Naruto: Legacy From Leaf To Clover

"Maybe Asta will never be able to use magic in his lifetime… but I believe he's not someone who'll lead an ordinary life. Father, I'm going to train too!"

Ever since he started following Houma's training, Nash had become more and more convinced that this boy's life wouldn't end the way everyone expected. Even if he couldn't use magic, Houma was far stronger than most people. Someone like that… fate would never be able to bury him.

"Ah, to be young again..."

The priest groaned as he rubbed his aching limbs, he'd barely walked a few steps before his joints started to stiffen. But that medicinal bath Asta made for him a few days ago, one that burned like chili peppers, had actually worked wonders. His body felt noticeably better than before.

That evening, during dinner.

"What?! Asta awakened a grimoire too?!"

Everyone turned to Nash in astonishment. The idea that Asta had awakened a grimoire, it was like a miracle.

"What's so surprising about that? I think it's exactly how it should be."

Nash muttered under his breath, pouting slightly. At this point, he had officially joined the ranks of Houma's fanboys. He practically worshipped Kai the Blue Beast's philosophy of youth, and if this world were the same, Nash would've been Kai's star disciple.

Yuno paused mid-bite, fork still hovering over his pork chop. He glanced up ever so slightly, quietly agreeing with Nash's words. As the man who had ignited his fighting spirit, how could Asta not be chosen by a grimoire?

"Asta, your suffering is finally over! GOD must've heard my day-and-night prayers and granted you the blessing every normal person should have!"

The priest wept tears of joy as he stole the pork knuckle from Houma's plate, praising divine miracles while gnawing at it like a ravenous beast.

Houma rolled his eyes and quietly ladled himself a bowl of nourishing snake soup. It was something he'd crafted deep in the forest using three kinds of snake meat and two rare herbs, rich in flavor and powerful in effect. For men, it strengthened the body; for women, it enhanced beauty. And ever since the chapel's meals had become more abundant, the children had grown noticeably healthier.

After participating in the grimoire awakening ceremony in March, Houma had stayed behind in the village to train. By the time the Magic Knights Entrance Exam approached six months later, his body had already reached the threshold for opening the Gate of Rest, the second gate in the Eight Gates Formation, a transitional stage of immense significance.

Opening the First Gate: the Gate of Opening allowed him to use Front Lotus. However, back when his body had only just met the physical threshold to activate the Eight Gates, opening even the first gate caused such intense pain that it momentarily froze his movements. If he couldn't defeat his opponent in one strike, he'd end up falling into a dangerous situation.

But now that he had the physical capacity to open the Gate of Rest, Houma could execute the Eight Gates Formation and perform Front Lotus fluidly, without worrying about overextending and suffering the consequences.

That day, the tower master from the Grimoire Tower came to speak with the priest, proposing that both Houma and Yuno travel to the royal capital to take the Magic Knights Entrance Exam.

At first, the priest firmly objected. Losing two children at once was just too heartbreaking!

The road from Hage Village to the royal capital was long and grueling. And even after such a hard journey, there was no guarantee they'd pass the exam.

So the priest protested mildly, "Well… Yuno I can understand. But even if Asta goes, I doubt he'll make it through. Maybe it's better if, "

"Are you underestimating the child's capabilities?" the tower master interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "Do you remember those two nobles I previously recommended, Leck and Will? After the grimoire ceremony, both of them begged me on their knees not to take them to the entrance exam."

"And why do you think they gave up?"

"It's because they were utterly crushed by Asta."

The tower master's words carried a deep and deliberate meaning.

"But still…" the priest tried to mount one last resistance, but the tower master, a man as cunning as he was experienced, gave him no room to breathe.

"Is it because you can't bear to part with Asta?"

"Don't be ridiculous! That brat… sure, he's learned to behave recently, but before that he was like a mud-covered monkey, "

The priest rambled on about all of Asta's past transgressions, venting a long list of complaints.

"So… you do care about Asta, after all," the tower master said knowingly, like the Buddha who'd once had a monkey beaten with enlightenment.

"I said I don't! …Fine, fine! Let them go. At least they'll have someone to watch each other's backs."

The priest waved it off with a sigh. For the sake of his pride, he had no choice but to yield.

With the decision made, Houma and Yuno agreed to depart three days later.

In that short time, Houma made meticulous preparations.

He built a small warehouse next to the chapel and spent 500 points to redeem 500 bottles of healing potion, enough to supply Nash and the others for a full year.

He also constructed single rooms onto the chapel, giving every child a private space for the first time. Before leaving, he and Nash even repaired the village's perimeter fencing together.

All these gestures made the priest mutter in frustration, "Asta, why do I get the feeling you're way too confident about this entrance exam? These past few days, all you've done is assign tasks and leave instructions. Don't tell me…"

"…You're the Magic Emperor's secret love child?"

His eyes suddenly lit up with that theory, blurting it out before anyone could stop him.

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