Naruto: Multiverse Character Templates

The next day was the first day of school.

Natsuki went to Third Year Class A early in the morning to register.

After greeting Kushina, he went to find Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-sensei, I want to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Natsuki went straight to the point.

"That is fine."

Orochimaru nodded slightly and said, "Once you learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu, you will have more time to train."

"Thank you, Sensei."

Natsuki had thought he would need to persuade him, but he had not expected Orochimaru to agree so easily.

"Nawaki, you should learn it as well."

Orochimaru spoke after a moment of thought.

"I've wanted to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu for ages!"

Nawaki immediately perked up and said excitedly.

"Sensei."

Natsuki suddenly thought of something and asked, "Can we change the kinds of targets we take missions against next time?"

"What kind of targets?"

Orochimaru looked at him and asked.

"Water Release users and kenjutsu specialists."

Natsuki replied, "I specialize in kenjutsu, and Nawaki-senpai specializes in Water Release. I think it would be useful for us to see more shinobi who fight in similar ways."

Their previous mission targets had mostly been genjutsu users and Fire Release shinobi.

At the time, Natsuki had used Mikoto as an excuse, saying he wanted to gain experience fighting genjutsu users and Fire Release shinobi.

"I will keep an eye out."

Orochimaru did not give it much thought and agreed.

To him, it made little difference who the mission target was.

Since Natsuki had this idea, as his sensei, he naturally would not refuse.

"The Shadow Clone Jutsu is a B-rank ninjutsu. For someone your age, it will not be easy to learn."

Orochimaru began explaining the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Time flew by until December.

The second semester of Third Year Class A was coming to an end.

On the Ninja Academy playground.

All the students of Third Year Class A had gathered, because today was the practical exam.

Natsuki split his attention. While chatting with Uzumaki Kushina and Minato Namikaze, he checked the system's mission panel.

After two semesters of steady effort, he had completed the first stage of his Water Release chakra nature transformation training.

[Congratulations to the host for unlocking Kamado Tanjiro Template Ability Two: Water Breathing, First Form, Second Form, Third Form.]

Although it was called Ability Two, it was essentially three abilities at once. Or rather, three ninjutsu-taijutsu techniques.

Kenjutsu combined with Water Release was one of the most standard forms of ninjutsu-taijutsu in the shinobi world.

Natsuki was considering a question.

Should he reveal it today? Or should he wait for a better opportunity?

What a pleasant problem to have.

He also had not publicly displayed Fox Fire and Fox Illusion from the Shippo Template, nor Shadow Storage and Shadow Assassin from the Fushiguro Megumi Template.

Natsuki fell into thought.

He had created two Shadow-style techniques, and both Hiruzen and Orochimaru already knew he was skilled in Yin Release.

Perhaps he could reveal Fox Illusion, Shadow Storage, and Shadow Assassin.

They all fell under the category of Yin Release ninjutsu.

Projection Magecraft could work too.

The essence of Yin Release was the ability to give form to imagination.

Projection Magecraft fit the nature of Yin Release perfectly.

"Third round, fourth match, Kira Natsuki versus Minato Namikaze!"

Ishida Yū's voice rang out.

The students of Third Year Class A immediately perked up, ready to watch the strongest match in their class.

Although everyone called it the strongest match, they all knew the winner would almost certainly be Natsuki.

The reason was simple.

Across all the monthly exams and final exams, Minato had lost to him every single time.

However, even in defeat, Minato remained a goal far beyond the reach of the others.

Ever since Minato became Jiraiya's student, he would show a new ninjutsu every so often.

The speed at which he learned left everyone stunned.

"Minato."

Natsuki stood opposite Minato and asked with a smile, "What new ninjutsu do you have this time?"

"I do have one."

Minato hesitated for a moment and said, "But I'm not very good with it yet."

"That's fine. This is a spar, not a fight to the death."

Natsuki said with some curiosity, "Go ahead and try it."

Could it be the Flying Thunder God Technique?

No, that should not be it.

The Flying Thunder God Technique was an S-rank ninjutsu, and it was extremely difficult to learn.

Although Minato was certainly talented, he was still too young.

"Then be careful!"

After Minato finished speaking, he immediately threw a shuriken.

But this shuriken was much larger than an ordinary one.

The shuriken flew high into the air, then suddenly stopped.

Minato immediately formed hand seals with both hands.

The shuriken trembled, and a large number of afterimages appeared around it.

Natsuki's eyes narrowed slightly. He had already recognized the technique.

The A-rank Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, a ninjutsu created by Sarutobi Hiruzen after drawing inspiration from the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

In the original story, Minato had used it as well.

However, looking at the current situation, he was indeed very inexperienced with it. Whether he could cast it successfully was still uncertain.

Natsuki raised his hand without hesitation.

Projection Magecraft!

A large amount of chakra surged from his body, and under his control, it transformed into shuriken one after another.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

Minato glanced at them and nearly lost focus.

Fortunately, his reaction was quick, and he hurriedly stabilized his own Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, preventing it from failing.

Minato breathed a sigh of relief and released all his chakra.

His luck was good this time. The technique succeeded.

Dense clusters of shuriken fell from the sky.

Reinforcement Magecraft!

After strengthening his hands, Natsuki moved.

With lightning speed, he threw all the shuriken formed by Projection Magecraft.

It was a pity he did not have Unlimited Blade Works. Otherwise, it would not need to be so troublesome.

Minato saw this and immediately realized something.

This was not the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, but some unknown ninjutsu.

A sharp clanging sound rang out.

The students of Third Year Class A all widened their eyes.

Countless shuriken collided in midair.

Sparks scattered everywhere.

A large number of shuriken were knocked aside and fell to the ground.

But soon, someone noticed a problem.

After Natsuki's shuriken hit the ground, they vanished without a trace after a short while.

"What is going on?"

Minato also noticed it and was completely baffled.

"It's Yin Release ninjutsu!"

In the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen spoke with absolute certainty.

After speaking, he fell into deep thought.

Using Yin Release to create shuriken?

No. If one could create shuriken, then one could also create other ninja tools.

"A little impractical."

That was Hiruzen's final evaluation.

First, the projected ninja tools were not as good as real ones.

Second, it consumed a large amount of chakra.

It would be better to carry ninja tools oneself. Although it was impossible to carry too many, at least doing so would not waste such excessive chakra.

Minato regained his focus and immediately realized this was a rare opening.

Natsuki's hands were occupied, which meant he had to keep throwing shuriken.

Wind Release chakra surged out and wrapped around Minato's shuriken.

Minato threw it with all his strength. The shuriken shot forward like an arrow from a bow, carrying a sharp edge as it attacked Natsuki.

Shadow Assassin!

Natsuki's body suddenly disappeared, merging completely into the shadow on the ground.

The shadow moved rapidly and arrived in front of Minato.

Natsuki reappeared. The moment he met Minato's stunned gaze, he released Fox Illusion.

Minato had never expected him to know genjutsu. Caught off guard, he fell into a trance.

Natsuki took out a wooden sword.

One-Sword Style: Horse Demon!

Minato let out a cry of pain. Just as he broke free from the genjutsu, he was knocked to the ground.

He subconsciously looked at Natsuki, his mind in complete disorder.

He had thought that after learning the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu, even if he could not win, he could at least gain the upper hand for a moment.

But in the end, he had only managed to fight Natsuki's opening move to a draw.

Natsuki had even used secret techniques and genjutsu he had never shown before, defeating him completely.

Minato could not help but sigh.

Every time he thought he understood Natsuki, Natsuki would reveal something new and catch him off guard.

"He even created a genjutsu?"

Hiruzen looked surprised.

He increasingly felt that Natsuki was unusual.

He lacked talent when it came to learning existing ninjutsu, but he had talent for creating his own.

In any case, that was ultimately a good thing.

(To be continued.)