Multiple Shadow Clone Technique Acquired

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

The sound of air being torn apart kept echoing above Central Street.

Watching figure after figure dart past, both ninjas and civilians realized that something major had happened tonight.

But no alarm sounded, and those speeding figures did not organize anyone to head for the shelters, so the villagers relaxed.

The matter had nothing to do with them, and there was no danger.

Izayoi sat in a single armchair on the balcony, drinking juice as he admired the starry sky.

Even the figures leaping over his rooftop failed to draw his attention.

No one knew how much time passed. Only after the fleeting silhouettes stopped racing across the rooftops of Central Street, and the pedestrians on the streets gradually dwindled, did Izayoi rise as if he had grown tired of watching.

Before long, the lights in the living room went out.

After showering, Izayoi emerged in his pajamas, a faint smile appearing on his handsome face.

The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique... was his!

No one knew that inside an artificial cave somewhere in the Land of Waterfalls, several differently shaped figures had blended into the mountain wall using the Invisibility Technique. With vision that covered a range of up to eighty kilometers, they had kept their eyes fixed on Naruto Uzumaki in his orange jacket outfit.

From the moment he walked out of the Hokage Building, every move he made had been under the watch of those gazes.

Neither the Nine-Tails within Naruto Uzumaki nor Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been watching Naruto Uzumaki through Crystal Ball Telepathy, noticed the slightest thing despite those powerful long-range and penetrating vision abilities.

When Naruto Uzumaki opened the Sealing Scroll, those figures also unrolled blank scrolls and worked together to copy down the training method for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

Those figures were precisely Izayoi's shadow clones, transformed using the Transformation Technique.

After copying down the training method for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and hiding it away, the shadow clones erased every trace and scent before dispersing on the spot.

After receiving the feedback, Izayoi did not immediately retrieve the training scroll for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

He already had the training method. There was no need to rush.

Lying on his bed, Izayoi grew curious about the class assignments for the day after tomorrow.

The same held true as before.

He was certain that Hiruzen Sarutobi had secretly observed his training with Hinata, as well as his battle with Sasuke Uchiha.

Before even graduating, he had mastered tree climbing and Water Surface Walking, which the Ninja Academy had not taught, along with basic Wind Release and Fire Release, as well as the B-rank Shadow Clone Technique. Whether in taijutsu sparring or unrestricted fights, he had utterly crushed the Young Lady of the Hyuga Clan's Main House and the surviving Uchiha who had awakened the Sharingan.

Such a civilian genius might not compare to Minato Namikaze, who had been taken in as Jiraiya's disciple at the age of twelve and defeated Cloud Ninja, or Kakashi Hatake, who had already become a jonin and developed the A-rank Lightning Release: Chidori, but he was still second only to them.

After all, they had lived in wartime, while Izayoi was a product of the age of peace.

Standing head and shoulders above the rest in such an exceptional generation of rookies, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi did not wish to offend those Ninja Clans, he would not lump Izayoi together with ordinary students and assign him an ordinary Guidance Jonin as his teacher, would he?

If that truly happened, it would mean Hiruzen Sarutobi had no intention of investing in him.

His attention toward Izayoi would also sharply decrease afterward, allowing Izayoi to secretly make a few small moves.

With that thought, Izayoi no longer cared about the class assignments and closed his eyes to sleep.

The next day, when Izayoi got up and found that neither Hinata nor Hanabi had come over, he first went to retrieve the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

Considering that Hiruzen Sarutobi's Crystal Ball Telepathy was voyeurism from God's Perspective, Izayoi lay down and read the scroll.

That way, even if he could not detect Crystal Ball Telepathy, Izayoi would not fear Hiruzen Sarutobi spying on him.

Without being able to simplify the Hand Seals, the seals and chakra circulation for the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique differed from those of the Shadow Clone Technique.

The former required fewer hand seals than the latter, but it consumed an astonishing amount of chakra. If someone without immense chakra reserves used this technique, they could easily injure themselves or even endanger their life. Therefore, only those with massive chakra reserves could practice it.

"They all say Kakashi Hatake is the unit of measurement, yet he could already use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique when he was five or six years old."

Izayoi thought to himself, "Even though the Sharingan constantly consumed chakra and burdened him for more than a decade, Kakashi Hatake's chakra reserves still remained at the Elite Jonin level."

"After losing the Sharingan, it only took him a few short years to recover enough chakra to cast an Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall that encircled the Hidden Leaf Village, with dog heads carved into it."

"If the Sharingan had not held him back, his current chakra reserves would definitely be no less than Kisame Hoshigaki's."

Setting aside those Jinchuriki, only a handful of people in this era were capable of using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

Izayoi was one of them.

At that moment, Izayoi felt immensely fortunate that he had not acted on impulse and used the Newbie Gift Pack on Naruto Uzumaki.

Otherwise, his only advantage now would have been his massive chakra reserves.

Even if he had obtained Sasuke Uchiha's Sage Eye, he would need years—perhaps even more than a decade—before he could awaken the Rinnegan.

In contrast, with Otsutsuki Bloodline (Red) + Sage Eye (Red) + Prince of the Byakugan (Red), he could already feel that the Fetal Movement phase was about to arrive.

In less than five minutes, Izayoi put away the scroll. He had already learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

There was no need to test it. With his current chakra reserves, he only needed to follow the chakra circulation described on the scroll to create hundreds or even thousands of shadow clones.

To prevent Hanabi from accidentally seeing the scroll and attempting to practice it out of playfulness, Izayoi did not hide it away. Instead, he destroyed it.

He had already learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

If needed, he could write one up himself, or teach them step by step.

By noon, seeing that neither Hinata nor Hanabi had come over, Izayoi assumed they might not be coming today and headed out to buy some ninja tools.

After all, there was still a real test before they could carry out missions.

On the way, Izayoi saw Naruto Uzumaki being pestered by Konohamaru, as well as Special Jonin Ebisu secretly following behind them.

The dark green Goggles on Naruto Uzumaki's forehead had already been replaced with a Genin Forehead Protector. Apparently, he had only recently retaken his file photo.

Naruto Uzumaki, who was looking down and talking to Konohamaru, did not notice Izayoi.

Izayoi did not go over to greet him either. He merely glanced at him before withdrawing his gaze and continuing toward the ninja tool shop.

When Izayoi returned home, however, he found two extra pairs of shoes by the entrance.

From a room on the first floor that had been converted into a Training Hall came a rapid series of sounds, like clapping hands or objects colliding—crisp, yet heavy.

He walked over and opened the door, only to see Hinata and Hanabi, already changed into white Training Uniforms, their Byakugan activated and the veins at their temples bulging, sparring with each other.

The girls' hands became afterimages, blue auras swirling around their bodies. Every collision between those afterimages stirred up a considerable gust of wind.

A closer look revealed that Hinata was not going all out. She was merely feeding Hanabi moves.

If she had been serious, Hanabi would already have been bruised all over.

After all, in Izayoi and Hinata's eyes, Hanabi, who currently only knew the Pressure Point Strike, had attack patterns that were far too easy to read.

And her footing was terrible, leaving her full of openings.

Thinking of that, Izayoi felt that he could find time to teach Hanabi tree climbing and Water Surface Walking ahead of schedule.

Aside from her Byakugan being slightly less pure than Hinata's, Hanabi was no weaker than her sister in any other regard. Like Hinata in the past, she was fully capable of learning higher-level Chakra Control ahead of time.

"Nii-chan, take this—"

Just as Izayoi was thinking that, Hanabi's cute shout suddenly pulled him back to his senses.

Hanabi, dressed in her Training Uniform, was already charging toward him.

With the veins bulging at her temples and blue aura wrapped around her fingertips, she was quite intimidating among children her age.

But Izayoi merely curled his lips into a slight smile. Without even putting down the bag in his hand, he turned into an afterimage and appeared beside Hanabi as if he had teleported.

The top of his bare foot pressed against Hanabi's stomach.

A powerful yet gentle force sent Hanabi's body flying through the air toward Hinata.

Hinata reached out and caught her flying sister.

"Come on, attack together."

Izayoi tossed the bag of tools into a corner, curled a finger at the two girls, and wore an openly provocative expression.

The Hyuga sisters exchanged glances, then immediately nodded with serious little faces before charging at Izayoi.

"Nii-chan, you're too arrogant! You'll regret this!" Hanabi shouted.

Hinata said nothing, but her slender, jade-like fingers contained astonishing strength and chakra as they sliced through the air like arrows.

Then, even louder impacts immediately rang out across the first floor of Izayoi's house.

Now and then, cries of pain and miserable screams mixed in. If the soundproofing had not been so good, passersby might have gotten the wrong idea.

But after a little more than half an hour, the sounds of battle were replaced by playful scuffling.

"Waaah... It hurts, it hurts! Hiss... Nii-chan, I hate you! I'm going to bite you to death!"

"Didn't you say you'd make me regret it? Where did that spirit from earlier go? Stop biting me—your injuries are already healed, but your sister still hasn't been treated."

"I'm biting you anyway! Sister, bite the other side! Let's bite Nii-chan until he cries!"

"Hahaha... The bite marks will disappear on their own in a moment. Stop licking me, it's so ticklish."

"Hehe... We'll keep licking you! We're getting revenge on you, Nii-chan!"

"..."