After placing a lock of Sasuke's hair into a sealing scroll, Shion opened a hidden compartment under his bed and carefully stored it away.
Inside the compartment, two scrolls now lay in silence. One contained three-quarters of Obito's severed arm, a perfect medium for Hashirama and Obito. The other held Sasuke's hair—though whether it would work as a conduit remained to be seen. For now, there was no way to make any deal with little Sasuke. What could a one-year-old toddler even understand? He could barely form words; trying to negotiate with him was like talking to a cow.
And besides—did Sasuke even have Indra's chakra yet? The Sage of Six Paths never explained exactly when that inheritance would manifest. Was it at birth? Or only when the reincarnation cycle caught up?
Thunk.
Shion closed the hidden compartment with a soft thud and sat down on his bed, fingers forming tentative hand signs as he mulled over Wood Release.
The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Hashirama had almost never used hand seals at all. He would simply clap his hands together, call out a name, and Wood Release techniques would erupt into being. Both he and Madara were like that.
But wasn't the entire system of hand seals originally created by Indra, as a method to channel chakra? If so, did Indra and Asura themselves ever even need them?
The Sage of Six Paths definitely didn't. And Hashirama—he could unleash the entire arsenal of Wood Release with nothing more than a Snake Seal.
Wait. That wasn't entirely true. Shion's memories reminded him: when Hashirama sealed the Nine Tails during the battle at the village's founding, he definitely used hand signs.
Same for Madara's Majestic Destroyer Flame—that required seals. Summoning the Nine Tails, too.
Even Tobirama's Edo Tensei clones in Part One—his Water Formation Wall and Water Dragon Bullet could both be triggered with a single seal.
So in the end… there was no consistent logic at all.
Shion scratched his head. On the clone's side, he had been grinding elemental chakra nature transformations—water and earth in particular. If he could successfully merge them into Wood Release, then techniques like Deep Forest Emergence would be within reach.
But the Scroll of Seals, locked away in the Hokage's building, wasn't exactly something he could just sneak a peek at. And his "low-profile persona" couldn't afford to be shattered over a few Wood Release jutsu.
That left only one path: he would have to create his own.
The next morning, Izumi blinked in surprise when she saw her brother heading to school with her.
"Wait—you're not sending a shadow clone?"
Shion gave a wry smile. "Yesterday stirred up too much trouble. I don't feel comfortable leaving things to a clone today."
Whether yesterday's incident was "big" or not wasn't the point. What mattered was Shion had realized something unsettling: his shadow clones were reckless. All it took was a little provocation, and they would happily challenge the entire senior class at once.
Sure, yesterday's fight was over. But today? The fallout would still be waiting.
What if a couple of chunin—or even jonin—showed up looking for payback? What if his shadow clone beat them up too? Then what—graduate early alongside Itachi?
That would ruin everything.
Being a student at the Academy wasn't bad at all. Send clones to class, enjoy barbecue himself. Spend afternoons sunning on the Hokage Rock, casually practicing ninjutsu. Much better than being a genin—chasing cats, unclogging sewers, picking up trash from riverbanks. What kind of life was that?
When he walked into class, Shion spotted Itachi and gave him a sideways glance.
"Another clone?"
Itachi nodded. "My real body's training. There's nothing here worth learning."
Shion chuckled, clapping him on the shoulder. "Then you'll probably get beaten up again today."
Leaving Itachi puzzled by that cryptic remark, Shion strolled over to his usual seat beside Tokuma and Hana. He never sat with Itachi—too much unwanted attention.
As soon as he sat down, Inuzuka Hana turned to him with a curious look.
"Is this your real body or another clone today? That trick of yours is amazing. I wish I could send one to class so I could stay home and play with my dogs… but my mom won't teach me."
"It's me this time," Shion replied, then asked casually, "By the way—don't you have a younger brother? Inuzuka Kiba?"
The question made Hana blink, then blush. "Why are you investigating my family? My brother's just a year old—he won't affect anything…"
"Don't get the wrong idea," Shion waved her off. "I'm not interested in you. Uh… or your brother."
Hana nearly exploded on the spot. If Tokuma hadn't intervened, Shion would have had to make a run for it.
He'd only asked on a whim anyway. If the "Konoha 12" lost a few members thanks to his butterfly effect, that might be amusing in its own right.
Hana, however, resolved not to speak to Shion for at least three days.
Tokuma nudged him, rolling his eyes. "Hana's actually really pretty, you know. Anyway, why the sudden appearance of your real body today?"
Shion sighed. "Didn't I beat up all the seniors yesterday? There's bound to be fallout. If I let a clone handle it, the Academy would probably be rubble by lunchtime."
Tokuma blinked, then laughed. "If you really do manage to wreck the school, I'll give you my entire month's allowance. Two months of vacation—worth it!"
Shion only smirked. You're dreaming.
Thanks to Minato still being alive, Shion knew this era's timeline was already shifted. By now, Yamato had long since been taken into Kakashi's Anbu squad.
Three-room-one-living-room jutsu: Konoha construction speed was unmatched.
The day passed in relative calm. Shion spent most of it secretly slicing leaves beneath his desk.
But when school ended, sure enough—four chunin were waiting by the gate.
"Brother, that's him!"
Oh, hell.
Shion quickly stepped aside just as Itachi—well, his shadow clone—was surrounded.
A flurry of punches and kicks later, the clone poofed into smoke.
One of the chunin looked familiar. Right—Tenma's older brother. In the original timeline, Tenma and another teammate named Shinko had been on Itachi's squad, and Tenma's death was what first awakened his Sharingan.
No wonder this guy already hated Itachi.
"Clone technique?"
"There's another Uchiha here—don't let him get away!"
"Kids these days are out of control. Beating up my little brother? From now on, I'll wait for him here after every mission."
"Wow, big brother, you're so cool!"
Seven or eight chunin fanned out, trying to surround Shion. They had no idea what they were in for.
Taking on an elite clan's prodigy was like those idiots in the past who thought it was fun to bully Hinata, the Hyuga heiress. Kids didn't think of consequences—they just fought.
"Brat! You're the one who hit my brother?"
Before the words even finished, cold steel brushed his throat.
The boy blinked in confusion. Shion was no longer in front of him—he had already moved behind.
Clink, clink.
Four forehead protectors clattered to the ground, tossed carelessly by Shion. A kunai pressed against the leader's neck.
"Itachi's clone had a real body. That's completely different from the basic Clone Technique.
"What I just used wasn't a clone at all—it was pure speed. High-speed movement. In that instant, I plucked your headbands and captured your leader.
"So tell me… do you still think you can come here every day to block me?"
With that, Shion lowered his kunai and tossed the protectors back.
"Yesterday I only fought students who weren't officially ninja yet. But you four? You're real shinobi now. That means living every day prepared to die."
When Shion vanished from sight, the four chunin who had been frozen in terror finally let out shaky breaths.
"Shadow Clone? Impossible…"
"That speed… for a first-year academy student? He's a monster."
"Phew…"
Shion exhaled from a nearby rooftop. He had almost gone too far—if he had beaten them up like his clone had, things would have spiraled out of control fast.
He still planned to ride out a few more years in peace.
Fire Release, genjutsu, taijutsu, shadow clones—all of that was already backed by Shisui's guidance. Once he obtained the Mangekyō Sharingan, then he could finally make his move.