New Instructions

The idea of a clone beating its original during combat is a joke; there is a vast difference between Yuehua Ai fighting his clones and the clones fighting each other. After all, when clones battle clones, they follow instructions to the letter and hold nothing back. But when the original fights a clone, it is never that simple or brutal.

Even if one momentarily cuts off control, the mental link between the original and the clone remains. It is like a person trying to poke their own eye with a finger; although they consciously issue the command, they will instinctively stop when the moment of impact arrives. This instinctive reaction is nearly impossible to avoid. Consequently, whenever a clone intends to land a heavy blow, the original instinctively re-establishes control to prevent the action.

Therefore, the original cannot replicate the life-or-death struggle of the clones. Instead, Yuehua Ai has his clones practice swordsmanship against one another, while he, the original, focuses on training with shuriken and other projectile ninja tools.

The feedback from the clones' deathmatches allows Yuehua Ai to grow rapidly. Compared to his solitary training, this special method of utilizing clones has yielded unimaginable progress in his taijutsu and swordsmanship.

With his current combat awareness, ordinary chunin are nothing more than paper tigers in terms of pure taijutsu. After all, few people can obtain such frequent experience in life-or-death battles, nor can everyone correct their combat flaws and errors so rapidly and continuously.

The accumulation of over a dozen such battles has finally led Yuehua Ai to find his own path in swordsmanship. Unlike the clever, deceptive nature of Konoha Style, his blade and intent are closer to his own heart: simple, direct, brutal, and unyielding. Any troublesome obstacle will be severed completely before his heart and his blade.

After the growth of his ninjutsu slowed, Yuehua Ai achieved a leap in strength through his taijutsu and swordsmanship. Compared to his time in Amegakure, his overall combat power has increased by at least fifty percent!

Do not underestimate this fifty percent. One must remember that Yuehua Ai is not even nine years old yet. His previous strength had already pushed the limits of what his body could achieve; given his physical constraints, it is easy to imagine just how difficult such a breakthrough was.

Exhausted, Yuehua Ai lay on the ground for nearly half an hour before regaining the ability to move. While this special training is effective, the side effects are equally significant.

Every action of the shadow clones consumes his own chakra. Under such intense conditions, maintaining three clones drains his chakra reserves to the point of exhaustion in less than five minutes. The reason he forces the clones to decide life and death as quickly as possible is precisely to manage this rate of chakra consumption.

Simple chakra depletion would not make Yuehua Ai feel this miserable. More than chakra, the greatest burden is the exhaustion of his mental energy. To ensure the clones maintain autonomy, he has to expend three times the mental energy of an average ninja. Even with his superior mental talent, such a massive expenditure is hard to bear. He usually only maintains two clones; had he not just graduated from the Medical Corps and feared that upcoming missions would leave him no time for this training, he would not have pushed himself so hard.

Blade light, water curtains, and clashing edges flashed through Yuehua Ai's mind—these were the experiences fed back by the clones after they performed their hand seals. He could fully feel the indomitable spirit with which they cut through everything, and this sensation is the greatest fruit of his training. Even though his head was splitting with pain, he insisted on carefully contemplating and integrating those feedback images and feelings. These are the resources for his growth; if he missed this window, any insights he might recall later would be far inferior to what he could grasp now.

After digesting the combat insights, Yuehua Ai leaned against a tree. As his mind relaxed, a wave of fatigue, even more overwhelming than before, washed over him.

He drifted in and out of consciousness, unsure how much time had passed, until he suddenly heard a voice calling him from afar. When he struggled to open his eyes, he found Shizune crouching beside him, looking at him with concern.

"Phew, you're finally awake! Jiraiya-sama said you weren't around, and I couldn't find you at the library, so I knew you had to be here! I was scared to death when I arrived and saw you fast asleep!"

Shizune patted her chest and let out a long sigh. Although she had seen him exhausted before, this was the first time it had been this severe. She had been calling his name for a long time without a response, which had truly frightened her.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired from training. Did you come looking for me for something specific?"

Yuehua Ai sat up with effort, unfazed by the girl's chiding tone. During his half-year in the Medical Corps, he and Shizune had grown close. Aside from Jiraiya, she was the only one who could find him outside of Konohagakure.

This forest, adjacent to Konohagakure, is a very quiet area. Two months ago, after Jiraiya returned, he began providing ninjutsu guidance here. This place, with its mountains, water, and woods, is excellent—not only is the environment secluded, but it is also largely devoid of people and beasts. After his training with Jiraiya concluded, he often came here for ninjutsu practice. The reason he wasn't worried about being discovered while in such a fatigued state, and could sleep soundly, was because he had thoroughly scouted the area.

"Ai-chan, I don't know how you train, but this state is really bad. You forgot what Instructor Yamazaki told us: training requires a balance of tension and relaxation. We aren't at an age suitable for such high-intensity training. If you keep this up, not only will you fail to achieve results, but you'll easily injure yourself."

Ignoring Yuehua Ai's question, Shizune felt it necessary to correct him, seeing his indifferent expression.

"Nagging~. I know my own condition better than anyone. Don't forget who is guiding you all day long!"

He curled his lip dismissively. Although Shizune's words meant little to him, her concern felt quite pleasant. Being cared for by a cute girl was far better than the concern of a lecherous old man!

"Hmph..."

Shizune pouted and huffed. She was left speechless by his retort; thinking about the guidance, she felt helpless. In the first few days after Ai-chan arrived at the Medical Corps, she had to explain some of the terminology from class to him. But the tables turned quickly; within three days, his knowledge of the curriculum surpassed hers. If she hadn't known he didn't understand those simple terms on the first day, she would have suspected her uncle was playing a prank on her. His test scores were better than hers—there was no sign that he had never touched medicine before!

As the Medical Corps covered more complex and difficult topics, even Shizune couldn't claim to remember everything. Yet, she once accidentally discovered that her desk-mate, who usually seemed to daydream in class, actually knew every single point by heart. This left her feeling secretly frustrated, but also sparked a desire to ask Yuehua Ai for guidance. After all, while Shizune was a bit shy, her drive to improve was just as strong.

Yuehua Ai readily agreed to Shizune's requests. This wasn't just because she was a cute, big-eyed girl, but because after the first few days, it was only his shadow clones attending the classes. Although the Medical Corps curriculum moved quickly for the novices, once Yuehua Ai understood the terminology from the medical books he borrowed, his speed of learning—backed by the foundation from his past life—was beyond anyone's imagination.

"Alright, tell me what's going on. You wouldn't come looking for me unless it was something urgent!"

As he spoke, Yuehua Ai flicked her forehead with his finger.

"Ouch!" Shizune cried out in pain, then covered her forehead with both hands, glaring at him with a look of grievance.

"Subconscious reaction, don't mind it..." Yuehua Ai chuckled, shrugging with an innocent expression.

Flicking her forehead had become a habit he developed while tutoring her in medical knowledge. Whenever Shizune made a mistake or annoyed him, he would flick her forehead as punishment. Over time, it became a habit he didn't bother to correct. Given his mental age, he saw Shizune as a little sister, and the gesture was actually a form of affection, even if the result for Shizune was a bit pitiful...

Ignoring the condemnation in her eyes, Yuehua Ai signaled for her to answer his previous question.

Shizune lowered her hands and huffed once more to express her dissatisfaction before replying in a huff:

"It's about our team assignments after graduation. Tsunade-sama has issued new instructions to the Medical Corps: students who graduate with excellent grades can form teams directly with other mission-ready ninja, and they can skip D-rank missions to perform C-rank ones..."