Winter break was already half over when New Year's Eve arrived—the very last day of the year.
On New Year's Eve, there were usually two traditions: eating soba and staying up through the night.
In past years, Kitazawa usually spent the night awake with Kurenai.
But this year was different.
Because they'd moved into the Senju clan compound and were now living together with Tsunade and the others.
So naturally, the New Year's Eve vigil became something everyone did together.
As the night grew deeper, Kitazawa picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
Shizune walked out of the kitchen and set six cups of water on the coffee table.
"Thanks," Kurenai said as she picked one up, sighing with feeling. "It's been a long time since New Year's Eve felt this lively."
"That's how it should be," Shizune said, glancing at Tsunade. "If there aren't enough people, you'll just fall asleep early."
When it was just the two of them keeping watch in previous years, Tsunade often conked out before the New Year even arrived.
"What are you looking at me for?" Tsunade said, letting herself flop sideways onto the sofa.
"Tsunade-sama, with this many people here, you should at least keep up appearances," Shizune immediately reminded her.
"What's there to keep up?" Tsunade said dismissively. "It's not like there are outsiders here."
Kurenai blinked, a little taken aback—and more than a little flattered.
After all, Tsunade was the Hokage.
Saying that meant Tsunade considered her and Kitazawa part of her inner circle—absolutely her people.
For many shinobi, that was an honor they'd never receive in a lifetime.
But Kurenai also understood the reason: she was benefiting from Kitazawa's standing.
"The sofa's huge. It's fine," Kurenai said with a smile.
Since six people were living under one roof, Tsunade had chosen the largest residence in the Senju compound.
The living room had three couches: a large one in the center, and two smaller ones on either side.
At the moment, Tsunade was monopolizing the left couch all by herself.
But the remaining couches were more than enough for the other five—Kitazawa, Kurenai, Shizune, Uzumaki Rina, and Karin.
Shizune hesitated, like she wanted to say something.
What she wanted to point out wasn't the space.
It was that Tsunade lounging there so shamelessly was… dangerously distracting.
Kurenai and Rina were women, so it was whatever—but Kitazawa was different.
Still, he probably wasn't that kind of person.
Thinking that, Shizune didn't press it.
"TV these days is so boring," Tsunade yawned after watching for a bit.
"If you think it's boring, we could set up a film and media department," Kitazawa suggested, suddenly intrigued.
He understood better than anyone how important messaging was—yet the shinobi world didn't really value it.
Movies, television, even newspapers… none of it came from Konoha's official channels.
"Is that really necessary?" Tsunade shook her head, skeptical.
"Yeah, it doesn't seem necessary," Shizune agreed. "For shinobi, missions come first. Movies and TV are just something you watch when you have time."
"I think it is necessary," Kitazawa said seriously. "That department could handle public messaging."
"Messaging about what?" Tsunade asked, startled.
Shizune and Kurenai both looked equally puzzled.
"Konoha can use film and broadcasts to promote the Will of Fire," Kitazawa explained. "For example—make a biographical film about the First Hokage."
Tsunade sat up instinctively, eyes on him.
"Plenty of people in Konoha know the First Hokage's name," Kitazawa continued, noticing her reaction and pressing while he had the opening, "but they don't actually know many of his deeds. Put it into a film, and everyone will understand him better."
"That… is actually a pretty good idea," Tsunade admitted, nodding.
"And if shinobi are the ones making the film, it's simpler—and way cheaper," Kitazawa said with a grin.
"Why would it be cheaper?" Shizune asked, curious. "Aren't movie stars' fees insanely expensive?"
"Let me give you a few easy examples," Kitazawa said, launching into it.
First, the biggest headache in filmmaking—special effects—could be replaced entirely with ninjutsu.
Second, there was an E-rank technique that would be downright godlike on set: the Transformation Jutsu.
If you were filming Senju Hashirama's story, your lead could simply use Transformation to become Hashirama.
And it wasn't just changing faces—Transformation could cover makeup, costumes, and props too.
Finally, Shadow Clones plus Transformation meant one actor could play multiple roles, saving even more money.
"You're… seriously good at being cheap," Shizune said, completely enlightened.
"I think it's great!" Kurenai's eyes lit up, her smile bright. "If we ever have time, we could act in a movie together!"
"What movie would we even act in?" Rina asked, confused.
"A biopic about the Fifth Hokage," Kitazawa said, blinking innocently.
"I'm not retired," Tsunade shot back, rolling her eyes.
"A biopic about Tsunade-sama feels unnecessary," Shizune complained. "All those gambling scenes would corrupt kids."
"…" Tsunade's mouth twitched.
She wanted to argue—but couldn't.
"A movie doesn't have to copy reality one-to-one," Kitazawa laughed. "You can take artistic liberties. Just cut the gambling."
"We can film it," Tsunade said, suddenly excited, "but then it has to show me winning every single bet!"
"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune protested. "Winning or losing, gambling is still wrong!"
Tsunade pouted, thinking that Kitazawa was far better to be around.
He not only went to casinos with her—he played with her, too, and always managed to make her feel good.
"Kitazawa's idea really isn't bad," Tsunade said, shifting her gaze. "Fine. Then Kurenai will be in charge of this film and media department."
"Huh?" Kurenai's eyes widened. "Me?"
She hadn't expected Tsunade to hand something like that to her.
Even if it sounded unrelated to shinobi work, once established, it would technically have the same standing and authority as the Anbu and other major divisions.
In other words, she'd be stepping into Konoha's leadership circle.
Maybe not the very top—but no longer just an ordinary jōnin.
"Kitazawa, Shizune, and Rina already have departments to run," Tsunade explained casually. "If they take on another one, they'll be stretched too thin."
Of course, the most important reason was simpler: Tsunade trusted Kurenai.
And with Kurenai's relationship with Kitazawa, once Kitazawa became Hokage, Kurenai would inevitably become a senior figure in the village anyway.
It was only a matter of time.
"I think it works," Kitazawa said, raising a brow.
He thought of the system mission about building a new "Konoha Sannin."
If Sasuke, Naruto, and the others wanted to become famous fast, publicity would be essential.
Relying on rumors spreading naturally would take far too long.
And once this department existed, it wouldn't have to be limited to film.
It could publish newspapers and magazines.
And once computing technology matured, it could expand into new media—after all, even the era of Boruto had the internet.
That would solve the messaging problem outright.
"Then… I'll give it a try," Kurenai said after a couple seconds of hesitation, finally nodding.
One, she didn't want to waste Tsunade's goodwill.
Two, she wanted to stay closer to Kitazawa.
If she remained "just" a jōnin, the distance between them would only grow.
"When you recruit people, you can have the Anbu help," Tsunade said with a nod.
With so many shinobi in the village, there would always be some who disliked combat or were interested in film.
Gather the right people, and the department could officially start operating.
"We could also send someone to the Land of Snow," Kitazawa added, thinking of Kazahana Koyuki. "The daimyō there used to be a film star—she has connections."
The Land of Snow was already allied with Konoha.
More importantly, Koyuki only became daimyō because Konoha backed her.
If they asked for help, she wouldn't refuse.
"After the New Year, I'll go in person!" Kurenai said, energized.
It was her first time running a department—she wanted to do it right.
"I can use Flying Thunder God to send you there," Kitazawa nodded.
The six of them chatted while watching TV, and before they knew it, midnight arrived.
Rina and Shizune brought out six bowls of soba from the kitchen.
"Happy New Year!" all six said at once.
Then they ate.
Finishing the soba marked the end of the vigil.
"Good night," Tsunade said, glancing at Kitazawa before returning to her room.
"Then we'll sleep too. See you tomorrow," Shizune, Rina, and Karin said as they got up and left.
"Come on," Kitazawa said, and he and Kurenai went back to their room.
Once the door shut, he formed hand seals and set a barrier in the room.
It didn't do much—its only function was soundproofing.
There was no helping it: once Kurenai got carried away, she completely lost her sense of restraint and started saying all kinds of wild things.
Deep into the night, Kurenai finally fell asleep, exhaustion written all over her face.
Kitazawa carefully slipped out of her embrace, then used Flying Thunder God.
He appeared inside Tsunade's room.
The night was pitch-black, the room unlit.
Kitazawa lifted a hand and slid it beneath the blanket.
The next instant, his right hand was caught between Tsunade's full, strong thighs.
He immediately felt the softness and warmth.
He raised a brow, didn't pull away, and instead reached with his left hand—only for Tsunade to let out a muffled sound.
Her legs loosened instinctively, and she grabbed his wrist with both hands, yanking him under the covers.
Kitazawa was swallowed up before he could react.
The night passed without a word.
On the second day of the New Year, Kitazawa and the others went to the nearest shrine to pay respects and pray for blessings.
After that, Tsunade dragged him straight to Konoha's casino.
The holiday flew by in a blur of gambling and sparring.
On the fifth day, the New Year break ended.
After breakfast, Kitazawa and Kurenai went to the Hokage Tower.
They'd talked about the media department on New Year's Eve.
The next day, Kitazawa had the on-duty Anbu clear out an office in the Hokage Tower.
Now it had been cleaned thoroughly and furnished with desks, a coffee table, and other basics.
"How does it feel? Anything else you need?" Kitazawa asked, pushing the door open.
"Not for now," Kurenai said, shaking her head.
"If you need anything, tell me," Kitazawa said, then handed her a scroll. "These are candidates the Anbu helped shortlist for you."
"Thank you," Kurenai said, taking it.
"Do we really need to thank each other?" Kitazawa paused, then added, "Recruit your people first. Once you're staffed, I'll send you to the Land of Snow."
"Mm." Kurenai hesitated, then said, "As for the Advanced Class… could you cover my lessons for a few days? Once I get things running, I'll come back."
For now, she didn't plan to quit teaching.
When Kitazawa became Hokage, she'd leave with him then.
"Leave it to me," Kitazawa nodded. "I'm heading to the academy now. If you run into any problems, have the Anbu notify me."
On the academy training grounds, plenty of the Advanced Class students had already arrived.
"Happy New Year, Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto and the others called as soon as they saw him.
"Happy New Year," Kitazawa replied with a smile.
"Why is it just you today?" Maruboshi Kosuke asked curiously.
"Tsunade-sama gave Kurenai a special assignment. I'm covering for her these next few days," Kitazawa explained.
"I see," Kosuke said, and didn't ask further.
At nine in the morning, Naruto and the others resumed their winter training.
"Sakura, Shion, Karin—come here," Kitazawa called.
"Kitazawa-sensei," the three said as they walked up to him.
Sakura looked the most surprised.
Ever since Kosuke became an instructor for the Advanced Class, she'd been studying Water Style under him.
Kitazawa rarely intervened with her, so being called over so suddenly left her baffled.
Shion and Karin were surprised too—there was still plenty of medical ninjutsu they hadn't learned.
"You can pause your previous training for a while," Kitazawa said with a grin. "I'll teach you Monster Strength first."
"Monster Strength?" Sakura instantly lit up. "Hokage-sama's Monster Strength?"
"Is there any other Monster Strength?" Kitazawa shot back.
Sakura laughed awkwardly, a little embarrassed.
Tsunade was the kunoichi she admired most, and the chance to learn that technique made her momentarily lose her composure.
Shion and Karin weren't as visibly ecstatic as Sakura, but they were just as delighted.
This was Tsunade's signature technique—Monster Strength—belonging to the Fifth Hokage and the finest medical shinobi in the world.
"The key to Monster Strength is chakra control," Kitazawa began teaching.
His lessons usually followed three steps: demonstrate, explain, then leave a shadow clone to guide practice.
As far as chakra control went, Sakura, Shion, and Karin had nothing to worry about.
Anyone capable of learning medical ninjutsu or sealing techniques already had excellent control.
The real difference would be the force they could produce after mastering it.
Shion and Karin's Monster Strength would definitely hit harder than Sakura's.
Simply because they had more chakra.
Shion carried the unique shrine power of the Land of Demons.
And Karin hardly needed explaining—she was an Uzumaki.
Only Sakura lacked any special bloodline advantage, but her talent was solid.
In a couple of years, she could learn the Strength of a Hundred Seal and build chakra through another path.
After teaching them, Kitazawa headed to the Forest of Death.
Sasuke and Naruto's spar had already begun.
Kitazawa watched for a while, then started practicing Wood Style: Wood Golem.
He only stopped when an extremely ominous surge of chakra suddenly erupted.
Kitazawa's expression shifted, and he used Body Flicker at once.
In the next instant, he was in front of Sasuke.
The fight had already come to a halt.
Naruto stared at Sasuke's eyes in shock.
The three tomoe were gone—replaced by a six-pointed star pattern.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Naruto asked quickly, "what's going on with Sasuke's eyes?"
"It's fine," Kitazawa said, shaking his head. "That's the evolved form of the three-tomoe Sharingan—the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"I awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?" Sasuke lifted his head reflexively.
He'd just been beaten so thoroughly he couldn't fight back, and in a burst of fury, he'd felt power explode outward, blasting Naruto away.
After that, he'd frozen in place, his eyes throbbing painfully.
"Yeah," Kitazawa said, nodding. "Close your eyes. Calm your mind. You should receive the information the Mangekyō brings."
Sasuke did as told immediately.
In an instant, a flood of information poured into his mind.
It was the awakening of two ocular techniques—reflections of his heart, born the moment he opened the Mangekyō.
When Sasuke finished absorbing it, he looked blank for a heartbeat.
Then he clutched his forehead and burst into wild laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!"
His laughter echoed through the silent forest.
Naruto scratched his head, not understanding what was so funny.
Kitazawa, however, understood exactly why.
It had to be those two techniques.
The only question was: what were they?
Just then, three lines of text appeared in front of Kitazawa.
His spirits lifted.
With Sasuke awakening the Mangekyō, Kitazawa's system mission had been completed.
[Current Mission: Help Uchiha Sasuke awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.]
[Mission Reward: Mangekyō Sharingan.]
[Mission Complete. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa glanced at it, then stepped back and pressed a hand to his forehead.
A wave of ominous chakra rose inside him—but he forced it back down instead of letting it spill outward like Sasuke's.
Mainly to avoid trouble.
After all, Sasuke was right in front of him.
If Sasuke noticed, it would be impossible to explain.
Kitazawa took a steady breath and checked the information the system poured into him.
What he cared about most was the Mangekyō's ocular techniques.
Because the Mangekyō's strength depended heavily on the abilities it granted.
Take Obito, for example—Kamui was so absurdly powerful it skyrocketed his overall strength.
If he'd had sharper battle sense, he could've been nearly untouchable.
But after finishing the system's information, Kitazawa frowned.
Because he hadn't awakened any techniques.
[When the host completes corresponding system missions, the host can obtain corresponding Mangekyō ocular techniques.]
[Additionally, the host may absorb other people's Mangekyō ocular techniques.]
The text shifted again.
Kitazawa blinked.
So his Mangekyō could have many techniques?
[As a fellow Advanced Class student, you and Uchiha Sasuke must determine who is strongest—the top Mangekyō of the Advanced Class.]
[Current Mission: Defeat Uchiha Sasuke.]
[Mission Reward: Uchiha Sasuke's Mangekyō ocular techniques.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's mouth twitched.
This brain-dead system still remembered he was a "student" of the Advanced Class?
Still—he had to accept this one.
Even if Sasuke's techniques ended up being Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi, Kitazawa wouldn't lose out.
But he hoped Sasuke awakened something else.
Those two weren't exactly the most optimal in practice.
[Detection: The host possesses one Mangekyō Sharingan. If you assemble a pair, you may absorb that ocular technique.]
After Kitazawa accepted the mission, the text changed again. He narrowed his eyes.
After killing Shimura Danzō, he'd kept the Mangekyō he stole—he hadn't returned it to the Uchiha clan.
He'd once planned to have Sasuke absorb Shisui's pair of Mangekyō later.
But the system's wording made him reconsider.
Wait.
He didn't need to change the plan.
He was only absorbing the technique.
In theory, the pair of eyes would still exist.
In other words: he could absorb the ocular technique, and Sasuke could absorb the eyes' power—both could happen.
Kitazawa nodded, satisfied.
He'd been wondering how to get Itachi to hand over the other Mangekyō.
Now he had a perfect reason.
If it was to help Sasuke achieve the Eternal Mangekyō, Itachi would absolutely be willing to produce Shisui's eyes.
"Sasuke," Kitazawa called, snapping back.
Sasuke finally forced himself to calm down, excitement restrained.
His gaze flicked toward Naruto.
The first thing he wanted—after opening the Mangekyō—was to defeat Naruto and get payback for all those beatings.
"Sasuke, you just awakened the Mangekyō. Your control isn't stable yet, so don't spar with your classmates for now," Kitazawa said, reading him easily. "Next semester, you'll have your chance."
Sasuke paused, then agreed.
Kitazawa was right—he hadn't fully mastered his Mangekyō.
His strength had jumped too much at once, and he needed time to adjust.
Most importantly, he didn't want to lose to Naruto because of impatience.
Better to wait until he had total control—then he'd be sure.
"Naruto, your combat training ends here for now," Kitazawa said after thinking. "Next, focus on chakra control training."
Naruto had already reached partial tailed-beast transformation. The next stage was Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Going from controlling a portion of Kurama's power to controlling most of it required far greater chakra control.
Combat training alone wouldn't raise that fast.
"Train with my shadow clone," Kitazawa said, forming seals and splitting off a clone.
"Sasuke, next semester we're having an ultra-youthful battle!" Naruto declared, giving a thumbs-up.
He wanted to fight Mangekyō Sasuke too.
But since Kitazawa said no, he didn't push it. Next semester was fine.
"Hmph. Just don't cry when you lose," Sasuke said, absurdly confident.
"Sasuke," Kitazawa said after a brief pause, "spar with me. I want to understand your current level."
"Do… do I use my Mangekyō techniques?" Sasuke asked hesitantly.
"What?" Kitazawa laughed. "You think you can beat me?"
Sasuke shook his head quickly.
Even though, honestly, he'd been thinking exactly that.
The Mangekyō's boost was just that huge.
"Then let's go," Kitazawa said, stepping back to create distance.
Mission or not, they had to fight.
Sasuke was getting too inflated.
That mindset wasn't good for growth.
Though it did fit his personality.
In canon, Sasuke opened the Mangekyō and immediately charged into the Five Kage Summit.
If Obito hadn't been there, Sasuke might've become the fastest-dead Mangekyō user in history.
The fight began.
Sasuke activated his Mangekyō at once.
Mangekyō Sharingan: Genjutsu!
His eyes shuddered, and terrifying ocular power surged outward.
Kitazawa immediately felt a cold, sinister pressure.
But he had Mangekyō-level resistance—he could ignore Mangekyō-grade genjutsu.
"…?" Sasuke stared at Kitazawa's unchanging expression, a big question mark on his face.
What the hell?
His genjutsu should've been on Kurama Yakumo's level—why didn't it work?
Sasuke didn't have time to overthink it, because Kitazawa moved.
Leaf-Style Swordsmanship!
Kitazawa activated the Byakugan, lightning crackling in his grip as he shot forward at terrifying speed.
Sasuke's pupils shrank.
Even with Mangekyō dynamic vision, he could only catch a blurred shadow.
Instinctively, he raised the Sword of the Thunder God to block.
Clang!
A huge force slammed into him.
Sasuke was shoved backward uncontrollably.
Kitazawa pressed, closing in without hesitation.
He didn't use anything fancy—just pure Leaf-Style swordsmanship.
Hatake-Style Technique!
Sasuke counterattacked at once, but Kitazawa slipped around it easily.
Another strike came.
Sasuke was forced back again.
The clashes rang nonstop.
In only five seconds, Sasuke had retreated more than ten meters.
For the first time, he realized how suffocatingly oppressive "simple" Konoha swordsmanship could be.
But he understood it wasn't the swordsmanship itself.
It was Kitazawa—he was so fast Sasuke's Mangekyō couldn't even see him clearly.
"Not bad, for a Mangekyō," Kitazawa said lightly.
To be fair, Sasuke's performance already exceeded ninety-nine percent of shinobi.
But to Sasuke, the praise sounded like mockery.
Especially since before the fight, he'd been worried Kitazawa might lose.
Instead, it was completely one-sided.
Just not in the direction he'd imagined.
"Kitazawa-sensei—watch out!" Sasuke took a sharp breath and shouted. "I'm using my ocular technique!"
Kitazawa didn't reply, but he got slightly more serious.
Mange kyō techniques varied wildly. One strange ability could flip the table.
If Sasuke somehow beat him, Kitazawa's dignity as a teacher would be gone. That wouldn't do.
Kitazawa's gaze sharpened.
He vaguely sensed an extremely subtle wave of ocular power rushing toward him.
If he hadn't already awakened the Mangekyō—or if he didn't have mastery-level Yin Release—he likely wouldn't have noticed at all.
So this was Sasuke's technique?
Kitazawa decided not to resist.
That hidden ocular power landed on his back, but it didn't cause any discomfort or effect.
Kitazawa frowned, puzzled.
That alone meant it wasn't any of the Mangekyō techniques known in canon.
Then Sasuke suddenly erupted with a surge of chakra.
His chakra began skyrocketing at a frightening speed.
"Did he… copy my chakra?" Kitazawa thought instantly.
He called it copying, not draining, because his own chakra didn't decrease.
Soon, Sasuke's chakra stabilized.
Kitazawa raised a brow.
That's it?
Sasuke's chakra had increased, sure—but only a bit more than double.
Kitazawa had assumed the technique copied the enemy's total chakra pool. Apparently not.
Lightning Release: Chidori Senbon!
Sasuke snapped his arm.
In an instant, lightning lit up the sky.
Countless senbon poured down like a storm.
Kitazawa laughed.
Even that technique's power and range had doubled compared to before.
With enough chakra, everything looked different.
Ice Release: Ice Rampart Hall of Nothingness!
Kitazawa slapped his palms together, and a massive ice wall—over five meters thick—rose up.
All the senbon were blocked.
Then Kitazawa felt something.
In his Byakugan vision, Sasuke vanished—completely.
Kitazawa was certain Sasuke hadn't used Body Flicker or any conventional movement technique.
This felt like… space-time ninjutsu.
A harsh birdlike screech rang near Kitazawa's ear.
He turned and saw Sasuke's right hand wrapped in lightning, slicing for Kitazawa's back.
Kitazawa instantly thought of the "mark" Sasuke had just placed there earlier.
Wood Release: Great Spear Tree!
In the middle of his thought, Kitazawa's arm rippled—then a massive tree burst from his back.
"What?!" Sasuke's Chidori struck the trunk.
It bored a hole clean through, but Sasuke knew the real target was gone.
Kitazawa turned to face him and slapped his palms together.
Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!
The ground shook as countless enormous trees erupted in an instant.
Branches and vines surged toward Sasuke like a writhing nest of snakes.
Sasuke's face changed as he dodged desperately.
Kitazawa nodded slightly.
This was where the Mangekyō truly shined.
Most shinobi wouldn't even be capable of dodging once the Nativity of a World of Trees began.
In the next second, Sasuke vanished again.
Kitazawa turned immediately.
Sasuke appeared right in front of him.
Their eyes met.
Sasuke's eyes widened.
He got spotted that fast?
But he didn't stop—he raised his hand and slammed a Rasengan toward Kitazawa.
"This technique of yours really resembles Flying Thunder God," Kitazawa said, having basically inferred it.
It likely worked by placing a mark on a target, then using that mark to perform spatial movement.
The Mangekyō was the eye that reflected the heart.
Thinking about it, Sasuke awakening this technique wasn't surprising at all.
With it, he wouldn't have to fear Naruto's mass shadow clones anymore.
One: the mark could help him identify Naruto's real body.
Two: the spatial movement let him avoid being swarmed.
Maybe this technique was also influenced by Kitazawa's own Flying Thunder God.
Because the trigger conditions were just that similar.
Whether it was truly identical, Kitazawa couldn't be sure.
As for the other technique, it clearly involved chakra.
Exactly how, he didn't yet know.
But it obviously had something to do with Naruto too.
Sasuke often lost to Naruto simply because he ran out of chakra.
Rasengan!
Kitazawa spread his fingers and formed a spinning chakra sphere almost instantly.
The two Rasengan collided.
Sasuke was forced backward again.
He pulled the Sword of the Thunder God and slashed toward Kitazawa—
Only for that brilliant lightning arc to be blocked mid-swing by a tree trunk that sprang up.
Sasuke didn't dare linger, dodging again as vines and branches closed in from all sides.
Kitazawa stopped holding back.
There was no need to continue dragging it out.
And Sasuke didn't even know the Mangekyō's side effects—he'd already used his ocular techniques three times in a short span.
If this went on, he'd pass out from ocular power depletion.
Yang Release Chakra Mode!
Kitazawa extended a hand.
The entire forest went berserk.
Sasuke couldn't evade in time—vines and branches wrapped him tightly.
Just as he tried to use his Mangekyō again, Kitazawa curled a finger.
A chunk of wood smacked Sasuke on the head, making his vision swim.
"Alright. Sparring ends here," Kitazawa said.
He walked up and healed him with both hands.
When Sasuke woke fully, he wore a look like his entire worldview had collapsed.
How could he awaken the Mangekyō and still lose this badly?
Didn't his father say the Mangekyō made you one of the top shinobi in the world?
Back then, Uchiha Madara fought Senju Hashirama to a standstill because of the Mangekyō.
Clearly, something about that story was missing.
[Current Mission: Defeat Uchiha Sasuke.]
[Reward: Uchiha Sasuke's Mangekyō ocular techniques.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa stared at the text, anticipation rising.
Then a flood of information poured into his mind.
Now he understood exactly what Sasuke's two techniques did.
The left eye technique was called Amenotokotachi.
Its effect: designate a target, leave an ocular mark on them, and then instantly teleport to the target's side.
It really did resemble Flying Thunder God—but there were differences.
First, it couldn't bring people along, and it couldn't bring objects along.
But it was stronger than Flying Thunder God in one key way: it only required a single glance to leave the mark.
However, the number of marks was limited—at most five could exist at the same time.
Second, the mark could be detected.
But only if the observer had a higher level of Yin Release than Sasuke.
Erasing the mark also took time.
Kitazawa tested it—at his level, he'd need about half a second.
If it were Itachi or Obito, it would likely take one to two seconds.
Finally, the teleportation range was limited to what Sasuke could see.
If it was outside his line of sight, he couldn't activate it.
In short, Amenotokotachi was like a weakened Flying Thunder God.
But that didn't mean it was weak—on the contrary, it was terrifying.
Except for a very small number of people, anyone facing it would be helpless.
The right eye technique was called Amano Iwato.
Its effect: massively increase the user's chakra for one hour.
How much it increases depends on the user's ocular power—up to ten times.
With Sasuke's current ocular power, it increased his chakra by about two times.
The moment Kitazawa saw that, he felt like he'd hit the jackpot.
Because this technique was absurdly perfect for him.
A tenfold chakra boost could make him the number-one chakra monster in the shinobi world.
Even if it only lasted an hour—if he mastered Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands, one hour would be more than enough to sweep the entire world.
If the hour was exceeded, the technique would begin burning the user's lifespan.
Kitazawa stroked his chin.
In his view, Amenotokotachi and Amano Iwato were stronger than Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi.
At the very least, next semester, Sasuke would finally have a real shot at defeating Naruto.
Naruto's Yin Release wasn't nearly good enough to detect Amenotokotachi.
And with Amano Iwato giving Sasuke an hour of massive chakra, beating Naruto would no longer be a fantasy.
"Sasuke, you don't need to come to the academy for a while," Kitazawa said with a smile as he dismissed Nativity of a World of Trees. "Stay home and get used to your Mangekyō."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," Sasuke replied gloomily.
He'd just gotten crushed too badly.
"Let's go. I'll take you back," Kitazawa said.
He also wanted to speak with Itachi about Shisui's Mangekyō.
"Okay," Sasuke nodded.
The two headed toward the Uchiha district.
"Dad! Nii-san!" Sasuke couldn't contain his excitement as they neared home—he sprinted into the courtyard.
"Why are you so reckless?" Fugaku Uchiha stepped out. When he saw Kitazawa, he scolded Sasuke with an even sterner tone.
"Dad! I awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!" Sasuke declared proudly.
"What did you say?" Fugaku's eyes widened in disbelief.
An adult awakening the Mangekyō this early was still something he hardly dared dream of.
"Look!" Sasuke said, immediately activating his Mangekyō.
The moment Fugaku sensed that terrifying ocular power, he stopped doubting.
After two stunned seconds, he burst into loud, unrestrained laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! That's my son! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Fugaku completely forgot about dignity.
~~~
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