"Kitazawa, long time no see."
Wrapped in white bandages, a pair of long, shapely legs stepped forward as Yuhi Kurenai walked up to Kitazawa.
"It hasn't been that long," Kitazawa replied. "We just met last week."
His gaze subconsciously fell on the bandages around her hands.
Even in his previous life, he had always been curious about why Kurenai often had bandages wrapped around her thighs and hands.
"Kitazawa, I'd like to ask you for a favor."
A gentle smile appeared on Kurenai's fair face as she spoke.
Kitazawa was slightly surprised.
Although Kurenai was also a Chunin like him, there were still differences among Chunins.
After all, she possessed inherited clan techniques.
Her father was Yuhi Shinku, one of the few Jonin in Konoha who specialized in genjutsu.
If Kurenai could be considered an elite among Chunins, then Kitazawa was nothing more than an ordinary one.
"I recently started working as a private tutor," Kurenai said with a troubled expression."But this student is extremely disobedient, so I wanted to learn from you."
Kitazawa fell into thought upon hearing this.
In the original story, Yuhi Kurenai was the team leader of Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba.
However, she also had another student—Kurama Yakumo.
Yakumo possessed a special genjutsu bloodline limit that allowed her illusions to manifest as reality.
Genjutsu belonged to Yin Release. When Yin Release grew too powerful, it caused severe physical problems.
For safety reasons, her parents refused to let her attend the Ninja Academy and instead hired Kurenai as a private tutor.
But Yakumo was obsessed with becoming a ninja.
After repeated rejections, a Yin Release monster named Ido was born within her heart. When it lost control, it killed her parents.
Sensing the danger within Yakumo, the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Kurenai to suppress the monster inside her.
"You've been voted the Ninja Academy's most outstanding teacher for three consecutive years,"Kurenai said, clapping her hands together and bowing slightly."Please—help me, old classmate!"
Just as Kitazawa was about to speak, a blue light screen appeared before his eyes.
[Current Mission: Help your classmate Kurama Yakumo return to the Ninja Academy.][Mission Reward: Genjutsu – Tree Binding Kill.][Accept?]
Kitazawa frowned slightly.
Wasn't there something off about the difficulty and the reward?
Or perhaps this mission wasn't as difficult as he imagined.
After all, this point in time was several years earlier than Yakumo's original storyline.
Besides, having more missions never hurt—and failing carried no penalty.
He decided to accept it first.
"No problem," Kitazawa said."I'm fairly confident in my teaching ability."
"Thank you," Kurenai said, patting her chest with relief."With your help, I feel much more at ease."
"Come find me after school tomorrow," Kitazawa said after a moment of thought."I'll share some teaching experience with you then."
"Alright."Kurenai nodded and laughed brightly. "I'll treat you to drinks tomorrow night."
"Sounds good," Kitazawa replied without hesitation."We won't leave until we're drunk."
"Since we were kids, you've never beaten me in drinking,"Kurenai said smugly."I'll probably end up taking you home again."
"That was then. This is now,"Kitazawa retorted stubbornly.
"Then I'll look forward to your performance."Kurenai reached out and lightly punched his shoulder."See you tomorrow."
Kitazawa watched her walk away and shook his head helplessly.
He and Kurenai had been childhood friends. They'd been classmates since the age of six—fifteen years in total.
Besides her, his classmates back then included Hatake Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, Uchiha Obito, and Nohara Rin.
Most of them had died during the Third Shinobi World War.By now, the grass on their graves was several feet tall.
There was no doubt about it—Kitazawa was a transmigrator.
After leaving a comment under a Naruto fanfiction titled "Infiltrating Konoha, Part-Time Hokage"—"Have you ever actually been a ninja? Some things are written based on pure assumption"—he found himself in Konoha.
Because both his parents were Chunin of the village, he was sent to the Ninja Academy at the age of six.
Unfortunately, his talent was mediocre.
He finally graduated at thirteen and became a Genin—only to receive news of his parents' deaths.
That was when Kitazawa truly understood how cruel reality was.
Shouting about bonds and friendship while charging at Uchiha Madara was something only protagonists could do.
He was cannon fodder among cannon fodder.
So he resolutely changed careers and became a teacher.
At the Ninja Academy, Kitazawa primarily taught the Will of Fire and the history of Konoha. Occasionally, he taught practical combat classes such as the Three Body Techniques.
Based on the Will of Fire, he proposed the theory:"The Hokage is the sun, and the debt owed to the Hokage can never be repaid."
This philosophy was the reason he had been selected as the Academy's most outstanding teacher for three consecutive years.
Of course, his actual teaching ability was also solid.
After pondering for a moment, Kitazawa didn't return to the school. Instead, he headed north.
With Umino Iruka handling registration, there was nothing to worry about.
"System, bring up my character panel."
He silently called out in his mind.
[Name: Kitazawa][Age: Six years old][Ninjutsu: Clone Technique, Substitution Technique, Transformation Technique, Body Flicker Technique,Wind Release – Gale Palm, Fire Release – Great Fireball Technique][Evaluation: So-called geniuses are merely the threshold to noticing you. You are a born ninja, destined to become the strongest.]
Kitazawa rolled his eyes.
He suspected the system was being sarcastic.
A twenty-one-year-old genius ninja?If that got out, the Uchiha clan would laugh for three days and nights straight.
But when he saw the age on the panel, he understood.
The system wasn't lying—it was simply running its program on a bug.
Kitazawa recalled a saying:If a bug works, don't fix it.
At a training ground on the outskirts of Konoha, Kitazawa stopped and formed hand seals.
A massive amount of chakra gathered in his throat.
As he exhaled, a gigantic fireball—five to six meters in diameter—burst forth.
The air distorted. The terrifying heat sent waves of scorching wind outward.
Boom!
The fireball slammed into the ground, instantly scorching the area black.
"This system is actually pretty impressive,"Kitazawa muttered, then broke into a satisfied smile.
The power of a ninjutsu depended on both chakra and proficiency.
Kitazawa had seen many ninjas use the Great Fireball Technique—but none had produced such overwhelming power.
Without exaggeration, if his chakra reserves were sufficient, he wouldn't be inferior to Uchiha Madara.
This was the true value of a system that directly maxed out proficiency.
…
Inside the Hokage's office.
Sarutobi Hiruzen opened a scroll.
It recorded everything Uzumaki Naruto had experienced that day.
When he saw Kitazawa's interaction with Naruto, he fell into deep thought.
Soon, Kitazawa's profile came to mind.
An ordinary Chunin—but one with unique insight into the Will of Fire.
"He probably doesn't know Naruto's true identity,"Hiruzen murmured, nodding slightly.
While others feared Naruto like a monster, Kitazawa treated him fairly.
That alone proved he truly practiced the Will of Fire.
"I wonder what Naruto will learn from him."
A trace of anticipation appeared on the Third Hokage's face.
Transmigration link.