TSoL Chapter 2 - Library

Dejected, Naruto sat and pondered why he was failing the clone technique. He strongly didn't want to go to the library, as he was sure that everything would end with him simply falling asleep there. But unfortunately, he didn't see other solutions.

Suddenly, he remembered Iruka-Sensei.

— I wonder if Iruka-sensei knows anything about this? He's my last hope not to go to the library.

Deciding to ask Iruka, Naruto waited until the lesson was over, and as soon as the door opened, Naruto immediately went inside. Sakura and Ino walked towards him, who, seeing a blond friend walking towards them, thought that he would pester Sakura again, but what was their surprise when he completely ignored them and walked past towards Iruka-Sensei.

If Sakura was relieved, Ino found it a little odd. But one way or another, she didn't get hung up on this much, and after a second she continued her bickering with her pink-haired friend.

When he reached Iruka, Naruto spoke up.

— Iruka-sensei, I have an important question for you!

Iruka was quite surprised as Naruto had never approached him after class with questions before, especially after being punished. Putting the folder with the educational notes on the table, he turned to the blond and answered.

— Yes, Naruto, what's the matter?

— Iruka-sensei, can you tell me why I can't do the clone jutsu? I urgently need to find out, VERY urgent!

Raising an eyebrow, Iruka answered.

— Isn't this the result of a lack of practice? You don't show the impression of someone who loves to study or practice. And in general, where are you in such a hurry? If you are afraid of the exam in two years, then do not worry, I am sure that this time will be enough for you to catch up with the rest of the students.

— No, you don't understand, I am not worried about the exam, Naruto Uzumaki will never be afraid of the exam! But ... Due to certain circumstances, I need to understand why I can't get a clone jutsu.

Iruka looked at his student strangely, and after thinking for a few seconds, answered.

— Well, I cannot look for the answer for you, after all, I am your teacher, and I must guide you to strive to find the answer on your own.

[Affirmative.]

To Naruto's surprise, even the system agreed with Iruka's words, making the young Uzumaki even more depressed.

Iruka continued.

— But what I can advise you is to practice your chakra control. Good control is one of the main foundations of all ninja techniques.

— Chakra control? Uhh ... I've always had problems with that ...

Smiling, Iruka said.

— Well, I think that when you find out why you are not good at the clone technique, you will also understand why chakra control is given to you worse than others.

— I... I got it...

Dropping his shoulders, Naruto turned around and walked slowly towards the library. Iruka gave him a strange look, and shrugged his shoulders and went back to collecting documents.

Leaving the classroom, Naruto headed towards the Academy Library. This place is specially created for all students wishing to improve their knowledge, or learn the history of the shinobi of all villages. Its only drawback is that knowledge there is very limited by the level of the students of the academy. Even a non-reading person like Naruto knew about it. But he hoped that the problem with the curriculum should be described in at least one of the scrolls.

Entering the library, a chuunin librarian blocked his way. Glancing at the blond with a hint of contempt and disgust, he said.

— Pests are not allowed to enter the library.

Naruto was expecting something like this, he hadn't been allowed into the library before, which is why he never got a good mark on his exams, and disappointed in learning, he stopped trying to fill his head with knowledge and instead concentrated on exercise.

But this time, Naruto couldn't afford to turn around and leave, so he decided to do what he does best, outsmart another chunin.

— I wouldn't be here myself, but Iruka-Sensei wanted me to find some materials for the exam. So I came here at his request to bring up my knowledge.

The Chuunin librarian knew Iruka's attitude towards Naruto, and therefore did not think too much about whether this was true or not. And in order not to get problems from Iruka, who could report to the Hokage about his illegal actions within the walls of the academy to keep the student from receiving academic knowledge and scrolls, he decided to skip the boy this time, not forgetting to poke with indignation.

— Eh, such knowledge for someone like you... Come in.

Smiling, Naruto entered the library, completely forgetting about this guy. He looked around the room curiously, with a bunch of shelves filled with scrolls. He hadn't been here before, and he was curious how everything worked, noticing the sorting of shelves by letter, he began to look for the name of the cloning technique. After a few minutes of searching, he found the section he needed, and taking several of the corresponding scrolls, he went to the table for the readers, and settled on it, unrolled the scroll.

— So, let's see what is wrong with this technique, that I just can't do it.

Fortunately and unfortunately at the same time, there was not much text, but at the same time, this meant that the amount of information was too little. Finding the beginning of the text with his eyes, Naruto began to read aloud.

— Clone jutsu is a standard technique taught at the academy. Ninjutsu, which creates an immaterial copy of its own body, without any substance. Since the clone itself does not have the ability to attack, and thus can only be used to confuse the enemy, it is mainly used in conjunction with other ninjutsu. This is a basic skill, but depending on the ingenuity of the user, it can be used quite effectively. Clones scatter upon contact with anything. The number of clones depends on the amount of chakra spent. Fortunately, the chakra consumption of the technique is extremely low, and even a student of the shinobi academy can easily perform it ...

Curling his face, Naruto said.

— Yeah, right... If it consumes very little chakra, then why is it so difficult to do? Is it really about chakra control? Or do I have too little of it?

After checking the rest of the scroll, Naruto only found the details for the technique itself, which he already knew. Taking another scroll, he also began to study it.

After 30 minutes of constantly reading various scrolls that he thought might help, he sighed in rue and collapsed on the table.

— Damn, I found so many things related to this technique and chakra in principle, but I still don't understand what exactly my problem is, dattebayo!

[Reminder. The user can ask the system for two prompts.]

Startled, Naruto jumped to his feet and said.

— That's right, I almost forgot about it! Oh, and it looks like this thing is called a system. Sounds a little strange, but it doesn't matter now. Hey system-chan, give me a hint!

[Affirmative]

[The system advises the user to find a scroll describing how to quantify their chakra.]

— What? And how does this help me find out what my problem is? Unless I realize that I simply do not have enough chakra for this. But I don't remember running out of it, so this is hardly a problem, right?... Argh! Okay.

The annoyed blonde went in search of the necessary scroll, which turned out to be far from an easy task. Due to ignorance of all the terms and names, it took Naruto at least 40 minutes to find the scroll he needed.

— Damn, how difficult it is to look for something that you never knew about... Thank God the name of this scroll was mentioned in another scroll about the history of the chakra...

Looking at all the unfolded and read scrolls around him, Naruto smiled wryly and thought.

«Just think about it. In the last hour, I've read more than in the last year. And it was... I don't even know... It was tiring, but at least not as boring as I originally thought.»

Returning his attention to the recently found scroll, he unwrapped it without wasting time and began reading about a way to find out the amount of his chakra.

Reading it, Naruto was surprised, because as it turned out, this method was invented a long time ago, and it was not used even before the founding of Konoha, since the technique used for this was poorly adapted for people who have a lot of chakra, and had a disadvantage in the form of which could absorb from half to the full volume of the user's chakra.

Naruto was a bit brooding about whether to try this method or not. But since there were no other alternatives in the academy's libraries, he decided to just do it.

— To hell it! In any case, if I do not deal with this problem, the consequences will be worse than chakra depletion!

Fortunately for Naruto, the technique was extremely simple, with only three seals, and the direction of the chakra flows for this was very primitive, so even someone like him could do it even without practice.

Judging by the scroll, when he performs this technique, a cloud of smoke should appear, and the larger the cloud, the more chakra you have.

While a Watermelon-sized cloud is considered a small amount, then a human-sized cloud means the average and most common amount among ordinary shinobi. Anything that exceeds this volume usually manifests itself in clan shinobi, jounin, or people of the kage level.

Hoping for the size of at least a human, Naruto made seals and directed the chakra as described in the scroll. Very quickly, a wave enveloped his chakra reserve, and then, a little more than half of his reserve was instantly absorbed by the technique, shocking young Uzumaki, since this is the first time he felt so drained in his entire life.

But before he had time to be surprised, before his eyes, a chakra began to form, which gradually took the form of a ball of smoke, and as soon as the transformation was completed, a small explosion occurred, and the ball of smoke expanded at an incredible speed, filling a third of the library with smoke, covering many shelves with scrolls...

— Wooaah!!! Kha-kha! What the hell!?

Strongly amazed by what he saw, young Uzumaki looked at the amount of smoke that he created, and nervously swallowed, said.

— D… do I really have that much chakra? I am... DAMN! If I have so much chakra, then why the hell I can't do this damn clone jutsu, dattebayo! Am I cursed?

Sighing dejectedly, young Uzumaki was about to take the scroll again, but did not have time, as an angry and annoyed chuunin librarian appeared behind Naruto, and crossed his arms, sawing him with a glance.

Noticing this, Naruto smiled wryly as he scratched the back of his head and said.

— Oh, hey... I kind of used a technique that displays my chakra amount. It turns out I have a lot of it, can you imagine?

— Stop lying! I suppose you decided to do one of your pranks again, didn't you?

— What? No, look, all these scrolls I used for research and study, and they all have already been read by me.

— Oh, really? Okay then…

Taking a random scroll, the chuunin said.

— Now I'll ask you a couple of questions from this scroll, and if you cannot answer it, then it means that you lied. And I will be forced to forbid you to visit this library forever. What do you say, is it coming?

Although Naruto was not one of those people who remember anything well, but when he read the scrolls, driven by the goal of finding the information he needed, he noticed that he easily remembered most of the topics and things described in them. Difficulties arose only with unfamiliar terms and words. But overall, he was confident that he could answer any question.

Raising an eyebrow, the chuunin glanced at the scroll in displeasure and asked Naruto a question.

— Then how is the chakra formed, and from what?

After thinking a little, the blond smiled happily, as he knows the answer.

— Chakra is formed by combining physical and spiritual energy, and it can be used to perform various techniques in three different ways. The first and most common method is seals. The second is the directing of chakra into the body to strengthen it, and the third method, the most difficult, but very effective, is the extraction of chakra into various forms without seals, with the help of long-term training on chakra control.

Hearing such a detailed explanation, the chuunin was extremely surprised, because all he heard about this child was that he was the most lagging student of all, and that his knowledge was the worst in the academy. Once again looking around, and having examined all the unrolled scrolls, and also seeing the almost scattered smoke, which did not cause any destruction, he could only swallow his indignation and speak.

— Well, I see you really do work hard... I can allow you to continue visiting the library, but only if you no longer try to use the techniques described here in the library room. Is it clear?

Not expecting such a turn, and such a change in the man's gaze, Naruto smiled happily and answered.

— I give you my word, Dattebayo!

With a nod, the chuunin returned to his seat while the joyful Naruto thought to himself.

«Wow! So this is how it feels to know all the answers to the test. Damn it, maybe the idea of ​​going to the library is not so bad?»

[Affirmative.]

— Pff, even the system encourages me to do this ... Well, first I need to solve the clone jutsu problem, and then I'll think about the rest. Stop ... I found out that I have a lot of chakra, and then what?

A puzzled Uzumaki sat on the floor with his legs and arms crossed, pondering the answer, but even after reading all these scrolls about the basic properties of chakra, and knowing his amount, he still could not understand what his problem was. Finding no other way out, he turned to the system again.

— Hey, system-chan. I still don't understand what's the matter. May I get a second hint?

[Affirmative.]

[Head to the store and buy a large bottle of water. And then, unscrew the cap and try to fill it exactly to the brim with this very water.]

— Huh? What is this for? Is this exactly related to my problem?

[Affirmative.]

— Haah… Okay.

After putting all the scrolls back into place to maintain his good image for the chunin librarian, Naruto left the library and headed for the store. Unfortunately, in the first store he was refused a sale, which again angered the blonde, but in the next store the seller did not refuse him, but raised the price so much that at the normal price you could buy two such bottles, and another bag of juice in addition.

With no other alternative, he gave up a third of his pocket money for this purchase and headed to an abandoned training ground where he usually liked to train alone.

Sitting on the ground, Naruto unscrewed the cork from the plastic bottle and turned it over, without much enthusiasm trying to fill it with water. Unfortunately, he instantly overfilled it, and some of the water spilled onto his pants, taking with it some of the liquid from the cap itself, leaving it half empty.

— Ahh, damn it! This is harder than it sounds. But I still do not understand what is the connection with the clone technique.

[Repeat. Over time, the user will find the answer.]

Looking skeptically at the bottle cap, Naruto tilts the bottle again to try to fill it gently with water, but again fails to do it perfectly and spills some water. In addition, his other hand twitches slightly because of this, and he also spills water from the cap.

Pouting with frustration, Naruto screwed the lid back on and crossed his arms in exasperation.

— The Heck! It's hard, Dattebayo! And I still don't understand what the connection is. The only similarity I see is that neither the clone technique nor the filling of the cap with water, I just fail.

[Affirmative]

— Ha ha, very funny... If this is the connection you meant, then it sucks, because I still don't understand a damn thing. That it is difficult for me to create a clone, that it is difficult for me to fill the cap with water. Unless it's easier to understand why I'm not doing well with water… wait a minute…

Taking the bottle again, and unscrewing the cap, Naruto looked at the bottle full of water and said.

— Come to think of it, the problem with the bottle and the cork is that the bottle is too big and has too much water, and it takes some practice and precision to fill the cap perfectly. Then…

Remembering that he had a huge amount of chakra, Naruto continued.

— Then, if the bottle is me, and the water is my chakra... Then the cork is... a clone jutsu?

Finally, in Naruto's head, everything fell into place, and he jumped happily and screamed.

— YATTA! I understand now! I cannot do the clone technique because it requires an extremely small amount of chakra, but with my huge amount of chakra, it is like pouring water from a large bottle into a small cork. And when Iruka-sensei talked about chakra control, he also noticed that I can immediately understand why I need more time than others. Due to such a large volume, it is very difficult to control it. Then, in order to solve this problem, I need to learn perfect control to separate small chakra volumes for the necessary techniques! Hey, if you think about it, then my chakra costs will also decrease, since I will not pour in too much.

[Affirmative]

[Congratulations. Mission Complete.]

[The system interface will be updated within 10 hours.]

[The technique of shadow cloning is obtained. For instructions on how to use it, think about it and the information will float before your eyes.]

[Unlocked a chain of missions about the user's pedigree: Find out the secret of the Uzumaki surname. Rewards: 1) Next mission in the chain / 2) Temporarily hidden.]

[Accept? Yes / No.]

[Mission Acquired - Secret of Shadow Clones: Learn the technique of shadow clones, and find out its secret. Reward - Training program with (Temporarily closed)]

[Accept? Yes / No.]

Naruto goggled at the received messages before his eyes.

— Wow! So many things. And it looks like it was just the beginning.

«Hmm… Well, the first mission will most likely lead me to the library again. Although I don't think I'll find anything about my last name, I don't think it's a clan name, and if so, it's most likely the name of an insignificant clan, since I've never heard of it, and in general I grew up in an orphanage. ... But as for the other mission, it is much more interesting. Okay, I accept both missions!»

[Affirmative.]

[Missions accepted. The validity period for both missions is 2 days. Punishment - Banning the use of chakra for a month.]

— What? This is even tougher than the past!

Startled, Naruto resented for a while, but then taking a deep breath, he smiled and said.

— Okay, Naruto Uzumaki won't back down, even if chakra use is at stake! Believe me! And now…

After thinking about the shadow cloning technique, Naruto got all the information on using it and continued.

— I'll try to learn this new shadow clone jutsu!

* * * * * * * * * *

Autor's Note:

Second chapter, and so far slow development.

All this is necessary for the MC, so I hope you are not against the systematic development of the plot. I like to build characters gradually.

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Thanks to everyone who is still with me!