A new day.
Kitazawa woke up early, because the first class of the day was the Will of Fire, a subject he personally taught.
From another perspective, this also showed how much Sarutobi Hiruzen valued it.
That old geezer was truly devious—rotten to the core. A complete voyeur.
Kitazawa was absolutely certain that Hiruzen would be using his crystal ball to spy on his class.
Of course, not because of him.
But because of Uzumaki Naruto and the others.
When Kitazawa arrived at the First-Year Class A classroom, he found that only five students had shown up so far.
He scanned the room, and his gaze eventually settled on a small girl sitting in the middle row.
She was dressed conservatively in long sleeves and long pants, her short hair a dark shade of blue.
But what stood out the most were her eyes—pure white, without visible pupils.
This was the Byakugan.
A bloodline limit unique to the Hyuga clan, granting the ability to see through objects and perceive chakra flows.
[Current Mission: Help your deskmate Hinata Hyuga retrieve her scarf.][Mission Reward: Leaf Whirlwind.][Accept?]
Kitazawa looked at the three lines of text that suddenly appeared before his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching.
How exactly was he supposed to become Hinata Hyuga's deskmate?
After thinking for a few seconds, Kitazawa came up with a way to fool the system.
He slowly walked over and sat down beside her.
"…?"
Hinata Hyuga felt puzzled.
But her shy personality prevented her from asking anything. She lowered her head, her two index fingers nervously poking at each other.
"I'm Kitazawa, the teacher of First-Year Class A," Kitazawa said, turning to look at her.
Her skin was snow-white, like a finely crafted porcelain doll.
"T-Teacher, hello!"Hinata greeted him hurriedly.
The Hyuga clan was considered nobility among ninja families, and they placed great emphasis on rules and etiquette.
"No need to be so polite," Kitazawa said with a gentle smile."May I be your deskmate?"
He didn't mention the scarf yet—it would have been too abrupt.
"Yes," Hinata answered instinctively, but then tilted her head, confusion written on her face.
"I haven't finished preparing my lesson," Kitazawa said, opening the documents in his hands."There aren't any seats at the podium, so I can only sit here temporarily."
This was, of course, a lie.
But Hinata didn't think too deeply about it and believed him.
At that moment, three new lines of text appeared before Kitazawa.
[Current Mission: Become the first student in the class to attract the attention of Principal Sarutobi Hiruzen.][Mission Reward: Wind Release – Great Breakthrough.][Accept?]
There was such a good thing?
This system wasn't as stupid as he'd thought.
Kitazawa accepted immediately—after all, it was something he planned to do anyway.
He had originally intended to leave a deep impression on Hiruzen during the very first class.
This was called social finesse. Loyalty was the key.
Hinata Hyuga stared blankly at the handsome teacher sitting beside her.
He really was easy to talk to.
At the same time, she felt a twinge of envy.
If she had a personality like his, perhaps she wouldn't have disappointed her father, Hyuga Hiashi, time and time again.
"What are you looking at?"Kitazawa had just thought of a solution when he noticed Hinata staring off into space, her clear eyes looking a little dazed.
"N-Nothing…"Hinata met his gaze, her face instantly turning red.
"Oh right," Kitazawa said with a smile."You still haven't told me your name, Hyuga."
"Eh?"Hinata hurriedly stood up, flustered."I-I'm very sorry! My name is Hyuga Hinata!"
"Look at you—so polite again,"Kitazawa said, reaching out and gently patting her head."We're deskmates now, not teacher and student."
"I-I'm sorry…"Hinata stiffened and lowered her head again.
"Sit down and talk,"Kitazawa said, withdrawing his hand.
Hinata obediently sat down, legs together, hands resting neatly on her lap.
Suddenly, she thought of something and looked up.
"Um… how did you know my surname is Hyuga?"she asked curiously.
"Of course it's because of your Byakugan,"Kitazawa replied, studying her eyes.
"D-Don't look…"Hinata turned her head away."It's not pretty."
"I think it's very pretty,"Kitazawa said, a thought flashing through his mind."Why do you think it isn't?"
"I…"Hinata hesitated, her expression conflicted.
"We're friends now,"Kitazawa said with a smile.
"They said it,"Hinata's small face turned pale."They said the Byakugan is ugly."
So that was it.
These were the exact words spoken by the three troublemaking brats who bullied Hinata in the original story.
And the scarf mentioned in the mission had been stolen by them as well.
"So something like that really happened,"Kitazawa said, his expression turning serious."Then I'll have to rein them in."
"Huh?"Hinata was completely caught off guard and froze.
"Do you remember them?"Kitazawa asked gently."Don't worry. I'm a teacher—I won't hurt them."
"I remember,"Hinata nodded, then added with difficulty,"but I don't know their names."
"That's fine,"Kitazawa said casually."Just tell me their main characteristics."
"There were three boys, about my age…"Hinata recalled softly."That's all I remember."
"That's enough,"Kitazawa smiled."I already have a few candidates in mind. I'll confirm it after class."
Every class had a few problem children.
And with Hinata's description, finding them wouldn't be difficult.
"Th-That's amazing!"Hinata blurted out.
In her heart, Kitazawa had already become a very reliable adult.
"It's nothing,"Kitazawa waved it off."I'll let you know once I have results."
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei,"Hinata said gratefully.
Just as Kitazawa was about to speak again, voices came from the doorway.
"Sakura, don't you think our teacher is really handsome?"
"Whether the teacher is handsome doesn't matter—what matters is having lots of handsome classmates!"
Two young girls walked into the classroom.
One had pink hair tied with a ribbon, revealing a smooth, pale forehead.
The other had blonde hair tied into a high ponytail, with bangs covering her right eye.
Kitazawa recognized them immediately.
Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino.
The former was one of the original heroines, who—together with Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke—saved the ninja world.
Of course, she wasn't the MVP.
The latter was the "Ino" of Konoha's new generation Ino–Shika–Cho, specializing in control and perception.
Both girls liked Uchiha Sasuke, but without the heroine's halo, they ultimately became the classic blonde losers.
"So handsome!"Yamanaka Ino widened her eyes when she noticed Kitazawa.
"Is this our teacher?"Haruno Sakura perked up and asked.