Boruto cursed the underhanded version of Kagebunshin in his heart. Not only was the number of clones produced overwhelming, but their activation didn't even involve hand seals.
Even though he was amazed, Boruto's face was still serious and straight. He didn't want his father to act pretentious from seeing his shocked expression.
He pretended to be calm and asked, "So this is why father always deploys bunshin in the village? To reach this level of mastery?"
Seeing his son who was not amazed, Naruto still smiled. Even though Naruto's ability was to feel negative energy and not positive energy, his instinct as a father knew that his son was just being tough.
Naruto had no intention of exposing his son and instead dispelled hundreds of his clones before replied, "Yes, that's one of the reasons why father always uses Kagebunshin. Another reason is because father wants to know the village as a whole. Not that father is arrogant, but father guarantees that no one will knows more about the ins and outs of Konoha Village than me."
Boruto pouted disapprovingly. "Really? I'll test it then. What's the owner's name of the beef skewer shop in the 3rd district?"
"Oh, if you mean that bald man, his name is Ueda Masao. He rents a tavern in the third district market. His real home is in the 8th district, 3rd alley, and 18th block." Naruto said confidently.
"Humph, how do I know father isn't making up stories to impress me?" Boruto looked at him sarcastically.
"Why did I have to lie to you for something that was easy to expose? Alright, if you don't believe it, feel free to ask father again!"
Boruto smiled triumphantly. He started asking randomly about the situation of the village. The questions included people's names, building names, prices of goods, addresses, and anything else Boruto could think of.
"Then, according to father, who is the prettiest flower shop owner in the village?" Boruto asked attentively.
Hearing that, Naruto was slightly awkward and coughed. "Ahem...beauty is relative. However, if you mean the flower shop owner who is a young girl in her 20s and has a certain charm, then father can only think of the girl named Kasuga."
The corners of Boruto's mouth lifted slightly. Even though Boruto hated to admit it, their preferences for women were not that different. Thus, he was sure that his father would definitely mention Kasuga's name even if there might be another flower shop that had another beautiful owner.
"Then who is that person's family?"
"She has a not-blood related grandfather. Unfortunately, that grandfather passed away about 5 years ago. Now, she lives alone to run the flower shop from her grandfather's inheritance."
"Oh, then, how was her grandfather's life story when he was young?"
"They are both immigrants. Boruto, even though we checked the background of immigrants, it would be impolite to ask details of their lives. If the village followed procedures that strict, then very few people would want to settle down in Konoha.
You know, in this era we really need human resources. So, we have to compromise not to do things that are too authoritarian. At least as long as the immigrants don't have criminal records, we don't ban them from staying."
Naruto explained without much suspicion. Thanks to Boruto's many previous questions, this specific question about someone's identity wasn't suspicious.
"..."
Boruto was a little disappointed inside but also understood that. After all, Uzumaki Tenrou was a former Anbu. He certainly knew how to disguise his identity well. Even if Konoha didn't loosen the rules, the old man should still be able to enter without being exposed.
"Well, enough about the village. Now, please practice. Father will leave a clone to look after you. Feel free to ask him if you run into any trouble."
Boruto frowned and asked, "Father is going back to the village?"
"Yes." Naruto didn't elaborate further. He knew his son's character. Sometimes he sulks for attention, but this son also quite mature. This son would not hinder his work as Hokage just because of selfishness.
Naruto immediately made a bunshin. Then, his original body disappeared swiftly. The movement was barely caught by Boruto.
The bunshin said, "You practice. Father will take care of your needs during practice. We will stay here until your next scheduled examination."
Boruto snorted coldly and hastily concentrated on staring at a boulder to understand the Atavistic Script. Hearing bunshin declare himself as 'father' made Boruto somewhat disgusted.
Several hours passed.
Boruto could already feel the correct chakra path from the pulse. He tried some common hand seals to help guide the chakra out.
Unlike Naruto's previous practices, Boruto required at least a combination of five hand seals. If it's less than this, Boruto felt the chakra would deviate.
After finding the right chakra path, Boruto concentrated on changing the form of the chakra. Most shinobi who lacked talent would fail at this stage.
For example, he once saw a child at the academy being tested using the clone technique. This kid looked like he's having a hard time at the chakra transformation stage. As a result, this kid's bunshin was not perfect. The bunshin looked flabby like a human who had lost his skeleton.
After feeling the time was right, Boruto shouted, "Kagebunshin!"
Three clones similar to him formed around.
Boruto frowned. The clones created by Kagebunshin were indeed special. His connection with the clone was clearer than normal clone techniques. However, the thing that made him uncomfortable was the distribution of chakra.
If it's a normal clone, the chakra would only be used when releasing the technique. There won't be an equal share with clones like there was now.
Normal clones would only consume around 5% of the user's chakra. Meanwhile, Boruto felt that every clone got 25% of his chakra.
That meant, clones from Kagebunshin were indeed stronger. However, that also meant Boruto's real body only had 25% chakra. This would make the original body unable to be careless in performing other jutsu.
After pondering enough, Boruto took out a kunai from his pocket and attacked one of the clones. Of course, the clone wouldn't fight back if the original's body asked it to be quiet. The kunai penetrated the clone's chest and made it disappear.
There were three things that Boruto received from the trial. First was the clone's memory that he had been attacked by a kunai. Second was the clone pain that was transmitted directly to his brain. The third was the clone's chakra returning to his body.
For the first effect, Boruto wasn't too surprised because his father's explanation had given him an idea.
For the second effect, Boruto misunderstood a little before. He thought the meaning of pain would be like physical pain. Suppose the clone was injured on the right hand, then the original body's right hand would also feel pain. However, it didn't turn out that way. This pain was transmitted directly to his brain as a shock of nerve impulses.
Most importantly, this feeling of pain was very familiar to Boruto. It was akin to the pain when his eye power was triggered in the market. Only, the pain from the power of his eyes lasted long enough to make him unable to act normally.
For the third, when the clone's lost chakra returned to his body, he had two choices. Either let the chakra stay in the original body or share it again evenly with the remaining clones.
This option was not owned by normal clone techniques. If the normal bunshin was gone, then the chakra would also melt into the air instead of returning to the main body.
By this choice, Boruto could act accordingly in the future. If he wanted to defend, then he would let the main body receive more chakra. If he wanted to attack, he would transmit the chakra that returned to him for the rest of the clones on the battlefield.