Kitazawa watched Hinata Hyuga, her Byakugan newly awakened, and nodded with satisfaction.
All that effort had finally paid off.
In the original story, Hinata definitely hadn't awakened her Byakugan at six years old.
Now, because of his influence, she had done it early — and a sense of accomplishment welled up in his chest.
At that moment, the system's notification appeared.
[Current Mission: Help Hinata Hyuga awaken her Byakugan.]
[Mission Reward: Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher.]
[Mission complete. Reward issued.]
The Mountain Crusher was a companion technique to the Byakugan's Gentle Fist — complementary to the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
The former focused on explosive power; the latter on sustained assault.
Once he won against Class 2-A, Kitazawa would receive the Sixty-Four Palms as well.
By then, his overall strength would rival that of an elite jōnin.
"I did it, Kitazawa-sensei!"
Hinata, flushed and beaming from victory and excitement, ran up to him.
"Congratulations, Hinata."
Kitazawa smiled warmly.
"You were amazing, Hinata!" Ino Yamanaka cheered.
"The Byakugan really lives up to its name!" Kiba Inuzuka gave a thumbs-up.
"I've actually been wondering," Naruto scratched his head, "why are Hinata's eyes white?"
He had no concept of kekkei genkai, so he didn't understand what the Byakugan was.
"It's called a—"
Before Shino Aburame could finish his explanation, Kiba cut in, smirking proudly.
"Let the great Kiba explain!"
And so he did, telling Naruto what a kekkei genkai was.
"So cool!" Naruto gasped in awe.
"When it comes to kekkei genkai, the strongest is still the Uchiha clan's Sharingan!" Sakura said, hands on hips.
"Sasuke, have you awakened yours yet?" Naruto asked curiously.
"…"
Sasuke twitched his mouth, refusing to answer.
If he had awakened it, would he still be this quiet?
He couldn't help but feel jealous of Hinata — her strength had skyrocketed since awakening her Byakugan.
He wondered if he could still beat her easily now.
A new thought formed: I want to spar with her.
But first, there was someone else he needed to face — Neji Hyuga.
"Why…?"
Mizuki was the most devastated of them all.
He had watched Tenten dominate the fight, only for Hinata to awaken her Byakugan mid-battle and reverse the outcome completely.
That emotional whiplash was torture.
"Sorry."
Tenten returned to her classmates, her tone apologetic.
"Losing to the Byakugan is nothing to be ashamed of," Neji said calmly.
"…"
Mizuki wanted to scold her, but after hearing Neji's words, he swallowed them.
Now wasn't the time to say anything that would hurt morale.
"Yeah," Lee nodded, encouraging her. "Hinata's really strong — don't feel bad."
Neji glanced at him sideways.
Is Hinata really that strong now?
Thinking about it, yes — awakening the Byakugan at six was rare even in Hyuga history.
She was a bona fide genius now.
Neji suddenly felt the urge to fight her himself.
She had earned that right.
"Lee." Mizuki thought for a while, then said, "You're next."
Though Lee had once been the weakest in Class 2-A, his training under Might Guy had skyrocketed his taijutsu.
Among second-years, he was formidable.
"Mizuki-sensei! I swear on my youth I won't let you down!" Lee said, giving a glowing thumbs-up.
"Kitazawa-sensei!" Naruto shouted when he saw Lee stepping forward.
"Go on. Be careful," Kitazawa said — this match was exactly how he had planned it anyway.
"Awesome!" Naruto whooped and ran out onto the field.
When Lee saw that his opponent was Naruto, his thick brows lifted with excitement.
"Lee!"
"Naruto!"
"I never thought we'd face each other like this." Naruto grinned.
"Guy-sensei will be proud!" Lee said passionately.
"To think — we're about to test our taijutsu in front of the Hokage himself!"
The next second, they hugged — both weeping with emotion.
"...?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was full of question marks.
What in the world is this development?
Why are they crying?
"So… full of youthful energy," Shikaku muttered, twitching an eye.
"You don't have to force a compliment," the Third Hokage deadpanned.
"I'm just… speaking from the heart," Shikaku coughed awkwardly.
"Match, begin!" Kitazawa quickly cut in before the moment got any stranger.
"Watch out, Naruto!"
Lee didn't hold back — he charged in with a kick.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
Naruto countered with a spinning kick of his own.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
The two green gusts collided with a heavy thud.
"Youth means fighting with passion!" Lee roared, launching into another combo.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
"Leaf Boulder Rise!" Naruto shouted, striking with a flying elbow.
Boom!
The impact sent shockwaves across the field.
Lee's expression remained calm, but he knew — he was losing ground.
Naruto's body, empowered by both the Uzumaki lineage and the Nine-Tails' chakra, was unnaturally durable.
As a pure taijutsu user, Lee couldn't match that resilience.
Still, he refused to back down.
Fists and kicks clashed in a blur, a fierce taijutsu duel unfolding before everyone's eyes.
"Guy trained him well," Hiruzen said, watching approvingly.
"Naruto's got talent too," Shikaku added.
"Too bad taijutsu specialists have their limits," the Hokage mused.
"Against ninjutsu users, they're too easily kept at a distance."
To survive, such ninja needed either the Eight Gates or a bloodline limit like the Byakugan.
He still hoped Naruto would become a ninjutsu-focused ninja like Minato.
"Naruto!" Lee called out after several minutes, leaping back. "Go all out!"
Naruto hesitated, torn.
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.
Could it be… Naruto learned the Eight Gates?
No, impossible — too soon for that.
"Naruto! Youth means giving your all!" Lee shouted. "I want to lose fair and square!"
Mizuki's scalp went numb.
Are you volunteering to lose?!
He silently cursed himself for ever agreeing to this "friendly" match with Kitazawa.
"Okay!"
Naruto crossed his fingers.
Shadow Clone Jutsu!
With a puff of smoke, two clones appeared.
Then they too used Shadow Clone Jutsu — until there were seven Narutos on the field.
"Lee! Let's go!"
All seven charged in, each shouting "Leaf Whirlwind!"
And so began the justice of the group beatdown.
"This kid recreated the effect of Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Hiruzen's eyes widened.
He began to wonder — should I actually teach him the real one?
He was clearly built for it.
"Six years old and already making six clones?" Shikaku muttered in disbelief.
"How much chakra does that take?"
He wasn't the only one stunned.
Mizuki practically turned to ash on the spot.
He couldn't even make half that many — and a first-year had just done it effortlessly.
There was no competing with that.
"That's Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Shikamaru gawked.
"Naruto already mastered a B-rank technique?" Kiba exclaimed, shaken.
Sasuke fell silent.
A moment ago, he'd been thinking about whether he could beat the newly awakened Hinata.
Now he had a new problem — could he even survive against seven Narutos?
Ridiculous.
How did this one first-year class have so many prodigies?!
"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!" Hiruzen announced, smiling broadly.
Naruto's use of the Shadow Clone Jutsu proved his potential went far beyond taijutsu.
With his talent, he could easily master both ninjutsu and taijutsu.
And as the Hokage knew, once Naruto learned to control the Nine-Tails' chakra…
His power would be unimaginable.
"Lee, are you okay?"
Naruto dismissed his clones and helped Lee up.
"You're really strong… but I'll catch up to you!" Lee said, grinning through bruises.
"I'll be waiting!" Naruto gave him a thumbs-up.
"Neji," Mizuki said gravely, "you're next."
Out of five matches, Class 2-A had already lost two.
If Neji didn't win now, it was over.
"The class's hopes rest on you," Mizuki told him. "If you lose, this friendship match is done for."
"I understand," Neji said confidently. "I won't lose."
He stepped into the center of the field.
Sasuke looked at Kitazawa expectantly — ready to be chosen.
"Yakumo Kurama."
Kitazawa's words stunned everyone.
"Not me?" Sasuke froze, eyes wide.
Neji blinked in confusion as a quiet, unfamiliar girl stepped forward.