Hinata Hyūga wandered down the street in a daze.
When she had skipped class before, Kitazawa had been with her. She hadn't needed to think—just follow him.
But now, she was alone.
After walking for a while, an idea came to her.
She turned and headed back to the small woodland.
This time, fear did not rise in her heart.
Hinata took a deep breath and began tree-climbing practice.
Perhaps because her mindset had changed, everything felt unusually smooth today.
By noon, she reached the treetop for the very first time.
Hinata clenched her fist and waved it lightly, a smile blooming on her small face.
She glanced at the sun, realized the time, and quickly jumped down, sprinting toward the Ninja Academy.
"Teacher Kitazawa!"
Hinata jogged into the office.
"So punctual?"
Kitazawa set down the bento boxes one by one and teased,
"Looks like my Summoning: Lunchtime jutsu has reached mastery."
"I—I…"
Hinata blushed, unsure how to explain herself.
She really hadn't rushed back because she was hungry.
"Come eat."
Seeing her flustered expression, Kitazawa couldn't help but laugh.
Hinata grew even more embarrassed, but her body betrayed her—she obediently sat down across from him.
"Where did you go this morning?"
Kitazawa handed her a pair of chopsticks and asked.
"I… I completed the tree-climbing training!"
Hinata suddenly remembered and quickly looked up at him.
"Well done."
Kitazawa met her gaze and spoke sincerely.
"You're the first one to finish it. Even Sasuke hasn't managed yet."
Hinata's lips curved upward uncontrollably, her small feet swinging gently in the air.
It wasn't her first time being praised.
But it was the first time she'd been praised by someone whose approval truly mattered to her.
In her heart, Kitazawa now ranked just below her father, Hiashi Hyūga.
"Improved chakra control will help you greatly when learning Gentle Fist,"
Kitazawa said after a moment's thought.
"Of course, tree-climbing alone isn't enough."
"I'll work harder!"
Hinata's eyes lit up immediately.
If she could master Gentle Fist quickly, Father would surely acknowledge her.
Kitazawa knew exactly what she was thinking.
She and Sasuke were alike—both yearning for their fathers' approval.
And their dilemmas were also similar.
As the saying goes: comparison breeds despair.
Sasuke had Itachi.
Hinata had Neji.
And Neji Hyūga was unquestionably a once-in-a-generation genius.
In the original timeline, he had mastered techniques reserved for the main family—Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Rotation—entirely through self-study.
"Have you activated your eyes yet?"
Kitazawa took a bite of fried shrimp and asked.
Unlike the Uchiha, whose Sharingan required emotional stimulation, the Hyūga's Byakugan could be awakened through training alone.
In theory, every Hyūga ninja could activate it.
The problem was that once awakened, there was no further evolutionary path—nothing like one-tomoe, two-tomoe, three-tomoe, or Mangekyō.
That was why Neji eventually fell behind Sasuke in the later stages.
Though, admittedly… Neji never had a later stage.
"No."
Hinata shook her head softly.
Kitazawa wasn't surprised.
In canon, Hinata first used the Byakugan during the Chūnin Exams—certainly not this early.
He scooped up some rice and chewed slowly.
He knew nothing about the Byakugan or Gentle Fist, so he couldn't guide her directly.
But he already saw hope.
Once he completed Hinata's task, he would obtain the Byakugan himself.
"There's a monthly exam in April."
After some thought, Kitazawa asked,
"Do you want first place?"
"Me?"
Hinata froze, confusion written all over her face.
"I can give you special training."
Kitazawa's real plan for building her courage wasn't skipping class.
It was something else entirely—public speaking.
An academy-wide speech.
Standing in front of everyone required real courage.
And after the monthly exams, outstanding students would be asked to give speeches.
"Thank you, Teacher Kitazawa."
Hinata didn't quite understand, but she didn't want to refuse him, so she agreed.
"It's nothing."
Kitazawa smiled, saying nothing about the speech—for now.
That afternoon's practical class was still ninja tool throwing.
This time, however, it wasn't kunai, but shuriken.
Each tool had different characteristics, so retraining was unavoidable.
Still, for clan prodigies, it wasn't difficult.
At the secluded training ground behind the academy—
What had once been Sasuke's private tutoring spot now included Hinata, Ino, Naruto, and Yakumo.
"Naruto and Yakumo, go run."
Kitazawa gave orders.
"Ino and Sasuke, continue tree-climbing."
"Yes, Teacher Kitazawa!"
Naruto responded with full enthusiasm and took off running.
Yakumo watched him, eyes filled with envy.
She followed Kitazawa's instructions and began slow jogging.
"Teacher Kitazawa,"
Ino asked curiously,
"Isn't Hinata practicing tree-climbing?"
"She's already completed it."
Kitazawa replied with a smile.
"That's amazing!"
Ino exclaimed.
She knew firsthand how difficult it was.
Sasuke's body stiffened slightly.
He clenched his fist unconsciously.
He was… slower than Hinata?
The so-called prodigy felt a surge of frustration and immediately turned to climb again.
"Sasuke-kun, wait for me!"
Ino hurried after him.
"Hinate, let's go to that tree."
Kitazawa explained,
"Still tree-climbing—but you'll need to dodge my thrown weapons."
He took out two wooden kunai.
"I understand!"
Hinata nodded firmly.
Tree-climbing under interference was far more difficult.
But her nature—gentle yet resilient—meant she never ran from challenges.
Chakra surged to her feet as she began climbing.
"Careful, Hinata."
Kitazawa warned as he threw the first kunai.
He gave verbal cues at first.
Once she adapted, he stopped warning her.
Half an hour later—
Sasuke reached the treetop.
He let out a breath and smiled.
Then something occurred to him.
He jumped down immediately.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Reaching an open area, Sasuke rapidly formed seals.
Chakra surged, condensing into a massive fireball.
Sasuke froze.
Before, his fireball had barely been larger than a fist.
Now it was more than twice the size of a basketball.
If it hit an enemy, serious injury was guaranteed.
More importantly—
It was already one quarter the size of the Great Fireball Itachi had demonstrated.
One week of training had produced this result.
What about a month?
Would Father finally say—
"As expected of my son."
At the thought, Sasuke pressed a hand to his forehead, his body trembling.
Then—
"Hahahahaha!"
He burst into unrestrained laughter.
Kitazawa twitched at the corner of his mouth and looked up at the sky.
Clear weather, as expected.
At that moment, four lines of text appeared before his eyes.
[Your lifelong rival, Uchiha Sasuke, is riding high and has issued a provocation.]
[Current Task: After Sasuke's Great Fireball surpasses Uchiha Itachi's, surpass him using Fire Release.]
[Reward: Fire Release · Majestic Destroyer Flame]
[Accept?]
Hey—what's wrong with you?!
System, why are you this evil?
But… Kitazawa loved it.
Besides, even for the reward alone, he had to accept.
Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame was a B-rank technique.
In canon, its combat record was undeniable.
During the Fourth Shinobi World War, over twenty Water Release users—mostly jōnin—had to jointly cast Water Formation Wall just to block Uchiha Madara's version.
In short—
The difficulty of learning did not equate to a ceiling of power.
This was a fire technique with terrifying potential.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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