Limited Skin: Water Clone Technique!

The corner of Mikami Yu's mouth twitched. What kind of Lin Daiyu talk was that? Had the Clone Technique read Dream of the Red Chamber too?

Before he could respond,

the eldest sister, the Transformation Technique, spoke again:

[Transformation Technique: Little Clone, stop fooling around. Little Mikami went to such lengths to prepare a gift for you, yet you're still being picky. If you don't want it, then the Substitution Technique and I will take it.]

[Clone Technique: Who said I don't want it? Hmph, what gift? I'll just treat it as his apology for not bringing me along when he dealt with that cataract-eyed guy!]

[Clone Technique Affection +2. The [Gift Giving] option has been temporarily unlocked.]

After playing Galageki for so long, it had to be said that the Transformation Technique was the most considerate one.

Still, the Clone Technique was only saying that.

Like the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu, this one had a bit of a sharp tongue but soft heart. So, very quickly, "she" verbally accepted the gift with an awkward yet delighted attitude.

Mikami Yu did not care much about that.

He was only curious about how this gift was supposed to be given. If he really gave it away, what changes would happen to the Clone Technique? Would something like its affection resetting to zero occur?

Soon enough,

with a try-it-and-see mindset, Mikami Yu tapped [Gift Giving].

A flash of white light swept past.

The Water Clone scroll on the table vanished in an instant.

At the same time, the strategy list in the Galageki System changed—

[Current available targets: Transformation Technique, Water Clone Technique (Clone Technique), Substitution Technique, Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu, Healing Technique]

[Potential available targets: Water Release: Water Shockwave, Gentle Fist (requirements not met)]

[Water Clone Technique (Clone Technique): The Clone Technique equipped with the "Water Clone Technique" Limited Skin possesses the same properties as a Water Clone. It can create a water clone with 10% of the original body's strength. The clone's abilities are enhanced while in water, but it cannot stray too far from the original body.]

[Clone Technique Affection +8. Current Affection: 52/100 (Intimate)]

(Stage reward obtained: Physique +1. Trait: Shared Vision. Your Clone Technique possesses partial vision. When concentrating, you may connect the vision of the original body and two clones, sharing their fields of view.)

(Note: This trait can be used while equipped with the "Water Clone" skin.)

"Holy crap..."

Mikami Yu clenched his fist hard, delight appearing on his face.

It was not that he looked down on the Clone Technique, but honestly, the ordinary E-Rank Clone Technique had rather limited applications. It could still be used in fights between Genin, but against Chunin and above, it was hard for it to be effective. Most of the time, it was not even as useful as simply throwing a smoke bomb.

But Water Clones were different.

They were very similar to the Shadow Clone Technique. Other than being weaker, with only one-tenth of the original body's strength, there was basically no difference. But the Shadow Clone Technique was B-Rank Ninjutsu, something one usually could not learn until becoming a Jonin. Being able to obtain Water Clones at this stage was already more than enough.

And with the appearance of Water Clones, the Shared Vision trait finally had a real use.

"Come to think of it..."

Since "Water Clone" could be considered a skin for the Clone Technique, did Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu count as a skin for Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu?

And there were Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame, Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Annihilation, Lightning Release Clone, Earth Release Shadow Clone, Multi Shadow Clone Technique...

Although these techniques were mostly B-Rank Ninjutsu or above and would be rather difficult to obtain, at least Mikami Yu now knew what direction to work toward.

"What a huge haul."

"Oh, right, there's also Wild Water Wave... I'll practice that tomorrow. It's already too late today."

Mikami Yu glanced at the moonlight outside the window, calmed down from his excitement, quickly washed up, and went to bed.

The next day.

As usual, Mikami Yu went with Nohara Rin and Obito to Konoha Hospital to attend half a day of lessons.

Then, that afternoon, he arrived on Konoha's main road and waited for the Might father and son, dressed in dark green bodysuits and sprinting all the way over on their hands like bizarre creatures.

"Yo! Guy! Your youth still isn't burning fiercely enough! You've only done five laps around Konoha on your hands, and you're already tired?"

"I'm sorry, Dad! It's my fault! If I can't run ten laps around Konoha, I'll do one thousand push-ups!"

"Good! That's the spirit!"

Might Duy shouted at the top of his lungs in his rough voice.

Might Guy shouted back beside him.

Suddenly, Might Duy noticed Mikami Yu standing by the roadside. He immediately freed one hand and gave him a thumbs-up, flashing a mouthful of White Fang. "It's Yu! Good afternoon! Are you here to burn your youth with us too?"

"...I guess so. Can I not run on my hands?"

The corner of Mikami Yu's mouth twitched as he spoke.

He considered himself quite outgoing, but compared to Might Duy, he was downright socially anxious.

This man truly did not care about anyone else's opinions. His mind contained nothing but his own goals. Ordinary people really could not handle doing laps around the village in such a bizarre posture.

But Mikami Yu had come with a purpose.

So he did not say much. He merely followed the Might father and son, running normally as the three of them sweated together.

One lap...

Two laps...

Konoha was quite large. If the training grounds outside the residential district were included, the entire village had a diameter of dozens of kilometers. Even without running right along the village's edge, one lap was equivalent to two full marathons. Ten laps would be even more outrageous.

Mikami Yu had originally thought that after gaining eight points of physique, he would be fine.

But after four or five laps, his breathing still began to grow heavy. It felt as though his lungs had been stuffed with scorching sand, and every breath came with searing pain. Sweat rolled down his skin, only to be dried away by the sun.

"Seventh lap! Youth only feels satisfying when it burns itself completely away! Yu! Guy!"

Might Duy's signature rough roar exploded beside his ears. He was still supporting his body with those powerful arms as he advanced upside down, yet he was hardly any slower than Mikami Yu running upright.

"Yes, Dad!"

Might Guy was running upside down as well, though he was much slower than Might Duy. By now, he was drenched in sweat, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered. After all, he had been tempered by this kind of "youthful training method" since childhood.

Finally...

After stumbling through his ninth lap—Might Duy and Guy's fourteenth—Mikami Yu truly could not keep going. His vision kept darkening, and his steps staggered several times. He nearly collapsed to the ground before finally having to stop and say to Might Duy beside him,

"Huff... huff... Uncle Duy, Guy... I need to rest for a bit..."

Thud—!

Might Duy performed a forward flip and landed steadily in front of Mikami Yu. Supporting him by the shoulders, he said in surprise, "Yu! Your improvement is incredible! I remember that a month ago, you could barely even finish two laps with us, but now you've actually held on for nine!"

"Huff... I can't keep being the dead last forever... I've been training extra lately..."

Mikami Yu wiped the sweat from his face and pulled out a brilliant smile.