Copy Ninja Uchiha Toru

Although Kakashi had been defeated by Toru, that did not change the fact that he was a genius.

In terms of ninjutsu, Kakashi was nearly an entire level ahead of his classmates; even if he were to take the graduation exam now, it would not be a problem.

Kakashi stood up with a rather nonchalant air. The Clone Technique was far too elementary for him, and since the teacher had not specifically required them to demonstrate the most basic version, Kakashi simply showcased the strongest clone technique he had mastered: the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.

With a series of white puffs, Kakashi's shadow clones instantly filled the entire classroom, numbering at least a dozen or twenty.

The classmates were all amazed by the power of the technique, but Kakashi paid no mind to their reactions, instead turning to look at Toru.

He saw Toru's blue eyes staring intently at one of the shadow clones. Kakashi assumed that Toru was stunned by the technique, so he could not help but curl the corner of his mouth in triumph.

The limit of his Shadow Clone Technique had increased significantly since their previous spar, so Kakashi felt it was only natural for Toru to react this way.

However, what Kakashi did not notice was that Toru's Six Eyes were glowing faintly—a sign that the Six Eyes were currently in operation.

Toru was using his Chakra Six Eyes to carefully observe the flow of chakra in the shadow clones, including the way Kakashi's chakra had moved while he performed the hand seals earlier.

The ability of the Six Eyes allowed one to see cursed energy in great detail, and after being infused with chakra to become the Chakra Six Eyes, it could also clearly discern the flow of chakra. This level of detail was comparable to a precision, high-resolution thermal imaging instrument, allowing Toru to instantly see through the principles and methods of both jujutsu and ninjutsu.

As Kakashi withdrew his chakra, Toru disengaged from the world of chakra in his vision, thinking to himself, The principle is clear now. I should be able to succeed after trying it a few times when I get back.

Kakashi, unaware that his signature move had been "copied" by Toru, sat down after receiving unstinting praise from the teacher.

Toru was called up by the teacher right after Kakashi, but instead of the Shadow Clone Technique he had just stolen, he demonstrated the most basic Clone Technique.

It was not that Toru lacked the confidence to pull off the shadow clones; he simply intended to keep a low profile.

Deep down, Toru mentally locked away the stolen Shadow Clone Technique, having no intention of revealing it yet.

The level of the Shadow Clone Technique—and especially the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique—was not low. Since he had only just joined Konoha, revealing it rashly would not only invite suspicion but might also expose his greatest asset: the Six Eyes.

Toru planned to wait until he had a reasonable explanation before revealing his ability to use shadow clones, such as claiming he had found a training method from his clan, or waiting until he awakened his Sharingan. He had heard that the Sharingan possessed the ability to copy ninjutsu, which would serve as a perfect cover for the techniques he had learned.

The Clone Technique Toru displayed was flawless, and since he was a new student, he received the teacher's praise as well.

The students in the class were all debating and comparing who was the greater genius, Toru or Kakashi, and their popularity was currently neck and neck.

Although Toru had defeated Kakashi, that could be attributed to accidents or carelessness, while Kakashi was the class's veteran genius whose displayed mastery of ninjutsu was currently higher than Toru's. Thus, Kakashi had not fallen behind in this exchange.

The fanboys and fangirls who supported Toru claimed that he was the bigger genius, and that with his learning ability, it wouldn't be long before he surpassed Kakashi.

In short, neither side could best the other.

As for the center of the conflict, Toru and Kakashi were both indifferent to it. Victories in a war of words were meaningless. Toru didn't care about the blind comparisons made by children, and even Kakashi, who had developed a sense of rivalry toward Toru, was not concerned with such things.

The day's lessons ended quickly, and the students, still arguing over who was the greater genius, gradually dispersed.

Seeing that it was still early, Toru planned to head to one of Konoha's training grounds to observe.

Copying the Shadow Clone Technique had given Toru a taste of success. Copying ninjutsu provided a clear boost to his strength, and until he awakened his own cursed technique, these ninjutsu would be his foundation.

Konoha had forty-four training grounds in total. Aside from the forty-fourth, the others were open to the public year-round, and there should be plenty of people practicing ninjutsu there.

This would allow Toru to copy a wide variety of techniques; at this stage, the more ninjutsu he mastered, the better.

However, just as Toru finished packing his things and prepared to leave, Kurenai pulled him aside.

Toru turned back, looking a bit dazed, only to see Kurenai smiling shyly as she said, "Come to my house for dinner tonight. My dad told me to bring you along after school."

Toru did not refuse. After all, Yuhi Shinku was a friend of his late father and one of the few connections he had in this village.

"Alright."

Hearing Toru's answer, Yuhi Kurenai said happily, "Mm-hmm, then let's go together."

Toru nodded.

Asuma, standing nearby, had already gone numb. In the shadow of these two, he felt like nothing more than an eyesore of a third wheel.

Asuma clenched his fists and ran off, catching up to the teacher and shouting, "Teacher, I want to change my seat!"

Poor Asuma had chosen to flee.

Yuhi Kurenai looked at Asuma's retreating figure in bewilderment; she did not understand why his reaction was so intense. Could it be that he disliked her?

At this moment, Toru interrupted her thoughts. "Which direction is your house in?"

Toru had guessed the reason for Asuma's overreaction—it was nothing more than jealousy at seeing the interaction between him and Yuhi Kurenai. Kids in this world are quite mature.

Kurenai snapped out of it and led Toru to her home.

Yuhi Kurenai's house was in a prime location, close to the center of the village.

Kurenai opened the door with her key, and the two changed their shoes in the entryway and stepped inside. They saw Yuhi Shinku sitting at the table in his chunin vest, watching Toru silently.

Kurenai stepped forward and said, "Dad, I've brought Toru back."

Seeing Yuhi Shinku nod, Kurenai went to the washroom to clean her hands.

"Hello, Uncle," Toru said, bowing.

But before he could even straighten up, the seated Yuhi Shinku had vanished. In his place was a strange, blurry figure that was rapidly closing in on him, radiating a dangerous aura as if he would die at its hands in the next second.

However, this did not frighten Toru. Using his Chakra Six Eyes, he precisely located the thread of chakra that had infiltrated his visual nerves and purged it from his body.

The genjutsu was dispelled, and Yuhi Shinku sat in his original seat, looking astonished.

"Although it was just a low-level Illusion Clone Technique, it should have been a tricky genjutsu for someone like you to deal with. I didn't expect that not only would you not be flustered, you would dispel it yourself."

Toru said modestly, "I am just naturally sensitive to chakra."

Yuhi Shinku sighed, "Your talent is truly the real deal. Even that boy from Sakumo's family was defeated by you. It's only natural that you'd have talent in the field of genjutsu; after all, your father..."

Yuhi Shinku's words remained unfinished, but through his father's notes on genjutsu and Yuhi Shinku's words, Toru already knew that his father had once achieved high mastery in the art of genjutsu.

Perhaps the friendship between these two had stemmed from their shared research into genjutsu.

"Genjutsu is truly miraculous. I had thought there was no difference between it and ninjutsu, but now it seems the distinction is quite clear."

Toru had successfully broken free of the genjutsu thanks to his Chakra Six Eyes, and he had also used those all-purpose eyes to deconstruct the principles of the Illusion Clone Technique.

The effect of this technique was similar to the Clone Technique, as both created a false clone.

However, there was a fundamental difference between the two: one was ninjutsu, and the other was genjutsu.

The key to the Clone Technique lay in using chakra to condense a shell that looked identical to the original, while the principle of the Illusion Clone Technique was completely different—it projected the caster's chakra into the target's visual nerves to fabricate the image of an illusion.

The distinction between the two gave Toru a basic understanding of these two major categories of techniques.

Combined with the taijutsu memories from his past life, Toru had now gained a preliminary understanding of the "nin-tai-gen" trio of arts that ordinary ninja relied upon.

I've copied this technique as well, Toru thought.