The Scholar shook his head, then turned to Kairen with a serious expression.
"Some of your shadow clones have really distinct personalities. They must have gone off to do whatever they enjoy. You should give them proper names—it'll make things easier later."
Kairen nodded.
"The first character can be whatever they like, and the last two will carry my name—Kairen."
"Alright!"
"My king, please continue to discipline me!"
"As you wish!"
Slap slap slap...
...
In a corner of the courtyard, two panda cubs were happily munching on bamboo leaves, while a shadow clone helped by gathering fresh bamboo around the village.
That clone gazed at the cubs with affection.
"I'll raise you two to become the strongest summoning beasts in the ninja world! You'd better be ready!"
"No, I'm done with ninjutsu! I'm going to play with Poké Balls!"
"Huh??"
Wolon let out a panda cry, its black-ringed eyes staring at the clone. The clone's forehead protector suddenly changed, now engraved with the word [Pokémon].
Then, his outfit transformed—he now wore a red cap and a blue vest.
"From now on, call me Ash Kairen! I'm going to become a Pokémon Master!"
Ash Kairen struck a pose and pulled out a Master Ball from his sleeve.
He threw it in front of Wolon and Fenchu.
"Come on, get in!"
Wolon and Fenchu: ⊙﹏⊙‖∣°
...
"Woo woo woo..."
On the northwest streets of Konoha, a red-and-blue truck drove proudly down the road.
Sasori Kairen had one foot propped on the steering wheel, lazily steering forward.
Behind Optimus Prime trailed a crowd of curious children, following along with excitement—after all, nothing caught their attention more than such a mechanical, sci-fi-looking thing.
Of course, Konoha couldn't possibly ignore such antics.
Coincidentally, a swirl of chakra appeared on the hood of Optimus Prime—revealing none other than Minato and Kushina.
Feeling their chakra, Sasori Kairen immediately stopped the truck.
Kushina jumped down onto the road, staring curiously at the mechanical giant she'd never seen before.
"Kairen, what is this thing?"
Sasori Kairen straightened his back.
"I'm Sasori Kairen!"
Then he proudly pointed to his creation.
"This is my second work—the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime!"
"What does it do?!"
"It can drive, it can run, and it can fire cannons!"
"So many functions?! How does your little head come up with something so complex?!"
Sasori Kairen shook his head.
"This isn't a puppet—it's a higher level of mechanization! You people from the agricultural age wouldn't understand!"
Indeed, Sasori Kairen wasn't using puppet techniques. He was working with full mechanical automation.
Minato scratched his golden hair awkwardly.
"Sorry, but something like this might scare the villagers… Could you please drive it back?"
Sasori Kairen nodded.
"Alright!"
Then he grinned.
"Hey, do you two want to take a ride? It's super fast!"
Minato shook his head—he wasn't into flashy new toys.
Besides, what could be faster than his Flying Thunder God?
Kushina, however, rested a hand on Sasori Kairen's shoulder, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
"I want to go! I want to see how fast it really is!"
A charming voice sounded.
"My lady, allow me to teach you how to drive."
Thief Kairen and Snake appeared right beside Minato and Kushina right on cue.
Fate struck again—nothing in this world was faster than a thief's speed at stealing someone's wife!
Kushina looked between Thief Kairen's forehead protector and Sasori Kairen's, realization dawning on her.
"So you're both Kairen's shadow clones!"
Shadow Clones were advanced ninjutsu—even the Byakugan couldn't distinguish them, let alone normal eyes.
Thief Kairen exchanged a glance with Snake.
Snake instantly understood. He placed a hand on Minato's shoulder.
"Minato, shall we continue our discussion from the other day?"
Minato perked up—he was genuinely intrigued by Snake's talk about the world of law.
"Let's find a quiet place to have a proper discussion!"
Thief Kairen smiled and extended a hand toward Kushina.
"My lady, please."
Sasori Kairen, now bored, simply dissipated into chakra and returned to the original body.
Thief Kairen sat in the driver's seat and suddenly smacked the control lever.
"Transform back! Don't think I don't know what this really is!"
"Yes!"
Thief Kairen looked at the thrilled Kushina.
"My lady, fasten your seatbelt—we're off!"
"Alright!"
All across Konoha, the obedient shadow clones were dutifully collecting transformation data… while the less obedient ones were completely letting themselves loose.
...
Within the Uchiha compound, a black-haired boy was practicing shuriken throws in the forest.
Sasuke Kairen appeared nearby, and Uchiha Itachi quickly noticed.
He stared at the man whose aura was indistinguishable from that of the Uchiha clan.
"You're that Kairen from before. What are you doing here?"
Sasuke Kairen held three shuriken in his hand and tossed them lightly.
The blades twisted midair in complex patterns, each one striking the next before all three landed dead-center in the target.
"Amazing!" Itachi exclaimed in awe.
"Let me teach you the Uchiha-style throwing technique," Sasuke Kairen said with a faint smile.
Itachi frowned.
"Aren't you from the Senju Clan? How do you know the Uchiha-style throwing methods?!"
Sasuke Kairen didn't answer. He slowly stepped closer, then lightly tapped two fingers against Itachi's forehead.
"Don't think too much. Who knows, maybe if I'm in the mood, I might even awaken the Sharingan myself!"
Itachi turned his head aside.
"You're lying. The Sharingan is my clan's Bloodline Limit. A Senju could never awaken it!"
"Who knows?"
"Anyway, your father Fugaku really is something… You, the clan head's son, and he doesn't even assign you a mentor."
"Father… probably forgot?"
"Hmph. That arrogant gaze of his—he's probably never even looked into your heart."
"Don't insult my father! He told me to surpass you one day!"
"If that's your goal, then you won't live to see that day."
"You're bluffing!"
"Fine, fine, I won't argue. But… let me give you a warning. If someone with [Thief] written on their forehead ever comes to your house, drive him out immediately."
"Why?"
"No reason."
...
At Jiraiya's home, a massive cannon barrel poked through the doorway.
Jiraiya was in the middle of writing a dirty novel when he looked up and saw Kairen with huge black circles under his eyes. He nearly jumped in fright.
"What's with those dark circles? Are your kidneys failing?"
The cannon clone replied tiredly.
"Just exhausted!"
"What are you doing here?!" Jiraiya closed his book.
The clone smiled sincerely.
"Do you know if there's any big city near Konoha?"
"What for?!"
"The original said there should be cannons wherever there's war. I want to go to a big city and experience real gunfire and battle!"
Jiraiya instantly understood, a knowing grin curling on his lips—a grin all men shared.
He stood up, patted the clone's shoulder, and said,
"Perfect timing. I need some inspiration myself. Let's go gather material together!"
"Alright!"
The two slung their arms around each other's shoulders and walked out of the village, their faintly perverse laughter echoing down the road, drawing curious stares from everyone they passed.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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