After successfully mastering the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Musashi didn't immediately send a clone to school.
He planned to improve his mastery of the technique first. After all, if a Shadow Clone were to poof out of existence in the middle of class—like Itachi's had—it would cause a lot of trouble.
A certain Hokage (who shall remain nameless) and the Shadow of the Leaf (Danzo) wouldn't miss a chance to exploit a new "genius."
That night, Musashi sat at home with a few slips of paper in front of him.
Chakra Induction Paper, bought from the ninja tool shop.
Starting today, he planned to officially begin his Ninjutsu training.
Before this, he had focused all his energy on Taijutsu because he understood a fundamental truth:
The human body is the vessel that carries you through life. To survive in the ninja world, you can't be frail.
The ninja world was full of cautionary tales.
Look at Yakumo Kurama of the Leaf: her Genjutsu power was unmatched, but her body was so weak it couldn't even handle her own mental energy.
Look at Onoki, the Fence Sitter: he possessed the unparalleled Particle Style, but his bad back forced him to say goodbye to a happy life way too early.
Look at Hayate Gekkou: a walking coughing fit who wasted such a beautiful... cough cough!
Even the undeniable genius of the Leaf, Itachi Uchiha, relied on his Ninjutsu talent and eyes, ignoring his physical limits, and ended up with a terminal illness.
These examples proved one thing: for most ninjas, a healthy body is the prerequisite for power.
That was why, even though Musashi had learned to extract chakra a long time ago, he hadn't focused on Ninjutsu until now.
But things were different now.
The Academy curriculum was seriously cutting into his Taijutsu training time. To solve this time management crisis, Shadow Clones were essential.
And since he had learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu, it only made sense to have the clones practice Ninjutsu while they were at it.
His plan: send a clone to school during the day to keep a low profile. At night, the clone would practice Ninjutsu until its chakra ran out, transferring the knowledge and experience back to the main body.
This way, he avoided the risk of a clone running out of chakra and disappearing during school hours.
He picked up a piece of Chakra Induction Paper, channeled his chakra into it, and watched.
Instantly, the paper split in two!
Then, most of the paper caught fire and crinkled up.
The remaining small portion became damp and crumbled.
After burning through all the paper to confirm, Musashi knew his elemental affinities.
"Wind is the strongest."
"Fire and Lightning are secondary. Earth and Water are the weakest."
His cheapskate dad, Kenta Ryomiya, had also been a Wind Style user. It really was a world where genetics ruled all.
"Since my chakra nature is clear, let the Ninjutsu training begin. One Shadow Clone a day keeps the weakness away!"
With the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Musashi's days became incredibly productive.
During the day, he hid away to train Taijutsu. In the evening, he went to Ichiraku Ramen to help out, chatting with Ayame and Uncle Teuchi to relieve the day's fatigue.
His Shadow Clone kept a low profile at school during the day, then came home at night to grind Ninjutsu training until it popped, feeding the new knowledge back to Musashi.
On weekends, he went to the training grounds to burn some Youth with Might Guy whenever he was around.
He liked this simple, peaceful life.
Only when the school scheduled outdoor sparring sessions did he personally attend, leaving a Shadow Clone at home to train Ninjutsu. Yep, one clone a day, like clockwork.
On this particular sparring day, Musashi attended school in person.
A crowd had gathered in the middle of the playground, watching two students spar back and forth, cheering excitedly.
Musashi and Daiki stood on the sidelines, whispering conspiratorially.
"I saw the sketches you did yesterday. Even without color, the style is great. It's exactly the effect I wanted. Daiki, your art skills are getting better and better!"
"You're too kind. Your story is excellent too, Musashi. The Female Spy Lost in the Cloud Village has perfect plot design. How do you come up with this stuff? We're the same age!"
"Just like your drawing skills... maybe it's just genius."
"Ahahaha, true, true."
"By the way, is the prep work for the publication of The Widowed Wife of the Rain Village done? Don't let it be like last time where it sold out before customers even got to the bookstore."
"Don't worry. After my uncle read the manuscript, he locked himself in his room for a whole night. The next day, he decided to triple the print run! This time, we'll deal a heavy blow to Make-Out Paradise!"
"Good."
"Musashi, when the royalties come in, let's go to the hot springs! It's boring to spend all that money just on ninja tools."
"No can do. I need to train. How can the burning flames of Youth be doused by hot spring water?"
"It's not just the hot springs. I heard the masseuse there has a special technique for relieving muscle fatigue. It's absolutely subarashii, Musashi!"
"Well... maybe we can try it. Just this once."
"Heheheh..."
WHACK!
A fist flew out of nowhere and bonked Daiki on the head.
"You're too loud! I can't hear the teacher!" Izumi Uchiha slowly lowered her fist.
"Hey! I was whispering! Damn it! That hurts!" Daiki rubbed his forehead, looking furious.
"It's precisely because you were whispering that it's annoying! And your expression was way too perverted. It offended my eyes!" Izumi said.
Daiki was enraged!
If he wasn't completely outmatched by Izumi, he would have been even angrier.
"Alright, Daiki, don't provoke her," Musashi advised.
Save yourself another beating.
Daiki muttered, "Is she crazy? She's taking her class, what does it matter what we do?"
Musashi looked thoughtful. "She's probably in a bad mood. Plus, she just doesn't like looking at you."
"What does her bad mood have to do with me? Violent woman. I curse her to be single forever!"
"Keep it down, or you'll get hit again. Haven't you noticed? Itachi hasn't been spending much time with her lately."
Daiki's gloomy face instantly lit up.
"So, she got dumped by Itachi? That's awesome!!"
Izumi Uchiha: (#-皿-)
Musashi shook his head. "That's not quite right. To be accurate, Itachi never admitted to being her boyfriend in the first place. So..."
Daiki's eyes shined. "So it was unrequited love all along! Even better!"
Izumi Uchiha: (╬￣皿￣)
Musashi said, "Don't talk nonsense, that's just a guess. Itachi's mom just had another baby recently. That guy's attention has been completely focused on his little brother."
Daiki: "So Izumi is being neglected and lonely, and now this violent woman is taking it out on me, right?!"
Izumi Uchiha: ヽ(ｏ`皿′ｏ)ﾉ
WHAM!
A fist moving at blurred speeds slammed into Daiki's head, knocking him out cold on the spot.
Mizuki and the rest of the class turned to look.
Izumi clenched her fists tightly, a dark aura seemingly radiating from her body. "Teacher Mizuki, can I issue a challenge?"
Mizuki smiled gently. "Izumi, you're already number one in the class. Is there anyone left you want to challenge?"
Izumi pointed a finger. "I challenge him!"
Musashi: (⊙＿⊙;)
"Teacher, can I forfeit immediately?" Musashi raised his hand, cursing himself for running his mouth.
"Musashi, you shouldn't refuse a spar between classmates," Mizuki said, his face full of sunshine. "Besides, fighting someone as talented as Izumi is a rare opportunity to improve."
Musashi scratched his head.
He really didn't want to fight Izumi right now.
Mizuki, that guy... smiling on the outside, but full of bad intentions on the inside.
He was definitely getting revenge on Musashi for spacing out during his lectures!
Not that Musashi could blame him.
As a man who brought the art style of a children's cartoon into the gritty world of Naruto, Mizuki lived up to his name ("Water Tree")—his teaching was watered down too.
After interacting with Might Guy, Kakashi, and Itachi, Musashi's standards were high. He couldn't stand listening to Mizuki's filler lessons about the Will of Fire.
While Musashi was getting a headache, Izumi had already walked to the center of the ring and made the Seal of Confrontation.
"Fight me! Musashi Ryomiya."
"Um, Izumi, how about we talk this out? Let's skip the fighting. I'm not your match."
"Ehh~"
"What a coward."
"Yeah, even if you're weak, you shouldn't be afraid to even try, right?"
The other boys in the class looked at Musashi with disdain for backing down.
Izumi said, "Stop stalling. If you're a man, fight!"
Musashi replied, "It's exactly because I'm a man that I can't just fight a girl. Think about it, in a spar, there's bound to be physical contact. It's not appropriate."
"Besides, what I said earlier was just nonsense. Itachi probably still cares about you."
"It's just that he has a new baby brother, Sasuke. He needs to take care of him."
"Sasuke is really cute! I've even held him. The little guy loves to smile."
A vein popped on Izumi's forehead, and her small fists cracked.
Just yesterday, she had gone to see Itachi and met his little brother. She tried to hold the baby to show affection.
And the result? She! Was! Rejected! (By the baby and Itachi's overprotectiveness).
Watching Musashi "brag" in front of her, she found that green spandex suit more blinding and hateful than ever.
"Fight me, Musashi Ryomiya."
Musashi tried one last struggle:
"Don't do this, Izumi. You know, the bonds between classmates aren't just about fighting."
"Itachi is just busy lately, don't overthink it."
"Even if Itachi really ignores you, if worst comes to worst... I guess I could settle for being with you. It's not impossible."
"Big Brother Guy told me that a Youthful boy..."
Izumi swung her fist. "Die! Musashi Ryomiya!"
...