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 little brats had turned into construction workers, repairing the road they'd damaged earlier.

"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'd expected.

Destroying something really was much easier than building it.

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

Kakashi kept laying bricks on the other side.

"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 stubbornly proud people who cared too much about their feelings.

He'd tested it himself.

Once, an Uchiha had caught him causing trouble. Kazan had shown him so much goodwill that the man's ice-cold attitude had completely changed.

The Uchiha Military Police Force hadn't had an easy time of it these past few years.

Being a law enforcer meant angering plenty of villagers and making them afraid of you.

Even though the Nine-Tails rampage hadn't happened yet, Konoha's villagers already disliked the Uchiha.

So when Kazan showed he understood their troubles and put their feelings into words, he'd immediately won them over.

The Uchiha were much easier to deal with than Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Kakashi didn't understand. His view of the Uchiha was the same as the other villagers'.

They used the convenience of serving in the Military Police Force to stay in the village most of the time, throwing their weight around among their own people.

That was the Uchiha!

But Kakashi didn't care about the Uchiha. Their relationship with the village had nothing to do with him.

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 meant!"

Kakashi whipped around angrily. Though his mask hid most of his face, Kazan could tell he was gritting 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 man do you think he was?"

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

"I'm not talking about his looks!"

"Neither am I!"

Kakashi froze. He saw that Kazan was serious.

He took a deep breath. "In the world of ninja, completing the mission comes before everything else. Anyone who willingly abandons a mission is trash!"

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

The answer came to Kazan without a second's thought. Even after all these years, he still remembered that classic line.

He looked up and saw Kakashi's eyes widen.

Those words had clearly shaken him.

Kazan went on, "I think your dad did the right thing. I wouldn't let a comrade die in front of me either, including you."

He'd thought it over for ages and decided the easiest way to get the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique was through Kakashi.

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

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

But Kakashi might have the technique among the things his father had left him.

So Kazan wanted to get on Kakashi's good side, then get the technique through him.

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

It was a completely different view from anything he'd heard in years.

Kazan had only respect and approval for his father, not blame or curses.

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

The words kept repeating in his mind.

After a moment, Kakashi turned his head away and said with a touch of stubborn pride, "Worry about yourself. You don't even know any Ninjutsu."

Why does he sound so soft all of a sudden?

Kazan laughed to himself. These little kids were easy to win over.

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

"Kakashi, can you think of a way to speed things up? I have 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 can create solid clones!"

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

The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

That was the technique Kakashi meant.

But Pops had told him it carried some risk, so he hadn't learned it.

Solid clones had to be Shadow Clones.

"A Clone Technique that makes solid clones? Can you teach me?" Kazan seized the chance without a shred of shame. He'd just beaten Kakashi up, yet he was already asking for a favor.

Surely what he'd said earlier had earned him enough goodwill to ask for a little something.

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

Kakashi hadn't refused him outright.

In Konoha, far too few people understood and approved of his father.

"That's not true. 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 the Shadow Clone Technique be compared to other techniques?

The King of Deserters had casually said he'd train two hundred times harder and then leveled up like mad. In two years, he'd mastered all of the Six Powers and Haki, even developed something called Honest Fist Bone. He'd taken one of the Corrupt King's arms and was considered a candidate for a Future Marine Admiral.

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

That wasn't asking too much, was it?

Kakashi's instincts told him Kazan wasn't being honest.

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

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

Probably...