Kitazawa’s grades at the Ninja Academy had always been mediocre. Uchiha Itachi graduated at seven; he barely scraped through at thirteen. Uzumaki Naruto became the savior of the ninja world at seventeen; at that same age, Kitazawa was still struggling to make Chunin. In this harsh world of shinobi, Kitazawa was what people called a fodder ninja: no talent, no bloodline, and no backing. To stay alive until the story’s grand finale, he’d chosen the safest path—teaching at the Ninja Academy, a job he’d held for five years. "Another peaceful day in Konoha." Kitazawa rose from his seat and walked to the window. It was enrollment day again, and the training grounds were buzzing with life. He glanced down at the stack of new student files in his hands. Names leapt out at him, all too familiar: Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata, Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba... and more. "Five years... I’ve waited five whole years for these main characters to show up." Kitazawa let out a silent sigh. From this point on, only two massive crises loomed over his future. One was Orochimaru’s Konoha Crush. The other was Pain’s invasion with the Akatsuki. The first wouldn’t really involve the Ninja Academy, so he wasn’t too worried. The second, though—that was a nightmare. That one incident would end up leveling almost all of Konoha. Kitazawa’s plan was simple: get out of the village before that happened. He could roughly estimate when it would all go down based on Naruto’s and the others’ enrollment timeline. While he was mentally calculating dates, a crisp "ding" suddenly echoed in his mind. Host has reached age six and successfully enrolled in the Ninja Academy. Activating the Strongest Shinobi System. Kitazawa froze. He’d waited twenty-one years, thinking he’d never get a system. And now, just when he’d resigned himself to an ordinary life, the door finally opened. "Why the hell is my system showing up so late?" Wait a second. Something didn’t add up. I’m six years old?! "System, are you malfunctioning or something?" Kitazawa blurted out. ’Host, please complete the first stage of the main quest: Dominate the Ninja Academy and become the strongest graduate.’ No way. Was this system brain-dead? Sure, he was happy the system finally arrived—but it had the timeline all wrong, and he was definitely not happy about that. How the hell was he supposed to graduate now? Seriously, answer me! Kitazawa suddenly understood: this damn system was fifteen years too late. Had he been waiting for nothing all this time? To dominate the Ninja Academy, you must first win over your classmates. Current mission: Gain the initial trust of Uzumaki Naruto. Mission reward: Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu. [Accept]? Kitazawa stared blankly. He wasn’t Naruto’s classmate. How was he supposed to complete a mission like that? If he tried enrolling in the academy again, the Third Hokage would probably look at him and say, "You need to consult a doctor—or maybe a medical ninja—to check if your brain’s been devoured by Orohimaru’s snakes." "Who the hell programmed this system?" Rubbing his temples, Kitazawa felt a splitting headache coming on. But there was no helping it. He’d just have to do the best he could with this mess. If he couldn’t complete the mission, well... there wasn’t much he could do anyway. Apart from ranting, he could only rant—and maybe throw in a few choice curses. But what if, by some miracle, he actually could complete this absurd mission? Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any penalty for failing or declining the quest. "A person can’t be unlucky forever... right?" Kitazawa chose to accept. Setting down the student files, he left his office and headed for the training ground. No sooner had he arrived than he heard the usual harsh whispers. "Don’t go near him. That guy’s a monster." "You absolutely mustn’t play with him—stay far away." "I’ll never understand why Hokage-sama lets him attend the academy at all." Kitazawa’s eyes fell on a small boy with spiky blond hair, sitting alone on a swing. Naruto sat with his head bowed, silent, separated from the joyful chaos around him by an invisible, pitiful wall. ’You people are incredible,’ Kitazawa thought darkly. ’Daring to badmouth a kid who’s basically a living nuclear bomb. Aren’t you afraid of getting turned into barbecue?’ Ignoring the wary glances from bystanders, Kitazawa stepped forward. Naruto heard footsteps and instinctively looked up. He found himself staring into a pair of black eyes and froze. There was no hostility in the man’s expression—only quiet gentleness. "What’s your name?" Kitazawa asked softly, suppressing a sigh. Winning Naruto’s initial trust should be easy enough. Because in this world, there were only two people who truly accepted Naruto so far: Hiruzen Sarutobi and Teuchi, the ramen shop owner. "I... my name is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto felt a gentle warmth spread through his chest, lifting his spirits. He looked up eagerly and asked, "And you?" "Kitazawa," the man replied. "Hi, Kitazawa-niisan!" Naruto exclaimed, bouncing with excitement. "Don’t call me niisan." Kitazawa’s lips twitched. "You should call me Sensei." "Sensei?" Naruto’s eyes sparkled. "Are you the teacher for Class 1-A?" "Mm." Kitazawa nodded. "That’s awesome!" Naruto grinned. "I’m in Class 1-A too!" "I’ll take you to get registered." Kitazawa reached out and gave Naruto’s shoulder a reassuring pat. "Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto practically leapt off the swing, but after only a couple of steps, he froze, his head dropping low. He could feel the disgusted stares from the people around them—and this time, even Kitazawa seemed to draw some of their hostility. "Kitazawa-sensei... It’s okay. I can go register myself. You don’t have to trouble yourself over me." Naruto’s voice was small. "If you let yourself care too much about what other people think," Kitazawa said calmly, without looking back, "you’ll end up a prisoner to their opinions." Naruto blinked at his retreating back, half understanding, half bewildered. "Come on." Kitazawa raised a hand, beckoning him forward. Snapping out of his daze, Naruto hurried to catch up. — Class 1-A The moment Naruto stepped into the classroom, silence fell like a heavy curtain. Every eye turned toward him—including that of the teacher handling the registrations, Iruka Umino. Naruto instinctively wanted to lower his head and shrink away, but Kitazawa’s earlier words echoed in his mind. Squaring his shoulders, he faced the stares directly. "Iruka." Kitazawa spoke with his usual gentle smile. "Kitazawa-senpai." Iruka tried to keep his voice steady, though tension flickered in his eyes. In the original story, Iruka’s parents had died during the Nine-Tails’ attack. Because of that, Iruka initially harbored resentment toward Naruto, whom many still viewed as the fox demon. "This is Uzumaki Naruto, a new student in Class 1-A," Kitazawa said in an even tone. "Please handle his registration." Iruka silently pulled out the class roster and wrote Naruto’s name. Then he handed him a stack of textbooks and his first-semester schedule. Once the paperwork was done, Kitazawa and Naruto left the classroom and made their way to the academy gates. "Tomorrow’s the first day of class," Kitazawa reminded him. "Don’t be late." "I won’t!" Naruto beamed and said with heartfelt sincerity, "Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei!" "See you tomorrow," Kitazawa said, giving him a casual wave. Naruto was the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki and constantly under the watchful eyes of the Third Hokage and the Anbu. Kitazawa had to be careful not to appear overly invested in him. Good thing he was just an academy teacher and not a member of the Uchiha clan—otherwise, he’d probably find eight kunai in his back the next morning and wind up dead from "suicide." "Kitazawa-sensei, bye-bye!" Naruto turned and bounded away, a cheerful spring in his step. The host has completed the mission. Reward granted. Suddenly, a flood of knowledge poured into Kitazawa’s mind. In the blink of an eye, he’d mastered the Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu—from the basics all the way to expert-level proficiency. Kitazawa’s expression shifted dramatically, trying to hold back an excited grin. This system really was... surprisingly competent. Although people often joked that the Great Fireball Jutsu had never actually killed anyone, for an ordinary Chunin like Kitazawa, it was a deadly weapon worth having. ’Not bad... not bad at all.’ "What’s got you smiling like that? Something good happen?" A teasing voice broke through his thoughts. Kitazawa turned his head instinctively—and froze. Not far away stood a beautiful woman with long hair cascading over her shoulders. She was smiling, and under the sunlight, her eyes sparkled like rubies.