The Terrifying Five Hundred Thousand

Jin's room was next to Sasuke's, and each of them had their own nanny.

While the nanny was away, Jin snapped his fingers. Snap! A clone appeared to his right. Snap! He snapped again. The previous clone vanished, and another appeared. Jin began to giggle foolishly. "Fun! So fun! So handsome! So cool! Just thinking about Itachi's hand-sign speed makes me dizzy. If I had to train like that, I'd end up smashing my head against a wall! Hehe, look at my technique—one finger snap solves everything! Even if you wanted to imitate it, you couldn't! Kakashi wouldn't be able to copy me either! Hahaha, don't even think about copying me!"

Snap! One clone vanished, and another appeared.

"I'm exhausted! My fingers are swollen! Damn it, this isn't work for a human! It doesn't use much chakra, but it's way too torturous! How much longer until I can make two clones? Forget it. For the sake of staying alive, I'd better keep practicing before the nanny comes back. I won't snap my fingers anymore—I'll save that for actual battles!"

One clone vanished, and another appeared.

"1999!"

"2000!"

"2001!"

"Hahaha! I really am a genius! I finally made two clones!"

Motivated, Jin began practicing the Clone Technique even harder.

The sound of footsteps interrupted Jin's training.

"Clone Release!" Jin hurriedly said.

"Mother!" Jin only managed to say two words.

"Jin, what were you playing? Why are you covered in sweat? My little darling! You're not sick, are you?"

A pair of gentle hands reached for Jin's forehead.

Jin smiled faintly. "Ran, ran, played, hot!"

Jin's mother smiled lovingly. "Oh, so you were playing. I'll have your brother Itachi take you two little ones out for a walk later. Hehehe, all right, stop staring at Mother. I'll go make the arrangements now. I still have a mission. You must grow up quickly, all right? Then become great ninja. Come on, let's go see your little brother."

The two arrived at Sasuke's room. Jin immediately saw Sasuke sleeping, drool running from the corner of his mouth. He instantly felt the urge to burst out laughing, but seeing his mother's kind smile, he held it in. Inside, though, he was laughing so hard he nearly doubled over. Just imagining telling Sasuke about this after he grew up... it would be perfect leverage for blackmail!

Seeing that his mother showed no sign of leaving, Jin said, "Mother, play. Brother. Itachi."

Only then did Jin's mother come back to her senses. "Oh, I forgot about my little Jin. Let's go."

After Jin's mother left the room, she happened to see Sasuke's nanny and said, "Go find Itachi."

Before long, Itachi appeared before them, his body covered in injuries.

Watching Itachi work so hard, Jin secretly felt ashamed and said, "Brother Itachi, keep it up!"

Itachi looked at little Jin and smiled happily. "Mother, what is it?"

His mother said, "Itachi, make sure you rest! Take your little brother out for a walk. He'll get lonely by himself. Sasuke is sleeping right now. I have a mission later, so I'll leave the two of them to you."

Itachi smiled. "Don't worry, Mother!"

Itachi carried Jin as they strolled through the streets of Konoha. Suddenly, Jin spotted a wonderful place. From there came the long-missed scent of grilled meat! He pointed with his little hand. "Eat!"

Itachi said happily, "All right! Come on, I'll take you to eat grilled meat! I haven't had any in a long time either!"

Jin had finally gotten a chance to go out, so he ate and drank like crazy, giving Itachi quite a fright. This... I almost didn't have enough money. It looks like I need to improve my strength quickly, take on more missions, and earn more money. Otherwise, I'll disappoint my little brother next time. Besides, there's another little brother at home. I have to work harder!

Jin had no idea what Itachi was thinking. If he did, he would have been moved to tears.

On the way home, Jin kept looking left and right, memorizing the roads and familiarizing himself with Konoha's current state.

After Itachi brought Jin home, he went off to train diligently.

Jin was very happy today. His Clone Technique had leveled up, he had gone out for a stroll, and he had enjoyed a lavish meal. His subsequent training became even more intense.

He spent nearly the entire afternoon practicing the Clone Technique. Whenever his chakra ran out, he rested for a while. Once it was replenished, he started practicing again.

"1000!"

"1001!"

"1998!"

"1999!"

"2000!"

"2001!"

"? No reaction. Seriously?"

"2002!"

"3000!"

"3001!"

"Still no reaction! I'll keep going!"

"3002!"

"3999!"

"4000!"

"4001!"

"Hahaha! Success! I finally made three clones!!! I really am a super genius!" Waves of laughter echoed through his heart!

Jin began counting on his fingers. "Level 2 took 2,000 times. Level 3 took 4,000, so Level 4 will probably take 8,000, and Level 5 will take 16,000! Level 6 will be 32,000! Level 7, 64,000! Level 8, 128,000! Level 9, 256,000! That makes five hundred thousand in total!!! No way! Isn't this asking for my life?! I didn't design it like this back then! What the hell happened? It must have been that damn old man!" A tremendous surge of resentment shot into the sky.