Kitazawa's performance at the Ninja Academy had never been impressive.
Uchiha Itachi graduated at the age of seven.
Kitazawa barely scraped through at thirteen.
Uzumaki Naruto became the savior of the world at seventeen.
At seventeen, Kitazawa exhausted every last ounce of effort just to become a chūnin.
In a shinobi world where killing without blinking was the norm, Kitazawa was a triple-nothing ninja—
no talent, no bloodline, no backing.
To survive until the very end, he made a single, pragmatic choice:
He ran to the Ninja Academy and became a teacher.
And once he started teaching… five full years passed in the blink of an eye.
"Another peaceful day in Konoha," Kitazawa muttered.
He stood up and walked over to the window.
Today was the annual enrollment day. The academy grounds below were crowded and lively, filled with voices and movement.
Lowering his head, Kitazawa looked at the stack of freshman records in his hand.
One familiar name after another entered his sight.
Uzumaki Naruto.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Hyūga Hinata.
Yamanaka Ino.
Haruno Sakura.
Akimichi Chōji.
Nara Shikamaru.
Inuzuka Kiba…
"Five years. A full five years," Kitazawa sighed inwardly.
"The protagonists have finally arrived."
From this point on, only two great calamities remained in his life.
The first was Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan.
The second was Nagato's Pain invasion.
The former didn't involve the Ninja Academy—manageable.
The latter, however, was troublesome.
After all, once that 'one bag of rice carried up several floors' incident happened, over half of Konoha would be flattened.
Kitazawa's plan was simple:
leave the village in advance. Take a leave of absence. Run.
As for when, he could calculate it based on the year Naruto and the others enrolled.
Just as he was mentally running through the timeline—
Ding.
A crisp electronic sound echoed in his mind.
[Detected: Host has reached the age of six and successfully enrolled in the academy.]
[The Strongest Hokage Cultivation System is now online.]
Kitazawa froze on the spot.
Twenty-one years.
He had waited twenty-one years.
And when he had already given up all hope… the door finally opened.
Even Lu Mingfei only had to wait seventeen years, he thought bitterly.
Why did you take so damn long?
Wait—hold on.
Where the hell did you send me?
Six years old?!
"System… is there something wrong with you?" Kitazawa asked carefully.
[Please complete the first phase of the main storyline.]
[Dominate the Ninja Academy and become the strongest graduate.]
"…Brother, are you stupid?"
You showing up at all makes me happy.
You showing up fifteen years late makes me very unhappy.
How am I supposed to be a graduate now?!
Answer me!
No wonder people say blue is the color of intelligence.
Kitazawa finally understood—the damn system had arrived fifteen years late.
Did that mean… he'd waited for nothing?
[To dominate the Ninja Academy, you must first conquer your classmates.]
[Current Mission: Obtain the initial recognition of your classmate, Uzumaki Naruto.]
[Mission Reward: Fire Release — Great Fireball Technique.]
[Do you accept?]
Kitazawa stared blankly.
He wasn't Naruto's classmate.
How was he supposed to do this mission?
If he tried to reapply as a student now, Sarutobi Hiruzen would probably reply with:
Your family should consult an expert.
No—a medical ninja. Check if your brain's been eaten by zombies.
"Who designed this system? Some legendary introverted dev team?" Kitazawa muttered, rubbing his temples.
Headache.
There was no choice—he could only roll with it.
If the mission failed, then… Well, nothing would happen anyway.
The worst case was getting angry.
Maybe cursing a few times.
But what if… what if this idiotic system could be completed?
Thankfully, whether he rejected or failed missions, there was no punishment.
"…A man can't be unlucky forever."
Kitazawa chose to accept.
He put down the student files and left the office.
The moment he reached the playground, harsh voices filled the air.
"Don't go near him. That kid's a monster."
"Stay away from him. Seriously."
"I don't get why the Hokage-sama even lets him attend school."
Kitazawa followed the voices with his gaze.
On a swing sat a blond-haired boy, head lowered.
Silent. Isolated.
Separated from the surrounding liveliness by an invisible but cruel wall.
Impressive, Kitazawa thought dryly.
Bullying a walking nuclear weapon… aren't you afraid of becoming acquaintances with death?
Ignoring the strange looks around him, Kitazawa walked over.
Hearing footsteps, Uzumaki Naruto instinctively looked up—
and met a pair of calm, black eyes.
He froze.
The man before him showed no disgust. No hostility.
Only gentleness.
"What's your name?" Kitazawa asked patiently.
Getting Naruto's initial recognition was, honestly, easy.
At this stage of Naruto's life, only two people acknowledged his existence—
Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Ichiraku Teuchi.
"I… I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he replied hesitantly.
A faint warmth rose in his chest. Encouraged, he asked, "A-and you?"
"Kitazawa," he answered.
"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."
"That's great!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm in Class A too!"
"I'll take you to register."
Kitazawa placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Teacher Kitazawa!"
Naruto jumped off the swing—but after a few steps, his expression stiffened.
He felt the familiar looks of disgust again.
This time, even Kitazawa was being affected.
"Teacher Kitazawa… I can go register by myself," Naruto said quietly.
"If you care too much about other people's eyes," Kitazawa replied calmly, without turning back,
"you'll only become their prisoner."
Naruto stared blankly at his back.
He understood… yet didn't.
"Keep up."
Kitazawa lifted his hand and motioned with his fingers.
Naruto snapped back to reality and hurried after him.
First-Year, Class A
The moment Naruto entered, the classroom fell silent.
All eyes landed on him.
Including those of the registration teacher—Umino Iruka.
Naruto instinctively wanted to lower his head.
But for some reason, he remembered Kitazawa's words.
Clenching his fists, he forced himself to face the gazes.
"Iruka," Kitazawa greeted with his usual gentle smile.
"Senior Kitazawa," Iruka replied, suppressing his emotions.
In the original timeline, his parents had died during the Nine-Tails incident.
And Naruto, labeled a monster, was someone he initially resented.
"This is Uzumaki Naruto," Kitazawa said evenly.
"A new student for First-Year Class A. Please register him."
Iruka took out the roster, completed the registration, and handed Naruto his textbooks and schedule.
After finishing, the two left the classroom and walked to the school gate.
"Tomorrow is the first day of school. Don't be late," Kitazawa reminded him.
"Mm!" Naruto nodded hard. "Thank you, Teacher Kitazawa!"
"See you tomorrow."
Kitazawa waved.
Naruto was the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, constantly monitored by the Hokage and ANBU.
Kitazawa couldn't afford to appear overly purposeful.
Thankfully, he was a teacher—not a member of the Uchiha clan.
Otherwise, he'd probably wake up the next day with eight kunai in his back, ruled a suicide.
"Goodbye, Teacher Kitazawa!"
Naruto turned and hopped away, visibly cheerful.
[Mission completed. Reward issued.]
A flood of information surged into Kitazawa's mind.
In an instant, he fully grasped Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, jumping straight from beginner to mastery.
Kitazawa's expression shifted dramatically.
So this really is a—
Ahem.
A conscientious system.
Sure, the Great Fireball was often mocked for never killing anyone—
but for an ordinary chūnin like him, it was a lethal trump card.
"What are you smiling so happily about?"
A sudden voice spoke.
Kitazawa looked up.
Not far away stood a tall, elegant woman with long hair.
She wore a faint smile, and under the sunlight, her ruby-like eyes shimmered brightly.
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