It was soooo hard. Dix only learned the E rank Clone Jutsu so far, and the Shadow Clone Jutsu is just so much harder. This is truly what you would call NEXT LEVEL. Dix tried to go trough everything step-by-step, but his brain was still strained to the limit.
First he had to set up a working chakra system. He already had a hard time mapping this, as the network in his body was so huge and chaotic at first, it took him quite a while. Even though he was extremely familiar with the layout due to his previous meditations, when he followed his chakra trough his body for hundreds of times, the actual process of creating the nodes and the pathways connecting them, its just a marathon torture. Dix wrecked his brain for a good two days to finally succeed in getting one together. After that its mostly easy to make, by building it up step-by-step on his own he would've memorized the construct even if he didn't want to.
The second step was the easiest, he had to materialize a good amount of chakra next to him for the clone's body. This was a walk in the park for him, even though he had to alter the process a bit, the Clone Jutsu did almost the same thing, which he mastered already.
The third step had to be giving consciousness and memories to the construct. This was surprisingly easy too, Dix thought it will be at least as hard as making an Artificial Intelligence. But no, all he had to do was soak his chakra in his brain-matter which would leave that specific amount of chakra imprinted by his intent and memories. Dix already had a huge amount of chakra circulating in his head, so he could handle this easily. He just had to guide that specific group of chakra into the clone.
The fourth step was the real problem. He had to create a link between them for the previously explained reasons. This task was easily the hardest. He had to create a thin line that connected the two of them which had no range limit. Dix followed the instructions in the scroll and even paid extra attention to the numerous pointers give to him. He had a hard time grasping the concept that was explained in the scroll, but he didn't panic. He took his sweet time, which had so much of... for now. It took him all the rest of the time of the practice.
But when he finally made the connection the jutsu activated in its entirety, and a shadow clone was summoned, and he could feel the link between them. Both Dixes jumped in joy at the prospect and started patting each other's shoulder. It took him 5 days of infinite training and retries, but he finally made one. Things will be soooo much easier after this. Just for diagnostic reasons, Dix told the clone to move out and do 3 specific tasks.
The first one is to run approximately 1000 meters and leave a mark somewhere, then try to look for something that is interesting and mentally mark it. When that is done, disperse itself.
The clone just nodded, as if he was expecting it, and ran to complete it. The clone had the intent and behavior of Dix, so obviously he would cooperate with himself. After a minute of waiting he felt a sudden change in the connection between them, as the remaining chakra and experiences flew back into his brain trough the thin line. WIth a huge grin on his face Dix started recounting where the clone went. After around 1000 meters of running he came across a familiar opening. It was familiar because the clone tried his best to familiarize himself with it. Dix turned around 90 degrees and saw a huge X on one of the trees. After confirming its actual physical damage on the tree, he turned towards the noise he was hearing for a while now. It was the sound of water moving somewhere close. The clone decided to find it and trough the memories, he led Dix to a tiny waterfall that ended in a small pond.
Dix could feel his heart being filled with a warm feeling. It was, of course, partially because of the scenic sight, but most importantly it was due to the complete success of the technique. Now he just had to master it. He couldn't dilly-dally and take minutes to summon a single clone, certainly not mid-combat. But with a single clone done its already easy. He just had to summon one, which in turn would start working on its own and start summoning another clone, that would do the same and so on and so forth. With every iteration it got faster and faster, and after around 20 minutes the number of clones closed to 100. When he felt like he had enough, he dispersed all the clones, almost all the chakra he spent was taken back, together with the experiences. This made it possible for him to have the experience of creating 100 clones in such a short time. He completely mastered it and could whip up up to five clones at once in a matter of 2 seconds.
Yes, of course, Naruto could make way more and maybe even faster, but it's not a fair comparison, as Dix was still 4 years old, he just started using the technique while for Naruto it was his lifeline, and Dix only had the smaller scale version of the jutsu. Anyway, he was extremely happy and satisfied. This jutsu will boost his exploits to an unprecedented level.
Having 100 clones train for a year would be akin to the user training for 100 years, which is insane. This skill is just plain broken, it's use will skyrocket Dix to the top of the food-chain by the time the actual story of Naruto starts. This is a freaking joke, how could no one exploit this in the anime? There are quite a few people with chakra reserves so big they could easily handle a 100 clones to train, but by what is seen in the anime, no one else uses this... How could this be? Maybe its real that Hatake Kakashi was the first one to notice this and nobody else knows? Who cares, when Dix is about to step into the field of greatness? Lets just use it and be content. And that's exactly what Dix would do.
He immediately set up 5 regiments of clones, 30 each, and made them train different things. Squad A had to train inner chakra control, Squad B was responsible for outer chakra control, Squad C had to handle the other jutsus that were ready to be learned, Squad D had to start practicing combat, both hand-to-hand and 3D combat among the trees. Squad E was the most important, they had to start learning about seals right away, which Dix hoped would lead to the best results among all. They all gave him a militaristic salute, which surprised Dix a bit. He knew his memories and intent made the clones like this, and if he was a clone, he would've probably saluted too, but the experience was so strange, that a hundred and fifty well-organized beings salute to him, which were all actually himself. He reminisced about the earlier days of his previous life in the military, and he felt a tiny stinging feeling of longing in his heart. But it soon passed and with the squads in order he decided to do his own work.
He wanted to set up a physical training squad too, but that wouldn't have worked. Physical training doesn't get accumulated in different clones, because they are mostly made of chakra. Even if they had real muscles and would train them, he had no way to take that back and strengthen his body with it.
He also set up Squad X, which consisted of 5 clones only. These were meant to research and develop the Shadow Clone Jutsu, as Dix felt like the actual possibilities of this jutsu are unbelievable and had to be exploited immediately. The low number of the clones were due to the nature of their research. They needed huge amount of chakra, and Dix was certain that this many he could still handle. Actually, this squad was the first to come into existence, so now they have 1/6 of the original's chakra which is still quite a huge amount. After that Dix created the other 150 and equally divided that 1/6 of chakra between them. This left him severely depleted, but he still had almost the same amount as a regular genin would.
Seeing this even Dix was a bit surprised. He knew he had come a long way, but this was absurd. He had astronomical amounts of chakra. In the series Naruto was inexhaustible and could keep on going for soooo long. But what about the current Dix? With all of his training and exploits, Naruto was nowhere near him in terms of chakra. Soon every record he knew about in this world will be broken, as the 155 clones' training would all contribute to his growth 100%. Dix couldn't help but start maniacally laughing at the thought. This was it. Dix was about to write history, even before the story has started.