Chapter 4 – Shadow Clone Jutsu
On the way home, Natsuri reflected on how his first day went. Honestly, there wasn't much to brag about. Most of what they learned today was just the history of Konoha. They hadn't even touched on chakra extraction yet—probably wouldn't until the students showed more interest. Still, textbooks had been handed out, so he could start learning on his own.
As for the Three Basic Jutsu? Yeah, those probably wouldn't come up until much later. In peaceful times like these, the first year was usually reserved for theory and physical training, giving students time to build up their chakra.
He glanced up at the sky. It was still early. Classes here were surprisingly light. His mom probably wasn't even home from work yet.
But then Natsuri remembered—his mom told him to come home early today. So, without lingering around, he picked up his pace and jogged the rest of the way, books tucked under his arm. It wasn't far, just a few kilometers, but a decent warm-up. He had to admit, people in this world really were built different.
"I'm home!" Natsuri called as he opened the door with his key, following the habit his mom had drilled into him.
But he stopped in his tracks.
He'd expected an empty house—but there was his mom, standing in the living room with a warm smile. The dining table was set, full of mouthwatering food.
"Welcome home!!"
"Mom? You're home already?" Natsuri blinked, a little surprised.
"Of course! It's your first day of school! How could I not be here to welcome you?" Sinai grinned brightly.
Natsuri's expression softened. No matter how many lives he'd lived, seeing this woman who worked so hard for their little family always made his heart ache just a bit.
"But…" Sinai suddenly looked a little downcast. "I'm sorry, Natsuri. I could only take today off. Starting tomorrow, you'll have to walk to school on your own. Other kids get picked up by their parents, but I…"
"It's okay." Natsuri hugged his mom without hesitation.
"Ugh… I can't believe I'm being comforted by my own kid," Sinai chuckled, brushing it off with a smile. "Well then, how about this—as an apology, you can ask Mama for anything."
Natsuri paused to think. "Hmm… I'm pretty satisfied right now. I don't really want anything."
Sinai looked a little stumped, clearly eager to do something for her child.
"Oh! They must've taught a bit of ninja history today, right? So… do you want to become a ninja?" she asked with a hopeful smile.
"Yeah. I want to be the strongest ninja," Natsuri replied honestly.
Sinai's eyes lit up. "In that case, is there any jutsu you want to learn? Mama has a few connections, you know~"
But then her expression shifted as she remembered—Natsuri probably didn't know many jutsu yet. And Sinai herself hadn't used ninjutsu in years. Her rank was only Genin, and the jutsu she knew were limited. Maybe she could reach out to an old friend to help demonstrate something?
"As for jutsu… I wanna learn the Shadow Clone Technique," Natsuri said casually but firmly.
"Huh? Shadow Clone?" Sinai blinked. "Why that one? It's really hard to learn—and it's not exactly useful in battle either."
Natsuri shrugged. "No special reason. I saw a jonin use it once. The clones looked so real—it just looked really cool. Whether it's useful or not, I'll figure that out later. I decided right then, I want to learn that jutsu someday."
Of course, that was a lie. The real reason couldn't be explained—not without raising more questions than answers.
As for his mom saying Shadow Clone wasn't useful in combat… well, that was technically true. Unless you were Naruto or someone from the Uzumaki clan, using it in battle was basically a chakra suicide mission.
But Natsuri didn't care about combat. He wanted it for the experience feedback. The memory-sharing feature was what made Shadow Clone so powerful. Even if it was a B-rank jutsu, it wasn't that hard. Naruto had learned the Multiple Shadow Clone version overnight, after all. Maybe the rank was more about chakra cost than difficulty.
The technique split chakra evenly among the user and the clones, but Natsuri suspected it only split the chakra currently being used—not all of it in the body. So if someone with low chakra reserves tried to use it in a fight… yeah, the clone would probably vanish after one hit.
But for training? Even just one clone could double his learning speed. He wasn't planning to go overboard like Naruto. One or two clones were more than enough for now.
Still, Sinai didn't look convinced. "This opportunity is really valuable, you know. Using it just to get the Shadow Clone feels like such a waste. Maybe you should think it over? Or Mama can ask someone to show you other jutsu first."
"Huh?" Natsuri tilted his head. He'd assumed his mom was just talking about a family scroll or something. But this sounded like a legit shot at getting the actual jutsu.
His eyes lit up. "Wait, you mean I can get the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
After a few moments of convincing—complete with subtle whining, guilt-tripping, and heartfelt persistence—Sinai finally gave in.
"Alright, alright. If that's what you really want, I'll try to get it for you. Just don't come crying if you regret it later."
"I won't! You're the best, Mom!!" Natsuri beamed, practically bouncing with excitement.
Sinai sighed, smiling at her son's joy. "Alright then. Let's eat."
As long as Natsuri was happy, Sinai figured, everything else could wait. Whether her child became an amazing ninja or not—well, they'd cross that bridge when they got there.
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