"You're the lightweight here—blacked out after just two drinks."
Kitazawa shook his head.
He'd planned to use the drinking game to get a read on Tsunade's current thoughts, but the moment he got to the second question, she was already out.
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Is she faking this?
After a moment of hesitation, he scooped her up in his arms.
If she didn't want to talk, he wasn't going to force it. And honestly, he'd already gotten what he came for.
Right now, Tsunade was like Schrödinger's cat—there was a chance she'd agree to treat her hemophobia tomorrow.
They left the bar.
A knock echoed through the hallway.
Shizune walked over and opened the door—and froze when she saw Kitazawa carrying Tsunade.
"She's completely drunk," Kitazawa said. "I had no choice but to carry her back."
"Then take her straight to her room," Shizune replied, stepping aside.
"Sure."
Kitazawa carried her into her bedroom and laid her down on the bed. She looked completely unguarded, and he couldn't help but glance at her a couple of times.
"I'll head out, Shizune-senpai."
He nodded politely, then walked next door—to Kurenai's place.
It was Tuesday afternoon, but there were no classes. Tsunade was passed out, and Shizune couldn't go to the hospital like this, so Kitazawa figured it was a good time to train some Wind Release. Plus, after a busy morning of surgery, he could use the break.
…
Back in Tsunade's room—
"Figures. Men really are all the same."
The moment Kitazawa left, Tsunade opened her eyes and stretched.
With her awareness, it was obvious when someone was sneaking glances. But weirdly, she wasn't even mad about it.
"W-Wait, Tsunade-sama… were you faking?" Shizune asked, having just returned and now staring wide-eyed.
"That guy's way too sharp. I agreed to that drinking game, so the only way out was to pretend I was out cold."
Tsunade swung her legs off the bed.
"What kind of drinking game?"
Shizune still looked confused.
"Nothing important."
Tsunade turned her gaze toward the window.
Even she didn't fully understand what was going through her head.
If she really didn't care about the village anymore, she should've left already. So why was she still here, hesitating?
Back at the bar, she'd snapped out of her daze the moment Kitazawa asked the first question. And instead of facing it, she'd dodged.
Have I really fallen below Naruto now?
She sighed silently.
Even Naruto had the guts to fight back when there was no chance of winning. But her? She didn't even dare to try.
…
The next day—Wednesday, October 2nd.
Kitazawa showed up bright and early at the first-year staff room.
"Kitazawa-senpai?"
Iruka blinked in surprise. Kitazawa never came by this early.
"Iruka," Kitazawa said, not even stepping inside. "Let all the grade-level teachers know—we've got a meeting at noon."
"What time exactly?"
"12:40," he replied after a short pause. That'd give them enough time to grab lunch.
"Got it."
Iruka looked curious, but didn't ask for details.
With the monthly exams over, Class 1-A had gone back to normal. Well, mostly.
Sasuke Uchiha, for example, definitely hadn't settled down. He was training even harder than usual—practically throwing himself into it.
That fourth-place ranking in the combat exam clearly got to him.
Too bad it didn't trigger a new mission. Kitazawa figured it was because Sasuke didn't need help right now—his goals for Fire Release and Genjutsu were clear. A real setback might trigger something next time.
Kitazawa wasn't in a rush. He had enough on his plate.
"You're improving fast, Kabuto," Kitazawa said after watching for a while. "Your Wind Release: Gale Palm looks solid."
"I'm not an academy student, so I don't have to worry about exams," Kabuto replied modestly. "I've just been focused on Wind techniques these past few days."
"You'll be ready for a new one next week." Kitazawa paused. "But I might be out on a mission this weekend—can't guarantee I'll be back in time."
He handed Kabuto a scroll.
"This is the Wind Release: Great Breakthrough technique. I'm teaching it to you now just in case."
If it were Naruto or Sasuke, Kitazawa wouldn't have done this. But Kabuto was older, with a strong foundation—no problem at all.
"Thanks, Kitazawa-sensei."
Both Gale Palm and Great Breakthrough were C-rank in terms of difficulty.
Kitazawa's teaching routine was the same as always: explain, demonstrate, then let Kabuto practice while he corrected mistakes.
Around noon, after lunch with Hinata and the others, Kitazawa made his way to the conference room.
By 12:40, all the teachers were seated.
"I called you all here to announce something," he said straight-up. "We're forming a student council."
"A what now?"
Everyone looked around at each other. Iruka was the one who finally raised his hand.
"A group formed by students, managed by students," Kitazawa explained. "The Hokage already gave it the green light."
That shut everyone up immediately.
If the Hokage said yes, there was nothing left to discuss. Just carry it out.
"I'll walk you through how it'll be set up," Kitazawa said, then repeated the proposal he'd given to Hiruzen.
"You really are something, Kitazawa-senpai!"
"No wonder the Hokage approved!"
"This idea is genius!"
The teachers started whispering praises. Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.
Okay... are they hyping me up right now?
For the first time, he actually felt like some kind of important figure.
Up till now, being the Academic Director was mostly just a pay raise. But being a Special Jōnin? That mattered. It gave him a seat at the Jōnin meetings—he had a voice now. Add in his close ties to Hiruzen and Tsunade, and yeah, he was a big deal in their eyes.
"Per the Hokage's orders, we'll run this student council on a trial basis," he continued. "I'll serve as acting president. Each class should nominate two to three students."
Originally, he'd wanted to hold a big combat exam for selection, but for a trial run, it wasn't necessary. A few reps from each class would do the job. Then they'd just need to organize a couple of successful events, and Hiruzen would see the council's value.
"Submit your class lists to my office tomorrow," Kitazawa said, standing up. "That's all—meeting adjourned."
That afternoon, he spent a few hours on shift at the hospital before strolling back to the training field.
"Kitazawa-sensei!"
Students from both classes called out cheerfully.
After spending so much time together, they fully trusted his abilities as a teacher.
Sasuke, Neji, and the others who'd trained with him especially respected him now.
"Before we get started," Kitazawa said, "I've got an announcement."
He gave them the student council rundown again.
"I want in!" Naruto raised his hand immediately.
"Me too!" Kiba added. "I'm gonna be president!"
"I was top of the combat exam—I should be president!" Naruto flashed a grin and a thumbs-up. "I'll build a school fueled by youth!"
Kitazawa couldn't help but snort.
A school of youth? What are you gonna call it—Youth Academy? Are we playing tennis now?
Then again… compared to Prince of Tennis superpowers, even forbidden jutsu looked tame.
"I support you, Naruto!"
Rock Lee was practically vibrating with emotion. "If the whole school walks the path of youth, I'll die happy!"
"No way!"
Ino shuddered. "If everyone ends up in green spandex, I'm out."
Even Hinata shook her head. Unless Kitazawa himself asked, she wasn't wearing that outfit.
"The president should be me," Sasuke said flatly.
His thinking was simple: the student council would be made of the best, and the best should lead. Becoming president would basically mean he'd conquered the academy—and boosted the Uchiha clan's prestige.
It also had the bonus of shutting down Naruto's youth cult.
"Wait—what?" Sakura blinked in surprise. Sasuke never cared about stuff like this.
"I support Sasuke," Shikamaru said without hesitation. Green spandex was annoying, sure—but Might Guy-style death training? That was where he drew the line.
"We're only doing a trial run," Kitazawa cut in again. "No need for elections yet. Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, Lee—you four are in."
"Yes! One step closer to my Youth School dream!" Naruto pumped his fist.
"I'll help you, Naruto! For youth!" Lee echoed.
"Sasuke-kun, please stop them," Sakura said seriously.
"Go, Sasuke!" Ino added—shockingly agreeing with Sakura for once.
Even Shikamaru, Kiba, and Shino nodded their support. Hinata stayed quiet, but it was clear she sided with Sasuke too.
Sasuke didn't know what to say. This was the first time he'd had so much support—and none of it was about his skills.
Kitazawa could only shake his head.
Because of Naruto's speech, now the class is split into Youth and Anti-Youth group.
But then something else occurred to him.
Hiruzen probably wants Naruto as the student council president...
Don't tell me this academy is actually going to turn into a Youth School?
The mental image made his brain short-circuit.
"Alright, enough—class time," Kitazawa clapped.
The students divided naturally. Most lined up to practice Clone Technique and Leaf-style Taijutsu, while a few like Sasuke trained on their own.
As Naruto walked off, Kitazawa had a thought.
In the original timeline, Naruto and Kurama only bonded after surviving a bunch of dangerous experiences together. That kind of change took time.
But here in the academy, Naruto wouldn't have those same experiences.
So how could he help them grow closer?
He remembered that time he told Naruto about the hidden history of Uchiha Madara. The Nine-Tails seemed really into that.
Maybe I should try that again next time and see what happens.
Kitazawa sent out two shadow clones and moved to a quiet clearing to train Wind Release: Vacuum Wave.
…
Class ended. So did Wednesday.
Kitazawa headed back to Kurenai's place, opened the door, and stepped inside.
Tsunade and Shizune weren't back yet.
Kurenai was sitting on the couch, legs crossed, a map and pen in hand—planning their mission route to the Land of Grass, as per ninja protocol.
"You're ba—mmph."
She didn't finish her sentence before Kitazawa kissed her. They broke apart after a long moment.
"What the hell was that?" she glared at him.
"What, shy now?" he smirked.
"I'm not some blushing girl," she said, rolling her eyes. "You just interrupted my work!"
"Sure I did," he teased.
"What did you just say?"
Her face flushed with frustration. She tossed down the map, stood, and shoved him onto the couch.
"You need a proper lesson."
She straddled his lap and pinned him down.
His eyes drifted to her swaying blouse. Her chest was rising and falling from all the flustered movement.
"And what lesson would that be?"
He slid an arm around her waist.
She froze. Their bodies were a little too close.
His hand moved downward and landed on her soft, smooth thigh.
"Y-You better quit it!" she gasped.
He didn't.
Shame she wasn't wearing those black stockings today—but bare legs had their own charm. Soft like fine jade, but firm from years of ninja training.
"You bastard!"
Her body trembled with rage. Suddenly she lowered her head and bit into his neck—hard.
"Are you a dog or something?"
Kitazawa hissed.
"You had that coming!"
She stood up, blushing furiously.
"I was just appreciating beauty," Kitazawa said seriously, rubbing his neck.
He'd now earned a perfectly visible bite mark.
"You actually bit me…"
He glanced at her legs again. "One of these days, I'm biting back."
"You—you wish!"
She instinctively backed up a step, feeling his gaze.
"Don't be so sure."
"I'm going upstairs to work! Don't follow me!"
Barefoot, she stormed up the stairs.
Kitazawa just laughed.
Not a blushing girl, huh?
…
"We're back!"
A moment later, Shizune's voice called out.
Kitazawa turned—two pairs of pale feet stepped through the door.
"Tsunade-sama," he said after a beat, "the Hokage asked me to pass something on."
"What is it?"
She dropped onto the couch and crossed her legs.
"It's about Naruto. He said the reason Naruto was able to break through Yakumo's genjutsu yesterday was because of the Nine-Tails' chakra."
"He even told you that?"
Tsunade paused, surprised.
The identity of the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki was a top-secret matter in Konoha—only a select few were supposed to know.
It meant Hiruzen clearly saw Kitazawa as someone within the inner circle—more specifically, her student.
"That old geezer really knows how to push my buttons…"
Tsunade scowled.
"One more thing," Kitazawa added quickly. "Kurenai and I are heading to the Land of Grass this weekend for a mission."
"What kind of mission? One of the Hokage's?"
"No. Just a standard B-rank."
"Got it… Where's Kurenai? Tell her to come down—we've got jutsu to go over."
"She's upstairs. I'll get her."
Kitazawa got up, called Kurenai down, and left the jutsu talk to them.
He went back to practicing Wind Release.
Two days flew by, and just like that—it was Saturday.
The student council roster was finalized: 2–3 students per class, for a total of 40.
But that could wait.
First up was the mission to the Land of Grass.
~~~
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