A New Day
Kitazawa was up early—the very first period on the timetable was The Will of Fire, the class he taught.
That detail alone showed how much Hiruzen Sarutobi valued the lesson.
The old man was rotten to the core—a shameless peeping‑tom.
Kitazawa was certain the Third Hokage would be watching the class through his crystal ball.
Of course, Sarutobi's focus was not on Kitazawa himself but on Naruto and the others.
Kitazawa walked into the Grade‑1 Class A classroom and found only five pupils present.
Scanning the room, his eyes settled on a little girl in the middle row. She was bundled in long sleeves and trousers and wore short, blue‑black hair.
What drew the most attention, though, were her pure white pupils.
They were the Byakugan—a kekkei genkai.
The Hyūga clan's unique dōjutsu granted X‑ray vision and extraordinary perception.
[Current Mission: Help your deskmate Hyūga Hinata retrieve her scarf.]
[Reward: Leaf Whirlwind.]
[Accept?]
The three lines of glowing text made Kitazawa's mouth twitch.
How was he supposed to become Hinata's deskmate?
After a few seconds' thought, he devised a way to game the system.
He walked over and calmly sat down beside her.
"...?"
Hinata felt puzzled.
Her shyness, however, kept her from asking why.
She lowered her head, nervously poking her index fingers together.
"I'm Kitazawa, your Grade‑1 Class A instructor," he said, tilting his head toward her. Her skin was so fair she looked like a porcelain doll.
"S-Sensei, hello!" Hinata greeted him in a panic.
The Hyūga were virtual nobility among shinobi; etiquette was everything.
"No need to be so formal," Kitazawa replied with a gentle smile. "May I sit next to you?"
Raising the scarf topic right away would be too abrupt.
"Y‑Yes," Hinata answered automatically, then tilted her head in confusion.
"I haven't finished today's prep and there's no seat at the lectern, so I'll borrow this one for now," he said, flipping open the folder in his hand—pure fabrication.
Hinata thought nothing of it and believed him.
Just then, three more lines popped up in front of Kitazawa.
[Current Mission: Become the first student in class to attract Principal Hiruzen Sarutobi's attention.]
[Reward: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.]
[Accept?]
A freebie like this?
Maybe the system wasn't as stupid as he'd assumed.
He accepted instantly—it was something he planned to do anyway. Making a strong first impression on the Third Hokage was just good politics.
Hinata stared blankly at the handsome teacher. So friendly… At the same time, she felt a twinge of envy: if only she had that kind of confidence, perhaps she wouldn't keep disappointing her father, Hiashi.
"What are you looking at?" Kitazawa asked as he turned back, catching Hinata lost in thought, her watery eyes slightly dazed.
"N‑Nothing," she replied. Their eyes met and her face flushed crimson.
"By the way, you haven't told me your name yet, Hyuga-san" Kitazawa smiled.
"Eh?" Hinata shot to her feet. "S‑Sorry—I'm Hyūga Hinata!"
"You're being formal again." Kitazawa reached over and patted her head. "We're seatmates now, not sensei and student."
"S‑Sorry…" Hinata stiffened and bowed her head once more.
"Let's sit and chat," he said, withdrawing his hand.
Hinata sat obediently, knees together, hands resting on her lap. A thought struck her and she looked up.
"Um… how did you know I'm a Hyūga?" she asked curiously.
"Your Byakugan, of course." Kitazawa examined her eyes.
"D‑Don't stare," Hinata muttered, turning away. "They're ugly."
"I think they're beautiful," he replied, then asked, "Why do you think they're not?"
"I…" Hinata hesitated, uncertainty on her face.
"We're friends now, remember?" he coaxed with a smile.
"They said so," she whispered, cheeks paling. "They said Byakugan eyes are ugly."
Just as I thought, Kitazawa mused. Those were the very words the trio of bullies used in the original story—and the scarf mentioned in the mission was stolen by them, too.
"So that really happened? Then I have to deal with them," he said, expression turning serious.
"Ah?" Hinata hadn't expected that reaction and froze.
"Do you remember who they are?" he asked gently. "Don't worry, I'm a teacher—I won't harm them."
"I remember," she nodded, "but I don't know their names."
"That's fine. Just describe them."
"Three boys, about my age… that's all."
"Plenty," Kitazawa chuckled. "I've already narrowed down a few suspects. I'll confirm after class."
Every class had its share of brats, and with Hinata's clues they'd be easy to find.
"A‑Amazing!" Hinata blurted out. In her eyes, Kitazawa had become a thoroughly reliable adult.
"It's nothing," he waved off. "I'll let you know the outcome."
"Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei," she said gratefully.
Kitazawa was about to answer when voices came from the doorway.
"Sakura, do you think our teacher is super handsome?"
"Who cares if the teacher's handsome? What matters is lots of handsome classmates!"
Two girls stepped into the room.
One had pink hair tied with a ribbon, exposing her fair forehead.
The other had a single blond ponytail, bangs covering her right eye.
A glance was all Kitazawa needed to recognize them—Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino.
The first was one of the original series' female leads, who—alongside Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha—saved the ninja world (though she hardly counted as MVP).
The second was the "Boar" of the new-generation Ino–Shika–Chō trio, specializing in mind control and sensing. Both girls liked Sasuke, but lacking the protagonist "plot armor," Ino would ultimately become the "blond loser."
"So handsome!" Ino's eyes went wide when she noticed Kitazawa.
"Is that our teacher?" Sakura asked, instantly alert.