204-Testing Limits

Among all the jutsus Renjiro had picked, the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu had stood out to him the most.

"I think I should start with this," Renjiro muttered aloud to himself, his voice breaking the silence of the room. He absentmindedly twirled a kunai between his fingers, the smooth metal blade catching the faint light as it spun.

Renjiro's thoughts drifted back to the scrolls. "Who knows," he continued in a quiet voice, "maybe it'll help cut down the time I need to learn the other jutsu."

With everything decided, Renjiro closed his eyes and mentally reconstructed the details of the jutsu he was about to perform. His Sharingan, already active, allowed him to remember all the details of the jutsu from the the hand signs to chakra flow with crystalline clarity. It was almost as though the scroll was still in front of him.

"The main difference between the basic Shadow Clone Jutsu and the multi-variant one," Renjiro began thoughtfully, his fingers trailing idly across his palm as though tracing the hand signs in his mind,

"Is that the basic one helps one to produce one, two, or three shadow clones at a time. The multi-variant, however… it creates dozens, if not hundreds, of shadow clones all at once."

He paused, his brow furrowing slightly as he considered the risks. "I guess, that's why it's considered forbidden," Renjiro realized.

"While with the basic jutsu, you can control the amount of chakra split between the clones, the multi-variant takes that control away. You choose the number of clones, but the chakra expenditure becomes less precise. The more clones you summon, the more you gamble with your control over the chakra used."

The kunai in his hand paused mid-twirl. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, weighing the pros and cons of the jutsu. He couldn't help but smirk.

"It's perfect for overwhelming enemies, or if you've got a tailed beast's chakra like Naruto did. You could spam clones endlessly and train faster."

Renjiro chuckled softly at the absurdity of the thought, he knew that his chakra reserves were a couple of hundred years away from a jinchuriki's.

"Maybe I should capture a tailed beast one day in the future and become a jinchuriki," Renjiro mused aloud. The thought lingered in his mind for a second too long before he quickly shook his head, dismissing the fantasy with a chuckle.

"That would help with most of my plans, no doubt. But I'll have to join the Akatsuki to navigate that whole political mess."

Renjiro shook his head, dismissing the idle fantasy. "Enough of that," he muttered to himself.

"Let's see if this actually works."

Renjiro stood up straight and flexed his fingers, preparing to make the hand signs for the jutsu. With a decisive breath, he focused. His hands came together, fingers moving in a blur as he formed the necessary hand signs. His chakra stirred within him, coiling and building like a spring ready to snap.

The hand seals came naturally to him now, fluid and precise. They were similar to the basic Shadow Clone Jutsu, but with a few extra gestures that made all the difference—subtle yet significant variations that expanded the scope of the technique tenfold.

With a final deep breath, Renjiro completed the sequence. "Here goes nothing," he whispered.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he intoned, his voice firm as his chakra surged outward. In an instant, there was a puff of smoke—a series of small, loud pops that echoed through the room like firecrackers.

"Poof!"

"Poof!"

The sound of air displacing filled the room as the smoke quickly cleared, revealing a startling sight—fifteen identical copies of Renjiro stood before him, each one mirroring his stance and expression perfectly.

Renjiro's eyes widened slightly in surprise. 'Fifteen shadow clones on my first try, not bad' he thought, blinking as the full scope of the technique dawned on him. The technique said that the minimum he could make on his first try to start his learning journey was twelve. So things were looking good.

Unfortunately, that was not the case as Renjiro's surprise quickly turned to concern when he felt the heavy drain on his chakra reserves. His heart skipped a beat as he realized just how much chakra the jutsu had consumed.

"It took half of my chakra!" he murmured in disbelief.

For a moment, he stood there, processing the weight of that realization. His chakra reserves had grown significantly since his days as a genin, where he had reserves that were well above the average shinobi.

Now Renjiro's chakra reserves were more than double what they used to be. But even still, the fact that the jutsu had taken half of his chakra in one go was staggering.

He walked among his clones, his Sharingan still active as he scrutinized them carefully. Each clone had an identical chakra signature, distributed evenly among them. Renjiro nodded thoughtfully to himself.

'The chakra is spread evenly,' he observed. 'That's both a strength and a weakness. On one hand, it makes them more durable in battle. But on the other hand, it also means that they're easier to destroy in a fight since each one has the same amount of chakra as the others.'

Suddenly, Renjiro had a thought. He commanded the clones with a mental order, and almost immediately, each of the fifteen clones activated their Sharingan.

Renjiro's own eyes widened in surprise. "They can use the Sharingan too?" he marvelled, astonished by the discovery. "Is that why the chakra consumption was so high?"

He mulled over the implications of this for a moment, then nodded to himself in approval. "Well, at least that means they'll be more effective in battle. It guarantees they'll last longer."

Emboldened by his initial success, Renjiro felt a surge of confidence. He wanted to see just how far he could push this new technique.

"Let's see what my current limits are!" he said aloud, his voice filled with anticipation.

Renjiro took a deep breath and once again made the hand signs for the jutsu. This time, the effort felt slightly easier as his body adapted to the strain.

"Poof! Poof! Poof!"

Another fifteen clones appeared around him in another burst of smoke. Now, thirty identical Renjiros stood in the room, their expressions as stoic as the original.

Renjiro grinned, feeling a surge of pride at his growing mastery.

'That was easier,' he noted. His confidence was building, and with it came a hunger to test his limits even further.

He made the hand seals one more time, his chakra flowing through his body like a raging river.

"Poof! Poof! Poof!"

Another fifteen clones materialized, bringing the total to forty-five. The training room was now filled with a small army of Renjiros, all standing at attention, their red Sharingan eyes gleaming ominously in the dim light.

Renjiro's breathing grew heavier as he felt the intense drain on his body.

'Forty-five clones,' he thought, amazement flickering in his eyes as he gazed at the multitude of copies before him. 'That's… incredible.'

While it was still possible to achieve this with the basic variant, it would require immense concentration to succeed in it.

But before he could fully process the achievement, exhaustion slammed into him like a physical blow. His legs buckled beneath him, and his vision began to swim. The room seemed to tilt and sway as his chakra reserves bottomed out.

With a final, staggering step forward, Renjiro collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath.

"Poof!"

"Poof!"

"Poof!"

His clones vanished in an instant, disappearing into thin air, leaving behind only faint wisps of smoke.

Renjiro lay there for a moment, panting heavily as his body trembled from the strain.

'This again,' Renjiro thought.

It had been a long time since he felt the consequences of chakra depletion and Renjiro did not miss the feeling at all.

His muscles ached, his limbs felt like lead, and his chakra reserves were nearly depleted. But despite it all, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

'Forty-five is not bad, but I am still too far away from making hundreds.' Renjiro thought. as he fell to the ground, waiting for his chakra levels to recover

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