Chapter 6°
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Shinjutsu.
The word echoed in his mind like distant thunder. Divine techniques. Powers that shouldn't even exist in the ninja era—or at least, not in his current time.
To disintegrate one's own skin with lightning and rebuild it with Yang energy...
The description of the pain—"Like being caught in a lightning storm, every inch of skin burning"—made his hairs stand on end, even though he hadn't felt anything yet.
There were six regions of the body. Eighteen days in total, if everything went well. And the risks? Systemic collapse, possibly ending up severely injured. Death felt like a very real possibility with each step of the process.
Turning his skin into something stronger, resistant to cuts and more... it was tempting. The power it would grant was insane. But the cost was equally insane.
Itsuki knew that, even with his memories from another life and his latent potential, he was still just a genin, fresh out of the Academy. His chakra control was improving, yes, but "good control" and "large chakra reserves" were merely the baseline requirements for Kaminari no Tensei.
This technique demanded a level of mastery he simply didn't have yet.
Mental fortitude? Physical endurance?
He was building them, day by day, but not at the level required to endure the agony described in the scroll and still maintain precise control of Yōton chakra for reconstruction.
"It's madness," he whispered to the open scroll in his hands. "Absolute madness."
For now, it wasn't the right time. Not even close. Attempting something like this now would be suicide. Like a baby trying to run a marathon before even learning to crawl.
Kaminari no Tensei was a peak to be reached—maybe someday soon, when he had more control over his training, flawless chakra control, and a stronger will.
But for now, he had to focus on the basics. Master chakra control with weights, learn new elemental jutsu, refine his taijutsu, use Shadow Clones to speed up his growth, and so on.
He needed to survive the immediate challenges ahead—the Chūnin Exams and the looming threat of Orochimaru's invasion alongside the Sand Village.
Still, he knew Shinjutsu was a secret to be kept, at least for now. A potentially powerful ace up his sleeve, but only to be considered when he was stronger or more familiar with the technique.
Sigh.
With a breath that seemed to release some of the tension building up inside, Itsuki sealed the Kaminari no Tensei scroll back into his storage scroll, tucking it away from sight—and from temptation.
"Looks like I can't try this just yet," he said firmly, as if talking to himself.
He stood up, putting the storage scroll in its safe place. His Shadow Clone training routine awaited.
The Shinjutsu was a dream—or perhaps a nightmare—for another day. For now, he had to focus on becoming a competent ninja. Just competent, not divine.
At least for now.
That was his current reality. If his training with the clones went well for a while, maybe he could consider advancing toward the Shinjutsu. But at the moment, he simply didn't have what it took to begin.
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Then his eyes fell on the other scroll, one of the jutsu passed down by his parents and given to him by the Hokage—The Shadow Clone Jutsu.
A smile appeared on his face.
"The Shadow Clone Jutsu! The perfect technique to speed up training." Itsuki smiled.
Each shadow clone was an exact replica, with chakra and the ability to learn like the original, only limited by their lower resilience and smaller chakra pools.
But when dispelled, all the experience and knowledge they gained returned to the original user, as if he had spent that time learning it himself.
In simple terms, it was like multiplying his training time—as if there were three of him, each training different things simultaneously.
"Let's get started!"
A bit more energized, he grabbed the scroll of clones in his hand, feeling a wave of pragmatism replace his earlier apprehension.
Even though it was an A-rank jutsu, he knew he could do it. Even if it took time to learn, it wouldn't be too long.
He knew the biggest challenge with this technique was the heavy chakra cost, since the chakra was split equally among the original and the clones. But his chakra reserves were already considerable for his age, something he had noticed before.
"Time to put this into practice," Itsuki murmured, standing up. He formed the necessary hand seal—the cross—and focused his chakra.
The execution of this technique was different from channeling chakra to his feet or hands. He needed to spread it, divide it, and then give these copies 'life'.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he shouted, and then—
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Three clouds of white smoke burst in the yard, and when the smoke cleared, three identical Itsukis were standing there, staring back with the same determined expression.
Itsuki felt his chakra drop significantly—but he still had plenty left.
"Damn, that really drains you," he thought.
With this jutsu, he estimated that five clones would be his current limit.
"But three clones are good enough for now."
He looked at his clones. They were him, but not him.
It was a strange feeling, like having pieces of himself walking around. Either way, it didn't feel very comfortable.
"Alright, clones," Itsuki said, giving instructions. "Two of you will train taijutsu. Intense sparring. No jutsu, just hand-to-hand combat."
Then he looked at the third one.
"You..." he pointed. "You grab that scroll left behind by our parents. Analyze the jutsu inside. See which one's useful and memorize it."
The three clones nodded in perfect sync. The two taijutsu clones immediately split off, taking fighting stances and beginning a simulated sparring match, punches and kicks echoing through the yard.
The third clone grabbed the jutsu scroll, sat down in a corner, and began reading it carefully.
And the original Itsuki? He smiled. "And I'll meditate and recover chakra." He sat on the ground in lotus position, closed his eyes, and focused on replenishing his chakra reserves.
Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the faint presence of the clones, their energy linked to his. It was a strange but useful connection. Even while meditating, part of his mind remained aware of what the clones were doing. He could feel the muscle tension of the clones sparring, the concentration of the one reading the scroll.
It was as if, with a thought, a clone could vanish right there.
Time passed.
The sounds of the clones' fighting were a steady rhythm in the background. Itsuki focused, letting his body replenish its energy—but suddenly, he felt one of the taijutsu clones falter. Its chakra was nearly gone.
Itsuki didn't hesitate. With a quiet "Kai!", followed by a small poof, the clone vanished into white smoke.
A wave of sensations and memories flooded his mind. The feeling and knowledge of each blow exchanged, the strategy used, the muscle fatigue... as if he himself had been the one fighting all along.
It was fast, a surge of information, but his mind seemed to absorb it with ease.
There was no chakra returning from the clone, which confirmed what he already knew: Shadow Clones didn't return the chakra spent—only the experience. And that was perfectly acceptable. The experience alone was worth it.
He waited a few more minutes. The second taijutsu clone was also nearly out of chakra and would dissolve any moment now.
But the clone studying the scroll still had energy. Apparently, physical training drained chakra faster than just reading.
Itsuki decided to be cautious, having just absorbed the combat experience from the first clone. He didn't want to assimilate two loads of taijutsu data back-to-back—that might overwhelm his brain.
"Let's take it slow," he muttered to himself, continuing to meditate silently.
He allowed the second taijutsu clone to disperse on its own when its chakra ran out. Another wave of experience hit him. He took it in calmly, feeling slightly more prepared than before, now with a practical understanding of taijutsu he hadn't had earlier.
Finally, when the clone reading finished and its chakra began to dip, Itsuki dispelled it.
"Kai!"
This time, the experience was different. It wasn't physical fatigue, but rather a rush of information about hand signs, names, and uses of various jutsu listed in the scroll.
It was as if he had spent the last hour reading and understanding the contents, even though he had been meditating the whole time.
Itsuki opened his eyes, feeling a light mental and physical fatigue—but also a deep sense of satisfaction.
He had just had three versions of himself training for him, and he had absorbed it all. It was incredibly efficient.
"Okay, this works," he said, a wide grin forming on his face.
The Shadow Clone Jutsu was truly one of the most useful techniques in a ninja's arsenal—especially for training. It didn't restore chakra, which meant he'd need to manage his reserves carefully and meditate often, but the gains in experience and knowledge were immense.
Besides, he was still young, and his chakra reserves were growing by the day. Soon, he'd have enough for more clones—and with that, he could set his plan in motion.
Create a squad of clones to study and simulate training the Shinjutsu.