“How about…
I give it a try?” The moment Kamiki offered to try, the entire classroom burst into loud laughter.
Kamiki chose to ignore it completely.
Worried that the mockery would hurt Kamiki’s feelings, Iruka stepped in to comfort him.
“It’s alright, Kamiki.
Failure isn’t something to fear.
Pay no mind to their jokes.” Kamiki shook his head.
“I’m fine, Sensei.
I’m already used to it.” Iruka’s gaze softened even more.
This child had endured so much at such a young age, yet he stayed strong and eager to improve.
“Iruka-sensei,” Kamiki called out, suddenly looking up.
He looked at Iruka and said earnestly, “Could you teach me how to perform the Transformation Jutsu one more time?” Even though Kamiki had the original owner’s memories and knew the hand signs and key points, he still felt uneasy.
Hearing it from the teacher again would help reinforce it.
What else can I do?
Kamiki thought helplessly.
Who told me to end up as an ordinary loser with zero talent?
“Alright,” Iruka nodded.
He saw the genuine thirst for knowledge in Kamiki’s eyes.
That pure desire to learn was rare and precious.
“If you want a high score in the transformation exam, it is best to turn into an object you know well.
Try to keep any visible flaws to a minimum.
First, you start like this…” Iruka went on to explain the key points of the Transformation Jutsu in detail, warning him about several common mistakes along the way.
“Kamiki, ninjutsu doesn’t have just one fixed path.
Feel free to try different things,” Iruka added at the end.
“Understanding and flexibility are very important…” Kamiki nodded, only half understanding.
Understanding and flexibility.
Kamiki frowned, lost in thought.
When the original Kamiki practiced the jutsu, his mind was set on transforming into a human, and the results were always terrible.
Could he experiment with other things?
Something he was familiar with, where people wouldn’t look too closely at the fine details…
Kamiki stood there thinking for a long time.
Around him, his classmates grew impatient and began shouting.
“Kamiki, can you do it or not?!” “You’re going to embarrass yourself anyway!
What’s the difference between doing it sooner or later?” “Exactly!
What are you wasting everyone’s time for, standing there stalling?” “Kamiki, go on and give it a bold try,” Iruka alone said, patting Kamiki’s shoulder with encouraging eyes.
“Even if you fail, I will still clap for you.” Kamiki felt touched.
“Thank you, Sensei.” With that, he walked out of the classroom and stepped into the training yard.
Since the teacher said failure was nothing to fear, there was nothing to worry about.
Flexibility and understanding…
Those words kept repeating in Kamiki’s mind.
Several characters and tailed beasts from the anime flashed through his thoughts.
In the end, he picked the one he knew best—the one his classmates in his past life talked about the most.
Give it a shot.
Take that bold first step!
Kamiki formed a hand sign and yelled at the top of his lungs, “Transformation Jutsu!” Whoosh!
A nine-tailed monster beast, standing fifty to sixty meters tall, suddenly appeared right outside the academy building!
The vicious aura washing off its body and the sheer disdain for humans in its eyes sent a shiver through Iruka, even though he was a Chunin!
“Wah!” “A monster!” Inside the classroom, several girls burst into tears from fright.
Even Sasuke and Shikamaru, who were always calm, stepped back several paces in pure horror, cold sweat beading on their foreheads as they looked at the massive beast Kamiki had become.
It looked real.
Too real!
It felt as though a real Nine-Tails had dropped right in front of them!
The crushing pressure of raw power, the deep tremor from the bottom of their souls—it was terrifyingly authentic!
After using the jutsu, Kamiki noticed that Iruka’s face seemed completely frozen.
He assumed his transformation must have fallen short, so he canceled the jutsu and stood in front of Iruka like a child who had done something wrong.
“I’m sorry, Sensei.
My understanding and flexibility are really too poor.
I could only manage to turn into this,” Kamiki said sincerely.
Snapping out of his shock, Iruka’s mouth twitched.
You could only manage to turn into this?!
You call that ‘only’?!
Years ago, Iruka had seen the Nine-Tails with his own eyes, and his parents had died at its claws.
That was why he had been frozen in utter disbelief.
The nine-tailed fox Kamiki had turned into looked identical to the one from that day!
If anything, the chakra ripples coming off Kamiki’s beast and that bloodthirsty urge to devour humans felt even stronger!
Even though Iruka was a Chunin who had witnessed the beast in person, he knew he couldn’t replicate even a thousandth of that presence if he tried the jutsu himself!
Could it be that my student has finally awakened?
He isn’t a loser at all—he’s a ninjutsu genius!
“Kamiki, tell me, why did you choose to turn into that monster?
And why was it…
so lifelike?” Iruka asked, forcing down the shock in his chest.
“Because I once dreamed about that giant beast.
I figured if I turned into it, its massive size would keep people from looking too closely at the small details,” Kamiki explained, looking a bit downcast.
“Did I still do poorly?” Iruka rubbed his forehead.
What a simple, down-to-earth reason!
In the end, Iruka held back his lingering shock and offered his review.
“You did well this time.
Next time, try to turn into a normal person…” Seeing the forced expression on his teacher’s face, Kamiki took it as plain comfort.
“Sensei, you don’t need to spare my feelings.
I know my talent isn’t great…” Hidden Leaf Village.
The Hokage’s Office.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had seen the giant Nine-Tails appear at the Ninja Academy!
That horrifying aura had made him think the Nine-Tails had broken through its seal!
Just as he was about to head out to stop it, the Nine-Tails strangely vanished into thin air.
He immediately sent his Anbu operatives to investigate.
The report had just arrived.
“Are the results in?
Did the Fourth’s seal weaken and let the Nine-Tails escape from Naruto?” the Third Hokage asked nervously.
The masked Anbu operative answered, “No.
It was just an ordinary academy student performing the Transformation Jutsu.” “What?” The Third Hokage’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Are you sure you didn’t mistake it?” “I am certain,” the Anbu operative stated firmly.
“Who cast this Transformation Jutsu?
Naruto?” the Third Hokage pressed on.
“Only he possesses such massive reserves of chakra to mimic a tailed beast with a transformation, and only he, with the beast sealed inside him, could replicate its aura so accurately.
That boy is getting out of hand…” the Third muttered to himself.
“No, it was Kamiki.
The war orphan you named,” the operative replied.
“What?” The old Hokage’s voice rose two octaves.
Known as the Professor of Shinobi, Hiruzen Sarutobi had mastered all kinds of jutsu and had studied the Transformation Jutsu deeply.
Because of that, he knew mimicking a tailed beast through transformation required not just massive amounts of chakra, but also deep familiarity with the beast and flawless technique.
“That child Kamiki…
he’s never had any contact with a tailed beast, has he?” Hiruzen Sarutobi drew in a sharp breath of cold air.