Chapter 88

Artificial Lake at the Ninja Academy Shikamaru Nara strolled lazily halfway around the artificial lake, glanced around, and sighed when he saw Kitazawa was nowhere in sight. With a relieved grunt, he plopped down beside the water, rubbing his temples. "Man... Is there a way to be lazy and still get stronger?" An idea struck him. Shadow Clone Jutsu. If he mastered that Jutsu, he could make his clone do all the hard work. Let the clone train, let it sweat—while the real him lounged around. But then a horrifying thought dawned on him. "What if... my Shadow Clone ends up just as lazy as me?" He groaned. "What a stupid jutsu—why let clones keep your personality?" No doubt, his clone would lie under a tree right next to him, both of them napping in sync. Just then, the surface of the lake rippled. Shikamaru instinctively looked up—just in time to catch a wave of cold water splashing into his face. With a yelp, he tumbled into the lake. Gurgle. Gurgle. Two mouthfuls of grimy lake water later, he climbed out, sputtering and soaked. "Which idiot—! ...Sensei?!" Shikamaru blinked in disbelief as he spotted Kitazawa standing nearby, smirking. Caught red-handed slacking off, Shikamaru flushed with embarrassment. Kitazawa folded his arms. "Your chakra control’s solid. I’m raising the difficulty." The only cure for laziness... is pressure. "The water from earlier—?" "Exactly," Kitazawa replied. "From now on, I’ll be attacking you with Water Style jutsu while you practice water-walking." Shikamaru shivered. "Uh... I need to change clothes first?" "Nope." Kitazawa shut him down instantly. "If you run off now, I’m calling your parents." "Wait—what? That’s not fair! You’re a sensei; you can’t just—" "Contacting parents is a teacher’s right," Kitazawa replied smoothly, the corner of his mouth quirking up. Shikamaru was dumbfounded. ’This guy’s too good at this...’ "But your wet clothes are a valid concern," Kitazawa said thoughtfully. Shikamaru perked up—’Was he finally letting him off the hook?’ "Next round, I’ll use Fire Style. That’ll dry your clothes." Shikamaru stared at him. "...Thanks, sir." ’Did I just call him ’sir’?’ he thought miserably. Kitazawa chuckled. "Relax. You won’t get burned." He was confident—his chakra control was excellent, and his mastery over Fire Release was practically clinical. Shikamaru sighed. "Sensei, please go easy on me. I haven’t even gotten married yet..." "You’ll be fine. You’ll see." Kitazawa formed hand seals and exhaled a controlled fireball. Shikamaru flinched and bolted. "Stop!" Kitazawa barked. Shikamaru paused, trembling... then blinked in surprise. The fireball hovered at a precise distance—close enough for him to feel its warmth, not its burn. His wet clothes dried in moments. Ten minutes later, Shikamaru’s amazement gave way to awe. Maintaining a jutsu for that long with exact heat and size? That was insane chakra control. ’Wait... If he’s this strong, why is he even a teacher?’ ’And more importantly, why is he tormenting me?’ Tears welled up in his eyes as he endured a training session that alternated between raging fire and icy water. By noon, it finally ended. "Not bad," Kitazawa said, dismissing the fireball. "That’s enough for today." Shikamaru collapsed on the ground, gasping. Throughout the session, Kitazawa had switched between Water and Fire Release so many times, Shikamaru felt like he’d been used to test new jutsu combinations. "You’re done for the day. Head home and get checked by a medical ninja." Kitazawa’s voice was calm but laced with concern. Hot and cold training could be risky. He could’ve examined Shikamaru himself, but he needed to keep a few things under wraps. Especially from Tsunade. Just like how he kept the incident with Hinata’s injury hidden, letting other medics handle it. The more Tsunade underestimated his abilities, the easier it would be to maintain his genius persona. "Wait..." Shikamaru’s eyes sparkled. "So, I don’t need to attend classes this afternoon?" "Nope. But review your textbooks on your own." "Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Shikamaru grinned. A rough morning was a worthy trade for an afternoon of freedom. Kitazawa smiled faintly. ’Kids are simple. Too much training breeds rebellion. Half training, half rest—balance is key.’ "Hinata! Time for lunch!" He called out to Hinata, who was practicing palm strikes nearby. She hurried over, and he ruffled her hair affectionately before dispelling his Shadow Clone. Sasuke, Ino, and Sakura had already left for their lunch break. After all, training was important—but so was rest. Back at the office, Kitazawa and Hinata finished lunch. He told her to nap in the classroom while he prepared to nap on the office couch. Bang! The door flew open. He didn’t even need to look up. That dramatic kick could only belong to one person. His gaze shifted down—to a pair of red-painted toenails. Only Tsunade wore those. "Lady Tsunade," Kitazawa said, sitting up. "Do you need something?" "Yeah. Money." She held out her hand. Kitazawa blinked. "...Money?" "The Rasengan bet," she said casually. "It’s been two and a half days—you won’t finish in time. Just lend me 500,000 ryo for now." She’d clearly come straight from a casino. "Lady Tsunade," Shizune said sternly from behind, "we should come back tonight." "I didn’t lie!" Tsunade snapped. Then turned back to Kitazawa. "Well?" "Not happening," he replied. Tsunade scowled. "Why so inflexible?" "Because I already won." He raised his hand, chakra swirling. A perfectly formed Rasengan spun in his palm. Tsunade froze. "No way..." She leaned in close, her cleavage jiggling dangerously near his face. Kitazawa’s eyelids twitched. ’That’s a visual jutsu if I’ve ever seen one.’ "He learned the Rasengan in two and a half days?" Shizune gawked. "That’s... that’s absurd!" Even Jiraiya had taken longer. Kitazawa dismissed the jutsu. "A bet’s a bet," he said with a smile. Tsunade groaned. "Fine. But if you want to learn medical ninjutsu from me, you’ll need to pay tuition. I charge by the hour." ’Why does that sound vaguely threatening?’ Kitazawa pulled out his passbook. "I only have 500,000." At least he got powerful jutsu in return—and if this put him under Tsunade’s wing, he’d essentially join the Hokage lineage. "Good. Smart kid." Tsunade snatched the passbook and patted his shoulder approvingly. "Shizune." Shizune handed him a scroll. "These are basic medical ninjutsu texts. Study them thoroughly." Kitazawa twitched. ’Didn’t I just give Sakura the same assignment this morning? Now I’m the one buried in textbooks.’ "You’ve got two weeks," Tsunade added. "We’ll start training next month." Kitazawa nodded. "I’ll visit after school." [You have gained Tsunade’s attention. Please continue to work hard.] [New Mission: Earn Tsunade’s initial approval] [Reward: Chakra Scalpel] Accept Mission? Absolutely. The Chakra Scalpel was elite-level medical ninjutsu—both a surgical tool and a lethal weapon. "I’m off. Time to win back my losses," Tsunade said, already itching for the next gamble. "Good luck!" Shizune called out, then turned to Kitazawa and added with a smile, "I hope you become her student. Maybe then she’ll stay put." Kitazawa finally lay down for a nap. Afternoon came. Training resumed with Hinata, Sasuke, Ino, and Sakura. As the final class approached—Combat Training—Kitazawa called everyone together. "I’m teaching a new Taijutsu today," he announced. "Come join the class. You’ll benefit too." The four followed him to the training field, where Class 1A students were already assembled. "Before we begin, I have an announcement." Kitazawa raised his voice. "This semester’s final exam will be a combat sparring match." "Awesome!" Naruto punched the air, grinning. He was confident—physical tests were his strength, and now that it was a sparring match, he had a real shot at top three. "Sasuke!" he flashed a thumbs-up. "Let’s have a fiery youth battle!" "..." Sasuke twitched. Why was everything about youth with this guy? Still, Naruto was right. The real fight would be between them—and maybe Hinata, now that she had awakened the Byakugan. Kiba sighed. "What’s up, Kiba?" Shino asked. "I wish I could be as confident as Naruto..." Shino stared. ’You’re jealous because you can’t brag? Ambition, huh...’ "Where’s Shikamaru?" Choji looked around. "Sensei gave him the afternoon off," Ino said. "Lucky..." Choji felt a twinge of envy. "Alright, let’s begin." Kitazawa clapped. "To prepare for combat exams, I’ll be teaching you Konoha-Style Taijutsu." "Konoha-style?" Ino’s eyes widened. "That’s not part of our usual curriculum!" Shino adjusted his glasses. 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