“Alright, everyone.
Today I’ll be explaining the Transformation Technique.
Since it’s a ninjutsu, it requires hand seals to activate.
The Transformation Technique only uses a single seal—the Ram (Wei) Seal.”
As he spoke, Iruka demonstrated the seal.
“Naruto, follow along.”
Naruto glanced at it once before effortlessly forming the Ram Seal himself.
“Everyone, pay close attention.
Forming the seal alone won’t activate the technique—you also need chakra.
For most ninja, chakra is released through the hands, feet, or mouth.
As you make the seal, guide the chakra inside your body up to your throat while picturing the person you want to transform into.
“For example, I’ll imagine becoming Naruto, while Naruto imagines becoming me.
Once you’re ready, activate the technique by saying…”
“Transformation Technique!”
Poof!
A cloud of smoke burst forth, and when it cleared, Iruka had transformed perfectly into Naruto.
“Whoa!”
The children gasped in amazement.
“See?
That’s all there is to it.
Once you’re proficient enough, you won’t even need to say ‘Transformation Technique’ out loud.”
He canceled the jutsu and turned back to Naruto.
“Your turn.
Try transforming into me.”
“Transformation Technique!”
Poof!
Another puff of smoke filled the room.
When it dispersed, Naruto had become a flawless copy of Iruka.
“Huh?
You got it on your first try?” Iruka exclaimed in surprise.
“No way!”
“It’s really that easy?”
The students stared wide-eyed in disbelief.
“Alright, my turn!”
One overeager boy immediately formed the Ram Seal and shouted,
“Transformation Technique!”
Poof!
Smoke billowed through the classroom.
Standing there was…
a horribly misshapen Iruka.
His body leaned crookedly to one side, his nostrils were dripping, and his eyes were completely uneven.
“Hahaha!”
The entire class burst into laughter.
“What kind of transformation is that?”
“That’s terrible!”
Despite laughing, the other children couldn’t resist trying it themselves.
“Me too!”
“I want to try!”
Soon the classroom was filled with bursts of smoke as everyone attempted the Transformation Technique.
Unfortunately, nearly every “Iruka” looked bizarre in one way or another.
None of them came close to Naruto’s perfect transformation.
Naruto dispelled the technique and returned to normal.
“Iruka-sensei, I’ve learned the Transformation Technique, so I’ll head back to my seat.”
He nodded politely before stepping down from the platform.
Looking at the chaotic classroom—and the dozens of grotesque versions of himself—Iruuka felt his blood pressure rising.
“Quiet!”
He slammed the desk.
“You lot!
What on earth have you transformed into?
One at a time, get up here!
I’ll correct each of you.”
One by one, Iruka patiently guided the students through their mistakes.
Aside from Naruto and the members of the Rookie Twelve, nearly everyone was called to the front for extra instruction.
Naruto had originally assumed the Ninja Academy would first teach all twelve basic hand seals.
Instead, that wasn’t the case at all.
Whenever a ninjutsu was introduced, the instructors simply taught the seal required for that particular technique.
The same held true for the Clone Technique and the Substitution Technique.
After learning those two techniques, the first school year came to an end.
Unlike Chakra Extraction, however, the Three Basic Techniques weren’t taught nearly as rigorously.
During Chakra Extraction lessons, if even one student still hadn’t succeeded, half the day would continue to be devoted to meditation and chakra training until everyone caught up.
The Three Basic Techniques were different.
After roughly three days of instruction for each one, they were rarely covered in detail again.
Of course, the conscientious Iruka still tested the students from time to time.
The rest of the curriculum, however, was devoted almost entirely to cultural and theoretical studies.
Among those subjects, The Will of Fire occupied the greatest number of lessons.
Clearly, the Third Hokage intended for the philosophy of the Will of Fire to become deeply rooted in every Academy student’s heart during their very first year.
Without realizing it, the students’ outlook gradually changed.
After just one year, many more children proudly proclaimed their dream of becoming Hokage.
Even the most ordinary among them firmly believed that as long as they worked hard enough, they could achieve it.
And if they failed…
It simply meant they hadn’t worked hard enough.
That was the power of the Will of Fire.
Naruto had briefly attracted attention by mastering the Transformation Technique on his very first attempt.
But aside from Shikamaru and a handful of others, no one associated with him.
Moreover, everyone knew Naruto had already learned Chakra Extraction before entering the Academy.
Naturally, they assumed he had also learned the Transformation Technique beforehand.
As for the Clone Technique and the Substitution Technique…
Naruto had never demonstrated them publicly.
Those techniques were considerably more difficult than the Transformation Technique, and aside from the Rookie Twelve, very few students had mastered them.
Since Naruto had never used them in front of others, everyone assumed he hadn’t learned them either.
On top of that, he consistently ranked at the bottom of the written exams.
The reason was simple: he intentionally answered questions using a ridiculous rule of thumb—
“If three options are long and one is short, choose the short one.
If three are short and one is long, choose the long one.
If they’re all about the same length, choose C.”
With an approach like that, it was impossible for his grades to be good.
As a result, no one considered Naruto a genius.
The truth, however, was completely different.
With his current level of chakra control, his enormous chakra reserves, the increasingly powerful physique he had built through meditation, his sharpened senses, and his already-completed Wind Release nature transformation…
He had long since exceeded the requirements for learning both the Clone Technique and the Substitution Technique.
And without Kurama’s chakra interfering with his own…
The moment Iruka finished explaining the techniques, Naruto had already mastered both of them.
________________
“Yo, Kurama.
I’m back.”
During winter break, with icy winds howling and snow blanketing the ground, Naruto once again entered the sewer-like corridors of the Nine-Tails’ sealing space.
“Hmph.”
Kurama snorted.
“What do you want this time, brat?
I still haven’t decided whether I believe you.”
Naruto smiled.
“Well, I’ve been under constant surveillance, so I haven’t dared make any obvious moves.
But I’ve really wanted to master the Rasengan.”
“Then I realized something.”
“I’ve been an idiot.”
He spread his arms toward the vast sealing space.
“Isn’t this the perfect secret training ground?
No matter how closely they watch me outside, they can’t see what’s happening in here.”
“This isn’t your training ground.”
Kurama bared his fangs.
“Get out.
I don’t want to see you.”
Naruto chuckled.
“Talking big won’t kill anyone.
Wait until you’re actually able to leave that cage.
At the very least, you’ll need to leak a lot more chakra than you can now.”
Indeed, the amount of chakra Kurama could currently force through the seal posed no threat to Naruto.
“You arrogant little brat!”
Kurama growled.
“Just wait until I get out.
I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll never forget.”
Naruto ignored him and devoted his full attention to practicing the Rasengan.
There were no water balloons.
No rubber balls.
Inside the sealing space, he had to rely entirely on chakra control.
Compared to training with the proper tools, the difficulty was easily ten times greater.
Fortunately, time was the one thing Naruto had plenty of.
His life under constant surveillance had taught him patience.
More importantly, his chakra control already far surpassed that of the original Naruto before he learned the Rasengan.
He also knew from the very beginning that using both hands made the process easier.
Combined with the mental clarity granted by Constant Concentration, and the fact that he could occasionally practice outside just enough to grasp the necessary sensations without drawing attention…
Naruto was confident he wouldn’t take any longer than the original Naruto to master the technique.
Reality proved him right.
By the time winter break ended and the Academy reopened…
Naruto had already mastered the Rasengan.
ADD TO COLLECTION.