Multiple Shadow Clone! Kakashi to Teach Sasuke Fire Style?

"This child... he's even more outstanding than I imagined."

"I understand. Then I'll go with you."

"Yes."

Sarutobi Hiruzen changed into a set of casual clothes he had not worn in a long time.

The last time he had worn this combat outfit was during the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

To borrow a saying from real life, a ninja's combat outfit should not be this new or this clean.

Inside the Hokage Building's warehouse, Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at the Scroll of Seals preserved within a barrier.

His outstretched hand stopped.

"No. His strength is growing too quickly. If his Will of Fire doesn't keep pace, it'll be far too easy for him to lose control."

"Better to take it step by step. Once he begins taking missions and realizes that aside from Multiple Shadow Clone, he has no other combat ninjutsu... a powerful enemy will stimulate him. Then I'll teach him the Flying Thunder God from the Scroll of Seals..."

"Even if he can't learn it, he can choose another ninjutsu from it."

"Still, Jiraiya should be back by then. He has the key to the seal. More than ten years have passed—he'll definitely return to inspect it."

In the original story, Naruto had an additional Five Elements Seal placed on him by Orochimaru.

Kurama's seal consisted of a double Four Symbols Seal and the Eight Trigrams Seal.

And Minato Namikaze had deliberately left a small gap in the Four Symbols Seal.

The purpose was to allow Naruto to receive Kurama's Chakra and convert it into his own Chakra.

During the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru saw through it at a glance.

Then Orochimaru cast the Five Elements Seal, stopping the Four Symbols Seal from functioning.

On one hand, it was because of Sasuke. On the other, it was a greeting for his old friend Jiraiya.

"Naruto."

"Third Hokage Grandpa!"

When Naruto saw Sarutobi Hiruzen and Kakashi return, a trace of disappointment flashed through his eyes.

But it vanished in an instant.

It was fine if there wasn't any. He wasn't in a particular hurry right now anyway.

Even if he did nothing, Sarutobi Hiruzen would still be slaughtered by Orochimaru.

But dying as Konoha's protector would be letting that Old Man off too easily.

"Grandpa, are you going to teach me ninjutsu yourself?"

"Of course. Didn't Grandpa teach you everything you know?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled, his old face not reddening in the slightest.

Sasuke frowned beside them, while Sakura also looked somewhat doubtful.

But Sakura soon noticed Sarutobi Hiruzen's blind spot. Naruto gave her a gesture.

Sakura-bro: Mission guaranteed, Naruto-kun~

"No wonder Naruto is so amazing. Lord Hokage taught him personally..."

"Right, I remember now! Lord Hokage is also renowned throughout the Ninja World as the 'Professor of Ninjutsu'!"

The hype man had arrived. Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded faintly in satisfaction.

His emotional needs had been met.

"Grandpa, then let's begin. What ninjutsu are you going to teach me?"

Naruto only spoke after Sarutobi Hiruzen had indulged himself enough.

Smiling, Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "Do you remember what Grandpa told you when you were little? That once you graduated, Grandpa would give you a gift."

"I remember! I remember everything Grandpa says!"

Good. This was what a well-behaved child should be like.

"So, this gift... I heard you still don't know the Shadow Clone Technique?"

"Mm-hmm!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen clasped his hands behind his back and said solemnly:

"Naruto, you must have noticed that your Chakra reserves far exceed those of ordinary people. Even Grandpa's Chakra can't compare to yours."

"You have a long road ahead of you. Grandpa thought for a long time and found the ninjutsu best suited for you."

"What ninjutsu?!"

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he put on an impatient expression.

"More accurately, it's a Forbidden Technique."

"A Forbidden Technique developed from the Shadow Clone Technique—Multiple Shadow Clone!"

"A Forbidden Technique?!"

Sakura cried out.

Sasuke pricked up his ears and listened closely.

Kakashi remained silent at the side.

His gaze fixed on Naruto's puzzled face as he sighed inwardly. That acting... I'm no match for you!

"Why is it a Forbidden Technique?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head with a smile.

"For others, it is a Forbidden Technique. But for you, Naruto, it isn't."

"Multiple Shadow Clone is best suited for ninjas with enormous Chakra reserves like yours. If someone like Kakashi, a ninja with little Chakra, tried to learn it, using it even once could endanger his life."

"Multiple Shadow Clone uses a massive amount of Chakra to increase the number of Shadow Clones. It can create over a thousand Shadow Clones at once."

"If your Chakra reserves are too low while the number of clones is too high, the Original's Chakra will plummet to the bottom, endangering their life."

"Do you understand now?"

"I understand!" Naruto nodded solemnly.

Tch!

Sasuke was very envious, but this was not the time to think about such things.

The most important thing was to honestly control his Chakra and walk on water.

"Then, the real training begins now."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stretched his limbs.

Kakashi caught on quickly and turned to Sakura.

"Come on, Sakura. I'll take you to find a teacher who can train you intensively."

"Yes!"

"Naruto-kun, good luck~!"

Sasuke: Feels like something's missing. Whatever, no need to care.

"Kakashi-sensei, where are you taking me?"

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets. "After your daily missions are over, you'll be doing special training there every day."

"Don't rush to ask. You'll find out soon enough."

"This special training isn't mandatory. You can decide for yourself."

Thump—

Sakura lowered her head. Kakashi's meaning was obvious: the intensity would be high, and he wasn't confident she could endure it.

Damn it! How dare he look down on me!

I'll complete the special training and prove it to you!

Yet not long afterward, her face was filled with despair.

The same was true for the helpless Tenten nearby.

"Yo~!"

"Kakashi!"

"My lifelong rival!"

At another Training Ground.

Might Guy stood with his arms crossed, watching Rock Lee do one-handed push-ups while shouting about youth and Hot-Blooded spirit.

Neji was on the other side, practicing Gentle Fist against a wooden post.

Tenten kept far away from the two green-clad figures. Several half-dead fish lay before her, along with a book of auxiliary curse seals.

Clearly, Tenten was practicing the Mystical Palm Technique.

She was meditating when she suddenly heard Might Guy's voice.

Then she saw Sakura, whom Kakashi had brought over.

One look at Sakura's expression told her what was happening.

"Guy, this child lacks training. Her Physical Energy is too low. Please take her through special training for a while."

"Hahaha, don't worry! This is what I'm best at!"

Might Guy stretched out a hand, gave a thumbs-up, and grinned. The light reflecting off his teeth even flashed into Sakura's eyes.

Noticing Sakura, Might Guy looked at her and blinked.

Sakura-bro: "..."

Such thick eyebrows. Exactly like Rock Lee's.

"Hehe... haha..."

Sakura forced out an awkward but polite smile.

"Sakura-chan~"

The moment Rock Lee heard that, he started doing push-ups even faster.

"Nine, nine, nine, nine... ten thousand!"

"Teacher Kai!"

"I finished... ah~!"

Bang—

Might Guy delivered a loving flying kick.

Rock Lee took off.

"Don't let other things interfere with your determination to train, you bastard!"

"Swear upon the Hot-Blooded youth that you will remain loyal to it!"

"Teacher Kai!"

"Lee!"

"Teacher Kai!!"

"Lee!!"

The scene was too beautiful to show.

"Ahem. This isn't the only path to becoming stronger, but it is currently the special training best suited for you."

"Whether you want to undergo it is up to you."

Kakashi awkwardly patted Sakura on the shoulder.

Sakura: sob

After a while, she gathered herself, her gaze turning resolute.

"Kakashi-sensei, thank you. I'll work hard!"

"It's good that you understand."

Kakashi smiled helplessly as well.

Might Guy and Rock Lee returned while walking on their hands.

"Yo!"

"Hot-Blooded youth is calling to me!"

"Sakura, this is the Training Suit I specially prepared for you. Put it on, and you'll gain an iron will and be filled with strength from head to toe!"

Duang~!

That limp Green Jumpsuit appeared.

Sakura had thought she could accept it, but tears still silently flowed down her face.

"Can I not wear it?"

"Of course you can, but I strongly, strongly recommend it!"

"That's right! Sakura-chan, put it on, and youth and Hot-Blooded spirit will embrace you!"

"Sakura, you don't have to listen to them. Just train with me for the time being."

Tenten walked over with a hand to her forehead and helplessly pulled Sakura away.

If this continued, Sakura would definitely try putting on the Green Jumpsuit once just to become stronger.

That image... Tenten was already running away from it.

Even Neji, who had been focused on his training, could not help twitching at the corner of his mouth.

Having realized his own insignificance, he should work even harder!

Still, he regretted it, because he had secretly worn one at home once.

Aside from making him unbearably ashamed, there had been nothing special about it.

After confirming that she would be coming here often from now on, Sakura followed Kakashi back.

Even with Tenten comforting and guiding her, Sakura's psychological trauma remained. She needed a day or two to recover and get used to the two green-clad boys around her.

Elsewhere.

Uchiha Sasuke kept steadying his breathing.

"Finally... finally, I did it!"

"I can learn ninjutsu too!"

"Kakashi!"

He hurried back to the shore.

Kakashi and Sakura had just returned.

After tending to her wounded heart, Sakura blushed as she did push-ups some distance away.

I'm going to grow muscles... boo-hoo~

Tenten had comforted her, saying that girls did not build muscle that easily.

Besides, wouldn't it look good to have defined abs?

But Sakura, who had never trained before, still felt that muscles would be easy to develop.

If Tenten had just said that some blondie liked looking at them, Sakura probably would not have been in such a mood.

"Oh, Sasuke, you've finished your training too."

"Not bad. Even though you took the longest, you still deserve some praise."

Uchiha Sasuke raised a brow and suppressed his displeasure. "Hmph. So, can you teach me ninjutsu now?"

Kakashi found himself in a difficult spot.

He pinched his chin and frowned.

"Well... because of Naruto, you've all progressed too quickly. I haven't figured out what ninjutsu I should teach you yet."

"How about this? The Uchiha Clan is best at Fire Style ninjutsu."

"How about I teach you the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique?"

Uchiha Sasuke: You bastard!!

Are you messing with me?!

Seeing that Uchiha Sasuke could no longer contain his temper and was about to explode—

Kakashi finally gave a sly smile.

"Well, just kidding. Anyway... let me think it over properly first."

You'd better!

Uchiha Sasuke closed his eyes, his fists clenched tight.

Just then—

"Multiple Shadow Clone!"

Bang bang bang—!!!

A series of sonic booms rang out.

Thick white smoke spread out, enveloping the entire Training Ground.

Uchiha Sasuke immediately opened his eyes and frowned toward the direction where the sounds continued.

Sakura, who had been doing squats, stopped as well and looked toward the source of the noise.

Kakashi's eyes filled with envy.

Clearly, aside from Kakashi, neither Uchiha Sasuke nor Sakura knew what those sounds meant.

Only when the white smoke, which had come quickly and gone just as quickly, dispersed—

Uchiha Sasuke and Sakura both widened their eyes, their mouths large enough to fit a fist.

Even Kakashi, who had been mentally prepared, felt his heart tremble.

Being absurdly lavish with Explosive Tags was one thing, but he was absurdly lavish with Chakra too.

"Th-this... how many Earth Style: Mud Walls could this make?! (dog-head walls)"