Ino Yamanaka: "This number… isn't it way too much?!"
Kankurō: "That Uzumaki Naruto… he can actually create that many shadow clones in one go?!"
Kankurō: "Then why was he struggling so much earlier against that guy who smelled like a dog?!"
Kiba Inuzuka: "Hey, hey, hey! What do you mean by that?!"
Shino Aburame: "Literal meaning."
Kiba Inuzuka: "..."
Sakura Haruno: "That's amazing… but why is the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu a forbidden technique?"
"Mmmgh—!"
Naruto, tied up like a dumpling, suddenly reacted.
Oh right, I can still talk.
Uzumaki Naruto: "Yeah, yeah! Why is my Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu forbidden?"
Uzumaki Naruto: "I don't feel any danger using it at all!"
Senju Tobirama: What do you mean your Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu? I developed that technique!
Senju Tobirama: The reason the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu is classified as a forbidden technique is mainly because it consumes an excessive amount of chakra from the user. The more clones created, the more chakra is consumed. One careless mistake, and the user can completely exhaust their chakra and die.
Senju Tobirama: In addition, when shadow clones are dispelled, their memories and experiences return to the original body. This places an extremely high burden on the mind. Without sufficient mental resilience… heh.
Ōnoki: "In other words, once the clones disperse, the massive influx of memories and experiences could directly overwhelm the user and turn them into an idiot."
Fourth Raikage: "But there's no need to worry about Gold-Frame Naruto."
Ino Yamanaka: "Why?"
Uchiha Sasuke: "Gold-Frame Naruto's so-called powerful Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu is actually nothing more than a flashy but useless trick."
Uchiha Sasuke: "With that many clones, all he does is throw them at enemies like clumps of mud."
Uchiha Sasuke: "Besides, if he actually knew how to use them properly, he'd have already been mentally overloaded and turned into an idiot."
Uchiha Sasuke: "That's right—Idiot Naruto. Meaning, you're an idiot. And if you weren't an idiot, this jutsu would've already turned you into one!"
Uzumaki Naruto: "!!!"
Neji frowned and looked toward Yamanaka Inoichi.
"Could it be that the whispers in his mind… are indirectly protecting Naruto's brain?"
Yamanaka Inoichi: "..."
"Does he even need protection?"
"…You're right. Probably not."
Neji sighed.
"Naruto, do you know that shadow clones return memories and experiences?"
Hearing that, Naruto—still struggling while bound—froze.
His bright blue eyes filled with confusion.
As if asking, 'That's a thing?'
Yamanaka Inoichi felt the wrinkles in his cerebral cortex smooth out.
Uzumaki Kushina: "Ahem—damn that Sarutobi old dog! I swear I'll kill him!"
Namikaze Minato: That's… actually correct!
The golden-framed giant screen continued.
[Uzumaki Naruto defeated Mizuki and saved Iruka.]
[Iruka's words allowed Naruto to feel a long-lost sense of familial warmth. After the Third Hokage, Iruka became another of Naruto's most important elders.]
[At dawn.]
[With his eyes closed, Naruto asked in confusion, "Iruka-sensei… how much longer?"]
["Alright. You can open your eyes now," Iruka's voice sounded.]
[Naruto slowly opened his eyes.]
[The first rays of morning sunlight fell across their faces.]
[Seeing Iruka's smiling face, Naruto seemed to realize something.]
[He raised a hand to touch his forehead—cool and hard.]
[Iruka's forehead protector was gone. Clearly, it was now on Naruto's head.]
["Congratulations, Naruto. You're a genin now."]
—Kshhh—
The golden-framed screen abruptly cut off.
Just as everyone was still feeling unsatisfied—
The black-framed giant screen lit up.
[After Uchiha Fugaku and Hyūga Hiashi reached a consensus—]
[The two began using their own children as intermediaries to provide young Naruto with the resources he needed.]
[Half a year later.]
[Young Naruto lay on his bed, wide awake.]
[Sarutobi Hiruzen had visited yesterday.]
[After testing Naruto's chakra extraction, he was very satisfied.]
[What pleased him even more was the admiration in Naruto's eyes—his longing for the Will of Fire, and his desire to become Hokage.]
[In high spirits, Hiruzen increased Naruto's monthly allowance by another thousand ryō.]
[At the same time, he left behind a scroll.]
[Inside were the most basic techniques—the Three Basic Jutsu.]
[Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu.]
[After a brief explanation, Hiruzen left, fully satisfied.]
[Speaking of ninjutsu—Sasuke had already begun learning his clan's Fire Release techniques.]
[Shikamaru and the other two were the same.]
[Hinata, at this stage, wasn't focusing on that yet.]
[That left only Sakura and himself without direct resource support.]
["I'll have Sakura train together with me tomorrow."]
["Her chakra has improved quite a bit recently. Training really does help."]
[Images surfaced in his mind of Sakura, exhausted to the point of tears, afraid he'd abandon her, gritting her teeth and pushing on.]
[Young Naruto shook his head and smiled.]
["Sakura's talent in chakra control is excellent… unfortunately, I don't have a training method suited for her. Still, this is better than doing nothing."]
[After getting up to pour himself a cup of warm water, Naruto sat back down on the bed. After a moment of silence, his brows slowly knit together.]
[He began organizing the useful information he had obtained from Hinata and Sasuke.]
["Let's start with what's 'known'—the earliest period."]
["The Warring States Period… the Uchiha and Senju clans fought. The Senju won, but didn't annihilate the Uchiha. Instead, they founded Konoha together."]
["Other clans followed suit—either joining Konoha or forming new villages of their own."]
Young Naruto paused.
The Hyūga and Uchiha accounts were mostly consistent here—though there were subtle differences.
["After that came the ninja world… right, everyone calls this world the ninja world."]
["The structure was established: Konoha, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure."]
["With villages at the core, the Five Great Nations emerged—Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning."]
Senju Tobirama: Good! Finally opening his eyes to the world!
Ōnoki: "Yes! I hope Black-Frame Naruto gets better intel from one of the Five Great Villages and defects quickly!"
Mei Terumī: "Pah! What do you mean 'defect'? That sounds awful!"
[Young Naruto frowned deeply. His intuition told him there were many secrets between the Senju and Uchiha.]
[Unfortunately, there wasn't enough information.]
["After founding Konoha together, both the First and Second Hokage were Senju… yet no Uchiha ever became Hokage."]
[That's strange. Very strange.]
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