Saul found his way to the academy cafeteria the next morning.
"Ticket please." Saul handed over a red ticket from his bag.
He left with a loaf of bread and a waterskin. The shinobi world was a strange mix of the modern era and ancient times. They had certain modern appliances like Refrigerators and also had Running Water. However in regards to convenience, the shinobi world was lacking. There were no cars, plastic was not a thing, etc. The cheapest way to store water was still what looked like a repurposed bladder of some kind.
"When does class start, anyway?"
Saul had decided to play it relatively safe. As a normal student of the ninja academy, bare minimum he would be asked to demonstrate some jutsu, graduate, and start taking some easy missions.
However, asking around a military institution for certain things that should be obvious would be a one way trip to the Torture and Investigation department. There was a higher scrutiny for ninjas - they had superhuman capabilities such as enhanced recall, super strength, super speed, and they were trained in the art of deception.
Konoha was not a kind place. If Saul came clean about his circumstances - about how he was actually from another world - even in the best case scenario he'd get mind raped by a Yamanaka. Saul would be practically guaranteed to end up in the sights of a certain notorious Shimura. From that point what happened would be unpredictable. Again, that was the best case.
Worst case? Who knows if the village would even bother taking such a story seriously enough to try and verify it! He might be executed as a spy!
Saul couldn't let his ignorance be known. So there he was, sitting outside the academy, playing around with transformation jutsu. The change in his behavior might be noted, for sure, but it was unlikely to result in anything of consequence. It could be explained - he wasn't engaging in any sort of subterfuge. Not everyone had a team of ninja dedicated to their observation and protection. He wasn't Uzumaki Naruto.
"Thank god for that."
Saul continued to practice the two Jutsu he had learned yesterday. He started with the clone jutsu. Sure the technique was too cumbersome to be used in hand to hand combat - who would give you a couple of seconds to make shapes with your hands? However, it had other applications.
For one a clone could be dispelled to create a giant cloud of smoke. This was useful for obvious reasons. In addition to this, it could be used in conjunction with other stealthy jutsu like the headhunter jutsu for an ambush tactic. Finally, the most important thing in Saul's opinion, it copied whatever appearance was used in the transformation jutsu.
Saul didn't have a mirror. How else was he supposed to know if he was transforming right? Unlike the clone jutsu, performing the hand signs correctly and infusing the proper will into the chakra did not guarantee success.
The transformation jutsu relied upon the imaginative clarity of whatever he was seeking to transform into. Any small detail, if off, could be a dead giveaway. He thought of Hyuuga Hinata - an appearance both explainable and recallable - and clasped his hands.
"Transform!"
Saul quickly swapped hand seals to the clone jutsu. More blue light shifted, swirling not only along his skin but also along the edge of the silk coating granted by his transformation.
"Clone Jutsu!"
The light coalesced into a black, long haired woman, wearing a brown coat. She opened her eyes, pupil-less. Saul examined her appearance more closely.
Eyes good, hair... Fine? He would have to examine her hair more closely in class to see if that was correct. He looked down at her body - the baggy coat she often wore was helpful in obscuring parts of her body he honestly wasn't sure about. The breast size however... He'd probably seen too much online. They needed to be smaller.
His eyes trailed down to her legs, where a ninja tool pouch was visible. Well at least it was fine from what he thought it might look like, he wasn't too sure on it though. And as his eyes trailed further down he noticed her pants turn into a set of gauze wrapping around her leg. Saul laughed. Well that was a definite flaw.
"Uno... Excuse me?"
Saul dispelled his jutsu with the quickness of an employee pressing alt-tab right after his boss entered the room. Looking over to the sound of the soft-spoken voice, he saw the one he had been picturing so intensely just moments earlier.
Hinata stood at his attention nervously smiling. The woman looked much older than her Canon counterpart. She was tall, just as tall as him, and her long hair fell down to her back. 17? 18?
"...Saul right?" He nodded.
She hugged her arms closer to her chest, causing her breasts to deform in all the best ways. Saul could tell she was trying to make an effort to be brave. Naruto's influence he presumed? He studied her with rapt attention.
Her blush grew even deeper. "N-nevermind. I'm very sorry for interrupting you!"
Are you kidding me? Wait, no, this is exactly the opportunity he needed.
"Hinata. Did you see it?"
Hinata's eyes went wide, and she literally shivered.
"N-no! That's n-not what this was about!"
Saul wasn't going to let her escape that easily.
"That's? Don't worry Hinata, seeing me practice is nothing to be ashamed about. After that incident from yesterday, I realized I really needed to practice the transformation jutsu. The first person I thought about was you."
"Huuuee!"
"I'm really having trouble getting all the details right. Did you come over to help me? You wouldn't be using your Byakugan for something like spying on your classmates... Right?"
Hinata was a shy yet also incredibly kind girl. The Hyuuga clan's honor was also incredibly important to her - which was why she felt like such a disappointment to her father and clan for not being good enough. Hinata felt she had no choice but to agree.
After a long pause, Hinata nodded. "No... I can help."
Saul smiled. "Great!"
How far could he push this...? Let's start small.
"I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable or anything... How about this? Could you stand there as I get a good look at you?"
"Yeah..."
Saul circled her like a shark that smelled blood. The woman had curves in all the right places, not quite slender, but not plump either. Her overcoat hung down over her ass, the material clinging to her form. Her wide hips trembled helplessly, jiggling her ample rear. Shit.
Blood rushed down to Saul's nether regions as he wordlessly went back to her front. He mentally slapped himself on the cheek. Focus. This woman has a Byakugan. Don't get an erection, or she'll know. You don't want to deal with something like that right now.
Saul forced a smile. "As you saw earlier, I kind of struggled with your outfit. Would you mind evaluating my transformation now?"
Hinata shook her head. "No, I don't mind."
"Thank you again for helping! ...Transform!"
Hinata saw the impossibly small Tenketsu in his hands open up. Chakra flowed smoothly around his body without the usual smoke of dissipation. He must have abnormally good chakra control. In moments he became the mirror image of herself. Hinata activated her Byakugan.
The lengths of her sidelocks were wrong, hands slightly too large. Those were minor flaws that would only be noticed upon a side by side examination. Her attention turned from his appearance to demeanor. The way he was smiling at her, back straight, confident, beautiful. Could she ever look like that?
"Ummm..." Hinata blushed. "Y-you also have to mimic the personality... Otherwise it's no good..."
The man across from her put his hand to his mouth and laughed. It was so disconcerting, seeing herself look like that. Hinata's lips formed a small pout.
"No good?"
The silence after his words sent a chill down her back. Oh no! Was he offended!? She didn't mean it like that! Useless, Useless!!! Why was she so stupid!?
"No! No, no, that's not what I meant." She forced a smile onto her face that almost made it look like she was about to cry. "Your transformation was very good!"
A teasing smile appeared on his face. It was so fun to bully this girl!
"Oh, don't worry about it, I was just joking. C'mon Hinata, I'd have to get to know you better if I really wanted to mimic everything!"
It wouldn't do if she just felt teased. He had to give her something to latch onto.
Saul's voice turned consoling. "I really appreciate your help though. You're the only clan ninja I know who seems to treat a civilian ninja like me with respect."
Hinata felt a hint of... Admiration, from him? A failure like her, being appreciated? No she didn't deserve that. Even though it made her feel warm inside. She fell silent, unsure of what to say. Saul dispelled the transformation and continued the conversation for her.
"You're the first one to arrive today. Do you always come this early?"
"Yeah..."
"Mind if I accompany you to class?"
"Sure..."