"Kitazawa. It's been a while."
Kurenai Yūhi walked toward him, her long, shapely legs wrapped in their signature white bandages.
"Not that long. We just saw each other last week."
Kitazawa's gaze drifted momentarily to the bandages on her limbs. In his previous life, he had always wondered why Kurenai felt the need to wrap her thighs and hands like a mummy. Was it fashion? Protection? Or something else entirely?
"Kitazawa, I need to ask you for a favor."
As she spoke, a polite smile graced Kurenai's fair face.
Kitazawa raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
Although both he and Kurenai were technically Chūnin, there was a vast chasm between their actual standings. She possessed hidden clan techniques. Her father was Shinku Yūhi, one of Konoha's rare Jōnin experts in Genjutsu.
If Kurenai was at the peak of Chūnin level—half a step away from being promoted to Jōnin—then Kitazawa was firmly stuck at the entry level.
"I recently became a private tutor," Kurenai said, a shadow of worry crossing her distinctive red eyes. "But this student is... extremely difficult. I wanted to ask you for some advice."
Kitazawa fell silent, his mind racing.
In the original story, Kurenai was the sensei for Team 8—Hinata Hyūga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka. But before that, she had another student: Yakumo Kurama.
Yakumo possessed a terrifying Kekkei Genkai specialized in Genjutsu, capable of turning illusions into reality. However, her Yin Release was too powerful for her frail body to handle.
For her safety, her parents refused to let her attend the Ninja Academy and instead hired Kurenai as a private tutor. But Yakumo was obsessed with becoming a ninja. The rejection eventually caused her subconscious to fracture, birthing a mental monster named Idō. In a state of uncontrolled rage, the monster had killed her parents.
The Third Hokage, recognizing the danger of the Idō monster within her, had ordered Kurenai to seal the girl's powers.
"You've been rated as the Academy's Best Teacher for three consecutive years," Kurenai said, clapping her hands together and leaning forward slightly. "Please, help me out, old classmate!"
Just as Kitazawa opened his mouth to respond, a translucent blue screen shimmered into existence before his retina.
[Current Mission: Help your classmate's student, Yakumo Kurama, return to the Ninja Academy.]
[Mission Reward: Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death.]
[Do you accept?]
Kitazawa's brow twitched. Even this triggers a mission?
However, there was no harm in completing tasks. He mentally selected 'Accept'.
"No problem," Kitazawa agreed smoothly. "I have plenty of confidence when it comes to handling students."
"Thank you so much. I feel relieved just hearing you say that," Kurenai said, patting her chest with a sigh of relief.
"Come find me after school tomorrow," Kitazawa said after a moment of thought. "I'll share some of my teaching experiences with you then."
"Mm." Kurenai nodded, her smile turning brilliant. "I'll treat you to drinks tomorrow night."
"Deal," Kitazawa said bluntly. "We aren't going home until we're drunk."
"Since we were kids, you've never once beaten me at drinking. I'll probably have to carry you home again," Kurenai teased, a hint of smugness in her voice.
" The past is the past. The present is now," Kitazawa retorted stubbornly.
"Then I look forward to your performance." Kurenai reached out and punched him lightly on the arm. "I'm off. See you tomorrow."
Kitazawa watched her retreating figure, shaking his head with a wistful smile.
He and Kurenai were childhood friends. They had been in the same class since they were six years old—fifteen years of acquaintance.
His other classmates had included legends: Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara.
But most of them had died during the Third Great Ninja War. The grass on their graves was already three zhang high.
Kitazawa was, unequivocally, a transmigrator.
He had arrived in Konoha after leaving a snarky comment on a fanfiction titled Infiltrating Konoha: Part-time Hokage, writing: "Have you ever actually been a ninja? You write about it so casually, taking everything for granted."
Because his parents were both Konoha Chūnin, he was sent to the Academy at age six. Sadly, his talent was mediocre at best.
He barely graduated at thirteen to become a Genin, only to receive news of his parents' deaths shortly after.
That was when Kitazawa learned the cruelty of reality.
Only protagonists get to scream about bonds and friendship while charging at Madara Uchiha. He was cannon fodder among cannon fodder. So, he decisively changed careers and became a teacher.
Before settling down, he had briefly joined Tsunade's experimental medical ninja class. But, predictably, he lacked the chakra control to be a medic.
So, he pivoted to teaching the Will of Fire and Konoha History.
He built his curriculum on intense propaganda, proposing the theory that "The Hokage is the Sun, and the Hokage's kindness can never be fully repaid."
Thanks to this fervent political correctness, he was awarded "Most Outstanding Teacher" for three years running. Of course, his actual teaching skills were decent, too.
Kitazawa gathered his thoughts and, instead of returning to the school building, turned north.
Iruka was handling the registration paperwork; there was nothing for him to worry about there.
"System, pull up my character panel."
A thought occurred to him, and he silently commanded the interface.
[Name: Kitazawa]
[Age: 6]
[Ninjutsu: Clone Technique, Body Replacement Technique, Transformation Technique, Body Flicker Technique, Wind Style: Gale Palm, Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.]
[Evaluation: What others call 'genius' is merely your starting line. You are a natural-born ninja, destined to become the strongest.]
Kitazawa rolled his eyes.
He strongly suspected the System was mocking him.
A twenty-one-year-old "genius"? If word got out, the Uchiha clan would laugh for three days and three nights straight.
But seeing the age listed as "6," he understood the System wasn't lying—it was just broken. A coding error.
Kitazawa shrugged, recalling an old programmer's proverb: If a bug works, don't fix it.
Training Ground, Outskirts of Konoha.
Kitazawa stood alone in the clearing. He stopped, grounded his stance, and his hands flew through the hand seals.
A massive surge of chakra gathered in his throat. He leaned back and exhaled.
Boom!
A gigantic fireball, easily five or six meters in diameter, roared into existence. The air instantly distorted from the terrifying heat, sending waves of thermal pressure rippling outward.
A deafening explosion followed as the fireball slammed into the earth, instantly turning the ground into scorched, blackened glass.
"This System... is actually pretty good."
Kitazawa stood frozen for a moment before a satisfied grin spread across his face.
The power of a Ninjutsu usually depends on the user's chakra volume and proficiency. Kitazawa had seen many ninja use the Great Fireball Technique, but none possessed the sheer, refined intensity he had just displayed.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that if he had the chakra reserves to sustain it, his mastery of this specific jutsu wouldn't lose to Madara Uchiha himself.
This was the true value of the System instantly maxing out his proficiency.
The Hokage's Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi unfurled a scroll.
It contained the daily report of the ANBU monitoring Naruto Uzumaki.
When his eyes reached the section detailing Kitazawa's interaction with the boy, the Third Hokage paused, falling into deep thought.
He quickly recalled the file on Kitazawa. An unremarkable Chūnin, but one with a unique and passionate understanding of the Will of Fire.
"He likely doesn't know Naruto's true identity," Hiruzen murmured, nodding slightly to himself.
While the rest of the village feared Naruto like a tiger, Kitazawa had treated him with fairness. This proved that the man didn't just teach the Will of Fire—he lived it.
"I'm curious to see what Naruto will learn from him."
A look of anticipation appeared on Hiruzen's aged face.