"Kitazawa, you've taught at the Ninja Academy for so many years, so you should be very familiar with it."
Sarutobi Hiruzen tapped his pipe and asked, "What problems do you think the Ninja Academy currently has?"
Kitazawa was startled.
Why was he suddenly being asked such a question? Was it related to yesterday's Student Council selection practical exam?
"It's like this." Seeing his confusion, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't play coy and explained the issues he had thought of yesterday.
In summary, there were two problems. First, the teachers at the Ninja Academy were not skilled enough. Second, there were differences in the students' talents.
"I see." Kitazawa nodded and praised, "Hokage-sama's concerns are indeed far-sighted."
"No need for superfluous words; let's hear your solution." Sarutobi Hiruzen took a puff from his pipe, his tone filled with anticipation.
"Since the Ninja Academy teachers lack strength, then hire powerful Ninjas to teach." Kitazawa thought for a moment and said.
"I've thought of that solution too, but it's not practical." Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head and said, "It would not only waste the Ninja's strength but also delay them from completing missions."
Konoha Village was, at its core, an employment organization. The purpose of Ninja was to work for the daimyo, nobles, and merchants of various countries.
"This brings us to the second problem: students have varying talents." Kitazawa asked with a slight smile, "Why not put talented students in one class?"
He was referring to the so-called fast and slow learning classes, or rather, genius classes and regular classes, from his previous life.
Sarutobi Hiruzen let out a soft "Oh?"
He thought of the Medical Ninjutsu experimental class.
Tsunade had suggested a long time ago that a Medical Ninja should be a permanent member of every Ninja squad.
However, at that time, it was during the Second Ninja World War, and Medical Ninjas were very difficult to train, so the proposal was not approved.
Later, after the war ended, Konoha Village established a Medical Ninja experimental class. Ninjas who wanted to learn Medical Ninjutsu and had a certain aptitude for it were gathered together.
Facts proved that the effect was indeed good. Among the Five Great Villages, Konoha Village had the most Medical Ninja and the highest level of skill.
"How would it be implemented specifically?" Sarutobi Hiruzen held his pipe and took another puff.
"A placement exam." Kitazawa replied, "All students can take a placement exam after one semester of enrollment, and those who pass will enter the genius class."
"What about late bloomers?" Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered for a moment and asked.
"Teacher preference." Kitazawa explained, "If a teacher discovers a student's talent, they can report it, and once confirmed, the student can join the genius class."
"If they only teach one class, they won't need too many teachers, which can indeed minimize waste." Sarutobi Hiruzen paused, then asked, "But if all students are in one class, won't it lead to different progress?"
"Tailored teaching." Kitazawa casually said, "With a maximum of twenty to thirty students in a class, teachers can completely create personalized learning plans for them."
"Tailored teaching?" Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes lit up, and he said, "A very apt phrase."
He suddenly realized that Kitazawa was doing exactly that. Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru, among others, had all participated in his different special training sessions.
It was precisely because of this that they were able to grow rapidly in less than a year.
"You are a natural teacher." Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but exclaim.
"I am merely upholding the Will of Fire." Kitazawa said with a serious expression, "Since I am a teacher, I should help the new leaves grow strong."
"Well said!" Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his hand on the table and said, "If all Ninja had your resolve, why would Konoha Village not be prosperous?"
Kitazawa blinked. Had he gone a bit overboard?
"Do you have a way to attract powerful Ninjas to become teachers?" The more Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Kitazawa, the more satisfied he felt.
As Hokage, he could force them to become Ninja Academy teachers, but this would cause resentment and not align with the fire will.
"We don't necessarily have to hire a currently powerful Ninja." Kitazawa said in a deep voice, "We can also hire retired Ninja; although their strength may have waned, they are rich in experience."
"It still takes a young person with quick thinking; this is a very good idea." Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned for a moment, then praised him.
"I just happened to come across it," Kitazawa said modestly.
"The reform of the Ninja Academy is of great importance." Sarutobi Hiruzen mused, "First, prepare a plan for me. If there are no problems, we will hold a Jonin meeting."
Kitazawa was immediately astonished.
A Jonin meeting, as the name implied, was a meeting that only Special Jonin and Jonin were qualified to attend.
In Konoha Village, Jonin meetings were usually held for exceptionally important matters. For example, the changing of the Hokage or the declaration of war.
In Kitazawa's opinion, the reform of the Ninja Academy was not significant enough to warrant a Jonin meeting.
"The Ninja Academy was founded by my teacher, Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, and it has never changed in all these years."
Sarutobi Hiruzen said, hinting at his meaning.
Kitazawa pondered for a moment and understood.
Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to do something great that would benefit future generations before he retired, and at the same time, earn himself a good reputation.
First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, pacified the chaotic world and established Konoha Village. Second Hokage Senju Tobirama established the Ninja Academy, Anbu, and various other institutions, perfecting Konoha Village's system and making it stronger.
However, by the time of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, he had not achieved any major accomplishments. Konoha Village barely won both Ninja World Wars.
The Third Ninja World War was won thanks to Namikaze Minato.
In addition, Sakumo Hatake's suicide, Orochimaru's defection, the Nine-Tails incident, and so on, all occurred during Sarutobi Hiruzen's time as Hokage.
The Ninja Academy, seemingly unimportant, was actually the most crucial institution. After all, it concerned the future of Konoha Village.
It was rare for Kitazawa to propose such a useful reform, so Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally wanted to utilize it. In the future, when the students of the genius class achieved great success, they would also mention him.
In summary, Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to establish his reputation.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." Kitazawa immediately responded.
"I await your plan." Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a chuckle.
Kitazawa nodded, greeted him, and then left the Hokage Office.
"Follow me."
The Anbu Ninja, Haru, who had been waiting, led him to the Ninjutsu storage room.
Without much hesitation, Kitazawa chose an A-rank Water Release Ninjutsu: Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave.
In the original work, only two Ninjas had used this technique: Senju Tobirama and Kisame Hoshigaki.
The reason was simple—this Water Release consumed an extremely massive amount of Chakra.
After all, its effect was to instantly create an ocean to imprison the enemy.
After memorizing the Ninjutsu, Kitazawa left the Hokage Building.
"You're back?" Kurenai turned to Kitazawa and asked, "What reward did Hokage-sama give you?"
"An A-rank Water Release Ninjutsu."
Kitazawa walked up to her, glanced at the scroll on the coffee table, and said, "There are four mistakes in your Four-Limbs Weighting Seal curse mark."
"Where?" Kurenai's gaze searched the scroll upon hearing this.
"Here." Kitazawa pointed them out one by one, then added, "And there."
"How are your eyes like the Byakugan? You can even see such subtle differences." Kurenai said with some surprise.
"Nothing special, just practice makes perfect." Kitazawa reached out and squeezed her thigh twice, saying, "Just like I already know where the weak spot on your thigh is."
"I'm talking to you about serious matters!"
Kurenai felt a jolt in her thigh, a hint of daze flashing in her eyes, then she said, blushing with anger.
"I was just giving an example," Kitazawa replied seriously.
"How come I've never seen you practice Sealing Technique?" Kurenai recovered and again felt something was off.
"I practice at school," Kitazawa said casually.
"I'm going to practice Sealing Technique now, don't mess around." Kurenai didn't think much of it and said.
"Call me if you have any problems." Kitazawa stopped teasing her and turned to go upstairs.
Although he was on holiday, he still had a lot to do.
For example, the task of mastering four Water Release Ninjutsu. He had already learned two: Water Release: Water Wall and Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu.
There were still three he had not learned. Two A-rank: Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique and Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave. One B-rank: Water Release: Instant Water.
Kitazawa planned to learn Water Release: Instant Water first. Because those two A-rank techniques both required an enormous amount of Chakra to sustain.
But he wasn't in a hurry to learn them today; he had to write the Genius Class proposal. Besides that, he also needed to properly plan the students' winter break special training program.
---
Time arrived on the third day of winter break.
Kitazawa arrived at the Ninja Academy's training ground punctually at nine in the morning.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto was as lively as ever, seemingly with inexhaustible energy.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Ino, Hinata, and others also followed closely behind to greet him.
"Mm." Kitazawa nodded and said, "You all come one by one."
Although Naruto didn't speak upon hearing this, his hands were already waving frantically.
"Naruto, come here." Kitazawa led him to a tree, then picked up a leaf and handed it to him.
"Kitazawa-sensei, do I also have to do leaf training like Sasuke?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Your leaf training is different from his." Kitazawa spread his hand and said, "You need to cut the leaf with Wind Release Chakra."
The leaf in his hand immediately split into two. Undoubtedly, this was the first stage of Wind Release Chakra nature transformation.
Naruto's current strength had fallen into a bottleneck. Kitazawa temporarily didn't dare to help him develop the Nine-Tails' Chakra.
Although he had a lot of Chakra, there were few Ninjutsu he could learn. Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and Rasengan were already the most suitable techniques for him.
Besides that, there was Taijutsu. To complement the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, Kitazawa planned to teach him Wind Release.
But before learning Wind Release, he needed to master a certain level of Wind Release Chakra nature transformation.
"I understand!" Naruto nodded upon seeing this.
Although he didn't know Kitazawa's purpose, he trusted him completely.
"You practice slowly, and if you encounter any problems, come find me," Kitazawa told him the key points for half an hour, then said.
Could Naruto master Wind Release Chakra nature transformation? He could.
Because the training he was undergoing now was something he had already experienced in the original work. At that time, he was trying to develop Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
But the current Naruto was still young, and it would take a relatively long time for him to get started. However, what he lacked least was time.
"Ino." Kitazawa walked to another open space.
"I'm coming!" Ino jogged forward, took a breath, and asked, "Kitazawa-sensei, are you going to teach me a new Ninjutsu?"
"That's right." Kitazawa nodded and said, "I created a Ninjutsu based on your characteristics."
"Created?" Ino immediately opened her mouth wide upon hearing this.
Although there was Kiba's Hellhound before, she still felt shocked.
"This Ninjutsu is called Ninja Art: Hundred Flowers Chaos." Kitazawa took a step back and said, "I'll demonstrate it for you."
Ino quickly nodded, staring at him intently. The next second, countless flowers appeared in her line of sight.
She subconsciously reached out and caught a flower. Feeling the touch of the petals, she couldn't help but be slightly stunned.
These were real flowers. The petals became more and more numerous, and Kitazawa disappeared from her sight.
Ino subconsciously looked around. Just then, a flower in front of her suddenly accelerated, its petals' edges aimed at her neck.
Ino felt a sense of life-and-death crisis enveloping her.
Kitazawa reappeared, pinching the flower with his fingers.
"So amazing!" Ino said excitedly after her initial fright. "And then?"
Kitazawa tapped her forehead and said, "You didn't even know you were caught in a Genjutsu."
"I was caught in a Genjutsu? When?" Ino suddenly realized that there weren't as many scattered petals on the ground as she had seen before.
In other words, some flowers were real, and some were fake.
"Ninja Art: Hundred Flowers Chaos is a composite Ninjutsu." Kitazawa took out a scroll and said, "Your task today is to memorize it."
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei!" Ino said with a beaming smile.
Kitazawa reached out and patted her head. He waited a few seconds, but no prompt popped up from the system.
It seemed this task could only be completed after Ino learned Ninja Art: Hundred Flowers Chaos.
"Hinata, and Neji."
Kitazawa waited until Neji and Hinata were in front of him, then said, "You two just continue practicing Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."
"Mm." Hinata subconsciously nodded.
But Neji Hyuga did not reply.
"Neji, do you have anything you want to say?" Kitazawa asked with a slight smile.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Neji hesitated for two seconds and said, "I want to defeat Sasuke and Naruto."
Kitazawa couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. As expected of a genius from the Hyuga Clan—going for a two-on-one directly.
But it was also normal. Neji used to be similar to Sasuke, quite arrogant. Now that he had lost to Sasuke and Naruto, he had become much more normal.
However, the pride of a genius was still there.
"Your strength isn't actually much worse than Sasuke's and Naruto's," Kitazawa analyzed. "You just need to pay attention to Sasuke's Genjutsu and Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Neji nodded in agreement. He thought so too. But doing it was not that simple. He could still predict Sasuke's Genjutsu with his Byakugan.
Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was very troublesome.
[Current Mission: Help Neji Hyuga defeat Uzumaki Naruto in the next monthly exam.]
[Mission Reward: Increase Byakugan purity by 10%.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa couldn't help but be stunned looking at the text in front of him. Why was there only Naruto and no Sasuke?
Could it be that Neji thought he could defeat Sasuke, but couldn't defeat Naruto?
As for the reward, it was the 10% Byakugan purity that Kitazawa had been longing for.
"I'll teach you the Shadow Clone Technique first," Kitazawa said after a moment of thought.
It was indeed not easy to break Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu. But with the Shadow Clone Technique, at least someone could help share the firepower.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei." Neji also thought of the benefits of learning the Shadow Clone Technique, so he readily agreed.
"I…" Hinata pursed her lips, and hesitation appeared on her small face.
"You want to learn too?" Kitazawa looked at her and asked.
Hinata nodded quickly, a smile unconsciously appearing on her face.
[Current Mission: Help Hinata Hyuga learn the Shadow Clone Technique during winter break.]
[Mission Reward: Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm.]
[Accept?]
This could also trigger a mission? Kitazawa couldn't help but be surprised.
Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was also a type of Gentle Fist, but it broke through the limitations of close combat, being a long-range Gentle Fist.
Its effect was to release high-density Chakra through the palm for long-range attacks. From its manifestation, it looked very much like Wind Release.
Kitazawa, as usual, lectured them for half an hour, then called Shino Aburame over.
The two walked north, eventually arriving at a secluded corner.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Kitazawa formed hand signs, and a fireball slammed into the ground.
A moment later, a deep pit appeared, surrounded by flames.
"Shino, build a suitable Kikaichu nest at the bottom of the pit, but don't give them any extra food," Kitazawa said casually.
Shino Aburame was startled.
He had already understood Kitazawa's idea. Without food, the Kikaichu would have to find a way to break through the sea of fire.
Over time, he would get a batch of Kikaichu with Fire Release resistance.
A cruel method, but also potentially the most effective. What Shino would lose was nothing more than some Chakra and Kikaichu.
[Current Mission: Help Shino Aburame cultivate Kikaichu with fire resistance.]
[Mission Reward: Increase your own Fire Release damage resistance by 10%.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's gaze narrowed involuntarily. There was such a reward?
It just had quite a few limitations. The mission reward stated "increase your own," meaning this resistance would only be triggered after being hit by a Fire Release Ninjutsu.
"I'll leave a Shadow Clone for you. When the fire dies down, have him add more fire for you." Kitazawa formed hand signs and split off a Shadow Clone.
He then headed to the Hokage Building to see Sarutobi Hiruzen.