"Armament Haki is just an amazing thing!" the System's possessor marveled, reviewing the fight. "Not only does it greatly boost my defense, but it also enhances my attack so powerfully! Looks like I'll have to work very seriously on developing it in the future!"
He himself had gotten away with just light bruises, while Minato had taken a pretty hard hit from him and was injured more seriously. But the future Hokage turned out to be a very magnanimous person and didn't blame Satoru at all for his injuries.
"Satoru, right? I'll remember you. You're a good opponent. I hope we can become great teammates in the future," the blond youth smiled, looking at Satoru and extending his hand.
Seeing that the future Fourth Hokage was so polite and respectful toward him, Satoru naturally didn't reject his friendly gesture.
"You're very strong too," he replied with a light sigh, shaking the offered hand. "That attack of yours with the Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique indiscriminately wiped out all my shadow clones in an instant."
"And your Taijutsu is just terrifying!" the young genius said in admiration. "I couldn't even imagine your fist would be that powerful. And what shocked me completely was that you withstood my shuriken... Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine, don't worry," Satoru replied with a slight smile. "Maybe it's my Kekkei Genkai? The ability to make my entire body incredibly hard. In other words, I'm practically invulnerable to normal weapons."
Satoru and Minato quickly found common ground. Though the former was an orphan, the future Hokage didn't look down on him at all; on the contrary, he treated him with genuine sympathy and openness.
The blond youth even decided to delay his graduation from the Ninja Academy to form a team with the transmigrator.
"Huh? But that means you'll become a ninja later. Is that okay?" Satoru asked, a bit embarrassed.
"No problem at all, don't worry," the young genius replied good-naturedly. "I want to be on the same team as you. I was planning to apply for early graduation anyway, but now that I've met you, I think the Academy will be much more fun!"
"Well then, you'll have to help me with a lot of things!" Satoru grinned. He enjoyed talking with this blond guy.
Namikaze was not only magnanimous and friendly but also very straightforward and sincere. It seemed that for now, only he could become a true friend to Satoru.
* * *
Soon Satoru headed home. As soon as he left Konoha Hospital, two figures appeared at Namikaze's bedside.
"So, Minato? That kid named Satoru... he's pretty strong, isn't he?" the Third Hokage asked with a smile.
"Of course!" the blond youth replied without hesitation. "He's so young, but his power is just astonishing."
"Exactly. This child is truly incredible," Hiruzen said thoughtfully. "To already use the Shadow Clone Technique at such a young age... He has monstrous talent. And the way he wields it masterfully shows he's trained a lot."
"Moreover, his understanding of the current political situation far surpasses that of his peers. Such a child is a real rarity."
"Third Hokage-sama, you mean..." Teacher Ikkaku was very excited. After all, it was he who had "discovered" this boy.
"After he enrolls in the Academy, keep a closer eye on him. And when he graduates from the Ninja Academy, I'll assign someone to train him."
The speaker was naturally the Third Hokage himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Sarutobi, known as the "God of Shinobi," possessed incredible power. His knowledge of ninjutsu and Taijutsu was simply terrifying. In the first part of "Naruto," he was considered the strongest person.
Satoru had no idea at that moment that by simply trying to complete the System's quest, he had drawn the close attention of Konoha's top leadership.
"And what about Minato?" Teacher Ikkaku looked at the blond youth.
"Minato? He's undoubtedly a genius ninja too," the Third replied. "After he graduates from the Ninja Academy, I'll assign him a mentor as well! Minato, don't get downhearted; strive even harder," Hiruzen encouraged him.
"I understand!" the young genius nodded gratefully. Soon the Hokage left the room.
* * *
Meanwhile, back home, Satoru had no intention of idling.
"Since the Shadow Clone Technique is such a cheating training method, what if I use shadow clones to practice Armament Haki? Wonder if I'll get double the results with half the effort?"
"What if I use shadow clones for water-walking training? That should work too?" with these thoughts, the Earth native resumed his grueling workouts.
When he was so exhausted he couldn't even twitch a finger, the shadow clones dispersed, and all their fatigue and accumulated experience poured into Satoru's mind like a raging torrent.
The harvest from such training was incredibly bountiful.
Satoru was so tired that he finally fell into a deep, heavy sleep.
* * *
The next day, Satoru remembered he was now a student at the Konoha Ninja Academy and rushed straight to school.
He quickly found the class prepared for him. The teachers and most students greeted him joyfully. After all, almost everyone had seen yesterday's match.
Beating the strongest student in the Academy meant the System's possessor was now the strongest himself. No one could fail to love such a small, strong, and cute boy.
"Welcome, Satoru-kun! We're glad to have you at the Ninja Academy! Come in, sit over there," the Teacher pointed to a seat among the top students. And naturally, his desk mate was Namikaze Minato.
"Satoru! Let's work hard together! I'll stick with you until graduation! I'm sure you'll graduate early!" the blond youth was so happy about Satoru's arrival that he couldn't contain his emotions.
"Alright, I'll do my best," Satoru replied curtly. He and the young genius were like two heroes recognizing each other.
The Ninja Academy had no division into first, second, and so on classes. Teachers taught all students at once, and the curriculum mainly consisted of two parts: theoretical knowledge and practical training.
In practice, they studied the most basic ninjutsu—the three fundamental techniques (Transformation Technique, Body Replacement Technique, Cloning Technique), as well as genjutsu dispelling methods and Taijutsu basics.
The theory was more complex. It covered things like the distance for using explosive seals to avoid the shockwave, ninja survival rules, shinobi world history, and much more.
Overall, both theory and practice focused on the basics. But Satoru found it all very interesting. He didn't neglect other aspects just because he was considered the strongest.
Thus, three months flew by unnoticed.
In that time, the transmigrator easily mastered the Transformation Technique, Body Replacement Technique, and Cloning Technique. His chakra reserves also grew a bit. Plus, he trained water-walking daily.
Now his chakra control was such that not only his peers but even average Chunin could hardly compare.
The transmigrator diligently trained Armament Haki too. Now he could easily coat any part of his body with it. In other words, if attacked, he could use Armament Haki for defense.
Moreover, he sparred with Namikaze Minato almost every day. Satoru won more often than he lost. Sometimes, due to chakra shortage, he couldn't continue.
But at later stages, he could almost always win easily with Haki. This clearly showed how much his power had grown.
Of course, the young genius's strength had noticeably increased too! After all, the orphan had taught him the Armament Haki method, and in return, he promised to repay Satoru someday by teaching him some incredibly cool ninjutsu!
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: Granulan