The school bell rang.
As Kitazawa stepped into the 2-A classroom, the previously rowdy students immediately quieted down.
You could hear a pin drop.
"Hey everyone, I'm Kitazawa," he said with a smile.
"Starting today, I'll be teaching your Will of Fire and Ninjutsu classes."
"Awesome! It's really Kitazawa-sensei!"
"We've been hoping you'd come for ages!"
"Why only two classes though? Can't you teach us more?"
Kitazawa was a bit caught off guard by their enthusiasm.
Mizuki's barely out the door and they're already moving on this fast?
Then again, kids didn't dwell on stuff like that. Mizuki had always treated them pretty coldly, so there wasn't much emotional attachment.
Meanwhile, Kitazawa had a solid reputation. In the last practice match, he led Class 1-A to beat them fair and square—earning their respect.
"Alright, everyone take out your textbooks."
He picked up a pen. "Today, we're diving into the Will of Fire."
Compared to the first-years, second-year lessons go a bit deeper.
But Kitazawa had taught for years—no matter the level, Will of Fire was second nature to him.
Before they knew it, class was over.
Kitazawa left just as the bell rang again.
As for beating Hyūga Neji… that can wait until Ninjutsu class.
"Wait, class is over already?"
"That flew by! I've never felt time go so fast in class!"
"Finally, classes we can look forward to!"
The students couldn't stop chatting.
"Compared to Mizuki-sensei, Kitazawa-sensei is on a whole different level."
Tenten glanced at Neji. "What do you think?"
"He's decent," Neji replied calmly.
Coming from him, that meant a lot.
"I actually understood a ton today," Rock Lee added, eyes shining. He clenched his fists. "So this is what youth feels like… I can have this too?"
"…"
Tenten and Neji exchanged looks, both a little speechless.
…
After leaving the classroom, Kitazawa returned to his office.
He had other things to handle—specifically putting together the June monthly exam questions for each grade.
Since there wasn't a mission tied to it, he wasn't all that invested. Even Naruto's drill exercises had been paused.
After reviewing the submitted questions, he created a shadow clone to take over.
The real him headed to the academy's training lake.
There, he stopped to observe.
Shikamaru was awkwardly dodging attacks from Kitazawa's clone on the water's surface.
Sasuke, a short distance away, was spitting fire. After enough practice, his Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire was finally starting to take shape—though right now, it looked more like a baby dragon than a real one.
Nearby, Sakura was deeply focused on a medical textbook.
If studying counted as training, she was way ahead of the pack—maybe even faster than Kitazawa himself.
No wonder she topped the written exams in the original story. One of the main heroines for a reason.
He figured she could start medical ninjutsu next week.
Tsunade teaches him, he teaches Sakura—pretty solid setup, honestly.
He glanced over at Ino practicing her Mind Body Switch Technique, then made his way to Hinata.
He gently adjusted her wrist, lifting it slightly.
"That move just now wasn't quite right," he said.
"Sorry, Sensei," Hinata said, a little embarrassed.
"It's fine. Mistakes happen—just correct them."
He stepped back to observe. Hinata, with a serious face, continued practicing diligently.
…
Afternoon – Training Field
Class 2-A lined up in formation.
"I don't know your strengths that well yet," Kitazawa began.
"So for our first Ninjutsu class, we'll be doing some sparring."
"You mean… you're sparring with us?" Tenten asked, raising her hand.
"Exactly," he said with a smile. "I want to see what you've got."
This was the perfect setup to test Hyūga Neji.
"Let's go in order. One at a time."
He looked to the first student in the front row. "You're up."
"Yes, sir!"
The boy looked nervous but took a deep breath and used the Clone Technique.
Three versions of him darted around Kitazawa, trying to throw him off.
Kitazawa's response? One punch per clone. Boom, boom, boom.
"I… I give up…"
The boy collapsed, dizzy.
"Not bad use of clones," Kitazawa commented.
Next was a girl who transformed into a massive muscular guy—bigger than Kitazawa himself.
Visually impressive, but no real threat. One punch, down.
"Your transformation technique needs some work," he said, nodding.
In first-year, they only taught clones. Second-year added transformation.
The rest of the students followed suit, alternating between the two.
A few used low-level elemental jutsu, but nothing fancy.
Overall, 2-A was stronger than 1-A, but individually?
Sasuke and his squad would wipe the floor with them.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Rock Lee did a flip and landed dramatically, giving a thumbs-up.
"Let's have a battle full of passion and youth!"
Without missing a beat, Kitazawa kicked him.
"Whoa—Leaf Whirlwind?!"
Lee's eyes lit up. "Then take this—Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
He charged with a spinning kick.
Boom! Kitazawa's counter kicked him back even harder.
"So strong!" Lee shouted, pumped.
He got back up, shook off the hit, and charged again.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Kick—punch—Kitazawa stepped back, dodged, grabbed his wrist, twisted, and sent him stumbling forward. Then kicked him back several meters.
"Again!"
Lee jumped back to his feet and went in for another round.
"He's gotten a lot stronger," Tenten said, impressed.
Neji raised an eyebrow but wasn't too surprised—the gap was still there.
"That's enough."
Kitazawa backed off. He'd figured out Lee's strength—slightly below Naruto without clones, but definitely top-tier in taijutsu across both classes.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Tenten stepped forward, gave a martial-arts salute. "Please spar with me."
Something about her—her name, her hairstyle, her outfit—screamed classic chinese martial arts.
The original series had always leaned into those vibes.
"Go ahead."
Kitazawa twirled two kunai in his hands.
Tenten opened a scroll and launched a barrage of ninja tools.
Kitazawa stood his ground and threw two kunai.
They disappeared into the mess of weapons.
Tenten scanned the field, trying to spot the ones that weren't hers.
Her eyes lit up—she tossed a few more shuriken.
Clink, clank! Two kunai fell from the sky and stabbed into the ground near her.
She smirked, ready to summon again—
but then froze.
The kunai sprang back up.
They flew toward her—pulled by nearly invisible wires.
Tenten's pupils dilated.
Is this… the Uchiha's Controlled Shuriken Technique?
She blinked, watching the kunai close in from both sides.
"…I surrender, Sensei."
"Next."
Kitazawa nodded and retrieved his kunai.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Neji stepped forward, calm and composed.
Kitazawa smiled.
Finally—my real target.
Neji raised both hands and activated his Byakugan.
A second later, he closed the distance with Body Flicker and struck out, aiming directly for Kitazawa's abdominal chakra point.
Kitazawa didn't flinch. He reached for Neji's wrist.
So fast!
Neji adjusted mid-move, ducked low, and aimed for Kitazawa's thigh.
Kitazawa's hand came down like a blade—right onto Neji's wrist.
Neji instantly felt his chakra falter.
It was only for a moment, but it was enough to break the strike.
Was that luck? He hit a chakra point by chance?
Neji's face twitched, but he didn't stop. He spun right and slapped out with his left palm.
Kitazawa calmly punched straight into Neji's palm.
Neji's hand went numb.
As he tried to retreat, Kitazawa caught his arm and flipped him clean over.
Neji hit the ground hard, off-balance and unable to recover mid-air.
He sat up, dazed, staring at Kitazawa.
Every strike, every movement—completely countered.
It was like Kitazawa knew Gentle Fist.
But that was impossible. He wasn't a Hyūga. He didn't have a Byakugan. He couldn't learn it.
So how the hell…?
"You okay?"
Kitazawa offered a hand.
"Thanks, Sensei."
Neji stood up and said sincerely, "You're really strong."
It sounded like a casual spar, but Kitazawa could tell—he was shaken.
[Mission: Defeat Hyūga Neji, strongest of Class 2-A]
[Reward: +10% Byakugan Purity]
[Mission complete. Reward Delivered.]
"You're still lacking, though," Kitazawa said with a grin.
"If you don't push yourself, Hinata's gonna surpass you next term."
Neji's face froze.
In the original story, Naruto changed Neji's mindset by beating him down, then talking him through it.
For a genius like this, that strategy still worked best.
~~~
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