“I want to fight more geniuses.”
Natsuki stated his reason plainly.
“I’ve already beaten Minato, so I’ve set my sights on the upperclassmen now.”
That much edge already?
Ishida Yuu couldn’t help drawing in a sharp breath.
The current Natsuki was obviously different from the one before.
But Ishida Yuu could understand it.
After all, he had already become Orochimaru’s student ahead of schedule.
A person’s personality and way of doing things would naturally change depending on their circumstances.
Now, both Natsuki and Minato Namikaze only attended theory classes at the Ninja Academy.
Because their practical combat instructors had become Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
“Who do you want to challenge?”
Ishida Yuu came back to himself and asked.
“Akimichi Choza, Nara Shikaku, and Yamanaka Inoichi from third year.”
Natsuki answered without hesitation.
The reason he had just given was more than half fake.
His real goal was to unlock Ability Four of the Naruto Uzumaki template.
Out of the seven geniuses Minato had introduced to him before, only Akimichi Choza, Nara Shikaku, and Yamanaka Inoichi could really be considered the easier targets.
Nawaki, Uchiha Mikoto, Hyuga Hiashi, and Hyuga Hizashi all came from major ninja clans.
The Sharingan and Byakugan both had the ability to let their users challenge above their level, so there was a real chance Natsuki could lose.
But with Akimichi Choza, Nara Shikaku, and Yamanaka Inoichi, Natsuki felt he could beat them with ease.
First, he knew the Ino-Shika-Cho clan techniques very well.
Second, they were still young.
In any case, he would dominate second year and third year first.
Of course, Ishida Yuu’s guess wasn’t wrong either.
Natsuki was already Orochimaru’s student now, so there was no longer any need to keep hiding everything.
If he wanted to reveal the powers of his character templates, the best way was to disguise himself as a once-in-a-generation genius.
If anyone asked, the answer was simple: self-created jutsu.
“All right, then.
I’ll go talk to Teacher Ikeuchi from Class 3-A in a bit.”
Ishida Yuu smiled.
“I don’t think he’ll refuse.”
Natsuki was now Orochimaru’s student, with a future that seemed limitless.
And the academy’s teachers were mostly chunin.
No matter how bold they were, they wouldn’t dare offend Orochimaru or his student.
Ishida Yuu moved quickly.
After finishing his conversation with Natsuki, he went upstairs to another faculty office.
“Teacher Ikeuchi.”
Ishida Yuu walked up to a young man.
“Teacher Ishida Yuu?
It’s rare to see you come looking for me.”
Ikeuchi looked surprised.
“What is it?”
“It’s like this.”
Ishida Yuu immediately explained the whole situation from start to finish.
“As expected of a genius favored by Lord Orochimaru.
He’s already aiming for even higher goals.”
After hearing it, Ikeuchi sighed in admiration.
To have three world-class prodigies come out of one class was practically unbelievable.
Even though Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade hadn’t officially taken students yet, given their strength and status, every move they made drew attention.
The fact that they were personally teaching Minato Namikaze, Natsuki, and Yakushi Nono had already spread throughout Konoha.
Rumor had it Shimura Danzo had flown into a rage and, in the end, only managed to spit out four words:
“I’m so pissed!”
“So what do you think?”
Ishida Yuu asked with a smile.
“How about a class exchange match?”
After a brief moment of thought, Ikeuchi proposed it.
Ishida Yuu froze for a second, then immediately understood.
Ikeuchi was already assuming that Natsuki would defeat Akimichi Choza, Nara Shikaku, and Yamanaka Inoichi.
But if that happened directly, Class 3-A would lose too much face.
So instead, they could hold an exchange event between the two classes.
Everyone would participate, there would be wins and losses on both sides, and it would be much easier to accept.
“That works.”
Ishida Yuu agreed right away.
With Minato Namikaze, Natsuki, and Yakushi Nono in his class, his performance record for the year was already secure.
He might even be named Outstanding Teacher.
“Then tomorrow afternoon,”
Ikeuchi added.
Ishida Yuu nodded.
After returning, he told Natsuki about the arrangement.
Naturally, Natsuki had no objections.
As long as he could achieve his goal, there was no real difference between a direct challenge and a class exchange event.
The next afternoon arrived.
On the Ninja Academy training field—
The students of Class 2-A and Class 3-A sized each other up.
“So those are Natsuki and Minato Namikaze?”
Akimichi Choza looked at the black-haired boy and the blond-haired boy in the distance and asked.
“Yeah, that’s them.”
Yamanaka Inoichi nodded.
“Those two are probably going to be your opponents.”
In Class 3-A, Nara Shikaku ranked first, Akimichi Choza ranked second, and he ranked third.
But in actual combat, Choza was the strongest.
The Ino-Shika-Cho combination was famous throughout the ninja world.
The secret techniques of the three clans could be combined to unleash terrifying power.
But if separated, the Akimichi clan had the strongest one-on-one combat ability.
That was because the Yamanaka and Nara clan techniques were mainly focused on control and interference.
“This is going to be rough.”
Nara Shikaku let out a sigh.
“Their teachers are Lord Orochimaru and Lord Jiraiya.”
“It’s fine.
It’s just an exchange event.”
Yamanaka Inoichi comforted him.
“Besides, losing to them wouldn’t be embarrassing.”
At two in the afternoon, Ishida Yuu and Ikeuchi stepped into the field and officially announced the start of the exchange event.
Watching the sparring matches on the field, Natsuki suddenly thought of a problem.
Under the rules of this exchange, he could only beat one of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
But his plan was to take on all three.
Natsuki narrowed his eyes in thought.
He felt he could just openly challenge them.
Ishida Yuu announced.
Nara Shikaku and Yamanaka Inoichi had already fought.
The former had faced Minato Namikaze and been defeated by him with ease.
The latter had faced Onodera and ultimately won.
After the two stepped onto the field, Akimichi Choza attacked first.
He perfectly demonstrated what it meant to be a nimble fat guy, throwing a punch at incredible speed.
Head Chef’s Flying Kick!
Natsuki gave him no chance to close in.
He leaped into the air and lashed out with his right leg.
Choza immediately changed the direction of his punch.
Fist and foot collided, and his heavy body was forced back by half a step.
A look of shock appeared on his face at once.
The same was true for Nara Shikaku and the others.
Because they remembered that Natsuki was famous for swordsmanship, not taijutsu.
But once Natsuki gained the upper hand, he didn’t let up.
Borrowing the force of Choza’s punch, he launched himself into the air again.
Head Chef’s Heavy Drop!
His entire body came crashing down.
The weight behind it stirred up a rush of wind.
Choza’s expression changed as he felt a crushing pressure descend from above.
Partial Expansion Jutsu!
His right hand rapidly grew larger, like a five-fingered mountain pressing upward to meet Natsuki.
Boom!
A shockwave swept out in all directions.
Choza’s face twisted with effort as he poured all his strength into his right palm, locking Natsuki in a stalemate.
Reinforcement Magecraft!
Natsuki immediately reinforced both legs.
Golden Right Leg!
His body twisted in midair, then he kicked straight at Choza.
Choza had never expected a follow-up like that.
With a muffled grunt, he was sent tumbling across the ground.
“How did Natsuki’s taijutsu become this strong?”
Minato Namikaze’s expression turned grave.
He had thought his own progress under Jiraiya had already been extremely fast.
He had just defeated Nara Shikaku without even revealing his new ninjutsu.
But the speed at which Natsuki’s taijutsu had improved was something he couldn’t even begin to understand.
Minato even felt that if he wasn’t careful, Natsuki might be able to beat him with taijutsu alone.
“Winner: Natsuki!”
Ishida Yuu declared loudly with a bright smile.
“Teacher Ishida Yuu, Teacher Ikeuchi, I have an impertinent request.”
Natsuki bowed slightly.
“I’ve admired the Ino-Shika-Cho trio for a long time, and I’d like to see what they can do.”
Ishida Yuu and Ikeuchi both froze.
What did he mean by that?
Hadn’t he just defeated Akimichi Choza?
But very quickly, they understood.
Shock spread across both their faces.
You want to fight all three?