After all the crying during the morning theory lesson, the atmosphere in the classroom changed.
It hadn't grown lighter. It had grown heavier.
The six-year-old kids stared fiercely at the blackboard, their eyes blazing with the determination to earn praise from Lord Hokage themselves.
Even Jiro Matsumoto sat up straight, though his gaze seemed fixed not on the blackboard, but on the back of Minato Namikaze's head in the front row.
Junji Ito, standing at the lectern, looked much more normal.
He still gave off that faint air of an overworked employee.
It was the calm resignation of someone thinking, The crying's over, but life goes on. Classes still need teaching, and I still need my paycheck.
After all, they had worked as cogs in Konoha's machine. It wasn't as though they didn't know what Konoha was like.
Would crying help?
Nobody would feed them if they didn't work.
"The Clone Technique." Junji Ito tapped the blackboard.
"It's a key ninjutsu taught at the Ninja Academy, a fundamental means of protecting yourselves in combat."
He turned and wrote the names of three techniques on the blackboard.
"The Substitution Technique, an E-rank ninjutsu, releases white smoke and quickly replaces you with a log to deceive the enemy.
The Clone Technique creates intangible afterimages to confuse enemies and buy you time.
The Transformation Technique is a disguise technique that can change your appearance or the appearance of objects."
The chalk tapped against the blackboard.
"Once you've mastered these three techniques, graduation won't be far off."
As Konoha's most basic ninjutsu, these three techniques were mandatory for every student.
Whether you were a genius or a mediocrity, born into a shinobi clan or an orphaned civilian, you couldn't even put on a genin's vest without passing these three.
Amamiya Maki sat in the back row, listening to Mr. Ito's explanation without any change in his expression.
He had received the scrolls for the three techniques long ago, when he inherited his parents' belongings.
E-rank ninjutsu. Three scrolls. Numbers two, three, and four out of five scrolls whose worth rivaled brass.
But he had never managed to learn them.
Not because he wanted to hide his abilities-he genuinely hadn't learned them.
Having transmigrated here, he understood his own talent better than anyone.
He wouldn't call himself a crane among chickens, but he could at least say he was a menace nobody wanted around.
It had taken him a month just to barely grasp chakra extraction. After practicing the three techniques from the scrolls for over half a month, he still couldn't squeeze out even a clone's afterimage.
At least Naruto Uzumaki in the original story could produce a limp Substitution Technique. He couldn't even manage limp.
He was the sort even Root would reject as a waste of resources.
So he had put away the scrolls and patiently waited for his system to arrive.
Now, the system had arrived.
"Next, I'll demonstrate the hand seals for the Clone Technique." Junji Ito formed seals with both hands, slowing his movements several times over so every student could see clearly.
"Ram-Snake-Tiger."
With a pop, an identical Junji Ito appeared beside the lectern.
Both teachers spoke at once, their voices overlapping. "Did you see that clearly?"
"Yes!" the class answered in unison.
"Good. Practice on your own."
The classroom immediately grew lively.
Pops of smoke sounded one after another. Most students produced clones that were crooked, translucent, or nothing more than a puff of white smoke.
Jiro Matsumoto's Clone Technique produced a hazy silhouette, like an ink painting left out in the rain.
Even so, he proudly surveyed the room. When he saw that most of the others couldn't even produce an outline, his grin nearly reached his ears.
Then Minato Namikaze raised his hand.
"Sir, I'd like to try."
Junji Ito nodded.
Minato stood and formed hand seals.
His movements weren't fast, but each gesture was clean and precise, without the slightest unnecessary motion.
"Ram-Snake-Tiger. Clone Technique."
Pop.
A Minato Namikaze appeared beside him.
His features were clear, his outline complete, and even the curves of his individual hairs were identical.
Without closely examining the flow of chakra, it was almost impossible to tell the real body from the clone.
The classroom fell silent for a second.
"That's Minato for you! He made something we can't do look easy!"
"The god Minato's gone live? Seriously?"
"At the end of the day, he's just an orphan. Can talent change the fact that his family registry only has one page?"
Nobody knew who had said that last line.
But this was Konoha. That was how its nasty little citizens talked.
They acknowledged your strength while finding an angle to belittle you. They worked both angles, and worked them hard.
Junji Ito nodded.
"Not bad."
His tone was flat, but he couldn't hide the satisfaction in his eyes.
Minato Namikaze's talent was indeed exceptional, and unlike certain troublemakers, the boy didn't spend all day making aggressive remarks.
A well-rounded student who excelled in character, academics, athletics, aesthetics, and diligence-what teacher wouldn't like him?
Junji Ito was already considering whether to adjust Minato's lesson plan individually.
At his pace, he would soon surpass the born-to-kneel foot soldiers around him.
Geniuses enjoyed special privileges.
"You're getting smug just from casting a ninjutsu like that?"
A voice drifted lazily from the back row.
Minato Namikaze's smile faltered.
Amamiya Maki leaned against his chair, his expression earnest and his tone concerned.
"It's only the Clone Technique. An E-rank ninjutsu, the most basic of the basics at the Ninja Academy.
Surely you don't think that's enough, Minato?
You're going to become Hokage. You need to set your standards higher."
[Detected: host inflicted mental pressure on "Minato Namikaze" Pressure points +15 Obtained: proficiency fragments for the three basic techniques ×2]
Minato Namikaze looked at Amamiya Maki, fell silent for a second, then smiled.
"You're right."
He dismissed his clone and resumed practicing.
Amamiya Maki looked away and lightly tapped his fingers against his desk.
The trash talk was over. Time to get serious.
He opened the system panel. The synthesis progress for the three basic techniques was 25/60, leaving him thirty-five fragments short.
Meanwhile, the pressure points he had saved sat quietly in his balance.
How could ninjutsu be something so inconvenient?
Deep Blue, add points.
[Pressure points consumed: 35 Exchanged for: fragments for the three basic techniques ×35 Synthesis progress for the three basic techniques: 60/60. Synthesis available. Proceed?]
"Synthesize."
A warm current surged into his body.
It wasn't an increase in chakra or an improvement in his physical abilities, but something subtler-as though he had always known how to use these techniques, had merely forgotten, and now suddenly remembered.
The hand seal sequence for the Substitution Technique, the chakra allocation ratios for the Clone Technique, the methods for maintaining a form with the Transformation Technique-every detail of all three techniques was clearly imprinted in his mind.
No thought or recollection was needed. It came as naturally as breathing.
[Synthesis of the three basic techniques complete Proficiency level: beginner (0/90 to proficient) Substitution Technique: beginner, Clone Technique: beginner, Transformation Technique: beginner]
Amamiya Maki opened his eyes.
He stood up.
"Mr. Ito."
Junji Ito turned to look at him, somewhat surprised.
Amamiya Maki usually had little presence in class-although he had placed first on the monthly exam, his practical performance had always been "pretty good, but nothing astonishing."
"I'd like to try."
Junji Ito raised his eyebrows, then nodded.
Amamiya Maki walked up to the lectern.
Every eye in the class focused on him.
Minato Namikaze stopped practicing, Shikaku Nara lifted his head from his arms, and Jiro Matsumoto's eyes practically said, Let's see what stunt you're going to pull.
Amamiya Maki formed hand seals.
Ram-Snake-Tiger.
His movements were as clean and precise as Minato's.
"Clone Technique."
Pop.
An Amamiya Maki appeared beside him, his features clear and his outline complete, identical to the original.
Before the class could react, he had already begun his second sequence of seals.
Substitution Technique-with a pop, white smoke burst out, and Amamiya Maki's body instantly became a log. He appeared on the other side of the classroom.
The log hit the floor with a crisp sound, without the slightest delay.
Then came the Transformation Technique.
With another pop, a second Junji Ito appeared at the lectern.
The same hairstyle, the same clothes, the same air of an overworked employee.
The two Junji Itos exchanged a glance, then one turned back into Amamiya Maki with a pop.
The classroom remained silent for three full seconds.
Then it erupted.
"Three techniques! He used all three!"
"And his substitution was even faster than Minato's!"
"So this is what the top scorer on the monthly exam can do?"
Junji Ito's expression finally changed.
Not satisfaction, but surprise.
Minato Namikaze producing a complete clone had already convinced him there was a promising prospect in this class. He hadn't expected Amamiya Maki to demonstrate the full set of three basic techniques.
And every technique was above the required standard-no, "above the required standard" wasn't right.
The speed of his substitution clearly exceeded a beginner's level, and the stability of his transformed appearance was more solid than Minato's earlier demonstration.
Had this boy been hiding his abilities all along?
"Very good." Junji Ito nodded, his tone noticeably more emphatic than when he had praised Minato.
"You've mastered all three basic techniques, and your proficiency has already surpassed the beginner level. Keep it up."
Amamiya Maki nodded and walked back to his seat without expression.
As he passed Minato Namikaze, he paused.
"Well, Minato?" he asked quietly, his tone sincere.
"Feeling a little pressure yet?"
[Detected: host inflicted mental pressure on "Minato Namikaze" Pressure points +25 Obtained: Body Flicker Technique fragments ×3]
Minato Namikaze didn't answer.
He simply watched Amamiya Maki's retreating back, something difficult to describe kindling in his eyes.
It wasn't hostility or jealousy-it was the excitement of finally finding a rival.
Then he lowered his head and formed hand seals again.
He doubled his practice.
Shikaku Nara lay sprawled over his desk, taking it all in.
His brow furrowed slightly.
When this boy named Amamiya Maki demonstrated the three basic techniques at the lectern, there had been one detail the others might have missed, but he had noticed.
Just before Amamiya Maki used the Clone Technique, there had been an extremely slight acceleration in his hand seals.
They hadn't become faster. They had become steadier.
It was as though his understanding of hand seals had suddenly risen to a whole new level in that instant.
It wasn't the result of practice, but some kind of epiphany.
Shikaku buried his face in his arms again.
One more troublesome guy to deal with.
Jiro Matsumoto stood at the edge of the crowd, his expression cycling from shock to bewilderment, from bewilderment to resentment, and from resentment to a forced attempt to rally himself.
Amamiya Maki knew the Clone Technique. Did he?
No.
But he'd landed eight hits on the stationary target.
Amamiya Maki had landed ten.
No, that wasn't the right comparison.
Jiro Matsumoto quickly adjusted his frame of reference-Amamiya Maki had ranked first in the monthly exam, while Minato Namikaze had ranked second.
The gap between him and Minato Namikaze was the same as the gap between him and Amamiya Maki, and the gap between him and Minato Namikaze was the gap between second place and thirteenth.
His face fell again.
[Detected: Host has inflicted psychological pressure on "Jiro Matsumoto" Pressure +8 Obtained: chakra capacity fragment ×1]
Amamiya Maki looked at the system notification, then at Jiro Matsumoto's fluctuating expression in the corner, and silently gave him a thumbs-up.
Matsumoto might not yield much at a time, but his frequent emotional swings made up for it. He was the kind of perpetual-motion fuel that provided a small but steady stream.
The bell rang, marking the end of class.
Junji Ito packed up his lesson plan and left the classroom. The moment the door closed, the room erupted.
"Amamiya Maki! When did you practice the Clone Technique?"
"Who's stronger, you or Minato?"
"You're both orphans, right? Commoner prodigies!"
Amamiya Maki sat at his desk, surrounded by classmates, maintaining that refined, easygoing smile.
Minato Namikaze turned around from the front row and looked at him.
Their eyes met for a second.
Minato smiled first. "I won't lose in the next monthly exam."
Amamiya Maki smiled too. "No problem. I'll be waiting."
By that evening, the news from Class A of the Ninja Academy's first year had spread throughout Konoha.
Two commoner orphans had mastered the complete Clone Technique in class on the same day.
One was Minato Namikaze, and the other was Amamiya Maki.
The twin stars of the Ninja Academy.
Commoner prodigies.
Heirs to the Will of Fire.
When the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, heard the news in his office, the pipe at the corner of his mouth tilted slightly upward.
"Amamiya Maki." He repeated the name and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
I was right about him after all.
Before you continue