Naruto: This Genius is Somewhat Ordinary-Chapter 416

Spring slid into autumn, and time kept sprinting ahead like it had a personal grudge.

Of the original four, three boys were still in the same class. Only Rika had been moved to a different one.

The reason was simple. During the class reassignment test, Fujimoto Tōma, Takeda Renji, and Akiyama Kira all ranked high enough to be placed into Class A. Rika’s results were a little weaker, so she ended up in Class B.

"Weaker" was only true by comparison. In any normal academy, her talent would still count as excellent.

Right now, inside Class A’s training hall, Tōma stood alone before a row of practice targets.

He brought his hands together and formed a clean sequence of seals.

"Fire Style. Ember Cannon."

A blazing sphere of compressed flame tore forward and smashed into the target.

Boom.

The wooden post disintegrated in a flash of heat and splinters.

Tōma tilted his head slightly.

"Power’s fine."

He walked to the next intact target and repeated the jutsu.

This time, no hand seals.

The same fireball erupted and obliterated the post just as completely.

Tōma frowned.

Same output. Same impact.

But his chakra reserves dipped noticeably harder this time.

So it really was like that.

He’d asked an instructor about it before. Why bother with hand seals at all, when skipping them was faster in real combat?

The answer he got was vague but consistent.

Hand seals stabilized chakra flow, lowered the activation cost, and amplified jutsu efficiency. Skilled shinobi could cast without seals, but it would always be more expensive.

His little test just proved it.

To match the same power without seals, he had to burn significantly more chakra.

"...Still weird."

In Naruto-style ninjutsu, seals were just training wheels. Once you understood the structure of a jutsu, you could throw it out raw with no downside.

Here, it wasn’t like that.

Why did seals make a jutsu stronger and cheaper at the same time?

Tōma replayed the feeling in his mind. With seals, it felt like the world itself leaned slightly in his favor. Less resistance. Smoother flow. Like slipping a key into a lock that was already expecting it.

Without seals, it was brute force. Forcing chakra through a stubborn gate.

"So seals are basically... permission slips for reality?"

He shook his head.

That sounded insane even to him.

He packed up and left the training hall. He had something important to do today anyway.

He didn’t make it ten steps outside before someone blocked his path.

Takeda Renji stood there with a feral grin that made him look more like a delinquent than a shinobi-in-training.

"Finally caught you, Tōma."

"...You’ve been stalking the hallway again, haven’t you?"

"Worth it. Fight me."

Tōma raised an eyebrow.

"...Now?"

"I’ve fought almost everyone in Class A already and won. You’re the last one."

Nearby, Akiyama Kira gave Tōma a helpless shrug.

Rika stood beside him, eyes sparkling like she’d just bought front-row tickets to violence.

"...Fine," Tōma said. "Let’s get it over with."

They moved to a small empty training field.

The only spectators were Rika, Kira, and Hoshino Momo.

Momo hovered awkwardly near Kira, pretending not to notice how he kept sneaking glances at her.

"So," Rika whispered, "who do you think is stronger?"

"...Renji, probably," Momo said carefully. "He’s beaten most of the class."

Kira nodded.

"Tōma’s always quiet. He barely tries in taijutsu class. Just practices basic swings and then zones out. He’s only serious in ninjutsu."

Rika blinked.

"So he’s a ninjutsu main?"

"...Maybe."

On the field, Renji drew his practice kunai.

"You’re good at ninjutsu, right?" he said. "Sorry in advance, but I’m not giving you time for hand seals."

"Fair," Tōma replied calmly. "That’s how real fights work."

Kira stepped between them.

"You both ready?"

They nodded.

"Begin!"

Renji didn’t charge.

Kira frowned.

Rika and Momo gasped.

The spot where Tōma had been standing shimmered... and collapsed into mist.

"...A clone?" Kira muttered.

A presence bloomed behind Renji.

Before he could turn—

"Binding Technique."

Invisible pressure wrapped around Renji’s arms and legs.

He slammed face-first into the dirt.

"...What?" Renji croaked.

Tōma stood calmly behind him, one hand raised.

"...That was a Body Flicker," Kira whispered.

"And the timing was insane."

"It’s over," Tōma said.

Renji struggled.

"I can still fight!"

"In a real battle, you’d already be dead," Tōma replied flatly.

"You were immobilized for three seconds. That’s enough."

Renji went still.

Kira exhaled.

"...Winner: Fujimoto Tōma."

Tōma released the technique.

Momo stared.

"Tōma-san is terrifying..."

Rika nodded slowly.

"...Yeah. Renji wasn’t lying. He really did beat everyone else."

Renji rubbed his wrists.

"...You’re stupidly strong."

"Yeah."

"...You could’ve at least denied it."

"Why? It’s true."

Renji felt his blood pressure spike.

"...Why was your binding so strong anyway?"

"Chakra density," Tōma said.

"All techniques scale with chakra strength. If yours is higher, even basic jutsu become brutal."

Renji blinked.

"...The instructors said that."

"You were asleep again, weren’t you?"

Renji laughed awkwardly.

Rika crossed her arms.

"Someone got too proud after entering Class A."

"...Hey."

Tōma waved once and turned to leave.

"I’ve got something to do."

Renji called after him.

"I’ll get stronger and challenge you again!"

"Please make it less boring next time."

Renji died a little inside.

Back in his dorm room, Tōma locked the door and sat down.

His chakra reserves were nowhere near their ceiling. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

He’d stopped growing them on purpose.

More power without control was just noise.

And he didn’t like leaking pressure everywhere he went.

"...Alright."

He closed his eyes.

"Time to unlock it."

His first real chakra release.