Shadow Clone Acquired

Early the next morning, Hyuga Mirai arrived at the training ground at his usual time. He had not waited long before Kaminari Kaede appeared before him with the Body Flicker Technique.

"This is the Shadow Clone Technique. Do not pass it on to anyone else. If there is anything you do not understand, you can ask me during the next training session."

After saying that, Kaminari Kaede immediately left with the Body Flicker Technique, as though Hyuga Mirai carried some contagious disease.

However, Hyuga Mirai did not care about that. He had acquired the Shadow Clone Technique, and he wanted to master this Ninjutsu immediately.

He then went to a training area he often used. After scanning the surroundings with his Byakugan and confirming that no one was nearby, Hyuga Mirai opened the scroll.

After studying it for a while, he raised his head and pondered aloud.

"Unlike the Clone Technique, the key is to distribute Chakra 'evenly.' At the same time, you need to grasp the characteristics of the Clone Technique. The more clones there are, the higher the requirement for Chakra control."

Dividing Chakra into two was easy, but dividing it into a hundred was quite a test.

"Let's give it a try."

Hyuga Mirai put away the scroll and formed a Jin Seal.

"Shadow Clone Technique."

Bang!

A cloud of smoke appeared, and another Hyuga Mirai emerged beside him.

He had succeeded on his first attempt, which was also related to Hyuga Mirai's Chakra control. Medical Ninjutsu demanded far more precise Chakra control than the Shadow Clone Technique, which was why Hyuga Mirai had succeeded immediately.

"It feels incredibly real to the touch. The Chakra's imitation is far too lifelike."

Hyuga Mirai commented as he reached out and touched the Shadow Clone.

The Shadow Clone also touched his own face and hands, slowly saying, "It feels no different from flesh. But you cannot exert too much force. A Shadow Clone disperses into smoke after suffering a heavy blow. In other words, an ordinary Shadow Clone exists somewhere above a gaseous state but below a solid state. Is it inferior to clones created through nature transformations such as Wood Release and Earth Style?"

Hyuga Mirai nodded in agreement. "Yes. And the fact that Chakra can bring back memories is probably related to spiritual energy as well. We can study that carefully later. For now, though, the main goal is to improve our strength."

"Understood. Then I'll go train Medical Ninjutsu."

The Shadow Clone waved in reply. Since it could not endure heavy blows, physical training could only be done by the original body. The Shadow Clone, meanwhile, could practice Yang Release transformations, improve Chakra control, and become more proficient in Medical Ninjutsu.

Since it was his first time using the Shadow Clone Technique, Hyuga Mirai planned to create only one clone for training and see how well he could handle the effects once its Chakra was exhausted.

The memories brought back by a Shadow Clone placed a considerable burden on the original body, especially since Hyuga Mirai's original body still had to train.

Once training was over, the double exhaustion would be a heavy burden even for a Ninja.

Still, Shadow Clones could greatly accelerate training progress. Even if dismissing them burdened his body, Hyuga Mirai would not give up this method of cultivation.

As the Shadow Clone went off to the side to practice Yang Release Chakra, Hyuga Mirai's original body began physical training.

Gentle Fist striking practice, the Body Flicker Technique, Eight Trigrams Palm, and more. Hyuga Mirai was also wearing weights. After this high-intensity training continued past noon, he was panting heavily and had to stop to rest.

After finishing the food he had brought and resting for a while longer, Hyuga Mirai regained some energy. He then began controlling Chakra to release from every acupuncture point across his body, practicing Eight Trigrams Palm: Revolving Heaven.

As his Chakra control grew stronger, his progress in training Revolving Heaven also became faster. He believed that within half a month, Hyuga Mirai would be able to master this secret technique of the Main Family.

For now, however, he had to keep it hidden from the Main Family. Otherwise, Hyuga Mirai would definitely suffer for it.

They would not even give Hyuga Mirai the Shadow Clone Technique, and they had thoroughly inspected the belongings left behind by his Original Father. Their rigid, old-fashioned mindset was plain to see.

It was not until sunset that Hyuga Mirai finished training. At the same time, the Shadow Clone's Chakra ran out, and with a bang, it turned into smoke. A massive flood of memories and mental exhaustion immediately washed over Hyuga Mirai.

"Ugh, this really doesn't feel good. But the results are indeed excellent. It seems my current limit is two Shadow Clones. Still, in order to ensure I'm mentally alert the next day, creating one Shadow Clone for training is the most effective option."

As a Medical-nin himself, Hyuga Mirai immediately analyzed his current condition.

If he created two Shadow Clones to train for an entire day, then ate a large meal and went straight to sleep afterward, he could recover his energy by the next day. However, that would cost too much. His savings were already running low, and mission rewards simply could not support such spending.

A Genin's C-rank Mission did not pay much to begin with. The Captain took half, and the rest was divided among the three of them. It was only enough to cover one meal for Hyuga Mirai.

His current expenses still came from his old savings, and there was also the consumption of Ninja tools. If he stopped worrying about costs, Hyuga Mirai would likely be broke within three months.

After lying on the ground for a while to recover, Hyuga Mirai finally dragged his exhausted body home.

He still needed to make something to eat after returning. Otherwise, he would not be in good condition to complete tomorrow's mission.

The next day, the Kaminari Kaede Squad arrived at the Hokage Tower once again.

It was still a C-rank Mission, but it was another new type. It seemed Kaminari Kaede intended to accept different kinds of missions to train the squad.

This mission was once again planned and carried out by Hyuga Mirai and the other two. Kaminari Kaede merely reviewed and recorded their performance, preventing accidents from occurring.

And so, two months passed.

During that time, the Kaminari Kaede Squad completed nine C-rank Missions with remarkable efficiency.

Having gone through plenty of battles, even Yuhi Kurenai had now become a qualified Ninja. Moreover, the three-person squad's coordination had become good enough to force Kaminari Kaede to take them seriously.

After this mission ended, Kaminari Kaede calmly told the three of them, "Rest for three days. After that, prepare to take a B-rank Mission. Go back and make your preparations."

With that, Kaminari Kaede left directly, leaving the three of them slightly surprised.

After Kaminari Kaede left, Yuhi Kurenai immediately grabbed Hyuga Mirai's sleeve in excitement. "Mirai-kun, we're finally going to carry out a B-rank Mission!"

"Yes, yes. But Kurenai, B-rank Missions are far more dangerous and unpredictable than C-rank Missions. We still need to be extremely careful."

Hyuga Mirai nodded as he spoke.

However, Yuhi Kurenai shook her slender pale finger at Hyuga Mirai. "Then I'll leave the execution to Mirai-kun. I have complete faith in the plans Mirai-kun makes!"

"You two, don't discuss this sort of thing out on the street!"

Hyuga Kiyomi cut in coldly, her pure white pupils fixed unblinkingly on Hyuga Mirai.

After Hyuga Mirai smoothed things over with a laugh, the three decided to have a meal together to celebrate. Unfortunately, Hyuga Kiyomi did not volunteer to cover Hyuga Mirai's share this time. Perhaps she had been scared by how much he ate last time.

Their squad often ate together, but Kaminari Kaede had never joined them, whether after completing missions or after finishing training.

On the way to the Barbecue restaurant, Konoha remained as prosperous as ever. Compared to other places in the Land of Fire, Konoha was among the most flourishing.

"White Fang... he should be dead by now, right?"

Hyuga Mirai suddenly said. Hyuga Kiyomi and Yuhi Kurenai both froze and turned to look at him.

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