Led by a member of the Sarutobi clan, Kitazawa met Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hiruzen was sitting by a pond with a fishing rod, eyes fixed on the water's surface.
Kitazawa felt something faintly amusing.
Is fishing the final destination of all middle-aged and elderly men?
"What brings you to this retired old man?" Hiruzen glanced at him and asked with a chuckle.
"Feels like your outlook's much lighter than before, Third," Kitazawa said with a smile as he walked up.
Although Hiruzen had retired, he'd been Hokage—so Kitazawa adjusted the way he addressed him.
"No job, better mood," Hiruzen said, then suddenly thought of something and slid the bucket near Kitazawa to the other side.
He scooted his chair so his body blocked the bucket.
"Then how about I add a little work for you, Third?" Kitazawa asked, ignoring the sleight of hand.
"Don't tell me it's Koharu and the others again?" Hiruzen frowned. He'd warned them already—were they stirring trouble again?
"It has nothing to do with the two advisors," Kitazawa clarified quickly. "I'd like to invite you to teach the Advanced Class."
"I didn't expect you to still remember that," Hiruzen said, blinking.
"Your strength is exceptional. If you just retire like this, it's a real loss for Konoha," Kitazawa said at once. "That's exactly why I want you in the Advanced Class."
"What are the specifics?" Hiruzen thought for a moment, then smiled. "If there's too much work, I'm out."
"You'd be the homeroom teacher, with no hard teaching quota," Kitazawa replied. "If you feel like teaching a period, go ahead. If not, just watch Naruto and the others train."
Given he'd been Hokage, making him a regular teacher would be off. Kitazawa simply handed him the homeroom role. Kitazawa himself remained the Academy Vice Principal—meaning Hiruzen would technically be his subordinate.
"So relaxed?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow, surprised.
He'd expected Kitazawa to assign him a few classes; instead, none of that was required.
"The daily lessons are covered. What we lack is someone to catch what we miss," Kitazawa explained. "You're the perfect fit to point out our blind spots."
In short, a safety net.
"You have a point," Hiruzen nodded. "In that case, I'll accept."
The terms were more than generous—attendance basically up to his mood. With conditions like that, there was no reason to refuse. Besides, he wanted to check in on Naruto from time to time.
"Lord Third, are you free tonight?" Kitazawa told him about the barbecue Sasuke and the others were hosting.
"I'll be there on time," Hiruzen agreed immediately.
He still felt guilty toward Naruto. He'd promised Minato and Kushina he'd take good care of him, and in more than a few ways, he hadn't.
"Then we'll look forward to it," Kitazawa said, and, with things settled, took his leave.
Back on the Academy training field, the Advanced Class students were practicing.
Kitazawa gave a few casual pointers, left a shadow clone behind, and headed to an open area not far from the grounds.
A howl of wind rushed in from afar.
He looked up and saw a swarm of Narutos.
His gaze quickly settled on Aburame Shino.
Shino was controlling his kikaichū, constantly responding to Naruto's Wind Release: Vacuum Shuriken.
After watching a bit, Kitazawa understood what Shino was aiming for: to breed a variant of kikaichū that could withstand wind-style slicing—though Naruto still wasn't very fluent with Wind Release: Vacuum Shuriken.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto spotted him and shouted, full of energy.
Shino wiped the sweat from his brow and used the moment to catch his breath. Facing Naruto's stormlike barrage was a lot of pressure.
"Shino," Kitazawa said, "for wind-resistant kikaichū, I think there's another evolution path."
He'd triggered a related system task—he had to participate, or he might not complete it.
"Please, Sensei," Shino said, instantly serious.
"The kikaichū could use the enemy's wind to accelerate," Kitazawa said.
"That sounds feasible!" Shino froze for a second, then his eyes lit up after a few seconds' thought.
"Just like we had fire-variant and water-variant strains before, you can mutate two different wind-variant strains," Kitazawa added with a smile.
"Thank you, Sensei. I'll work on it," Shino said with a nod.
In his view, kikaichū that could ride the opponent's wind would be more useful than simple resistance. Kitazawa had also given him another angle: opposition and conversion both have value.
"Sounds super deep," Naruto scratched his head.
"You don't know the context, so of course it sounds half-baked to you," Kitazawa said, then paused. "Come with me—I've got something to ask."
He walked a short distance and stopped.
Naruto trotted up to him. Shino, being considerate, turned away and didn't eavesdrop.
"How are you getting along with that fox?" Kitazawa asked, looking at Naruto.
"Fox?" Naruto blanked, then realized he meant the Nine-Tails. It really did look like a fox—if it weren't so huge, it might even be cute.
"No real change," Naruto said, pulling his drifting thoughts back.
"Then we'll need to think of something," Kitazawa said, rubbing his chin. "When you have time, ask it if it wants to hear some 'wild history' about Uchiha Madara."
"You mean those stories you mentioned before?" Naruto said, instantly interested. "I want to hear them!"
"I said ask it," Kitazawa tapped his forehead. "I didn't ask if you want to hear them."
"Heh," Naruto chuckled.
"Go train," Kitazawa reminded him. "And don't be late for barbecue tonight. The Third Hokage will be there too."
"Gramps?" Naruto brightened. "I definitely won't be late!"
After leaving the Academy, Kitazawa went to the Hokage's office, but to his surprise, Tsunade wasn't there.
He didn't pry. He sat on the couch and started refining chakra.
After mastering the Yin Seal, he'd gotten into the habit of sending chakra to his forehead whenever he had a free moment.
Time slipped by.
The door opened.
"When did you get here?" Tsunade glanced at him and plopped down across from him.
"About two hours ago," Kitazawa stopped refining chakra and grinned. "You were gone a while—did you sneak off to the casino?"
"Do I look like that kind of person?" Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I was at Konoha Hospital practicing the Limb Regeneration technique."
"Already learned it?" Kitazawa asked, surprised.
"No," Tsunade shook her head. "I only tested it on a fish."
"With your talent, you'll have it in at most half a month," Kitazawa estimated.
That would tick another box toward his system task of getting five medical-nin to learn Limb Regeneration. More importantly, there was the task to improve the technique—he hoped to complete that sooner. If he had to wait until all five learned it, it'd take too long. One should be enough to start changing lives. With Tsunade and him, they could heal a lot of disabled shinobi fast—word of mouth would spread their names across the ninja world.
"Funny, that makes it sound like you're my teacher," Tsunade said with a small laugh.
"At least for Limb Regeneration, I am," Kitazawa winked.
"What are you saying?" Tsunade kicked him lightly. "I'm your teacher."
"Speaking of teachers, I just met with the Third and asked him to teach the Advanced Class," Kitazawa said, face straight.
"Good. Teaching suits him," Tsunade said, then asked, "How's your Yin Seal coming?"
"Feels smooth—might finish it next month," Kitazawa said. "Sensei, how long did it take you when you learned it?"
"Faster than you," Tsunade sniffed.
Kitazawa got the hint. Tsunade was the finest medical-ninja now, but like Jiraiya, she'd bloomed later. At the time of the Second Shinobi War—when she faced Hanzō—she didn't yet have the diamond mark of the Yin Seal on her forehead. Best not to expose that and get kicked out.
"As expected of Tsunade-sensei," he said earnestly.
"You're learning fast because you've got loads of chakra. Don't let it make you arrogant," Tsunade huffed.
"Yes, Tsunade-sensei," Kitazawa nodded.
"An hour left till I'm off. You can handle the rest," Tsunade said, standing with a smile. "I'm heading to the casino to win back what I lost."
"Can you really win it back?" Kitazawa looked at her lovely face. "Want me to give you a little luck buff?"
"I just said I'm your teacher!" Tsunade shot him a look.
"Here," Kitazawa said, smiling as he handed her a bankbook.
She took it, hesitated two seconds, then bent down and kissed him on the forehead.
Kitazawa blinked, stunned.
He hadn't expected her to actually go for it.
Without another word, Tsunade turned and walked out.
She closed the door, thinking she'd finally put that previous kiss back on track. After that night of drinking, she'd meant to give him a forehead kiss—but because of "circumstances," it hadn't worked out… or had been a bit too successful. Now she'd made up for it.
With that settled in her mind, she headed for the casino.
Kitazawa looked away and resumed training.
Tsunade's moves today were proof his "take the initiative" strategy was working. Keep this up, and maybe being a "rebellious disciple" would pay off.
Night fell.
At the barbecue place, Kitazawa arrived to find Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi and the others already there—with the food ordered.
"Kitazawa-sensei, over here—you're the last one!" Ino waved with a bright smile.
"We're still short one," Kitazawa said as he walked over. "I invited the Third."
Everyone except Naruto looked surprised and delighted. Hiruzen had retired normally and his reputation remained high.
"I'm not late, am I?" Before long, Hiruzen appeared—along with Sarutobi Asuma and Sarutobi Konohamaru.
"Kitazawa, mind if I mooch a meal?" Asuma asked with a grin.
"Of course," Kitazawa nodded.
"So you're the legendary Kitazawa?" Konohamaru blurted.
"Mind your manners—call him 'uncle!'" Asuma swatted him on the head.
"Konohamaru, don't be rude," Hiruzen said.
"Uncle Kitazawa," Konohamaru said obediently.
Kitazawa felt a bit odd. Uncle, just like that?
In the original, Konohamaru debuted as quite the little menace, but after getting thumped by Naruto, he became Naruto's tag-along. Kitazawa remembered his two pals too—Udon and Moegi. Moegi even awakened Wood Release later—albeit the "Yamato" variety.
"Hiruzen," Kosuke Maruboshi laughed, "since we're all together, we're not going home sober."
"No problem," Hiruzen said, taking a seat. "Don't be stiff— I'm not Hokage anymore. Make yourselves at home."
In truth, aside from Kakashi, Kitazawa and Kosuke were already plenty relaxed. Konohamaru, meanwhile—just like in the original—was won over by Naruto's bold speeches and ended up declaring Naruto his big brother. Naruto, taking on his first little brother, was thrilled—and he and Konohamaru downed several bottles… of juice.
As the night deepened, everyone ate and drank their fill and left the restaurant.
"No need to see us off. See you tomorrow," Hiruzen waved.
"Gramps, are you having dinner with us again tomorrow?" Naruto asked, excited.
"No," Hiruzen shook his head. "Because starting tomorrow, I'll be your Advanced Class teacher."
"What?" Kiba's eyes went wide.
"Wow! Our class lineup is scary good!" Tenten said, amazed.
"Totally!" Ino beamed.
Kitazawa, Kosuke Maruboshi, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hatake Kakashi, and Iruka Umino—anyone would call that overkill for Academy teachers. And yet, here it was, actually happening—and they were the ones to benefit.
"With teachers like this, you'd better work hard. If you drop out of the Advanced Class, that's on you," Kitazawa said with a smile.
"We won't!" Naruto gave a thumbs-up. "Youth means effort—let's add fifty extra laps tomorrow!"
"I'll join you!" Rock Lee replied instantly.
"…" Sasuke's mouth twitched.
Talent plus that kind of grind—brutal. At this rate, would he still have a shot at first place?
"It's late. If you're on my route, I'll walk you home," Kitazawa said, clapping his hands.
Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Chōji, and Shikamaru immediately drifted to his side.
Neji instinctively glanced at Hinata. Since when was that "on his route"? But he kept quiet.
"Kosuke-senpai, Kakashi—could you walk the others home?" Kitazawa called, then headed toward Naruto's place with his group.
They soon reached an apartment building.
"Huh?" Naruto scratched his head. "Is this my place?"
"Why's there so much stuff at the door?" Ino asked, puzzled.
The doorway was piled high with all sorts of items—several waist-high stacks.
Kitazawa stepped forward and picked up a gift box.
There was a small note on it—a written apology.
"Naruto, these are gifts from the villagers," Kitazawa said, understanding.
"Why are they giving me gifts?" Naruto asked, baffled.
"What else? It's an apology," Ino said, little fists clenched. "At least they have a conscience!"
"So I can finally shop normally from now on?" Naruto blinked, then grinned.
"You really are…" Ino trailed off, at a loss for words.
Kitazawa wasn't surprised. Even in the original, Naruto never held a grudge against the villagers—even before his identity as the Fourth's son was public.
"Let's move this stuff inside," Kitazawa directed. "Naruto, unlock the door."
Naruto hurried over and opened it. Ino and Shikamaru started helping carry everything in.
By the time they were done, Naruto's living room was packed to the brim.
Kitazawa suspected half of Konoha had come by with gifts. Honestly, kind of ridiculous.
"Whoa—limited-edition instant noodles!" Naruto pulled out a pack and yelled, thrilled.
"What's so good about instant noodles?" Chōji shook his head. "Chips are better."
"There are chips too," Naruto said, handing him a bag.
"Thanks!" Chōji brightened at once.
"Do you guys want anything?" Naruto said generously. "There's no way I can finish all this myself."
"It's fine," Kitazawa said, scanning the room. "Most of this keeps—you can go through it slowly."
"Sensei's right," Shikamaru said, shaking his head. "I don't need anything."
"Same," Ino added.
"Naruto, we're heading out. See you tomorrow," Kitazawa said, patting his shoulder.
"Mm! See you tomorrow!" Naruto said, grinning ear to ear.
It really had been a good day for him.