Tatsuya Shiba Template

"What kind of Sword Technique is this?"

Ishida Yu's face revealed his astonishment.

As a Chunin, he knew quite a few sword techniques, but none of them matched what Natsuki was using.

Furthermore, where could he have learned such a powerful sword technique?

"Minato lost? Am I under a genjutsu?"

"He actually defeated Minato so easily?"

"When did Natsuki learn sword techniques? He's terrifyingly strong!"

"So cool! I just realized Natsuki is even more handsome than Minato!"

After a moment of silence, First Grade Class A erupted into chaos, with even a few screams from the girls.

Ishida Yu snapped back to reality, followed immediately by wild joy.

First Grade Class A had suddenly produced a genius, and a genius who had defeated Namikaze Minato at that—this was a performance bonus handed to him on a silver platter!

It was just that this kid had hidden his strength so well; he had never used his full power before, deceiving even him.

"The winner, Natsuki!"

Ishida Yu shouted excitedly.

"Minato."

Natsuki walked forward, helped Namikaze Minato up, and asked, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

Namikaze Minato shook his head and said.

Natsuki had used a Wooden Sword, so it hadn't left any wounds on his body.

Of course, pain was unavoidable.

"Your strength is far greater than mine."

After steadying himself, Namikaze Minato looked at him, his eyes still filled with disbelief.

He had always believed that even if Natsuki was hiding his strength, he wouldn't be hiding much; at most, they would be evenly matched.

But he hadn't expected Natsuki to defeat him so easily; the gap in strength between the two of them was absurdly large.

"I will work hard to catch up to you."

Namikaze Minato took a deep breath, his eyes filled with determination.

He was completely different from Onodera; after being defeated, he felt no anger or jealousy, only the drive to catch up.

"With your talent, you will surely catch up to me soon."

Natsuki said with a smile, "We'll have another match then."

Namikaze Minato nodded.

The two left the arena, and the Combat Exam continued.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage Office.

A Crystal Ball sat on the desk, its surface rippling like water, reflecting Natsuki and Namikaze Minato.

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the Crystal Ball, lost in thought.

As the principal of the Ninja Academy, he naturally knew that today was the Final Exam for all grades.

After finishing his paperwork, he had used the Telescope Technique to observe the matches.

But he hadn't expected Natsuki to give him such a huge surprise.

He had many titles, one of which was Professor of Ninjutsu.

This was because he was proficient in the Seven Release Ninjutsu.

However, he could be certain that the sword technique Natsuki used was not any known sword technique.

In other words, there was a high probability that it was a self-created sword technique.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

There were many geniuses, but very few who could create their own ninjutsu.

If another Senju Tobirama were to emerge, it would significantly strengthen the power of Konoha.

After all, the foundation of a ninja village lay in its ninjutsu.

"Minato is also quite good."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile.

During the battle just now, he had discovered one of Namikaze Minato's strengths: his extremely strong reaction speed.

He immediately thought of the Flying Thunder God, wondering if he might be able to learn it.

The Flying Thunder God was a strategic-level ninjutsu.

If Namikaze Minato could master it, he could invisibly exert a deterrent force upon other Ninja Villages.

An enemy who could appear at their headquarters at any time was a terrifying prospect no matter how one looked at it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe.

A thought emerged in his mind.

That was to have Jiraiya and Orochimaru serve as teachers for Namikaze Minato and Natsuki once they graduated.

There were not many Ninja in Konoha who excelled in Sword Technique.

Aside from Hatake Sakumo, there was only Orochimaru, and at most, the eternal Genin Maruboshi Kosuke.

Orochimaru was his student and a Ninja of the Hokage lineage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally hoped to keep the benefits within his own circle.

He then thought of Yakushi Nonō.

With her talent as a medical Ninja, she could perfectly serve as a student for Tsunade.

In this way, all three of his students would have their own students.

The only problem was that under normal circumstances, a squad leader should have three students, and finding two more would be difficult.

However, as students of the Hokage, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade held high status themselves, so making an exception would be no issue.

He could even have Namikaze Minato, Natsuki, and Yakushi Nonō form a team in the future.

Of course, it was still a long way until their graduation, and everything remained uncertain.

Time reached noon, and the Combat Exam for First Grade Class A came to a close.

"I will now announce the rankings for the Combat Exam."

Ishida Yu said in a loud voice, "First place, Natsuki!"

[Congratulations to the host for unlocking the second ability of the Zoro Template, One Sword Style: 36 Pound Cannon.]

A smile immediately appeared on Natsuki's face.

With this, all the abilities of his Zoro Template had been unlocked.

After finishing the Combat Exam rankings, Ishida Yu announced the theory exam rankings and the final rankings.

Although Natsuki had taken first place in the Combat Exam, he suffered a Waterloo in the theory exam, placing only third.

The final ranking saw Namikaze Minato take first place, while he took second.

However, Natsuki did not mind.

In the Ninja World where strength was respected, the Combat Exam ranking was clearly more valuable than the theory exam ranking.

Namikaze Minato thought the same.

Thus, a strange situation arose: he, who had taken first place, looked just as dejected as someone in last place.

[You have awakened the Tatsuya Shiba Template.]

Natsuki could not help but be stunned.

Tatsuya Shiba?

Wasn't he the protagonist of The Irregular at Magic High School?

Why would he suddenly awaken the Tatsuya Shiba character template?

Natsuki thought about it carefully and felt it was likely related to him only placing second.

Because Tatsuya Shiba was a typical top-tier student, a genius in both theory and combat across all subjects.

Yet, upon enrollment, he was classified as a Course 2 student, or an "irregular."

In that sense, it was very similar to Natsuki, who was a typical case of hiding one's true strength and playing the pig to eat the tiger.

"It seems second place isn't so bad after all."

Natsuki hurriedly looked at the Tatsuya Shiba template he had awakened.

[Name: Tatsuya Shiba.]

[Period: Enrollment Arc.]

[World: The Irregular at Magic High School.]

[Rank: C-Class.]

[Ability 1: Cast-Weight Magic: Water Spider, Unlocked.]

[Effect: Possesses the ability to walk or run on the surface of water.]

[Ability 2: Cast-Weight Magic: Gravity Reduction, Locked.]

[Effect: Slightly reduces one's own weight to increase mobility.]

[Unlock Condition: Complete Tree Climbing training.]

[Ability 3: Non-System Magic: Phantom Strike, Locked.]

[Effect: A pure Psion shockwave that, upon impact, causes the illusion of a concussion, rendering the target unable to fight.]

[Unlock Condition: Achieve first place once in the Final Exam.]