Kitagawa walked through the streets, replaying his evening with Tsunade.
He hadn't exactly made a great first impression, but at least they'd interacted. And he'd definitely left a memorable one.
Not a bad start.
But...
Kitagawa touched his face. Looks like I'm not handsome enough. Otherwise, I should've closed the deal right then and there.
Getting Tsunade's necklace is going to be a long game.
Thinking about the rewards for pulling it off, Kitagawa felt energized.
Can't stop getting stronger. Without solid power as a foundation, everything else is meaningless.
He immediately used Body Flicker and zipped home at top speed.
After a shower, Kitagawa stripped down to the waist and headed to his study.
It was filled with books his parents had left behind, along with jutsu scrolls and reference materials. Both his parents had been direct subordinates to the Hokage—one a special jonin, the other a chunin—so they'd left behind a decent inheritance.
For example, he had three copies of Shadow Clone Jutsu, a B-rank technique. The other two were Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique and Earth Style: Earth Wall Technique.
Before his innate talent awakened, Kitagawa had mastered four C-rank and above jutsu: C-rank Water Style: Water Whip, C-rank Earth Style: Decapitation from the Earth, B-rank Shadow Clone Jutsu, and B-rank Earth Style: Earth Wall.
For a chunin to master this many jutsu was already excellent. Plus, he'd mastered two chakra nature transformations. You could straight-up say he had "jonin-level potential."
So becoming Class One's ninjutsu instructor and homeroom teacher was just the natural result of his strength.
Can't stop physical training, but ninjutsu can't fall behind either.
Sitting on the floor, Kitagawa studied the Water Dragon Bullet scroll and formed hand signs, guiding his internal chakra.
When someone's focused, time disappears.
Before he knew it, it was midnight. Kitagawa wiped sweat from his brow and glanced at the clock. Man, I was working overtime in my past life, and I'm still grinding now. This is rough.
His tears started flowing again.
This tear duct is seriously overdeveloped.
Kitagawa wiped his eyes, stretched, and dragged himself to bed.
His body and mind both crashed hard, and he was out like a light.
5 AM. The alarm went off, and Kitagawa jerked awake.
Just a dream.
He was shaken. Thank god it was just a dream...
In the dream, he'd fought Tsunade again, but right in the middle of things, she'd suddenly punched him. It got brutal.
He threw off the blanket and rushed to the bathroom to shower and change his pants.
...
The ninja academy, morning.
After just one month, the general education instructors applied to end their courses.
But looking at the grade reports, Kitagawa's brows furrowed deeply.
General Education Teacher Ryōta noticed why. "Obito Uchiha's grades are indeed very poor, but we can't waste everyone else's time because of one student."
"Besides, Obito's only bad at the written tests. He's actually excellent at hand signs."
Kitagawa nodded. "I understand."
"I don't object to ending the course. As for Obito's issues, I'll handle them."
With an 80% excellent rate and 99% good rate, those numbers showed Ryōta was doing fine as an instructor.
Ryōta relaxed a bit.
He didn't want to deal with Obito anymore. That kid gave him a headache—he'd never seen a student this dense.
Kitagawa signed off on the course completion form and smiled. "Thanks for your hard work these past weeks, sensei."
Ryōta smiled back. "Actually, teaching was pretty easy. Most of the students had already picked up some knowledge, which is why we moved so fast."
"As for Obito's problem..." He shook his head and lowered his voice. "Kitagawa, he's from the Uchiha clan. Even if he doesn't master this basic stuff, it won't affect his future. Don't worry too much about it."
Kitagawa smiled and nodded. "I understand."
"I'll get going then."
Ryōta waved the course completion form and left.
Give up on Obito?
Kitagawa looked at the grade report.
That single failing grade stuck out like a sore thumb.
And was Obito really that dense?
Kitagawa got up and headed to the records room.
He was going to prepare a problem-set strategy for Obito.
If even that didn't work, he'd accept his fate.
...
First period that afternoon, Kitagawa walked into the classroom. The chatter died instantly.
Standing at the podium, he scanned the room before speaking. "This period, we're learning Chakra Refinement Technique. Those of you who've already mastered chakra refinement, please raise your hands."
More than 70% of the forty students put their hands up.
Kitagawa wasn't surprised.
"You can put your hands down."
He immediately called on someone. "Kakashi Hatake, answer this question for me."
"What is the fundamental nature of chakra?"
Kakashi stood. "It's a combination of physical strength and mental strength."
Kitagawa nodded slightly. "Correct. Sit down."
"Everyone, listen carefully to what I'm about to say. Chakra is a combination of physical strength and mental strength. It's an extension of your body—it's part of you."
Kakashi looked thoughtful. Some students weren't paying attention. Those who hadn't mastered chakra refinement looked confused.
Kitagawa didn't explain right away. Instead, he turned to the blackboard and drew a spiral pattern—the same design as the Uzumaki clan symbol.
"Now, students, pair up. Using this pattern, draw it on your foreheads—right here, in the center."
Kitagawa pointed to the middle of his own forehead.
The students all got to work.
Once everyone had drawn the pattern, Kitagawa continued. "Good. Now listen to your teacher's instructions. Concentrate your mental energy on the pattern on your forehead."
"If you're not sure how, tilt your head back and try to look toward your forehead with your eyes."
The students did as told.
Of course, some students who'd already mastered chakra refinement looked bored.
Like Asuma Sarutobi.
He was well aware of what Kitagawa was doing.
Kitagawa noticed several students looking indifferent. "I know many of you have already mastered chakra refinement or gone through a similar process. But I want you to participate anyway. Concentration of mental energy will stay with you your entire ninja career."
"The fundamental nature of chakra is the combination of mental and physical strength. So if you want to become Hokage in the future—if you want to be the strongest—you must understand your own mental strength well."
"And understanding your mental strength begins with concentration."
That made some of the indifferent students perk up and pay attention.
But not every kid was obedient. Some still didn't care. They were five or six, after all.
Kitagawa didn't push the issue. His main goal right now was to get the students who hadn't mastered chakra refinement up to speed. So he focused on them, checking in with each one before continuing. "You're all familiar with the pattern on your foreheads by now. So concentrate your mental energy and let it flow along the pattern, converging on the center point."
...
Both afternoon sessions were spent training students on mental concentration.
Strong enough concentration let them sense the energy hidden within their cells, then combine mental and physical energy to form chakra.
It wasn't a simple process.
For instance, getting five- and six-year-olds to properly quantify and balance mental and physical energy in a 1:1 ratio was no joke.
Kids are restless. Sitting still for extended periods, concentrating motionless? That's incredibly hard.
But chakra's appeal was strong enough to keep them pushing forward.
At the end of the two sessions, after dismissing the class, Kitagawa said, "Obito and Kakashi, stick around for a moment. Your teacher needs your help with something."
Obito and Kakashi both froze.
Once the other students left, Kitagawa waved them forward to the podium.
"Obito, here. Take these."
Kitagawa dumped a stack of test papers into Obito's arms—so many that his arms sank and he almost dropped them.
"Wh-what?"
Obito was confused. He looked down at the stack, then his eyes went wide. "This is...?"
Kitagawa's smile was warm and gentle. "Exam questions!"
"I prepared them specially for you. Aren't you excited? Aren't you happy?"