-
Masagaki was quite pleased with this new ability. He continued his training, concentrating on enhancing his physical capabilities. He wanted to be as prepared as possible for tomorrow.
-
Waking up early, Masagaki decided to head to the training grounds for some practice before the official graduation day at the academy. If everything went well, Naruto should be there with his forehead protector.
He chose to focus on his kenjutsu during the short amount of time he had. Realizing that he had barely touched his kenjutsu skills over the past few days, he drew the wakizashi tied around his waist and spun it around a few times. Afterward, he slashed with all his strength into a training log, leaving a sizable gash.
Suddenly, the system interface appeared once again.
[New Quest Received: Kenjutsu - Leaving a Mark
Requirements: Perform 300 slashes without stopping in between. If a slash is not detected within 3 seconds, the counter will reset.
Reward: A new ability and a good weapon draw.]
Masagaki felt a bit suspicious; 300 consecutive slashes seemed too easy for such valuable rewards. Nevertheless, he decided to accept the challenge. He performed the required 300 slashes without issue; his arms were a little numb, but that was it.
[Detected that the host has completed the first requirement, moving on to stage two.
**New Requirement:** Split your usual training log into two parts using a single slash. If you fail to do this, you must start with a new log. Attacks performed on the same log do not count.
Once again, every time something seemed straightforward, the system added an unexpected twist without any prior notice. However, this one didn't seem too bad.
He executed his hardest attack, but then it struck him—his arms were numb, making it difficult to handle the wakizashi properly. He tried log after log; sometimes he got close, but each log remained intact. As the time ticked away, he felt the urgency to wrap things up before heading to the academy. Although there was no official time limit on the quest, he wanted to complete it now while he was still at the training grounds.
It suddenly occurred to him that the wakizashi he possessed could conduct chakra through its blade, even more effectively than the standard shuriken he was using. He concentrated deeply as he began to pour his chakra into the sword, which started to emit a faint hum. Masagaki infused a significant portion of his chakra reserves into the wakizashi.
With all his strength, he swung the blade at a training log, slicing it cleanly into two pieces.
[ Congratulations on completing the Quest: Kenjutsu - Leaving a Mark. ]
[ Rewards received: Mirror Copy Stance*, good weapon draw ]
[Mirror Copy Stance: This is a kenjutsu sword technique often performed with weapons like a wakizashi. It is a deceptive kenjutsu stance and movement technique designed for close-quarters. The user enters a mirrored guard posture that mimics the opponent's stance with uncanny precision, throwing off their rhythm and instincts. By reflecting the enemy's positioning and sword alignment, the user baits predictable attacks. At the moment the enemy strikes, the user uses precise, chakra-enhanced footwork to mirror the angle of attack—but slightly off-beat—slipping just outside the strike zone and countering with a short, piercing thrust or slash aimed at a vulnerable spot exposed during the enemy's commitment.
Note: This technique is most effective against other kenjutsu users. A weapon is needed to use this technique. ]
In the next moment, details about the technique flooded his mind—how it's performed, when it's best to use, and more.
It caused a bit of discomfort, but the information was fairly brief. He then turned his attention to the other item he had received as a reward: the good weapon draw.
Deciding to put it to use, he prepared to activate it now.
[ Conforming usage of "good weapon draw." ]
[...]
[...]
[Congratulations, host, for receiving the named weapon: Tetsugan Kyoketsu* ]
[ Tetsugan Kyoketsu (good): Type: Kyoketsu-shoge, A bladed ring weapon attached to a reinforced rope and weighted spike. Balanced craftsmanship, well-forged metal with durable cordwork. Designed for fluid throws, a tight grip, and reliable retrieval.
Unique Feature: "Twin Pulse Bind": The weapon contains a hidden tension-sensitive seal woven into the cord. When thrown, if the spike or blade wraps around a target (limb, weapon, tree, etc.), the seal activates and momentarily tightens the cord mid-retrieval, giving the user a window to: Pull a target off-balance, yank a weapon from their grip and or launch themselves toward the entangled point with added momentum. This technique requires chakra to prime the seal before throwing. Only usable 2–3 times before recharge. It doesn't activate unless there's sufficient tension. ]
He was quite shocked that a 'mere' good-ranked weapon could have such a useful ability. However, he didn't dwell on it for long and sealed it into his storage scroll, which had enough space for the weapon. With limited time left, he ran towards the academy.
Masagaki arrived at the academy at the same time as Naruto. Noticing Naruto wearing his forehead protector, he approached him.
"Hey, Naruto! Congratulations on passing the exams. I knew you could do it," Masagaki said, sporting a friendly smile. Naruto was surprised that someone chose to start a conversation with him of their own accord. He stood in silence for a moment before responding.
"Yeah, of course I passed! I'm going to be the future Hokage, after all!" Just as he was about to add his iconic catchphrase. Sakura and Ino burst into the classroom, arguing about who had entered first.
Naruto was looking directly at Sakura with a blushing expression. As she began to walk towards him, he was about to speak, but she tried to push him out of the way. In her attempt, she nearly tripped when Masagaki grabbed Naruto and pulled him away from where they were standing. Sakura's face turned flustered as she ignored the scene and continued walking towards Sasuke.
With a slightly shy voice, Sakura asked, "I-is it okay if I sit next to you, Sasuke?"
Before Sasuke could respond, if he even intended to, Ino barged into their one-sided conversation. "I'm going to sit next to Sasuke!"
"First come, first served!" Sakura shot back, turning to face Ino.
"I'm sitting next to Sasuke," Ino insisted. The two of them began to act like children, creating a huge fuss over the seating arrangements.
Sasuke glanced at the commotion with his usual stoic expression before turning away again.
More girls began to enter the heated argument. Masagaki pulled Naruto back just in time when he noticed one girl was about to run into him. Feeling quite annoyed, Naruto started walking toward Sasuke but was stopped again by Masagaki. "Hey, Naruto, there are two seats open over there," Masagaki said, pointing toward two empty chairs at the back of the classroom. "Would you care to join me?"
Forgetting about Sasuke, Naruto agreed, and they both moved toward the back and took their seats. Despite this, Naruto couldn't help but steal a few ugly glances in Sasuke's direction as the argument between the girls continued to escalate.
Iruka walked in a few moments later and ordered the argument to stop. The girls, giving each other angry glares, hesitantly returned to their seats. A random man took the seat next to Sasuke, having arrived late and unsure about the reason for the girls' fight.
Iruka made his way to the podium and began to speak. "All genin will be placed into 3-man squads, but due to a discrepancy in the number of students present, one team will have a fourth member. Each squad will be led by a Jonin, an elite Leaf Shinobi."
A boy spoke up; it was Kiba Inuzuka. "But Sensei, isn't that unfair? Why are all the squads made up of 3 genin while one team has 4?"
Iruka replied flatly, "Because we need to assign every genin to a team. The team with the fourth genin will also be the one with the lowest-ranking classmate of the year."
Masagaki realized that with this knowledge, Team 7 would be granted the extra genin. He noticed that his name hadn't been mentioned until Team 7 was called.
Iruka began introducing Team 7. "Firstly, we have Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno..."
Naruto jumped up from his seat next to Masagaki, shouting happily, while Sakura looked extremely disappointed.
Iruka continued, trying to suppress his anger as Naruto interrupted him. "Next is Sasuke Uchiha..."
This time, the roles reversed, with Sakura jumping up and cheering happily while Naruto wore a defeated expression.
"Stop interrupting me!" Iruka shouted, and Sakura immediately sat back down in her seat.
"And finally, we have Masagaki Hyuga!" Iruka finished.
Masagaki could hear Ino trying to suppress her anger as she sat near them next to Shikamaru.
When Iruka finished mentioning all the teams, Naruto jumped up from his seat. "Why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same teams as a slug like Sasuke!" Naruto protested, pointing in the direction Sasuke was in.
Iruka looked at the paper he was holding in his hands before he gave a reply. "Well, Naruto, Sasuke had the best scores from all the graduating students, while you, Naruto, had the worst scores!"
Laughter could be heard from across the class.
Iruka continued. "To create a balanced group, we decided to put the best student with the worst student."
Naruto looked quite angry but sat back down in his chair. Masagaki could hear he was mumbling on about something, but he couldn't make out what exactly.
"After lunch, you will meet your new Jonin teacher, but until then, class dismissed," Iruka said as he walked out of the classroom. Naruto didn't waste any time as he left his seat and began to follow Sakura outside.
Masagaki went to a deserted part of the academy as he took out his small storage scroll. In a puff of smoke, he unsealed his new named weapon "Tetsugan Kyoketsu."
He looked at it for a bit before swinging it around. He then threw it as he hooked it around a nearby tree branch. He pulled the weapon towards him, snapping the thick branch in two.
Masagaki noticed he had an unread system notification. He clicked on the icon as the system interface showed up.
[ You've built positive relations with Naruto Uzumaki. You've been rewarded 100 points. ]
He now had 120 points in total, but not really anything he wanted to buy, not like there was anything worth buying in the first place.