"Anyway, figure it out yourself. If you don't understand something, come ask me!"
Leaving those words behind, Tsunade took off.
She had taken quite a hit to her ego today and decided to go gamble a bit to reset her mood.
Minato looked at the mountain of scrolls in front of him. He created four Shadow Clones, while his main body picked up the scroll containing Wood Style Jutsus to study.
Minato's goal was the Wood Clone Jutsu. It was the most practical Jutsu for him right now.
Unlike Shadow Clones, which popped after one hit, Wood Clones lasted longer and could take a certain amount of damage. They could merge into trees and even turn into wood to bind enemies after being dispelled.
The only downside was that Wood Clones required physical contact with the main body to share information, making them less convenient than Shadow Clones for intel gathering.
But there were workarounds.
For example, if a Shadow Clone had enough chakra, it could create another Shadow Clone.
Theoretically, a Wood Clone could also create a Shadow Clone, and then dispel the Shadow Clone to transmit intel back to the main body.
Or maybe he could catch a White Zetsu later and try to reverse-engineer the "Mayfly" technique.
"By the way..."
Minato suddenly broke the silence in the room. His Shadow Clones all looked up at him.
"We haven't tested it yet. Can Shadow Clones use Light Style abilities?"
The clone next to him pulled out a kunai and stabbed his own hand.
Poof!
The clone vanished.
Minato shook his head in disappointment. "Looks like they can't."
The clone opposite him raised a finger and focused. "It's not just elementalization. I can't use the other abilities either."
Minato asked, "What about Wood Style?"
The clone focused again. "It feels like I can... but also like I can't?"
Minato looked confused. "So can you or can't you?"
The clone described the feeling. "I feel like I can't grow wood directly from my body, but I can sense the power of Wood Style."
"Let's just test it."
Another clone picked up a Wood Style scroll. "Can't grow it directly, but can sense it... How about this: I'll learn 'Wood Release: Wood Creation,' and you learn 'Wood Release: Wood Clone.'"
Soon, after memorizing the key points of the two Jutsus, they went to the courtyard.
Two clones performed different Jutsus. Minato stood on the veranda watching, while the last clone sat aside holding the scroll to observe.
"Wood Release: Wood Creation!"
One clone clapped his hands, and a small tree as tall as a person suddenly grew in front of him.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone!"
The other clone wove the Horse, Dog, and Snake signs, then clapped his hands. Nothing happened.
"Just as I thought..."
The clone reading the scroll had an "I knew it" expression. "The principle of the Wood Clone is using chakra to stimulate cell alteration and division to form a clone. A Shadow Clone is essentially just a mass of chakra without cells, so naturally, it can't create a Wood Clone."
"But for pure elemental Jutsus like 'Wood Creation,' Shadow Clones can use them."
"In that case..."
Minato took the scroll and dispelled the clones.
Then he went into the yard and wove the signs. "Wood Release: Wood Clone!"
Creak, creak—
With the sound of growing wood, three pieces of wood quickly grew from behind Minato. They rapidly transformed into human shapes, looking exactly like him.
"Can you use Light Style?"
Minato didn't care about getting it right on the first try. As soon as the clones appeared, he asked eagerly.
One clone raised a hand, focused, and shook his head.
"That's weird, isn't it? I get why Shadow Clones can't use it since they're energy bodies. But Wood Clones are literally a part of me split off from my main body. Why can't they use it either?"
"Could it be because we're split off? After all... you know."
Minato nodded. He understood what the clone meant.
Devil Fruit powers only applied to the host. Theoretically, a clone was an independent entity separated from him.
"Does this mean Light Style can't be combined with the chakra system?"
"It's too early to judge based on just this..."
"True."
The main Minato nodded. "Besides, my training focus right now should be on Ninjutsu. My current Jutsu arsenal isn't big enough to support researching that stuff yet."
The clones stopped worrying about the Glint-Glint Fruit and turned their attention to Wood Style.
The scroll didn't contain many actual Jutsus, but it had a lot of applications.
For example, turning a Wood Clone into a seed and planting it on someone could work as a tracking device or a communication relay.
However, without trees as a signal relay medium, it couldn't work outside the main body's sensory range.
The scroll also contained a lot of notes on gardening and farming.
Minato didn't understand why a Ninjutsu scroll would have farming tips until he saw the signature at the end: Hashirama Senju. Then it made sense.
Given the First Hokage's goofy personality, it wasn't surprising at all.
In just over two hours, Minato memorized all the Jutsus recorded in the scroll.
When he absorbed the three Wood Clones back into his body, their experience stacked. It was like memorizing it four times!
However, absorbing eight hours' worth of memories made his head feel a bit heavy, though he wasn't visibly tired. Minato figured the Yin Release from the Sharingan had boosted his mental endurance.
Grrr—
His stomach suddenly protested. Minato rubbed his belly, feeling famished.
"I ate plenty at lunch. Brain work really burns calories fast..."
He created a Wood Clone to prep the ingredients, then headed out to buy groceries.
Vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, milk...
Minato stopped at various shops, soon laden with bags.
Feeling a bit silly carrying everything himself, he created two Shadow Clones to help carry the bags.
"Shadow Clones?"
Seeing this, the shopkeeper lady looked shocked. "How old are you, kid?"
"Five. How much for the chicken thighs?"
"Sixteen ryo a pound... Using Shadow Clones at this age? You're a genius!"
"You're too kind."
Minato chatted politely with the shopkeeper. The evening sun fell on his gentle, easygoing smile, making him look warm and wonderful.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, having lost every penny at the casino, was walking home. She was practicing dice-throwing motions with her hand, muttering as she replayed the gambling losses in her head.
Turning the corner, she saw the little blond boy out of the corner of her eye and stopped.
She was about to wave hello, but the moment she saw his face clearly, her heart skipped a beat.
Wait, this kid...
Why does he have such strong "Husband Material" vibes?
Thinking of the inexplicable flutter in her heart just now, Tsunade's face turned slightly red. She cursed herself internally for being single for too long—getting flustered over a kid?
Even if it was just for a split second, it was enough to nail her to the pillar of shame as a pervert...