Naruto, What's the Point of Being Hokage Without You!

Early the next morning, Naruto woke up from his slumber.

Looking at the Shadow Clone that had vanished from his side, he felt a hollow emptiness in his heart; that sense of void and loneliness gripped his soul like a monster.

The suffocating solitude he had once grown accustomed to was now surging back like a tidal wave, threatening to drown him completely.

He hurriedly used the Clone Technique again, and as his Shadow Clone reappeared, Naruto finally let out a breath of relief.

"Good morning!"

Naruto flashed a brilliant smile, and the Shadow Clone Naruto waved back at him.

"Morning!"

Naruto immediately broke into a blissful grin.

Perhaps all he needed was someone to exchange such a simple greeting with upon waking up.

"Great, you keep training, I'll go make breakfast!"

"OK!"

Naruto chuckled and skillfully went to prepare the meal, while his Shadow Clone continued to practice the Chakra Refinement Technique, and even...

The Clone Technique itself!

That's right, Naruto was stunned to discover that his own Shadow Clone had actually created a new Shadow Clone!

"Th-this is..."

Naruto was dumbfounded.

His own Shadow Clone could actually create a Shadow Clone?!

It seemed this physical clone's ability was even more powerful than he had imagined.

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

Although it was also training, it couldn't last very long and soon dissipated into a puff of white smoke.

But at that moment...

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

"Hm? This is..."

"I clearly haven't been training, yet my chakra reserves seem to have increased just a little bit..."

"C-could it be..."

Naruto realized a earth-shattering secret!

"The training done by the physical clone returns to my body when it dissipates?!"

"If that's the case..."

Naruto was both shocked and ecstatic!

If the physical clone had this effect, didn't that mean he had effectively doubled or even tripled his training efficiency?!

This was true cheating!

"Awesome!"

At this moment, Naruto could already see his brilliant future, with limitless potential ahead!

"Right! Today I'll work hard with my Shadow Clone and strive to achieve several times the usual progress!"

He finished cooking and prepared to start immediately after eating.

But the Shadow Clone Naruto also stopped right away and came to the table to eat.

"Huh? You need to eat too?!"

"Duh, how else am I supposed to have the energy to train!"

"...I suppose that's true..."

Although he said that, Naruto secretly decided that tomorrow he would wait until after he finished eating to activate the physical clone...

Otherwise, the food he made wouldn't be enough for both of them.

Soon, the two of them wolfed down their breakfast, cleaning their plates completely.

Shortly after, the system's notification sound chimed right on cue.

[It is time for school. Please head to the Ninja Academy while performing a weighted handstand, with a time limit of five minutes!]

[Failure to comply will result in a Baptism of Lightning Release from the system!]

Naruto: "...Nani?!"

"F-five minutes?!"

He knew that it usually took him at least ten minutes just to reach the school while performing a weighted handstand!

This System Brother had slashed his time in half!

The Shadow Clone of Naruto Uzumaki sighed as well.

"Hurry up! Arguing with him is useless! Better to save time and get moving!"

"Y-you're right..."

Naruto Uzumaki and his Shadow Clone immediately began handstand push-ups with weights, gritting their teeth as they sprinted toward the Ninja Academy with everything they had.

Along the way, passersby pointed and whispered.

"W-what is that?!"

"Two nine... two brats?!"

"What's going on..."

The ordinary villagers naturally didn't understand what this meant.

However, the ninjas of Konoha were equally dumbfounded at the sight.

"That is..."

"Shadow Clone Technique?!"

"How is it possible? A child from the Ninja Academy, and that dead-last Naruto Uzumaki at that, how could he master such a high-level ninjutsu?!"

"Am I under a genjutsu?!"

"Quick, someone slap me awake!"

Naruto ignored everyone. The Baptism of Lightning Release had originally been about forcing him to do things, but now it had upgraded, setting a strict time limit—fail, and he'd get struck!

He wished he could grow two more arms, gritting his teeth as he sprinted for his life.

Sasuke Uchiha's face was somewhat pale.

Yet, a hint of joy faintly appeared at the corners of his brows.

For him, this was quite a rare achievement.

"I haven't let my long efforts go to waste, especially..."

"After being provoked by that dead-last, I put in ten times the effort..."

"I've finally mastered the Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. With this, who in the entire Ninja Academy can stand against me?!"

"Hmph, that dead-last certainly can't!"

However, just at that moment.

Two Naruto Uzumakis, performing weighted handstands, tore past Sasuke like two streaks of smoke.

"Cough, cough..."

The dust kicked up made Sasuke cough uncontrollably.

But what shocked him even more was...

"T-that is... two Narutos?!"

"What is going on..."

"Clone Technique? No, impossible. Clone Technique only creates illusory images meant to deceive enemies; they have no physical form, let alone the ability to train or fight!"

"Could it be... the higher-level Shadow Clone Technique?!"

"No, impossible. That's a ninjutsu only Chunin or even Jonin can master. How could that dead-last..."

Yet, the facts were right before his eyes.

Sasuke's eyes widened, and the joy he had felt just a moment ago vanished instantly...

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

It wasn't just Sasuke...

Every teacher and student at the Ninja Academy witnessed this unbelievable scene. For a moment, everyone was shocked, frozen in place, unable to believe their own eyes...

Ino and Hinata widened their eyes.

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

"T-two Naruto-kuns?!"

Sakura Haruno rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

Just then, Iruka finally arrived.

"Naruto, you, what is this..."

Hearing that voice, Naruto realized he had finally made it to the school in time.

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

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

The shadow clone beside him finally reached its limit, vanishing into a puff of smoke with a soft pop.

Naruto felt it in an instant...

It wasn't just the doubled training results; the exhaustion and pain were doubled as well!

He let out a miserable shriek, nearly fainting on the spot.

Iruka was shocked, hurriedly catching Naruto in his arms and sprinting toward the office.

Fortunately, Naruto was merely suffering from extreme fatigue and was otherwise unharmed, waking up shortly after.

"Naruto?"

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

Naruto finally regained his senses, unable to help but feel a lingering sense of dread.

"It seems this new ninjutsu is quite risky..."

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

"Naruto, who taught you such an advanced technique?!"

"This is far beyond the level of the Ninja Academy..."

Naruto beamed with pride: "Hehehe, Iruka-sensei, no one taught me. This is a technique I invented myself. It far surpasses the ordinary Clone Technique; these are clones with physical bodies that can speak, train, and even fight!"

Iruka was utterly stunned, as if he had seen a ghost.

"You—you say you created it yourself..."

"That's right!"

Iruka still found it hard to believe, but looking into Naruto's eyes, he didn't seem to be lying.

"Well, am I a true genius or what!"