Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Fushiguro Megumi Template

"Winner: Natsuki!"

Ishida Yu announced with undisguised excitement.

After this battle, Natsuki’s fame would undoubtedly skyrocket.

As his teacher, Ishida Yu would benefit as well. He might even get a promotion and a raise—reach the pinnacle of his career.

"Thank you for the match."

Natsuki sheathed his wooden sword and left the field.

"That was so cool!"

Uzumaki Kushina rushed over, beaming. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Namikaze Minato opened his mouth to speak—then paused, feeling something strange.

What’s going on?

Before, when Natsuki and Yakushi Nonou were together, Minato had felt like a third wheel.

Why did he feel the same way now with Uzumaki Kushina?

Something’s off here.

"You’re up next. Do your best."

Natsuki smiled.

He and Minato had already fought. Only Kushina remained.

"Don’t worry—I can knock them down with one punch!"

Kushina said with absolute confidence.

She wasn’t exaggerating.

Beyond sealing techniques, her taijutsu was genuinely impressive.

In the original timeline, the reason she earned the nickname "Red-Hot Habanero" was because she single-handedly beat up every boy who had mocked her.

Fighting multiple opponents at once meant her taijutsu was definitely exceptional among her peers.

[You have awakened the Fushiguro Megumi Template.]

Natsuki, who had been about to respond, froze.

A character template from Jujutsu Kaisen this time?

What had triggered it?

The exchange meet? Fighting one against three? Nara Shikaku’s shadow techniques?

Natsuki suppressed his racing thoughts and examined his newly acquired template.

[Name: Fushiguro Megumi]

[Era: Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event]

[World: Jujutsu Kaisen]

[Rank: B-Rank]

[Ability 1: Shadow Space — Unlocked]

[Effect: Hide ninja tools and other items within one’s own shadow. Weight is still borne by the user.]

[Ability 2: Shadow Assassin — Locked]

[Effect: Conceal oneself within a shadow for ambush attacks.]

[Unlock Condition: Defeat the strong as the weak. Assassinate nine Chunin and one Tokubetsu Jonin using covert methods.]

[Ability 3: Ten Shadows Technique — Locked]

[Effect: Use hand shadows to summon corresponding summoning beasts. Summoned creatures gain certain enhancements.]

[Unlock Condition: Tame ten different summoning beasts.]

After reading the description, Natsuki had only one thought:

This Fushiguro Megumi really does seem like a ninja from the Nara clan.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, Megumi’s family was indeed similar—highly skilled in shadow manipulation.

Natsuki glanced at Nara Shikaku.

He had most likely awakened this template because he’d defeated Shikaku.

The system’s triggers for character templates were truly bizarre.

Natsuki studied his new template while watching the ongoing matches.

Ability 1 couldn’t directly increase his combat power, but it was extremely practical.

As ninjas, they all carried pouches containing tools and supplies.

But a pouch could only hold so much—and it was conspicuous.

Hiding items in a shadow was different. It was unexpected.

Moreover, theoretically, as long as Natsuki could bear the weight, his Shadow Space had no upper limit.

Ability 2 was equally useful. Its compatibility with shinobi combat was perfect.

In reality, the vast majority of ninjas didn’t fight head-on like Uzumaki Naruto. They specialized in covert operations and assassinations.

Shadow Assassin—hiding within one’s own shadow—could deliver devastating surprise attacks.

And while the stated effect was for ambushes, it could also be used defensively to evade attacks.

Unless the enemy thought to target the shadow itself.

The problem was the unlock condition.

Natsuki was still a Ninja Academy student. Encountering that many enemy shinobi would be difficult.

Even if he did, killing a Tokubetsu Jonin wouldn’t be easy with his current strength.

Chunin alone? He was confident.

Fortunately, the requirement specified assassination—meaning he could use indirect methods.

Natsuki stroked his chin.

He would have to ask Orochimaru for help.

According to Konoha’s regulations, academy students couldn’t accept missions. Even Genin couldn’t take missions alone.

Ability 3 was the Ten Shadows Technique.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, it was one of the inherited techniques of the Zenin clan—one of the Big Three Sorcerer Families.

But obviously, the version he’d obtained had been localized by the system.

Its power had been scaled down.

That made sense. This was a B-Rank template from the Goodwill Event era.

The next time he obtained a Fushiguro Megumi template, he might unlock all ten Shikigami—including Mahoraga—or even the Domain Expansion: Chimera Shadow Garden.

The unlock condition for Ability 3 was taming ten summoning beasts.

This wasn’t really a condition so much as a prerequisite. Without ten summons, the technique couldn’t function anyway.

When it came to summoning beasts in the ninja world, most people thought of the toads of Mount Myoboku, the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest, and the snakes of Ryuchi Cave.

These three locations were known as the Great Sage Regions.

The summoning beasts there were so powerful they could even exchange blows with Tailed Beasts.

But aside from those legendary creatures, most other summons played supportive roles. Their combat capabilities weren’t particularly impressive.

The bad news: the Three Great Sage Regions had extremely high requirements for contractors. Only three people in the entire ninja world qualified.

The good news: those three contractors were Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade.

Collecting ten summoning beasts wouldn’t happen overnight. He would have to take it slowly.

What Natsuki wanted most were naturally the summons from the Great Sage Regions.

But there were only three of those. He still needed to choose the remaining seven.

They didn’t all need to be combat-oriented. Supportive summons had their own value.

What Natsuki was most curious about, however, was the enhancement the Ten Shadows Technique provided.

That would give his summons a distinct advantage in battle.

In this era, the outcome of summoning beast clashes still mattered greatly.

For example, in the upcoming Second Shinobi World War, there would be a legendary battle of summons.

The creatures of Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade against Hanzo of Amegakure’s salamander.

That battle would earn them the title of the Legendary Sannin.

Natsuki considered his options.

The three summons easiest to obtain right now were crows, ninja cats, and ninja hounds.

All three appeared frequently in the original story.

Crows and ninja cats were commonly associated with the Uchiha clan—but not exclusively.

Yamashiro Aoba, for instance, also summoned crows.

As for ninja hounds, Hatake Kakashi used them most famously.

He had eight of them.

There were two ways to acquire summoning beasts: find an established clan of summons, or locate wild ones.

But wild summoning beasts were extremely rare.

After all, they could speak, possessed intelligence, and knew how to avoid danger.

"How did I do?"

Uzumaki Kushina’s face suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Very impressive."

Natsuki praised immediately. "You knocked down your opponent in three punches. That’s stronger than most."

Kushina nodded, thoroughly satisfied.

Soon, the exchange meet between the two classes came to an end.

After school, Natsuki headed to Orochimaru’s residence.

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