Senju Bloodline

'A thank-you gift from Uchiha Itachi?' Kitazawa felt something subtle stir within him.

He had always kept his distance from Itachi—after all, anyone who could kill their own parents was truly terrifying. Unless, one day, Kitazawa himself became Hokage, it was best to maintain caution.

'Itachi was frightening, but he had been brainwashed by the Will of Fire and turned into a blade for Konoha. In his mind, maybe even Uchiha Sasuke didn't compare to the importance of the village.'

"Sasuke, thank your brother for me." Kitazawa put away the ninjutsu scroll and said calmly.

There was no reason to refuse it. Besides, it wasn't a free gift. He had truly helped Uchiha Sasuke improve his strength—he'd earned this.

"Okay, Kitazawa-sensei." Sasuke nodded.

"Let's go. I'll take you to training." Kitazawa smiled and patted his shoulder. With this scroll, he had just whitewashed—or legally obtained—four Fire Style jutsu. A massive gain.

He took Sasuke to the Ninja School's training ground, left a shadow clone there, and quietly departed.

Sasuke had nearly mastered the Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique. There was no need to supervise him directly.

After breakfast, Kitazawa summoned Hinata and Ino for training. This time, Sakura joined as well.

Meanwhile, he returned to the classroom to prepare for the day's first lesson—The Will of Fire.

"Teacher Kitazawa!" Naruto dashed to the podium, his eyes full of anticipation. "Check my homework! I want to see how many points I got!"

His 'homework' was actually a mock test paper Kitazawa had given him. Hinata had received the same treatment before—it was practically half-cheating. If it weren't for the system task, he wouldn't go through this much trouble.

He picked up the paper and began reviewing it.

Naruto had been doing mock tests for nearly a month now. Though still behind Sasuke and the others, memorizing by repetition paired with Kitazawa's methods had produced results.

"Not bad—84 points." Kitazawa closed the paper and gave his evaluation.

"Yes! I finally got over 80!" Naruto clenched his fists in joy.

"Don't get too excited. Practice scores aren't the real thing." Kitazawa's tone turned serious. "And if you want to make it into the top ten, you'll need at least 90."

Naruto scratched his head but couldn't hide his smile. For someone like him, 84 was a personal best.

"Starting today, you'll have extra practice." Kitazawa smiled.

"Eh?" Naruto's excitement froze. "How?"

Though brave in battle, he feared only one thing—homework. This past month of effort was driven solely by the reward Kitazawa promised and the top-ten challenge.

"Remember what I said? If you reach the top ten, I'll teach you a new jutsu." Kitazawa knew he needed to bait him properly.

"Of course I remember!" Naruto replied instantly.

"The jutsu is the Shadow Clone Technique—B-rank," Kitazawa emphasized.

Naruto trembled, eyes watering.

"But I'm changing the reward method." Kitazawa cut him off before the passionate speech could begin.

"Huh?" Naruto, who was about to yell something inspiring, was stunned.

"I'll teach you the Shadow Clone Technique today and give you additional training based on how well you perform." Kitazawa chuckled. "If you slack off, more test papers. If you do well, just a few more questions."

Naruto was stunned. He didn't know whether to feel happy or miserable. Learning the Shadow Clone Technique was exciting… but did it have to come with test questions?

"Well? What do you think of this training method?" Kitazawa patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Teacher Kitazawa. I'll work hard!" Naruto clenched his teeth. The allure of the Shadow Clone Technique still outweighed the dread of test questions.

"After school, don't leave. Head to the school training ground." Kitazawa returned the test paper. "Class is about to begin. Go back to your seat."

"Okay!" Naruto took his paper and returned to his desk.

Time passed quickly. By dusk—

"That's the end of today's practical class."

Kitazawa clapped his hands.

"Goodbye, Teacher Kitazawa!" The students of Class 1-A began to leave. Soon, only Naruto remained.

"Alright, Naruto." Kitazawa formed hand seals. "I'm going to teach you the Shadow Clone Technique now."

In the original series, Naruto mastered the advanced version—Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu—in a short time. But that was after graduation. He already had a foundation back then.

Now, Naruto was far from that level.

"Add half a test paper tonight," Kitazawa said two hours later.

Naruto, who had just begun grasping the technique, looked like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. But Kitazawa had taught him a B-rank jutsu—without the follow-up work, it would be meaningless.

"Yes, Teacher Kitazawa." Naruto accepted the test paper obediently.

Kitazawa was about to speak again when his expression changed.

[Current Task: Help Uchiha Sasuke learn his second Fire-Style ninjutsu.

Reward: One-Hand Seal.]

[Mission Complete. Reward Issued.]

Kitazawa nodded with satisfaction. As expected, Sasuke was truly gifted—completing the task in no time.

[~ Your eternal rivals, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, are both learning new jutsu. You can't allow yourself to fall behind.

New Task: Learn a B-rank ninjutsu within half a month.

Reward: 10% Senju Bloodline. ~]

"Holy—!" Kitazawa blurted out when he saw the reward.

Everyone knew a ninja's true ceiling was determined by their bloodline. With the blood of the Senju or Uchiha, a ninja's potential would skyrocket. The Uchiha's strength lay in their eyes, while the Senju's lay in their body.

Senju Hashirama's body was so powerful that his cells remained active even after death. Of course, Hashirama was an anomaly.

Kitazawa guessed that the Senju blood provided by the system wouldn't be at that level. Even so, it was enough to excite him. Because having 10% now meant he could eventually collect more.

Someday, he might even surpass Hashirama himself. He just didn't know how much impact that 10% would have yet.

As for the mission, Sasuke had come at the perfect time with four Fire-Style jutsu. Kitazawa just needed to pick one to learn.

Half a month? He touched his chin thoughtfully. With his current mastery-level chakra control and fire attribute, it shouldn't be too hard.

"Come on, Naruto. Sensei's treating you to Ichiraku Ramen." Kitazawa grinned.

"Huh? Did something good just happen, Sensei?" Naruto blinked, confused by the sudden mood shift.

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