The class bell rang.
As Kitazawa stepped into the Second Year Class A classroom, the chatter died instantly.
You could've heard a pin drop.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Kitazawa," he said with an easy smile. "Starting today, I'll be teaching your Fire Will and Ninjutsu classes."
A small wave of excitement rippled through the room.
"Awesome! It really is Kitazawa-sensei!"
"We've been waiting for you forever!"
"Only two classes? Can't you teach more?"
Kitazawa raised a brow, amused by their enthusiasm.
'Wow. Mizuki's body isn't even cold, and they've already moved on?'
Of course, he wasn't surprised. Kids didn't dwell on nuance. Mizuki had been… underwhelming at best. With no bond formed, there was no one to mourn. In contrast, Kitazawa had already built a solid reputation—especially after leading first years to victory in that recent friendly match.
"Alright, everyone. Open your textbooks."
He picked up a pen and tapped it against the board. "Today's lesson is on the Will of Fire."
Compared to the first year, the second-year curriculum dug deeper into the philosophy—but for Kitazawa, the material was second nature, regardless of grade level.
By the time the class ended, the room was quiet—but not with boredom. It was the silence of students who didn't realize how fast time had flown.
Kitazawa left the room as the dismissal bell rang.
'The real business starts during Ninjutsu class.'
"Wait, class is over already?"
"That's the fastest a lesson's ever gone by!"
"Class might actually be fun now!"
The students buzzed excitedly in his wake.
"Compared to Mizuki-sensei, Kitazawa-sensei is on a whole different level," one student whispered.
Tenten turned to Neji. "What do you think?"
"It was… fine," Neji said bluntly.
Coming from him, that was practically high praise.
"I actually understood everything!" Rock Lee beamed, fist clenched. "So this is the power of youth!"
"..." Tenten and Neji exchanged a look of helpless amusement.
Back in the faculty office, Kitazawa returned to his desk. He still had work to do—namely, reviewing questions for the upcoming June monthly exams.
With no new system missions related to the exam, he wasn't particularly invested. Even Naruto's extra training drills had been temporarily put on pause.
After sorting through the submitted questions, he created a Shadow Clone to handle the paperwork. The original Kitazawa headed out to the academy's artificial lake.
Training was in full swing.
On the water's surface, a Shadow Clone version of himself was sparring with Shikamaru, who was awkwardly trying to dodge water jutsu.
Not far off, Sasuke launched a fiery attack.
His Great Dragon Fire jutsu had finally reached beginner proficiency, now manifesting as a legitimate—but still rather small—fire dragon.
'More like a milk dragon', Kitazawa thought.
On the sidelines, Sakura was absorbed in a medical textbook.
If studying counted as training, she was progressing faster than anyone—perhaps even faster than Kitazawa himself.
She really lived up to her reputation as one of the original's top female characters—and the highest scorer in theoretical exams. At this rate, Kitazawa figured she'd be ready for basic medical ninjutsu next week.
Tsunade would teach him. He would teach Sakura. A satisfying cycle.
Ino, meanwhile, was off to the side practicing her Mind Body Switch jutsu.
Kitazawa strolled over to Hinata, who was mid-practice.
He gently adjusted her wrist a few centimeters.
"That last movement was a little off."
"S-Sorry, Kitazawa-sensei," she said, clearly flustered.
"It's fine," he replied calmly. "Mistakes are part of learning. Just correct it."
He stepped back and observed as Hinata straightened her posture, eyes focused in quiet determination.
—
That afternoon, on the training grounds...
Second Year Class A was assembled in rows.
"I don't know much about your current strength," Kitazawa began, his voice carrying across the field. "So, today—our first Ninjutsu class—we'll be sparring."
"You mean… with you?" Tenten asked, hand raised.
Kitazawa smiled. "Exactly. I want to see you all at your best."
This was how he planned to take on the task involving Neji: organically, within the flow of class.
"One by one. Let's begin with the first in line."
"Yes!" A young boy stepped forward, clearly nervous.
He took a deep breath and performed the Clone jutsu.
Three copies of him rushed forward, trying to confuse Kitazawa's vision.
One punch per clone.
Down they went.
"I… I surrender!" the boy gasped, flat on the ground.
"Your Clone jutsu was solid," Kitazawa commented, nodding.
Next was a little girl.
She opened with the Transformation jutsu, morphing into a towering, muscular man nearly twice Kitazawa's size.
The illusion was bold—but shallow.
One punch, and she too hit the dirt.
"Needs work," Kitazawa said gently. "But a creative attempt."
Most first-years had only learned Clone jutsu. Some second-years had begun working on Transformation. A few had dabbled in basic elemental jutsu—but only at the lowest level.
Overall, the class was clearly more advanced than his previous students.
Still, none of them held a candle to the original nine rookies.
Not yet.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Rock Lee landed with a smooth aerial roll, thrusting out a thumbs-up.
"Let's have a battle full of passion and youth!"
Kitazawa didn't reply.
He simply kicked.
"Eh—It's Leaf Whirlwind too?!"
Rock Lee lit up with excitement. "Then I'll use—Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
He launched into a spiraling kick of his own.
Bang!
Their legs collided—and Rock Lee was sent flying backward, his sandals barely touching the ground.
"So strong!!" He gasped mid-spin, thrilled rather than hurt.
But he landed on his feet and immediately charged back in.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Lee opened with another sweeping kick, followed by a sharp jab toward Kitazawa's torso.
Kitazawa leaned back with a casual grace, effortlessly avoiding the strike. In the same motion, he caught Lee's wrist.
Lee's eyes widened in alarm.
Before he could react, Kitazawa twisted his wrist, throwing off his balance, and then drove a solid kick into his side, sending him skidding several meters across the training field.
"Again!"
Lee popped up, shaking out his wrist, eyes shining with determination.
Watching from the side, Tenten couldn't help but comment, "Lee's improved so much..."
Neji glanced over. Though his face remained stoic, even he was a bit surprised.
Still, the gap between them was large. And for now, unchanging.
"All right. That's enough sparring for now," Kitazawa called, putting some distance between them.
He'd already gotten a rough idea of Lee's current strength—just slightly below Naruto's when the latter didn't use Shadow Clones. But purely in terms of Taijutsu? Lee was among the best in both years.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Tenten stepped forward with a respectful bow. "Please instruct me."
Kitazawa felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
From her name to her twin-bun hairstyle and even her clothes—Tenten really did have the flair of a certain mysterious Eastern nation.
Of course, the Naruto world was filled with such cultural nods: the Eight Trigrams, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, the Bashōsen, Son Gokū...
"Whenever you're ready."
Kitazawa spun two kunai into his palms.
Tenten immediately unsealed a scroll—countless weapons spilled out in a glittering arc.
Still standing still, Kitazawa casually flung his two kunai straight into the stream of airborne weapons.
Tenten narrowed her eyes. Those weren't hers.
She scanned the flurry of metal for the intruding kunai, quickly identifying the odd pair—and retaliated by hurling a volley of shuriken.
A chorus of metallic clangs rang out.
Kitazawa's kunai dropped to the ground—one on each side of her, blades buried deep in the dirt.
Seeing this, Tenten smirked and reached for another scroll.
But her smile froze.
The kunai bounced back up.
Then—whoosh—they spun toward her in perfect symmetry.
Tenten's pupils shrank.
She finally noticed the thin, translucent ninja wires attached to them.
She blinked in stunned silence as the blades whizzed harmlessly past her cheeks.
"I surrender," she said dryly.
Kitazawa gave a subtle nod and retrieved his weapons.
"Next."
Hyuga Neji stepped forward with calm, deliberate grace.
Kitazawa offered a slight smile.
'Finally—the main event.'
Neji activated his Byakugan without a word, veins around his temples bulging with chakra flow.
In a blur, he vanished forward with a body flicker.
He struck, aiming directly at Kitazawa's vital point.
But Kitazawa didn't move an inch—he simply snatched Neji's wrist.
'So fast!' Neji thought, lowering his arm to slip the grab and immediately countering with a strike to Kitazawa's thigh.
Before his hand landed, a sharp chop descended on his wrist—precise and devastating.
His chakra stalled for an instant.
His strike fizzled out on contact.
Was that a coincidence?
Did he actually hit my chakra point?
Neji narrowed his eyes but kept moving. He spun to the side and threw another palm strike, this time from his left.
Kitazawa calmly clenched his right fist—and slammed it straight into Neji's palm.
A surge of numbness spread through Neji's left arm.
He tried to retreat—but Kitazawa caught his hand and flipped him with an over-the-shoulder throw.
His body hit the ground hard.
Disoriented, Neji sat up, stunned.
Every move he'd made—every Gentle Fist strike—had been effortlessly read and countered. Kitazawa didn't have the Byakugan. He wasn't Hyuga. He shouldn't even know Gentle Fist…
So how...?
"Are you alright?"
Kitazawa walked over, offering his hand.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei," Neji said, accepting the gesture. "You're… very strong."
He said it flatly, as if reporting a fact—not conceding defeat.
Kitazawa thought to himself, 'As expected of a proud genius.'
[Current Mission: Defeat Hyuga Neji, the strongest in First Year Class A.]
[Reward: Byakugan purity +10%]
[Mission Complete — Reward Granted]
Kitazawa gave him a friendly smile.
"But your strength still isn't enough. If you don't push yourself harder… you might lose to Hinata next semester."
Neji's expression froze.
In the original story, Naruto broke Neji's pride with fists first—then words.
Kitazawa preferred the same method. It worked best on geniuses.
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