The First Ninjutsu

The breeze whistled past Yemo's ears, sending blades of grass flying through the air as he followed Teacher Orochimaru to a more open grassy field.

Orochimaru stopped and turned around. "All right, this will be the place from now on. I'll teach you here, and you can practice your Ninjutsu here too. I'll have the Anbu set this area aside for your exclusive use. What do you think?"

Few people in Konoha had the authority to set aside a place specifically for their student's training, and Orochimaru was one of them.

"It's great!"

Yemo nodded. The terrain was open and covered in lush green grass. Every so often, a breeze swept through, caressing the field like an invisible hand. It was a very nice place.

"Good." Seeing that Yemo was satisfied, Orochimaru said no more about it and returned to the matter at hand. "We've already tested your Chakra affinities. You have all seven: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, yin, and yang. My original teaching plan was to find out your affinities and teach you the corresponding Ninjutsu, but there's no need for that plan now."

"You have Chakra of every affinity, which means you can learn all of my Ninjutsu. In the future, I'll teach you everything I've learned. How much you can learn is up to you."

Yemo was delighted to hear that. "Thank you, Teacher Orochimaru!"

Although Orochimaru's character and personality left much to be desired, he had to admit that Orochimaru was a very good teacher.

"It's getting late, so there's no time to teach you too many Ninjutsu. I'll teach you one today," Orochimaru said, glancing at the sky. The sun had already begun to sink in the west, and its scorching light had softened at some point.

Hearing that he would only be taught one Ninjutsu, Yemo, who had been looking forward to it, showed a trace of disappointment in his eyes.

Seeing the disappointment in Yemo's eyes, Orochimaru said, "Don't underestimate this Ninjutsu. What I'm teaching you today isn't an ordinary C-rank or B-rank Ninjutsu, but an A-rank Ninjutsu."

"A-rank Ninjutsu!"

Yemo's eyes lit up. A-rank Ninjutsu were already very powerful, the kind that many Jonin were only then able to master. As for S-rank Ninjutsu, which were even more powerful than A-rank ones, they were extremely rare and terrifyingly powerful, capable of destroying heaven and earth. Even many powerful Kage Level experts knew few S-rank Ninjutsu. After all, this wasn't the later period of Naruto, when the power scaling had collapsed.

For Yemo, a ninja who hadn't even become a Genin, being able to learn an A-rank Ninjutsu was already impressive. Although Yemo had also mastered the A-rank Adamantine Sealing Chains, that was a Sealing Jutsu and still wasn't suitable for combat.

To be honest, the only offensive Ninjutsu Yemo currently used was Fire Style. His other Ninjutsu had all evolved from Yin-Yang Release. Although they were called Ninjutsu, they were actually different from Ninjutsu, more akin to Kekkei Genkai and secret techniques in nature. Thus, when Yemo used them in battle, he only needed a simple Hand Seal, or sometimes none at all.

Of course, Yemo had used Yin-Yang Release in such a haphazard way because he hadn't learned it. Yemo couldn't compare to the Sage of Six Paths, whose Yin-Yang Release could nullify all Ninjutsu and even create all things. Yemo needed to train step by step before he could master the truly formidable power of Yin-Yang Release. There were quite a few experts in the world who possessed and trained in yin and yang natures, but the one who truly developed and used the power of Yin-Yang Release was the Sage of Six Paths.

All of this was because of that mysterious scroll. Yemo had thought deeply about it, and although he had found no answers, one thing was certain: the scroll was inextricably linked to the Ōtsutsuki Clan. Otherwise, how could it have recorded the training method for Yin-Yang Release, which the Sage of Six Paths had created?

That was getting off topic. Returning to the subject, Orochimaru continued, "Based on this morning's battle and your constitution, I've decided to teach you a Ninjutsu today that suits you very well. It can make up for the gap in Ninjutsu. Not only is it an A-rank Ninjutsu, but it's also very special. It's a forbidden technique recorded in the Scroll of Seals."

The Scroll of Seals! Yemo's eyes lit up. The Ninjutsu recorded in the Scroll of Seals might each have their own flaws, but there was no denying that they were all immensely powerful. The thought of learning one filled Yemo with anticipation.

Taking Orochimaru as his teacher had been an absolutely correct decision. Ordinary ninja had never even heard of the Scroll of Seals, yet the first Ninjutsu he was going to learn was a forbidden technique from it.

"The Ninjutsu I'm going to teach you is called the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. It's an upgraded version of the Shadow Clone Technique, capable of creating numerous physical clones at the same time. In theory, as long as your Chakra is powerful enough, you can create countless clones," Orochimaru explained, introducing the Ninjutsu he was about to teach Yemo.

The moment Yemo heard Orochimaru name the Ninjutsu, he was dumbfounded. How could it be this one? Yemo had never imagined that Orochimaru would teach him this Ninjutsu.

The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was Naruto's signature Ninjutsu. He had used it from the time he was the weakest Genin all the way to his battle against an expert like Otsutsuki Kaguya. The power this so-called A-rank Ninjutsu displayed far surpassed that of many S-rank Ninjutsu.

Yemo felt a little dizzy and found it hard to accept that the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique would actually be the first Ninjutsu he was taught. It was just too dramatic.

Sensing that something was wrong with Yemo, Orochimaru asked, "What's the matter?"

Orochimaru's words brought Yemo back to his senses. He hurriedly looked up and made an excuse. "Nothing. I'm just a little excited to learn a forbidden technique from the Scroll of Seals."

Orochimaru suspected nothing after hearing Yemo's explanation. "Yemo, before you learn this Ninjutsu, there are some things I need to tell you. As you know, the Ninjutsu in the Scroll of Seals all have flaws, and the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique is no exception. This Ninjutsu can produce a large number of clones in an instant, but because it requires a large amount of Chakra to be divided among them, it may harm you if you don't control it properly."

At some point, Orochimaru's tone had turned serious. "Although this flaw isn't much of a problem for you, since you're a member of the Uzumaki Clan and have hundreds of times as much Chakra as an ordinary person, so even creating hundreds of clones wouldn't be a problem, you still need to take it seriously. At any time, a small problem could change the course of an entire situation."

"Understood, Teacher Orochimaru!" Yemo nodded hard.

"Good. In that case, I'll demonstrate it for you. Watch closely."

With that, Orochimaru raised both hands and began forming Hand Seals. He did so very slowly so that Yemo could clearly see how to form the seals for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

"Form!"

He gave a soft shout, and with two pops, two figures flew out of Orochimaru and stood on either side of him. Three identical Orochimarus stood before Yemo. Their appearances, bearing, and Chakra signatures were exactly the same, with no difference whatsoever.

The clones created by the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique all had physical bodies. Everything about them was identical to the original, and no one but the original could tell them apart, because they had no flaws at all.

Unfortunately, this Ninjutsu divided the user's Chakra equally among the clones. An ordinary ninja could only create a few; too many would consume Chakra at a tremendous rate and harm the user. That was why the Second Hokage had classified it as a forbidden technique.

With two pops, Orochimaru dispelled the Ninjutsu, and the two clones beside him vanished in puffs of white smoke.

"Well? Did you see it clearly?"

Yemo nodded. "I saw it clearly. I remember the order of the Hand Seals perfectly!"

"Then try it and see if you can do it." Orochimaru's eyes held a hint of anticipation. Could this exceptionally gifted student perform an A-rank forbidden technique on his first try?

Whew...

Yemo took a deep breath. The sight of Orochimaru performing the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique flashed through his mind like a movie. After making sure he hadn't forgotten a single detail of what Orochimaru had done,

Yemo began forming Hand Seals, his hands moving rapidly. Although this was his first time forming the seals for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, he wasn't much slower.

"Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, form!"

As his shout rang out, Yemo could clearly feel the immense Chakra in his body being drawn apart into many portions by an invisible force. The next second, white smoke flashed around him, and more than ten Yemos appeared without warning. They looked at one another, smiles beaming on their faces.

With Yemo giving no deliberate indication, even Orochimaru found it difficult to tell which of them was the real Yemo.

"Sure enough, he's a remarkably gifted genius. He actually mastered the forbidden Multiple Shadow Clone Technique in a single try." A smile appeared on Orochimaru's face. Besides happiness, it held a trace of pride. This was his student, after all.

Although he had been prepared, Yemo was still a little dumbfounded as he looked at the clones around him, each of them identical to him. They looked so alike that even his own mother couldn't tell them apart. For an instant at the very beginning, even Yemo had thought he was a clone.