Chapter 1: The Late System

Kitazawa’s grades at the Ninja Academy were far from ideal.

Itachi Uchiha graduated from the academy at seven; Kitazawa barely managed to graduate at thirteen.

Naruto Uzumaki became the savior of the world at seventeen; Kitazawa gave his all just to become a Chunin at seventeen.

In this ninja world where people are killed without a blink, Kitazawa was a "three-no" ninja: no talent, no bloodline, and no backing.

To survive until the finale, he chose to run off to the Ninja Academy to teach, and he had been teaching for five years now.

"Konoha is having another peaceful day today."

Kitazawa stood up and walked to the window.

It was the annual school opening day once again; the playground was bustling with people, very lively.

Kitazawa looked down at the list of new students in his hand, and familiar names came into view one by one.

Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuga, Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka, and others.

"Five years, five whole years, I’ve finally waited for these protagonists."

Kitazawa felt a wave of emotion in his heart.

From here on out, his life had only two major catastrophes left.

The first was Orochimaru’s Konoha Crush plan, and the second was the Akatsuki leader Nagato’s Pain invasion.

The former didn't involve the Ninja Academy, so it wasn't much of a problem.

The latter was more troublesome; that "Almighty Push" destroyed more than half of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Kitazawa’s plan was to run away in advance, taking leave to get out of the village.

As for the specific timing, he could calculate it based on when Naruto and the others enrolled.

Just as he was pondering the timing, he suddenly heard a 'ding' sound.

[Detected that the host has reached six years of age and successfully enrolled. The Strongest Hokage Cultivation System is now active.]

Kitazawa froze in place.

After waiting twenty-one years, at the very moment he had the least hope, the door had finally opened.

Even Lu Mingfei only waited seventeen years; why did you, this system, only show up now?

Wait! Where did you bring me? I’m six years old?

"System, is there something wrong?"

Kitazawa couldn't help but ask.

[Please complete the first stage of the main quest: Dominate the Ninja Academy and become the strongest graduate.]

No, buddy, are you that brain-dead?

I’m happy you’re here, but you got the timing wrong, and I’m very unhappy.

How the hell am I supposed to be a graduate now? Answer me!

No wonder they say blue is the color of intelligence.

Kitazawa now understood: this damn system was fifteen years late.

Could it be... was he going to wait for nothing?

[To dominate the Ninja Academy, you must first conquer your classmates.]

[Current quest: Obtain the initial approval of your classmate, Naruto Uzumaki.]

[Quest reward: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.]

[Do you accept?]

Kitazawa was speechless.

He wasn't Naruto Uzumaki’s classmate, so how was he supposed to do the quest?

If he applied to go back to the Ninja Academy as a student, Hiruzen Sarutobi would probably reply, "You should hire a master at home—no, hire a medical ninja to check if your brain has been eaten by a zombie."

"Who designed this system? Is it from that legendary team of introverts?"

Kitazawa rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

There was no choice; he had to make the best of the situation.

If he couldn't complete the quest, he... well, there wasn't much he could do anyway.

Aside from being angry, he could only be angry, or at most curse a few times.

But what if this brain-dead system’s quest could actually be completed?

Fortunately, there was no penalty for not completing or accepting the quest.

"A person can't be this unlucky forever, right?"

Kitazawa chose to accept the quest.

He put down the student files and left the office.

As soon as he reached the school playground, he heard a lot of crude language.

"Don't go there, that guy is a monster."

"You must not play with him, stay far away."

"I really don't understand why the Hokage would allow him to attend school."

Kitazawa looked at a little boy with yellow hair sitting on a swing.

He kept his head down, appearing silent and withdrawn, separated from the surrounding liveliness by a pathetic, thick barrier.

You guys are truly impressive.

Daring to breathe down the neck of a little boy who possesses a nuclear bomb, aren't you afraid of becoming "acquaintances"?

Kitazawa ignored the strange looks from the crowd and walked up.

Naruto Uzumaki heard footsteps and subconsciously looked up, meeting a pair of black eyes.

He couldn't help but freeze, because the other person’s attitude was very gentle; he couldn't feel any malice at all.

"What’s your name?"

Kitazawa sighed inwardly and asked with great patience.

Obtaining Naruto Uzumaki’s initial approval was actually very simple.

Because in his world, there were currently only two people who approved of him: Hiruzen Sarutobi and Teuchi.

"I... I’m Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto Uzumaki felt a trace of warmth; he perked up and asked, "And you?"

"Kitazawa."

Kitazawa replied.

"Big Brother Kitazawa, hello!"

Naruto Uzumaki said with a slightly excited tone.

"Don't call me Big Brother."

Kitazawa’s mouth twitched as he said, "You should call me Teacher."

"Teacher?"

Naruto Uzumaki’s eyes lit up as he asked, "Are you the teacher for Class 1-A?"

"Yes."

Kitazawa nodded.

"That’s great!"

Naruto Uzumaki said very happily, "I’m in Class 1-A too."

"I’ll take you to register."

Kitazawa reached out, patted his shoulder, and said.

"Thank you, Teacher Kitazawa!"

Naruto Uzumaki jumped off the swing excitedly, but after two steps, his expression froze, and he lowered his head.

He noticed the disgusted looks nearby; this time, even Kitazawa was affected.

"Teacher Kitazawa, I can go register by myself, you don't have to worry about me."

Naruto Uzumaki stopped in his tracks and said.

"If you care too much about other people's opinions, you will only become their prisoner."

Kitazawa didn't look back, his tone calm.

Naruto Uzumaki stared blankly at his back.

He understood a little, but also didn't quite understand.

"Follow me."

Kitazawa raised his hand, wiggled his fingers, and said.

Naruto Uzumaki came back to his senses and subconsciously quickened his pace to catch up.

Class 1-A.

When Naruto Uzumaki appeared, the entire classroom went silent, and all kinds of gazes fell upon him.

This included the teacher in charge of registration, Iruka Umino.

Naruto Uzumaki subconsciously wanted to lower his head, but for some reason, he thought of the words Kitazawa had just said.

He gathered his courage and faced those gazes directly.

"Iruka."

Kitazawa spoke with a smile, as usual.

"Senior Kitazawa."

Iruka Umino suppressed the emotions in his heart and said.

In the original story, his parents died in the Nine-Tails incident.

And since Naruto Uzumaki was now considered a monster, Iruka Umino had initially harbored hatred toward him.