"Good morning, Teacher Kitazawa." Ino greeted him with a bright smile.
Beside her was Hinata. She remained shy and quiet, hiding behind Ino. Her greeting was so soft that Kitazawa nearly missed it.
"I made a bento." Ino took out a lunchbox and offered it proudly. "Teacher Kitazawa, please try it!"
"Thank you." Kitazawa accepted it with a soft sigh.
"I didn't expect you to already know how to make a bento at your age."
"Of course!" Ino placed her hands on her hips. "I'm amazing!"
Kitazawa glanced at her instinctively. Unlike her appearance in the original story, Yamanaka Ino wasn't wearing clothes that exposed her slim waist and abdomen.
His deepest memory of her from his past life was exactly that—her bare midriff.
Hinata stared at the bento with envy. She had been immersed in Gentle Fist training since childhood and never had the chance to learn how to make lunch.
"It tastes great." Kitazawa took a bite of the rice ball and praised sincerely.
A line suddenly flashed through his mind: It's time for dinner again. Kitazawa brought food to Hinata every day, but ironically, he hadn't spent a single penny.
All the money came from Hinata herself.
And now with Yamanaka Ino bringing breakfast too, Kitazawa realized something strange: he was unintentionally living off others.
"Teacher Kitazawa, do you think I can beat Sakura in tomorrow's water-walking training?" Ino asked, eyes filled with expectation.
"Yes." Kitazawa nodded after a short pause.
Although Sakura had slightly better chakra control, the gap wasn't wide. Considering their brief time in school, Ino had the upper hand in overall strength.
After a few days of training, it was completely possible for her to surpass Sakura.
"Great!" Ino's confidence soared.
Kitazawa smiled and continued eating. Soon, he and Ino had finished. Only Hinata was still eating quietly. Taking advantage of the time, he opened his character panel.
[~ Name: Kitazawa
Age: 6
Attributes: Wind, Fire, Water
Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan
Ninjutsu: Three Basic Jutsu: [Clone, Transformation, Substitution], Body Flicker Technique, Wind Style: Gale Palm, Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, Shurikenjutsu, Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique, Konoha Whirlwind, Konoha Great Whirlwind, Konoha Strong Whirlwind, Genjutsu: Tree Binding Death, Blood Coagulation Technique, Shadow Clone, Sexy Jutsu, Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere, Water Style: Water Wall, Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation
Evaluation: You have the strength of a Jonin at six years old. You're the next Sage of Six Paths—your reputation will echo across the ninja world. ~]
Compared to the last time he checked, the panel had undergone an overwhelming transformation. Especially the sheer number of ninjutsu—it far exceeded what ordinary ninjas could achieve.
Only those born into great ninja clans or exceptional civilians like Namikaze Minato could master so many techniques.
One stat that wasn't displayed was chakra. As always, the system stubbornly treated him as a six-year-old child.
Kitazawa exhaled slowly. Even though the system acted dumb, it was undeniably powerful. In under two months, his strength had skyrocketed to Jonin-level.
If the truth got out, he'd be hailed as a super genius, even more freakish than Uchiha Itachi.
And there was still time. By the time Naruto and Sasuke graduated, he might genuinely become the next Sage of Six Paths.
"I'm done, Kitazawa-sensei." Hinata set down her chopsticks gently.
"Alright." Kitazawa stood up. "Let's go train."
---
The three of them arrived at the artificial lake—only to be greeted by an uninvited guest.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Uchiha Sasuke stepped forward. "I want to study more Fire Release techniques."
Yesterday's internal match had ignited his sense of urgency, prompting him to come early. He'd considered asking Fugaku or Itachi, but they'd been too busy to find time for him.
"Alright." Kitazawa didn't hesitate. After all, he had just triggered a mission related to Sasuke yesterday. He was also interested in one-handed hand seals.
"Hinata, Ino—wait for me a moment." Kitazawa turned to Sasuke.
"I'll teach you Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Technique. It's a C-rank jutsu."
"Thank you, Teacher Kitazawa." Sasuke looked surprised. He hadn't expected Kitazawa to teach him a technique so closely tied to the Uchiha clan.
"I'll demonstrate first." Kitazawa formed hand seals with both hands and fired a series of flame balls from his mouth.
"I'll try." Sasuke copied the seals.
A second later, multiple fireballs shot forward. He stood stunned. He'd succeeded on his first try? It must've been due to his improved chakra control and understanding of elemental change.
"Not bad." Kitazawa nodded.
"But you're far from mastering it." Sasuke had barely performed the technique. He lacked control over trajectory, fireball size, and precision.
The real power of the Phoenix Fire Technique was its unpredictable movement—making it hard to evade. More importantly, Sasuke's mission hadn't been completed. It means he hasn't mastered it yet.
"Do you understand?" Kitazawa explained the critical points.
"Yes. Thank you, Teacher Kitazawa." Sasuke nodded earnestly, humbling himself again. His earlier pride had vanished. He was still far from truly mastering the jutsu.
In his heart, he imagined how proud Fugaku and Itachi would be once he succeeded.
"Keep practicing. Ask me if you run into problems." Kitazawa instructed.
"Understood." Then Sasuke suddenly asked, "Teacher Kitazawa, will I be facing Hyuga Neji in the friendly match with second-year Class A?"
"That depends on your performance," Kitazawa replied vaguely. He was actually planning to let Kurama Yakumo face Neji.
But if Sasuke could surpass Neji, that would be ideal. It would be tough though, as Neji had already awakened his Byakugan.
"Alright, you two start your training too." Kitazawa turned and resumed training Hinata and Ino.
By afternoon, Kitazawa left them to continue on their own and headed to Class 1-A for a practical lesson.
"Teacher Kitazawa!" Naruto ran up excitedly. "Are we still doing physical training today? It's kinda boring. Got something new?"
"Yes." Kitazawa smiled. "The five students selected yesterday will begin practical training."
"Practical training?!" Naruto's eyes lit up. "Another one-on-one battle? Awesome!"
Since Hinata and Sasuke weren't present, Kitazawa had Naruto, Shino, and Choji participate in the combat session. But before class ended, Kitazawa felt a sharp gaze.
He instinctively looked up—and saw Tsunade approaching from a distance.