Kitazawa had one fewer class today than yesterday.
In the morning, it was Will of Fire.
In the afternoon, Practical Training.
After finishing his classes, he returned to his office.
He casually picked up the assignments on his desk and started flipping through them.
There was no homework for practical training—only Konoha History and Will of Fire had written assignments.
Both were fairly easy. Everyone passed, and a handful of students even stood out.
What surprised Kitazawa was that Uzumaki Naruto was among them.
Looks like it wasn't that Naruto was bad at theory—
it was that no one had ever taught him properly.
This wasn't Kitazawa flattering himself.
In the original story, Naruto was famously the dead last—the academy's "dead weight."
Theory? Terrible.
Practical skills? Just as bad.
That was what death last meant.
Soon, it was time for the final class of the day—practical training.
"Today's lesson is still kunai throwing."
Kitazawa stood in front of the students and said,
"Those who haven't mastered it yet will continue practicing. Those who have may move freely."
A wave of delight spread through the class—especially among the clan prodigies like Uchiha Sasuke and Nara Shikamaru.
After all, free activity basically meant no class.
"Damn it! I miscalculated!"
Inuzuka Kiba froze on the spot, face full of regret.
"If I'd known, I would've shown my real strength yesterday!"
"Today, I'm definitely hitting the bullseye!"
Naruto clenched his fist with determination.
He'd already accepted Kitazawa's snack reward in advance yesterday—
if he still didn't get it today, that would be way too embarrassing.
Hinata glanced at Kitazawa.
After a brief hesitation, she decided to stay and continue practicing kunai throwing.
Even though she had already mastered it.
"This teacher is really something. I like him."
Shikamaru found a patch of grass, lay down comfortably with his hands behind his head.
"Yeah."
Chōji sat beside him, pulled out a bag of chips, and started crunching happily.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura darted over to Sasuke and asked eagerly,
"Can you teach me that kunai trick from yesterday—the one that curves?"
"I don't have time."
Sasuke rejected her mercilessly and walked off to the other side of the training ground without even looking back.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!
Sasuke formed hand seals. Chakra surged, condensing into a fist-sized fireball in midair.
Disappointment flickered across his face.
Everyone called him a genius—but compared to his brother, Uchiha Itachi, he felt painfully average.
Itachi could master the Great Fireball after seeing it once.
He couldn't.
"Why…?"
Sasuke clenched his teeth.
He just wanted to learn it sooner—to earn praise from his father and brother.
Every time he imagined that moment, the corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously.
But reality was cruel.
"Your chakra control is lacking."
A voice suddenly spoke up behind him.
Sasuke turned—and saw Kitazawa.
He froze for a moment. Something shifted in his eyes, then quickly settled back into calm.
A regular chūnin teacher, he thought.
Not even an Uchiha. What could he possibly know about the Great Fireball?
He didn't think Kitazawa had anything to offer.
"Come with me."
Kitazawa clearly saw through Sasuke's thoughts.
Which was hardly surprising—this was the proud Uchiha clan.
But an opportunity to complete a mission was rare. He wasn't going to miss it.
"Where?"
Sasuke asked, puzzled.
"You'll see."
Kitazawa led him to a quiet training area within the academy grounds.
Sasuke was about to speak—
Then he saw something that left him utterly stunned.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!
Kitazawa unleashed it at full power.
A massive fireball roared out, far larger than anything Sasuke had ever produced.
What truly shocked Sasuke was this—
It was even bigger than the one his brother Itachi used.
It completely shattered his understanding of reality.
"Want to learn?"
Seeing Sasuke standing there dumbfounded, Kitazawa smiled.
"I can teach you."
The Great Fireball was the Uchiha clan's signature technique, but because it was easy to learn and powerful, many non-Uchiha ninja knew it as well.
Including Kitazawa's now-deceased team leader.
Because of that, he didn't have to worry about anyone questioning where he'd learned it.
Sasuke took a long moment to snap out of it.
If he could produce a fireball like that—
His father and brother would definitely look at him differently.
"Teacher Kitazawa, I want to learn."
Sasuke's eyes burned with motivation as he spoke immediately.
At this stage, he wasn't yet the withdrawn Sasuke from the original story.
There was no need for false pride.
"To master the Great Fireball," Kitazawa said with a gentle smile,
"You need to work on two things."
"First—chakra control.
Second—chakra nature transformation."
The original story never explained how Fire Release nature transformation was trained, but it did explain Wind Release.
When Naruto trained with Asuma, the process was:
First—cut a leaf.
Second—cut a waterfall.
Third—apply the transformation to actual ninjutsu.
"For you, nature transformation is still too early," Kitazawa continued.
"I'll first teach you how to improve chakra control."
He pointed at a nearby tree.
"Gather chakra in your feet and climb it."
The Great Fireball also involved shape transformation—
But since it was only a C-rank jutsu, not the Rasengan, the difficulty was low.
Just make it bigger and rounder.
"That's it?"
Sasuke looked unconvinced.
"Try it."
Kitazawa simply smiled.
He remembered that Sasuke hadn't succeeded the first time he tried tree-walking in the original story.
Back then, Sasuke had already graduated.
Now? He'd just enrolled.
If anything, it would be worse.
"I'll climb it in one go!"
Sensing Kitazawa's doubt, Sasuke snorted and walked to the tree.
He infused chakra into his feet and stepped onto the trunk.
"This is easy—"
Two steps in, confidence crept onto his face.
Then—
Midway up, his expression changed, and he fell straight down.
"How was it?"
Kitazawa asked with a smile.
"It—it was the bark! Too slippery!"
Sasuke's face flushed as he stubbornly protested.
He scrambled back up, took a deep breath, and tried again.
[Current Mission: Obtain Uchiha Sasuke's initial recognition.]
[Mission completed. Reward issued: Fire Release — Phoenix Flower Jutsu.]
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.
So tsundere resistance really has been power-crept out of the meta.
A flood of information filled his mind.
Watching Sasuke struggle up the tree, Kitazawa suddenly thought of a problem.
How was he supposed to explain the source of these system-granted jutsu?
Low-level techniques could be attributed to his deceased team leader or fallen comrades.
Dead people were convenient. No one could verify anything.
But higher-level jutsu—B-rank and above—were a different matter.
There were only two legitimate ways to obtain jutsu in Konoha:
One—being taught by a master.
Two—being rewarded by the village.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
[Your lifelong rival Uchiha Sasuke is training diligently. You cannot fall behind.]
[Current Mission: Master a C-rank jutsu faster than Uchiha Sasuke.]
[Mission Reward: Manipulated Shuriken Technique.]
[Do you accept?]
The sudden notification made Kitazawa freeze.
A lifelong rival? Me?
A regular chūnin becoming the destined enemy of a savior?
That was… the system setting him up.
He didn't mind new missions—but this one looked simple on the surface and was anything but.
He had no new jutsu to learn—even if it was only C-rank.
Go ask Sarutobi Hiruzen?
Kitazawa rubbed his temple.
He had no achievements to his name yet.
Going to the Hokage now would just make him look presumptuous.
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