Aburame Shibi and Aburame Shino didn't stay long.
Kitazawa had already said everything that needed saying; their visit was simple—mainly to express their thanks.
"Kitazawa-sensei, just a small gift to show our appreciation."
Before leaving, Aburame Shibi handed Kitazawa a summoning storage scroll.
"Thanks."
Kitazawa thought for a moment, then accepted it.
Taking the gift would put the Aburame clan further at ease.
After Shibi and Shino left, Kitazawa opened the scroll for a quick look.
There was quite a lot inside: various standard ninja tools, secret medicines for restoring chakra, and even a bankbook with five million ryō.
"Ninja clans really are loaded," Kitazawa sighed.
But the Aburame weren't losing out—Exploding Insects are worth far more than five million. Even twenty million wouldn't be excessive.
That said, Kitazawa had only provided a lead, not the insects themselves, so five million was reasonable.
For Kitazawa, five million would last a long time.
He wasn't a compulsive gambler like Tsunade, after all.
After confirming the Will of Fire Club's event was in good shape, he headed to the academy's training field.
His shadow clones were pelting Uchiha Sasuke with leaves over and over.
After watching a while, Kitazawa couldn't help nodding.
Sasuke's talent really was incredible.
After a week of training, he'd already adapted to the leaf drill.
This was much faster progress than Hyūga Hinata had shown at the start.
But leaf training alone won't awaken the Sharingan—you still need a strong emotional jolt.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
Another eating contest?
The second time probably wouldn't hit as hard as the first. It would need a twist.
He hadn't thought of a good plan yet, so he turned toward the man-made lake and began practicing Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet.
Not far away, Inuzuka Kiba was working hard on the Shadow Clone Technique.
…
The next day—Friday.
Uzumaki Naruto got up early.
After breakfast, he headed straight to the academy.
He didn't go to join Might Guy's morning training like usual.
Reason: the Will of Fire Club had an event today.
As head of the communication department, he had to arrive early.
"Sasuke!"
When Naruto reached the academy, he found Sasuke had beaten him there.
"Mm."
Sasuke glanced his way without committing to a reply.
"So? Did you get the prizes?"
"They're in here."
Sasuke took out a summoning storage scroll.
"Lemme see!"
Naruto snatched the scroll.
"You don't know Summoning Jutsu?"
Watching him fiddle with the scroll, Sasuke couldn't help asking.
"Nope."
Naruto shook his head.
"Give it here."
Sasuke took the scroll back and unsealed it.
With a puff of smoke, a mountain of prizes piled up, looking properly impressive.
"Whoa!"
Naruto let out a cheer. "Sasuke, you're awesome!"
"Am I?"
Sasuke's lips curled. "So-so."
In the shinobi world, aside from the sacred animals of the three sacred lands, most summons aren't that strong.
The Uchiha clan's pact is with ninja cats.
The cat clan is a bit special because their handler is a human—Cat Granny (Nekobaa).
She runs a ninja tools shop and supplies the Uchiha with gear and intel.
Because of that, Sasuke learned Summoning Jutsu early.
"You two freshmen are really early."
Inuzuka Hana walked over from a distance.
Her brother Inuzuka Kiba trailed behind her.
"Kiba, why are you here too?"
Naruto asked, puzzled.
"What do you mean 'here too'?"
Kiba grumbled. "What do you think Inuzuka Kiba and Inuzuka Hana are to each other?"
"Huh?"
Naruto blinked. "You're… siblings?"
"You just figured that out?"
Kiba snorted.
Sasuke quietly averted his gaze—because just like Naruto, he hadn't noticed either.
"How are you talking to your minister?"
Hana lifted an elbow and jabbed him.
"…?"
Kiba's face was all question marks.
"Call him Minister."
Hana shot him a glare, not-so-subtly threatening him.
"I… Minister Naruto!"
Under the crushing weight of big-sister authority, Kiba ground it out between his teeth.
"Hahaha! No need to be so formal, Kiba!"
Naruto lit up with glee, almost breaking into a full Uchiha-style cackle.
"I wasn't planning on it!"
Kiba pouted.
This guy is even putting on airs now? Unbelievable!
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura Haruno's voice rang out from far away. "We're here to help!"
She flitted over like a happy butterfly.
"Why do we have to help, too?"
Nara Shikamaru yawned, looking half-asleep.
"Didn't you join the Will of Fire Club?"
Akimichi Chōji asked around a mouthful of chips.
"Ino signed me up!"
Shikamaru protested.
"What? You're not willing?"
Yamanaka Ino clenched a fist.
"It's not that."
Shikamaru immediately backed down. "I just mean there are plenty of people—doesn't seem like they need us."
"Shikamaru!"
Naruto brightened. "Perfect timing. You're the smart one—write two hard questions for us!"
"…"
Shikamaru's face froze.
You picking a fight? Trying to put me on the spot?
Fine—let me give you two questions nobody in the whole school can answer.
Suddenly, he felt fired up.
"Since when does Naruto have that kind of sway?"
Ino blinked, baffled.
"Chōji, come help."
Hana looked around, then landed on Chōji.
"Me?"
Chōji stashed his chips and walked over.
"Help me put up the contestants' platform," Hana said. "You're stronger than the rest of them put together."
"No problem."
Chōji grinned.
…
9:00 a.m.
Sasuke and the others finished the setup just in time, and the knowledge quiz officially began.
Students from every grade and class gathered right on schedule.
"Don't crowd—let me explain the rules first."
Hana spoke clearly from the stage.
The rules were simple: a gauntlet of questions.
Each person faced ten questions, one minute per question.
Get it right, move to the next. Get one wrong, you're out.
Prizes were awarded based on how many you answered correctly.
Ace all ten, win the biggest haul.
Get only one right, you still get a participation prize.
While the students dove into the quiz with gusto, Kitazawa waited at the academy gate for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Obviously, punctuality was one of the Hokage's privileges.
Kitazawa waited over ten minutes before Hiruzen finally showed up.
"Something came up—I'm a little late," Hiruzen said as soon as they met.
"Not late at all. We just started."
Kitazawa raised a hand. "After you, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen nodded and headed inside.
Because of the turnout, they'd set the event on the athletic field.
"Not bad—quite lively."
Seeing the excitement on the students' faces, Hiruzen smiled. "We should hold events like this now and then."
The academy hadn't really had entertainment before.
It was class, class, and more class.
Partly it was the times.
Constant shinobi wars kept everyone wound tight.
But now that the great wars were over, it made sense to let the kids unwind sometimes—mental health matters.
Hiruzen had reached that insight thanks to Kitazawa's proposal for psychological-medical ninja.
And Tsunade's hemophobia had proved that mental issues can be every bit as serious as physical ones.
"Hokage-sama is here!"
Someone shouted, and students turned to look.
Except for the ones currently on stage answering questions, everyone crowded over.
"Careful, don't push," Hiruzen called out. "I'm just here to watch like you—no need to gather around me."
"Student council, maintain order."
Kitazawa started forward, then had a thought and looked to Sasuke and Naruto.
"Follow me!"
Naruto rallied the council members and headed for the crowd.
Thanks to their efforts, students returned to their spots.
"Gramps, you okay?"
Naruto came up to Hiruzen.
"I'm fine. Well done."
Hiruzen patted his head, pleased.
To be Hokage, you need more than strength—you need the ability to command many shinobi.
One reason he never backed Danzō for Hokage was that Danzō was too distant from the common ninjas and villagers.
Many ninja had never even seen him. Hard to support someone like that.
Looking at Naruto, Hiruzen thought of Minato Namikaze.
Without question, Minato had been a near-perfect Hokage—hard to find fault.
Back then, Orochimaru had competed against Minato for the title.
Hiruzen hadn't supported his own student.
Seeing this, Kitazawa felt he'd achieved his aim.
After this, Hiruzen would certainly agree to keep the student council, and Kitazawa's task would be done.
The brief interlude over, the quiz continued.
"Second question: who carried forward the Will of Fire?"
Hana smiled at the little boy in front of her.
"Third Hokage-sama!"
He thought for a moment, then blurted it out, excited.
"Correct!"
Kiba shouted. "Congratulations, you're on to the next round!"
"Who wrote these questions?"
Hiruzen turned to Kitazawa.
"Sasuke and Naruto," Kitazawa said, then added, "None of the teachers got involved."
Hiruzen chuckled.
These kids were worthy inheritors of the Will of Fire.
The quiz ran in two sessions, morning and afternoon.
With almost the whole school signed up, a single morning wasn't nearly enough.
"That's enough for me."
Hiruzen had watched for almost two hours—half a morning.
"I'll walk you out."
Kitazawa wasn't surprised.
A Hokage's too busy to spend the whole day on a school quiz.
"Hokage-sama, how do you think they did?"
"Some rough edges, but for their age, I'd call it perfect."
Hiruzen was all smiles.
"I'll pass that along," Kitazawa said, smiling. "They'll be over the moon for days."
"Don't exaggerate."
Hiruzen waved it off. "They performed like this because of you."
"I only did a little," Kitazawa replied modestly.
"Now that I see it, the student council really is necessary for the academy."
Hiruzen stopped walking. "It can stay."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama."
Kitazawa let out a quiet breath.
With the Hokage's word, his assignment finally had a firm landing.
"Then when should we hold the council selection?" Kitazawa asked.
"How about replacing the practical portion of finals with selections?" Hiruzen countered after a moment's thought.
"This semester?"
Kitazawa blinked.
Hiruzen nodded.
He'd been keeping an eye on Naruto and knew how far along his Rasengan was.
By finals, he'd basically have it down.
With the Rasengan, Naruto's top rank would be even more secure—he wouldn't fear upper-class challengers either.
"Alright."
Kitazawa paused, then asked, "Hokage-sama, who do you think suits the council president role?"
"Naruto did very well today—and Sasuke and the others weren't bad," Hiruzen said with a genial smile. "Let the selection decide the president."
Yeah, right—who are you kidding?
Kitazawa heard the subtext loud and clear.
Hiruzen favored Naruto for president; otherwise he wouldn't have named him first.
"I'll head off. No need to see me out—go keep the event running."
With that, Hiruzen vanished.
Kitazawa turned back to the field.
Instinctively, his eyes went to Naruto, who was buzzing with energy.
As outreach head, Naruto wasn't answering questions—he was serving as judge and scorekeeper.
At noon, they paused the quiz for lunch and a break.
At two, it resumed, and three hours later they were at the finish line.
"Students who got all ten questions right, please come up!"
Hana shouted. "Kitazawa-sensei will award your prizes!"
Seven students stepped up in order.
Kitazawa walked onto the stage and glanced across them, recognizing only one—Sakura Haruno.
"Shikamaru, your questions were way too hard!"
Ino complained.
She and Sakura had both competed, but she'd fallen on question eight.
"Seriously."
Chōji scratched his head. "I only got five right."
"That's 'cause you don't listen in class," Shikamaru muttered. "Only the last two were mine."
"Huh? Really?"
Chōji chuckled sheepishly.
"Five right is already great. I only got two."
Rock Lee clenched his fists. "My youth is still too weak! After the event I'm running fifty extra laps!"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Kiba groaned. "Don't connect everything to 'youth'!"
"Neji was so close—just one more and he'd have aced it."
Tenten looked regretful.
"It's fine," Neji said calmly. "What matters is taking part."
"Can't believe it's ending—kinda don't want it to."
Watching Kitazawa hand out prizes to the seven, Naruto felt a rare pang of melancholy.
"It's fine."
Shikamaru patted his shoulder. "It won't be the last."
"You're right!"
Naruto's gloom vanished as fast as it came. "Next time'll be even bigger!"
"When is the next one?"
Tenten asked, curious.
Events were fun, had prizes, and came with time off—way better than class.
"No idea."
Naruto shook his head. "Depends on Kitazawa-sensei."
"Kitazawa-sensei is calling the student council," Shino adjusted his glasses, reminding them.
"Let's go!"
Naruto hurried onto the stage.
Sasuke, Neji, and Rock Lee followed close behind.
Shikamaru, Sakura, and the others weren't council members, so they stayed put.
"I hereby declare the student council's first event a complete success!"
Kitazawa announced.
Thunderous applause erupted below the stage.
"Thank you, everyone!"
Naruto ran back and forth across the platform, high on the cheers.
Being recognized by everyone had always been his dream.
Now, part of that dream was real.
Sasuke's lips quirked; he held back the urge to laugh aloud.
His thoughts were similar to Naruto's—but not quite the same.
What Sasuke wanted wasn't everyone's recognition—it was everyone's praise.
The problem was, the praise was going to the student council, not to him alone.
Kitazawa shot him a glance.
Kids are terrible at hiding their emotions.
He could tell at once that Sasuke was quietly thrilled.
A thought clicked for Kitazawa.
If awkwardness could push Sasuke to awaken his eyes, then happiness could, too.
So what would make Sasuke so happy he'd awaken?
He rubbed his chin.
The first thing that came to mind was taking first place on the monthly exam.
Sasuke hadn't placed first in a long time.
If, in a monthly exam, he crushed Yakumo Kurama, Naruto, and the others—wouldn't that be a huge emotional surge?
Add in public praise—from, say, Fugaku and Itachi—and it'd be even stronger.
The snag was that such a perfect exam scenario would be hard to engineer.
Apart from joy, there was pain.
Sasuke's back-to-back losses on monthly exams had already boosted his growth.
The longer the pressure builds, the bigger the eventual pop.
Kitazawa figured he could add sparring segments to practical class and let Sasuke get knocked around now and then.
~~~
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