Looking at Uzumaki Mito's delicate collarbones and snow-white skin beneath her collar, Uchiha Kurohane felt that the plot was heading further and further in the wrong direction.
He wanted to become the man who ruled over the Five Kage, unify the shinobi world, and restore peace to it.
Not play adult games.
He and Uzumaki Mito were from two different eras...
But there was something wrong with that line of thought.
Kaguya's era was even more distant.
Kaguya even had children already, while Uchiha Kurohane's age was merely a fraction of hers.
Yet Kaguya looked so alluring~
Uchiha Kurohane really did have thoughts about that Byakugan-wielding old auntie...
Seeing Uzumaki Mito thank Uchiha Kurohane on her behalf, Kushina Uzumaki felt deeply embarrassed and said with a flushed face.
"Auntie, you're exaggerating. I could have dealt with those three kids myself. It would've been fine even if he hadn't helped."
Uzumaki Mito glared at Kushina Uzumaki and said sternly.
"Our Uzumaki Clan has always repaid kindness with kindness. He helped you, so how can you deny it?"
"I'm not denying it, it's just..."
Kushina Uzumaki was so shy that she could not continue halfway through her sentence.
Uzumaki Mito suddenly realized that Kushina was embarrassed. She smiled knowingly and changed the subject.
"Kurohane, you have a talent for refining chakra. You possess so much chakra at such a young age, and you'll certainly have even more in the future. You really can learn the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique."
"However, this Ninjutsu is dangerous in the end. I can't let Kushina teach you. I'll teach you personally."
"Then I'll trouble you, Auntie."
Uzumaki Mito then solemnly explained the precautions of the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique to Uchiha Kurohane.
"...Even with your current chakra, creating a large number of shadow clones is dangerous. The reason I taught Kushina is because she will become the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki in the future. She'll gain even more immense chakra. By the way, you know what the Nine-Tails is, right?"
Since they might encounter enemy Jinchuriki during shinobi wars, the Ninja Academy taught knowledge about Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki at this time. Uchiha Kurohane was supposed to know about them.
It was the future group of twelve rookies not knowing about Tailed Beasts that was strange.
Konoha needed to hide the fact that Naruto was a Jinchuriki, but there was no need to hide knowledge about Tailed Beasts.
It was truly bizarre that the Ninja Academy did not teach about Tailed Beasts.
Was Konoha not afraid that its future shinobi would encounter a Jinchuriki and get foolishly blasted to death by a Tailed Beast Bomb?
After all, even Namikaze Minato and Jiraiya had to run when they saw a Jinchuriki unleash a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Konoha's decision to hide knowledge about Tailed Beasts from the next generation was utterly stupid.
Of course, the main reason was that the first part of Hokage did not yet have the setting of Tailed Beasts.
At the time, Kishimoto himself did not even know what a Tailed Beast was.
It was like One Piece trying to patch up Red-Hair's lost left arm now, claiming that his right arm bore a curse mark through which Imu controlled him, and that he had deliberately let the Lord of the Coast bite off his arm.
If you asked Oda from ten years ago, he would be just as bewildered.
"...So after you learn it, you must use it cautiously. Do not create more than ten shadow clones at most. I recommend two."
Uchiha Kurohane had long known the mechanics of the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique and had directly learned it, so he did not listen carefully and instead grumbled endlessly in his heart.
After Uzumaki Mito finished explaining the precautions, she began teaching Uchiha Kurohane the sequence of hand seals.
Kushina Uzumaki forcefully pushed Mito aside at that moment.
"Wait, I've already learned the hand seals. Let me teach this part."
Kushina Uzumaki was unwilling to keep being Uchiha Kurohane's underling. She wanted to use this opportunity to become his teacher.
Uzumaki Mito pursed her lips in a smile and said helplessly.
"Fine, you can teach him the hand seal technique."
Kushina Uzumaki placed her beautiful white hands before her chest, which was flat as an airfield, crossed both hands, and formed a cross.
"Make the Ram Seal. Got it?"
The Multi-Shadow Clone Technique had only one seal: Ram.
Uchiha Kurohane could not help laughing.
Trash Ninjutsu like the Water Dragon Bullet Technique required forty-four hand seals, while the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique needed only one.
Was this game balanced?
However, merely knowing the hand seals was not enough to cast Ninjutsu. Hand seals were only the outward form; the key was how chakra was used inside the body.
If merely forming hand seals allowed one to cast Ninjutsu, Kakashi would not need his Sharingan to copy techniques. As long as someone had eyes and could remember the enemy's hand seal sequence, they could copy Ninjutsu.
Uzumaki Mito then took out a Ninjutsu scroll and spread it open for Uchiha Kurohane to read. It described how to use chakra.
Kushina Uzumaki had only studied it for one night and was not yet familiar with it. She squeezed in beside Uchiha Kurohane and inspected it with her arm pressed against his.
After Uzumaki Mito explained everything in detail once, she let them study it on their own. Then she returned home and brought back a plate of pastries for them to eat.
The two ate while reading.
After finishing, they began practicing.
Kushina Uzumaki kept attempting the hand seal, but she failed to create a shadow clone every time and fell into a hard struggle.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kurohane had already learned the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique through an Entry and possessed Uchiha Fugaku's chakra control ability.
He succeeded on his very first attempt.
With a pop.
Two identical shadow clones appeared to Uchiha Kurohane's left and right.
Kushina Uzumaki's eyes nearly popped out at the sight.
"You learned it on your first try? How is that possible?"
Naruto, who spent months unable to learn the Three Basic Jutsu, learned the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique in only one night. That proved this technique was not difficult to learn.
"I'm very good at controlling chakra. This Ninjutsu doesn't feel difficult."
Kushina Uzumaki pressed her lips tightly together, feeling unconvinced. After thinking for a moment, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Wait, are you using the ordinary Clone Technique to trick me?"
Since Kushina Uzumaki had practiced for an entire night without learning it, she did not believe Uchiha Kurohane had mastered it on his first hand seal.
Being clever, she thought of the possibility that Uchiha Kurohane was using the Clone Technique.
But being too clever and overthinking things was not always good.
Uchiha Kurohane's shadow clone raised its fist and smacked Kushina Uzumaki on the head.
"Ow!"
Kushina Uzumaki immediately clutched her head and crouched defensively.
"Why did you suddenly hit me?"
Uzumaki Mito understood Uchiha Kurohane's intention.
"Clones have no physical form. They disappear upon touching an object. Since he could hit you, that means it wasn't a clone, but a shadow clone."
Pain brought tears to the corners of Kushina Uzumaki's eyes, and she felt aggrieved.
"There are plenty of ways to prove they're shadow clones. You didn't need to hit me on the head! You're too rough!"
Uchiha Kurohane's original body rubbed her little head and said with a smile.
"That was my shadow clone who hit you. It had nothing to do with me."
Kushina Uzumaki thought he was making a sophistical argument.
"It was your shadow clone who hit me, so how does that have nothing to do with you?"
Uzumaki Mito explained for Uchiha Kurohane again.
"Have you forgotten the principle of the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique? Once shadow clones are created, they do not share senses with the original body, nor can the original directly control them."
"That was the shadow clone's independent action. It really had nothing to do with him."
Kushina Uzumaki was stunned.
"Then if a shadow clone robbed a bank, the original body couldn't be punished either?"
That question stumped Uzumaki Mito.
She had never considered how a shadow clone committing a crime should be handled.
Uchiha Kurohane thought the question was simple.
"That's why the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique is classified as a forbidden technique. There are all sorts of ethical issues behind it. This Ninjutsu is too dangerous, so simply not letting everyone learn it solves everything."
Before you continue