Multiple Shadow Clone Technique learned!

After returning from Orochimaru's underground laboratory, Amamiya Maki shut himself in his room.

[Remaining available pressure points: 1,985]

The system panel floated before his eyes, its glow shining on his face.

Nearly two thousand points.

Orochimaru alone had coughed up five hundred. Nawaki and Minato combined had only managed a third of that.

A Sannin was a Sannin.

But throwing less than two thousand points into the bottomless pit of the fragment system wouldn't even make a splash.

The scrolls Orochimaru had given him: Snake Clone, Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, Shedding Technique, and Soft Body Modification.

A complete collection of the five nature transformations, covering everything from C-rank to A-rank, and the Second's handwritten manuscript for the "Multiple Shadow Clone Technique" were all sitting in his bag.

It wasn't that he didn't want to train. He couldn't afford it.

[Flying Thunder God Technique (S-rank): 2,000 fragments required to redeem, current progress 6/2,000]

[Body Flicker Technique (D-rank): current progress 8/50]

[Mystical Palm Technique (A-rank): current progress 1,000/1,440]

[Monster Strength (B-rank): current progress 3/300]

Two thousand fragments for one S-rank ninjutsu.

His entire fortune amounted to 1,985. Fifteen points short.

Fifteen points.

Just fifteen more, and he would have two thousand.

But he was still hesitating, for one simple reason.

Kamui...

Was just so damn cool!

But it had too many restrictions. What if he got it and, without Uchiha blood, ended up as another Kakashi?

Even if he solved the bloodline problem along the way, what if he went blind?

He had spent several days in Orochimaru's laboratory, constantly fishing for information about a certain mysterious type of cell.

Orochimaru simply wouldn't talk.

Fine. If you won't talk, neither will I!

[Wind release chakra: beginner, current progress 8/30]

[Water release chakra: beginner, current progress 1/30]

[Medical Ninjutsu aptitude: proficient, current progress 21/60]

[Chakra Control: proficient, current progress 34/60]

[Mangekyō Sharingan (Kamui): 2,000 fragments required, current progress 1/2,000]

Like the beef bits in instant noodles. Huge on the packaging, but you needed a magnifying glass to find them once you opened it.

"Fifteen points short."

He muttered to himself.

"Where am I supposed to get fifteen points?"

Orochimaru had shut himself away in his laboratory.

Jiraiya had taken Minato away.

Tsunade had confined Nawaki to the hospital.

All three cash machines were out of service.

Those little brats at school? Last time, Jiro Matsumoto and his two lackeys hadn't even yielded thirty points.

Unfortunately, it was already evening. School had let out ages ago, and there wasn't a soul at the gates.

A cat meowed.

The window was open.

The strays from the backyard were sprawled on the windowsill, soaking up the last of the evening sun.

Their leader was a one-eyed calico with a chunk missing from its left ear, half a tail, and a body that had weathered a dozen catfights, big and small.

Its gaze was condescending. Its posture, its expression, its eyes.

A perfect little Konoha menace of a cat.

The local environment really did shape the locals.

Amamiya Maki stared at the cat for three seconds.

He had never tested whether cats fell within the system's definition of "others."

"How do you have the nerve to come begging for food every day when you're that ugly?"

[Detected: host has caused mental stress to "One-Eyed Calico Cat"]

[Pressure points +0.2]

Insulting Jiro Matsumoto had earned eight points. Insulting a cat earned only 0.2.

How mentally resilient was this cat?

No, wait.

The important thing was that cats actually counted.

A measly 0.2, sure, but there were plenty of cats.

He shoved the screen open and leaned halfway out.

Five were perched on the backyard wall. With the calico on the windowsill, that made six.

Six at 0.2 each meant 1.2 points.

Fine. Even a tiny morsel was still meat.

These cats must have been cat lovers in their past lives.

I really ought to put you cat-loving lot through your paces.

[Pressure points +1.2]

Cats counted. What about dogs?

He slipped on his sandals and headed out.

Three stray dogs were permanent fixtures in the alley behind the bathhouse on the next street, snatching up grilled fish dropped by passersby.

"You."

"That coat is so mutt-like. Staying such a purebred mutt after that many generations of crossbreeding takes real talent."

[Pressure points +0.3]

"You."

"Black fur and dead-fish eyes. Stand in a coal pile at night, and you've mastered the art of invisibility."

[Pressure points +0.2]

"And you."

"Were you born with that bald patch on your leg, or did someone bite it off? If it was a bite, you suck at fighting. You're even more pathetic than Jiro Matsumoto."

[Pressure points +0.2]

[Pressure points +0.2]

[Pressure points +0.2]

Three dogs and a pebble, and six-tenths of a point went into his account.

"Who's insulting my dogs?!"

A furious shout rang out at the mouth of the alley.

He turned.

A middle-aged woman in an apron emerged from the bathhouse's back door, carrying a bucket of slops.

Broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with arms bigger than his legs, she wore an apron printed with "Pine Bathhouse." The Bathhouse Owner.

A little white dog with curly fur followed at her feet, a bell dangling from its neck. A bichon-Pomeranian mix, it looked like it belonged in an entirely different picture from the three strays.

"All the dogs in this alley are domesticated strays I feed! What are you insulting them for?!"

Amamiya Maki's eyes lit up.

Two more people appeared behind the owner.

A shirtless furnace worker with a crooked dragon tattoo, carrying a poker.

And the old man from the neighboring Tofu Shop, who ambled over with his cane. A classic spectator looking for a bit of drama.

"How can a domesticated dog be a stray?"

"Where did this stray dog come from? The dogs aren't complaining, so why are you barking?"

[Detected: host has caused mental stress to "Bathhouse Owner"]

[Pressure points +8]

"You little punk!"

"Don't you love feeding dogs? I'm helping you with quality control, so we don't end up with a dog feeding dogs and nobody knowing who the owner is."

[Pressure points +12]

"You little brat!"

[Pressure points +5, from furnace worker]

"What kind of way is that for a child to talk..."

[Pressure points +3, from Tofu Shop old man]

Just then.

That yellow dog.

While everyone was arguing, it snatched up the grilled fish by the owner's feet.

The white curly-haired dog barked frantically, its bell jingling away.

The owner's shriek echoed down the entire street.

"My fish-!"

Amamiya Maki slipped out of the alley amid the chaos.

The battle of Bathhouse Alley had netted him 33.8 points.

Four dogs had contributed 0.8. Three people had contributed thirty-three.

Standing at the mouth of the alley, he opened the panel.

[Remaining available pressure points: 2,018.8]

Enough.

Two thousand for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. He ran all the way back to Minato's house, shut the door, and sat cross-legged on the bed.

"Redeem."

[Redemption successful!]

[Multiple Shadow Clone Technique (S-rank): all fragments collected, 2,000/2,000]

[Learn now?]

"Yes."

[Multiple Shadow Clone Technique: learned]

[Remaining available pressure points: 18.8]

He tried circulating his chakra.

He drew a stream from his lower abdomen, guided it upward through his chakra pathways, and divided it at a junction in his chest.

That step was the core of the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique: dividing his chakra into equal portions, each corresponding to one clone.

For now, he could only split it into five streams. Any more, and he lost control of the precision.

Five clones. That was his limit.

Evening.

He came out of his training and glanced at the panel.

Only 18.8 pressure points remained. He was flat broke.

He had milked the cats and dogs and swept through Bathhouse Alley. Tomorrow, he would need to find a new vein to mine.

He opened the door, intending to find something to eat at the cafeteria.

Orochimaru had spawned beside the window.

At that moment, he was leafing through the handwritten copy of Introduction to Chakra Nature Transformation.

Moonlight cast an eerie pallor over his face.

"An introductory exercise for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and in a single morning, you can already maintain a stable division trial for half a minute."

"An S-rank forbidden technique, and you reached this level after just one day of self-study."

He closed the notes and turned. His golden slit pupils narrowed slightly in the moonlight.

"Maki, your ability to learn is even more interesting than I anticipated."

"Two things."

"First, Jiraiya and I are heading to the Land of Rain's border tonight."

"Hanzō has declared war on the Lands of Fire, Wind, and Iron. Konoha needs people stationed at the front."

"And once again, that old bastard Danzo is holding the rear. He certainly talks a better game than he plays."

Orochimaru set the letter on the table and lightly tapped the paper with a fingertip.

"Second."

"The Land of Whirlpools has sent a request for aid. After secret communications, Kumogakure and Kirigakure have reached an understanding. They're preparing to move against Uzushio Village."