"Good morning, Hinata."
Kitazawa opened the door to find a petite figure standing there.
"Good morning, Kitazawa-sensei,"
Hinata Hyūga quickly straightened herself.
"Sit down, let's talk."
Kitazawa walked forward, sitting opposite her. He opened his summoning storage scroll and laid out the breakfast he had bought.
"Congratulations on scoring first in the class and top of the year," he said, handing her a rice ball with a smile.
"It's all thanks to your help, Kitazawa-sensei. I couldn't have done it without you," Hinata said earnestly, holding the rice ball in her small hands.
"You're welcome," Kitazawa replied, pinching her cheek lightly.
Hinata froze for a moment, instinctively lowering her head as a flush spread across her face.
"There's one more thing," Kitazawa said, taking a bite of his rice ball. "Do you know about the top student representative?"
"N… no," Hinata murmured softly.
"This Friday, the school will hold an awards ceremony," Kitazawa explained. "One student will be selected to give a speech in front of the entire school."
"D… do you mean…?"
Hinata's voice faltered, fear creeping in.
"You guessed right," Kitazawa said, smiling. "The Hokage has decided—you'll be the top student representative for the ceremony."
"Ah?"
Hinata's pupils contracted. Her mind reeled at the thought of speaking in front of the whole school.
"N-no, I can't!"
She waved her hands and shook her head, resisting vehemently.
"Hinata," Kitazawa grasped her hand. "Why not?"
"I…"
She felt warmth through his hand, and her anxiety subsided slightly.
"I'm afraid I won't do well," she admitted, ears red.
"Then do your best," Kitazawa said gently. "But if you don't try, you'll never know."
Hinata opened her mouth, hesitating. A small voice in her head urged her: Try. Don't disappoint Kitazawa-sensei.
"You have five days—it's enough time," Kitazawa encouraged. "If it really doesn't work out, someone else can take over."
"O… okay," Hinata relented, unable to refuse.
"These next two days, write your speech," Kitazawa instructed, noticing her neck blush.
"Mm," Hinata inhaled deeply, still nervous. Her mind felt blank.
"Eat first," Kitazawa said, placing a glass of milk before her. "Finish class, then return to the office to write your speech."
Hinata nodded shyly.
After breakfast, they headed to the first-year A-class classroom.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto Uzumaki called out excitedly.
"Naruto, why are you so happy?"
Kitazawa asked.
"It worked! My new transformation technique works!"
Naruto said, practically bouncing.
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow but quickly found it reasonable.
The transformation technique was an E-rank ninjutsu; the seduction technique was derived from it, also E-rank.
Kakashi Hatake, a genius elite jonin, could master an E-rank technique effortlessly—and the specialty aligned perfectly.
"I'll demonstrate it now!"
Naruto said eagerly.
"Wait!"
Kitazawa stopped him.
Performing a seduction technique in class would ruin his teaching career.
"Demonstrate after class," he decided. "We'll go to the training ground."
"All right," Naruto said, disappointed at missing the chance to impress the class.
Kitazawa exhaled in relief—his job was safe.
The first lesson was Will of Fire.
Before class, Kitazawa told Sasuke Uchiha to join them at the training ground after school.
Skipping class was usually forbidden, but Sasuke, like Hinata, could keep pace even if he missed lessons.
After class, the three went to the training ground.
"Can I show it now?"
Naruto asked impatiently.
"Show what?"
Sasuke asked curiously.
"My new transformation technique!"
Naruto said proudly. "I invented it myself!"
"What?"
Sasuke froze. He couldn't reconcile "inventing a ninjutsu" with Naruto. As a genius, he'd never manage such a feat.
Seeing Sasuke flustered only heightened Naruto's excitement.
"Sasuke, close your eyes," Kitazawa instructed.
"Fine," Sasuke reluctantly complied.
"Watch carefully!"
Naruto formed the hand seals. As chakra surged, his appearance shifted—revealing a stunning blonde beauty.
Kitazawa was prepared, remaining composed.
Sasuke, however, hadn't expected this. Shock rendered him speechless, and his nose bled.
"How's that, Kitazawa-sensei?"
Naruto twirled.
"Undo the transformation first," Kitazawa said, eyes wide.
"O-okay,"
Naruto reverted.
"How… how can you create such a ninjutsu?!"
Sasuke stammered, finger trembling. He felt… unclean.
"Any problems?"
Naruto asked innocently.
Sasuke could only choke silently, defeated by Naruto's naivety.
"This technique is potent, but should only be used in life-or-death situations,"
Kitazawa said with a cough. He had mastered the seduction technique while Naruto demonstrated—its mechanics were almost identical to the transformation technique, with minor modifications.
"All right, back to class," Kitazawa waved them off.
"Goodbye, Kitazawa-sensei,"
Naruto said, heading back to class.
At that moment, Kitazawa's vision flashed three lines of text:
[Current Mission: Learn your lifelong rival Naruto Uzumaki's signature ninjutsu—Seduction Technique.]
[Mission Reward: 10% chakra increase.]
[Reward granted upon mission completion.]
Kitazawa clenched his fists instinctively, feeling a surge of energy.
This is Power!
Adjusting, he formed hand seals.
Sasuke gaped in disbelief as a massive ten-meter-high fireball appeared before him, the searing heat overwhelming—like staring directly at the sun.
"Can this Fireball Jutsu surpass your brother?"
Kitazawa asked with a smile.
With the 10% chakra boost, he advanced from mid-level chunin toward high-level, almost reaching the step below Kurenai's rank as a jōnin.
"Y-yes," Sasuke swallowed.
"All right, now I'll teach you fire-nature chakra transformation," Kitazawa said seriously.
"Do you know the property of fire chakra?"
"Burning," Sasuke replied after thinking.
"Correct," Kitazawa nodded, picking up a leaf. "Your training is simple: make it catch fire."
Sasuke placed his left hand under the leaf, right hand above, channeling fire-nature chakra.
The leaf's surface dried under the heat—but it hadn't ignited yet.