"I can cancel the rule, so you won't have to do any more homework," Kitaizawa said, looking into Yamanaka Ino's bright blue eyes. Then he shifted his tone and asked, "But are you really okay with that?"
"No way!"
Ino froze for a second, then quickly nodded with determination. "I want Sakura to taste my suffering too!"
As expected of a best friend.
Seeing her response, Kitaizawa couldn't help but smile.
He had done it on purpose — to ignite Ino's competitive spirit.
The two might be close friends, but they were also rivals — lifelong ones, even.
"When it comes to chakra control, Sakura does have a slight edge over you," Kitaizawa said calmly.
"But in terms of fundamentals, you're far better than her."
"Mm-hmm!" Ino nodded in agreement.
"Hard work can make up for natural shortcomings," he explained.
"You just need to take a bit of time from other lessons and put it toward chakra control training."
"What should I do then?" Ino asked eagerly.
"Skip class."
Kitaizawa said it with a casual smile.
Ino blinked blankly.
After a moment, she glanced at Hinata and suddenly understood.
What he meant was simple: Skip classes she'd already mastered and spend that time practicing water-walking.
"I'll make the arrangements for you."
Kitaizawa pulled out a class schedule and said casually, "Don't worry about Iruka — I'll talk to him."
"Thank you, Kitaizawa-sensei!"
Ino happily brushed aside her golden bangs.
"Alright, the classes I crossed out here — you can skip them for the week."
He handed her the schedule.
Ino glanced over it and saw that more than half her classes were gone.
With all that extra time for training, she was sure Sakura would soon be beneath her heel.
"Kitaizawa-sensei," Ino said with hopeful eyes, "can you train me yourself?"
"Of course." Kitaizawa agreed easily. "You'll train together with Hinata."
"Thank you, Sensei."
Ino turned toward Hinata, extended her hand, and said, "Let's do our best together!"
"Ah… o-okay."
Hinata wasn't used to Ino's enthusiasm but still shook her hand shyly.
"Let's go," Kitaizawa said, leading them to the school's artificial lake.
Hinata could train anywhere, as long as there were trees nearby.
But Ino's water-walking practice needed an actual body of water.
"Ino," Kitaizawa said, flicking his fingers. Two leaves shot out like projectiles. "I'll use these to disrupt you."
Seeing this, Ino's gaze sharpened.
From their speed and force, Kitaizawa's leaves were far more dangerous than the wooden kunai Sakura used.
If they hit her, it would definitely hurt.
But for the sake of making Sakura do double homework, she braced herself.
Ino focused her chakra into her feet and stepped onto the water.
"Hinata, get ready," Kitaizawa reminded. Then he raised both hands.
Chakra surged, drawing in dozens of leaves from both sides.
With a thought, the leaves shot forward.
Ino and Hinata immediately fell into a flurry of movement, dodging as best they could.
After half an hour, the two were exhausted, plopping down on the ground to rest.
"Hinata, you're amazing," Ino said between gasps, admiration in her tone.
"Eh?"
Hinata blinked, completely taken aback by the sudden praise.
"You lasted so long under this kind of training. I couldn't keep up," Ino admitted, waving her hand.
Hinata froze, unsure what to say.
Under Hiashi Hyūga's harsh education, she had grown up without confidence.
But after meeting Kitaizawa, she had slowly begun to regain it.
And now, hearing Ino's words, she realized maybe she wasn't as useless as she once thought.
"Thank you," Hinata said sincerely.
"You're kind of weird," Ino chuckled. "Why are you suddenly thanking me?"
"I…" Hinata glanced instinctively at Kitaizawa.
"What do you girls want for lunch? My treat," Kitaizawa said, picking up on her silent plea.
"I want grilled meat!" Ino said instantly, rubbing her belly. "We burned so much energy today — I need to refuel!"
"I'm fine with anything," Hinata said softly, secretly relieved by the topic change.
After a short rest, the three continued training until noon.
Then Kitaizawa took them to a yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant.
Since Hinata had already confessed her "big appetite" secret to her father, Hiashi, she no longer hid it.
"Y-you…"
Ino stared, dumbfounded.
The mountain of meat vanished into Hinata's stomach, leaving Ino's worldview in shambles.
"I've… always had a big appetite," Hinata said bashfully, looking a little uneasy.
She feared Ino might distance herself because of it.
"That's… so unfair!" Ino finally sighed in awe.
"Eh?" Hinata tilted her head, confused.
"To eat that much and not gain a single pound — that's every girl's dream!" Ino explained.
"Really?" Hinata asked blankly.
Maybe Kitaizawa-sensei was right — being able to eat well really was a blessing.
At that moment, her mindset completely changed.
–––
After classes ended, Kitaizawa went to the school's conference room.
It was yet another meeting about the upcoming monthly exam — much like the last one.
Each teacher was to prepare their own test questions.
Kitaizawa didn't care much about it.
What did matter was Naruto's performance — could the boy make it into the top ten this time?
"Kitaizawa."
After the meeting, Mizuki approached him and said, "Don't forget about our class-versus-class match."
"Of course not." Kitaizawa nodded calmly.
"Good." Mizuki grinned. "I was worried you might back out."
"I'm more worried you'll make excuses when you lose," Kitaizawa replied evenly.
"You—!" Mizuki clenched his fists. "I won't—no, we won't lose!"
"We'll see," Kitaizawa said, glancing at him before walking off.
Mizuki was clearly blinded by hatred now, treating a simple friendly match like a war.
But that was fine.
It only worked to Kitaizawa's advantage.
He was sure that Hiruzen Sarutobi would either attend or secretly observe the match.
If Naruto performed well, that could mean another reward for him.
–––
Wednesday.
Inside the Hokage's office.
BANG!
The door was kicked open.
"Who dares—"
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up in shock — only to see a familiar figure.
She was back.
The only one who'd ever dared to kick his door open — not even Danzo went that far.
"Tsunade," Hiruzen muttered.
"Old man," Tsunade said bluntly, cutting to the chase.
"Where are Kurama Yakumo and Kitaizawa? I want to see them."