novelraw Chapter 319 320 : [Multiple Shadow Clone] X We Are Different
Chapter 319 320 : [Multiple Shadow Clone] X We Are Different
Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled and smiled at Minato Namikaze beside him. "Minato, you saw that, right? I told you, nothing can hide from this kid's eyes."
"Normally, barriers and seals are invisible. Only when activated do they faintly emit a weak trace of chakra... This chakra is so faint it can almost be ignored. The more powerful the barrier or seal, the less obvious it is..."
"Yet Roy managed to stop exactly at the edge of the barrier. This proves without a doubt... the boy's perception of chakra is outstanding, completely on par with sensory Jonin from major clans like the Hyuga or Inuzuka."
"He is Jin, Fugaku's son, after all," Minato Namikaze smiled, waving at Roy through the window lattice.
Roy gave him a slight nod, then glanced at Hiruzen Sarutobi and said casually, "Forget it."
Without waiting for Hiruzen to form the hand seals to dispel the `[Barrier]`, Roy raised his hand and summoned `[Swamp Space]`.
Right under the watchful eyes of Hiruzen and Minato, he slowly sank into the ground. When he reappeared, he rose like a phantom from the wooden floorboards of the study, right between the two men...
This effortless disregard for the `[Barrier]` and `[Space]` left the two men staring at each other, unable to look away.
'Earth Style? No, not just an ordinary Earth Style... It's an Earth Style combined with Space-Time Ninjutsu...' A gleam of light flickered in the azure eyes of Minato Namikaze, the future Fourth Hokage. He turned his head and smiled at Hiruzen. "It seems nothing can stop the boy's footsteps."
Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head with a bitter smile, pointed a finger at Roy, and helplessly abandoned his hand seals...
"Hmph. You young people act so recklessly just because you have a bit of talent. I can't compare, so I won't play along with your nonsense..." Hiruzen grumbled, pretending to snort coldly to give himself a way out.
He then slowly paced over to a bookshelf against the south wall, reached in, and pulled out two scrolls. He handed one to Minato and tossed the other to Roy. "Read it here. Don't take it with you."
Minato nodded. Before he could even open his own scroll, he saw Roy frown beside him. Roy glanced up at Hiruzen and asked, "Why is there only one jutsu?"
Roy held the scroll. Unrolled, it clearly displayed the large characters for the *Multiple Shadow Clone Technique*. Beyond that... there was nothing else. It certainly didn't contain the `[Edo Tensei]` he wanted. He immediately questioned Hiruzen with dissatisfaction.
Hiruzen had taken off his Hokage robes and was wearing loose, comfortable loungewear. At this moment, he looked less like a Hokage and more like a retired old man who had finished his service. He skillfully pulled out his smoking pipe, took a puff, and said, "Child, I believe Fugaku must have taught you the principle of not biting off more than you can chew."
The old man exhaled a ring of smoke and looked at Roy earnestly. "Since you insisted on seeing the `[Scroll of Seals]`, you must already know that every jutsu recorded on it is extraordinary. Not only are they immensely powerful, but they are also incredibly difficult to learn... I am not trying to deceive you. Minato is right here; he can vouch for me."
Minato's blond hair cascaded down his back, simply tied with his forehead protector band. With just one glance at the `[Multiple Shadow Clone Technique]`, he spoke gently to Roy. "I have studied this jutsu. It is indeed exactly as Lord Hokage says; it is not that simple."
"First, it is an expansion and extension based on the `[Clone Technique]`. It requires... not only extreme mastery of the `[Clone Technique]`, but at the same time... it also tests the caster's chakra reserves."
"If your chakra reserves are insufficient, and you lose control, there is even a risk of death. Scroll down..."
"There is a note left by the Second Hokage at the bottom."
Minato pointed to the end of the scroll. Sure enough... a line of small text written in red cinnabar ink was faintly visible: `[Those who are not confident in their chakra reserves must not learn this]`!
As Roy fell silent, focusing on the surnames "Senju" and "Uzumaki," he faintly heard Hiruzen take another puff of his dry tobacco and add, "Those two clans are naturally blessed with abundant chakra. The Senju go without saying; the First and Second Hokage are renowned, so I don't need to emphasize them."
"As for the Uzumaki," Hiruzen's expression turned serious as he looked deeply at Roy. "I don't mind letting you know. From the late Lady Mito to the current Kushina, their clan has always been the village's pillar of support, secretly contributing an indelible strength to Konoha."
These words were meant for both of them. It seemed directed at Roy, but also spoken for Minato's benefit.
As Hiruzen finished speaking, Minato's expression dimmed. He seemed to think of his fiancée, who was confined to the sealing room all day. The emotion naturally escaping from the crown of his head manifested as a dull gray, which Roy quietly observed.
In this era, Tailed Beasts were tantamount to nuclear weapons. Used well, they were sharp blades to destroy enemies; used poorly, they became fatal weapons that would destroy themselves... Passed down from generation to generation of Jinchuriki, who was truly being imprisoned, and who was the real pillar of support... Roy understood, Minato understood, and Hiruzen understood even better.
The young man, with his black hair draped over his back and bearing the Uchiha clan's fan crest, logically shouldn't be here. But after a brief silence, he still maintained his stance. He looked expressionlessly at Hiruzen and said, "I understand the reasoning, but you are you, and I am me. We are different."
Just as the title "Professor of Ninjutsu" belonged to Hiruzen Sarutobi, and "Yellow Flash" belonged to Minato Namikaze, Roy naturally had his own reliance... The boy looked straight into Hiruzen's eyes, pretending not to see the old man's furrowed brow, and simply asked, "If I learn it, will you give me the next jutsu?"
Hiruzen and Minato exchanged a glance. The old man slowly lowered his pipe, remained silent for a long moment, and then nodded solemnly. "Of course."
"The prerequisite is that you must actually be able to learn it!"
The Second Hokage had already pointed out the difficulties of the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, so he didn't need to specifically emphasize them to the boy...
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair. "I permit you to make a copy to take with you. Come back whenever you've mastered it."
Based on his experience, and the experience of several Jonin who had attempted to learn the `[Multiple Shadow Clone Technique]`, even if the boy was an unparalleled genius, he absolutely wouldn't be able to learn it in less than a few months. In fact... whether he could learn it at all was still a question.
Take Minato as an example. It was precisely because he couldn't master the `[Multiple Shadow Clone]` that he switched to the `[Flying Thunder God]`. Facts proved... Minato's talent indeed didn't lie in the `[Clone]`, but in Space-Time Ninjutsu...
"No need."
"You can prepare the next jutsu right now."
With just one glance, Roy converted the key points, hand seals, and Tobirama Senju's annotations recorded on the scroll into "Nen text" and stored them in his mind. He then tossed the scroll back to Hiruzen without a moment's delay. Immersing his consciousness, he began to replicate the `[Multiple Shadow Clone]` in his mind.
As a forbidden jutsu developed by the Second Hokage, the `[Multiple Shadow Clone Technique]` indeed had many "potential prerequisites" for learning, just as Hiruzen and Minato had stated. For instance... one needed a sufficient understanding of the `[Clone Technique]`, and one's chakra reserves had to be massive enough to simultaneously support hundreds or even thousands of physical chakra clones. However...
Roy knew very well that he actually possessed these two conditions.
Not to mention that he had previously learned the `[Swamp Clone]` from the `[Swamp Demon]` via the `[Monster Encyclopedia]`. Even with his current chakra reserves, which were close to 0.8 of Shukaku, almost no one below the level of Super Kage could outlast him in endurance, except for Jinchuriki...
*Buzz.* A faint trace of Nen aura emanated from the boy's body...
After telling Hiruzen to fetch the next jutsu, Roy simply closed his eyes and began practicing the `[Multiple Shadow Clone Technique]` right there in front of them.
He completely ignored Minato and Hiruzen, leaving them stunned for two seconds as they stared at each other in bewilderment...
'This child is holding a grudge,' Hiruzen recovered after a moment and quietly shot a glance at Minato.
Minato didn't speak. Instead, he rested his chin on his hand, staring at Roy, and suddenly returned a look that said, 'Maybe he really can do it...'
For some unknown reason, Hiruzen's old heart suddenly skipped a beat. He recalled how the boy had casually shown off his edge while strolling with him in the Southern Border Forest, displaying his `[Wood Style]`... The old man took another puff of his dry tobacco, then smacked his lips. He suddenly felt that the taste of this tobacco was bitter... not satisfying at all...
'Can he really do it?'
Hiruzen suddenly felt unsure...
*Whoosh.* A gust of wind blew past, sweeping away the noise in the study...
In the silence, Roy slowly digested and absorbed the key points recorded on the scroll. Referencing the `[Swamp Clone]`, he continued his usual path of `[Learn]` - `[Imitate]` - `[Reproduce]`. He attempted to leverage the Nen aura within his body, subdividing it exponentially... At a certain moment, his clear, bright eyes snapped open. His hands formed a seal as he softly declared, "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, release!"
*Poof, poof, poof...*
Ten streams of dense Nen aura steamed out in succession.
Impressively, ten Roys appeared, lined up in a row...
'He did it?' Hiruzen leaned forward.
Minato craned his neck to look.
The two of them peered into the smoke simultaneously... As soon as the ten Roys' feet touched the ground, five of them went limp like noodles and collapsed. Even if it wasn't a complete success, but... in Minato's eyes, this was far better than his own all-out effort, which could only produce two clones...
*Clap, clap, clap...* A round of applause rang out...
Minato's eyes gleamed brightly. Just like when he first tested Roy and saw him display `[Light]`, he didn't hold back his praise. "To be able to produce ten clones on your first attempt, even if only five successfully stood up,"
"Is still a remarkably impressive feat..."
'Indeed... he actually succeeded...' Hiruzen couldn't remember how many years it had been since he last saw someone successfully cast the `[Multiple Shadow Clone Technique]`. The last time... seemed to be back in his youth, when he first saw his teacher, Tobirama Senju, split into a hundred clones, holding off an entire allied shinobi army by himself to buy precious escape time for him, Danzo, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado...
Hiruzen stared blankly at Roy. In a daze, he seemed to recall his teacher telling them, "I am your teacher. Holding off the enemy is naturally my job..."
Remembering the past, those glorious days were already gone...
*Poof...* The five collapsed Roys, along with the remaining four standing clones, were instantly dispersed into Nen aura with a wave of Roy's hand and absorbed back into his body.
The boy's black hair swayed in the wind as he frowned. "This doesn't count as a success."
He closed his eyes again. Completely unaffected by Minato's praise, he didn't immerse himself in joy. Instead, he continued to concentrate, dividing his Nen aura once more, carefully attempting to make it finer and more precise.
After a few brief breaths,
Just like before, he opened his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique!"
This time, *Poof, poof, poof...* Twenty shadow clones revealed themselves. Two collapsed, meaning the success rate had increased significantly compared to the last time.
But, collapsing meant failure!
Roy wasn't a perfectionist, but since he was doing it, he wanted to do it to the absolute best of his abilities. And clearly... with the guarantee of his clone experience and abundant Nen reserves,
Twenty clones with two collapsing was far from his limit.
'Again!' The boy furrowed his brows, not even glancing at Hiruzen and Minato, and closed his eyes once more.
Then... fifty clones, three collapsed... one hundred clones, four collapsed... two hundred clones, five collapsed... five hundred clones, six collapsed...
*Poof, poof...* Streams of dense Nen aura appeared and vanished, vanished and appeared, like flowers blooming and withering in an endless cycle of time... In the blink of an eye, Hiruzen and Minato, who were quietly watching this scene, were stunned into absolute silence...
What kind of terrifying rate of improvement was this?!
Was 'Ninjutsu' really something that could be learned this easily?
*Poof, poof...* Another six hundred Roys materialized. Hiruzen and Minato's vision was entirely filled with Roy's face. Their eyes were so overwhelmed that they couldn't even tell how many had collapsed this time...
But Roy knew.
The moment the divided Nen aura left his body and touched the ground, he already knew the answer—
It was four.
Out of six hundred, four collapsed.
He had to keep going!
*Poof, poof, poof...* Five hundred and ninety-nine clones were ruthlessly absorbed back into Roy's body.
The boy kept his eyes closed and continued to form seals.
Behind the desk,
Beside the window,
Only Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze, the current and future Hokage, were left staring at each other in silence, faintly beginning to feel a sense of chaotic self-doubt...
*Poof, poof, poof...*
"..."
In the morning, sunlight streamed through the window, bringing a touch of brightness to the quiet study.
About ten minutes had passed. After an unknown number of attempts, finally...
One thousand clones, zero collapses. A perfect execution on the first try of this scale...
The courtyard of Hiruzen Sarutobi's residence in Konoha was instantly packed tightly with a dense crowd of Roys.
Coincidentally, Asuma Sarutobi had just returned from buying a gift. He reached out and opened the courtyard gate.
Suddenly, a courtyard full of Roys slowly turned to look at him.
The cigarette dangling from the teenager's mouth,
*Plop.* Dropped to the ground...