“Sasuke-kun.” Ino walked over and greeted him.

Sasuke ignored her, fully focused on maintaining the chakra flow in his feet. Feeling a bit deflated, Ino didn’t say anything further. She turned to look at Hinata.

At that moment, Hinata was already walking vertically on the tree, her feet planted against the bark. Her expression was serious, and her short blue hair hung downward.

Seeing this, Ino was rarely stirred by a sense of competitiveness. Since Sasuke had ignored her, she decided to finish the tree-climbing training first to prove herself.

With that thought, she quickly focused the chakra into her feet and began climbing.

Kitazawa observed for a moment, showing a look of mild surprise. Among the three, Hyuga Hinata had the best chakra control.

Was it thanks to the Byakugan? The Hyuga clan’s combat style relied on using the Byakugan to perceive chakra flow within an opponent’s body, then severing it using Gentle Fist strikes.

Once struck, a target’s chakra became unusable, turning them into a helpless ordinary person. Of course, to perform this accurately, one needed exceptional chakra awareness and control—something all Hyuga had to master.

Even though Uchiha Sasuke was a prodigy, he was slightly behind in chakra control.

In the original work, Sakura actually completed the tree-climbing exercise before him.

Just then, Ino let out a yelp and fell. “Ahh…”

Kitazawa stepped forward and caught her. Her soft figure in his arms reminded him of a life-sized figurine.

“Thank you, Mr. Kitazawa.” Ino exhaled in relief.

“It’s alright.” Kitazawa gently set her down.

“…?” Sasuke glanced over, a question mark forming in his mind. I fell yesterday—why didn’t you catch me? Is this what they call male self-reliance?

“Hinata climbed that high?” After regaining her balance, Ino looked up in awe at Hyuga Hinata, who was about to reach the top of the tree.

But the next second, Hinata lost her balance and plummeted.

Ino was startled and awkwardly stuck out her tongue. I swear, I only gave her a simple compliment!

Kitazawa was quick, catching Hinata before she hit the ground.

“Th-Thank you.” Hinata blushed as she thanked him.

“If you feel unsteady, jump down before you fall. Don’t push yourself too hard.” Kitazawa patted her head gently as he spoke.

Boom!

There was no time to feel bad about the girls’ falls—next came Uchiha Sasuke’s turn.

“I’m fine.” Suppressing his embarrassment, Sasuke calmly met their gazes.

Dusting off his clothes, he turned and began climbing the tree again. He didn’t care about Yamanaka Ino or Hinata Hyuga, but he could feel the pressure building.

As a Uchiha, he had to stay ahead—always first.

Yamanaka Ino and Hinata also rejoined the training. Kitazawa continued observing and guiding them, occasionally catching them when they fell.

Time passed slowly, and soon the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

“You three finish your climb—I’ll go inform the others.” Kitazawa waved and headed back to the training field.

“Mr. Kitazawa!” Naruto rushed over excitedly. “I hit the moving target!”

“Well done.” Kitazawa looked toward the training dummy.

Though it wasn’t a bullseye, hitting a moving target within one lesson was still better than most.

“Hehe.” Naruto grinned happily.

“Class is over. Head home safely.” Kitazawa clapped his hands and called out, “Dismissed!”

“Goodbye, Mr. Kitazawa!” Everyone bolted away.

If you weren’t excited to leave school, something must be wrong with you.

“Mr. Kitazawa, what are we learning in the next practical class?” Naruto asked.

“Next class will be physical training,” Kitazawa answered after a short pause.

“Running?” Naruto asked, eyes lighting up.

“Yes, running.” Kitazawa was caught off guard and asked, “Why? You like running?”

“I want to be the fastest ninja in the world!” Naruto clenched his fists. “That way, I’ll surpass the Fourth Hokage!”

“I see.” Kitazawa immediately understood. Naruto had probably heard about Namikaze Minato from the Third Hokage.

[Your lifelong rival, Uzumaki Naruto, has challenged you to physical training. You accepted the challenge graciously.

New Task: Come first in physical training.

Reward: Konoha Strong Whirlwind.]

[Accept?]

Kitazawa sighed. This felt like free rewards being handed out. As a teacher, he would participate in the training anyway.

But wasn’t his lifelong rival supposed to be Uchiha Sasuke? Why did it shift to Naruto?

“See you tomorrow.” Kitazawa bid Naruto goodbye and walked back toward the training tree.

But as he approached, he noticed something was wrong. Yamanaka Ino was pale, leaning against Hyuga Hinata for support.

Her left foot was on the ground, but her right one was slightly lifted.

“I’m fine,” Ino spoke first. “I just landed on it wrong when I came down.”

“Sit. I’ll treat it.” Kitazawa stepped forward. “Sasuke, Hinata—you two can head home.”

“No need… hiss—!” Ino gasped in pain mid-sentence.

“Alright, stop being stubborn.” Kitazawa helped her sit. “I’m pretty good at treating injuries like this.”

Back when he was a junior ninja, medical personnel were scarce. Each team had four members, but often no medics. In that situation, they had to be self-sufficient.

As long as it wasn’t serious, basic treatment was possible.

“Thanks.” Ino no longer refused.

After a few seconds of hesitation, she removed her shoe. Her pale, petite foot came into Kitazawa’s view.

Flustered, Ino turned her head as her toes curled shyly.

Kitazawa poured some ointment into his palm, then gently grasped her ankle.

Her foot was small enough to fit entirely in one hand. Lowering his head, he carefully rubbed the medicine into her skin.

Ino stared at him. If only he were my age… she thought again. Then I’d gladly give Uchiha Sasuke to Sakura.

“All done. Once you’re home, get a medical ninja to check it. That’ll speed up recovery.” Kitazawa let go and advised.

“Yeah.” Ino tucked away those thoughts and said sincerely, “Thank you, Mr. Kitazawa.”

“I’ll carry you.” Kitazawa turned and crouched slightly.

Ino hesitated, then looped her arms around his neck, holding her shoe. As she lay on his back, she thought, ‘He’s really such a good person.’

Kitazawa had no idea he’d just earned another “good person” card. When they reached the Yamanaka Flower Shop, he gently set her down.

“Mr. Kitazawa.” Ino smiled, holding her shoe. “See you tomorrow.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep