With a soft pop, the shadow clone solidified in the dim light of the basement. The real Ryu, already dressed for training, gave his duplicate a firm nod.
"You know the mission," he said, his voice a low whisper. "Academy. Library. Find everything you can on genjutsu. Start with D and C-rank scrolls. I need to understand the mechanics, the counters, and at least a few basic techniques to practice. Don't draw attention."
The clone nodded, its expression a perfect copy of his own grim determination, and flickered away. Ryu rolled his shoulders, a spark of irritation flashing in his eyes. The reason for this new focus was singular: Itachi Uchiha. His best friend had recently started weaving simple but infuriatingly effective genjutsu into their spars. A momentary illusion of a falling branch, a false sound of an attack from behind—they were minor tricks, but enough to disrupt Ryu's rhythm and give Itachi the split-second advantage he needed.
The current score stood at 10-12, in Itachi's favor. And worst of all, the loser always paid for the celebratory meal afterward. Ryu was getting tired of paying for Itachi's ramen.
He met the others at their secret clearing. The air was cool, perfect for a spar. Itachi stood with his usual calm, but a competitive glint shone in his dark eyes. Izumi, ever his shadow, offered a shy but determined smile. Across from them, Hana was practically vibrating, her ninken puppies tumbling at her feet.
"Alright, let's do this!" Hana barked, slamming a fist into her palm. "You guys are going down! Right, Ryu?"
"Let's just get it over with," Ryu muttered, pulling out his trench knives. "My wallet can't take another loss."
Itachi's lips curved into the faintest of smiles. "Then you should have trained harder. Izumi, are you ready?" She nodded, her hand already reaching for a pouch of shuriken.
The spar exploded into motion. Hana was a blur, activating her Four Legs Technique and charging on all fours, a feral whirlwind of motion. "Beast Human Clone!" she yelled, and one of her ninken transformed into a perfect, snarling copy of her. They attacked from two angles, a synchronized assault of mock claws and bites.
Izumi met them, her movements less wild but precise. "Fire\ Style:\ Phoenix\ Flower\ Jutsu!" She unleashed a volley of small fireballs, not aimed to injure but to corral, forcing Hana to split her attention between attacking and dodging.
Ryu and Itachi clashed in the center. Itachi's Sharingan spun, tracking Ryu's every twitch. Ryu, knowing a direct taijutsu exchange was a losing game against those predictive eyes, coated his trench knives in a thin, sharp layer of wind chakra. The fight was a blur of flashing steel and graceful dodges. As Ryu feinted left, he felt a subtle warp in the air, a faint distortion of the sound of birds in the trees. Genjutsu. He poured a burst of chakra through his system, shattering the illusion before it could even form.
"Not this time, Itachi!" he growled, using the Body Flicker to appear behind him.
But Itachi was ready. He'd anticipated the counter, and the spot Ryu appeared in was already engulfed in the flames of a powerful "Fire\ Style:\ Great\ Fireball\ Jutsu!" Ryu cursed, using a hasty Substitution Jutsu, a nearby log taking the brunt of the fiery blast. The fight was a beautiful, violent dance of shifting alliances and brutal counters, a perfect showcase of their honed abilities. It ended when Itachi, with a masterful display of teamwork, used another genjutsu to make Hana see three Ryus, causing her to tackle a bewildered Izumi by mistake. In that moment of confusion, Itachi appeared before Ryu and placed a kunai gently against his throat.
"I believe," Itachi said, a triumphant but respectful smile on his face, "that makes it 10-13."
Ryu groaned, slumping in defeat. "Fine, fine! Barbecue is on me. Again."
Just as Hana started cheering, Ryu's head snapped up. An avalanche of information, a day's worth of boring lectures and dusty scroll pages, crashed into his mind. The clone had dispelled. But it wasn't the dull headache that worried him; it was the final memory. The clone had been sitting in Daikoku-sensei's history class, listening to a lecture on the founding of the village, and then—nothing. Just an abrupt, jarring end in the middle of a sentence.
He looked at the others. Itachi and Hana had the same dazed, wide-eyed look. Their clones had vanished at the exact same moment.
"Oh no," Izumi whispered.
The four of them stood in a neat line before their homeroom teacher's desk. Daikoku Funeno was not yelling. He was terrifyingly, unnervingly silent, his large frame radiating an aura of pure, concentrated disappointment that was far worse than any shouting. He stared at them, his gaze lingering on each of their faces, before he finally spoke, his voice a low rumble.
"How long?"
They all looked at each other. There was no point in lying.
"Five months, Sensei," Ryu said, his voice steady.
Daikoku's eye twitched. "Five. Months," he repeated, the words sounding like stones dropping into a deep well. He stood up, his shadow falling over them. "Do you have any idea the level of disrespect you have shown? To me? To this Academy? To the very system that is designed to keep you alive? While you were off playing your training games, your comrades were here, learning. While you sent your chakra puppets to sit in your chairs, you were developing habits that will get you and your future teammates killed!"
He slammed his hand on the desk, the sound making them all jump. "This is not a game! This is not something you can bypass because you think you are 'advanced'! This ends now. I want all of your parents here tomorrow morning. Eight o'clock sharp. You are all dismissed."
They walked out of the empty Academy in silence, the weight of their teacher's words heavy in the evening air.
"He's… really mad," Hana said, her usual boisterous energy completely gone.
"My father is going to kill me," Izumi murmured, looking pale.
Ryu stopped, forcing them all to look at him. "Hey," he said, his voice firm and confident. "Nothing is going to happen. We're the top students in the class. They aren't going to expel us. We'll get yelled at, we'll probably get a month's worth of detention, but we'll be fine. I promise."
His confidence seemed to work. Itachi gave him a grateful nod. "He's right. We will face the consequences together." He and Izumi turned, heading towards the looming walls of the Uchiha compound.
Ryu walked Hana to the entrance of the Inuzuka grounds. The scent of dogs and earth hung in the air. She was still looking down, kicking nervously at a loose stone.
"Hey," he said again, softer this time. She looked up. He stepped forward and gave her a quick, firm hug. "Don't worry. It'll be okay."
He pulled back and saw a faint pink dusting her cheeks, a rare sight on the fierce Inuzuka girl. She just stared at him for a second, a little flustered, before giving a jerky nod. "Yeah. Okay. See you tomorrow, Ryu."
He watched her disappear into the compound before turning towards his own home, a wry smile on his face. Now for the hard part.
He walked into the house to the comforting smell of his mother's cooking. Kizashi was at the table, reading the newspaper.
"Hey, champ! How was the spar?" his father boomed.
"Lost again. It was Itachi's genjutsu," Ryu said, setting his bag down.
Mebuki came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. "Don't worry, dear, you'll figure it out. Hungry?"
"Starving," Ryu said. He sat down at the table, taking a deep breath. "But, uh, before that. There's something I need to tell you guys."
His parents looked at him, their expressions open and curious.
"So, you know how I've been getting so much stronger lately?" he began.
"Of course! We're so proud!" Kizashi declared.
"Right. Well, the reason is, I've been doing a lot of extra, secret training," Ryu continued, choosing his words carefully.
"That's my boy! The spirit of a true shinobi!"
Ryu winced. "Yeah… and to make time for that secret training… I, uh, may have been sending a shadow clone to the Academy in my place."
Kizashi's newspaper slowly lowered. Mebuki's smile froze on her face.
"For how long, Ryu?" she asked, her voice dangerously sweet.
"Um… five months?"
Silence. Kizashi stared at him, his mouth slightly agape. Then, a slow, massive grin spread across his face. He slammed his hand on the table, letting out a roar of laughter.
"FIVE MONTHS!" he bellowed, tears of mirth in his eyes. "THAT'S MY SON! A FORBIDDEN JUTSU TO SKIP SCHOOL FOR FIVE MONTHS! THAT TAKES GUTS!"
Mebuki shot her husband a look so sharp it could have cut steel. He immediately sobered up. "Ahem. I mean, that is a very serious transgression, young man. Very serious."
"Our teacher found out," Ryu finished, deciding to just rip the band-aid off. "He wants to see you both at the Academy. Tomorrow morning. Eight o'clock."
Mebuki sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She looked from her son's unapologetic face to her husband, who was clearly trying not to burst out laughing again.
"Kizashi," she said, her voice filled with a weary resignation. "Get the good tea cups out. It seems we have a parent-teacher conference to attend."