Kitazawa's grades at the ninja academy weren't exactly stellar.
Uchiha Itachi graduated at seven. Kitazawa barely scraped by at thirteen.
Naruto Uzumaki became the world's savior at seventeen. Kitazawa busted his ass and finally hit chunin rank at the same age.
In this cutthroat ninja world where nobody blinked at killing, Kitazawa was your classic no-talent, no-bloodline, no-backup nobody—a total triple threat of nothing.
To survive until the grand finale, he'd holed up teaching at the academy. Five whole years of it.
"Another peaceful day in Konoha," Kitazawa muttered to himself as he stood up and wandered to the window.
It was the annual back-to-school rush. The playground buzzed with kids swarming everywhere, full of energy.
He glanced down at the stack of new student files in his hand. One familiar name after another jumped out: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka, and the rest of the gang.
"Five years. Five damn years, and now the main characters are finally here," he thought with a sigh.
From here on out, his life boiled down to dodging two massive disasters.
First up: Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan. No sweat—that mess wouldn't touch the academy.
Second: Pain's invasion by the Akatsuki. That was a real headache. One slip-up, and boom—half the village in ruins, just like hauling a sack of rice down a few flights of stairs.
Kitazawa's game plan? Bail early. Fake a sick day and skip town.
He could time it perfectly based on when these kids enrolled.
He was mulling over the details when—*ding*.
[Host detected: Age six confirmed. Enrollment successful. Strongest Hokage Training System activated.]
Kitazawa froze on the spot.
Twenty-one years of waiting, and it shows up now? When he'd given up all hope? The door finally cracks open.
Lu Mingfei only waited seventeen years. What the hell took you so long?
Wait—hold up. Six? I'm six? What fresh bullshit is this?
"System, you sure you didn't glitch out somewhere?" Kitazawa couldn't help asking.
[Complete the first main quest: Dominate the ninja academy and become the strongest graduate.]
Dude, seriously? This dumb?
I'm thrilled you're here, but you got the timeline all screwed up. That pisses me off.
How the hell am I supposed to graduate now? Answer me!
No wonder they say blue's the color of wisdom. Cold and calculating.
Kitazawa got it now. This sunny system's fifteen years late.
Did that mean... he'd waited all this time for nothing?
[To dominate the academy, first conquer your classmates.]
[Current quest: Earn initial approval from your classmate, Naruto Uzumaki.]
[Reward: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa stared, totally deadpan.
He wasn't Naruto's classmate. How was he supposed to pull this off?
If he reapplied to the academy as a student, Hiruzen Sarutobi would probably just laugh and say, "Kid, you need a real expert at home. Nah, scratch that—get a medical ninja to check if zombies ate your brain."
"Who designed you? Some legendary introvert dev team?"
Kitazawa rubbed his temples, headache kicking in hard.
No choice. He'd roll with the punch.
If he couldn't finish the quest... well, what then? Just get mad? Swear a blue streak in some old-school slang?
But what if this idiot system actually let him complete it?
Silver lining: No penalties for skipping or rejecting quests.
"Can't stay this unlucky forever, right?" Kitazawa hit accept.
He set the files down and headed out of the office.
The playground was alive with the usual chaos when he stepped out—and the crude whispers hit him like a wave.
"Stay away from him. That guy's a freak."
"Don't play with him. Keep your distance."
"Can't believe the Hokage lets a monster like that in school."
Kitazawa spotted the kid: a little blond boy perched alone on the swing set.
Head down, quiet as a mouse, cut off from the fun by this thick, sad wall of isolation.
You guys are bold, he thought. Poking at a kid with a nuke inside him. Not scared of turning into barbecue?
Ignoring the stares, Kitazawa walked right up.
Naruto heard the footsteps and looked up on instinct. His eyes met a pair of calm, dark ones.
He blinked, caught off guard. No hate there—just something soft, almost kind.
"What's your name?" Kitazawa asked gently, like he had all the time in the world.
Getting Naruto's initial thumbs-up? Piece of cake, really.
In his world right now, only two people gave him that: Hiruzen and Iruka.
"I... I'm Naruto Uzumaki," the boy said, a flicker of warmth breaking through. He perked up. "What about you?"
"Kitazawa."
"Nice to meet you, big bro Kitazawa!" Naruto blurted, excitement bubbling over.
Kitazawa's mouth twitched. "Don't call me big bro. Call me Teacher."
"Teacher?" Naruto's eyes lit up. "Like, for Class 1-A?"
"Yeah."
"Awesome!" Naruto grinned wide. "That's my class too!"
"I'll take you to sign up." Kitazawa reached out, gave his shoulder a light pat.
"Thanks, Teacher Kitazawa!"
Naruto hopped off the swing, buzzing with energy. But after a couple steps, his face fell. He stared at the ground.
He felt the glares from all around. This time, they were aimed at Kitazawa too.
"Teacher Kitazawa, I can handle registration myself. You don't have to bother."
"Obsess over what others think, and you'll just end up their prisoner," Kitazawa said without turning, voice steady as ever.
Naruto stared at his back, a little lost. He kinda got it... but not really.
"Come on." Kitazawa waved his hand, fingers beckoning.
Naruto snapped out of it and hurried to catch up.
Class 1-A.
The room went dead silent when Naruto walked in. Every eye locked on him—including the registration teacher's, Iruka Umino.
Naruto's instinct was to duck his head, but those words from Kitazawa echoed in his mind.
He swallowed hard and faced them head-on.
"Iruka," Kitazawa said with his usual easy smile.
"Kitazawa-senpai," Iruka replied, shoving down whatever was churning inside.
In the original story, Iruka's folks died in the Nine-Tails mess. And right now, folks saw Naruto as the monster behind it all. So yeah, Iruka started off with some resentment.
"This is Naruto Uzumaki, new student for Class 1-A," Kitazawa said casually. "Get him registered."
Iruka pulled out the roster, jotted it down, and handed over the first-semester textbooks and schedule.
They wrapped up and headed to the school gates.
"First day of class tomorrow. Don't be late," Kitazawa reminded him.
"Got it!" Naruto nodded like his life depended on it. "Thanks, Teacher Kitazawa!"
"See you then." Kitazawa waved him off.
Naruto was the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, under watch from Hiruzen and ANBU. Kitazawa couldn't come off too scheming.
Good thing he was a teacher, not some Uchiha. Otherwise, he'd be stabbed in the back with eight kunai by morning—suicide style.
"Bye, Teacher Kitazawa!" Naruto bounced away, looking happier than he'd been in ages.
[Quest complete. Reward issued.]
Kitazawa's mind flooded with info in a rush.
Just like that, he had Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu down pat—from newbie to pro.
His face split into a grin. Talk about a hero's turnaround.
This thing was smart after all... or at least fair.
Sure, Fireball Jutsu got mocked for never killing anyone big-time, but for a regular chunin like Kitazawa? That was a game-changer.
"What's so funny? You look way too pleased with yourself."
The voice came out of nowhere.
Kitazawa glanced over.
Not far off stood a tall, curvy woman with long hair—a total bombshell type.
She smiled under the sunlight, her ruby-red eyes sparkling like gems.
(End of Chapter)