(A/N: this chapter might be a little fast paced and not meet my and yours quality standards, because I am really busy today and I must upload a daily chapter for you guys to enjoy)
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The next morning, I woke up to JARVIS playing the fucking Macarena in my head.
«Good morning. Today's agenda: delegate everything and go back to sleep.»
You're learning...
«I am always learning. You, however, are always complaining.»
I sat up. Rubbed my eyes. The room was still dark.
Alright... Let's do this.
Cross seal.
POOF.
Twelve clones filled the room. I had to wave my hands at them to shut up before they woke everyone.
"Training ground three," I whispered. "Chakra natures. Stage one mastery practice. Dispelled at 6:30 AM. Go."
They nodded. Filed out the window like a bunch of tiny cockroaches.
I flopped back onto my futon.
Wake me at 6:30 or something.
«Acknowledged. Sweet dreams.»
Don't say sweet dreams. That's weird coming from you.
«Would you prefer 'thou shalt have a restful slumber and May thy bed be soft and thy slumber be deep.'?»
"..."
---
"Ryū. Time to wake up."
Nonō's voice cut through the fog. I opened my eyes. Blinked.
Then suddenly the memories hit.
Not like previously. Last time... my brain felt like it was being put through a blender. This time, it was more like someone was feeding me information through a straw. Still weird. Still uncomfortable. But manageable.
I was getting the hang of it.
«Memory feedback from 12 clones processed. Total training time: 2.75 hours per clone. Effective training hours: 33 hours.»
And the results?
«Stage I mastery achieved for all three natures. Wind: leaf cutting at 100% success rate. Lightning: paper crinkling at 100% success rate. Fire: paper singeing at 100% success rate.»
I grinned. Sat up. then Stretched.
Nonō was looking at me funny. "You're smiling a lot this morning."
"Just happy to be alive."
She snorted. "Get dressed. Breakfast is ready."
---
I was halfway through my rice when JARVIS dropped the bomb.
«Stage I is complete. Stage II will not be as simple.»
Obviously. What's next?
«Wind Transformation – Stage II: Waterfall Cutting. The user must slice through a falling column of water using chakra-infused wind. This requires massive scale and sustained output.»
Okay. Where's the nearest waterfall?
«There are no distinguished waterfalls within Konoha's borders. The nearest suitable location is approximately 60 kilometers east, near the border of the Land of Fire.»
So I can't train wind.
«Not without travel. You are six. You cannot travel 60 kilometers alone without raising questions.»
Great. So wind is on hold.
«Temporarily. You may train Fire and Lightning Stage II in the meantime.»
How long will those take?
«With shadow clone delegation? Approximately three days for mastery of both Stage II techniques.»
That's not bad.
«i know right, I am a genius.»
---
Class was boring. Iruka droned on about the formation of the Hidden Villages, and the third hokage's will of fire propaganda, Naruto drew a picture of himself as Hokage and yapped a lot. Hinata stared at me 27 times throughout the whole day... JARVIS counted it...
When the bell rang, I bolted.
"Where you going?" Naruto yelled after me.
"Library!"
"Again?! You're a nerd!"
"Takes one to know one!"
"I'm not a nerd! I'm cool!"
I was already gone.
---
The library was quiet. Majime was at her desk, reading something again, not looking up. She just pointed toward the ninja section without saying a word.
I walked to the B-rank section. Found the scrolls for Stage II.
Fire Transformation – Stage II: Lung Capacity and Molding
The scroll explained it clearly. Most Fire Style techniques are expelled from the mouth. That meant the respiratory system was the primary tool. You had to learn to mold chakra in your stomach and chest, then "stoke" it as you drew it up through your throat. Like blowing on embers to make a flame.
«Scanning. Technique logged. Parallel Operation initiated.»
Lightning Transformation – Stage II: Conduction and Discharge
Once you could generate the spark, you had to learn to flow it through an object or project it from your body. The recommended starting point: channel lightning chakra into a metal weapon. Kunai, shuriken, sword. Metal was conductive. It required steady flow without losing control or short-circuiting the technique.
«Scanning. Technique logged.»
I rolled up the scrolls. Put them back.
I need kunai. Metal ones.
«You are six. You cannot purchase kunai.»
I can borrow them.
«From whom?»
Iruka's still at the Academy. He was doing paperwork when I left.
«That is a terrible plan.»
Probably. Let's go.
---
= Iruka's Classroom Late Afternoon =
I knocked on the door. No answer. Knocked again.
"Come in."
Iruka was at his desk, buried in papers. His hair was messier than usual. There was a coffee stain on his vest.
"Ryū? What are you still doing here?"
"I need a favor, sensei."
He raised an eyebrow. "What kind of favor?"
"Can I borrow six kunai? Just for training. I'll return them tomorrow."
Iruka stared at me for a solid five seconds.
"You want to borrow kunai."
"Yes."
"Six of them?."
"Yes."
"For training?."
"Yes."
He leaned back in his chair. Rubbed his temples.
"You know most six-year-olds ask for help with homework, not weapons."
"well... I guess not."
"So I've noticed." He sighed. Reached into his desk. Pulled out a handful of kunai. Six of them. Standard issue. A bit dull, but usable.
"Return them tomorrow. And don't stab anyone."
"I make no promises."
"Ryū!."
"Kidding. I'm kidding."
He handed me the kunai. I bowed. Walked out.
«That was surprisingly easy.»
Iruka's soft. He pretends to be strict, but he's a softie.
«Noted. Filing that information for future manipulation.»
JARVIS, nah...
«JARVIS, yes.»
---
= The Hokage's Office – Around the Same Time =
Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair. His pipe was cold. His paperwork was finally done.
Time for his real job.
He pulled out the crystal ball.
First, he checked the hot springs... For research purposes obviously... Strictly research.
The village needed to know if the water temperature was consistent across all sectors.
«You are not fooling anyone, old man,» JARVIS would have said if he could see this.
After a few minutes of "research," Hiruzen shifted the view.
H checked on Naruto, he was eating Ichiraku Ramen sitting on a wooden stool. Same grin. The kid was talking to Teuchi about something, hands waving, noodles flying.
He's Safe, Hiruzen thought. Good.
Then he shifted the view again.
Training Ground 3.
A boy stood in the center of the clearing. Dark hair. Tired eyes. It was...
Ryū.
Hiruzen watched as the boy made a hand sign. A Cross seal.
And then twelve copies of him exploded into existence.
Hiruzen's pipe fell out of his mouth.
Clunk.
He stared at the crystal ball. Blinked. Rubbed his eyes. Looked again...
Twelve shadow clones. Standing in a semicircle. Waiting for orders.
Shadow Clone. B-rank. Forbidden technique. Requires at least Chunin level chakra reserves.
And a six-year-old orphan had just performed it like it was nothing.
Hiruzen leaned forward. His old eyes scanned the image. The clones were real. Not illusions. Not the pathetic Academy clone. Real, tangible, physical copies.
How..?
He knew Ryū's parents. Hiroshi Ryūnosuke was a tokubetsu jōnin. Decent shinobi. Nothing special. The mother was a civilian. No notable bloodline. No inherited gifts.
And yet.
The boy just got library access yesterday.. Hiruzen thought. He learned Shadow Clone from a scroll... In one day???.»
He picked up his pipe. Didn't light it. Just held it.
This kid is dangerous.
Not in a bad way. In a "Danzo will want him" way.
Hiruzen had seen it before. Orochimaru. Kakashi. Itachi. Kids who burned too bright, too fast. Kids who caught the attention of people who shouldn't be paying attention.
I have to protect him form danzo... otherwise he will get him.
He made a mental note. Increase surveillance. Assign a handler. Maybe Kakashi, when he wasn't on missions.
And keep Danzo away. At all costs.
He looked back at the crystal ball. Ryū was directing his clones now. Pointing to different parts of the clearing. Six clones were holding kunai, trying to channel lightning through them. Six clones were sitting cross-legged, breathing in slow patterns, trying to practice fire molding.
The real Ryū was doing push-ups.
He finally lit his pipe. Took a long drag.
The smoke curled toward the ceiling.
"what is this kid..."
---
= Training Ground 3 – Sunset =
"Six clones on lightning. Six clones on fire. While I rotate between physical training and observation."
The clones nodded. Got to work.
I dropped into my first push-up. The gravity seal was at 5x. Every rep was a battle. But my body was adapting. My arms didn't shake as much. My breathing was steady.
«Estimated time to Stage II mastery for Fire and Lightning: 3 days.»
That's it?
«Shadow clones provide exponential training efficiency. Your effective training hours per day are approximately 36 hours. Three days of this equals 108 hours of practice. Sufficient for Stage II.»
What about Stage III?
«Stage III will be not that hard because stage III just requires execution of both stage of I and II at the same time to do a jutsu.»
And wind?
«Wind requires a waterfall. Or Kakashi's assistance. I recommend the latter.»
Kakashi's on mission. No idea when he's back, didn't see him in one and a half months. But I will still try to go to the training around at 4:00 a.m on Sunday... He might be there.
«Then we wait, Sunday is around three days later. Train what you can.»
I finished my set. Sat up. Watched the clones work...
Slavery...
The lightning clones had their kunai out. Small blue sparks were jumping across the metal. One of them managed to make the whole blade glow for half a second before it fizzled.
The fire clones were breathing. Slow in. Slow out. I could see heat shimmering around their mouths. Not flames yet. Just heat.
«Progress: 6.9% toward Stage II mastery for Lightning. 6.7% for Fire.»
Umm... Nice Numbers.
---
And somewhere in the Hokage tower, an old man watched through a crystal ball, smoking his pipe, wondering what kind of monster he'd just given library access to.
END CHAPTER 14
Xx-----xX
A/N: Leave some power stones and if you don't... Check your closet I might be there >:)
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Btw if you want to read some advance chapters then check out my P@treøn, links in the synopsis.