Kitazawa stopped. If it were an ordinary second-year class, he would have agreed without hesitation.

After all, his class was full of talent, and each of the ‘Konoha 12’ could fight above their level. But second-year Class A was no ordinary class—it had Hyuga Neji.

In the original work, early-stage Hyuga Neji was undoubtedly the strongest among the ‘Konoha Twelve’. Even Naruto had to rely on the Nine-Tails’ chakra to defeat him in the Chunin Exams.

But currently, Naruto couldn’t access the Nine-Tails’ chakra. Sasuke hadn’t awakened his Sharingan yet, and none of the others were a match for Neji.

However, if he changed the type of sparring, there might still be a chance of winning. For example, a competition in chakra control.

Still, the reason Kitazawa suddenly paused was due to an unexpected system task.

[An outside class has challenged your class. As the class monitor, you must accept the challenge.

Current Task: Defeat Second-Year Class A in a friendly match.]

[Task Reward: Gentle Fist · Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.]

Kitazawa’s eyes lit up. This reward was truly excellent.

Byakugan paired with Gentle Fist was the foundation of the Hyuga clan’s dominance in the ninja world for over a thousand years.

Although the Hyuga clan couldn’t produce top-tier powerhouses like Uchiha Madara, their techniques were more than enough to handle most ninjas.

Gentle Fist was a general term, but its most iconic forms were Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Revolving Heaven.

If Revolving Heaven was considered an S-rank technique in difficulty, then Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was likely an A-rank.

It was also worth noting that these two techniques belonged solely to the Hyuga clan’s main family—they were not taught to the branch family.

“How about it, Kitazawa?” Mizuki asked again, sensing an opportunity. He really wanted to beat Kitazawa, even if the win was unbalanced—it was still a win.

“Alright.” Kitazawa made up his mind and said, “But I have one condition.”

“What condition?” Mizuki asked quickly.

“If Class A of the first year wins, you have to agree to one request of mine,” Kitazawa said slowly. He was reminded of the task involving sending Mizuki to prison.

Knowing Mizuki’s personality, Kitazawa was confident that if given the right opportunity, Mizuki would make a move. This request would give him just that chance.

“Fine.” Mizuki paused briefly, then asked, “What if Class A loses?”

“Isn’t it normal for us to lose?” Kitazawa asked rhetorically.

“…?” Mizuki’s lips twitched. You shameless guy! You set yourself up to win no matter what!

“I’ll let you know once I’ve decided on the content of the friendly match.” Kitazawa smiled and turned to return to the office.

‘When your class is crushed, I’ll see if you can still smile.’ Mizuki stared at Kitazawa’s back, subconsciously clenching his fists.

He didn’t know what type of competition Kitazawa would propose, but it would certainly favor the first-year class. Still, Mizuki remained confident.

No amount of scheming could overcome absolute strength.

Second-year Class A had a full year’s advantage. If they still lost, they might as well crash into the Hokage Rock in shame.

Kitazawa returned to his office and found Uchiha Sasuke waiting for him. No need to ask why.

“My shadow clone will take you for training.” Kitazawa formed hand seals and created a shadow clone.

“Thank you, Mr. Kitazawa.” Sasuke followed the clone and left.

Kitazawa stared at his figure thoughtfully. If Sasuke awakened his Sharingan, could he defeat Hyuga Neji? Generally speaking, there was a chance—but it wasn’t high.

The one-tomoe Sharingan didn’t have any major advantage over the Byakugan.

Besides, getting Sasuke to awaken the Sharingan was tricky. In the original work, he first awakened it during the Uchiha massacre.

Kitazawa couldn’t think of a stimulus strong enough to trigger it right now. As for Uzumaki Naruto and the Nine-Tails, that was a can of worms he wouldn’t dare open.

“It seems I’ll need to take a different approach.” Kitazawa picked up a brush, paused for thought, and wrote two lines on a scroll: Chakra Form and Chakra Control.

The chakra form contest would be straightforward: whose ninjutsu was more powerful?

Kitazawa thought of Sasuke’s Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique. If Sasuke participated, winning first place wouldn’t be an issue.

Chakra control needed no explanation—tree climbing and water walking. But Mizuki wouldn’t likely agree if it were just those two competitions.

So Kitazawa added two more categories. One was a physical fitness test, and the other was a real combat match.

The physical test was a guaranteed win with Uzumaki Naruto participating. The real combat match was undoubtedly what Mizuki wanted the most.

If the students fought one-on-one, first-year Class A would definitely lose. Talented students could challenge those above their level—but talent was rare.

Most of Class A’s students were just ordinary kids. Without a year of training, they couldn’t win. So Kitazawa devised a best-of-five system.

After all, there was only one Hyuga Neji. Quality over quantity.

“When should it happen…” Kitazawa touched his chin, deep in thought.

If he revealed the four categories to Mizuki now, the latter would surely organize targeted training. Kitazawa wasn’t afraid—under the same training, talent made the difference.

And Kitazawa had nine of the ‘Konoha Twelve’. Mizuki only had three. The advantage was obvious.

After calculating, Kitazawa decided to schedule it after the next monthly exam. A month was neither too long nor too short.

Mizuki wouldn’t have time to fully train his students, but Sasuke, Hinata, and Ino would be ready. After finishing the scroll, Kitazawa went to Mizuki’s office and handed it over.

Mizuki read through the contents and readily agreed. In his mind, the result was already decided.

In the first three competitions, Hyuga Neji would take first place. In the last real combat round, he could also win one. If two other students won their matches, that would secure the victory.

In short, he believed the odds were in his favor.

Kitazawa didn’t return to the office. Instead, he went straight to Kurenai’s home.

He wanted to help Kurama Yakumo become a psychological medical ninja as soon as possible, in order to make contact with Tsunade and move closer to completing the task.

“Kitazawa, perfect timing!” Kurenai greeted him with a wave.

“You seem cheerful—did the False Surrounding Genjutsu succeed?” Kitazawa asked as he walked over.

“It’s not the False Surrounding Genjutsu. It’s Yakumo’s bloodline limit.” Kurenai said with a smile. “Yakumo, show him.”

“Okay.” Kurama Yakumo brought out a painting. Under Kitazawa’s gaze, the white cat in the painting suddenly came to life, jumping down and landing softly on the floor.

“Meow~” The cat walked up and rubbed against his leg. Kitazawa crouched down and gently stroked its head.

“Doesn’t it feel like a real cat?” Kurenai explained, “This is the illusion Yakumo awakened through her bloodline limit—it’s called Genjutsu Shinsei.”

“I have to thank Kitazawa-sensei for the inspiration,” Yakumo said softly. “He told me to use painting as a medium to express my bloodline ability.”

Kitazawa was a little surprised—but not too much. In the original work, Genjutsu Shinsei was mentioned. Simply put, it brought what she painted into reality.

Suddenly, he recalled the bet with Mizuki. Kurama Yakumo’s bloodline limit was undoubtedly on the level of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Maybe… she could defeat Hyuga Neji.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep