Ichiraku Ramen.
"I'm full! Thanks for the treat!"
Might Guy stood up, flashing his usual gleaming smile. "Kitazawa, if you ever want to train in taijutsu again, you know where to find me!"
"Of course," Kitazawa replied with an easy nod.
"I'll go meet that Rock Lee kid you mentioned," Guy said, still grinning brightly.
"See you next time."
Kitazawa gave him a small nod of farewell.
As he watched Guy disappear down the street, a thought crossed his mind—had he just changed Rock Lee's destiny?
If Lee started training in the Eight Gates six years earlier than in the original timeline… what would happen when he eventually faced Gaara of the Sand? Would things still end the same way?
"I'm full too, Kitazawa-sensei," Hinata said softly, putting down her chopsticks.
The large bowl of char siu ramen before her had been polished completely clean.
"Teuchi-san, another bowl," Kitazawa called casually.
"You eating again?" Teuchi leaned over the counter, eyebrows raised.
"Not me—Hinata," Kitazawa said with a chuckle.
"Eh?"
Teuchi blinked in surprise, looking toward the timid girl sitting beside Kitazawa.
"I…" Hinata fidgeted, face turning pink. She wanted to refuse, but the words caught in her throat.
"Hinata," Kitazawa said gently, reaching out to pinch her cheek. "Tell your sensei honestly—are you really full?"
"N-No…" she admitted in a tiny voice, her face bright red.
Teuchi let out a small sigh of amazement. "Guess you really can't judge a book by its cover."
He disappeared into the kitchen, and moments later returned with another steaming bowl of ramen.
Under Kitazawa's expectant gaze, Hinata blushed even deeper but picked up her chopsticks once again.Despite her shyness, her etiquette was impeccable—each bite graceful, every movement refined.
Ten minutes later, the second bowl was gone.
"Teuchi-san, another bowl," Kitazawa called out again.
Hinata pressed her lips together, her entire face glowing red now.This was the first time anyone had ever discovered her little secret—she had quite the appetite.
"Chakra is formed from a balance of physical and spiritual energy," Kitazawa said in a reassuring tone. "So being able to eat a lot just means your body's healthy."
Just then, glowing text appeared in front of Kitazawa's eyes:
[You've discovered your classmate's secret. As class representative, you must help her while keeping it confidential.][Current Mission: Feed your classmate Hinata Hyūga until she willingly reveals her secret.][Reward: Byakugan.][Accept Mission?]
Kitazawa's pupils shrank.
He'd done plenty of system missions before—but they'd always rewarded him with basic jutsu.Useful, sure, but nothing world-shaking.
This was completely different.
The Byakugan—that was priceless.
In the ninja world's black markets, both the Sharingan and the Byakugan fetched astronomical prices—starting in the tens of millions of ryō.
And because of the Hyūga Clan's Caged Bird Seal, a pair of intact Byakugan eyes was even rarer—worth as much as an elite jonin like Asuma Sarutobi.
After all, eyes in this world were plug-and-play.
Even a standard pair of Byakugan could drastically enhance his combat potential.X-ray vision, long-range perception, chakra flow detection—any one of those would make him a powerhouse.
If he could then learn Gentle Fist techniques… promotion to jonin would be effortless.
"Hinata," Kitazawa said seriously, snapping back to reality. "Eat as much as you want. Teuchi-san and I will keep your secret safe."
"Keeping customer secrets is part of the job," Teuchi said with a firm nod.
"T-Thank you," Hinata murmured, cheeks still glowing as she started on her third bowl.
Time passed quietly.
By the end, she had finished seven full bowls of ramen.Far less than the gluttonous Akimichi clan, of course—but impressive for a girl her age.
Teuchi could only whistle in amazement.
If she didn't have the Hyūga's signature white eyes, he'd have sworn she was secretly an Akimichi.Still, as a ramen shop owner, big eaters were always welcome customers.
"Hinata, how are you feeling about this morning's training?" Kitazawa asked as they left Ichiraku and walked back toward the Academy.
Hinata hesitated, her steps slowing.
She didn't know how to put it into words.For her, this had been the most rebellious morning of her life—skipping class, climbing over walls, and eating bowl after bowl of ramen.
It was thrilling… and strangely freeing.
"I… I felt happy," she whispered so softly that Kitazawa almost missed it.
He smiled faintly as they reached the classroom door of Class 1-A.
"See you next period, Hinata," he said. "Today's special training went really well. Let's keep up the momentum tomorrow."
Hinata's cheeks grew even hotter.She gave a small nod, then practically fled into the classroom.
It was lunch break.Several students were napping on their desks.
"Hinata!"
Ino Yamanaka lifted her head from her arms, curious. "Where did you go?"
In Ino's eyes, Hinata was the model student—the kind who'd never break a rule.Who would've thought she'd be the first one in the class to ditch a lesson?
"I… I went out with Kitazawa-sensei for a bit," Hinata said nervously.
"Kitazawa-sensei?" Ino sat up straight, interest piqued.
"It's n-not what you think… we just practiced taijutsu," Hinata mumbled, burying her face in her arms. "Good afternoon."
Ino raised a brow, thoughtful.
Extra training without telling us?
That didn't sound like Kitazawa, but… something definitely seemed off.
—
That afternoon, Kitazawa stood on the Academy training field, explaining kunai-throwing techniques.
They'd moved from stationary to moving targets—a huge step up in difficulty.
But for students from ninja clans—Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyūga, and the like—it was still child's play.They'd mastered such basics long before entering the Academy.
Soon, the students were split into two groups:those who successfully hit the moving targets were dismissed for free practice, while the rest continued drills.
Just like before, Sasuke wandered off toward his favorite tree to practice chakra control.
Kitazawa followed shortly after.
"Hey, should we go see what they're doing?" Ino whispered, noticing their odd behavior.
"No thanks," Shikamaru muttered from where he was sprawled in the grass. "Too troublesome."
Choji didn't even look up—he was too busy munching on his chips.
"Hinata, let's go," Ino said suddenly, grabbing her friend's hand.
Sakura Haruno stayed behind, still practicing her kunai throws.Her talent was solid for a civilian-born ninja, but she lacked the early training the clan heirs had enjoyed.
"Eh?" Hinata hesitated, uncertainty clouding her pale eyes.She was curious, yes—but more than that, she was afraid of upsetting Kitazawa.
Ino didn't give her time to think. "Come on!" she said, pulling her along.
Moments later, they arrived—just in time to see Sasuke climbing the tree.
"You two are here too, huh?" Kitazawa said, noticing them. "Good. You can join in."
"Kitazawa-sensei," Ino said cheerfully, stepping forward. "What kind of training is this?"
Hinata peeked up at him briefly, then looked down again, her face faintly red.
"Chakra control training," Kitazawa explained. "Normally, you wouldn't do this until after graduation. But you're all talented enough to start early."
He smiled, eyes glinting with quiet pride.
And as the sunlight fell across the training field, three young prodigies stood before their teacher—each one unknowingly taking their first steps toward the future of the Leaf.