Now This Is What You Call Cheating! Please Vote!!!

Early the next morning, Naruto woke up from his sleep again.

He looked at the Shadow Clone that had vanished beside him, and his heart felt empty. The emptiness and loneliness seemed like a monster, clawing at his heart...

The suffocating loneliness that had once plagued him was something he had gotten used to. But now it came rushing back like a tidal wave, threatening to drown him completely...

He hurriedly used the Shadow Clone Technique again. His Shadow Clone appeared once more, and Naruto let out a breath of relief...

"Good morning!"

Naruto beamed, and his Shadow Clone Naruto waved at him, too.

"Morning!"

Naruto immediately smiled with happiness.

Perhaps all he needed was someone to exchange a simple greeting with when he woke up...

"Great. You keep training, and I'll make breakfast!"

"OK!"

Naruto giggled and went to prepare breakfast with practiced ease, while his Shadow Clone continued training in the Chakra Refinement Technique, and even...

The Shadow Clone Technique itself!

That's right. Naruto stared in shock as he discovered that his Shadow Clone had created another Shadow Clone!

"Th-this is..."

Chapter 48: Now This Is What You Call Cheating! Please Vote!!!

Naruto was dumbfounded.

His Shadow Clone could make Shadow Clones, too?!

It seemed that the ability of this physical clone was far more powerful than he had imagined...

However, the Shadow Clone's Shadow Clone didn't seem nearly as impressive.

It was training, too, but it couldn't last very long. Soon, it turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.

But just then...

Naruto's real body suddenly felt a new surge of power.

"Hm? What's this..."

"I haven't even trained, but it seems like my chakra has increased a little..."

"C-could it be..."

Naruto realized he had stumbled upon a world-shaking secret!

"Can the training done by my physical clones return to my body when they disappear?!"

"If that's true..."

Naruto was both shocked and overjoyed!

If physical clones had that effect, didn't that mean his training efficiency had doubled—or even increased by more than that?!

Now this was what you called cheating!

"Awesome!"

Naruto could already see his brilliant future stretching out before him. His prospects were limitless!

"Great! Today, I'll work hard with my Shadow Clone and try to make several times more progress than usual!"

He finished making breakfast, ready to start as soon as he'd eaten.

But Shadow Clone Naruto stopped training right away and came over to the table to eat, too.

"Huh? You need to eat, too?!"

"Of course! Where am I supposed to get the energy to train if I don't eat?"

"...That's true..."

Even so, Naruto secretly decided he'd make his physical clone after breakfast tomorrow...

Otherwise, there wouldn't be enough food for the two of them...

The two of them quickly devoured every last bite of breakfast.

Then, right on cue, the system's notification sounded.

[It's time for school. Host, get to the Ninja Academy by traveling on your hands while carrying weights. You have five minutes!]

[Failure to comply will result in the host receiving the Baptism of Lightning Release!]

Naruto: "...What?!"

"F-five minutes?!"

He normally needed at least ten minutes to get to school on his hands while carrying weights!

System Brother had cut his time in half!

Shadow Clone Naruto sighed, too.

"Just hurry up! There's no point arguing with him! We'd better get moving while we still have time!"

"Y-you're right..."

Naruto and Shadow Clone Naruto immediately got into their handstands, gritted their teeth, and hurtled toward the Ninja Academy with all their might.

The passersby pointed and whispered as they watched them go.

"W-what's that?!"

"T-two... two kids?!"

"What's going on..."

The ordinary villagers naturally had no idea what this meant.

But even the shinobi of Konoha were left staring in disbelief.

"That's..."

"The Shadow Clone Technique?!"

"How is that possible? He's just a kid from the Ninja Academy—and a dead-last like Naruto Uzumaki, at that! How could he know such a high-level technique?!"

"Am I under a genjutsu?!"

"Quick, quick, smack me awake!"

Naruto ignored everyone. The Baptism of Lightning Release used to force him to do something, but now the system had leveled up. It set a time limit, and if he couldn't make it, he'd get struck by lightning!

He wished he had two extra arms as he gritted his teeth and raced onward with all his might.

Sasuke Uchiha's face was a little pale.

But a hint of joy showed in his eyes.

For him, that was a rare sight.

"My efforts all this time haven't been in vain, especially after..."

"Working ten times harder after that dead-last got under my skin..."

"I finally mastered the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. Now, who in the entire Ninja Academy could possibly stand against me?!"

"Hmph. That dead-last doesn't stand a chance!"

But just then.

Two Naruto Uzumakis raced past Sasuke on their hands, as fast as a pair of streaks of smoke.

"Cough, cough..."

The dust they kicked up made Sasuke cough, too.

But what shocked him even more was...

"T-that's... two Narutos?!"

"What's going on..."

"Clone Technique? No, impossible! The Clone Technique only creates an illusion to distract the enemy. It has no physical form, let alone the ability to train or fight!"

"Could that be... a higher-level Shadow Clone?!"

"No, impossible! That's a ninjutsu even Chunin and Jonin can use. How could that dead-last..."

But the truth was right in front of him.

Sasuke's eyes widened, and the hint of joy he'd felt moments ago vanished completely...

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, then immediately quickened his pace and chased after the two Narutos!

And Sasuke wasn't the only one...

Every teacher and student at the Ninja Academy saw the unbelievable sight. Everyone was stunned, frozen in place, unable to believe their eyes...

Ino and Hinata stared wide-eyed.

"T-that's Naruto's..."

"T-two Naruto-kuns?!"

Sakura Haruno rubbed her eyes in disbelief, too.

Just then, Iruka-sensei finally arrived.

"Naruto, y-you..."

Hearing his voice, Naruto knew he'd made it to school in time.

He was panting so hard that he couldn't get a single word out.

"Iru... cough, cough..."

His Shadow Clone beside him had finally reached its limit, too. With a bang, it disappeared.

Naruto immediately felt...

Not only had his training gains doubled, but his exhaustion and pain had doubled, too!

He let out a scream and nearly passed out on the spot.

Iruka-sensei was horrified. He hurriedly scooped Naruto up and rushed toward the office.

Luckily, Naruto was only exhausted. There was nothing seriously wrong, and he soon woke up.

"Naruto?"

"What were you doing? You scared me to death!"

Naruto finally came around and couldn't help feeling a little shaken.

"Looks like this new ninjutsu comes with some risks..."

"New ninjutsu? You mean the Shadow Clone Technique?!"

"Naruto, who taught you such a high-level technique?!"

"This is way beyond the Ninja Academy's level..."

Naruto grinned smugly. "Hehehe, Iruka-sensei, nobody taught me. I invented it myself! It's far more advanced than the ordinary Clone Technique. My clones have physical bodies, so they can talk, train, and even fight!"

Iruka was so shocked, he looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Y-you're saying you invented it yourself..."

"Yep!"

Iruka-sensei still found it hard to believe, but Naruto didn't look like he was lying.

"So, what do you think? Am I a real genius or what?"