"As a medical ninja, you need a solid base of knowledge," Kitazawa said with a relaxed smile.
Medical ninjutsu might be quick and handy, but to use it properly, you still need to understand the human body inside and out.
Plus, medical ninjas often deal with poisons and antidotes, so they've got to know all about medicinal herbs across the shinobi world.
"…"
Sakura suddenly felt a pang of regret.
Why does being a medical ninja mean studying so much?
Is this job really that much of a hassle?
"You want to learn medical ninjutsu?"
Sasuke looked at Kitazawa, then over at Sakura, clearly surprised.
Coming from a ninja clan, he knew how hard medical ninjutsu really was.
Sakura aside, how was Kitazawa even going to teach it? Was he a medical ninja?
"Yep!"
Sakura quickly pushed her doubts aside and said with excitement, "From now on, if you get hurt, Sasuke-kun, I'll treat you—for free!"
"…"
Sasuke was speechless.
I mean, the thought is nice, but you sound a little too happy, like you're hoping I'll get injured.
"Sakura, you sure about this?" Kitazawa asked with a smile.
"Definitely!" she said firmly.
Ino facepalmed.
She'd never seen anyone take up medical ninjutsu for such a shallow reason.
"Women are scary…"
Shikamaru muttered under his breath.
If he had to read that many books, he'd pass out.
"Well, good luck."
Kitazawa pulled out another summoning scroll.
This time, he summoned a desk and chair set specially prepared for Sakura.
He knew she was the love-struck type, so he had her sit right next to Sasuke to keep her motivated.
"Ino, you don't have any big tasks today—just work on your Mind Body Switch Technique."
Kitazawa paused to think, then added,
The system had given him a mission related to it, but he honestly had no clue how that jutsu worked, so he figured he'd observe first.
"Got it," Ino replied with a nod.
"You already learned the Mind Body Switch?" Shikamaru looked shocked.
The Ino–Shika–Cho clans always kept in close contact and understood each other's secret jutsu well.
And in terms of difficulty, their family techniques were pretty equal.
Neither he nor Choji had hit the level to start learning theirs yet.
He didn't expect Ino to be the first one to qualify.
"That's thanks to Kitazawa-sensei's special training," Ino said with a small smirk. "Now that you've joined the special training, you'll be learning the Shadow Imitation Technique in no time."
I don't want that!
Shikamaru screamed internally.
He knew enough about Ino's special training to know it was rough—super time-consuming too.
She barely even attended regular classes during that stretch.
Thinking about spending all day, every day training made Shikamaru feel like his future just went pitch-black.
"Sasuke, how's your progress with the Manipulated Shuriken Technique?" Kitazawa asked.
"I've got it down," Sasuke replied with total confidence.
He'd originally planned to show it off in his sparring match with Neji, but that didn't pan out.
"I know you were kinda salty about missing Friday's friendly match," Kitazawa said. "So today, as a make-up, I'll teach you a B-rank Fire Style jutsu."
He paused and added, "It's one of the scrolls you gave me—Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire."
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!"
Sasuke's voice lit up.
I'm the worst…
He really had held a grudge, but now Kitazawa was responding with kindness. It made him feel guilty.
When he got home, he'd definitely ask his brother if there were any more fire jutsu he could pass along.
"B-rank?"
Shikamaru couldn't help but gape.
That level of jutsu was usually reserved for chunin or jonin.
And here was six-year-old Sasuke learning it? Insane.
You geniuses competing like this is just deadly.
If you're already this talented, why are you still grinding?
"Don't worry about missing that match," Kitazawa added. "Next month's final exam is going to be real combat. And getting first place? Not gonna be easy."
Sasuke's expression turned serious.
Before, he would've been 100% confident.
But now—Hinata had unlocked the Byakugan, Naruto had mastered Shadow Clones, and Yakumo had her crazy genjutsu bloodline.
All three were a real challenge.
"Is Yakumo going to participate?"
Ino asked, curious. "If she does, she's a lock for first."
"…"
Sasuke opened his mouth to object, but… had nothing to say.
"She probably won't," Kitazawa said after thinking a bit. "Her body can't handle that many matches."
To win first place in a combat exam, it definitely wouldn't be just one fight.
Sasuke quietly let out a breath of relief.
"But that's just this term. Next term might be a different story," Kitazawa said, shifting tone. "She's being treated by Tsunade-sama now, after all."
Sasuke's face tightened immediately. His anxiety spiked.
Kitazawa noticed and chuckled.
Just three sentences and the Uchiha kid was already stressed out.
"I'll work hard," Sasuke said, taking a deep breath.
If he wanted to take first, mastering Great Dragon Fire was key.
Unlocking his Sharingan would help too, but… he had no clue how to do that yet.
Guess I'll ask my brother tonight, Sasuke thought. He's a genius—he'll know.
Kitazawa was just about to speak again when he froze.
[First term is almost over. As a genius among geniuses, you need to blow them away.]
[Current Mission: Dominate the final exam and take first place by a huge margin.]
[Reward: The First Gate of the Eight Gates.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa twitched.
What kind of sketchy discount system is this?
Then again, even if it gave him all eight gates, he couldn't use them right now.
Eight Gates requires insane physical endurance. Without it, opening them meant serious injury—or death.
Maybe after he unlocked his full Senju bloodline.
But for now? Just the first gate would be great.
He remembered the First Gate—"Gate of Opening"—removes the brain's limiter and lets you use your full physical power.
That might sound small, but it made a huge difference in battle. Basically, you're in peak condition all the time.
The only problem was the quest itself.
If it were like the last written test, it'd be easy.
But this time it was real combat—meaning he had to fight the students himself.
He needed a good excuse. Otherwise, it'd look like he was bullying kids—and if word got out, his rep would be ruined.
Thankfully, he was still the teacher.
"Sasuke, I'll show you a demonstration," Kitazawa said after glancing around. "Everyone back up—I don't want to roast anyone."
Sasuke, Hinata, and the others quickly took several steps back.
Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!
Kitazawa formed the seals, chakra surging through him.
The air warped, and heat blasted outward.
Three massive fire dragons roared into the sky, spiraling upward under his control.
"Whoa, those dragons are huge!"
Ino blurted out.
"So… powerful…"
Sasuke muttered.
Shikamaru was stunned.
The control and power behind that jutsu were insane.
Just how strong was Kitazawa-sensei?
To him, Kitazawa had always just seemed like a regular academy teacher.
Only Hinata wasn't surprised.
After everything they'd been through, Kitazawa had become someone she saw as basically all-powerful.
"Here."
Kitazawa handed Sasuke a scroll. "It has the jutsu plus a bunch of my notes. Check it out."
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!"
Sasuke said, full of excitement.
The Great Dragon Fire already looked way stronger than the Fireball Technique.
No doubt—it was B-rank for a reason.
If he could master it, he'd shine across the entire Uchiha clan.
Watching him, Kitazawa suddenly remembered: Great Dragon Fire was a prerequisite for Lightning Style: Kirin.
In the original story, that was Sasuke's own S-rank lightning jutsu—considered peak Lightning Release.
But it required real thunderstorms.
Sasuke had used Great Dragon Fire to create the thunderclouds needed.
"My shadow clone will help you three," Kitazawa said, splitting off a clone. "Shikamaru, Hinata—come with me."
Hinata nodded quickly, looking excited.
Shikamaru, on the other hand, looked like he was headed to his funeral.
"Shikamaru, your training's simple—water walking."
Kitazawa led them to the school's artificial lake.
He skipped tree climbing because Shikamaru already had decent chakra control—he could tell from the way he did Clone Jutsu.
Lazy as he was, Shikamaru's skills were legit.
In the original story, every fight he had was basically flawless.
"Yes, Kitazawa-sensei," Shikamaru said, dragging himself into the water.
"Hinata, let's head over there."
Kitazawa motioned to a shaded area, and the two of them walked over, leaving Shikamaru to stew for a while.
"Hinata, show me the Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."
"Okay!"
She was nervous, but she followed his lead.
Kitazawa watched the whole thing without saying much.
He knew Hinata's shy nature made it harder for her to perform—best thing was to encourage her often.
From his system-installed mastery, he could see tons of flaws.
But that was expected—she'd only been practicing for two days.
Next step: correct everything, bit by bit.
Whether Hinata could beat Neji would depend on how hard she worked.
Kitazawa had already given her all the tools.
Neji, as a branch family member, wasn't even allowed to learn the Sixty-Four Palms.
If he was secretly copying it, he wouldn't master it that fast anyway.