A new day—Wednesday.
Kitazawa changed into fresh clothes and headed next door to Ichiraku Ramen for breakfast.
While eating, he sorted through his current quests.
Since obtaining the system, he had triggered a total of eight missions.
Now only three remained unfinished—those involving Kurama Yakumo, Hyūga Hinata, and Uchiha Sasuke.
The trickiest by far was helping Kurama Yakumo return to the Academy.
Fortunately, he had Kurenai's support.
Yesterday they had agreed to visit the Kurama clan together on Saturday.
After finishing breakfast, Kitazawa went to the classroom.
The first period today was his own—"The Will of Fire."
"Kitazawa-sensei."
The moment Hinata saw him, her heart fluttered with joy.
But her strict upbringing and shy nature kept her from showing it, leaving her as reserved as ever.
Kitazawa naturally took the seat beside her.
The system had marked Hinata as his deskmate.
To avoid invalidating the mission, he had to play along—at least act the part.
Besides, with someone as cute as Hinata, who could complain?
"Hinata."
He turned to her. "After this class, come to my office."
"O-okay…"
Hinata blinked, then nodded.
"Aren't you going to ask why?" Kitazawa teased with a smile.
"What's the reason?" she asked softly, tilting her head.
"Special training," he replied.
Hinata immediately recalled yesterday in the grove—Kitazawa had promised to train her for her upcoming duel with Toranosuke, just one month away.
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei," she murmured, blushing and averting her gaze.
The memory of hugging him in fright yesterday left her flustered.
Why are you blushing? Kitazawa wondered as he noticed her reddening cheeks.
Just then, commotion rippled through the classroom.
He looked up and saw Sasuke Uchiha entering.
A thought crossed his mind: Read more books, spend less time with Uchihas.
Sasuke paused, glanced around, then changed direction.
He walked straight up to Kitazawa. "Good morning, sensei."
"Morning."
Kitazawa nodded with a smile.
Nearby, Shikamaru and the others exchanged bewildered looks.
"Did the sun rise in the west today?" Kiba muttered, peering out the window. "Is this Sasuke's first time greeting a teacher?"
"As far as I remember, yeah," Shikamaru mused.
Born a genius of the proud Uchiha clan, and with an older brother who outshone everyone, Sasuke rarely showed teachers any respect.
So why the sudden politeness?
"My guess is Kitazawa-sensei's teaching won him over," Shino said, adjusting his sunglasses.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sakura didn't care what had just happened. Hearts in her eyes, she dashed forward eagerly.
"…."
Sasuke's face turned even colder as he ignored her and returned to his seat.
"Women are terrifying," Shikamaru sighed.
"Ahem."
Choji nudged him with an elbow.
Shikamaru froze, turning stiffly toward Ino.
"Am I terrifying?" she asked, hands on hips, golden bangs swaying as she glared.
"…I'll treat you to yakiniku tonight."
Quick thinking saved him.
"What about me?" Choji perked up instantly at the word yakiniku.
"…You too," Shikamaru said through clenched teeth.
The Akimichi clan's appetites were legendary. There went half his allowance.
Ino huffed, then glanced at Sakura before decisively plopping into the seat on Kitazawa's other side.
"If Kitazawa-sensei were our age, he'd probably steal Sasuke's spotlight," Shikamaru remarked.
"Heh heh… yakiniku…" Choji was already daydreaming about grilled meat.
"We're not ordering beef tonight," Shikamaru warned.
Beef was the most expensive. Skipping it would save a fortune.
"No beef? Aw…" Choji sighed.
The bell rang, ending class.
Kitazawa wrapped things up neatly, collected his lesson plan, and left the room.
Hinata hesitated for a moment, then hurried out after him while no one was watching.
He stopped at his office door—turning just in time to catch her sneaking behind.
"Why do you look like you're stealing something?" he teased.
Hinata lowered her head, embarrassed.
"Come in."
Kitazawa opened the door, and she followed him inside with a sigh of relief.
"Do you usually preview lessons in advance?" he asked, setting down his papers.
"Yes," Hinata answered softly. "I read today's material last night."
"Good."
Kitazawa grinned. "In that case, you'll skip class with me."
"Eh?"
Hinata's head snapped up.
Her teacher… taking her to skip class? Surely this was genjutsu.
"This is called effective time management," Kitazawa declared with a straight face. "You've already mastered the textbook. No need to sit through the lecture."
"B-but…" Hinata flailed, overwhelmed.
Skipping class went against everything her upbringing had drilled into her.
For a moment, she didn't know whether to listen.
"No buts."
Kitazawa waved it off. "It's just skipping class."
Part of his plan.
After all, a person's nature was shaped by their environment.
Hinata had grown up bound by the rigid rules of the Hyūga clan—hence her timid personality.
To change that, he had to break those rules in her heart.
"I… okay," Hinata whispered, helpless against his smile.
"Let's go."
He ruffled her hair gently.
Together they walked to the Academy's outer wall.
"The front gate's guarded," Kitazawa explained. "We'll climb out."
"Huh?" Hinata blinked in confusion.
With a leap, Kitazawa landed atop the wall.
He didn't explain—just waved her over.
Hinata's mind went blank, her heart pounding wildly.
She never imagined that on her third day of school, she'd be skipping class—and climbing over walls no less.
Yet somehow… it felt thrilling.
Biting her lip, she hesitated only a moment before jumping up.
Kitazawa caught her wrist, steadying her.
They leapt down together, landing outside the wall.
Hinata instinctively pressed a hand to her chest, cheeks flushed scarlet.
Her heart was racing faster than ever.