"Sasuke-kun."
Ino stepped forward and greeted him.
Sasuke didn't even glance her way, fully focused on maintaining the chakra under his feet.
Feeling awkward, Ino wisely chose not to say anything more and turned her gaze toward Hinata instead.
At that moment, Hinata was already standing sideways on the tree trunk, suspended several meters above the ground.
Her expression was serious and focused, her short blue hair hanging straight down with gravity.
Seeing this, a rare spark of competitiveness ignited in Ino's eyes.
If Sasuke won't pay attention to me, then I'll beat him at this.
With that thought, she immediately concentrated chakra into her feet and started climbing the tree.
Kitazawa observed for a while, then showed a hint of surprise.
Among the three of them, Hinata's chakra control was actually the best.
Is it because of the Byakugan?
The Hyūga clan's combat style relied on the Byakugan to see through the enemy's chakra flow, then use Gentle Fist to strike chakra points and sever circulation.
Once hit, the opponent's chakra became unusable, reducing them to an ordinary person—easy prey.
To pull that off, the Hyūga had to understand chakra extremely well.
Sasuke was undeniably a genius, but in chakra control, he was still a step behind.
In canon, even Sakura completed tree-walking before he did.
Just then, Ino let out a startled cry and fell.
Kitazawa stepped forward and caught her.
Her soft body landed in his arms, and he couldn't help but feel like he'd just caught a life-sized figurine.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei."
Ino exhaled shakily, her heart still pounding.
"It's nothing."
Kitazawa bent down and gently set her back on her feet.
"...?"
Sasuke glanced over instinctively, a question mark practically floating above his head.
When I fell yesterday, why didn't you catch me?
Men have to be strong on their own, huh?
"Hinata can climb that high already?"
Ino steadied herself and looked up, astonished to see Hinata nearing the top of the tree.
But the very next second, Hinata lost her balance and fell.
Ino froze, then stuck out her tongue apologetically.
Heaven knew—she'd meant that compliment sincerely.
Kitazawa reacted instantly and caught Hinata as well.
"Th-thank you…"
Hinata's face flushed red as she spoke.
"If you feel like you can't hold on, jump down early."
Kitazawa patted her head gently.
"Don't force yourself."
Boom.
Before anyone could dwell on the girls' falls, the next one to crash down was Sasuke.
"I'm fine."
Meeting the three of them, Sasuke suppressed his embarrassment and spoke calmly.
He brushed the dust off himself, turned around, and started climbing again.
Even though he pretended not to care about Ino and Hinata, the pressure was unmistakable.
An Uchiha always competed for first place—falling behind was unacceptable.
Ino and Hinata rejoined the training.
Kitazawa watched while offering pointers, occasionally catching them when they slipped.
Time passed quietly, until the dismissal bell rang.
"Finish this climb and call it a day."
Kitazawa waved.
"I'll go let the others know."
He headed back to the main field.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto ran over excitedly.
"I hit the moving target!"
"Well done."
Kitazawa glanced at the target.
It wasn't a bullseye, but being able to hit a moving target within one class period already put Naruto ahead of most students.
"Hehehe."
Naruto grinned brightly.
"Class is over. Be careful on your way home."
Kitazawa clapped his hands.
"Dismissed."
"Goodbye, Kitazawa-sensei!"
The students scattered instantly.
If you weren't enthusiastic about going home, something was wrong with you.
"Sensei, what are we learning in the next combat class?"
Naruto asked.
"Physical training."
Kitazawa thought for a moment before answering.
"Running?"
Naruto's eyes lit up.
"There will be running."
Kitazawa paused, surprised.
"You're interested in running?"
"I'm going to become the fastest ninja in the shinobi world!"
Naruto clenched his fist.
"Then I'll surpass the Fourth Hokage!"
"So that's it."
Kitazawa understood immediately.
Naruto had probably heard about Minato from Hiruzen.
[Your lifelong rival Uzumaki Naruto has challenged you in physical training. You accept with confidence.]
[Current Task: Take first place in physical training.]
[Mission Reward: Leaf Strong Whirlwind.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa let out a soft sound of surprise.
This was practically a free reward.
As a teacher, he was supposed to participate in physical training anyway.
But isn't my lifelong rival supposed to be Sasuke?
Why did it suddenly switch to Naruto?
"See you tomorrow."
After saying goodbye to Naruto, Kitazawa returned to the tree.
Before he even arrived, he noticed something was wrong.
Ino's face was pale as she leaned against Hinata.
Her left foot was on the ground, but her right foot hovered slightly.
"I'm fine."
Ino spoke up first.
"I just twisted my foot when I came down."
"Sit. I'll take a look."
Kitazawa stepped forward.
"Sasuke, Hinata—you two head home first."
"No need—ah…"
Ino gasped halfway through her sentence as pain shot through her.
"Enough. Don't push yourself."
Kitazawa helped her sit down.
"I'm pretty good at handling injuries like this."
Back when he was still an active ninja, medical-nin were scarce.
Four-man squads without a single medic were common.
In situations like that, you learned to treat yourself.
As long as it wasn't severe, medication could handle it temporarily.
"Thank you."
Ino stopped insisting and hesitated briefly before taking off her shoe.
Kitazawa took out a medicinal balm, rubbed it between his palms, then gently held her ankle and applied it.
Ino's gaze unconsciously drifted to his face.
This teacher is… actually really nice.
"All done."
Kitazawa withdrew his hand.
"When you get home, have a medic-nin look at it. It'll heal faster."
"Mm."
Ino pushed aside her wandering thoughts and said sincerely,
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei."
"I'll carry you back."
Kitazawa turned around and crouched down.
Ino froze for a moment, then shyly hooked one arm around his neck, holding her shoe in the other hand.
Lying on his back, she thought quietly—
Sensei really is a good person.
Kitazawa had no idea he'd just earned yet another mental Nice Guy Card.
When they reached the Yamanaka Flower Shop, he set her down.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Ino smiled, holding her shoe.
"See you tomorrow."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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