"Not bad!" Kenji gave Nawaki a thumbs up.
Receiving Kenji's praise, Nawaki got cocky. "Kenji-ge, if I use this move, I can defeat you now, right?"
Kenji reached out and poked Nawaki's forehead. "Dream on!"
"Huh?"
"The Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu is indeed extraordinary, but do you think I don't have a trump card? It would be hard to defeat me with just that move!"
"Hmph, Kenji-ge, you're bragging again!" Nawaki didn't believe him at all.
"If you don't believe me, feel free to attack me with full force!" Kenji crossed his arms, looking as if he was underestimating him.
"No, no, shuriken are sharp. If I accidentally hurt you, Kenji-ge, it won't be a joke."
"Come on, hurt me?" Kenji asked. "How many shuriken can you create now?"
The Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu could theoretically create infinite clones, but actually doing so depended on individual ability.
There was definitely a gap in quantity between the clones Nawaki could create and those the Third Hokage could create.
Nawaki thought about it and said, "One into eight!"
"One into eight, that's not bad. However, let alone throwing eight shuriken simultaneously, even if you created sixty-four, you couldn't hurt me at all."
Nawaki's eyes widened. "You can block sixty-four shuriken at the same time?"
"Of course," Kenji said unfathomably.
"Impossible. Even a Chunin couldn't do that."
"You underestimate Chunin too much. A simple Earth Style jutsu could block it."
Nawaki was stunned. "Then what's the advantage of this ninjutsu?"
He had practiced painstakingly and regarded the Shuriken Shadow Clone as his killer move, yet a random Earth Style could block it? What was the point of training?
"The Shuriken Shadow Clone focuses on area-of-effect damage. Its lethality against a single target is limited, and it cannot penetrate walls. To deal with defensive Earth Style ninja, you must strike before they can use their Earth Style."
Hearing this, realization dawned on Nawaki. "Hand seal speed!"
"That's right. Take the same Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. If the Third Hokage or Orochimaru used it, they could instantly kill a Chunin at will. But if you use it, it would be blocked. Because your attack speed is far too slow compared to theirs. So while training to increase the number of clones, you must pay more attention to practicing your hand techniques. Practice makes perfect."
"Mn, I understand!" Nawaki nodded solemnly. "Kenji-ge, I only just realized now that you really are so much more powerful than me."
"As long as you know!"
The next day, at the training grounds, Dan Uchiha and Michiko were waiting.
"Kenji, where is Teacher Tsunade?" Michiko was the first to greet Kenji.
Ever since she saw Kenji in action last time, Michiko looked at him with new respect. After all, he had even tricked Teacher Tsunade.
"Tsunade will be here shortly. Just wait a bit!"
"Okay!" Michiko nodded, then asked gossipy, "Kenji, what is your relationship with Teacher Tsunade? You call her directly by her name. Isn't that impolite?"
"I'm used to it, and she doesn't mind."
"Oh!"
"Hmph, acting all high and mighty just because you have connections!" Dan Uchiha still had that annoying attitude. "Teacher Tsunade definitely went easy last time. How could she not see through a mere Clone Jutsu?"
Kenji glanced at Dan Uchiha, too lazy to respond.
Michiko defended Kenji. "Dan, how can you say that? At the very least, you didn't see through it either, right?"
"That's because I didn't activate my Sharingan."
"Sharingan?" Michiko was stunned.
Dan Uchiha smiled arrogantly. Immediately, his eyes changed, adding a trace of blood red, and a single tomoe appeared. It looked very peculiar.
"This is my Uchiha Clan's Sharingan. A low-level ninjutsu like the Clone Jutsu has nowhere to hide before these eyes."
Kenji was slightly surprised. It seemed Dan Uchiha did have some skill to awaken the Sharingan at ten years old.
However, it was just a single tomoe. To think he could see through the Ice Clone created by Sode no Shirayuki was simply wishful thinking.
Whoosh!
A figure descended and appeared in front of the three.
"Mn, looking at your spirits, you all seem to be doing well. That relieves me."
"Teacher Tsunade!" Dan Uchiha immediately deactivated his Sharingan and bowed to Tsunade.
"Teacher, are we leaving the village for a mission today?" Michiko asked.
Tsunade smiled. "That's right. This is our first mission, and it's C-rank."
"Wow, the first mission is C-rank."
"Good, a C-rank mission. Much better than a D-rank mission." Kenji let out a breath.
Both C and D-rank missions were suitable for Genin. However, D-rank missions were extremely trivial, such as picking up trash or helping people find lost pets—boring stuff.
C-rank missions involved escorting a person, guarding a document, or protecting an item.
By definition, C-rank missions did not involve ninja intervention.
However, in this era of chaos and war where the ninja world was turbulent, a C-rank mission could turn into a B-rank mission at any time.
"Tsunade, explain the specific mission details to us, will you?"
Hearing this, Tsunade stared at Kenji with a smile. "Student, do you know what respecting your teacher means?"
"Ahem... you don't need to be so formal with me!"
"Hmm?"
Seeing the fierce look in Tsunade's eyes, Kenji shrank his neck back, though he didn't relent verbally.
Tsunade felt helpless. She couldn't gain any advantage over this guy. He wouldn't call her sister, and he wouldn't call her teacher.
"Alright. Our mission this time is an escort mission. We are to escort someone to the Land of Whirlpools to pick up some things, and then return."
"Land of Whirlpools?" Hearing this, Kenji was surprised. "Tsunade, the person we're escorting wouldn't happen to be..."
"Kushina, come out and say hello!"
As Tsunade's voice fell, a cute young girl with red hair walked out from the side.
Originally, Kushina was prepared to greet them politely, but when she saw Kenji, her expression froze.