Strong People Use Shadow Clones to Go to School

Born with an adult soul, years of disciplined training, decent physical talent, selfless guidance from his parents, and a "little" boost from natural energy—all of this had forged Higashino Makoto's formidable strength, leaving his classmates so far behind they couldn't even see his taillights.

In raw power, he might have already surpassed his father, Higashino Jiro, though he fell short in practical combat experience. If they truly went all out, the outcome would be hard to call.

After all, a ninja's battle isn't a contest of numbers.

During regular sparring at the academy, Higashino Makoto held back a lot. He didn't want to be a big bad looming over his classmates' heads; he was gentle at heart, usually putting up a serious fight for a while before defeating his opponent.

Fighting a classmate was like romance—you couldn't just focus on your own feelings. You had to let them feel involved, make them think that with one more push, they could win.

That way, they'd go home and train harder, improve their strength, and maybe—just maybe—that little bit of progress would help them survive some future battle.

Only when he fought Uchiha Shisui did he loosen up a bit. That guy's talent was genuinely outstanding, with top-tier reflexes.

And this was all without even activating his Sharingan.

Teacher Inoue Kuroiwa might have noticed this, because in later sparring sessions, he often paired the two as opponents, letting the other students watch and learn on the sidelines.

Even so, Higashino Makoto couldn't go all out. Shisui at this point was no match for him.

Standing out among the new generation was one thing, but it was still within reason.

If he really showed his true strength, Teacher Inoue might recommend he graduate early.

Higashino Makoto had promised his mother he'd stay in school for a few more years. Besides, he needed time to train—he was in a critical phase of mastering Nature Transformation. Graduating early would throw his plans into chaos.

Unlike those kids who couldn't wait to graduate and become ninjas serving the village, Higashino Makoto preferred to invest his time in himself.

He was here to experience the thrilling, exciting life of the Shinobi World, not to be a workhorse.

About twenty days passed in a flash.

One afternoon, it was time for their sparring match again. Other classmates were already fighting on the field. Shisui crept close to Higashino Makoto and whispered, "Makoto, go easy when we fight later."

Higashino Makoto paused, then caught on. "Don't tell me you're a Shadow Clone?"

Uchiha Shisui nodded. "Yeah. The clan's seniors think it's a waste of time to stay in the Ninja Academy—I should focus on getting stronger under the clan's guidance. But I believe school is where you build bonds with people, so I still come. Lately, I've been learning the Shadow Clone technique."

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and asked, "Makoto, you figured out I'm a clone that fast... does that mean you—"

"What do you think?"

They exchanged a knowing smile, a silent understanding formed. Soon, when it was their turn to spar, they put on a dazzling show, but every punch and kick pulled back just before hitting the other's body.

The watching classmates were mesmerized, drinking in every move, silently thinking about how they'd handle it if they were in either fighter's shoes, completely oblivious to anything off.

Even Teacher Inoue didn't notice a thing.

That put the two schemers at ease. From then on, they settled into their daily routine of coasting.

Inside the Training Ground near the Higashino Family, it was eerily quiet.

With the war on, the village's ninja numbers had dwindled, and it wasn't a school break, so no students came here to train. Only a few three- or four-year-old kids who hadn't enrolled yet occasionally ran over to play, but they came and went quickly.

In the woods, three Higashino Makotos silently practiced Chakra Nature Transformation. The original sat in a tree, with clones nearby.

He only split into three Shadow Clones for training now—one went to school, while the other two and the original stayed here, heads down in study.

Three was his limit, a conclusion he'd reached after several tries. Any more, and the flood of memories and experience from dispelling the clones would hit his brain too hard to handle.

Higashino Makoto's Chakra Amount was impressive. Thanks to Natural Energy nourishing his body, he had about as much as a standard Jonin by age six. But he still lacked the Uzumaki Body's insane recovery, let alone two big daddies to share the burden.

Besides, with too many clones, each one got less chakra and couldn't sustain training for long before dissipating.

The original focused on Wind Release Nature Transformation—his planned offensive property.

The other two clones worked on Water Release and Earth Release Nature Transformations, which he planned to use mainly for defense.

The original pressed his hands together, then spread them apart. The leaf in his hands was now neatly split in two down the middle—this was honing the Sharp Cutting Property of his Wind Release.

Done, he casually picked another leaf from beside him and repeated the process, over and over. As always, he aimed to train it into muscle memory, to switch natures on a whim, even without hand signs—just a thought, and the Nature Transformation would complete.

Later on, Naruto managed it in just a few days, but that was with hundreds of Shadow Clones training simultaneously. The guy was a beast.

Higashino Makoto didn't dare play that game. It took him nearly a year to mostly master it, which showed his talent was pretty solid—though Natural Energy deserved some credit too.

The longer his body was tempered by Natural Energy, the faster he improved in chakra control and Nature Transformation.

No wonder it was his cheat—a universal amplifier.

"Looks like my control over the Sharp Cutting Property is solid enough. Next step is to find a waterfall and train there."

Higashino Makoto planned silently, borrowing a method from the future Naruto.

With his direction set, he shifted slightly, leaped down from the tree, and landed on the ground as lightly as a feather.

This was another property of Wind Release Chakra: Light Flow.

This was the Shinobi World, where people could fly through the sky like birds. There was no way Higashino Makoto would pass up that amazing ability—he'd dreamed of flying since forever.

A ninja who could fly was at least three or four stories higher in cool factor.

Ōnoki of Iwagakure achieved flight by mastering the Gravity Property of Earth Release Chakra to its peak—the so-called Light-Weight Rock Technique, with the opposite being the Heavy Rock Technique. The Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique could even stop the massive meteor Madara summoned with Tengai Shinsei mid-air, which was just insane.

Pain, on the other hand, flew using his Rinnegan to control repulsive force—Shinra Tensei.

Higashino Makoto was still searching for direction in his Earth Release Gravity Property training, and he didn't have those ripple eyes. If he wanted to fly, he'd have to work on his Wind Release Nature.

Fortunately, he felt this direction was feasible.

Although he still couldn't fly, by training the Light Flow property, he had already managed to partially merge his body with the wind. While leaping through the air, he could perform some simple evasive maneuvers, and his Movement Speed had also been greatly enhanced.

Arriving at the clone, he saw one of them holding a clump of earth formed from Earth Release Chakra in its hand, then pouring in chakra to continuously harden the clump, transforming it toward rock.

This was training in the heavy, hard properties of Earth Release.

There were many techniques that utilized these properties, such as Kakuzu's Earth Spear Technique, which could harden any part of the body, making it both offensive and defensive.

The deeper the mastery of these properties, the stronger the defensive power of the Earth Style Wall, making it harder to destroy.

At the same time, Higashino Makoto also hoped to find a hint of the Gravity Property while training in the heavy, hard properties.

Another clone was training in the flexible property of Water Release. This property could enhance the defensive power of the Water Style Wall and also control water flow to shape it into a rope—the Water Whip Technique—used to bind people.

This was one of his current Training Directions: strengthening the properties of his three affinities.

In truth, mastering the Chakra Nature Transformation of any element to its peak would make it both offensive and defensive, but he didn't have the energy to dabble in too many affinities for now, so he could only train selectively.

The other two Training Directions were, of course, the Second Stage of Chakra Control and Medical Ninjutsu.

As for Natural Energy, that was something for Every Night after he fell asleep.

Even while sleeping, he could still train—how could his strength not grow? Wasting talent was shameful and would bring retribution. He had learned this lesson deeply in his Previous Life.

Suddenly, a stream of memory flooded into his mind—it was from the clone that had gone to school, ending its task.

Higashino Makoto digested the memory, waited a while longer, then had the other two clones dispel themselves one after another.

A massive influx of Training Memory slammed into his brain, making his head feel a little swollen, but he quickly adapted.

If all three clones returned simultaneously with a full day's memories and training experience, it would cause him mild dizziness.

This showed that he could actually withstand the side effects of more clones, but Higashino Makoto didn't want to do that.

The body was the foundation of everything. He couldn't sacrifice the big for the small and leave himself with hidden dangers.