Kitazawa's academic performance at the Ninja Academy had never been impressive.
Uchiha Itachi graduated at the age of seven. He barely managed to graduate at thirteen.Uzumaki Naruto became the savior of the ninja world at seventeen. At seventeen, he had exhausted himself just to become a Chunin.
In this ninja world where killing was as casual as breathing, Kitazawa was a triple-nothing ninja—no talent, no bloodline, and no backing.
In order to survive until the very end, he chose the safest path available: teaching at the Ninja Academy.He had been teaching there for five full years.
"Today, Konoha is peaceful again."
Kitazawa stood up and walked to the window.
It was the annual opening day of the Academy. The playground below was bustling with people, lively and noisy.
Lowering his gaze, Kitazawa looked at the stack of freshman files in his hand. One familiar name after another entered his sight.
Uzumaki Naruto.Uchiha Sasuke.Hyuga Hinata.Yamanaka Ino.Haruno Sakura.Akimichi Choji.Nara Shikamaru.Inuzuka Kiba.
"Five years. A full five years,"Kitazawa sighed inwardly."I've finally waited for the main characters to arrive."
From this point on, only two calamities remained in his life.
The first was Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan.The second was the Akatsuki leader Nagato's Pain invasion.
The former didn't involve the Ninja Academy, so it wasn't a big concern.
The latter was much more troublesome. One man carrying a sack of rice down a few floors ended up destroying more than half of Konoha.
Kitazawa's plan was simple: leave early. Take time off. Get out of the village.
As for the exact timing, he could calculate it based on when Naruto and the others enrolled.
Just as he was pondering this, a crisp sound rang out in his mind.
Ding.
[Host detected to be over six years old and successfully enrolled.][The Strongest Hokage Training System has been activated.]
Kitazawa froze on the spot.
After waiting twenty-one years—at the moment when he had given up all hope—the door finally opened.
Ashino Akito only had to wait seventeen years.Why did this damn system take so long to arrive for me?
Wait.
Hold on.
Where the hell did you send me?
I'm six years old?!
"System," Kitazawa asked cautiously, "is something wrong with you?"
[Please complete the first-stage main quest.][Dominate the Ninja Academy and become the strongest graduate.]
…Brother, are you actually this stupid?
"I'm happy you finally showed up," Kitazawa muttered, "but I'm very unhappy that you got the timing wrong."
"How the hell am I supposed to graduate now? Answer me!"
"No wonder they say blue is the color of wisdom."
Now he understood.This so-called system from Biyang had arrived fifteen years late.
Could it be… that he had waited for nothing?
[To dominate the Ninja Academy, you must first conquer your classmates.][Current Mission: Gain the initial approval of your classmate, Uzumaki Naruto.][Mission Reward: Fire Release – Great Fireball Technique.][Accept?]
Kitazawa was completely speechless.
He wasn't Naruto's classmate. How was he supposed to complete this mission?
If he applied to re-enroll in the Ninja Academy as a student, Sarutobi Hiruzen would probably reply:Your family should hire an expert—no, a medical ninja—to check whether your brain was eaten by zombies.
"Who designed this system?" Kitazawa muttered, rubbing his temples."The legendary i-human team?"
There was nothing he could do except go along with it.
If he couldn't complete the mission, then… well, he couldn't do anything about it anyway.
At most, he could get angry and curse a few times.
But what if—just what if—this idiot system's mission could actually be completed?
Thankfully, there was no penalty for refusing or failing a task.
"People can't be unlucky forever, right?"
Kitazawa chose to accept.
He set the student files down and left the office.
The moment he reached the playground, a wave of crude voices entered his ears.
"Don't go near him. That guy's a monster.""Don't play with him. Stay far away.""I really don't understand why the Hokage-sama would allow him to attend school."
Kitazawa looked toward the swing set.
A blond boy sat there alone, head lowered, silent and withdrawn, separated from the surrounding liveliness by an invisible yet painfully thick barrier.
You people are really something, Kitazawa thought.Daring to breathe down the neck of a kid carrying a nuclear bomb—aren't you afraid of becoming acquaintances?
Ignoring the strange looks around him, Kitazawa walked forward.
Hearing footsteps, Uzumaki Naruto subconsciously raised his head and met a pair of black eyes.
He froze.
The man's expression was gentle. There was no malice at all.
"What's your name?"Kitazawa asked patiently, sighing inwardly.
Gaining Naruto's initial approval was actually quite simple.
In this world, only two people currently acknowledged Naruto's existence—Sarutobi Hiruzen and Ichiraku Teuchi.
"I… I'm Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto felt a warmth rise in his chest. His spirits lifted.
"And you?" he asked.
"Kitazawa," he replied.
"Hello, Kitazawa big brother!" Naruto said excitedly.
"Don't call me 'big brother,'"Kitazawa's mouth twitched."Call me 'teacher.'"
"Teacher?" Naruto's eyes lit up."Are you the teacher for First-Year Class A?"
"Yes," Kitazawa nodded.
"That's great!" Naruto said happily."I'm also in Class A!"
"I'll take you to register," Kitazawa said, reaching out and patting his shoulder.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto jumped off the swing, but after taking two steps, his expression stiffened. He lowered his head.
He noticed the disgusted gazes around him—this time, even Kitazawa was being affected.
"Kitazawa-sensei," Naruto said softly, stopping,"I can register by myself. You don't need to worry about me."
"If you care too much about what others think,"Kitazawa said calmly without turning back,"you'll only become their prisoner."
Naruto stared blankly at his back.
He understood a little… yet didn't quite understand.
"Keep up."
Kitazawa raised his hand and beckoned.
Naruto snapped out of it and instinctively hurried after him.
First-Year Class A.
The moment Naruto entered, the classroom fell silent. All eyes turned toward him.
Among them was the teacher handling registration—Umino Iruka.
Naruto instinctively wanted to lower his head, but for some reason, he remembered what Kitazawa had just said.
He gathered his courage and met those gazes head-on.
"Iruka,"Kitazawa greeted him with his usual smile.
"Kitazawa-senpai,"Iruka replied, suppressing his emotions.
In the original timeline, his parents had died during the Nine-Tails' attack.And now, Naruto was seen as a monster—so Iruka initially harbored resentment toward him.
"He's Uzumaki Naruto," Kitazawa said evenly."A new student in First-Year Class A. Please register him."
Iruka took out the roster, completed the registration, and handed Naruto his first semester's textbooks and timetable.
Afterward, the two left the classroom and arrived at the school gate.
"Tomorrow is the first day of class," Kitazawa reminded him."Don't be late."
"Okay!" Naruto nodded firmly."Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!"
"See you tomorrow," Kitazawa said, waving.
As the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, Naruto was under constant surveillance by Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Anbu. Kitazawa couldn't act with obvious intent.
Fortunately, he was a teacher—not a member of the Uchiha clan. Otherwise, he'd probably be found with eight kunai in his back the next day, ruled a suicide.
"Goodbye, Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto skipped away, clearly in high spirits.
[Mission completed. Reward issued.]
A torrent of information surged into Kitazawa's mind.
In an instant, he fully mastered Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, jumping straight from beginner to expert.
Kitazawa immediately put on a heroic expression.
So this really is a… conscientious system.
Although the Great Fireball Technique was often joked about as never killing anyone, for an ordinary Chunin like Kitazawa, it was already a lethal move.
"What are you smiling about? So happy?"
A sudden voice sounded.
Kitazawa turned instinctively.
Not far away stood a tall, mature woman with long hair and an elegant figure.
She wore a smile, and under the sunlight, her ruby-like eyes sparkled brilliantly.
Relaxed. Invincible. Multiple heroines.Ten thousand words a day—read with confidence.