"Minato! I'm going to crush you today!"
In front of Namikaze Minato, an arrogant boy declared war.
Natsuki had just arrived at the Ninja Academy's training grounds when he noticed the commotion.
The boy's name was Onodera.
His talent was decent—second in the class, right behind Namikaze Minato.
But his personality was insufferable. A textbook bully.
As far as Natsuki knew, Onodera regularly picked on classmates he didn't like, backed by his two lackeys.
Natsuki even suspected they were the same type of kids who had bullied Uzumaki Kushina in the original timeline.
Bullying was disturbingly common in Konoha.
Uzumaki Kushina, Might Guy, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata, Haruno Sakura—they'd all been targets at some point.
"Natsuki."
The moment Minato spotted him, he walked over.
He had zero interest in Onodera.
Sure, Onodera ranked second in the class. But for some reason, Minato felt that Natsuki—who couldn't even crack the top ten—was the bigger threat.
"Damn it! Don't you dare ignore me!"
Onodera's face twisted with rage. "Just you wait!"
"Looks like you've made an enemy," Natsuki said with a faint smile.
"Just ignore him."
Minato shrugged it off. "How'd the written exam go this morning?"
"I answered everything." Natsuki spread his hands. "Whether any of it's correct? That's up to fate."
Jack of all trades, master of none.
The knowledge from his previous life was basically useless here.
Though there was one subject he felt confident about.
The Will of Fire.
At nine o'clock, Ishida Yu arrived at the training grounds.
The practical exam had officially begun.
"We'll start with the ninja tool throwing test."
Ishida Yu explained the rules.
The test was divided into two parts: stationary targets and moving targets. Rankings would be based on bullseye hits.
Stationary targets were self-explanatory. For moving targets, Ishida Yu would throw disc-shaped targets into the air. Ten of each.
"I'll go first!" Onodera said impatiently.
Ishida Yu knew his personality. He simply nodded.
"First place is mine!"
Onodera threw his shuriken with absolute confidence.
Ten consecutive hits on the stationary targets.
He immediately shot a provocative glare at Minato.
Minato remained perfectly calm.
"Now for the moving targets."
Ishida Yu picked up a round disc and hurled it into the air.
Onodera's eyes locked onto the target.
At the peak of its arc, he threw.
"Got it!" He shouted excitedly.
"Continue."
Ishida Yu launched the remaining discs one after another.
In the end, Onodera hit nine out of ten.
"Your turn, Minato."
Onodera suppressed his excitement, forcing a calm expression. "I hope you can at least make it interesting."
Nine out of ten on moving targets was an exceptional result for him.
Based on the past month's observations, moving targets were far more difficult than stationary ones. Most students couldn't even hit half.
Minato glanced at Ishida Yu.
The instructor couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
Now this is a proper student. Respectful.
"Minato," Ishida Yu called.
Minato stepped onto the field.
He drew his shuriken—and then came a rapid series of impacts.
Onodera froze.
Stationary targets. Moving targets. Minato hit every single one.
Onodera's fists clenched involuntarily.
Am I destined to always be second?
"So cool!"
"That's a real genius!"
"Nice, Minato!"
His fans erupted into cheers.
"It seems first place belongs to Minato."
Ishida Yu nodded and marked down a perfect score.
Time passed slowly.
One by one, the students of Class 1-A took their turns.
But no one else hit all the targets.
In fact, no one even matched Onodera's nine out of ten on moving targets. The next best was eight.
Yakushi Nonou scored nine out of ten on stationary targets and seven on moving ones.
Since enrollment, she had followed Natsuki's instructions—maintaining an upper-middle ranking, nothing more.
In reality, if she went all out, no one except Minato could match her.
"Natsuki."
Ishida Yu glanced at the roster and called the next name.
Natsuki nodded and stepped onto the field.
Minato watched with quiet curiosity.
He had always sensed something different about Natsuki.
But since enrollment, Natsuki hadn't shown anything special.
Maybe this exam will be different.
A moment later, Minato's eyebrows rose.
Natsuki hit all the stationary targets.
That alone wasn't particularly rare—at least five students had done the same.
The real test was the moving targets.
Minato focused intently on Natsuki's movements.
Ishida Yu threw the first disc into the air.
Natsuki calmly raised his hand.
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Bullseye.
Another disc.
Another crisp impact.
Bullseye again. Effortless.
Ishida Yu's expression shifted to surprise.
He remembered that Natsuki's hit rate had never been this high. Was it just luck?
"Impossible!"
Onodera's eyes went wide.
In his mind, only Minato deserved to be his rival.
Where did this guy come from?
Minato's spirit stirred.
So my intuition was right.
The test continued.
As the last disc clattered to the ground, Class 1-A fell silent.
"He... hit all of them?" Onodera stumbled back half a step.
Ishida Yu's eyes gleamed.
This is what you call a pleasant surprise.
A teacher's performance evaluations were tied to student results.
The more geniuses he produced, the better his record—and now he had a second prodigy who rivaled Minato.
Of course, one throwing test didn't prove everything.
But it gave Ishida Yu hope.
"I will now announce the rankings for the ninja tool throwing test," he declared. "First place: Namikaze Minato and Natsuki—tied!"
"Natsuki." Minato turned to him, puzzled. "Have you been holding back this whole time?"
"Just got lucky today," Natsuki said casually.
[Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked Emiya Shirou Template Ability 2: Reinforcement Magecraft.]
A flood of information surged into Natsuki's mind.
In an instant, he understood how to use Emiya Shirou's Reinforcement Magecraft.
Minato's expression turned skeptical.
No matter how lucky someone was, hitting ten consecutive moving targets wasn't luck.
"Well, congratulations on tying for first." Minato smiled. "We'll settle this next time."
"Definitely next time," Natsuki agreed.
After the throwing test came the physical fitness test.
Ishida Yu felt a twinge of disappointment.
Natsuki—who had tied for first in throwing—only placed eighth in physical fitness.
A genius with lopsided skills isn't a true genius.
Relying solely on ninja tool throwing wouldn't make anyone a real powerhouse.
[Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked Conan Template Ability 3: Golden Right Foot.]
Natsuki had no idea what Ishida Yu was thinking.
Looking at the notification floating before his eyes, he couldn't help but smile.
With this, the Conan template was complete. All three abilities unlocked.
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