A new day dawned—Wednesday.
After getting dressed, Kitazawa went next door to Ichiraku Ramen for breakfast. As he ate, he mentally reviewed his remaining tasks.
Since acquiring the system, he had triggered a total of eight tasks.
So far, three remained unfinished—those related to Kurama Yakumo, Hyūga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke.
Among them, helping Yakumo return to the Ninja Academy was by far the most troublesome.
Fortunately, he had Yūhi Kurenai's help.
They had already agreed to visit the Kurama clan together on Saturday.
After finishing breakfast, Kitazawa headed to the classroom.
The first period today was his Will of Fire class.
"Teacher Kitazawa."
The moment Hinata saw him, a faint sense of joy welled up inside her.
However, her strict upbringing and shy nature prevented her from showing it. She still appeared reserved and proper.
Kitazawa naturally sat down beside her.
The system had designated Hinata as his deskmate.
To avoid invalidating the task, he had to play along—at least on the surface.
Besides, with Hinata being this adorable, who would dislike sitting next to her?
"Hinata."
Kitazawa turned to her and said,
"After this class, come to my office."
"O-okay."
Hinata froze briefly, then nodded.
"You're not going to ask why?"
Kitazawa asked with a smile.
"W-what's the reason?"
Hinata tilted her head slightly and asked obediently.
"Special training."
Kitazawa replied.
Hinata immediately recalled what had happened in the grove yesterday.
In one month, she would face Toranosuke in a one-on-one match—and Kitazawa had promised to train her personally.
"Thank you, Teacher Kitazawa."
Hinata looked away, her face faintly red.
Thinking about how she had panicked and hugged him yesterday made her feel a little embarrassed.
Why are you blushing now?
Kitazawa noticed the change in her expression and felt puzzled.
Just then, a wave of noise suddenly erupted in the classroom.
Kitazawa turned his head and saw Uchiha Sasuke walking in.
A certain saying surfaced in his mind—read more books, watch fewer Uchihas.
Sasuke scanned the room, paused for a moment, then changed direction.
He walked straight up to Kitazawa.
"Good morning, Teacher Kitazawa."
"Good morning."
Kitazawa nodded slightly with a smile.
Not far away, Nara Shikamaru and the others exchanged glances.
"Did the sun rise from the west today?"
Inuzuka Kiba glanced out the window.
"Is this the first time Sasuke's ever greeted a teacher on his own?"
"As far as I remember, yes."
Shikamaru replied thoughtfully.
Being an Uchiha and a genius, Sasuke was naturally proud.
Coupled with having an absurdly accomplished older brother, he usually treated academy teachers with indifference.
So why was he suddenly so polite?
"My guess is Teacher Kitazawa actually teaches well."
Aburame Shino pushed up his sunglasses and said.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Haruno Sakura didn't care what had happened between Sasuke and Kitazawa.
Heart-shaped eyes blazing, she rushed over.
"..."
Sasuke's expression grew even colder as he silently returned to his seat.
"Women are terrifying."
Shikamaru sighed.
"Ahem."
Chōji elbowed him lightly.
Shikamaru suddenly realized something was wrong and stiffly turned to look at Yamanaka Ino.
"Am I terrifying?"
Ino put her hands on her hips and flicked her blonde bangs, clearly annoyed.
"I'll treat you to a barbecue tonight."
Shikamaru blurted out in desperation.
"Then what about me?"
Chōji's eyes lit up instantly at the word barbecue.
"I'll treat you too."
Shikamaru said painfully.
The Akimichi clan were all bottomless pits—his hard-earned allowance would probably vanish in one night.
"No beef tonight."
Shikamaru quickly added.
Beef was the most expensive; skipping it would save a lot of money.
"No beef? Okay…"
Chōji replied with deep regret.
The bell rang.
Right on schedule, Kitazawa ended the lesson and left the classroom with his teaching materials.
Hinata hesitated for a few seconds. Making sure no one was paying attention, she quickly stood up and followed him out.
Kitazawa stopped at the door to his office.
When he turned around, he spotted Hinata sneaking over.
"Why do you look like a thief?"
Kitazawa teased.
Hinata lowered her head shyly.
"Come in."
Kitazawa opened the office door and walked inside.
Hinata quietly let out a sigh of relief.
"Do you have a habit of previewing lessons?"
Kitazawa asked as he set down the lesson plan.
"Yes."
Hinata answered softly.
"I read through today's material last night."
"Good."
Kitazawa smiled.
"In that case, come skip class with me."
"E-eh?"
Hinata instinctively lifted her head.
A teacher leading her to skip class?
She must have fallen under a genjutsu.
"This is called efficient time management."
Kitazawa said with a perfectly straight face.
"You've already mastered the material—there's no need to sit through the class."
"B-but…"
Hinata immediately became flustered.
Skipping class was completely opposite to everything she had been taught since childhood.
For a moment, she didn't know whether she should listen to him.
"There's no 'but'."
Kitazawa said casually.
"It's just skipping class."
This was all part of the plan.
A person's personality is largely shaped by their environment.
Hinata grew up in the Hyūga clan, surrounded by rigid rules—hence her current temperament.
To change that, the first step was to break the rules she had internalized.
"I… okay."
Hinata looked at his smile and, before she realized it, nodded.
"Let's go."
Kitazawa patted her head.
Under his lead, the two arrived at a section of the academy wall.
"There are guards at the main gate."
Kitazawa explained.
"We'll climb over."
"Ah?"
Hinata looked completely lost.
Kitazawa leapt up and landed on top of the wall.
He said nothing—just beckoned to her.
Hinata's mind went blank, her heartbeat accelerating.
She had never imagined that on her third day of school, she'd be skipping class—and climbing over the academy wall, no less.
Yet for some reason, she felt an unprecedented thrill.
Biting her soft lip, Hinata hesitated for a few seconds, then jumped with all her strength.
Kitazawa caught her wrist, steadying her.
Together, they jumped down, clearing the wall.
Hinata instinctively pressed a hand to her chest, her face flushed bright red.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/NightScript