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Chapter 39: The Multi-Shadow Clone Technique
🕑 Added 2025-05-11 18:19:41 +0000 UTCThe scroll unfurled slowly.
No traps. No explosions. None of the dangers Hikari had anticipated.
Instead, bold characters stared back at her:
"Multi-Shadow Clone Technique."
Below it: detailed chakra pathways, hand seals, and—at the very bottom—a scribbled note:
"I knew you’d peek.
Sold the regular Shadow Clone scroll for decent money. Since Might Guy mentioned you wanted this, here’s the upgrade. Consider us even. Don’t bother me about nature transformation later.
— Kakashi."
Hikari’s eye twitched.
Outplayed.
Of course. Kakashi was at least ten steps ahead of Might Guy’s well-meaning idiocy.
Guy had bumbled his way into a billion-ryo debt, doomed to work for her indefinitely.
Kakashi? He’d probably fleeced the weapon shop owner dry, then tossed her this scroll like a bone to a dog.
Hikari set the scroll down, torn between triumph and irritation.
The technique she’d craved was finally hers—but her scheme to guilt-trip Kakashi into teaching nature transformation had crumbled.
Such is life.
No matter. Mastering the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu came first.
She dropped her backpack, knelt on the floor cushion, and spread the scroll open.
The words "bug-level training accelerator" glowed in her mind as she devoured the contents.
"Developed by the Second Hokage for high-risk reconnaissance,
the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique shares the same principles as the standard Shadow Clone Jutsu,
but demands exponentially more chakra and carries inherent risks—hence its A-rank classification..."
The instructions were sparse.
No theory. No development notes. Just chakra pathways and twelve hand seals.
Clearly, Kakashi had scribbled this himself—not an official Konoha archive copy.
Hikari traced the pathways with her chakra, threading it through her coils.
Minutes passed.
Her Byakugan’s precision guided the flow flawlessly—until—
Dead end.
Her chakra slammed into an impassable blockage.
"Huh?"
She double-checked the scroll.
No mistakes.
"Did Kakashi give me a fake?!"
But why? He’d sent it unprompted. Unless—
Her eyes darted to the scroll’s corner.
Tiny, squished text read:
"WARNING: Chakra pathways vary by individual. If yours conflict with this diagram, ABORT. Forced attempts may result in death or worse."
Hikari’s fist clenched.
"Who the hell puts disclaimers in the margins?!"
No wonder Team 7 survived Kakashi’s "teaching"—he’d barely taught them anything.
(Might Guy, for all his eccentricities, was a better instructor by leagues.)
Re-evaluating the scroll, Hikari uncovered more hidden notes:
Most ninja abandoned techniques that clashed with their physiology.
Modifying pathways was possible but risky—like performing heart surgery on yourself mid-battle.
Hence why self-developed jutsu always outperformed learned ones.
But Hikari wasn’t "most ninja."
Byakugan: ACTIVATED.
Her veins bulged as she scanned her own coils.
The blockage glared back—a dam against her chakra’s tide.
Flesh Manipulation: ENGAGED.
Her Shikotsumyaku’s pale energy seeped into the obstruction.
Crack.
The "dam" splintered.
New capillary-like branches sprouted, rerouting the pathway entirely.
"If the mountain won’t move…"
Her chakra surged through the rebuilt channels.
"…reshape the land."
Hand seals: Ram → Dog → Tiger → Snake.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Technique!"
BOOM.
Smoke filled the room.
When it cleared—
Five Hikaris sat cross-legged in a circle.
The original gasped, her chakra drained to 20%.
"Report," the real Hikari ordered.
Clone 1: "Byakugan functional. Visual range unchanged."
Clone 2: "Shikotsumyaku works, but extreme bone deformation disrupts chakra stability."
Clone 3: "Eight Gates impossible. Attempting even the First Gate triggers dissolution."
Clone 4: "Tailed Beast chakra compatible." Water swirled around her fingers.
The original nodded. "Analysis?"
Clone 1: "Still just chakra simulation—but of ourselves now."
Clone 2: "Can’t omit hand seals like water jutsu. Same limitation as basic transformations."
Clone 3: "Hypothesis: Tied to Yin-Yang release. Insufficient data."
Clone 4 met her gaze squarely:
"We’re you. Debating is redundant.
Remember—
We’re all Hikari."
Silence.
Then—all five grinned in unison.
Who knew self-awareness could be this unsettling?
