Growth

"By the way, Houka, this is the Shadow Clone Technique scroll. It's yours!"

After Might Duy finished crying, he finally remembered what he'd come for. He pulled a small scroll from inside his vest and tossed it to Houka.

Houka lit up. Ignoring the ache in his body, he caught it and said, "Uncle Duy, thank you so much!"

"Haha, don't thank me. I got this technique from Lord Hatake, too," Might Duy said with a laugh. "With your talent, I think you'll master it in no time."

Houka nodded, but his thoughts stirred.

Lord Hatake?

That must be the White Fang of Konoha, the man who struck fear into the shinobi of every nation. They'd even issued orders that anyone who encountered the White Fang of Konoha could abandon their mission without penalty!

The only other person to earn such an honor was the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze!

But the Yellow Flash hadn't fully come into his own yet.

"Yosh! That's enough for today. Houka, can you get home by yourself?" Might Duy helped Guy to his feet and looked at Houka.

"No problem!" Houka smiled. "I'll rest a bit and recover some Chakra, then I can use Medical Ninjutsu on myself."

"Souka, I forgot you knew Medical Ninjutsu." Might Duy obligingly helped Guy sit back down. "Then give Guy a treatment later, too."

Guy grinned, not the least bit embarrassed.

As an Eternal Genin, Might Duy mostly got D-Rank missions, which didn't pay much. He was always short on money, so saving the cost of a doctor's visit for Guy was a huge help.

Houka knew that, too. He smiled and said, "No problem. Leave it to me!"

Medical Ninjutsu needed regular practice, or you'd get rusty. Houka had no reason to turn down a volunteer test subject.

A little over ten minutes later, Houka had recovered a small amount of Chakra and immediately started treating himself.

The Medical Ninjutsu he'd mastered so far consisted of the Hemostasis Technique and the Healing Technique. They worked well on injuries caused by training: the bleeding soon stopped, and scabs formed. The muscle fatigue, though, would take time to ease.

Then Houka treated Guy.

"That's much better. Thanks, Houka!" Guy grinned and gave him a thumbs-up, a pearly white tooth showing at the corner of his mouth. "Houka, you're really dependable!"

"Ah, thanks for the compliment." Houka shrugged. "But the Hemostasis Technique is only first aid. Remember to treat the wounds again when you get home."

"You too, Houka," Might Duy said with a smile. "See you!"

After parting ways, Houka headed toward the Uchiha Clan compound, his expression a little tense.

That inexplicable Genjutsu test the other night had made him extremely wary. But the road was quiet, and nothing happened, which eased his mind.

"By the way, Uchiha Ronai came looking for trouble at noon. Could he have asked his father to test me that night?" Houka rubbed his chin, then shook his head and let it go.

At home, he washed his wounds with antiseptic and wrapped them in bandages. Then he cooked a meal and filled his stomach. Afterward, he shut the doors and windows of his bedroom and took out the Shadow Clone Technique scroll.

The Ninjutsu in the scroll might not look impressive, but it could save Houka an immeasurable amount of time. It was practically priceless to him!

The Hand Seals for the Shadow Clone Technique weren't the standard twelve. They were an entirely new set developed by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju himself.

Following the scroll's instructions, Houka pressed the index and middle fingers of each hand together, then crossed his hands into an X.

There was only one Hand Seal, but it wasn't easy.

Since it was a new Hand Seal, Chakra flowed through it awkwardly. It was like someone used to walking forward being asked to walk backward all of a sudden. It was bound to feel unnatural.

Still, compared with the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, the Shadow Clone Technique was much simpler.

Half an hour later, Houka had mastered the Hand Seal completely, and his Chakra control had caught up.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Poof!

A cloud of smoke flashed, and suddenly there was someone beside Houka... a very strange-looking person. His head lolled to one side, his eyes were crossed and mismatched in size, and his mouth sat where his nose should have been. He couldn't have looked stranger if he tried.

Houka jumped and slapped him. "You scared the hell out of me!"

Only then did he remember that the Shadow Clone Technique required him to give the clone half his Chakra.

Houka tried again. This time, the Chakra transferred, but the clone exploded on the spot. All the Chakra flowed back into his body, but the shock of it felt awful.

He practiced until late into the night, with the moon high overhead. Amid a fit of hysterical laughter, two identical people stood in Houka's bedroom, hands on their hips.

"So this is the Shadow Clone Technique. It's amazing!" Houka ran a hand over the clone's head. The sensation was incredibly strange.

"Hey, don't treat me like a kid!" The Shadow Clone slapped Houka's hand away, looking annoyed.

"Huh?" Houka stared at him in surprise, then smiled. He liked this technique more and more.

Then Houka's brow furrowed slightly. The Shadow Clone had the original's memories, so did it know he'd come from another world? If he slipped up while talking to someone, that would be bad.

"Do you know about Earth?" Houka asked the Shadow Clone.

"Earth? What's that?" The Shadow Clone shook his head. "Never heard of it. I don't know."

"Nothing." Houka smiled. "Starting tomorrow, you're in charge of cooking, going to class, and keeping up good relationships with the few classmates I'm close to!"

"No problem. Leave it to me!" The Shadow Clone thumped his chest, ready to shoulder the burden without hesitation. Then he encouraged Houka, "You just focus on training, original. You'll definitely become an excellent shinobi one day!"

"Heh." It felt so strange to be encouraged by his own Shadow Clone. It was a lot more fun than cheering himself on in front of a mirror.

Then Houka went to sleep, while the Shadow Clone diligently practiced the Hand Seal nearby.

Once the original Houka fell asleep, the Shadow Clone also vanished in a puff of smoke. Its Chakra and the experience it had gained practicing the Hand Seal transferred to Houka as well.

The next morning, before dawn, Houka got up, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and crossed his hands.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Poof!

An identical Houka appeared beside him.

"I'm off. I'll leave everything here to you!" Houka said with a smile.

"No problem!" The Shadow Clone replied confidently.

Houka only had Genin-level Chakra for now, and splitting it in half left him with even less. But the Shadow Clone didn't need to fight. Cooking and listening to lessons barely used any Chakra, and unless it suffered a fatal injury, it wouldn't disappear. It was remarkably durable!

And so, Houka began his life of cheating.

He had his Shadow Clone cook and go to class, leaving it to handle all the trivial chores. The original focused on just one thing: training.

In the mornings and evenings, he followed Might Duy through brutal training. Every time, he was pushed to the brink of death, barely able to go on. After enough sessions, his Medical Ninjutsu began improving, too. Half a month later, he successfully mastered the Mystical Palm Technique—a remarkable amount of progress.

Houka didn't slack off the rest of the time, either. He practiced Hand Seals in the morning, then studied Ninjutsu and Genjutsu in the afternoon.

He soon mastered all the techniques in the two scrolls his parents had left behind: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique, as well as the Genjutsu Hell Viewing Technique, Fox Mind Technique, Qiedu, and Mind Destruction Technique.

Aside from combat experience, Houka was already a qualified Genin!