Multiple Shadow Clone Technique

Night had fallen.

The streets were nearly empty. Most of Konoha's villagers had gone to sleep.

There weren't many ways to have fun in this world.

But on a street in the south of the village, two kids had turned into road workers, repairing the road they had wrecked not long ago.

"What time is it? I'm exhausted!" Kazan looked up at the sky. It had to be at least eleven.

The repairs were far more trouble than he had imagined.

Destroying something really was much easier than making it.

"Count yourself lucky. We fought in the village without permission. By rights, we should be at the Military Police Force getting interrogated by the Uchiha."

Kakashi concentrated on laying bricks at the other end.

"I'd rather sit in the Military Police Force than do this."

The people of Konoha feared the Uchiha, but Kazan knew they were just a bunch of stubborn softies who cared too much about their feelings.

He had tested it himself.

Once, he had gotten caught causing trouble. He'd shown the Uchiha officer such overwhelming goodwill that the man's icy expression had softened on the spot.

The Uchiha Military Police Force hadn't had an easy time of it over the years.

Enforcing the rules meant angering plenty of villagers and making them afraid.

The Nine-Tails rampage hadn't even happened yet, but Konoha's villagers already disliked the Uchiha.

So when Kazan understood their troubles and said what the Uchiha were feeling, he won them over at once.

Compared with Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Uchiha were much easier to handle.

Kakashi didn't see it that way. He shared the villagers' opinion of the Uchiha.

They used their position in the Military Police Force to throw their weight around the village while spending most of their time safely at home.

That was the Uchiha!

But Kakashi didn't care about the Uchiha or their relationship with the village.

What he cared about was Kazan's opinion of his father.

Their fight and conversation had made Kakashi feel that Kazan wasn't quite like everyone else in the village.

"My father..."

"Your dad died. I know."

"That's not what I mean!"

Kakashi whipped around angrily. His mask hid most of his face, but Kazan could tell he was grinding his teeth.

"Then what do you mean?"

"I want to know what you think of my father." Kakashi took a deep breath. "What kind of person do you think he was?"

"A cool guy. Hatake Sakumo was way cooler than you."

"I'm not talking about looks!"

"Neither am I!"

Kakashi froze. Kazan's eyes were serious.

Kakashi drew a deep breath. "In the world of Ninja, completing the mission comes first. Anyone who abandons a mission is trash!"

"But anyone who abandons a comrade for a mission is worse than trash."

The answer rolled off Kazan's tongue. Even after all these years, he still remembered that classic line.

He looked up and saw Kakashi's eyes go wide.

Those words had clearly shaken him.

"I think your dad did the right thing," Kazan went on. "I wouldn't let any of my comrades die in front of me either. That includes you."

Kazan had thought about it for a long time. The easiest way to get the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was through Kakashi.

The technique was recorded in the Scroll of Seals, and Kazan couldn't get his hands on that.

There was no way he could sneak into the heavily guarded Hokage's Office, with ANBU everywhere, and learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

But Kakashi might have inherited a copy of the technique from his father.

So Kazan wanted to get on good terms with Kakashi, then get the technique through him.

Kakashi had no idea what Kazan was plotting. His heart was in turmoil.

This was a different opinion from anything he had heard in years.

Kazan spoke of his father with respect and approval, not blame or curses.

"Anyone who abandons a comrade for a mission is worse than trash."

The words kept echoing through Kakashi's mind.

After a moment, Kakashi turned his head aside and said with forced indifference, "Worry about yourself. You can't even use Ninjutsu."

Why does he sound so soft all of a sudden?

Kazan chuckled to himself. These kids were easy to win over.

He stretched and said casually, "At this rate, I don't think the two of us can finish tonight."

"Kakashi, can you think of any way to speed things up? I've got school tomorrow."

"No. And nobody's coming to help us this late."

Kakashi kept laying bricks, but after a while, something occurred to him.

"My father did have a technique that might help. It makes solid clones!"

"But I haven't learned it yet, so don't think you can slack off!"

Multiple Shadow Clones.

That had to be the technique Kakashi meant.

Kakashi had heard from his Pops that the technique carried some risk, though, so he hadn't learned it.

Solid clones had to be Shadow Clones.

"A Clone Technique that makes solid copies? Can you teach me?" Kazan seized the opening shamelessly. He had just beaten Kakashi up, but he still asked him outright.

Surely that speech had earned him plenty of goodwill. Asking for a little payoff wasn't too much, was it?

"I thought you weren't interested in Ninjutsu?"

Kakashi hadn't refused outright.

There were far too few people in Konoha who understood and approved of his father.

"Nonsense. I'm just bad at Ninjutsu, so I had no choice but to train in Taijutsu. I love learning."

Kakashi had to be out of his mind!

How could Shadow Clones be compared with other techniques?

The Deserter King had casually decided to train two hundred times harder and shot through the ranks. In two years, he had mastered all of the Six Powers and Haki, developed Honest Fist Bone, and blown off one of the Corrupt King's arms. He was now considered a candidate for a future Marine Admiral.

Kazan wasn't greedy. Training five, six, seven, or eight times harder would do.

That wasn't asking too much, right?

Kakashi's instincts told him Kazan wasn't telling the truth.

But he didn't mind letting Kazan learn the technique. His father's Ninja Way lived on in Kazan.

He was sure that if his father were still alive, he would agree too.

Probably...