Shimura Danzō's Targeting

"Natsuki, why is your bento so delicious? Did you make it yourself?"

Uzumaki Kushina looked surprised as she asked instinctively.

When they had trained together during the break, the Training Ground had been close to Konoha Hospital, so they had eaten lunch in its cafeteria.

This was the first time she had eaten a lunch Natsuki had made himself.

It could only be said that the Emiya Shirou Template had done a great job.

"I made it."

Natsuki nodded and admitted it.

"Natsuki has a real talent for cooking."

Namikaze Minato chimed in. "He has only been learning for a year, but his cooking already rivals professional chefs who have trained their whole lives."

"This is the best bento I've ever had!"

Uzumaki Kushina praised him without holding back.

Minato could not help sighing inwardly.

Not only could he not beat Natsuki, he could not even outdo him at cooking. It was a complete defeat.

"You want to learn? I can teach you."

Natsuki smiled faintly.

"Sure!"

Kushina eagerly agreed.

"Can I learn too?"

Minato suddenly asked.

"Teaching one person is teaching, and teaching two is the same. Of course you can learn."

Natsuki did not refuse.

Kushina instinctively glanced at Minato.

She had wanted to learn cooking from Natsuki alone.

When the lunch break ended, it was time for the afternoon practical combat class.

In this class, Ishida Yu taught the second of the Three Body Technique: the Transformation Technique.

Natsuki happened to need to learn the Transformation Technique to unlock the second ability of the Uzumaki Naruto Template, so he studied it seriously.

But Minato had already learned the Three Body Technique in advance.

As soon as Ishida Yu was free, he hurried over to him.

"Your situation is indeed rather special."

After thinking for a moment, Ishida Yu said, "How about this? I'll go see Lord Hokage right now. Only if he agrees can I teach you other ninjutsu."

Under normal circumstances, the Ninja Academy only taught the Three Body Technique.

But as the saying went, geniuses always had privileges.

"Thank you, Sensei."

Minato let out a breath of relief.

He looked at Natsuki, who was learning the Transformation Technique, and thought that he would definitely give him a surprise in the next Final Exam.

"Keep an eye on them for me. If they have any problems, point them out."

After giving Minato that instruction, Ishida Yu headed for the Hokage Office.

"Come in."

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head upon hearing the knock.

"Lord Hokage."

Ishida Yu got straight to the point and explained Minato's request.

"Use Chakra Test Paper to test his chakra affinities, then teach him other ninjutsu according to the results."

Hiruzen pondered for a moment before adding, "Teach him for now. I'll find someone else to instruct him later."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Ishida Yu could not help feeling envious.

Hiruzen's meaning was obvious: he intended to arrange a squad instructor for Minato ahead of time.

Ishida Yu gave a slight bow and turned to leave.

"Notify Jiraiya and have him return to Konoha when he has time."

Hiruzen said to the air, "Also, summon Orochimaru."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

The Anbu Ninja hidden in the shadows immediately answered.

After returning to the Ninja Academy, Ishida Yu tested Minato's chakra affinities.

"I actually have three chakra affinities?"

Minato looked astonished.

"You truly are a genius without question!"

Looking at his three affinities of Lightning, fire, and wind, Ishida Yu exclaimed in admiration.

"I'm still not as good as Natsuki."

Minato shook his head.

"Natsuki is a Sword Technique genius, while you're a ninjutsu genius."

Ishida Yu comforted him. "It's normal for ninjutsu to be weaker than Sword Technique early on. In the middle and later stages, you might even surpass him."

Minato froze slightly.

Natsuki really did not have much talent in ninjutsu.

Take the Three Body Technique, for example.

He had already learned all three, while Natsuki had only learned one.

Thinking of that, Minato's spirits rose. Stay steady. I can win. I can turn this around!

The first day of the new term soon came to an end.

As usual, Natsuki went to Konoha Hospital. After picking up Yakushi Nonō, he returned to Konoha Orphanage.

After greeting Director Zhenyou, he went to the kitchen to cook.

But he quickly noticed something was wrong.

"Director, did something happen? You look very worried."

Natsuki asked directly.

"No... it's nothing."

Zhenyou instinctively shook her head.

"Director, don't underestimate me now. Maybe I can solve it."

Natsuki said in a deep voice.

"We're short on money."

Seeing this, Zhenyou hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Short on money?"

Natsuki could not help frowning.

The moment he heard that, he understood. Konoha Orphanage—or rather, he and Yakushi Nonō—had offended Shimura Danzō.

In a fit of anger, Shimura Danzō had cut off Konoha Orphanage's source of funding.

"Won't Lord Hokage do anything?"

Natsuki asked again.

"Konoha Orphanage has always been under Lord Danzo's management."

Zhenyou did not answer the question directly.

"Then I'll go see Lady Tsunade."

After thinking for a moment, Natsuki spoke.

"If Lady Tsunade can help, that would naturally be for the best."

Zhenyou could not help breathing a sigh of relief.

"Don't worry, Director. She'll definitely help."

Natsuki said confidently.

Not to mention that Yakushi Nonō was studying in the Medical Ninja Training Class.

Just the bond between him, Nawaki, and Uzumaki Kushina was enough to make Tsunade help.

He could even go directly to Hiruzen Sarutobi, but they were not familiar with each other, so he would seek out Tsunade first.

Zhenyou was somewhat dazed upon hearing that.

She had not expected Natsuki's relationship with Tsunade to have reached this point.

In just a year, things had changed faster than she could have imagined.

Such a troubling matter had been easily resolved by Natsuki.

Natsuki fell into thought.

Money was very important in the Ninja World.

Although Hiruzen could solve Konoha Orphanage's funding problem, that money could not possibly be given to him.

Sometimes, he accepted commission tasks to unlock Character Templates.

But with only expenses and no income, he could not keep it up for long.

What way did he have to make money?

An idea struck Natsuki: he could open an Izakaya.

With the Emiya Shirou Template, his cooking skills were already more than enough.

Just then, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

[You have awakened the Zeff Template.]

Who was Zeff?

Natsuki was instantly confused.

He instinctively looked at the newly triggered Character Template.

[Name: Zeff.]

[Era: Owner and head chef of Baratie.]

[World: One Piece.]

[Rank: D-rank.]

[Ability One: Cooking, unlocked.]

[Effect: Superb cooking skills.]

[Ability Two: Chef's Flying Kick, not unlocked.]

[Effect: Leap up and fiercely kick the enemy with the right foot.]

[Unlock condition: Open an Izakaya.]

[Ability Three: Chef's Heavy Drop, not unlocked.]

[Effect: Leap into the air and kick downward at the enemy with the right foot. One kick can destroy the floor.]

[Unlock condition: Conquer thirty Ninja with cooking.]

So he was Sanji's teacher from One Piece.

Natsuki still remembered some of the story involving him and Sanji. It had been quite moving.

Aside from Ability One, Abilities Two and Three were equivalent to D-rank to C-rank Taijutsu.

He estimated they were similar to Might Guy's Konoha Whirlwind series and could make up for some of his shortcomings in Taijutsu.

Coming back to himself, Natsuki told Zhenyou about opening an Izakaya.

His idea was to have the orphans of Konoha Orphanage help out as servers, and he would pay them wages.

At the same time, the Izakaya would cater to both ordinary customers and high-end clientele.

For the ordinary route, Zhenyou would do the cooking.

For the high-end route, he would handle it himself, serving only wealthy Ninja, merchants, and nobles.

Naturally, the prices would also be very high.

He would also limit how often he cooked. First, rarity made things more valuable; second, he still had classes and training.

Zhenyou agreed without hesitation.

She had tasted Natsuki's cooking before. It was truly exceptional; all of Konoha Village would be hard-pressed to find anyone who cooked better than him.

With the matter settled, Natsuki ate dinner and began training again.

[Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked Ability Two of the Tatsuya Shiba Template: Cast-Weight Magic: Gravity Reduction.]

After an entire break of Tree Climbing training, he had finally gained a new ability.

Cast-Weight Magic: Gravity Reduction!

Natsuki instantly understood what it meant to feel as light as a swallow.

He ran around the courtyard, moving a third faster than before.