Dusk.
The sun had already set, and the temperature dropped noticeably.
"You've basically got the hang of Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings," Kurenai said after a moment's thought. "Tomorrow we'll move on to something new—Sly Mind Affect Technique."
"Got it."
Kitazawa smiled. "Whatever you say, sensei."
"You're seriously still calling me that?"
Kurenai crossed her arms, clearly annoyed.
"Why not?"
Kitazawa glanced at her figure-hugging suit and grinned. "For all you know, you might be calling me Sensei pretty soon."
"Not a chance."
Kurenai didn't believe it for a second.
"We'll see."
Kitazawa's tone turned mysterious. "Just don't come begging for help when the time comes."
Once he mastered five genjutsu, he'd unlock the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique.
"Fine," Kurenai said, her curiosity piqued. "Now I have to see what could possibly make me ask you for help."
"I'm heading to the Academy."
Kitazawa glanced at the sky.
"Mhm."
Kurenai stretched. "Finally, I can get out of these clothes. This outfit is killing me."
"Think you can wear it again tomorrow?"
Kitazawa asked with a straight face. "Clearly it helped me learn faster today."
"Unbelievable."
Kurenai shot him a glare and walked off to her room.
Kitazawa sighed—what a waste. But he didn't press. He slipped on his shoes and headed for the Academy.
At the artificial lake, the first thing he did was dispel his Shadow Clone.
The memories came rushing back. He instantly caught up on Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata's progress that day.
Naruto was way ahead of the others. He'd already picked up the basics of the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu and would probably master it in two or three days.
Sasuke had improved too—he could now evaporate water droplets in under a minute.
Hinata was working on Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. She wasn't there yet, but the progress was promising.
Overall, all three were making solid progress.
"That's it for today. Be here tomorrow morning at nine, sharp," Kitazawa said, clapping to get their attention.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei!" they responded in unison.
"Sasuke, don't forget—morning training is still with Guy-sensei," Kitazawa added.
Sasuke's face twitched, but he nodded. There was no getting out of it.
"See you tomorrow."
Kitazawa paused. "Hinata, I'll walk you home—I've got something to talk to you about."
"Okay!"
Hinata lit up inside.
"Sasuke, I'll walk you home!"
Naruto ran over and threw an arm around him.
He'd had Uchiha Mikoto's homemade lunch that day, and felt like things were going well between him and Sasuke.
"My place is far. You don't need to come," Sasuke muttered, shaking him off.
"How far is it?"
Naruto asked, curious. "I've never been to your house."
"Edge of the village—west side."
Sasuke shook his head. "It's getting late. Just go home."
"Alright, alright."
Naruto shrugged and waved. "Next time I'm definitely stopping by."
With that, he turned down another path.
As Kitazawa and Hinata walked, he asked, "Ichiraku Ramen is doing a Big-Eater Contest in a couple days. You in?"
"M-Me?"
Hinata hesitated. She almost declined, but stopped herself.
Sure, her secret ability to eat like a beast was out now, but scarfing down food in front of a huge crowd still felt embarrassing.
"Are you competing, Kitazawa-sensei?"
"Not really. I just want to watch the chaos," he replied casually.
"Then I'll go too," Hinata said, tilting her head.
"If you actually join, you might win," Kitazawa said, relieved. "The prize for first place is awesome—you'd love it."
"Then I'll do my best to win it!"
Hinata clenched her fist in determination.
They chatted the whole way and soon reached the Hyuga compound.
Seeing Hiashi standing like a statue at the gate, Kitazawa thought, Man, since when did the clan head become a glorified doorman?
"See you tomorrow, Kitazawa-sensei."
Hinata bowed and stepped forward. "Father."
"To the courtyard," Hiashi said with a glance at Kitazawa. "Let me see how your training paid off."
He didn't think Kitazawa's methods were worth much. But he'd already agreed to let Hinata try. The plan was simple: if she didn't improve, she'd quit on her own.
"Yes, Father."
Hinata followed him without a second thought.
"Begin," Hiashi ordered, taking his stance.
From the moment they clashed, something felt off.
By the end of their spar, Hiashi was silently stunned.
Why's she improving so fast? Is it really because of Kitazawa? No way—it has to be her own talent.
Either way, he decided to let it go. Geniuses get special treatment, after all. No point letting a small matter strain their relationship.
…
Two days later. Thursday morning.
Kitazawa woke right on time, sat up, and yawned.
He'd already mastered Sly Mind Affect Technique in just two days.
Since he was learning so fast, he decided to alternate—genjutsu one day, medical ninjutsu the next.
Medical ninjutsu was slower, especially the B-rank Delicate Illness Extraction Technique. Technically, he'd already mastered it through the system, but he didn't want to freak out Tsunade or Shizune, so he planned to play it slow.
After breakfast, he headed to the artificial lake at the Academy.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto shouted when he saw him.
Kitazawa was immediately hit with a tidal wave of Naruto energy.
He rarely used the word "crowd" to describe one person, but Naruto made it work. Everywhere he looked—Naruto clones.
Hinata was visibly stunned.
She'd seen shadow clones before…
But seventy of them? That was new.
"Amazing…"
Hinata whispered in awe.
She hadn't learned Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, but she'd seen Hiashi use it and knew it was no joke.
It was an A-rank technique that burned through chakra. Most jonin could barely handle twenty clones.
And Naruto just casually popped out seventy?
"Since you've got Multi Shadow Clone down, time to start water-walking," Kitazawa said.
"Huh?"
Naruto looked confused. "I thought we were doing Rasengan today?"
"You've got zero chakra control," Kitazawa deadpanned, pointing at the lake. "You and your clones—on the water."
Rasengan was peak chakra shape manipulation. It needed insane control.
In the original timeline, Naruto learned it using a workaround—his clones helped him mold it, turning a solo jutsu into a team effort.
It worked, but it was slow, complex, and easier to interrupt.
Still, it was Rasengan.
Kitazawa's plan was to train Naruto's control first, then teach him the technique properly.
Both relied heavily on clones.
"You want to learn Rasengan? Then get to it," Kitazawa said, waving him off.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto thrust a fist in the air. "For the Rasengan—let's have a youth-powered water-walking session!"
"Behold my Youth Charge!"
"My Youth Leap is even better!"
"And my Youth Flying Kick!"
A horde of green-suited Narutos lunged into the lake. Water exploded everywhere.
"This should honestly be called Multi Youth Clone Jutsu," Kitazawa muttered, rubbing his forehead.
And this was only seventy clones. A thousand? He didn't even want to imagine.
He could already picture Madara and Obito losing it at the sight.
"Hinata."
Kitazawa snapped back to reality. "Don't forget about the Big-Eater contest at noon."
"I won't," Hinata nodded.
"Alright—let's get started."
…
Noon.
Kitazawa wrapped up training and brought them to Ichiraku Ramen.
"Whoa! Look at all these people!"
Naruto's eyes went wide. "I've never seen it this packed!"
The whole street outside Ichiraku was completely swarmed—kids, teens, adults, even some elders.
"Kitazawa-sensei! Over here!"
Ino waved them over.
She was with Sakura, Chōji, and Shikamaru.
Kitazawa nodded, scanning the crowd… and there they were—Mikoto and Uchiha Itachi.
The stage was set. The crowd was ready.
All they needed now… was the main character.
…
Forest of Death, Konoha.
"Everyone, turn around! We're heading to Ichiraku Ramen!"
Might Guy called out, glancing at the time. "Lunch is on me—and you two are coming!"
Sasuke was about to say no, but relented. Guy had trained him hard without holding back—taijutsu, drills, everything.
Besides, it was just a meal.
What could go wrong?
~~~
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