Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Sasaki Kojiro Template (Parts 1 & 2)

The occasion was inappropriate, so Natsuki didn’t test Broken Phantasm.

He bent down and picked up the two halves of Kurosawa.

Taking advantage of a brief moment, he used Projection Magecraft. Chakra flowed into the blade.

"The younger generation is formidable."

Mifune said slowly. "I have to thank you today for making me realize that my kenjutsu still needs improvement."

Having become the General of the Land of Iron and the leader of the samurai at a young age, he was naturally proud and arrogant.

Even though the strength of the Five Great Villages far exceeded that of the Land of Iron, he believed that in terms of kenjutsu, he was the best in the ninja world.

Natsuki’s appearance shattered his perception.

He had indeed been a frog in a well.

"My kenjutsu is inferior to yours. I defeated you using ninjutsu."

After Natsuki understood the material of Kurosawa, he handed it back to Mifune.

"A loss is a loss. There is no difference between kenjutsu and ninjutsu—they are all part of your strength."

Mifune took Kurosawa and said candidly.

Natsuki nodded slightly.

No wonder Hanzo in the original story had let Mifune go because he was moved by his spirit of sacrificing himself to protect his comrades.

In a sense, the young Hanzo also had the demeanor of a powerhouse.

But in his old age, it was a different story.

"Today’s battles were truly spectacular."

The Daimyo of the Land of Iron stood up and smiled. "You two have worked hard. The exchange meet ends here. Go and rest."

"Yes, Daimyo."

Mifune bowed slightly.

Seeing this, Tsunade felt somewhat relieved.

It seemed the Daimyo and Mifune could both afford to lose. As expected of the Land of Samurai.

The Daimyo left first.

Mifune and the other samurai didn’t stay long either—but their gazes were all fixed on Natsuki, looking as if they were reluctant to part.

Actually, they just hadn’t recovered from the shock of him defeating Mifune.

"Natsuki!"

Nawaki said excitedly. "You’ve really made a name for yourself in the Land of Iron this time!"

"Mifune is the number one samurai and the number one Sword Master in the Land of Iron."

Tsunade smiled. "By defeating him, your name will be known to everyone in the Land of Iron within a day."

"He only lost to me because he didn’t know my ninjutsu."

As Natsuki spoke, he dispelled the Summoning Jutsu, letting Ensei return to the Monkey clan compound.

"What was that flying ninjutsu you just used?"

Hearing this, Nawaki hurriedly asked. "Is it a ninjutsu you created yourself?"

"Mm."

Natsuki nodded. "It’s a ninjutsu I modified based on the Hiding in Mist Technique. Called White Launcher."

"It’s a pity I don’t have the talent to create ninjutsu."

Minato said enviously.

Natsuki’s thoughts stirred—thinking of the Rasengan.

The Rasengan had great power and didn’t require hand seals. If he created it, he could also use it.

He could try it when he had time.

But creating the Rasengan required extremely high chakra control.

After all, the Rasengan was known as the pinnacle of chakra shape transformation.

"What you did isn’t called modifying a ninjutsu—it’s essentially changing it into a completely different ninjutsu."

Tsunade said, dumbfounded. "White Launcher doesn’t seem to have any similarities with the Hiding in Mist Technique anymore. It looks more like a Kekkei Genkai."

"Kekkei Genkai? Is it that exaggerated?"

Nawaki widened his eyes.

Minato and Nonou also showed surprised expressions.

Because they all knew what a Kekkei Genkai was.

A Kekkei Genkai wasn’t an ordinary ninjutsu—it was a new elemental jutsu created by fusing two chakra nature transformations.

For example, Wood Release was Earth Release plus Water Release.

Another example was Ice Release—Wind Release plus Water Release.

Of course, there was also a type of Kekkei Genkai passed down through bloodlines—such as the Sharingan and the Byakugan.

Kekkei Genkai were often much more powerful than single chakra nature transformation ninjutsu.

But being powerful meant they were not common.

Among the Five Great Villages, there weren’t many ninjas who possessed Kekkei Genkai.

However, with a few exceptions, most Kekkei Genkai ninjas were very strong.

"The Iburi clan living in the Land of Fire possesses the ability to transform into smoke—but their ability is very unstable."

Tsunade shook her head. "They cannot freely control their smoke transformation, and some even die because they cannot revert from their smoke form."

Natsuki raised an eyebrow, recalling the storyline of the Iburi clan.

To sum it up—it was very tragic.

After Orochimaru defected, he went to the Iburi clan and helped them stabilize their smoke transformation ability.

The Iburi clan thought they had welcomed a savior—but in reality, they were all Orochimaru’s test subjects.

Eventually, they were wiped out by Orochimaru.

It had to be said—Orochimaru, in his pursuit of eternal life, truly did inhuman things.

Fortunately, Orochimaru hadn’t turned evil yet.

"That sounds inferior to the ninjutsu Natsuki created."

Nawaki evaluated.

"It is indeed inferior."

Tsunade paused. "Their smoke transformation has another fatal weakness: they will die if blown by the wind."

"Ah?"

Nawaki scratched his head. "Then what exactly is the use of this smoke transformation ability?"

"Precisely because the flaws are too great, the Iburi clan did not join Konoha, but hides and survives in unventilated caves."

Tsunade explained.

For a ninja, abundant knowledge could bring considerable advantage.

After all, knowledge was intel.

By telling them the intel on the Iburi clan now, if Natsuki and Nawaki encountered them in the future, they could easily win by targeting their weaknesses.

"You all did well today, winning all three matches."

Tsunade changed the subject. "It’s about time. Let’s go back to our rooms."

Nawaki and the others nodded and each returned to their rooms.

After the door closed, Natsuki extended his hand.

Projection Magecraft!

A katana identical to Kurosawa slowly appeared in the air.

Natsuki grasped this replica and couldn’t help but nod.

Because the system recognized Kurosawa as a famous ninja tool.

With this, he only needed to project one last famous ninja tool to obtain the enhanced version of Projection Magecraft.

Natsuki stroked his chin.

Orochimaru had previously promised to find him a Kusanagi Sword.

Should he wait for him, or go find one himself?

But if he were to find one himself, he couldn’t think of a suitable target for the time being.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist would work.

But they were all in Kirigakure right now. Coupled with the fact that Natsuki had enmity with them, going to find them would be tantamount to walking right into a trap.

Natsuki suddenly thought of the Uchiha clan.

Unfortunately, when Uchiha Madara left, he took the Uchiha’s Gunbai—also known as the Uchiwa.

Although he knew Uchiha Madara wasn’t dead, an old Uchiha Madara was still Uchiha Madara.

In the entire ninja world, including Uzumaki Mito, there was probably no one who could defeat him.

[You have awakened the Sasaki Kojiro Template.]

A suddenly appearing line of text jolted Natsuki out of his thoughts.

Sasaki Kojiro. He was no stranger to this name.

In the Pokémon series, he was a member of Team Rocket.

Ahem, wrong franchise.

Sasaki Kojiro was a very famous Sword Master who, after studying Chujo-ryu kenjutsu, traveled the country and founded the Ganryu kenjutsu style.

But his most famous deed was his duel with Miyamoto Musashi, where he was defeated and killed.

Compared to Sasaki Kojiro, Miyamoto Musashi was even more famous.

He had founded the Niten Ichi-ryu kenjutsu style—which was the Dual Blades style.

Natsuki fell into thought.

His awakening of the Sasaki Kojiro template was definitely related to defeating Mifune.

He just didn’t know which work this Sasaki Kojiro was from.

After all, there were many works related to him.

Thinking this, Natsuki looked at his newly acquired template.

[Name: Sasaki Kojiro]

[Period: Fifth Holy Grail War Assassin-Class Servant]

[World: Fate/stay night]

[Rank: A-Rank]

[Ability 1: Presence Concealment — UNLOCKED] Effect: Erase one’s presence and blend into the environment, making it difficult for one’s existence to be detected.

[Ability 2: Vitrification — LOCKED] Effect: Maintain a serene and clear state of mind at all times. Unlock Condition: Show no emotional fluctuations in six consecutive battles.

[Ability 3: Knowledge of Sowa — LOCKED] Effect: When repeating the same kenjutsu against a target, the attacks will not be easily seen through. Unlock Condition: Master six kenjutsu styles of the ninja world.

[Ability 4: Eye of the Mind (False) — LOCKED] Effect: A sixth sense used for combat, a danger-avoidance ability based on innate talent. Unlock Condition: Defeat a target with stronger kenjutsu than oneself.

[Ability 5: Tsubame Gaeshi — LOCKED] Effect: An inevitable sword strike that slashes the opponent from three approaching directions simultaneously, aiming straight for the head. Unlock Condition: Engage in a gate-defending battle with an opponent of the same level.

So it was the gatekeeper grandpa.

In the Fifth Holy Grail War of Fate/stay night, he was summoned irregularly, so he could only guard Ryuudou Temple.

Moreover, his summoning catalyst was the mountain gate of Ryuudou Temple. Unable to leave the gate, he became the gatekeeper grandpa.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t strong.

Rated as A-Rank, he would have roughly Jonin-level strength in Naruto.

If it were just kenjutsu, Natsuki felt he could be rated S-Rank.

The Sasaki Kojiro template was quite special.

Because four of his five abilities were essentially passive abilities.

Ability 1: Presence Concealment.

As an Assassin-class Servant, Presence Concealment could be considered essential.

But his Presence Concealment rank wasn’t high—it was more like a Sword Master blending into the environment to lower their presence.

However, it was still very useful for Natsuki.

After all, ninjas frequently executed infiltration missions.

Ability 2: Vitrification.

Seeing this ability, Natsuki thought of Ainz Ooal Gown’s forced calmness.

In terms of effect, they were indeed very similar.

How should he put it?

Although it couldn’t directly enhance strength, it could help the user better utilize their strength.

In competition or combat, mindset had a huge impact.

Being able to remain calm even when cornered made it easier to turn the tide of battle.

Its unlock condition wasn’t difficult either.

Natsuki generally didn’t experience major emotional fluctuations during combat anyway.

Ability 3: Knowledge of Sowa.

To be honest, this ability was somewhat broken—like a conceptual ability.

There’s a saying: "The same attack cannot be used twice against a Saint."

The first time is unknown, but the second time is known.

Translated to the ninja world, it was that same saying: ninja battles were information battles.

The effect of Knowledge of Sowa was to allow the user to repeatedly use the same kenjutsu without it being easily seen through.

Of course, to achieve this meant the user had to be intimately familiar with many kenjutsu styles.

Therefore, its unlock condition was to master six kenjutsu styles of the ninja world.

Currently, Natsuki had only mastered Konoha-Style Kenjutsu, Uchiha-Style Kenjutsu, and Orochimaru-Style Kenjutsu.

Ability 4: Eye of the Mind (False).

Somewhat similar to Ability 3—leaning toward a conceptual ability.

But the effect was equally powerful—like an enhanced version of intuition.

Ninjas, or humans, sometimes inexplicably had a certain feeling. This was intuition, or a sixth sense.

With Eye of the Mind (False), Natsuki would be even less likely to be injured in combat.

But its unlock condition was very demanding—requiring him to defeat a target with stronger kenjutsu than himself.

Natsuki could only think of Konoha’s White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, for now.

He most likely couldn’t beat him.

However, as he unlocked more abilities from his character templates, he would defeat Hatake Sakumo sooner or later.

Ability 5: Tsubame Gaeshi.

Tsubame Gaeshi was Sasaki Kojiro’s signature move.

Its unlock condition puzzled Natsuki slightly.

What does a gate-defending battle mean?

Did he need to find a place like Ryuudou Temple to guard the gate, just like Sasaki Kojiro?

Natsuki fell into thought.

The system’s text had always been "what you see is what you get."

It seemed he didn’t need to guard the gate of a place like Ryuudou Temple.

Theoretically, guarding the gate of Konoha would also work—or even just fighting in front of a gate.

Natsuki let out a yawn and didn’t continue researching.

Since he had already awakened the character template, unlocking all the abilities was just a matter of time. There was no need to rush.

The next morning, Tsunade signed the alliance treaty with the Daimyo of the Land of Iron on behalf of Konoha, and Natsuki and the others’ mission was completed.

The group didn’t linger. After the signing was complete, they returned to Konoha.

"No training today. Go home and rest. I’m going to see Teacher."

After Tsunade finished speaking, she headed toward the Hokage Building.

"Are you guys going to rest?"

Nawaki stated his plan. "I’m going to Grandma Mito’s place to train."

"I’ll go too."

Minato said without hesitation.

His current strength couldn’t compare to Nawaki and Natsuki, so naturally, he didn’t dare slack off.

Because if he slacked off, the gap would only widen.

For example, Natsuki’s battle with Mifune this time made him realize this.

Natsuki had actually quietly modified a flight-capable ninjutsu.

Theoretically, being able to fly and widening the distance enough would already put him in an invincible position.

Because Minato had no ninjutsu to counter it.

Nonou didn’t speak—just looked at Natsuki.

"You guys go ahead. We’ll come over later."

Natsuki considered.

If he didn’t go after returning to the village, Kushina would probably be unhappy not seeing him.

"Alright then."

Nawaki nodded. "Hurry over."

"See you later."

Minato didn’t say much more. He turned and left with Nawaki.

"Let’s go to the training ground."

Natsuki glanced at Nonou.

He actually just wanted to test his newly acquired ability—Broken Phantasm.

"Mm."

Although Nonou didn’t know what he was going to do, she still agreed.

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