Asuma, at first glance, could immediately feel that the texture of that outfit was completely different from theirs.
Not to mention that conspicuous white bat symbol.
He exclaimed in surprise:
"Why is your training outfit different from ours, Sensei!?"
The other boys also looked over curiously.
"Well, that's because…"
Natsuhiko smiled and snapped his fingers.
BOOM!
White smoke exploded.
A fully armed dark knight emerged from the dispersing smoke and said in a deep voice:
"I'm Batman!"
…
"Ahhh!!"
"So cool!"
"Sensei, can I touch you?"
After a while, the boys were still excited, dancing around Natsuhiko, their eyes glued to his Batman suit with envy.
The fibres of this suit had a slight metallic sheen, forming a dense, three-dimensional mesh structure. The surface was smooth and textured, looking very high-end.
The cheap tights they were wearing couldn't compare at all.
Moreover, this suit was very form-fitting, with sleek lines that highlighted Natsuhiko-sensei's muscular contours, and black armour plates of various shapes embedded in vital areas, making the suit look simple yet not monotonous.
Additionally, Natsuhiko-sensei was fully armed, wearing a black helmet with small bat-like ear tips at both ends, arm guards with serrated blades, black combat boots, a white utility belt around his waist, and a black cape trailing behind him.
The entire suit combined horror and elegance, creating a contradictory yet harmonious aesthetic.
It was vastly different from the style of the ninja world, yet it greatly appealed to ninja aesthetics.
No wonder the boys were so excited.
Unfortunately, this high-end aesthetic seemed not to be understood by everyone.
The already changed Kurenai, Rin, and Kushina, who had returned from the classroom, were standing far away, glancing at them with subtle expressions.
(¬､¬)(¬､¬)(¬､¬)
The three girls exchanged glances and simultaneously shrugged and shook their heads, indicating they completely couldn't understand the boys' aesthetics.
What's so good about dressing up as a big bat?
After swatting away the boys' roaming hands numerous times, Natsuhiko was somewhat annoyed.
So he stored away the slightly cumbersome helmet and cape using the storage technique on his suit and then said helplessly:
"Alright, alright, enough looking. Let's get going."
At this point, everyone snapped back to reality and remembered the fate of being mocked by others, their faces turning bitter.
Asuma even directly complained, "Sensei, you're cheating. You're dressed completely differently from us!"
Natsuhiko explained helplessly:
"You're wearing the version that will be popularized in the future, so the cost has to be lowered. But this one is my personal one, so naturally, the materials are a bit better. But in essence, there's no real difference."
The students looked at Natsuhiko's heavy-duty Batman suit and then at their own, which looked like cheap thermal underwear bought from a street stall, and couldn't help but show sceptical expressions.
Seeing this, Kushina covered her mouth and giggled.
Natsuhiko glanced at her, then scratched his head and said:
"Alright, I admit there's a tiny bit of a difference in functionality."
Under the students' pressure, Natsuhiko had to reflect on his plan.
Then, after thinking it over, he also started to feel that the Dark Knight might not be suitable for appearing in front of so many people.
He had indeed underestimated the suit's appeal to the boys.
The girls, however, had a mediocre evaluation.
It turned out that Batman being popular among female heroes and villains in the comics was a lie!
In reality, it was like excessive bodybuilding, only attracting men.
Thinking of the possible scene of being surrounded by zombies, Natsuhiko shivered and dismissed the idea of going to that training ground.
So, he righteously declared:
"Alright then, let's change to another location."
…
Moments later, on the rooftop of the school building.
"Now, no one has any objections, right?"
Natsuhiko stood in the centre of the rooftop, addressing the students.
At the same time, he felt that the rooftop was indeed more suitable for Batman.
Everyone looked around the empty rooftop and nodded in satisfaction.
The space here was large enough, that they didn't have to worry about being seen, and the view was even nice.
It was simply the best place for their study group activities!
How come they hadn't thought of this before?
While everyone was celebrating, Rin had a peculiar expression.
Because she found it strange that Natsuhiko-sensei had the rooftop key.
Could it be that Sensei had planned to use this place as an activity location all along?
Then why did he deliberately teach at that training ground before? Was it… to make fun of us?
Rin quickly shook her head, dismissing such blasphemous thoughts.
No way, Sensei's ninja way was "creating joy sincerely." How could he do that to us?
Out of respect for Natsuhiko-sensei, Rin quickly convinced herself it was just a coincidence.
She even subconsciously ignored the possibility that the joy Natsuhiko-sensei wanted to create wasn't necessarily for them.
Then Natsuhiko clapped his hands and asked everyone to gather around.
Once everyone was in front of him, Natsuhiko slowly began:
"In the last study group activity, I already introduced the principles and usage of these training suits and meridian scrolls. Everyone remembers, right?"
Everyone nodded, indicating they hadn't forgotten.
"Then from today, we'll officially start testing these two teaching aids." Natsuhiko said.
"Remember, the data from these tests are crucial to the implementation of the foundation plan and will affect the future training of all ninja school students, so you must not take this lightly."
"Yes!"
Hearing Natsuhiko-sensei speak so solemnly, everyone felt their responsibility was significant and responded loudly.
Seeing this, Natsuhiko nodded in satisfaction and continued:
"First, open your meridian scrolls and see what has changed compared to before."
Upon hearing this, everyone, curious, quickly opened their scrolls and injected chakra as they did last time.
Immediately, ink lines appeared on the scrolls, forming the same meridian diagrams and various data parameters as before.
But this time, there were several large characters above the meridian diagram that weren't there before.
Asuma was the first to shout, "Mine says 'Qi Refining Stage 7'!"
Kurenai pouted, "I'm at Qi Refining Stage 6."
Guy: "I'm at Qi Refining Stage 8!"
Rin: "I'm at Stage 5. Obito, how about you?"
Obito, a bit smug, said, "I'm at Qi Refining Stage 9."
Everyone gasped in shock, their hearts trembling.
Who would've thought that Obito, usually at the bottom, was a Qi Refining Stage 9 expert!?
Qi Refining Stage 9, how terrifying!
(End of this Chapter)
Chapter 106 is up on Patreon.
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