The Nara Clan's Secret Technique

"Teacher Shikaku, what are you going to teach me?" Yin Xiang asked, looking at Shikaku.

"What am I going to teach you? Well, first, chakra control," Shikaku said after thinking it over.

"I'm already pretty good at that." As he spoke, Yin Xiang jumped up and stuck himself to the ceiling.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to be this good," Shikaku said with a smile.

"Why don't you tell me the real reason the Third Hokage asked you to take me on?" Yin Xiang dropped from the ceiling and stood in front of Shikaku.

Shikaku suddenly felt uneasy. This kid... he really is just as unusual as the Third Hokage said. He thought to himself.

"Just tell me whatever you need to. I don't like beating around the bush, Teacher Shikaku," Yin Xiang continued.

"All right. The Third Hokage wants me to train you into an excellent strategist, so you can wholeheartedly support the future Hokage," Shikaku admitted.

"So that's why he brought in the smartest clan in Konoha, the Nara Clan." Yin Xiang smiled as he said it, but inwardly he thought, They want to limit my combat ability and develop only my mind, then use my ability to predict the future to help the next Hokage? They want to keep me firmly tied to Konoha. Even if that old man didn't do this, I had no intention of betraying Konoha.

"Mm. You're clever. You really do have the makings of a strategist," Shikaku said with a nod.

"I want to learn the Shadow Manipulation Technique," Yin Xiang said directly, looking at Shikaku.

"Huh? You really don't like beating around the bush. But this is the Nara Clan's secret technique. How could I teach it to you?" Shikaku was startled. The kid might not like beating around the bush, but he hadn't expected him to take it this far.

"Don't worry. I'd never pass your clan's secret technique on to anyone. It wouldn't do me any good to spread it around, either."

"That's like asking the Hyuga Clan for the Byakugan or the Uchiha Clan for the Sharingan. They'd never give them to you," Shikaku said, giving an example. After all, there was no way anyone would hand over their Kekkei Genkai.

"You want me to protect Konoha, but you won't even teach me anything. What, can you transplant your brain into me?" Yin Xiang said with a pout.

"Haha, I'm afraid that's impossible." Shikaku smiled. "Having me train you one-on-one is already a big advantage. I can't teach you the Shadow Manipulation Technique, but I can teach you how I think in battle, my fighting methods, and how I plan and carry out tactics."

"What about ninjutsu?"

"Uh... aside from my clan's secret technique, I don't really have any other ninjutsu. You should already know simple things like the Three Body Technique." Shikaku looked a little awkward.

"Aw, all right." Yin Xiang sighed.

"Hey, don't look so disappointed!" Shikaku called out when he saw Yin Xiang's expression. Plenty of people wanted him as their teacher, and he wasn't willing to teach them!

"If you don't want me to be disappointed, teach me the Shadow Manipulation Technique. Maybe I'll even develop something more advanced!"

"Hm?" Shikaku froze again at Yin Xiang's words. "That's impossible. Our clan has used this secret technique for ages and still hasn't managed to develop it further. How could you?"

"If you don't believe me, fine. If you won't teach me, I'll study it myself." Yin Xiang pouted, then added, "But if I come up with a better Shadow Manipulation Technique someday, don't expect me to teach it to you."

"You've got quite a lot of confidence. All right, let's see what you can do. If you really manage to develop the Shadow Manipulation Technique on your own, I'll let you see my clan's secret scroll," Shikaku said with a smile.

"It's a deal." Yin Xiang answered confidently.

"All right, that's enough for today. Meet me at Training Ground Three tomorrow." After saying that, Shikaku started to leave. But Yin Xiang was faster; in a flash of black light, he disappeared right before Shikaku's eyes.

"F-Flying Thunder God?" Seeing Yin Xiang pull that off, Shikaku finally understood just how extraordinary the boy in front of him was.

It took Shikaku a moment to recover from the shock. Then he left the classroom.

Yin Xiang had already used the Flying Thunder God to return home. He had done it to give the Third Hokage a warning, to let him know that he was the Fourth Hokage's son and had inherited Minato's teachings—to show the Third Hokage that there was no need to be so wary of him.

Sure enough, when Shikaku went to the office and told the Third Hokage about Yin Xiang's Flying Thunder God, the Third Hokage was surprised, but a smile appeared on his face.

"So you've become Yin Xiang's messenger," the Third Hokage said with a smile.

"I knew I'd end up as his messenger, but I had no choice but to come. That child is exceptionally talented both in strength and intellect... He'd be an excellent candidate to train as the next Hokage," Shikaku said, standing before the Third Hokage.

"We know quite a bit about his background, but we have no way of knowing whether the Insoro Clan has any ambitions."

"Yin Xiang escaped into Konoha as a newborn and grew up here. He only knows that his surname is Insoro; he doesn't even know what the Insoro Clan is. How could he have any ambitions?" Since Shikaku was going to be Yin Xiang's squad leader, the Third Hokage would tell him about Yin Xiang's background.

"We know almost nothing about the Insoro Clan. Yin Xiang has shown extraordinary talent since he was young. A few days ago, Kakashi even told me that Yin Xiang picked up Wind and Lightning Ninjutsu at a glance. His power isn't quite there yet, but that's already astonishing."

"What? He picked it up at a glance? How can someone like that exist...?" Shikaku couldn't stay calm after hearing this. He might have taken on an extraordinary student.

"But... Yin Xiang told me his only dream is to live a peaceful, ordinary life." Shikaku reconsidered, then said.

"Never mind. It's too early to talk about that. Yin Xiang is still young, so just focus on training him," the Third Hokage said, waving a hand.

"What about my clan's secret technique...?" Shikaku asked, looking at the Third Hokage. It was his clan's secret technique, but if the Third Hokage gave his approval, Shikaku would consider teaching it to Yin Xiang.

"No rush. Let's see how Yin Xiang plans to study it first." As he said this, the Third Hokage smiled again. What an interesting kid.

"Yes." Shikaku nodded, then left.

Meanwhile, Yin Xiang had already started studying the Nara Clan's secret technique.

"Ninjutsu in this world all requires chakra. In other words, controlling shadows means infusing them with chakra." Yin Xiang stared at his shadow and formed the hand signs used by the Nara Clan.

Then he started trying every way he could think of to infuse chakra into his shadow.