A hut made of stone walls stands firmly on the river bank. A small bonfire and the moon shone on the hut.
The rock formations that made up these huts were definitely not a natural phenomenon. It was a formation created by Naruto's clone using earth elemental techniques.
Even though he wasn't known for his prowess with the earth element, Naruto was a pinnacle existence in this world.
Using all five elemental transformations was no problem for him. Only, he would be more adept at using his primary affinity, that of the wind element.
Therefore, Naruto almost never studied other more complex elemental techniques even though his status as Hokage allowed him to learn any jutsu available in Konoha, except for the Kekkei Genkai jutsu which required bloodline affinity.
For Naruto, he currently did not need an increase in the quantity of jutsu, but a complete increase in quality to reach a higher level of power.
If that step could be taken, he believed the Shinobi world would reach a new milestone.
Something like immortality might still be elusive, but longevity was not a hindrance if the step could actually be taken.
Naruto's clone still had his eyes closed assuming a meditative position. He looked after Boruto who was currently fell asleep in a stone hut.
If someone paid attention, Boruto's eyes started to move slowly. Looked like this kid was about to wake up.
Sure enough, not long after that, a faint mutter was heard, "I... where am I?"
Naruto's clone opened his eyes and said "You're awake, Boruto?"
Boruto looked weakly towards the sound source. "Father? What happened? Why do I feel so weak?"
Naruto's clone explained, "You are exhausted both physically and mentally. It's only natural that your body can't take it."
Boruto remembered something. "Ah, that's right. I was careless by eliminating that flawed clone without preparation."
"Take this as a lesson. In the future, you won't always have father's supervision during practice. Don't be rash and push yourself." Naruto advised his son.
"Humph! Who needs father's help anyway." Boruto sulked.
Naruto's clone could only shake his head. Then, he stood towards the bonfire. On the fire there was already a black pot of fish soup. Naruto's clone immediately spooned the soup into the stone bowl that he had made.
The aroma of the fragrant and fresh soup could be smelled even by Boruto in the distance.
Suddenly, the sound of a stomach growling was heard in the hut.
Boruto immediately turned around in embarrassment. He hugged his stomach tightly so that the sound would not appear again.
Naruto's clone entered the hut and said, "Boruto, eat this fish soup. Father made it for you."
Boruto slightly looked and said, "I'm not hungry--"
Before Boruto finished his sentence, a voice sounded like his stomach was protesting against the body's owner's statement.
Naruto shook his head again. He knew that his son would always pretend to be tough in front of him. However, Naruto did not destroy this boy's pride.
Naruto said, "Father will put the fish soup here. Eat it while it's still warm."
Naruto's clone immediately came out of the hut and resumed his meditation posture.
Not long after, Boruto stared at the fish soup in front of him. He sat up and stole a glance at his father's clone who was closing his eyes.
Feeling that no one was watching, Boruto lifted his bowl and sipped the soup.
"Ah..."
The soup was full of flavors, Boruto admitted secretly. He did not expect that his father's cooking skills would be on par with his mother's.
Boruto said in his mind, 'Stinky father, I'll give you ten points for this soup. Don't get cocky just because I complimented you a little. Hump!'
After a few mouthfuls, the soup was finished. Boruto felt sorry for himself because he felt his body wanted more.
As if his prayer had been answered, a familiar voice said, "There's still plenty of soup in the pot. You can add more if you want."
Boruto's face turned red. It seemed like his father somehow knew what was in his heart even though now he seemed to be meditating and closing his eyes.
Boruto didn't answer and just rushed to the pot of soup that was still heating on the bonfire. Since he was already exposed, there was no need to act tough anymore.
He quickly filled the bowl with the second, third, and fourth soup until the pot was almost empty.
"Urgh..." Boruto let out a long burp. He smiled contentedly as if all his energy had recovered. He glanced at his father's clone who still had his eyes closed in meditation.
"Anything you want to ask?" Naruto's clone started the conversation as if understanding his son's thoughts.
Boruto didn't play tough anymore and asked, "I see father's clone seems to meditate more. Is that a way to make the clone not mentally tired?"
"That's right. However, this isn't ordinary meditation. Father unites himself with nature so the circulation of energy will continue. This is what causes father's clone to not tire himself mentally. This is also known as Senjutsu in the Shinobi world." Naruto's clone explained.
"Senjutsu? Can I also learn it? If I can create clones that never tire it will be very useful."
Naruto's clone shook his head. "Senjutsu isn't easy to learn. In this world, no more than five people I know can master it. If you want to learn it, you must first have determination. Determination comes from your life experiences in dealing with desperate situations. Your current life is too comfortable. You have to temper yourself in order to become stronger."
Boruto frowned in dissatisfaction. "Hump, let's just say father doesn't want to teach me. What is determination? Where is this kid my age who is more determined than me?
Okay. You don't need to teach me Senjutsu. In the future, I will study it myself."
Naruto's clone sighed. "Boruto, you shouldn't be too proud. Above the sky there are still skies. Who knows there is someone your age who is stronger and more talented than you?"
Boruto huddled his two arms arrogantly. "If there really is such a child, I will defeat him and make him my subordinate in the future."
Naruto sighed. "Okay. Father believes you. It's actually almost dawn. Do you want to rest for a bit or start practicing?"
"Practice of course. Since my clone is unable to understand father's version of Kagebunshin, then let me figure it out myself."
Boruto immediately walked towards the boulder where the Kagebunshin jutsu was written. Sensing that the light was still very low, he returned to bring a piece of firewood as a torch.
Boruto sat cross-legged and concentrated on staring at the stone wall.
A few hours later, the sky was clear. Boruto furrowed his brows in complaint.
"What the hell? This version is really more complex than the original. I feel like a barrier appears whenever chakra is directed. If I force my way through the barrier, it's very likely that my chakra pathways will be damaged and I will at least suffer considerable internal injury."
Boruto felt very embarrassed. He had boasted to his father before that he would learn Senjutsu on his own.
However, now Senjutsu had not even been learned and he was already facing obstacles in learning his father's version of Kagebunshin.
No wonder his clone barely gained anything after a full day of concentration. Apart from the fact that the clone's intuitive ability was very less than the original body, it turned out that this advanced version of Kagebunshin was indeed very difficult to learn. Even the real Boruto felt helpless.