Chapter 172

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Late at night, after Wanda had fallen asleep, Leo made his way to the library at Kamar-Taj.

It would be another six years before Doctor Strange joined Kamar-Taj, and Kaecilius had not yet betrayed them, so the library's caretaker was not Wong but another young wizard named Kajie.

"Good evening, Wizard Leo!"

"Good evening, Wizard Kajie. I'd like to borrow some magical books if that's possible."

Leo gave the traditional Kamar-Taj wizard's greeting.

Kajie smiled and replied, "Of course. You can borrow any books you like, except those on these two shelves."

During the day, Mordo had informed him that Wizard Leo, who had recently joined, was allowed to borrow any magical books except those from the Ancient One's private collection.

"Thank you!"

Leo knew well that the two forbidden shelves contained highly dangerous magical books that the Ancient One had kept hidden, such as rituals for summoning Dormammu, time magic, and dark magic.

However, he had no interest in those particular books. His main purpose in coming to Kamar-Taj was to learn about the origins of the world and gather information on the various dimensional demons.

All magic at Kamar-Taj required signing an unequal lease contract with the corresponding dimensional demon, making even the most powerful spells inconvenient to use.

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

After receiving the librarian's approval, Leo immediately formed hand seals and created over a hundred clones, who spread out in the library to begin their search.

By his estimation, the library contained at least ten thousand books. Searching through them alone would take an indeterminate amount of time. Although his shadow clones could only last for eight minutes at his current level, having over a hundred clones greatly improved his efficiency.

The duration of the shadow clones depends on the amount of chakra and the user's mastery of the technique. For instance, Sasuke's clones could last only a minute, Kakashi's for five minutes, and Naruto's could last three days.

Currently, Leo's shadow clones could last for eight minutes. In his second form, with a significant boost in chakra, they could last about twenty minutes.

In fact, aside from combat, the greatest use of shadow clones is to assist in training because all memories and experiences of the clones return to the original when they disappear.

However, most ninja cannot use shadow clones for training because, in addition to memory and experience, the fatigue and various physical sensations of the clones also return to the original.

But that's not the main issue. Many ninjas possess great endurance and willpower. The biggest problem is the duration of the shadow clones.

For example, a typical ninja might only create seven or eight shadow clones, each lasting only three to four minutes, amounting to a savings of about half an hour of training time.

However, depleting all their chakra in this way would require them to rest for half a day to recover, making it not worth the effort.

Naruto could train using shadow clones because he could create a thousand clones at once, each lasting two to three days, effectively compressing years' worth of training into a single day. Even if he had to rest for a day afterward to recover, it was entirely worthwhile.

Leo hadn't reached that level yet, but he still occasionally found time each day to use shadow clones for training. Normally, he could create up to 120 shadow clones, and in his second form, around 300.

In his second form, shadow clones used only for learning could last twenty minutes, and 300 clones studying simultaneously would save about four days' worth of time.

In other words, twenty minutes of study using this method would be as effective as four days of normal study. He only needed to endure the discomfort and recover for half a day afterward.

Moreover, his second form's body was strong and had excellent recovery abilities, so there was no risk of dying from overexertion.

The reason he could quickly master several advanced ninjutsu techniques learned from Kakuzu and Orochimaru's Soft Physique Modification was because, in the final days of his stay in the Naruto world, he had been training nonstop using multiple shadow clones.

"Aikurn's Form!"

Seeing Leo create over a hundred clones at once, Librarian Kajie couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Aikurn's Form was a highly advanced spell at Kamar-Taj. Besides the Ancient One, few wizards could master it, and its function was remarkably similar to Leo's shadow clone technique.

Both could instantly create multiple physical clones to assist in combat.

Five minutes later, Leo dismissed his shadow clones and placed eight books on the counter before Kajie.

"Wizard Kajie, I'd like to borrow these books."

"Certainly, Wizard Leo. Let me register them for you. Just remember to return them when you're done."

Kajie nodded politely, speaking with great respect.

Wherever you go, powerful individuals command respect, and Leo's Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu had clearly earned him Kajie's admiration.

Carrying the eight thick books back to his room, Leo opened a small box and slipped inside.

This small box was one he had brought from the Naruto world, which he had expanded using the Extension Charm. Inside, he had built a simple wooden cabin to study ninjutsu and delve into magical research.

**"The Three-Fold Path of Vishanti," "The Origins of Earth," "The Fall of the Old Gods," "Ancient Gods and Dimensional Demons"…**

Inside the cabin, Leo created more shadow clones, each taking a book and starting to read.

Two hours later, he closed the books, dismissed the shadow clones, and shut his eyes, beginning to organize everything he had learned from these eight books.

"So, that's how it is!"

Slowly opening his eyes, he finally gained some understanding of the ancient gods and the dimensional demons.

According to the records in the Kamar-Taj books, in the early days of the universe, many powerful beings were born. These beings naturally possessed various formidable abilities, including the ability to traverse dimensions and travel to other universes.

In the beginning, Earth also gave birth to a powerful ancient god known as Gaea, the Goddess of the Earth and Life.

Gaea nurtured all life on Earth and gave rise to the second generation of ancient gods.

One of them, Set, the ancient god of death and destruction and the origin of all reptilian life on Earth, discovered by chance that consuming his fellow ancient gods greatly increased his power, leading him to embark on a path of rampant slaughter.

In the process, his strength grew immensely, and he became the first demon on Earth.

Seeing Set's power grow, many other ancient gods began to emulate his actions, devouring other ancient gods to increase their own power. This is what the book refers to as "The Fall of the Old Gods."

One evil ancient god, comparable in power to Set, was Chthon, who excelled in using all kinds of powerful dark magic and possessed great ancient and chaotic powers.

To counter the fallen, evil ancient gods, Gaea and the Earth's consciousness, the Demiurge, created Atum, the God Eater, who could absorb and darken himself with evil powers to strengthen. Atum slaughtered many evil ancient gods, affecting Earth and leading to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

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