Ishida Yuu looked like he wanted to say something, then stopped himself.
His first reaction was that Natsuki was being far too overconfident.
The Ino-Shika-Cho combination was famous throughout the ninja world.
Very few ninja would willingly choose to take the three of them on at once.
But Natsuki’s status as Orochimaru’s student made Ishida Yuu hesitate.
In the end, he handed the decision over to Ikeuchi.
“Do you accept?”
After thinking it over, Ikeuchi simply turned to Nara Shikaku and the other two for their answer.
Akimichi Choza and Yamanaka Inoichi both looked at Nara Shikaku.
Among the three clans, the Nara had always taken the lead, because they were known for their high intelligence.
Their clan heads traditionally served as the Hokage’s advisors, helping him devise strategies and plans.
“We accept.”
After a brief silence, Nara Shikaku nodded.
One reason was that Natsuki had challenged them in public, and it was within the rules.
Since it was one against three, refusing would only make them look timid.
The second reason was that they might not lose.
And if they managed to defeat Orochimaru’s student, it would do wonders for the reputation of their three clans.
The moment he agreed, both classes erupted.
For most of them, this was the first time they had ever seen a one-versus-three fight.
“As expected of Natsuki.
He really is that confident!”
“Confidence has to be backed by strength.
He is strong, but he’s facing the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
It’s hard to say who’ll win.”
“Hmph.
He loves showing off so much.
Let’s see how he cleans this up after he loses.”
The last comment came from Onodera.
He was already upset about losing to Yamanaka Inoichi, and now Natsuki was acting this outrageously confident, which only made him even more bitter and angry.
He wished he could take Natsuki’s place himself.
“Natsuki won’t lose!”
Kushina Uzumaki clenched her fists and snapped fiercely.
“Quiet.”
Ishida Yuu cut in immediately.
“Don’t interfere with their spar.”
The students from both classes stopped talking, and every eye turned toward Natsuki and the others.
Minato Namikaze sat stiffly upright, his face solemn.
Ever since Natsuki had defeated him, he had treated him as the rival of his life, the goal he absolutely had to catch up to.
Now that Natsuki was fighting three opponents at once, he was bound to go all out.
For Minato, this was a perfect opportunity.
A ninja battle was an intelligence battle.
The more he learned about Natsuki, the better his chances of defeating him.
It was June now, and the final exam for this term would be held in July.
That was when he and Natsuki would face each other again.
Ishida Yuu announced loudly.
Then he stepped back to stand beside Ikeuchi.
Neither of them took their eyes off Natsuki and the others.
They both wanted to know who would win.
If Natsuki won, his reputation as a genius would spread completely through the Ninja Academy—and possibly even all of Konoha.
Natsuki drew a wooden practice sword.
Against the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, taijutsu alone definitely wouldn’t be enough.
Even if this was still the child version of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
Judging from their earlier fights, Choza and the others had each only mastered one of their clan’s secret techniques.
That was normal.
They might be geniuses, but they were still only eight years old.
Learning even one secret technique at their age was already impressive.
Natsuki looked toward Nara Shikaku.
The Nara clan’s shadow techniques were obviously the most dangerous.
On top of that, they were highly intelligent and often found unexpected ways to control their targets and secure victory.
While he was thinking, Shikaku and the others moved first.
They split up at once, then immediately hurled out a flurry of kunai and shuriken.
Weight-Type Magic: Weight Reduction!
Natsuki’s body suddenly felt lighter, and he charged straight at Nara Shikaku with his wooden sword in hand.
The moment the kunai and shuriken reached him, he knocked them all away.
Shikaku’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately realized what Natsuki was trying to do.
He quickly looked toward Choza.
Choza immediately pulled out a wooden staff and swung it at Natsuki.
Inoichi raised both hands toward Natsuki.
The moment Natsuki stopped moving, he would unleash the Mind Body Switch Technique and seize control of his body.
One-Sword Style: Demon Bear!
Natsuki brought his blade down hard on Choza’s staff.
To everyone’s shock, the wooden staff was split clean in two.
Fortunately, that brief delay had given Shikaku enough time to retreat to a safe distance.
Choza let out a roar, and both his arms suddenly enlarged as he lunged toward Natsuki.
Golden Right Leg!
Natsuki lashed out with a kick.
Choza took the blow head-on and didn’t move back an inch.
Mind Body Switch Technique!
Seeing the opening, Inoichi immediately launched a mental shockwave from both hands.
The shockwave was as fast as lightning.
At this distance, it would hit almost instantly.
Just as Inoichi and the others thought Natsuki was about to be struck, his body blurred and accelerated sharply.
It was Reinforcement Magecraft.
Natsuki had strengthened his legs with Reinforcement Magecraft, and combined with Weight-Type Magic: Weight Reduction, his speed had reached its limit.
Minato Namikaze couldn’t help gasping.
Natsuki’s speed had now become so fast that even he couldn’t react to it.
And if he couldn’t react, then Nara Shikaku and the others definitely couldn’t either.
Meanwhile, Inoichi’s Mind Body Switch Technique had failed, and his body immediately froze in place. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
That was the weakness of the technique.
If the mental shockwave missed, he couldn’t return to his body right away, and he’d be unable to move for a short time.
Natsuki knew that too, so he ignored Inoichi completely.
One-Sword Style Iaijutsu: Lion’s Song!
His speed jumped again, and he vanished from sight.
At almost the exact same moment, Nara Shikaku let out a scream.
The wooden sword struck his body like a long whip.
He was sent flying backward.
Then Natsuki reappeared.
Choza and Inoichi both felt their hearts jolt, and when they looked at him, a chill ran through their whole bodies.
Three against one, and they still got one of their own taken out first.
What kind of nonsense was this?
But honestly, it wasn’t really their fault.
“Looks like the outcome is already decided,” Minato murmured.
With Shikaku, their tactical core, taken out first, Choza and Inoichi had even less chance of winning.
Natsuki didn’t waste any time.
His chakra reserves couldn’t support a drawn-out fight.
Fortunately, Orochimaru had already noticed that weakness and had spent this time training him specifically to improve his chakra, so it was much better than before.
Head Chef’s Flying Kick!
Natsuki spun and kicked Inoichi away in a single motion.
He moved so fast that Choza couldn’t even react in time to help.
Grinding his teeth, Choza used Partial Expansion Technique again, his massive palm slamming toward Natsuki.
But Natsuki now was nothing like the Natsuki from before.
In martial arts, speed defeated everything.
And in the ninja world, that logic still held true to a certain extent.
Natsuki sidestepped Choza’s giant palm, then followed up with a rapid slash from his wooden sword.
One-Sword Style: 36 Pound Phoenix!
The sword wave hit Choza like a cannon blast and sent him flying.
At that point, all three members of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were down.
“That was incredible!”
“Natsuki!”
Class 2-A immediately erupted into cheers.
Kushina Uzumaki was so excited she actually jumped up.
Minato, on the other hand, felt deeply conflicted.
Part of him was happy that Natsuki had beaten the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
The other part was overwhelmed by how terrifying Natsuki’s strength had become.
Class 3-A, meanwhile, had gone completely silent.
Their three strongest students had all lost together.
There was nothing left to say.
“We didn’t lose unfairly.”
Nara Shikaku sat up and let out a sigh.
“He is Orochimaru’s student, after all.”
Yamanaka Inoichi shook his head.
Choza said nothing, but he was convinced too.
Since Natsuki had used a wooden sword, none of the three had actually been injured—they just felt like they had been beaten with three heavy blows in the space of a second, and their whole bodies ached.