The bell for class rang through the Ninja Academy.
As Kitazawa stepped into Class 2-A, the once-noisy classroom instantly fell silent.
You could practically hear a kunai drop.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm Kitazawa."
He smiled warmly. "Starting today, I'll be teaching your Will of Fire and Ninjutsu classes."
"Awesome! It's really Kitazawa-sensei!"
"We've been waiting for you!"
"Why only two subjects? You should teach all of them!"
Their enthusiasm caught Kitazawa a bit off guard.
Wow… Mizuki's body isn't even cold yet, and they've already moved on this fast?
Of course, they were just kids. Mizuki hadn't been a particularly beloved teacher to begin with, so there wasn't much attachment there.
Kitazawa, on the other hand, had built quite the reputation—especially after leading Class 1-A to victory in the recent friendly competition.
"Alright, take out your textbooks," Kitazawa said, picking up a piece of chalk. "Today's lesson is on the Will of Fire."
Compared to first-year material, the second-year Will of Fire course went much deeper.
But after years of teaching, Kitazawa could teach it in his sleep.
Before long, the period ended quietly.
As the bell rang, he walked out of the classroom—he'd save the matter of defeating Hyuga Neji for the Ninjutsu period.
"Already over?"
"That went by so fast!"
"With Kitazawa-sensei, class might actually be fun now!"
The students of Class 2-A buzzed with excitement.
"Compared to Mizuki-sensei, Kitazawa-sensei is way better."
Tenten glanced at Neji. "What do you think?"
"…Not bad," Neji said truthfully.
Coming from him, that was high praise.
"I actually understood a lot of that," said Rock Lee, his eyes shining. He clenched his fist. "So this is what youth feels like!"
Neji and Tenten exchanged helpless glances.
After leaving Class 2-A, Kitazawa returned to his office.
He still had work to do—preparing the June Monthly Exams for all grades.
Since no mission had been triggered from it, he wasn't very motivated.
Even Naruto's "exam grind" had been paused.
He skimmed through the question sets the other teachers submitted, then created a Shadow Clone to help finish the editing.
The real him headed for the training lake behind the Academy.
There, students were in the middle of training.
Shikamaru was clumsily dodging ninjutsu from a Kitazawa clone.
A short distance away, Sasuke was practicing Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu.
After some effort, he could finally form a small fire dragon—more of a "baby dragon," really.
Nearby, Sakura sat under a tree, completely absorbed in a medical textbook.
If reading counted as training, she was progressing faster than anyone—faster even than Kitazawa himself.
As expected of the original story's female lead and top of the class in theory, he thought with amusement.
At this rate, he could start teaching her Medical Ninjutsu next week.
When the time came, Tsunade would teach him, and he'd teach Sakura—a neat cycle.
He glanced over at Ino, who was practicing her Mind Transfer Jutsu, then walked up to Hinata.
Grasping her wrist lightly, he raised it a few centimeters. "That movement wasn't quite right."
"S-sorry, Kitazawa-sensei," Hinata murmured shyly.
"It's fine. Everyone makes mistakes—just correct them."
He stepped back, observing her posture carefully.
Hinata's expression turned serious as she resumed training, each motion deliberate and precise.
By afternoon, the class had assembled on the training field.
"I don't know your true strength yet," Kitazawa said calmly. "So, for my first Ninjutsu class with you, we'll do some sparring."
Tenten raised her hand. "You mean, you'll spar against us, sensei?"
"That's right."
He smiled. "I want to see your full power."
This, after all, was the perfect way to test himself against Hyuga Neji.
"Let's start in order," he said, glancing at the first student in line. "You're up."
"Y-yes!"
The boy stepped forward nervously. Taking a deep breath, he performed Clone Jutsu, summoning three copies that rushed Kitazawa from different angles.
Kitazawa's counter was simple—one punch per clone.
"I-I surrender!" the boy gasped, dizzy on the ground.
"Your Clone Jutsu was solid," Kitazawa commented approvingly.
Next up was a girl who used Transformation Jutsu, becoming a huge, burly man.
Impressive to look at, but—one punch, and she was down too.
"Your transformation still lacks control," he said mildly.
And so it went—Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, a few basic elemental techniques at best.
Stronger overall than the first-years, but still far behind the likes of Sasuke and the others.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Rock Lee leapt into the air, landing with a somersault. "Let's have a battle full of youth and passion!"
Without a word, Kitazawa launched a kick.
"You're using Leaf Whirlwind too?!"
Lee's eyes sparkled as he countered. "Then—Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
Their legs collided with a loud thud! The shockwave sent Lee skidding back several meters.
"So strong!" Lee shouted, thrilled.
He steadied himself and charged again. "Leaf Whirlwind!"
He kicked once, then followed up with a punch.
Kitazawa dodged backward smoothly, grabbed Lee's wrist, and twisted—sending him stumbling forward before a sharp kick knocked him several meters back.
"Again!" Lee yelled, springing up.
From the sidelines, Tenten muttered, "Lee's gotten so much stronger lately."
Neji raised an eyebrow, mildly impressed but not surprised. The gap between them was still wide.
"Alright, that's enough," Kitazawa said, stepping back.
He'd gauged Lee's level—slightly below Naruto's without Shadow Clones, but among the top in Taijutsu.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Tenten bowed slightly. "Please spar with me."
Kitazawa felt déjà vu.
Her name, outfit, and style—all reminiscent of that eastern nation.
In fact, many elements in the shinobi world came from that same source—Eight Trigrams Palm, the Gold and Silver Brothers, the Bashō Fan, even Son Gokū.
"Come."
He spun two kunai between his fingers.
Tenten unrolled a summoning scroll, unleashing a storm of ninja tools.
Kitazawa stayed still, flicking his kunai straight into the wave of weapons—then they vanished among the barrage.
Tenten's eyes sharpened as she searched for them.
A spark of realization lit her gaze—she threw another volley of shuriken.
Clang! Clang!
Two kunai dropped from above, landing neatly on either side of her.
Tenten smirked and reached for another scroll—then froze.
The two kunai suddenly sprang up, whirling through the air toward her!
Her pupils shrank.
She caught sight of faint, transparent chakra threads connecting the weapons.
That's—Uchiha-style Shuriken Control?!
Realizing she was cornered, she sighed. "I surrender, sensei."
Kitazawa nodded, retrieving the kunai. "Next."
Neji stepped forward calmly.
Kitazawa smiled. Finally—the real challenge.
Neji spread his palms, activating the Byakugan.
In the blink of an eye, he used Body Flicker to close the distance, thrusting a palm strike toward Kitazawa's chakra point.
Kitazawa didn't dodge—he simply reached out for Neji's wrist.
Fast! Neji thought, twisting his arm downward to evade, then countering with a strike to Kitazawa's thigh.
But Kitazawa's hand came down like a blade, striking Neji's wrist precisely.
Neji felt his chakra flow jam up—only for an instant, but enough to disrupt his next attack.
A coincidence? Did he just hit my tenketsu by luck?
Neji's eyes narrowed, but he continued, spinning to strike again with his left palm.
Kitazawa met it with a punch—his fist slamming right into Neji's palm, sending a jolt of numbness through his arm.
Before Neji could retreat, Kitazawa seized his arm and threw him over his shoulder.
Unable to recover in time, Neji crashed to the ground.
Dazed, he sat up and stared at his teacher in disbelief.
Every move, every strike—perfectly countered. It was as if Kitazawa knew Gentle Fist.
But that was impossible.
Kitazawa wasn't a Hyuga, nor did he possess the Byakugan.
How…?
"You okay?" Kitazawa asked, offering a hand.
"Thank you, sensei."
Neji stood, bowing respectfully. "Your strength… is impressive."
It sounded like a polite sparring remark—but Kitazawa knew it meant something more.
As expected of the Hyuga genius.
[Mission: Defeat Class 2-A's strongest—Hyuga Neji.]
[Reward: +10% Byakugan Purity.]
[Mission Complete. Reward Granted.]
"Your strength still needs polish," Kitazawa said lightly. "If you don't work harder, Hinata might surpass you next term."
Neji froze, face tightening instantly.
In the original story, Naruto had convinced Neji through fists first, then words.
For a genius like him, that was still the best way.