Chapter 28

Friday Inside Kitazawa’s office, Hinata sneaked a glance at Kurama and felt oddly relieved. Finally, someone else had joined the truancy club. She’d always thought her half-day absences were unmatched at the Ninja Academy—but Kurama was on another level entirely, boldly skipping full days and only showing up for practical combat classes. "Hinata, is something troubling you?" Kitazawa looked up from his desk, catching her movement. "N-no... nothing at all." Hinata’s face turned pink as she quickly shook her head. She’d merely spaced out for a second and hadn’t expected Kitazawa to notice. Now, embarrassment and shyness twisted inside her, making her legs tense and her pale toes curl in her sandals. "If there’s anything on your mind, don’t hesitate to ask me," Kitazawa said, sweeping a calm, observant gaze over her before offering a gentle smile. In the Ninja World, many kunoichi wore open-toed sandals, and Hinata’s tiny motions hadn’t escaped his sharp eyes. "Mm." Hinata breathed a secret sigh of relief. Kitazawa turned his attention to Yakumo, who sat not far away. While Hinata diligently worked through practice problems—determined to claim first place in the upcoming theory exam—Yakumo immersed herself in studying Yin Release techniques, laying the groundwork for her dream of becoming a psychological medical ninja. Kitazawa nodded faintly and resumed preparing questions for the monthly exam. By afternoon, he had completed thirty questions. "Take care of this for me." He handed the stack to a Shadow Clone, instructing it to deliver the papers to Vice Principal Hisao Sarutobi. With that off his plate, Kitazawa strolled leisurely toward the Training Ground. "Kitazawa-sensei, what are we learning today?" Naruto practically bounced over, brimming with excitement. "The Clone Jutsu," Kitazawa replied. "Whoa!" Naruto’s eyes lit up. "Is that the same jutsu you used yesterday, Sensei?" "Hmph. Are you an idiot?" Sasuke cut in with his usual sharp tone. "That was the Shadow Clone Jutsu. This is just the regular Clone Jutsu." "Eh?" Sakura blinked, instantly picking up on something unusual. Since when was the usually cold and distant Sasuke voluntarily talking to Naruto? She herself never got that kind of attention! She shot a glare at Naruto’s bright blond hair, a spark of resentment in her chest. "The Clone jutsu is part of the basic three jutsus," Kitazawa explained evenly. "It creates illusory copies of yourself to confuse the enemy. Unlike the Shadow Clone, these clones have no physical substance." "Oh, I get it." Naruto scratched his head, though his face said he was still half lost. "The basic three jutsus are mandatory for passing the graduation exam. Everyone must learn it," Kitazawa continued. He stepped forward. "Watch closely. I’ll demonstrate." Bang! Smoke burst out, revealing two identical Kitazawas standing beside him. "Did you memorize the hand seals I just used?" He dispelled the clones and raised an eyebrow. "Yes!" Everyone responded in perfect chorus. "Good. Begin practicing." Kitazawa gave them a brisk nod. "If you run into trouble, I’ll help you." No sooner had he finished speaking than Sasuke smoothly performed the hand seals and produced two perfect clones. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura immediately exploded into cheerleader mode. "I can do it too!" Naruto puffed up his cheeks and rapidly formed hand seals. With a puff of smoke, two "clones" appeared... except one looked like a flattened pancake twitching on the ground, while the other stood wobbling and drooling like someone who’d forgotten how to breathe. For two whole seconds, the class stared in stunned silence. Then laughter erupted across the training ground. Sasuke’s eye twitched. ’He’s hopeless. Drop out already...’ Yesterday, he’d actually thought Naruto might become his rival. Kitazawa couldn’t help chuckling as well. ’This is straight out of the original story.’ Thinking back, among Naruto’s basic three, the only one he could perform best was his Transformation Jutsu. Although, to be fair, that jutsu was absurdly effective—the infamous Sexy Jutsu could even hard-stun Otsutsuki Kaguya. "Alright, keep practicing!" Kitazawa clapped his hands and rallied them. He swept his eyes across the group. Besides Sasuke, who had nailed it on his first try, Hinata, Shino, and Shikamaru also managed respectable clones. Ino, Sakura, and Kiba lagged a little behind, but all of them mastered it by the end of the class. Only Naruto showed no improvement at all. "Today’s practical combat class is over." As the final bell rang, Kitazawa announced, "See you next week." "Goodbye, Sensei!" In an instant, the students scattered like freed horses galloping from a stable—after all, the weekend awaited, two precious days of freedom. "Kitazawa-sensei..." Naruto stared at the ground, gloom clouding his eyes. "Does this mean I have no talent for Ninjutsu?" "Of course not." Kitazawa shook his head firmly. "You simply haven’t found the kind of Ninjutsu that suits you yet." Naruto’s eyes lit up with hope. "Then... what kind of Ninjutsu does suit me?" Kitazawa thought for a moment, then said, "Meet me tomorrow morning at nine, at the Academy’s training ground. I’ll teach you a new technique then." "Really? Thanks, Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto grinned, relief flooding his face. "It’s no trouble at all." Kitazawa waved a hand dismissively. He certainly didn’t mind forging a good relationship with Naruto. After all, even Iruka, a mere Chūnin, had eventually become principal of the Ninja Academy simply because of his bond with Naruto in the original timeline. As long as Kitazawa steered clear of the Nine-Tails, the stronger his connection with Naruto, the safer his future in Konoha would be. The next day arrived in a blink. After breakfast, Kitazawa made his way to the Ninja Academy as promised. "Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto was already there, bouncing on his toes the instant he saw him. "Today, I’m going to teach you the Transformation Jutsu," Kitazawa said without preamble. "I’ll show you how it’s done first." He swiftly formed the hand seals, and his entire body shimmered, transforming into an exact replica of Naruto. "Whoa! That’s awesome!" Naruto gawked at his own mirror image, utterly starstruck. "Your turn." Kitazawa dispelled the transformation and nodded encouragingly. "Okay!" Naruto quickly performed the hand seals. A puff of smoke billowed around him—and when it cleared, his head was a perfect copy of Kitazawa’s... while the rest of his body remained stubbornly Naruto’s. Kitazawa’s eye twitched. "Keep going." Three exhausting hours later, Naruto collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat and gasping for air. "Here." Kitazawa tossed him a bottle of water. "Let’s take a break." "Thanks, Kitazawa-sensei." Naruto uncapped the bottle and gulped down half its contents before sitting up again. "Sensei... What’s the Transformation jutsu actually used for?" he asked, scratching his head. "Isn’t the Clone jutsu way more useful?" "Not necessarily." Kitazawa’s expression turned thoughtful. Then an idea struck him, and a faint smirk played at his lips. "Used properly, the Transformation jutsu can save your life in critical moments." "Save my life?" Naruto blinked, eyes round with curiosity. "Remember Uchiha Madara—the guy I told you about?" Kitazawa leaned closer and lowered his voice dramatically. "There’s an old story—though it’s not in the official records—that Madara once used the Transformation jutsu to disguise himself as a beautiful woman. He fooled Senju Hashirama and escaped certain death." Naruto’s jaw dropped. "Seriously? Is that for real?!" Kitazawa shrugged, grinning. "Well... I can’t swear it’s true. But if you master the Transformation jutsu, you really can use it to deceive your enemies. It can definitely save your skin." Naruto stared into the distance, looking deeply pensive. "Wow... I never thought of it that way." Just as Kitazawa was about to say more, four lines of glowing text suddenly materialized before his eyes: Know yourself and your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles. Current Mission: Learn the unique Ninjutsu of your lifelong rival, Uzumaki Naruto—the Sexy Jutsu. Mission Reward: One-tenth of Kakashi Hatake’s total chakra capacity. Do you accept? Kitazawa froze, eyes widening in disbelief. ’One-tenth of Kakashi Hatake’s chakra reserves? That’s incredible!’ ------------------------------- AN : To keep the Chapters coming - Support with POWER STONES. For Every 100 power stones - 1 BONUS Chapter. For Every 10 5-star reviews - 2 BONUS Chapters. For getting to Top 10 Power ranking- 3 Extra Chapters. AN: Check out my P@treon For extra Chapters. 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