Chapter 52

"— Theoretically, it's quite possible, but it will require a huge amount of time to gain the necessary level of control over your shadow," the veteran replied, "time that you could spend on something more useful."

"— I see. Does anyone in the clan know how to do this?"

"— As far as I know, no one."

"— Hmm, thank you for the information, sensei," I respectfully bowed and left the training hall, heading towards home.

Well, who would spend days training if you could achieve the desired result simply by combining the concentration seal! However, the clan had been doing just fine for hundreds of years, so why should anything change now?

Unfortunately, I had to attend Hidzutsu classes personally for the simple reason that clones were useless in this case. Hidzutsu used a component of chakra, while shadow clones already had mixed chakra without a source, which couldn't be separated, making it impossible to use shadows for them.

So I had to train solely by myself in the usual way. Of course, progress was somewhat slowed down by this, but still, I was one of the best in the group. Overall, I had big plans for these techniques, as well as for Fuinjutsu.

After all, if a captured enemy repeats your movements, what prevents finding a way to force them to move with the power of shadows independently of your movements? I think it all depends on the amount of chakra and the degree of control over the used shadow.

And there's already a fitting name for it — shadow puppetry. Or teleporting from shadow to shadow, isn't that a variant of Shunshin? And the speed of shadow movement should be much faster than what our instructor demonstrates.

Of course, I understand that all Nara are used to outsmarting and catching opponents through tactical moves, but against truly fast opponents alone, such a method may not help.

Anyway, all of this can wait — I decided to experiment with various clan jutsu only after reaching my teens. By that time, I'll have a more massive reserve, decent medical experience, and well-developed chakra channels capable of withstanding the use of costly techniques without much effort.

By the way, this is precisely why powerful elemental ninjutsu can only be learned by an ordinary shinobi after achieving the rank of Chunin. Of course, this doesn't apply to most clan and hereditary shinobi, but the fact that they didn't give us anything truly expensive after all the training speaks for itself.

And the academy dedicates the first years of study to the physical and mental development of students, along with acquiring a good control of chakra, and only in the last two years do they learn weak techniques.

First, the basic three, and in the final year — training in transforming chakra into elemental. I was particularly interested in the subjects taught to academy shinobi and the order of their presentation. After all, caution never hurt anyone.

Even though I'm an Uzumaki with special chakra, it's definitely not worth the risk. So all that's left is manipulating ordinary chakra, like creating a Rasengan or using techniques that don't require transformation. Chidori can wait a couple more years.

"— Ma, I'm home!"

Arriving home, I announced my presence to Saya from the doorway.

"— Come in, lunch will be ready soon," came from the kitchen.

"— I'll be right there!"

Taking off my shoes, I quickly changed into my training outfit, consisting of shorts and a tank top, due to the unusually warm weather for the beginning of winter, and hurried to have lunch.

In the kitchen, one Ma was cooking something on the stove, while the other was chopping salad nearby. Pulling out a stool for myself, I sat down at the table and rested my elbows on it, supporting my head with my hands.

"— Hm?" Saya, who had turned from the stove, looked at me questioningly.

"— Nothing, I'm just thinking how nice it is to have so many moms," I explained my smile.

"— We're also glad that there's such a useful jutsu as Kage Bunshin!" the clones chimed in together, and after exchanging glances, they laughed.