Chapter 319: [Multi Shadow Clone] X We Are Different
Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled and smiled at Minato Namikaze beside him: "Minato, you see... this old man told you, nothing can be hidden from this boy's eyes."
Barriers and seals are usually invisible, only faintly exuding a weak chakra outward when activated... This chakra is so weak it can almost be ignored, and the more powerful the barrier or seal, the less obvious it is...
Yet, Ryo was able to stop exactly at the edge of the barrier, perfectly demonstrating... the boy's perception of chakra is exceptionally excellent, not at all inferior to sensory Jonin from major clans like the Hyuga and Inuzuka.
"He is Ryo, Fugaku's son, after all," Minato Namikaze smiled and waved at Ryo through the window lattice.
Ryo gave him a slight nod. With another glance at Hiruzen Sarutobi, he said leisurely, "Forget it."
Following that, without waiting for Hiruzen to form hand seals to remove the barrier, he raised his hand and summoned the [Swamp Space]. Right under the noses of Hiruzen and Minato, he slowly sank into the ground. When he reappeared, like a ghost, he slowly rose from beneath the wooden floor of the study, right between the two men.
This effortless demeanor, treating barriers and space as if they were nothing, momentarily left the two looking at each other, unable to tear their eyes away.
Earth Release? And not an ordinary Earth Release... but an Earth Release combined with Space-Time Ninjutsu... A glint of light flashed in the lake-blue pupils of Minato Namikaze, the future Fourth Hokage. He turned his head and smiled at Hiruzen, "It seems nothing can stop the boy's footsteps either."
Hiruzen shook his head with a bitter smile. He pointed a finger at Ryo, helplessly abandoning his hand seals...
"Hmph~ You all rely on a bit of talent to act recklessly. This old man can't compare, so I won't play along with your nonsense..." Hiruzen grumbled, pretending to give a cold snort to find an excuse to back down. He then slowly paced to a bookshelf against the south wall, reached in, and grabbed two scrolls. He handed one to Minato and tossed the other to Ryo: "Read it here, don't take it away."
Minato nodded. Before he could even open his own scroll, he saw Ryo beside him frown. Ryo glanced at Hiruzen and said, "Why is there only one ninjutsu?"
Ryo held the scroll in his hand. Unrolled, it clearly displayed the large characters Multi Shadow Clone Technique, and after that... there was nothing else, definitely not the [Edo Tensei] he wanted. He immediately questioned Hiruzen with dissatisfaction.
Hiruzen had shed his Hokage cloak and was wearing loose, comfortable loungewear. At this moment, he didn't look like a Hokage, but rather a retired old man who had finished his service. Skillfully pulling out his pipe, he took a puff and said, "Child, I believe Fugaku has taught you the principle of not biting off more than you can chew."
The old man exhaled a smoke ring and looked at Ryo earnestly: "Since you insist on viewing the Scroll of Seals, you must surely know that every ninjutsu recorded within is extraordinary. Not only are they immensely powerful, but they are also exceptionally difficult to learn... This old man isn't deliberately deceiving you. Minato is right here; he can testify for me."
Minato Namikaze, his blond hair draped over his back and simply tied with a headband, caught sight of the Multi Shadow Clone Technique with a single glance. He said warmly to Ryo, "I have studied this technique. It is indeed as the Hokage-sama says, not that simple."
"First of all, it is an expansion and extension based on the [Clone Technique]. It requires... one to be extremely proficient in the Clone Technique. At the same time... it also tests the caster's chakra volume."
"If the chakra volume is insufficient, once control is lost, there is even a risk of death. Look down here,"
"There is an annotation recorded by the Second Hokage-sama."
Minato pointed to the end of the scroll. Sure enough... a line of small text annotated with cinnabar-red ink was faintly visible—[Those who are not confident in their own chakra volume must not learn this]!
[The Senju and Uzumaki are exceptions...]
Amidst his silence, Ryo cast a focused glance at the two surnames "Senju" and "Uzumaki". Just then, he heard Hiruzen take another puff from his pipe and add, "Those two clans possess naturally abundant chakra volumes. The Senju go without saying; the fame of the First and Second precedes them, and this old man doesn't need to emphasize it."
"Even the Uzumaki," Hiruzen's expression turned serious as he looked deeply at Ryo, "I am not afraid to let you know, their clan, from the late Mito-sama to the current Kushina, has always been a pillar of the village, secretly contributing an indelible force to Konoha."
One sentence for two people; these words seemed to be addressed to Ryo, yet also spoken for Minato Namikaze.
As Hiruzen's words fell, Minato's expression dimmed. He seemed to recall his fiancée, who was confined in the sealing room all day long. The emotion naturally escaping from his crown presented a dim gray, which was quietly observed by Ryo.
In this era, Tailed Beasts are no different from nuclear bombs. Used well, they can become sharp weapons to destroy enemies; used poorly, they become fatal weapons that destroy oneself... Generation after generation of Jinchuriki have been passed down. Exactly who is being imprisoned, and who is the true pillar... Ryo understood, Minato understood, and Hiruzen understood even better...
The young boy, with his black hair draped over his back and carrying the Uchiha clan's fan crest, logically shouldn't have appeared here. But after a brief silence, he still stood by his own view, saying expressionlessly to Hiruzen: "I understand the reasoning, but you are you, and I am I. We are different."
Just as the "Professor of Ninjutsu" applied to Hiruzen, and the "Yellow Flash" to Minato, Ryo naturally had his own pillars... The boy looked straight into Hiruzen's eyes, pretending not to see the old man's furrowed brow, and simply asked: "If I learn it, will you give me the next ninjutsu?"
Hiruzen and Minato exchanged a glance. Slowly putting down his pipe, Hiruzen remained silent for a long while before nodding solemnly: "Of course."
"The premise is, you must be able to learn it!"
The difficulties of the Multi Shadow Clone Technique had already been explicitly stated by the Second Hokage, and he didn't need to specifically emphasize them to the boy...
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair. "This old man permits you to make a copy and take it with you. Come back whenever you have learned it."
Based on his experience, and the experiences of several Jonin who had practiced the [Multi Shadow Clone Technique], no matter how prodigious a talent the boy was, it would take at least several months to learn it. And even then... whether he could actually learn it was still a question.
For this point, refer to Minato Namikaze. He had initially failed to learn the [Multi Shadow Clone], which was why he switched to the [Flying Thunder God]. Facts proved... Minato's talent indeed did not lie in [Clones], but in [Space-Time Ninjutsu]...
"No need,"
"You can prepare the next ninjutsu right now."
With a single glance, Ryo had detailedly converted the key points, hand seal gestures, and Tobirama Senju's annotations recorded on the scroll into "Nen Text" and stored them in his mind. He then backhandedly tossed the scroll back to Hiruzen. Without lingering for a moment, he immersed his consciousness and began reproducing the [Multi Shadow Clone] in his mind. As a forbidden jutsu developed by the Second, the [Multi Shadow Clone Technique] indeed possessed numerous "potential prerequisites" for learning, just as Hiruzen and Minato had stated. For example... one must have a sufficient understanding of the [Clone Technique]. For example... the chakra volume must be massive enough to support the simultaneous creation of hundreds or even thousands of physical chakra clones. However...
Ryo knew very well that he truly possessed these two conditions. Leaving aside the fact that he had previously learned the [Swamp Clone] from the Swamp Demon via the [Monster Encyclopedia], just his current chakra volume of nearly 0.8 Shukakus meant that, barring Super Kage-level figures, almost no one could surpass him in endurance, except for Jinchuriki...
Buzz~ A faint, almost imperceptible wisp of Nen aura permeated from the boy's body...
After instructing Hiruzen to fetch the new ninjutsu, Ryo simply closed his eyes and began practicing the [Multi Shadow Clone Technique] right there in front of the two.
He completely cast Minato and Hiruzen aside. They were stunned for two seconds, looking at each other in dismay...
"This child has a temper." After a moment, Hiruzen recovered and subtly gave Minato a look.
Minato didn't speak. He rested his chin on his hand, staring at Ryo, and suddenly returned a look that said: "Who knows, he might actually succeed..."
Hiruzen's old heart suddenly skipped half a beat. Recalling how the boy had casually displayed the [Wood Release] while strolling with him in the Southern Forest... the old man took another puff from his pipe, then smacked his lips. He suddenly felt that the taste of this tobacco was bitter... not refreshing at all...
Could he really do it?
Hiruzen suddenly felt a bit unsure...
Whoosh~ A gust of wind blew away the clamor in the study...
Amidst the silence, Ryo slowly digested and absorbed the key points recorded on the scroll. Referencing the [Swamp Clone] and continuing his usual path of [Learn] -> [Imitate] -> [Reproduce], he attempted to pry loose the Nen aura in his body, subdividing it exponentially... At a certain moment, his clear, bright eyes snapped open. His hands formed seals as he said softly: "Multi Shadow Clone Technique, Open!"
Poof... Poof... Poof...
Ten streams of misty Nen aura rose continuously, and ten Ryos lined up in a row, revealing their figures...
"He did it?" Hiruzen leaned forward, and Minato poked his head out to look. Both of them peered into the smoke... Ten Ryos. The moment their feet touched the ground, five of them went soft like noodles and collapsed onto the floor. Even though it wasn't a complete success... in Minato's eyes, this was already far superior to himself, who could only produce two clones by giving it his all...
Clap clap clap... A string of applause rang out...
Minato's eyes glinted sharply, just like when he first tested Ryo and witnessed his [Light Release]. He praised without hesitation: "To be able to produce ten clones on your first attempt, even if only five stood successfully, is an incredibly remarkable achievement..."
"Yes... he really did it..." Hiruzen couldn't remember how many years it had been since he had seen someone successfully cast the [Multi Shadow Clone Technique]. The last time... seemed to be back in his youth, when he saw his teacher, Tobirama Senju, split into a hundred, holding off the entire opposing ninja alliance single-handedly to buy precious escape time for him, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura...
Hiruzen stared blankly at Ryo. In a daze, he seemed to recall his teacher saying to them: "I am your teacher. Stalling the enemy can, of course, only be my job."
Recalling the past, those glorious days are already gone...
Poof... Poof... Poof... The five collapsed Ryos and the remaining four clones were all dispersed into Nen aura by a wave of Ryo's hand and retracted into his body. The boy's black hair swayed in the wind as he frowned: "This doesn't count as a success."
He opened and closed his eyes. Completely unlike what Minato's praise suggested, he was not immersed in joy. Instead, he continued to concentrate, dividing his Nen aura again, carefully attempting to be finer and more precise. After a few brief breaths, he opened his eyes again, just like before, and said deeply: "Multi Shadow Clone Technique!"
This time, Poof... Poof... Poof... Twenty shadow clones appeared continuously. Two collapsed. The success rate was significantly higher than the last time, but collapsing meant failure!
Ryo was no perfectionist, but since he was doing it, he had to do it the best he could within his maximum capabilities. And clearly... with the experience of the [Clone Technique] and the guarantee of abundant aura volume, twenty with two collapsing was far from his limit. Again! The youth frowned, ignoring Hiruzen and Minato, and closed his eyes once more. Subsequently... fifty with three collapsing... a hundred with four collapsing... two hundred with five collapsing... five hundred with six collapsing...
Poof... Poof... Poof... Streams of misty Nen aura emerged and dissipated, dissipated and emerged, like flowers blooming and withering, blossoming and wilting endlessly with the turning of time... In the blink of an eye, Hiruzen and Minato, who were quietly watching this scene, were left completely speechless...
What kind of terrifying improvement speed is this?!
So, is "ninjutsu" something that can be learned this simply?
Poof... Poof... Poof... Another six hundred Ryos emerged. Hiruzen and Minato's eyes were entirely filled with Ryo's appearance, their pupils crammed so full they couldn't even see clearly how many had collapsed this time...
But Ryo knew. At the exact moment the divided Nen aura left his body and touched the ground, he already knew the answer was four. Six hundred, four collapsed. He had to continue!
Poof... Poof... Poof... Five hundred and ninety-nine clones were mercilessly retracted into Ryo's body again. The boy continued to close his eyes and form hand seals. Behind the desk, by the window lattice, only Hiruzen and Minato, the current and future Hokage, were left facing each other in silence, faintly beginning to feel somewhat disarrayed and lacking in confidence...
Poof... Poof... Poof...
Poof... Poof... Poof...
In the morning, sunlight shone through the window into the study, bringing a sliver of light to the quiet room. About ten minutes passed, and after an unknown number of attempts, finally...
A thousand clones, zero collapsing, were produced for the first time...
Konoha, this residence belonging to Hiruzen Sarutobi, was instantly filled with a dense crowd of Ryos. It just so happened that Asuma Sarutobi, having bought his gift and returned, reached out to open the courtyard gate. Suddenly, a courtyard full of Ryos slowly turned to look at him. The cigarette dangling from the youth's mouth pfft~ fell to the ground...