53. Shadow Clone Jutsu

"I heard about this technique from Tsunade Nii-san," Kushina recalls the details of the technique.

"She told me that 'Shadow Clone Jutsu' is a B-rank technique and is extremely hard to master. It requires a large amount of chakra and precise chakra control to perform." She adds.

"I won't give up before trying. And also, I think this technique is too good to give up so easily. A clone with a physical body has lots of potentials…" Yuji turns to Nawaki.

"… besides completing my homework."

Hmm…

Minato also agrees with him.

"Yes, I also think that this technique has lots of potentials. I will also try to master it."

"For now, let me attempt it," Yuji recalls the hand seals for the shadow clone jutsu from his memory.

"It is Ram> Tiger> Snake> Horse> Bird> Tiger."

Yuji completes the series of hand signs and circulates his chakra.

Fwoosh…

A burst of white smoke rises beside him. A sickly shadow clone appears beside Yuji. The clone has a pale body and is barely standing on the ground.

Poof…

It falls to the ground and disappears in white smoke from the fall.

Ugh…

Yuji feels a slight dizziness. He clutches his forehead and sits on the ground.

"Are you ok?" The rest of the group hurriedly supports him.

A few seconds later, the dizziness fades away and Yuji comes back to his senses.

"How was it?" Minato asks him.

"As you can see, the clone jutsu failed, and I felt the recoil of the jutsu in the form of a headache."

"What could be the reason for the failure?" Nawaki and the rest discuss among themselves.

"Let me give it a shot!" Nawaki also makes the hand sign for the shadow clone jutsu.

Poof…

White smoke appears beside him, but nothing appears out of it.

"Ugh… I failed!" Nawaki also clutches his forehead and sits on the ground.

"We will also give it a try and see what could be the problem with this jutsu!" The rest of the group also performs the shadow clone.

Poof… Poof… Poof…

Multiple white smoke clouds cover the area and soon all of them collapse on the ground with a headache.

"Ugh… I feel like my head is splitting in half from pain." Minato, Inoichi, and Shikaku show the most adverse reaction.

After half an hour,

Everyone recovers from their terrible headache and sits around in a circle.

"Did you figure out something? I couldn't even think of anything due to this terrible headache." Shikaku complains.

"I also couldn't think properly due to the headache!" Minato and Inoichi remark.

Nawaki and Choza stare at each other and shake their head.

"We also didn't notice anything!"

All of them turn towards Yuji and Kushina, the only two people who were able to make a physical clone appear.

Besides Yuji and Kushina, the rest of them just produced a puff of smoke.

"Hmm… I think I understood a lot of things." Yuji remarks.

"First, to perform the shadow clone, the user requires a certain threshold of chakra. If that threshold of chakra isn't met the jutsu will cancel and the user will suffer from a terrible headache." Yuji turns towards Minato, Shikaku, and Inoichi.

"Second, the duration of headache and recovery depends on the amount of chakra the user possesses. Out of us all, Kushina has the highest reserve of chakra followed by Nawaki, and then me. Choza has a slightly lower reserve of chakra than me, but he can store his chakra in the form of fat, so his overall available chakra is slightly higher than mine. Now, you three have the lowest reserve of chakra among us all." Once again, he glances at the trio of Minato, Inoichi, and Shikaku.

"Sigh… I knew it!" Shikaku and Inoichi shake their heads.

"This technique wasn't meant for us. We will continue practicing the secret techniques of our clan." Both of them conclude.

"What about you Minato?" Yuji turns to Minato.

"I still think there is potential in this technique. However, I don't have the required chakra reserve for the technique. But we are still in the growth phase of our bodies. Once I grow up, perhaps I might have enough chakra for the technique." Minato concludes.

"That seems to be the case." Yuji agrees with him.

"What about me? Why did I fail when I have a higher reserve of chakra than you?" Nawaki raises a question.

"Isn't it because you have the worst chakra control of us all?" Kushina scoffs at him.

"Well, I can't deny that!" Nawaki scratches his head.

"Also, there is another thing to note." Yuji continues.

"The higher chakra reserves you have, the faster you will recover from the exhaustion and mental burden of the jutsu. Also, it will take a while to recover from this sense of discomfort of having half of your chakra reserve suddenly vanish from your body." Yuji adds.

"Alright, I have recovered and I will try again!" Yuji stands up and makes the necessary hand signs.

Poof…

Another pale wobbly cone of Yuji appears beside him in a puff of white smoke. The clone dissipates almost instantly.

Ugh…

Yuji clutches his forehead and sits on the ground to recover. He stands up again and continues the process till sunset.

"It's very hard. Seems like my chakra control is still lacking to perform this jutsu."

"Of course! It's a B-rank jutsu. If it was easy to master, then almost everyone would use such a technique." Kushina remarks.

"I guess that's true!" Yuji agrees with her.

"What will happen if I direct less amount of chakra in the technique?" Yuji speculates.

"It will fail!" Kushina concludes.

"It's worth a try!" Yuji makes the hand signs and controls his chakra flow.

Poof…

A small white cloud appears beside Yuji and a chibi version of him walks out of it. The chibi shadow clone looks around in curiosity.

"That also works!" Everyone is surprised to see the smaller version of the shadow clone.

Nawaki picks up a stick and pokes it with the stick.

"Stop it! I am not a toy!" the chibi clone complains in a low-pitched voice.

"Oh!" Nawaki picks up the chibi clone in his hands.

Everyone curiously inspects the clone.

Poof…

The clone dissipates in a puff of smoke.

Ugh…

Yuji clutches his forehead in pain.

"The intensity of pain is severe compared to earlier."

It takes almost half an hour for Yuji to recover.

"Controlling your chakra flow and meddling in the process of jutsu is quite dangerous. I won't do it again." He shakes his head.

"Hmm… you are right! Altering the path of chakra flow essentially creates a new jutsu. So, it's bound to be dangerous, since you are treading on an unknown path." Minato voices his opinion.

"Minato is right! Only a highly skilled jounin can create a new jutsu of his own." She warns him.

'If that's the case, then my discovery of that particular technique is a lucky coincidence. I shouldn't recklessly alter any technique to suit my needs.' Yuji decides to play it safe.

"Alright, everyone! Let's return to the village. I am quite exhausted and hungry after today's training. Also, I want to buy an ice pack to cool my head. My head is still throbbing in pain." Yuji walks towards the hidden passage.

"Yes, I will also buy an ice pack. I have yet to recover from that terrible headache." Minato and the rest of the group follow him.

Later at night.

Minato and Yuji lie down on their bed. Yuji stares out of the window as he ponders.

'After my observation, I think chakra reserve and chakra control aren't the only requirements to perform the jutsu. A certain level of spiritual and mental strength is also required to perform the jutsu. Also, I want to test something out.'

Yuji stands up from his bed.

"What are you doing, Yuji?" Minato picks up the ice bag from his head and glances at Yuji.

"I want to check something! We still have the weight balance with us, right?"

"We do!" Yuji stands on top of the weight balance and measures his weight.

"It's 24.7 kg. Now…"

He makes the hand signs for the shadow clone.

Poof…

A pale, wobbly clone appears beside him. Yuji glances at the dial. The dial flickers to the right side for a moment before returning to the same position.

"There is no weight loss!"

Poof…

The shadow clone disappears and the dial flickers towards the left side for a moment before returning to the initial position.

"Strange!" Yuji murmurs.

"Did you find something?" Minato also curiously asks him.

"I did!" Yuji narrates the situation to him.

"That's indeed strange. Could it be that chakra has weight?" Minato speculates.

"Perhaps!" Yuji is also clueless.

'How does a shadow clone gain the necessary mass to gain a physical body and maintain it? Could it be another secret of chakra?" He wonders.

'For now, my next goal is to study this technique and master it before graduation.' He sets a goal for himself.