A series of slapping sounds echoed in the Amou household...
Moments later, in the study room of the Amou house.
Kushina was sitting obediently on a chair, her head lowered like a quail.
She occasionally glanced over at Natsuhiko, who was applying medicine on the opposite side, feeling somewhat ashamed.
She had misunderstood Natsuhiko's intentions earlier and, in a fit of rage, had attacked him directly.
Although Natsuhiko quickly subdued her, he still took a few punches due to being caught off guard.
It was only after Natsuhiko explained things thoroughly that she realised the three kids were actually all shadow clones created by Natsuhiko! No wonder they looked so much like him.
Realising she had made a colossal blunder, Kushina felt profoundly embarrassed and wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
Wait, no!
It was then that she remembered there was still a culprit. She glared resentfully at the three little ones sitting at the small desk in the corner.
Now that she knew they were Natsuhiko's shadow clones, Kushina felt no need to hold back. She stormed over and pointed at the one in the blue outfit, saying, "How dare you trick me!"
"Why does Natsuhiko have such a mischievous shadow clone like you?"
The second clone put down the pen and replied innocently to Kushina, "Eh, sister, how did I trick you?"
Seeing the second clone still acting all cute, Kushina got even more frustrated and said indignantly, "Then why did you call Natsuhiko 'Dad'?"
The second clone shrugged and said, "It's an inside joke in our house. We often refer to the original body that way."
The first and third clones nodded in agreement, indicating that they never got tired of playing this game.
Kushina was at a loss for words, then asked, "Then how do you explain the 'Mom' thing?"
The second clone replied calmly, "I didn't lie about that part either."
"After all, since I 'was born,' I really haven't seen a mom."
"And every time we try to talk to the original body about finding us a 'mom,' he does get furious..."
Kushina was speechless. It's no wonder anyone would be angry if their shadow clone urged them to get married.
So, the second clone concluded, "So, you see, I didn't lie at all. It was just that you, Sister Kushina, misunderstood, so you can't blame me."
"You..."
Kushina pointed at the second clone with a trembling finger but couldn't find the words to retort.
In the end, she could only snort, holding back her anger as she returned to her seat and started drawing circles on the table, cursing the second clone.
At this moment, Natsuhiko finished applying the medicine and walked over to Kushina, looking aggrieved, "It doesn't seem like there are any fractures, but Kushina, you really hit me too hard just now."
Kushina stuck out her tongue and made a funny face, her cheeks turning slightly red.
"Who...who told you to say something so easily misunderstood just now?"
Natsuhiko protested, "Come on, it wasn't my fault; it was the second clone's."
"Isn't that still you?" Kushina retorted sharply.
"..."
She had a point, and Natsuhiko couldn't argue back.
This time, the second clone had really caused trouble.
Natsuhiko glared at the second clone, then cleared his throat and said, "Let's just let bygones be bygones."
"Now, Kushina, you should know why I asked you to come today."
"I not only obtained the training method for the Yin Seal from Lady Mito, but I also took on the responsibility of guiding you in mastering it."
"But before that, I have another technique to teach you."
After the earlier misunderstanding, Kushina had an idea of what Natsuhiko was thinking, and her face lit up with anticipation as she asked, "Natsuhiko, are you really willing to teach me such an amazing ninjutsu?"
As she spoke, she glanced enviously at the three little ones who were working.
Although they had tricked her badly earlier, she couldn't deny that these little guys were exciting!
Natsuhiko smiled slightly and said, "Sharpening the knife does not delay cutting wood. Mastering this technique will be very helpful for your future study of the Yin Seal, and it will also reduce my workload."
"And actually, Kushina, you've helped me a lot in the past, so consider this technique as a small token of my appreciation."
"Natsuhiko..."
Seeing Natsuhiko generously passing on such precious ninjutsu, Kushina couldn't help but feel a warmth in her heart.
To not let down Natsuhiko's kindness, Kushina said earnestly, "Don't worry, Natsuhiko, I will definitely study hard!"
Unexpectedly, Natsuhiko scratched his head and said, "I'm glad you're so dedicated, Kushina, but actually, you don't need to study this technique..."
With that, Natsuhiko took out a storage card, placed it on the table, and unsealed it under Kushina's confused gaze.
Poof!
After the white smoke dispersed, several half-red, half-white wooden balls appeared on the table.
Natsuhiko picked up a wooden ball and tossed it back and forth, saying, "These are the tools used to perform the Infant Shadow Clone Technique. I call them Sealing Spheres."
"So actually, as long as someone knows the Shadow Clone Technique, they can use these Sealing Spheres to perform the Infant Shadow Clone Technique without needing to study it."
"Because of time constraints, I've already prepared the Sealing Spheres for you."
"As for how to make them, we'll discuss that later."
Hearing this, Kushina nodded and then curiously picked up a Sealing Sphere to examine it.
She quickly realised that it wasn't just a simple wooden ball but was made of many small wooden pieces interlocked like a Bagua lock she had never managed to solve as a child. It was also covered in densely packed sealing scripts, making it look very complex.
Natsuhiko continued to explain, "The Sealing Sphere has two main functions."
"Firstly, as its name suggests, this small ball is a container that can seal chakra."
"It's just that I intentionally left a flaw in the sealing script on it."
"So, when you seal the chakra of a disappearing shadow clone inside, the chakra will slowly leak out over time."
"In this way, the return process of the shadow clone's chakra will be greatly extended, reducing the burden on the original body."
"Using this method, we can truly use the Shadow Clone Technique for training and learning without worrying about negative effects on ourselves."
Upon hearing this, Kushina finally understood and couldn't help but exclaim, "It sounds so simple. Why hasn't anyone figured this out over the years?!"
"No wonder, Natsuhiko, you've been progressing so quickly all this time while also managing your school and tavern."
Natsuhiko smiled and nodded, "From now on, you can do the same, Kushina, and with your constitution, the effects might even be better than mine."
Kushina nodded vigorously, feeling both touched and excited.
Natsuhiko continued, "And the second function of the Sealing Sphere is that the interference array drawn on it can affect the operation of the Shadow Clone Technique, allowing the user to create shadow clones with a physical age of only three years old."
"The advantage of this function is that if the shadow clone is only used for studying or researching, it can save a lot of chakra."
"Combined with the first function of the Sealing Sphere, you can create learning-specialized shadow clones."
"And this is the Infant Shadow Clone Technique I invented."
Clap, clap, clap...
Kushina applauded enthusiastically.
Natsuhiko smiled and continued, "Now, let's have you experience it for yourself."
"With your constitution, start by experimenting with five shadow clones."
"However, with your chakra reserves, you probably won't need the second function. There's no need to shrink the shadow clones to save chakra; just maintain your original form."
"Eh??"
Kushina looked disappointed and said pitifully, "Natsuhiko, I want to have little versions of myself too. They look so cute."
Natsuhiko thought for a moment and said, "Well, it doesn't really matter. If you like it, Kushina, I'll just activate the shrinking function for you since it's already built into the Sealing Spheres."
"Yay!" Kushina cheered.
So, Natsuhiko adjusted each Sealing Sphere one by one, activating the shrinking shadow clone function.
After that, things were simple. Kushina stood in the array Natsuhiko had drawn, formed hand seals, and performed the Shadow Clone Technique.
The five Sealing Spheres around the array all went "poof," and in the white smoke, they turned into five small, red-haired girls.
Unfortunately, the smile on Kushina's face froze again as she eagerly looked at her three-year-old self.
Because what she saw were five chubby, Michelin-like little girls.
At this moment, long-buried memories began to flood Kushina's mind.
She finally vaguely remembered that she was a chubby little girl when she was three years old...
(End of Chapter)
P.S.: This Note will be posted for the following 5 chapters guys so please do not mind it.
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