Kitazawa's performance at the ninja academy had been far from ideal.
Uchiha Itachi graduated from the academy at seven; he barely managed to graduate at thirteen.
Uzumaki Naruto became the world's savior at seventeen; at seventeen, he had exhausted himself just to become a chunin.
In this ninja world where killing was commonplace, Kitazawa was a three-nothing ninja—no talent, no bloodline, no backing.
To survive until the series finale, he chose to run off and teach at the ninja academy. He'd been teaching for five years now.
"Another peaceful day in Konoha."
Kitazawa stood up and walked to the window.
It was the annual opening day again, and the playground was bustling with activity.
Kitazawa looked down at the new student materials in his hand, familiar names catching his eye one by one.
Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata, Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Inuzuka Kiba, among others.
"Five years. A whole five years. Finally, these main characters have arrived."
Kitazawa sighed inwardly.
From now on, his life would face only two major disasters.
First was Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan, and second was the Akatsuki organization's Pain invasion led by Nagato.
The former didn't involve the ninja academy, so it wasn't a big problem.
The latter was more troublesome—that rice-carrying guy would destroy half of Konoha Village.
Kitazawa's plan was to run away early by taking leave from the village.
As for the specific timing, he could calculate it based on when Uzumaki Naruto and the others enrolled.
Just as he was pondering the timeline, he suddenly heard a 'ding' sound.
[Detected that the host has reached six years old and successfully enrolled. The Strongest Hokage Nurturing System is now activated.]
Kitazawa froze in place.
After waiting twenty-one years, at the moment when he had given up all hope, the door finally opened.
He only waited seventeen years—why did this system only show up now?
Wait! What do you mean I'm six years old?
"System, is there some kind of mistake?"
Kitazawa couldn't help but ask.
[Please complete the first phase main quest: Dominate the ninja academy and become the strongest graduate.]
No way, buddy, are you this stupid?
I'm happy you're here, but you got the timing wrong, which makes me very unhappy.
How am I supposed to become a graduate now? Answer me!
No wonder they say blue is the color of wisdom.
Kitazawa now understood—this damn system was fifteen years late.
Did this mean... he had waited for nothing?
[To dominate the ninja academy, you must first conquer your classmates.]
[Current Task: Please gain preliminary recognition from your classmate Uzumaki Naruto.]
[Task Reward: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa looked speechless.
He wasn't Uzumaki Naruto's classmate—how was he supposed to complete this task?
If he applied to return to the ninja academy as a student, Sarutobi Hiruzen would probably tell him, "Your family should hire an expert—no, hire a medical ninja to check if zombies ate your brain."
"Who designed this system? The legendary introvert development team?"
Kitazawa rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
He had no choice but to make the best of a bad situation.
If he couldn't complete the task, then he just... couldn't do anything about it.
At most he'd get angry, maybe curse a few times.
But what if this stupid system's tasks could actually be completed?
Fortunately, this system had no penalties for not completing or accepting tasks.
"A person can't stay unlucky forever, right?"
Kitazawa chose to accept the task.
He put down the student materials and left the office.
As soon as he reached the school playground, he heard various crude remarks.
"Don't go near him, that guy's a monster."
"You absolutely can't play with him, stay far away."
"I really don't understand why the Hokage would allow him to attend school."
Kitazawa looked toward a blonde-haired little boy sitting alone on a swing.
His head was lowered, appearing silent and withdrawn, separated from the surrounding liveliness by a tragic, thick barrier.
You people are really something.
Daring to provoke a little boy with a nuclear bomb inside him—aren't you afraid of becoming well-done?
Kitazawa ignored everyone's strange looks and walked forward.
Hearing footsteps, Uzumaki Naruto instinctively looked up and met a pair of black eyes.
He couldn't help but freeze, because the other person's attitude was very gentle—he couldn't sense any malice at all.
"What's your name?"
Kitazawa sighed inwardly and asked patiently.
Getting Uzumaki Naruto's preliminary recognition was actually quite simple.
Because in his world, currently only two people recognized him: Sarutobi Hiruzen and Teuchi.
"I... I'm Uzumaki Naruto."
Uzumaki Naruto felt a touch of warmth. His spirits lifted as he asked, "What about you?"
"Kitazawa."
Kitazawa replied.
"Hello, Big Brother Kitazawa!"
Uzumaki Naruto said with some excitement.
"Don't call me big brother."
Kitazawa's mouth twitched as he said, "You should call me sensei."
"Sensei?"
Uzumaki Naruto's eyes lit up as he asked, "Are you the teacher for Class 1-A?"
"Yes."
Kitazawa nodded.
"That's great!"
Uzumaki Naruto said happily, "I'm also in Class 1-A."
"I'll take you to register."
Kitazawa reached out and patted his shoulder.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!"
Uzumaki Naruto excitedly jumped down from the swing, but after walking two steps, his expression suddenly froze and he lowered his head.
He noticed the disgusted looks nearby, and this time, even Kitazawa was affected.
"Kitazawa-sensei, I can register by myself. You don't need to worry about me."
Uzumaki Naruto stopped walking.
"If you care too much about others' opinions, you'll only become their prisoner."
Kitazawa didn't look back, speaking calmly.
Uzumaki Naruto stared blankly at his back.
He understood a little, but also didn't quite understand.
"Keep up."
Kitazawa raised his hand and gestured with his fingers.
Uzumaki Naruto snapped back to reality, instinctively quickening his pace to catch up.
Class 1-A
When Uzumaki Naruto appeared, the entire classroom fell silent, with various gazes falling on him.
This included the teacher in charge of registration, Umino Iruka.
Uzumaki Naruto instinctively wanted to lower his head, but for some reason, he remembered what Kitazawa had just said.
He gathered his courage and faced those stares directly.
"Iruka."
Kitazawa spoke with his usual smile.
"Kitazawa-senpai."
Umino Iruka suppressed his emotions.
In the original story, his parents died in the Nine-Tails incident.
And now Uzumaki Naruto was considered a monster, so Umino Iruka initially harbored hatred toward him.
"This is Uzumaki Naruto, a new student for Class 1-A."
Kitazawa said matter-of-factly, "Please handle his registration."
Umino Iruka took out the roster for registration, then gave Uzumaki Naruto his first semester textbooks and class schedule.
After registration was complete, the two left the classroom and came to the school gate.
"Tomorrow is the first day of school. Remember not to be late."
Kitazawa reminded him.
"Yes!"
Uzumaki Naruto nodded vigorously, "Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!"
"See you tomorrow."
Kitazawa waved his hand.
Since Uzumaki Naruto was the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, he was under surveillance by Sarutobi Hiruzen and ANBU. Kitazawa couldn't appear too purposeful.
Fortunately, he was a teacher, not a member of the Uchiha clan—otherwise, he'd wake up tomorrow with eight kunai in his back, having "committed suicide."
"Goodbye, Kitazawa-sensei!"
Uzumaki Naruto turned and skipped away happily, clearly in a good mood.
[Host has completed the task. Reward distributed.]
Countless pieces of information suddenly flooded Kitazawa's mind.
In an instant, he completely mastered Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, going directly from beginner to expert level.
Kitazawa immediately changed his tune.
This really was a wise... kindhearted system.
Although Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique was jokingly called the technique that never killed anyone, for an ordinary chunin like Kitazawa, it was already a finishing move.
"What are you smiling about? You look so happy."
A sudden voice spoke up.
Kitazawa instinctively looked over.
Not far away stood a woman with a gorgeous figure and long hair.
She wore a smile, and in the sunlight, her ruby-like eyes sparkled brightly.