Shadow Clone Practice

Chapter Fifteen: Practice

The next day, the weekend was over. Ayato's Shadow Clone arrived at school and headed toward his seat as usual. He was the kind of inconspicuous kid in class, and he sat beside Naruto Uzumaki, so people generally did not seek him out.

Ayato was perfectly happy with that. Every day, he quietly absorbed all kinds of knowledge. He had not yet finished reading the textbooks taught at the Academy, and once he had, he planned to ask Iruka Sensei for other books to read.

As a ninja instructor, Iruka probably knew of quite a few books useful to ninja. They might not be part of the curriculum, but they definitely existed.

"Ayato, good morning!"

Just then, a voice called out beside Ayato's ear, making him stop. He turned and saw Ino waving at him with a smile.

"Good morning, Ino." Ayato nodded at her and smiled as well. He enjoyed being inconspicuous, but it was still nice to have someone care about him.

The people around them were somewhat surprised. When had these two become so close? Still, while they were surprised, no one did anything unnecessary.

Ayato walked over and sat down at his seat. Looking at the empty seat beside him, he sighed. Naruto Uzumaki would probably greet him too.

But here was the problem: could Ayato expect someone who was always late to arrive before him? So usually, their situation was the other way around.

Sure enough, Naruto arrived right on time again today. Judging by how out of breath he was, he had probably overslept again.

"Morning." Ayato flipped through his book and spoke without looking up after Naruto sat down. It was not that he did not want to look up; this was simply better for now.

"Morning!" Naruto looked delighted. After all, very few people treated him like this. In truth, he wanted to get closer to Ayato too, but every day, he saw how seriously Ayato studied and read. He did not want to interrupt him over trivial things.

Soon, the day's lessons began. Ayato had already studied the material the teacher was covering on his own, but he still spared a bit of attention to listen.

Whenever he heard an interpretation different from his own, he shifted his focus away from his book. If he heard a better insight, he carefully wrote it down.

These were all unavoidable steps in growing stronger. Though he knew the original story and understood many advanced ninja techniques, those things were castles in the air to Ayato for the time being.

What Ayato was doing now was filling in the foundation beneath those castles. One day, when that foundation was complete, it would bring him unimaginable gains.

The day's lessons soon ended, and it was time for extracurricular activities. Iruka generally supervised them, and at that point, Ayato closed his book and rose from his seat.

Naruto Uzumaki beside him followed at the same time, but Ayato seemed to be heading in a different direction this time.

"Ayato, where are you going? Extracurricular activities are over there." Naruto followed after him, confused.

"I'm going to the bathroom. You go ahead first," Ayato answered, feeling a slight headache. If Naruto kept following him, how was he supposed to carry out the Handover with his original body? At the very least, he needed to get somewhere empty before dispelling the Shadow Clone.

"Oh, okay." Naruto scratched his head and agreed, making Ayato breathe a sigh of relief.

Finally, after reaching the bathroom and confirming no one else was around, Ayato dispelled the Shadow Clone, which vanished in a puff of white smoke.

Before long, Ayato's original body easily found a secluded spot and climbed into the school. He was feeling rather good at the moment.

Sure enough, practice was the only truth. The Shadow Clone still had some time left before it would expire. Ayato had originally wanted to arrive earlier, but after smelling the sweat on himself, he had no choice but to hurry back home, wash up, and then come over.

By then, Ayato had received everything the Shadow Clone had gained that day. He saw Ino through its memories and sensed how the clone had felt when she greeted it. Naturally, the original body was no exception. At their core, they were the same person.

In a pleasant mood, Ayato headed toward the area for extracurricular activities. The Shadow Clone experiment had been a huge success.

As for Ino, Ayato did not really have any thoughts about her—certainly not now. After all, he had the soul of someone in his twenties. Looking at six-year-old Ino was truly like looking at a child. How could he possibly have any improper thoughts?

Besides, in his previous life, he had been an Azur Lane player. Being a lolicon had absolutely nothing to do with him.

As for whether Ayato's body, already tired from training, could endure the extracurricular activities?

Ayato felt that the intensity of extracurricular activities could practically count as rest for him, so there was no problem at all.

"Ayato, you're finally back. Why did you take so long?" Naruto said when he spotted Ayato returning.

"Yeah, my stomach was acting up." Ayato turned his head away. How could he tell the truth? Once he became more proficient with the Handover, it would be faster.

"If you're not feeling well, you should get more rest." Ino suddenly popped up beside them.

"Mm, I know." Ayato nodded.

"Good." Ino nodded in satisfaction. Then she saw her little group calling for her, so she ran over.

Naruto Uzumaki looked at Ayato with some envy.

"You don't need to envy me. Quite a few people in this class don't bear you any ill will. You just haven't interacted with them," Ayato said, looking at the other kids.

"Is that so?" Naruto scratched his head and looked around at his classmates. Even though Ayato said so, he still was not very confident.

Ayato sighed. They merely did not bear Naruto ill will. Their parents had likely told them not to interact with Naruto too much. After all, everyone understood the reason.

If Ayato did not know the plot, would he let his own child interact with Naruto?

The answer was self-evident. It was understandable.

However, Ayato spotted a lazy-looking figure. After thinking for a moment, he said, "For example, that guy."

"Him? I think he sleeps in class all the time." Naruto saw him too. They sat fairly close, so Naruto had noticed him before.

"Mm, you can give it a try." Ayato nodded. Shikamaru was too intelligent, so he saw many things very clearly.

Thus, Shikamaru would not have any particular opinion of Naruto. Still, given his lazy personality, he was probably too lazy to go looking for trouble. Naruto would have to take the initiative.

Ayato vaguely remembered that in the original story, Shikamaru was also a regular in the Punishment Standing Group because he slept in class, and he had always gotten along well with Naruto. Naruto himself simply had not noticed.

And once Naruto got to know Shikamaru, Choji would be easy too—perhaps even easier. Uchiha Sasuke would be a little troublesome, while Shino was too quiet, though he would be easy enough to get along with if Naruto was willing to approach him. Kiba would be alright too.

So long as Naruto Uzumaki picked the right targets, it would be quite manageable.

As for Ayato himself... why would a socially anxious person like him need so many friends?

After giving Naruto some guidance, Ayato got busy with his own matters. The Academy's extracurricular activities might be a form of rest, but there were still things he could do during breaks. Time was too precious to waste lightly.