Ichiraku Ramen.
"I'm full—thank you for the treat!"
Might Guy stood up energetically and said,
"Kitazawa, if you want to keep learning taijutsu, come find me anytime."
"Deal."
Kitazawa agreed without hesitation.
"I'll go meet that Rock Lee you mentioned."
The guy smiled broadly.
"See you next time."
Kitazawa nodded slightly.
As he watched Guy leave, a thought crossed his mind—
Does this count as changing Rock Lee's fate?
If Lee started learning the Eight Gates six years early, would he still be completely shut down when he faced Gaara of the Sand?
"I'm full too, Kitazawa-sensei."
Hinata put down her chopsticks.
The large bowl of chashu ramen in front of her had been completely emptied.
"Teuchi, another bowl."
Kitazawa glanced over and said casually.
"For you?"
Teuchi poked his head out from behind the curtain and asked.
"Not for me—for Hinata."
Kitazawa smiled.
"Ah?"
Teuchi instinctively looked at Hinata.
"I…"
Hinata immediately felt embarrassed. She wanted to refuse, but didn't know how to say it.
"Hinata."
Kitazawa reached out and gently pinched her cheek.
"Tell your teacher honestly—are you really full?"
"N-no…"
Hinata's heart skipped a beat. Her face flushed as she answered softly.
"Well, I'll be damned…"
Teuchi muttered in amazement and went back into the kitchen.
Soon after, the second bowl of chashu ramen was served.
Under Kitazawa's gaze, Hinata blushed deeply and picked up her chopsticks.
Despite her embarrassment, her upbringing showed—she ate neatly and gracefully.
Ten minutes later, the second bowl was gone.
"Teuchi, one more bowl."
Kitazawa called out again.
Hinata pressed her lips together, the blush on her face deepening further.
This was the first time anyone had discovered her secret—
that she could really eat.
"Chakra is the product of physical energy and spiritual energy combined."
Kitazawa said gently.
"Being able to eat is a good thing."
At that moment, four lines of text appeared before his eyes.
[You have discovered your deskmate's secret. As class monitor, you should help her while keeping it confidential.]
[Current Task: Feed your deskmate Hyūga Hinata until she voluntarily reveals her secret.]
[Mission Reward: Byakugan.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's pupils contracted sharply.
He had completed many missions already, but the rewards had always been basic techniques.
Useful, yes—but still within reason for an ordinary chūnin.
This was different.
The Byakugan.
In the shinobi world's underground black market, both the Sharingan and the Byakugan carried bounties starting in the tens of millions of ryō.
Because of the Caged Bird Seal, an intact Byakugan was even more valuable—
a single pair was worth no less than an entire Sarutobi Asuma.
After all, in the ninja world, eyes were essentially plug-and-play.
Even if the Byakugan couldn't evolve like the Sharingan, a standard Byakugan was still an enormous boost.
Long-range vision, near-total transparency, and unparalleled perception—
combined, they would skyrocket Kitazawa's combat strength.
If he also learned Gentle Fist, advancing to jōnin would be trivial.
"Hinata, just eat."
Kitazawa snapped back to reality and said seriously.
"Teuchi and I will keep your secret."
"Keeping a customer's secrets is basic professional ethics."
Teuchi nodded solemnly.
"Thank you…"
Hinata picked up her chopsticks and began eating the third bowl.
Time passed slowly.
In the end, Hinata ate seven bowls of ramen.
Far fewer than in canon—but she was still very young.
Teuchi clicked his tongue in amazement.
If not for her Byakugan, he would've suspected she was from the Akimichi clan.
Still, as a ramen shop owner, he warmly welcomed big eaters.
"Hinata, how did this morning feel?"
Kitazawa asked as they left Ichiraku Ramen and headed back toward the academy.
Hinata fell silent.
She didn't know how to answer.
For her, this had been the most rebellious morning of her life—
Skipping class.
Climbing over walls.
Eating far more ramen than she ever should have.
It was thrilling—
but more than that, it felt free.
"I felt… very happy."
Her voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.
Kitazawa almost missed it.
They reached the entrance of First Year, Class A.
"See you next period, Hinata."
Kitazawa paused, then smiled.
"Today's special training was very effective. We'll keep it up tomorrow."
Hinata's face grew hot.
She nodded quickly, then turned and fled into the classroom.
It was lunchtime. Many students were already asleep at their desks.
"Hinata."
Ino lifted her head and asked curiously,
"Where did you go?"
In her mind, Hinata was the very definition of a model student.
Yet she had somehow become the first person in class to skip school.
"I… I went out with Kitazawa-sensei."
Hinata stammered.
"Kitazawa-sensei?"
Ino straightened up, curiosity burning brighter.
"N-nothing special… we just trained in taijutsu."
Hinata buried her face in her arms.
"Good afternoon."
Ino narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
Private lessons?
But Kitazawa didn't seem like that kind of teacher.
The afternoon arrived.
Kitazawa stood on the training field explaining kunai throwing techniques.
Previously they'd used stationary targets—
Now the targets were moving, and the difficulty skyrocketed.
Still, for clan students like Sasuke and Hinata, it was trivial.
They'd mastered this long before enrolling.
Soon, the class split into two groups.
Those who successfully hit moving targets entered free activity.
As before, Sasuke went straight to that tree to practice chakra control.
Kitazawa followed shortly after.
"Hey, want to go see what they're doing?"
Ino noticed the unusual pairing.
"No."
Shikamaru lay flat on the grass, completely unmotivated.
Chōji didn't answer—he was too busy eating chips.
"Hinata, let's go."
Ino grabbed Hinata's hand.
Sakura was still practicing kunai throws.
Her talent was decent among civilian ninja, but without clan training, she lagged behind.
"Ah—"
Hinata hesitated.
She was curious—but more than that, she worried about upsetting Kitazawa.
Seeing this, Ino simply dragged her along.
Soon, they reached the spot and saw Sasuke climbing the tree.
"Since you're here, you might as well train too."
Kitazawa noticed them and spoke calmly.
"Kitazawa-sensei."
Ino stepped forward confidently and smiled.
"What kind of training is this?"
Hinata glanced at Kitazawa, then lowered her head, her face tinged red.
"Chakra control training."
Kitazawa explained.
"Normally, you'd only encounter this after graduation."
He paused slightly, then smiled.
"But you're all geniuses—so you can try it early."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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