Afternoon, Ninja Academy.
"Sasuke, can you teach me this jutsu..."
"Don't bother me!"
Sasuke's cold gaze swept over, scaring the young girl pale; the hand holding her book instantly retracted.
Her lips trembled, and she finally bowed:
"I'm sorry!"
Then... seeing that Sasuke didn't answer, she hurried away, not daring to approach again.
Sasuke stared coldly at the blackboard, his attention not on what was in front of him at all.
He couldn't believe that the powerful Big Brother Shisui would die, much less that his brother, Uchiha Itachi, would be the murderer the clansmen spoke of.
His brother and Shisui had such a good relationship... and besides.
Since Shisui's death, Itachi hadn't left his room.
Anger and coldness flickered on his face; his whole body radiated a "do not approach" aura.
Even the usually boisterous Naruto wasn't jumping around today, but was instead secretly glancing at Sasuke.
But.
Someone still dared to speak: "Sasuke, are you..."
"You're annoying!"
Sasuke stared coldly.
Sakura Haruno froze upon hearing this, momentarily unsure of how to respond.
Ino tugged at the corner of her clothes.
Bang!
Naruto slammed the table and stood up, shouting angrily, "Sasuke! Sakura is just worried about you, why are you being so mean? If you're in a bad mood, let's go outside and I'll fight you!"
Sasuke tilted his head, swept a glance over, and then looked away, ignoring Naruto.
Just as Naruto was shouting and making a scene, threatening to teach Sasuke a lesson... the bell rang, breaking the awkward situation.
He immediately sat down.
But.
The next second, a voice came from outside the door.
"It seems quite lively here. What happened?"
A familiar voice came from outside.
Everyone was first startled, then stared wide-eyed toward the door.
Followed by... "Teacher Masahiko?"
Ino was pleasantly surprised, "You're not sick?"
"Just a minor ailment. I went to the hospital this morning and felt better when I got back."
Masahiko replied with a smile.
Then, he took out his book and said, "I'll be teaching this class. You've reached the Clone Jutsu, right?"
Sasuke was first a bit surprised, then suddenly became energized.
But.
A second later, a look of sadness appeared on his face.
The teacher and Shisui seemed to have been classmates. He heard from his brother that the two of them had recently exchanged insights on the Body Flicker Technique and Clone Jutsu.
Does he know about Big Brother Shisui's death?
Sasuke's thoughts were in a mess; he was lost in thought and remained silent.
At this moment, a classmate beside him poked him. Sasuke glanced over strangely, only to see the other person pointing upward.
Following the gaze... Yagyu Masahiko was looking at him.
He immediately stood up: "Sorry, teacher, I was distracted."
"It's nothing. I even took the morning off myself."
Masahiko smiled gently, very kind. "I plan to check the results of your Clone Jutsu practice. If you're not feeling well, you don't have to try."
"I'm fine."
Sasuke shook his head.
Then, he walked onto the stage and formed hand signs.
The next moment, two clones identical to Masahiko appeared.
"Very good, excellent. I checked, and this was supposed to be a requirement for next year's Ninjutsu. You've completed it ahead of time."
A look of appreciation appeared on Masahiko's face.
Sasuke nodded slightly, showing no sign of pride.
Because he knew that the person in front of him probably had higher research into the Clone Jutsu than even Shisui or his brother.
His little skill wasn't worth showing off.
"Go back down. If you're feeling unwell, you must say so."
"Yes!"
Sasuke bowed and then went back down.
Then, Masahiko looked elsewhere, his face brimming with smiles.
Naruto felt the gaze and was a bit restless, but then, when he didn't hear his name called for a long time, he became even more restless.
At this moment... at the back door, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Watanabe Shōji, Iruka, and others appeared one after another. Hiruzen Sarutobi even waved a greeting to Masahiko as he entered.
Looking at this scene, all the Jonin in the school had arrived!
My goodness!
So the Ninja World has open classes too?
Masahiko moved his gaze away from Naruto, thinking not to let him lose too much face, but then... *Bang!*
"Don't you just want to call my name? I'll do it!"
Naruto looked brave.
Sasuke, who had just come down, had a strange expression on his face.
After all... when he came down from the stage, he had seen Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others.
Naruto walked onto the stage with great momentum—
He definitely couldn't do it, but he absolutely couldn't show cowardice in front of Yagyu Masahiko!
That was what he thought.
Masahiko laughed.
"I didn't intend to call you up, but since you've volunteered, go ahead and demonstrate. You don't need to be like Sasuke; just creating one clone will do."
"No! If he can do it, so can I!"
Naruto was being incredibly stubborn.
But the moment he turned around, his face completely froze.
So many people?
Why is Grandpa Third here too?
Naruto was dazed, then turned his head to glare at Masahiko—
Are you setting me up?
Masahiko smiled and said, "A qualified Ninja should know the limits of their abilities. Being unable to do something isn't shameful."
"I... I... I can do it!"
Naruto braced himself, refusing to admit defeat.
He extracted Chakra and made preparations.
Masahiko felt the intense fluctuations and shook his head—
The Chakra fluctuations were almost as intense as when he used Collapsing Flow. It would be a miracle if this Clone Jutsu succeeded!
He watched silently.
After Naruto finished the hand signs, the Chakra exploded, and then... he was dumbfounded.
Two "Masahikos"—one lying flat on the ground, the other with distorted features, looking nothing like a human.
Masahiko sighed softly.
"That's why I said I didn't really want to call you up earlier..."
"Damn it!"
Naruto's composure broke a little.
But the next second.
"I said before, you must understand the limits of your abilities. Not being able to do it isn't shameful; trying to act tough when you can't is."
Masahiko's expression became serious. "Usually it's fine, just embarrassing, but in battle, you might lose your life!"
Naruto opened his mouth but ultimately didn't talk back.
He knew the other was right.
"Try just one."
Masahiko's tone was gentle.
Naruto nodded silently, formed hand signs, and performed the Clone Jutsu again.
It was a bit better, but not by much.
Masahiko was silent.
The Nine-Tails really is... He sighed softly. "Don't overlay the Transformation Jutsu; just a clone is enough."
"I-I understand!"
Naruto's face turned red, but due to nervousness and emotional fluctuations, his performance became even worse.
Masahiko wasn't annoyed, but Hiruzen and Iruka looked a bit embarrassed.
Especially Iruka.
He was the Ninjutsu teacher; seeing Naruto taught like this, he felt he also bore an inescapable responsibility.
The students below wanted to laugh, but even a fool could tell something was wrong from Naruto's and Sasuke's expressions; they could see the figures standing in the back just by turning their heads.
With the Hokage right there... who would dare to laugh?
Masahiko was lost in thought and didn't speak.
For a moment, the atmosphere was silent.
Just as Naruto was dejected and preparing to give up, Masahiko spoke: "Try creating a whole bunch at once."
"Huh?"
Naruto was dazed. "Why?"
"There's no harm in trying."
Masahiko laughed.
Naruto scratched his head but did as he was told.
The next moment, Chakra exploded, and a bunch of Naruto clones appeared on the stage, crowding the entire area.
Fortunately, they were just ordinary clones and weren't noisy.
Naruto looked around, unable to help being stunned—
After creating a whole bunch, his clones actually looked human, or at least they weren't all crooked and twisted like before.
Masahiko laughed:
"The essence of the Clone Jutsu is illusion; its main function is to cover your movements. Since you can't be precise, winning through quantity is also a way."
The amount of Chakra Naruto suddenly released was astounding, actually filling the entire stage with clones.
Although many were misshapen, at a glance, one really couldn't tell which was the original.
However, Masahiko quickly corrected himself:
"This is a shortcut, a method to be used only when necessary during wartime. For school exams, you still need to seriously practice your technique."
"Yes, I understand!"
Naruto went down in a daze, as if in a dream.
Masahiko said with a smile:
"We study Ninjutsu to master it, and once mastered, we must break free from the shackles of our thinking and not be bound by books."
As he spoke these words, not only the students below but even the teachers, Iruka and Watanabe Shōji, showed expressions of deep thought.
This kind of thinking... they had never considered it.
"Well said!"
At this moment, applause rang out from below.
It was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Afterward, the applause in the entire classroom grew even more enthusiastic.
...
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