Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Kitazawa stopped in his tracks.

If it had been an ordinary second-year class, he would have agreed without hesitation.

After all, his class was overflowing with talent—each of the future Konoha Twelve Rookies had the potential to challenge upperclassmen.

But Mizuki’s class wasn’t ordinary.

It had Hyuga Neji.

In the original timeline, Neji had been the strongest of the Konoha Twelve in the early stages. Even when Naruto finally defeated him in the Chunin Exams, he’d needed the Nine-Tails’ chakra to do it.

And right now, Naruto couldn’t tap into the Nine-Tails at all.

Sasuke hadn’t awakened his Sharingan yet, and the others were even less likely to be a match for Neji in direct combat.

Still, that didn’t mean there was no way to win.

They could change the form of the contest—a competition of chakra control, for example.

But what really made Kitazawa pause was the sudden appearance of a mission notification in his mind:

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

Current Mission: Defeat Second Year Class A in a friendly match.

Reward: Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

Kitazawa’s eyes lit up.

That reward was worth the risk.

The Byakugan, combined with Gentle Fist, was the reason the Hyuga Clan had remained powerful for centuries.

Though the Hyuga had never produced monsters like Uchiha Madara, their techniques were more than enough to deal with most shinobi.

Among their taijutsu, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Rotation were the most iconic.

If Rotation could be considered S-rank difficulty, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms was likely A-rank.

And both of them were secret arts reserved for the Hyuga main family—never taught to branch members.

“How about it, Kitazawa?” Mizuki pressed, sensing a chance.

He was desperate to beat Kitazawa—just once.

Even if it was an unfair fight, victory was still victory.

“Alright.”

Kitazawa finally spoke, his tone calm but deliberate. “But I have one condition.”

“What condition?” Mizuki asked quickly.

“If my class wins, you’ll agree to grant me one request—no matter what it is.”

Kitazawa said it so casually, as if it were nothing at all.

In reality, he was already thinking about the mission to send Mizuki to prison.

Given Mizuki’s personality, he’d definitely give Kitazawa the opportunity he needed.

“…Fine.” Mizuki paused, then narrowed his eyes. “And if your class loses?”

“Losing is hardly unusual, is it?” Kitazawa countered smoothly.

“…?”

Mizuki’s mouth twitched.

’You shameless bastard… You’re not even willing to take the tiniest risk.’

“Once I’ve decided on the rules of the match, I’ll let you know.”

Kitazawa gave a polite smile, turned, and walked off toward the faculty office.

“When your class gets utterly crushed, let’s see if you can still smile,” Mizuki muttered under his breath, fists clenching.

No matter what scheme Kitazawa cooked up, none of it would matter in the face of overwhelming strength.

Second Year Class A was an entire year ahead.

If they actually lost to a group of first-years…

He might as well slam his head into the Hokage Monument.

Kitazawa returned to the office and found Sasuke waiting silently by the door.

He didn’t even have to ask why.

“My Shadow Clone will take you to train.”

Kitazawa formed a quick set of hand seals, and a clone appeared beside him.

“Thank you, Kitazawa-sensei.”

Sasuke gave a curt nod and followed the clone out.

Kitazawa watched the boy’s back recede down the hall, deep in thought.

If Sasuke could awaken his Sharingan in time, could he stand a chance against Neji?

There was a possibility—but only a slim one.

A one-tomoe Sharingan wouldn’t have much of an advantage against the Byakugan.

And awakening it was no simple feat.

Sasuke had only unlocked it during the Uchiha Clan massacre—after the trauma of losing everything.

Kitazawa frowned.

He couldn’t think of anything that could replicate that kind of emotional shock.

As for Naruto…

The Nine-Tails was a power he didn’t dare meddle with at all.

“It seems I’ll have to tackle this from a few different angles.”

Kitazawa picked up a pen, paused in thought, then began writing on a scroll: Chakra Shape and Chakra Control.

A Chakra Shape competition was simple enough—it was a battle to see whose ninjutsu packed the most power.

Immediately, Kitazawa thought of Sasuke’s Great Fireball Jutsu. With Sasuke competing, securing first place in that category shouldn’t be an issue.

As for Chakra Control, that spoke for itself: tree climbing, water walking, and other precise feats.

But if he only proposed those two events, Mizuki might balk at the idea.

So Kitazawa thought for a moment longer and added two more categories.

One was a physical fitness test.

The other… actual combat.

With Uzumaki Naruto in the physical fitness round, victory there was practically guaranteed.

And actual combat was undoubtedly what Mizuki most wanted to see.

However, a full-class, one-on-one battle would be a disaster for him.

Talented ninja could occasionally fight above their level—but true geniuses were rare.

Most of the kids in his class were still just normal students. Without a year’s worth of additional training, losing to the second-years was inevitable.

So Kitazawa made a decision.

They’d compete in a best-of-five format.

After all, there was only one Hyuga Neji.

It would be a contest of quality over quantity.

’When should I schedule it…?’

Kitazawa stroked his chin, lost in thought.

If he gave Mizuki too much advance notice, the man would definitely organize targeted training for his students.

Not that Kitazawa was particularly worried—if both classes trained equally hard, talent would decide the outcome.

And among the Konoha Twelve Rookies, he had nine on his side. Mizuki only had three. The advantage was obvious.

After doing some mental calculations, Kitazawa decided to hold the event right after the next monthly exams.

A month was just enough time.

Too short for Mizuki to stage a special training miracle… but perfect for refining Sasuke, Hinata, and Ino’s abilities.

Satisfied, Kitazawa rolled up the scroll and headed to Mizuki’s office.

Mizuki read the scroll in silence, then smiled in easy agreement.

In his mind, there was no way he could lose any of those four events.

For the first three, he was certain Hyuga Neji would sweep first place.

And in actual combat, he believed he could win at least one match, and count on the rest of his class to secure the other two victories.

In short, Mizuki felt the odds were firmly stacked in his favor.

Kitazawa, however, didn’t bother returning to the faculty office.

Instead, he headed straight for Kurenai’s house.

He was determined to help Yakumo become a psychological medic as quickly as possible. That way, he could establish contact with Tsunade—and eventually complete his own mission.

“Kitazawa, you came at the perfect time!”

Kurenai greeted him with a bright wave.

“You’re in high spirits today. Don’t tell me you finished developing the Truth Extraction Jutsu?” Kitazawa teased as he approached.

“It’s not the Truth Extraction Jutsu—it’s Yakumo’s bloodline limit!”

Kurenai’s eyes sparkled. “Yakumo, show him what you can do!”

“Okay.”

Yakumo stepped forward and held up a painting.

Under Kitazawa’s gaze, the white cat depicted on the paper seemed to come alive, springing from the canvas and landing gracefully on the floor.

“Meow.”

The cat trotted over and nuzzled against Kitazawa’s pant leg, its soft fur tickling his skin.

Kitazawa crouched down and reached out to scratch it behind the ears.

“It feels completely real.”

Kurenai beamed. “This is a genjutsu Yakumo developed using her bloodline limit—it’s called Genjutsu: False Reality.”

“I have to thank Kitazawa-sensei for giving me the idea,” Yakumo said shyly. “You told me to try channeling my bloodline limit through painting.”

Kitazawa was pleasantly surprised, though not entirely shocked.

After all, Genjutsu: False Reality existed in the original timeline—it allowed illusions to manifest physically, turning the contents of a painting into real, tangible creations.

Then a thought struck him.

’This could be my secret weapon against Mizuki.’

Yakumo’s bloodline limit was undoubtedly on par with Mangekyo Sharingan-level abilities.

’She might even be able to defeat Neji…’

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