Chapter 61

Of course, control also plays an important role, otherwise the jutsu of other elements would be much more costly for me, but it is rather a secondary factor, designed to ease the already costly process.

- It's a deal," my neighbor didn't hesitate for long.

I didn't ask for much, though, and for a sharingan wielder, learning a new technique isn't hard at all, and it's not as valuable as it is for other shinobi who can't copy all of their enemy's techniques.

- Only your clone will have a little less reserve, because I may not be able to recover fully," I warned the veteran, pulling out another blank scroll.

- If that's the case, you'll still have a chance to survive, so just do it," he said and asked, "Should I use the scroll in the usual way?

- No, I modified the standard seal for transporting prisoners, adding a few features with a little protection against copying," I shook my head, "to take out a clone you don't have to unfold the paper, you just need to give it a short pulse of chakra and throw it on the ground, after which the kage bunshin will appear and the scroll will self-destruct.

- And you created a new seal, albeit based on an old one, in just a few hours? - The Uchiha marveled.

- Well... yeah, what's the big deal? Mito-sama can change the seal she's drawing on the fly to suit her current needs, or turn it into the opposite of what it was with just a few strokes. Not like me.

- Shinji snorted derisively, "Other non-Uzumaki fuinjutsu users can only dream of your abilities!

- You could say that the gap in ability between me and them is roughly equal to the difference between Mito-sama and me, so I too have something to envy and strive for.

If there's even a chance of reaching the mentor's capabilities at this point in time by the end of my life. Still, talent is one thing, but predisposition and a lot of perseverance is somewhat different and it's best not to compare the two.

***

It was boring and dreary to be cooped up all the time until the first stage of the chunin exams, so in addition to the two scrolls with bunshin kage, I also applied a healing seal to my clanmate, just in case - even genin fights can be very fast and a guy can be killed before he can take his chance. Of course, it's not a panacea, but even with a critical wound there's a good chance to stay conscious for a couple minutes, and I know better than most how to get patients out of the Shinigami's doorstep.

However, I was not only doing that, but I was also hanging around the inn, both in our sector and in other people's - just out of curiosity to see the representatives of other villages. Of course, it was a bit dangerous, given the not-so-friendly stares of almost all the other shinobi, except for Kumo (they were evaluatingly cautious, just as they'd been since I'd met them) and the small villages allied to Konoha, but even Oonoki's subordinates didn't dare to break the truce, even though they were shushing me at the sight of a hitai-te with a leaf with a killer amount of KI.

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