"Kitazawa, from now on you'll be in charge of Class 2-A. Terai and Yamada Isamu will assist you," Sarutobi Hiruzen said, reminding him. "The specific classes you teach will be up to you."
Yamada Isamu was the former teacher for Class 2-A. Usually, a class has two or three instructors.
Previously, Class 2-A was taught by Mizuki and Yamada Isamu.
"Got it."
Kitazawa snapped back to reality and nodded.
"Terai is from Root, so he can't teach any important courses, especially the Will of Fire," Hiruzen added thoughtfully.
He didn't want Root's version of the "Will of Fire" replacing the village's original.
"Understood," Kitazawa replied. "I'll personally teach the Will of Fire."
"Good."
Hiruzen smiled. "With you teaching, I won't have to worry."
"Lord Hokage, I'll take my leave."
Kitazawa gave a slight bow and left the Hokage's office. Standing outside the building, he let out a long sigh.
"This Hokage really has a way of worming into every little crack..."
Kitazawa had never liked Shimura Danzō in his previous life, and experiencing the trouble Danzō caused firsthand made him hate him even more.
Luckily, he had some powerful people backing him—besides Hiruzen, Tsunade was also on his side. As long as they were around, Kitazawa's safety in Konoha was assured.
He stroked his chin. "Can I use Tsunade to bring down Danzō?"
He wasn't going to go to Hiruzen, since Danzō was his "black glove"—as long as Danzō didn't betray the village, he'd remain untouchable.
Tsunade was the only one who could take him down.
Kitazawa's first thought was to expose Danzō's secret Wood Release experiments to her.
But the problem was that he had no right to know about them, nor any way to explain where the information came from.
His mind turned to the sole survivor of those experiments, Yamato. Maybe he could start there.
But no matter what, it would take careful planning. If it failed, it'd be dangerous.
For now, though, he had no direct conflict with Danzō. His priority was to get stronger. The task he had earlier floated before his eyes again.
As a teacher, he obviously couldn't walk into Class 2-A and shout, "Neji, come out! Let's settle this one-on-one!"
Fortunately, since he was now the homeroom teacher for Class 2-A, he could create an opportunity during a practical combat lesson.
What he was most interested in was the reward: +10% Byakugan purity.
In the original story, there were two types of Byakugan:
One from the Hyūga clan (like Hiashi Hyūga).
One from the Ōtsutsuki clan (like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki).
While they looked identical, the power difference was massive.
Kitazawa already had the Hyūga version of the Byakugan, and this reward seemed to suggest his could be enhanced, eventually becoming an Ōtsutsuki Byakugan.
…
"Back already? What did the old man want?"
Tsunade glanced up from the couch.
"The Hokage asked me to take over Class 2-A as homeroom teacher," Kitazawa said, being truthful. "And keep an eye on the new teacher, Terai."
"Why keep tabs on him?" Tsunade asked, curious. She thought most teachers were just middle-ranked ninjas, not really worth monitoring.
"He's from Root," Kitazawa guessed. "I suspect Root has their eyes on Yakumo."
"He dares?!"
Tsunade's anger flared. "As long as I'm here, he won't even get close to Yakumo!"
Her anger was because of her deep dislike for Danzō and because Kurama Yakumo was her patient.
Kitazawa silently thought that his and Yakumo's safety now had an extra layer of protection.
"If Danzō or Root makes a move, let me know right away," Tsunade said, huffing. "Konoha is not his playground!"
"Tsunade-sama, you're so badass!"
Kitazawa smiled in admiration.
"You've got guts yourself," Tsunade said, turning her head. "Most ninjas would be trembling just hearing Danzō's name."
"Only because you're here, Tsunade-sama."
Kitazawa said sincerely.
"You know how to flatter," Tsunade chuckled, resting her fair foot on the coffee table. "Now go do your thing—I've got a new jutsu to work on."
"Yes, ma'am."
Kitazawa went upstairs to his room. Root and Danzō would have to wait. For now, he'd finish his medical studies. If he could become Tsunade's student, many of his worries would disappear.
…
The Next Day – Last Week of June
Umino Iruka stretched, looking at the thirty exam questions he had created over the last two days.
"I wonder how many will get picked?"
After breakfast, he went to Mizuki's house.
"Mizuki, are you home?" he called, knocking.
The door opened—not Mizuki, but his short-haired fiancée, Tsubaki, who was also a chūnin.
"Morning, Iruka," she greeted him gently.
"Tsubaki, is Mizuki still not back?"
"No," she said, worried. "He left Saturday morning and hasn't returned yet."
"You know how missions go—sometimes they last ten days, sometimes longer," Iruka reassured her.
"Alright, good." Tsubaki sighed with relief. "Let me know if you hear anything."
"Will do," Iruka said, then headed to the academy.
As he walked, he sighed wistfully: "When will I have a beautiful, kind girlfriend like Mizuki's?"
…
At the school, Iruka entered the teacher's lounge, stopping when he heard some gossip.
"Did Mizuki-sensei really do that?"
"He must've lost it—jealous of Kitazawa-sensei?"
"Yeah, Kitazawa-sensei's always been good to us."
Iruka walked over to the group. One of the middle-aged teachers handed him a notice.
After reading it, Iruka's expression shifted to shock.
The notice had two major points:
1. Mizuki, driven by jealousy, tried to attack Kitazawa and was killed in self-defense.
2. Kitazawa would temporarily take over as homeroom teacher for Class 2-A.
Iruka's hands trembled as he read. Mizuki... dead? He knew Mizuki and Kitazawa didn't get along, but never thought it would escalate this far.
"You really can't judge a book by its cover," one of the teachers sighed. "I remember you and Mizuki being close—at least now you see his true face."
"I…" Iruka trailed off, unsure what to say.
The notice was signed by Principal Sarutobi Hiruzen—the Hokage himself.
Clearly, this was legitimate information.
Mizuki had indeed broken the village's rules and paid for it with his life.
"How am I going to tell Tsubaki?"
Iruka felt a sense of dread he'd never experienced before.
…
Second-Year Teachers' Office
Kitazawa entered and immediately felt the tension in the room. He quickly spotted Terai—Root shinobi had a distinct, lifeless aura that made them easy to identify.
"Kitazawa-senpai!"
Yamada Isamu hurried over like he'd just found a lifeline.
"Let's have a quick meeting in my office—Mizuki's old one," Kitazawa said.
He had two offices now since he was homeroom teacher for two classes.
Terai gave a blank stare when Kitazawa greeted him. "I'm Kitazawa."
"Hello." Terai replied flatly.
In the office, Yamada was waiting.
"Today's meeting is simple—we're redistributing classes," Kitazawa said, handing out the new schedules.
Yamada's eyes widened—he now had the heaviest load, nearly the same as Mizuki's.
Kitazawa only took two subjects: Will of Fire and a basic ninjutsu class (teaching the Three Techniques).
As for Terai, he got two electives: flower arranging and astronomy. Yamada almost laughed at the irony—Terai looked intimidating, yet got stuck with such soft subjects.
"Any concerns?" Kitazawa asked.
"None," Yamada answered quickly.
His workload increased, but it meant a better chance for promotion when Kitazawa left.
"None," Terai said flatly.
"Good. Start today. If you need me, my other office is on the first floor."
Kitazawa left the meeting.
…
First-Year Class-A
Kitazawa found Hinata Hyūga waiting for him in his office.
"Kitazawa-sensei, are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
He realized she had probably heard about Mizuki's attack attempt.
"I… I can ask Father to send someone to protect you," Hinata said nervously.
"It's not that serious."
Kitazawa flicked her forehead gently.
She didn't realize that what she said wasn't really appropriate.
As the heiress to the Hyūga clan, she had the luxury of protection. Kitazawa, however, had no such status.
"But—"
He gave her a stern look, and she immediately fell silent.
"Alright, time for breakfast," Kitazawa said, ruffling her hair.
"Mm!" Hinata cheered up again.
After breakfast, they headed to Class 1-A.
"Kitazawa-sensei, are you okay?"
"That bastard Mizuki actually tried to attack you, how disgusting!"
"Just say the word, and we'll go teach those second-years a lesson!"
Class 1-A was fired up when they saw Kitazawa.
"Cut the nonsense," Kitazawa said. "Mizuki is Mizuki, and Class 2-A is Class 2-A. Don't mix the two."
He was genuinely worried they'd make trouble for Class 2-A. If Hiruzen found out, Kitazawa would be in for a scolding.
"I'm now the homeroom teacher for Class 2-A. We're all on the same team."
He emphasized, then added, "Let's start today's lesson."
…
Later, in Class 2-A
"Did you hear?"
"About Mizuki-sensei?"
"What an idiot!"
"It might actually be good for us—Kitazawa-sensei is taking over."
"The one from Class 1-A?"
"I hear he's amazing."
"You don't beat Class 2-A unless you're strong."
Neji Hyūga raised an eyebrow at the chatter. He had no issues with Kitazawa, but him being Hinata's teacher made things a little… strange.
"Just a rival recently, now he's our teacher," Tenten sighed. "Life's unpredictable."
"I hear Naruto talks about Kitazawa-sensei all the time—he's the best teacher at the school," Rock Lee said excitedly.
"Do you think we'll have joint classes with Class 1-A?"
"Maybe," Tenten replied, glancing at Neji.
~~~
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