Chapter 25: Sunny Sasuke

Kitazawa snapped back to his senses and noticed that Yamanaka Ino and Hyūga Hinata had paused their training.

There was no helping it—Uchiha Sasuke was laughing far too loudly.

Both girls had been distracted, their faces filled with confusion.

If the timing hadn't been so awkward, they would surely have asked, "Sasuke, what's so funny?"

"Pay him no mind," Kitazawa said with a small cough. "Carry on with your practice."

Uchiha Sasuke finally shook himself out of his fantasy.

Without a word, he wiped the smile from his face and stood frozen where he was.

A momentary success had made him lose control, completely shattering his cool persona.

"Kitazawa‑sensei," Sasuke said, suppressing his embarrassment and stepping forward. "I'd like to move on to the next stage of training."

His newly enlarged Fire Style: Great Fireball had boosted not only his confidence but also his trust in Kitazawa.

"You'll train together with Hinata," Kitazawa replied, repeating the instructions.

"I don't need any advance warning," Sasuke declared confidently.

With that, he channeled chakra to his feet and started climbing the tree—clearly in a full‑on "sunny Sasuke" mood.

Kitazawa raised an eyebrow.

How was this any different from saying, "Go on, hit me"?

As the teacher, he had to oblige. He casually pulled out a wooden kunai, took aim, and hurled it.

Sasuke heard the kunai cut through the air, smirked, and shifted left—only to yelp a second later.

The wooden kunai struck his left arm.

His ability to judge direction by sound still needed work; he hadn't accounted for the kunai's speed.

"Again!" Sasuke said, face flushed, as he picked himself up.

Kitazawa hadn't intended to laugh, but lacking professional restraint, he chuckled anyway.

Watching "sunny Sasuke" take a hit was, admittedly, pretty amusing.

Time passed, and practical‑combat class drew to a close.

Though Sasuke ended up battered and bruised, he kept going—and his progress was already ahead of Hinata's.

Clearly, getting knocked around had its benefits.

Practical combat was the last class of the day.

After dismissing his students, Kitazawa headed to the second‑floor conference room.

Mizuki had told him last Thursday there would be a meeting today to discuss the April monthly exams.

"Kitazawa‑senpai!" Iruka Umino spotted him and waved.

Kitazawa greeted him and sat beside him.

Not far away, Mizuki's face immediately darkened.

He had been Iruka's friend since childhood—though in Mizuki's eyes it was mostly a superficial bond.

Now Kitazawa had "stolen" his best friend. Infuriating.

Ten minutes later the room was packed.

Although many teachers were present, only Mizuki and Iruka had appeared by name in the original story.

Finally, a middle‑aged man entered.

He was the academy's vice‑principal, Sarutobi Hisao, a jōnin.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was the principal, but as Hokage he had little time; day‑to‑day management fell to the vice‑principal.

"I will now announce this month's exam rules," Sarutobi Hisao said after sitting down.

Kitazawa listened for a moment: the process was almost identical to last year's.

Each grade's teachers would submit questions; the best would be selected, and two test papers—one official and one backup—would be compiled for every grade.

"The exam date is set for April 30," Sarutobi Hisao continued evenly. "Please turn in your questions by the 20th."

"Yes, sir," everyone answered in unison.

"One last reminder: the more of your questions that are chosen, the likelier you are to be named this year's Best Teacher." He stood. "Meeting adjourned."

"Kitazawa‑senpai!" Iruka hurried after him. "Could you advise me on what to watch out for when writing questions?"

It was Iruka's first time drafting exam items; he was clueless.

He asked Kitazawa because, for three years running, Kitazawa had had the most questions chosen.

"Iruka, I can teach you," Mizuki interjected with a smile. "Kitazawa's busy—no need to trouble him."

Iruka hesitated, not suspecting anything, and was about to accept when Kitazawa cut in.

"Mizuki, you teach second‑years, while Iruka teaches first‑years. It's more appropriate for me to help him," Kitazawa said with a smile.

"Thank you, Kitazawa‑senpai!" Iruka said at once.

Mizuki's smile froze.

"To my office," Kitazawa said, giving Mizuki a glance before walking off.

"Thanks for offering anyway, Mizuki," Iruka added, then hurried after Kitazawa.

"Bastard!" Mizuki clenched his fists, his face twisting—but beyond impotent rage, there was nothing he could do.

Kitazawa chatted with Iruka in his office for half an hour, then headed home.

…

Tuesday

Early the next morning, Kitazawa went to the school archive.

He pulled out a set of past exam papers.

"Kitazawa‑sensei," Hinata greeted him punctually as ever.

"Your task today is to work through these," Kitazawa said, handing her two papers.

"Understood," Hinata replied obediently.

The academy's monthly exam has theory and practical sections.

Under normal circumstances Hinata could place in the top five, but taking first was tougher—the class had plenty of prodigies.

Combat skills don't improve quickly, but theory can.

The overall ranking is a composite score: if she tops theory and places top three in practicals, she'll likely rank first overall.

Kitazawa's method was simple—drill questions.

First Hinata would do the past papers; then he would craft targeted practice and prediction questions to reinforce her.

Would that interfere with his own mission to take first? Kitazawa could only quote an old saying from his previous life: "The referees and judges are all my people—how are you going to beat me?"

After breakfast, Hinata began working.

Technically she was skipping class again, but was it really skipping if she was doing practice exams?

Hinata did the questions while Kitazawa wrote new ones.

All his items focused on Konoha history and the Will of Fire—his specialties and an open tactic. Sarutobi Hisao would have to choose them.

Of course, Kitazawa wasn't writing at random; he was fully prepared, ensuring every question would please Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.

…

Afternoon practical class

Yamanaka Ino, having worked hard, finished her tree‑climbing exercise and joined Hinata and Sasuke for the next stage.

But Kitazawa's biggest surprise was Uzumaki Naruto—his running drills had progressed at lightning speed.

"How was that, Kitazawa‑sensei?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"Impressive—you nearly gave me a heart attack," Kitazawa said, patting him on the shoulder. "The day after tomorrow's physical‑training class—we'll be counting on you."

"Mission accepted!" Naruto gave a thumbs‑up, teeth gleaming.

Wait a second—what's that pose?

Nice guy!

"You know Might Guy?" Kitazawa asked uneasily.

"Huh? How'd you guess?" Naruto's eyes went wide, amazed at Kitazawa's foresight.

One 45‑minute practical class wasn't nearly enough for Naruto. With nothing else to do after school, he practiced running—and bumped into Might Guy.

Kitazawa's mouth twitched.

If Naruto picked up too many of Guy's habits, would Hiruzen Sarutobi blame him?

~~~

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