Why was Ino happy this morning?
Because she and Sakura had finally reconciled.
Previously, Ino and Sakura were rivals in pursuing Sasuke. However, Ino's relationship with Sakura improved because she gave up and chose Souji.
In Sakura's eyes, however, Ino had betrayed Sasuke and broken their promise to find out who was better between them. (Even though this didn't make sense.)
Sakura was highly competitive with Ino. She saw that Ino had many advantages over her. Because of this, Sakura wanted to try to defeat Ino by being the first to win Sasuke's heart.
After Ino announced that she had given up on Sasuke, however, Sakura felt happy and disappointed at the same time.
If that was the case, she wouldn't be able to prove that she was better than Ino. Then, Sakura thought, if she got Sasuke before Ino got Souji, wouldn't that prove she was better than Ino?
And wasn't Sasuke better than Souji? Wouldn't that be a double victory?
"..."
'Just wait, Ino. I'm the one who will win.'
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
In the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen read the report he was holding. "Danzo..."
He didn't expect his friend to go this far for an academy student.
If it hadn't been Souji, anyone would have died, even an Anbu. They were fighting three squads of ROOT ninjas, consisting of two Jonin and seven elite Chunin. Even his Anbu subordinates would be in trouble and might die, except maybe Kakashi, Itachi, and Shisui.
Hiruzen had known from the start that this would happen. However, he never expected that Danzo didn't underestimate Souji. He thought Danzo would at least send a squad of Chunin.
Here was Hiruzen, wondering whether he should feel proud if Danzo really thought that high about Souji, or ashamed of what his friend had done.
"..."
Sometimes he wondered how his friend could have turned into this.
(AN: Of course, it's because Hiruzen married Biwako, not...)
"..."
Once again, Hiruzen was amazed by Souji. He easily defeated them all.
Using his Telescope jutsu, Hiruzen saw the variant of Rasengan that Souji used, as well as his clone jutsu that couldn't be dispelled. From the Rasengan variant alone, Hiruzen doubted that Jiraiya could do what Souji did. But what made Hiruzen curious was the basic jutsu Souji used, clone jutsu.
He and the ROOT ninjas could easily recognize it as clone jutsu, but he was confused about how Souji could maintain his clone jutsu so that it wouldn't disappear when attacked.
"..."
Souji's clone jutsu took the idea from a projector screen. As long as Souji or his shadow clone was still alive, his clone wouldn't disappear in the normal way.
While chakra puppets used chakra threads, Souji used spectrum and chakra waves on his clones. Chakra threads could be cut if someone coated their weapons with sharpened chakra. However, spectrum and chakra waves were different. As long as the enemy couldn't find Souji's chakra spectrum and match it to control the clone, Souji's clone jutsu wouldn't disappear unless he died or left without leaving a shadow clone to project it.
The chakra waves themselves helped Souji camouflage and deceive the enemy. Even sensor-type ninjas wouldn't be able to tell where the real Souji was unless they could stop the chakra waves emitted by each of his clones.
But Souji himself doesn't know. What if he fights a dojutsu user?
Can his jutsu fool them?
And of course, He can't achieve any of that without a cheat.
"..."
Putting that aside, Hiruzen didn't want Souji to become arrogant. Arrogance is dangerous for Souji because he tends to underestimate his opponents and lower his vigilance. If Itachi hadn't been treated, Hiruzen would have ordered Souji to fight him. But Itachi can't do it right now, the only options are Kakashi and Shisui.
If Hiruzen fought Souji himself, Souji's defeat would be natural because he was fighting the Hokage.
However, it would be different if someone else fought him. Hiruzen wants Souji to experience defeat so that he can learn not to underestimate his enemies.
Of course, Hiruzen doesn't know if Souji has changed or not. The most important thing for Hiruzen is that Souji to gain experience fighting different opponents.
Honestly, the ninja academy holds back Souji's potential, but Hiruzen wants Souji to form bonds while he's there.
Of course, Hiruzen would make an exception for Souji if he performs well against Kakashi and Shisui.
"..."
'I want to enjoy my retirement soon.' Hiruzen thought to himself, enjoying his tobacco.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
At the police force office.
"Clan leader, are we just going to sit still and let the Uchiha clan be trampled?"
Fugaku looked at him.
"This is all just a misunderstanding. Itachi told me so." Fugaku said flatly.
"Clan leader, it's possible that Itachi is colluding with the Third Hokage."
Upon hearing this, Fugaku activated his Sharingan and stared sharply at the group of ninjas from the Uchiha Clan.
"Say that again, and I will punish you." Fugaku said coldly.
"Tch." One of them scoffed because they thought their clan leader was a coward. They were not satisfied with Fugaku leading the clan.
"Disperse." Fugaku ordered.
"..."
They left, annoyed and angry not only at Fugaku, but also at the village. They were the Uchiha clan, one of Konoha's founding clans. How had they fallen so low?
Not to mention, their clan leader was a coward. Fugaku would accept whatever the village ordered, even if it was disadvantageous to the clan. The advantage Fugaku mentioned, that the Third Hokage would accept Uchiha ninjas as ANBU, didn't benefit them either. Instead, the clan became more suspicious of Shisui and Itachi, even believing that they had betrayed the clan and become the Hokage's dogs.
Previously, they had fully supported Fugaku, even after the Third Shinobi World War. They believed that he deserved to be the Fourth Hokage, or at least be considered for the position. However, Fugaku's name was not on the list, and Minato was chosen as the Fourth Hokage.
They were angry and disappointed, but Fugaku calmed them down. He said that he had a good relationship with Minato, so they could relax even though he didn't become Hokage.
However, the Kyubi attack on the village occurred. Many people died, including the Fourth Hokage. They wanted to help at the time of the incident but were stopped by the Anbu and ordered to only patrol the village.
Once again, they were angry, and once again, Fugaku calmed them down. Fugaku also accepted the order without protest, disappointing many of his supporters. The climax came when the Uchiha were moved to the outskirts of the village. The village elders suspected them of being involved in the Kyubi incident. This prompted Fugaku and the others to plan a coup.
However, Fugaku's supporters were disappointed and angry with his submissive and obedient attitude toward the village, especially since their coup plan didn't event start at all.
"..."
"Are we going to stay silent like this?" One of the ninjas asked.
"..."
"We'll plan further without Fugaku and the two Hokage dogs." He added, "Of course, we planned it along with the people who support me."
The others nodded in agreement.
'Under my leadership, the Uchiha will rise!' thought the ninja who wasn't even given a name by the author.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
Academy, lunchtime.
"Souji-kun, it's only been a few days, and your score in the shuriken-throwing class has increased, even Naruto too." Ino said.
Naruto, who overheard this, laughed proudly and said, "I started training with Dad every day after school, well, almost every day."
"I see." Then, looking at Souji, Ino said, "Hey... Souji-kun, can I join your training?"
"Hm? Aren't you from the Yamanaka clan? Don't you have special training from your clan?" Souji asked.
Ino nodded. "That's right. Usually, my father trains me in the Yamanaka Clan's specialized jutsu, but he doesn't teach basic things like throwing shuriken and taijutsu."
[Thoughts: See? I've prepared this excuse.]
"..."
In reality, Inoichi always invited his daughter to train, but she always refused for various reasons. Moreover, Inoichi spoiled Ino too much, so when she refused, he couldn't do anything.
"..."
Souji agreed that Ino could join their training after hearing and seeing the notification from the system.
"Alright, you can join. But I hope you're not messing around, okay?" Souji asked.
"Okay." Ino answered.
"Oh, training together? Can I join in too?" Choji asked.
"Of course." Souji answered. "Oh, and don't forget to bring extra lunch."
Choji and Ino nodded.
What about Shikamaru?
He actually wanted to join, too, but he was embarrassed to say it for some reason.
"..."
Seeing that Shikamaru was silent, Naruto asked him, "Shikamaru, are you okay?"
Shikamaru answered, "Well, I'm fine."
"Hey, Shikamaru. Do you want to join us for training?" Then, he asked Souji, "Dad, can Shikamaru join?"
"Of course." Souji answered.
"So, how about it, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.
"Hm..." Shikamaru looked like he was thinking. He just didn't want to answer directly, so he pretended to think first.
"All right, I'll join."
"Yatta! Finally, we can all train together!" Naruto said happily.
"When can we train?" Ino asked Souji.
"Tomorrow." Souji added. "You haven't brought extra lunch, and you haven't told your parents, have you?"
"..."
"Yes, you're right." Ino answered.
Choji and Shikamaru nodded too.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
After school, the training ground was located far behind the Hokage statue. Naruto was fighting Shadow Clone Souji. Naruto threw two quick punches toward Shadow Clone Souji's stomach and chest, but he parried them with one hand.
"I can see where your eyes are looking."
Woosh!
Naruto, whose footing was stable again, quickly charged at the shadow clone, lowered his body, and tried to sweep kick the shadow clone's legs. Souji lifted the leg that Naruto was trying to kick and gave him a spinning kick to the face.
Bang!
"Gah!"
Naruto was thrown back with a bloody nose.
"Ugh, that hurts." Naruto said, wiping his nose.
The real Souji smiled at this and approached Naruto, healing his wounds.
"..."
"Does it still hurt?" Souji asked.
Naruto shook his head. "No, thanks to Dad, it doesn't hurt anymore."
"I see." Souji said, stroking Naruto's hair.
"Naruto, your movements are too excessive. You only need to punch and kick. There's no need to make a lot of movements."
Naruto scratched his cheek and said, "But Dad, none of my attacks ever hit you, so I'm trying other moves."
Souji shook his head. "That's just because you're too slow. If you were faster, even a normal punch would definitely hit me."
"Um, how fast do I have to be?" Naruto asked.
"As fast as Wally West." Souji replied.
"..."
"Who?" Naruto asked again.
"Wally West. He's so fast that he can Solo a verse."
"Ah?" Naruto's mind was overwhelmed.
"..."
"I see. So he's very fast." Naruto said, his mind returning to normal.
"Yes, he's very fast." Souji added. "Because of that, Naruto, from now on, I will also train your physique so you can move quickly."
"Un." Naruto replied.
"..."
Souji handed the rest to his shadow clone and trained alone to improve his extra skill.
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
[Shadow Clone LV10 (MAX)]
"..."
Finally, his extra skill, Shadow Clone, reached its MAX level.
He wondered what the difference was between levels 1 and 10.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Poff
"..."
Souji thought, 'This is strange. Isn't the way shadow clones work to divide the user's chakra with his shadow clone?'
However, my chakra wasn't divided at all and only decreased slightly.
"..."
'But my shadow clones have the same amount of chakra as me.'
"..."
'If my shadow clones return to my body, will the same amount of chakra enter me too? Wouldn't that be dangerous?' Souji thought.
When someone receives chakra they can't contain, they will most likely die from the excess.
"..."
'What should I do?'
"..."
"..."