoming the darkness of one's heart took the form of a battle between two Narutos.
To be honest, for the current Naruto, this was exactly the kind of thing he liked most—something that allowed him to fight to his heart's content.
"Kitazawa-sensei, what about me? What should I do?" Hinata asked proactively.
Kitazawa fell into thought. He truly wasn't sure what to teach Hinata next.
She had already mastered almost everything related to the Gentle Fist. There were no new bow-type Secret Techniques to teach her either.
In terms of combat strength, Hinata was already roughly comparable to an elite Jōnin.
However, aside from the World-Extinction Arrow, she was still one step away from becoming a true Kage-level powerhouse.
More precisely, she lacked chakra. Kitazawa immediately thought of Ōtsutsuki Toneri on the moon.
If Toneri's chakra were given to Hinata, there was a very high probability that she could awaken the Tenseigan.
Likewise, if Kitazawa's own Ōtsutsuki bloodline could reach one hundred percent, his chakra might produce a similar effect.
Unfortunately, the Tenseigan had not yet been obtained.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through Kitazawa's mind. He thought of Hinata's Moon-Chasing Bow.
The Satori was sealed within that bow. In a sense, Hinata could be considered half a Jinchūriki.
So, could she borrow Satori's chakra to achieve something like a partial Tailed Beast transformation?
Theoretically, it was possible. As for a complete Tailed Beast transformation, that would be extremely difficult.
After all, the Satori was not a Tailed Beast, and its chakra could not compare in quantity or quality.
Moreover, it was sealed inside the Moon-Chasing Bow, not within Hinata's body.
Still, even a partial Tailed Beast transformation would be more than enough to compensate for Hinata's lack of chakra.
Of course, if Hinata could use it, then Neji and Hanabi would likely be able to do so as well.
"I have a new Secret Technique in mind," Kitazawa said as he patted Hinata's head. "You can help me perfect it."
However, he hadn't forgotten that he had another objective today.
Kitazawa formed hand seals and created a Shadow Clone.
He sent the Shadow Clone to the Hidden Cloud Village to observe the great battle between the Akatsuki Organization and the Hidden Cloud Village.
Meanwhile, his original body remained behind, researching the possibility of a Satori-based partial Tailed Beast transformation together with Hinata.
Time passed slowly.
By noon, the memories from the Shadow Clone returned to Kitazawa.
The great battle between the Akatsuki Organization and the Hidden Cloud Village had already concluded.
The battlefield chosen by both sides was the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
In the original story, the Valley of Clouds and Lightning had been Killer Bee's training ground and was relatively secluded.
The battle between Killer Bee and Sasuke had also taken place there.
However, this battle was on a completely different scale.
On the Hidden Cloud Village's side, besides Killer Bee, there were the Fourth Raikage, Dodai, Nii Yugito, Darui, and many other Jōnin.
Those with insufficient strength did not participate at all—coming would have been nothing more than suicide.
On the Akatsuki Organization's side, they also went all out. All Six Paths of Pain under Nagato were deployed.
In addition, there were five other members. Konan stayed behind to protect Nagato's original body.
En Oyashiro, Uchiha Obito, and two other members accompanied the Six Paths of Pain in the assault on the Hidden Cloud Village.
Kitazawa recognized only three of them.
The remaining two were new members—elite Jōnin-level fighters who had not appeared in the original story.
Despite having more Jōnin, the Hidden Cloud Village still lost.
The main reason was simple. Nagato was far too strong.
The Fourth Raikage was also powerful, but he lacked versatility.
His greatest advantage was speed. In terms of raw power, he couldn't even compare to Tsunade.
He had no Sage Mode, nor did he possess the Third Raikage's Hell Stab: One-Finger Hand—Ultimate.
On top of that, the Fourth Raikage had no intelligence regarding the Six Paths of Pain.
Because of this, he was unable to break through Nagato's defenses and found it extremely difficult even to get close.
His Lightning Release Chakra Mode—his greatest asset—was countered by the black receivers.
Those black receivers were created using Yin–Yang Release and could disrupt a target's chakra flow.
In the original story, Naruto had been completely immobilized after being struck by them.
If he hadn't gone berserk and manifested the Eight-Tails directly, he wouldn't have been able to break free at all.
In short, the Hidden Cloud Village's defeat was not undeserved.
In fact, the treatment it received was far better than what Konoha Village had suffered in the original timeline.
Kitazawa guessed this had something to do with him.
The Akatsuki Organization wanted to concentrate its forces to deal with the now overwhelmingly powerful Konoha Village.
Before that, they needed to capture all the remaining Jinchūriki. Still, the Hidden Cloud Village was luckier than Konoha Village had been.
Nagato did not use Super Shinra Tensei. Even so, the Hidden Cloud Village's Jōnin suffered massive casualties—the most devastating loss since the village's founding.
The next day arrived.
Kitazawa already had a preliminary framework for Hinata's partial Tailed Beast transformation.
At most, it would take half a month to perfect. However, calling it a "partial Tailed Beast transformation" no longer felt appropriate.
He planned to name it Yin Release Chakra Mode.
Later, he could develop additional variants based on it, similar to Yang Release Chakra Mode.
When the time came, Ino, Shikamaru, and the others could also learn to use it.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto's excited voice rang out.
With a loud splash, he ran out from beneath the waterfall.
Kitazawa instinctively sized him up. At first glance, nothing seemed to have changed.
Yet, upon closer inspection, the difference was unmistakable. The chakra within Naruto's body had become far more stable.
After all, he had just defeated the darkness within his own heart.
"We're going back to Konoha Village." Kitazawa smiled faintly as he spoke. "The Ninja World is quite lively right now."
After an entire day of dissemination, the news of the Hidden Cloud Village's crushing defeat had undoubtedly spread throughout the world.
---
With the Flying Thunder God Technique, the three of them returned directly to the Konoha.
"You two go to class." After giving his instructions, Kitazawa turned and headed straight for the Hokage Office.
"Did you find Turtle Island?" Once Tsunade confirmed that he was safe, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Naruto has already completed the preliminary training on Turtle Island," Kitazawa replied with a smile.
"So fast?" Tsunade was visibly surprised.
"It's probably because Naruto's talent is exceptionally high," Kitazawa paused briefly before continuing. "Next, he can attempt to fully master the Nine-Tails' power."
"If Naruto can become a Perfect Jinchuriki, it will greatly reduce the pressure on Konoha Village," Tsunade nodded as she spoke.
She was naturally referring to the Akatsuki Organization.
Now that the Hidden Cloud Village had been decisively crushed, everyone knew that Akatsuki's next target would inevitably be Konoha Village.
"What's the situation with the other hidden villages?" Kitazawa asked casually.
"Just as we predicted before," Tsunade gave a light snort. "They're all waiting to see the outcome between Konoha Village and the Akatsuki Organization."
Kitazawa wasn't surprised.
In the original story, the Five Kage Summit only took place after Pain's invasion of Konoha Village.
By then, all Five Great Villages had suffered attacks, forcing them to unite.
It was also worth noting that during that summit, Tsunade had been in a coma, and the one who attended was the Acting Hokage, Danzō.
But now, Konoha Village remained completely intact.
If the villages united at this point, Konoha would hold an overwhelming advantage and might even become the de facto leader.
That was a result the other hidden villages would never willingly accept.
"This is intelligence on the members of the Akatsuki Organization." Kitazawa took out a scroll and placed it on the desk.
He had written it the previous night. It mainly contained information about Nagato and Uchiha Obito.
"Rinnegan?" After reading just a glance, Tsunade was instantly shocked.
"If nothing unexpected happens, the leader of the Akatsuki Organization is the disciple Lord Jiraiya took in back then," Kitazawa added calmly.
"I never imagined he was still alive… and now an enemy of the entire Ninja World," Tsunade said, quickly regaining her composure.
She took a deep breath and continued reading.
When she reached the information on the Six Paths of Pain, her brows knit together, her expression growing exceptionally grave.
"As expected of the eyes of the legendary Six Paths Sage…" After a long silence, Tsunade finally asked, "Are you confident?"
Although she trusted Kitazawa's strength deeply, the intelligence regarding the Rinnegan still planted a trace of unease in her heart.
"What do you think?" Kitazawa raised his hand and gave her peach-like buttocks a light slap.
The soft flesh rippled instantly.
Tsunade shot him a glare, but the concern that had lingered moments ago vanished completely.
At a time like this, if Kitazawa was still thinking about teasing her, then it meant he had absolute confidence.
"Is this the mysterious masked man who used Wood Release back then?" Tsunade asked as she read further.
"That's him," Kitazawa replied with a smile. "Kakashi even severed one of his arms."
"Who exactly is he? Why does he keep targeting Konoha Village?" Tsunade asked, clearly puzzled.
Whether it was Wood Release or the Sharingan, both were deeply tied to Konoha Village.
She had a strong premonition that this mysterious masked man was likely a former Konoha ninja.
"I don't know," Kitazawa shook his head lightly. "I've only heard members of Akatsuki call him Tobi."
"I've never heard that name," Tsunade searched her memory, but found nothing.
"It's probably just a pseudonym," Kitazawa replied.
He deliberately didn't tell her that Tobi was Uchiha Obito. Mainly because he couldn't explain the source of his information.
And more importantly, it wasn't necessary. He had no intention of redeeming Uchiha Obito like in the original story.
For someone like that, the best solution was simple—elimination.
"It seems the key figures are Nagato and this mysterious Tobi," Tsunade concluded after finishing the scroll.
The other Akatsuki members were strong, but none of them were on the same level as Nagato or Uchiha Obito.
"Exactly," Kitazawa nodded. "Once those two are dealt with, the Akatsuki Organization will collapse on its own."
"Send out a notice. We'll hold a Jōnin Meeting tomorrow," Tsunade said after a moment of consideration.
"A Jōnin Meeting?" Kitazawa was briefly taken aback. "I think just informing the higher-ups would be enough."
"It's not only about the Akatsuki Organization," Tsunade explained with a smile. "It's also about the change of Hokage."
"You really don't want to wait even a single moment, do you?" Kitazawa said with mock resignation.
"A beautiful retirement life is calling me—how could I not be impatient?" Tsunade shot back without missing a beat.
"…" Kitazawa's mouth twitched.
You actually make a lot of sense. I really can't argue with that.
"How about holding the Hokage succession ceremony next month?" Tsunade continued, having clearly thought it through.
"It takes roughly a month to complete all the formal procedures. By the way, you can also let the students of the Genius Class graduate early this month."
"Alright." Kitazawa nodded in agreement.
There were still two weeks remaining until the semester's final exams. They could simply turn those finals into graduation exams.
Although it was called early graduation, it was only about two semesters—roughly nine months ahead of schedule.
In reality, most of the students in the Genius Class were already twelve years old.
Only a few, like Hinata—who had been born in the latter half of the year—had yet to reach that age.
"Go and call Jiraiya here."
Tsunade looked down at the scroll in her hand as she spoke, her tone steady but heavy. "He was Nagato's teacher. He deserves to be the first to know about this."
Kitazawa wasn't surprised in the slightest. He turned and walked toward the door, passing the order directly to the ANBU ninja Haru.
Before long, hurried footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Jiraiya rushed in.
"This is the intelligence related to the Akatsuki Organization that Kitazawa gathered," Tsunade said as she handed him the scroll.
Jiraiya immediately took it. He opened the scroll and began to read.
In the very next moment, his entire body stiffened, as if he had been struck by lightning.
Because a name that should never have appeared… was written clearly before his eyes. Nagato.
"How is this possible…?" Jiraiya asked instinctively, his voice hoarse. "Isn't Nagato dead?"
"The intelligence you received back then was deliberately fabricated by Nagato himself," Tsunade replied in a heavy voice. "He wanted you to believe that all three of them were dead."
"How… how could they become like this?" Jiraiya looked dazed, disbelief written all over his face.
In his memories, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan had once held beautiful dreams. They had spoken endlessly about peace, about ending the cycle of hatred in the Ninja World.
Yet the Akatsuki Organization that now existed was doing the exact opposite—destroying peace and plunging the entire Ninja World into chaos.
"I'm going to the Hidden Rain Village to find them!" Jiraiya said immediately, turning as if to leave.
"No!" Tsunade stopped him at once.
"The Akatsuki Organization is now the enemy of the entire Ninja World. Going to the Hidden Rain Village now would be extremely dangerous!"
"I'm their teacher," Jiraiya retorted instinctively. "There won't be any danger!"
"Don't forget their objective," Tsunade said, frowning deeply. "If you go there now and end up being captured by the Akatsuki Organization, you'll only bring disaster to Konoha Village."
Jiraiya froze in place.
He clenched the scroll tightly, hesitation finally surfacing on his face.
"The Akatsuki Organization has already captured the Two-Tails and the Eight-Tails," Tsunade continued calmly. "It won't be long before they come to Konoha Village for the Seven-Tails and the Nine-Tails."
"When that time comes," she added, "you'll naturally have a chance to ask him everything."
Hearing this, Jiraiya let out a long, heavy sigh.
Back then, he had placed immense hopes on Nagato; he had even believed that Nagato might be the Child of Prophecy.
After all, Nagato possessed the Rinnegan, the eyes of the legendary Six Paths Sage.
After finishing the scroll, Jiraiya left the office in a daze.
The student he had once been so proud of had now ignited a war that engulfed the entire Ninja World.
That reality was a devastating blow.
After Jiraiya left, Kitazawa didn't linger either.
He returned to the ANBU headquarters and had Antelope and the others notify every Jōnin in the village to attend the Jōnin Meeting scheduled for the following day.
---
A new day arrived.
9:00 a.m.
All the Jōnin of Konoha Village had gathered.
Although they hadn't been informed of the agenda beforehand, nearly everyone had already guessed the reason for this meeting.
After all, the news of the Hidden Cloud Village's crushing defeat had already spread throughout the Ninja World.
"I will now announce the first matter." Tsunade took her seat, her gaze sweeping across the room as she spoke slowly and clearly.
"And that is the start of the selection for the Sixth Hokage."
"What?!" Shock rippled through the room instantly.
Everyone had assumed the discussion would center on how to deal with the Akatsuki Organization.
No one had expected the topic to be the Sixth Hokage.
Only Tsunade and Kitazawa knew about this beforehand. Even figures like Jiraiya, Uchiha Fugaku, and Hyūga Hiashi were visibly stunned.
"Tsunade." Jiraiya stood up and spoke solemnly. "This is the most critical moment for Konoha Village. It's not appropriate to change the Hokage right now."
"It's precisely because Konoha Village is in danger that we must do so," Tsunade shook her head firmly. "We need a Hokage stronger than me to stabilize the situation."
The moment those words were spoken, nearly everyone in the room turned their gaze toward a single person.
Kitazawa.
Given Tsunade's strength, the only ninja in the entire village who could unquestionably defeat her… was him.
Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Uchiha Fugaku—none of them would dare claim with certainty that they could defeat Tsunade.
As for Sarutobi Hiruzen, he had already served as Hokage once.