The monthly exam for Class 1-A came to a successful close.
Aside from Natsuki's sudden rise to first place in the ninja tool throwing test, everyone else performed as expected.
"The detailed rankings will be announced next Monday."
Ishida Yu reminded them before hurrying off.
Natsuki and Yakushi Nonou made their way to the training ground closest to the Konoha Orphanage.
"Nonou."
Natsuki paused to consider his words. "No matter what you see next, don't be scared. And don't tell anyone."
Yakushi Nonou was confused, but she nodded anyway.
Natsuki pinched her cheek affectionately.
Then he walked up to a tree.
Golden Right Foot!
Natsuki aimed at the trunk and delivered a vicious kick.
BANG!
The tree absorbed the impact and shook violently.
Leaves exploded outward in all directions from the sheer force.
Yakushi Nonou's small face went blank.
But Natsuki wasn't finished.
He casually snatched a falling leaf from the air.
Reinforcement Magecraft!
Chakra surged through his hand.
He eyed a tree several meters away—and threw the leaf.
A sharp tearing sound cut through the air.
The leaf embedded itself deep into the trunk like a shuriken.
Natsuki pulled out two kunai.
One was wooden. The other, iron.
He slashed them against each other. The wooden kunai immediately showed a deep gouge.
Reinforcement Magecraft!
Natsuki gripped the wooden kunai tightly and infused it with chakra.
He slashed it against the iron kunai again.
This time, there was still a mark—but it was barely visible unless you looked closely.
The wooden kunai's sharpness and durability were now nearly equal to iron.
Nearly equal. Not completely.
Because his Reinforcement Magecraft was only C-Rank.
Natsuki tucked away both kunai and sat down heavily on the grass.
Using three C-Rank techniques in quick succession was too much for his current reserves.
Fortunately, Golden Right Foot was a taijutsu technique, so it consumed less chakra than the others.
"What was that just now...?"
Yakushi Nonou snapped back to reality, curiosity written across her face.
But halfway through her question, she remembered what Natsuki had told her—and stopped.
"A ninjutsu I created myself."
Natsuki said it with a completely straight face.
It wasn't entirely a lie.
Later, when his abilities inevitably drew attention, "self-created ninjutsu" would be his only viable excuse.
Yakushi Nonou didn't doubt him for a second. Admiration filled her eyes.
Ever since meeting Natsuki, she had felt he was capable of anything—a goal worth chasing.
"Come sit."
Natsuki patted the grass beside him.
He still had one more idea to test, but he needed to recover his chakra first.
Yakushi Nonou walked over and sat down next to him.
She tilted her head slightly, leaning against his shoulder.
They sat in comfortable silence for over ten minutes.
Then Natsuki stood and faced the tree he had kicked earlier.
Reinforcement Magecraft!
Golden Right Foot!
He delivered a sweeping kick, slamming into the trunk with devastating force.
CRACK.
Under Nonou's wide-eyed gaze, deep fissures split across the bark.
The tree didn't snap in half—but it was close.
She could only imagine what would happen if that kick landed on a person.
Heavy injury at minimum. Death, more likely.
Worship bloomed across Yakushi Nonou's face.
Everyone said Namikaze Minato was a genius. But looking at Natsuki now... he was no less impressive.
"Let's go. Time to head home and eat."
Natsuki said with satisfaction.
Right now, he could be considered Genin-level.
But he understood perfectly well—if he wanted to do as he pleased in the ninja world, this much strength was nowhere near enough.
For now, stay under the radar.
Natsuki and Yakushi Nonou returned to the Konoha Orphanage.
"Natsuki! Perfect timing—come cook."
Mayu called out the moment she saw him.
It wasn't child labor exploitation.
Originally, she had cooked for all the orphans. But after they tasted Natsuki's cooking once, they'd refused to go back.
At the mention of food, Yakushi Nonou instinctively licked her soft pink lips.
Just thinking about Natsuki's cooking made her mouth water uncontrollably.
"Alright."
Natsuki headed into the kitchen.
The reason his food tasted so incredible was simple: Emiya Shirou's culinary skills.
If I ever get a character template from a cooking anime, would the food be so good it makes clothes explode?
After dinner, Natsuki and Nonou began their usual training routine.
Natsuki practiced ninja tool throwing.
His kunai and shuriken skills had already reached beginner level, so now he was working on senbon.
Yakushi Nonou pulled out the medical textbooks Chiwa had given her and began reading.
After learning to concoct anesthetics, Natsuki hadn't spent much more time on medical studies.
Because once he obtained the right character template, he could master it instantly.
A new day.
9 AM.
Sarutobi Hiruzen walked into the Hokage's office right on schedule.
After sitting down, he glanced at the documents stacked on his desk.
Has the first monthly exam at the Ninja Academy concluded?
He pulled out the academy files.
Whether as Hokage or as principal, he cared deeply about the Ninja Academy.
Because its students were the future of Konoha.
Especially the geniuses—they were the village's pillars.
His own three students—Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru—were already the cream of the younger generation.
Barring any accidents, the Fourth Hokage would emerge from among them.
Sarutobi Hiruzen decided to start with the first-years.
They were new students, so he wasn't familiar with them yet.
He already knew which geniuses occupied the other grades.
He opened the file.
The first name that caught his eye: Namikaze Minato.
His eyebrows rose slightly.
Most geniuses came from ninja clans. Commoner prodigies were rare.
But he preferred commoner geniuses.
Clan-born talents sometimes prioritized their families over the village—like certain Uchiha and Hyuga prodigies.
Commoners didn't have that problem.
With proper cultivation, they would become the most perfect inheritors of the Will of Fire.
Sarutobi Hiruzen paused.
Namikaze Minato ranked first in every subject.
Except one.
In the Will of Fire class, he was second.
First place went to... Natsuki.
Intrigued, Sarutobi Hiruzen examined the boy's profile.
Overall ranking: seventh.
First place only in ninja tool throwing and the Will of Fire.
Sarutobi Hiruzen dug out Natsuki's exam paper.
He flipped quickly to the Will of Fire section.
And began to read.
A moment later, his eyes widened.
Natsuki had fully leveraged the knowledge from his previous life, crafting an answer overflowing with loyalty—centered entirely around the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen himself.
In short: shamelessly ambitious.
Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but smile.
Brilliant.
Ever since becoming Hokage, he had worked tirelessly to spread the philosophy of the Will of Fire.
Natsuki's answer had given him fresh ideas.
"Konoha needs talents like this."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and added both Namikaze Minato and Natsuki to his observation list.
Of course, not just them.
The top ten students of Class 1-A were all now under his attention.
Barring any surprises, the most outstanding ninja of this generation would emerge from among them.
But of all the names, he favored Namikaze Minato the most.
The ninja world was locked in prolonged conflict. A genius among geniuses was exactly what Konoha needed.
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