Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Battle Against Iruka

The patreon is up and running now, check it out.

p@ treon . com / saintxi

(@ = a, and no spaces)

Get access to up to 35 chapters ahead of public releases for all translated novels. Currently there are two novels, this one and Naruto: Echoes of a Distant World.

Check it out if your interested! I'll be looking to add more novels to translate to the roster soon. I hope you guys are enjoying the story.

------------------------

As the first semester of the first year at the academy concluded, Natsuro remained seated in the classroom, watching as one by one, his classmates were picked up by their parents. Although he could have left earlier, he had something else to take care of, so he stayed behind. Naruto, noticing that Natsuro hadn't left, wanted to stay with him in the classroom, but he sent him away.

At that moment, Natsuro felt a gaze on him, sending a chill down his spine. He looked up to find the source and discovered it quickly. The person wasn't hiding their intent; they were openly observing him. The person standing with a happy-looking Sasuke confirmed the observer's identity: Uchiha Itachi.

This was his first time seeing Itachi. He noted that Itachi seemed quite mature, much more so than Sasuke. The difference between them felt far more significant than just a few years.

After a brief assessment, he quickly withdrew his gaze. Although he was curious and wanted to ask Itachi directly about his thoughts on the Uchiha massacre, he knew that with his current strength, it was impossible.

Itachi also observed Natsuro, knowing that this was the boy who had bested his brother Sasuke for the top spot in class. He was well aware of Sasuke's personality and could detect a hint of admiration in Sasuke's tone when he spoke of Natsuro, which surprised Itachi. He couldn't help but take a closer look at the boy.

He hadn't expected Natsuro to notice his gaze so quickly and look back at him. The sharp perception of the young boy led Itachi to give him high marks—he was indeed a genius capable of earning Sasuke's respect.

However, Itachi quickly dismissed the thought. He had no particular feelings toward the geniuses in the village, as long as they didn't bully his younger brother. Soon, Itachi left with Sasuke, who, despite insisting that he didn't need to be picked up, couldn't hide his joy. Even the disappointment from losing to Natsuro in the exams faded somewhat.

After all the students had left, he stood up, left the classroom, and headed to the training grounds. There, he waited while adjusting his condition.

Before long, a figure appeared at the training ground.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Natsuro." Iruka said, scratching his head as he looked at Natsuro.

"I know it's the last day of the semester, and you must be busy. Thank you for agreeing to my request." Natsuro replied, not minding the wait.

"Haha, but you've maintained your position as the top student in our class." Iruka laughed, then asked seriously, "Are you sure you want to challenge your teacher? I may not be the strongest in combat, but I am still a Chunin, you know."

"I'm sure. I want to test my limits." he said, licking his lips. He then looked at Iruka earnestly and added, "Please, teacher, take this fight seriously!"

"Ah, I understand." Iruka said, though it was unlikely he would go all out against a student.

Natsuro knew this too, but he was confident that Iruka would eventually get serious. He had made significant progress, and his chakra reserves were now enough to use techniques like Wind Blade and Gale Palm, which didn't consume too much chakra, although he still couldn't use them too frequently.

His physical abilities had also improved rapidly with the help of Lightning Release, although he still couldn't match Rock Lee. Ever since that day, Lee had been training even harder, to the point where it was taking a toll on his body.

He didn't think such rigorous training was beneficial, but given Lee's lack of talent in ninjutsu, he wasn't sure if he should intervene. In the end, he could only sigh; if this was Lee's choice, it wasn't his place to say anything.

"I'm coming, Iruka-sensei." he warned. Since this was a test of direct combat ability rather than overall ninja skills, there was no need for stealth or sneak attacks.

"Alright, come at me, Natsuro. Show me the strength of the top student in our class." Iruka replied with a smile, though he clearly wasn't taking it too seriously.

The next moment, Natsuro charged straight at him.

Iruka was taken aback by his speed. This speed… had he been holding back during the assessment? Before Iruka could think further, Natsuro was already upon him, delivering a fierce punch.

After a few exchanges, Iruka took a deep breath, assessing Natsuro's skills. This was no mere child practicing alone; Natsuro had a sparring partner. His attack and defense techniques were not something one could develop without experience in real combat.

Moreover, the power behind his strikes was surprising, causing Iruka some discomfort, though only slightly. While his strength was impressive, it was still nowhere near an adult's level. If this was all he had, the battle would be over soon, Iruka thought as he endured one of Natsuro's kicks and reached out to grab him.

Just then, Natsuro rapidly formed three hand seals.

"Three seals?" Iruka was momentarily confused. What jutsu was this? A clone technique? But these weren't the seals for a clone technique! Iruka became more cautious.

The next moment, Natsuro's figure transformed into a log, which Iruka's hand sent crashing to the ground.

"A substitution jutsu?!" Iruka's eyes widened in surprise as he quickly scanned the area for Natsuro's real location.

Iruka knew that chakra control was key to using jutsu effectively, but he hadn't expected him to reduce the substitution jutsu to just three seals. Iruka himself couldn't manage that; as a teacher, he always used the standard five seals when demonstrating to students.

Soon, Iruka spotted Natsuro, but to his surprise, there weren't just one of him—there were three!

Clone jutsu?

Iruka pondered. Natsuro had certainly gained the upper hand for now, but Iruka wasn't about to let his guard down. Don't underestimate your teacher! Though he hadn't refined his technique, Iruka's proficiency with the substitution jutsu was fast and precise.

He wasn't surprised when a log appeared where Iruka had been. It would be foolish to think he could defeat Iruka that easily. Clearly, his speed still wasn't enough; Iruka's substitution jutsu took just over a second to execute, and he couldn't intervene in time.

This meant they were back to square one, and this time, Iruka wouldn't be as careless as before—exactly what Natsuro wanted.

He had gathered a lot of information from the brief exchange, confirming what he had previously suspected.

Firstly, in terms of raw power, he couldn't compete, unless he used Gale Palm, but that technique consumed too much chakra to use repeatedly. As for speed, Iruka was slower than he had anticipated, though still about equal to him. But that was enough.

And then there was jutsu. Iruka used all five seals for his substitution jutsu, confirming that teachers were trained to use the most standard forms of jutsu. However, Iruka's speed in forming the seals wasn't particularly fast. Through his own rigorous training, he had managed to reduce his seal formation time to about three seals per second, allowing him to execute his substitution jutsu in under a second.

This meant his only advantages were his speed and faster seal formation. It was going to be a tough fight, but his eyes gleamed with excitement—this was going to be interesting.

Iruka, now watching Natsuro closely, finally got serious. The boy's speed, seal formation, and his ability to simplify the seals all made Iruka realize that if he continued to treat him as just another student, he might actually lose this battle!