13: Shadow Clone
"Thanks for your purchase!" Sukuna bid the customer farewell, a satisfied smile on his face. Looking at the stack of bills in his hand, he couldn't help but chuckle. Who would have thought he had a knack for sales? Being a merchant would certainly be an interesting career if his original self ever tired of fighting.
But what would he know? He was just a simple shadow clone, handling the tasks that the original couldn't be bothered to do, tasks like helping his parents with the family business. Not that he was complaining, of course; in fact, he enjoyed doing things like this. The part that made up his temporary being seemed to be less dark and depressed than his original self, which allowed him to enjoy the simple things more than the other guy.
Seriously, he should chill out and learn from him—there was way more satisfaction in making money than in constantly looking to get his ass kicked.
With a smooth flick of his hand, he stashed the bills in the cash register and waited patiently with a smile for the next kind soul who would help his fortune grow even more.
But before that happened, his mother burst through the door, making the pink-haired boy raise an eyebrow at her sudden entrance. Had something happened?
"There you are! Come on, Sukuna-chan! It's time to greet our new neighbor!" Huh? Sukuna blinked, but before he could react, he found himself being dragged off by an excited Mebuki.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to place the "Closed" sign in front of the shop door. It'd be really bad if someone wandered in and stole something while they were gone—that was "his" money, damn it!
Fortunately, once outside, he managed to escape his mother's grip and walked beside her like a normal person. After all, it would seriously damage his reputation if someone he knew saw him being led around by the hand like a little kid.
"Anyway, who's this new neighbor you're talking about?" he couldn't help but ask, his danger sense kicking in. If it was another store, it could mean a threat to his finances. In the new commercial district, founded after the Nine-Tails destroyed the previous one, his parents' business was among the most prosperous.
But that could change if a new rival store came in to shake things up.
"It's the Yamanaka clan—they've finally decided to reopen their flower shop."
And so, all the corporate sabotage plans Sukuna had started thinking up were tossed aside. A flower shop? That wasn't even competition; he'd just been worrying for nothing.
"Eh, the Yamanaka clan?"
Mebuki nodded and started talking about them without him even asking. It seemed his mother was a born gossip; even if he stayed quiet, she always found a way to tell him a lot of things.
"A few years ago, the Yamanaka clan had a big flower business, but the Nine-Tails attack that destroyed the whole old commercial district made them lose it. I'm not too sure what happened after, but it seems they finally decided to come back," Mebuki said, lowering her voice when she mentioned the Nine-Tails. Maybe other parents would be a bit careful about bringing up that topic with their kids, but those parents didn't have a genius like her son. As far as she was concerned, her son was mature enough to know details like these.
As for Sukuna, he didn't have to think too hard to get an idea of what might have happened. After all, the village had lost many shinobi when the Nine-Tails attacked, and as a ninja clan, the Yamanakas probably had to help reinforce the ranks, meaning they probably didn't have time to get back to business until now, or something like that. Of course, this was just his guess—whether it was true or not, he'd find out later if necessary.
Soon, the two of them arrived in front of the new shop, which was only a few stores down from their own. There was already quite a crowd there, making for a lively atmosphere. In the end, even though several years had passed, the Yamanaka clan's flower business was still something famous in the village, so it was only natural that its reopening would attract the villagers' attention.
'Looks like there'll be another popular business around here,' Sukuna thought as he looked at the place. Soon, mother and son managed to get inside, and almost immediately, Sukuna could sense the presence of several ninjas.
Ninjas wearing aprons, serving customers with smiles on their faces.
Their ages varied, from those who looked old enough to graduate from the academy to those who were just starting to get a few wrinkles. But if there was one thing they all had in common, it was the small amount of chakra he could sense from them.
'Guess even a ninja clan wouldn't waste their truly strong members working in a shop...'
Then why was that guy here? Sukuna wondered to himself, catching a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of a tall man with platinum-blonde hair tied in a ponytail, working the counter alongside a woman with dark brown hair.
Although it was well-controlled, Sukuna could see at a glance the strength and amount of chakra in the man, enough to eclipse the chakra of all the other ninjas present combined.
'An elite jounin without a doubt, and that woman, though not as strong, is still better than the others, maybe a chunin?' Before he could continue thinking about it, his mother took him by the arm and dragged him with her to the counter; Sukuna, of course, let her do so.
"Inoichi-san, Ume-san, it's a pleasure to see you again."
"Oh? Mebuki-san!" The woman named Ume looked at his mother with a cheerful, polite smile. It seemed years had passed since the two women had last seen each other, but that didn't stop them from immediately launching into an intense conversation to catch up.
Sukuna hadn't expected his mother to know people from the Yamanaka clan, but he supposed it wasn't entirely impossible. After all, his parents had been ninjas, and while ninjas often worked in teams, that didn't mean they didn't occasionally go on missions with other ninjas.
The conversation between the two women began to stretch on, and Sukuna couldn't help but start to feel bored. Almost coincidentally, his gaze met that of the blond man, a tacit understanding passing between them—an understanding only men could share, from which great friendships had been forged throughout history.
"...and this is my son, Sukuna," his mother finally seemed to remember his existence, pushing him forward to introduce him.
"Wow, what unique and beautiful hair; it's almost the same shade as cherry blossom petals." Perhaps if he were a girl, Sukuna might have appreciated the compliment, but as a boy, he couldn't help but grumble inwardly.
After all, pink was his least favorite color.
Despite his internal thoughts, Sukuna still introduced himself as was proper, offering a polite bow to the couple.
"Since you've introduced me to your son, I should introduce you to mine as well," Ume said suddenly before lifting her gaze and starting to search around the shop until she found the person she was looking for.
"Ino-chan! Come here!" At her call, a small figure who had been helping arrange the display bouquets veered off her path and, with hurried steps, began to approach them.
Which perhaps wasn't the best idea, considering she was still holding a huge bouquet that blocked her view.
Almost in slow motion, Sukuna noticed how the girl tripped over her own foot and began to fall face-first to the ground, while at the same time the bouquet of flowers flew out of her hands.
Instinctively, he took a step forward—not for the girl, of course, but for the bouquet of flowers. Merchandise was merchandise, after all, and even if it wasn't his, it would be painful to see something that surely cost several hundred ryo get ruined just like that.
Inoichi, who was already halfway there, noticed his movement and abruptly stopped in surprise. Feeling his gaze, Sukuna couldn't help but frown.
'What the hell? Don't you see your daughter's about to kiss the floor? Why are you just standing there?' He sighed inwardly and, with no other option, diverted his path toward the girl first. After all, it would be troublesome to earn the displeasure of the head of one of Konoha's main clans over something as trivial as this.
Ino, who had closed her eyes tightly, bracing for impact, was surprised to feel her position suddenly change and the feeling of weightlessness disappear.
When she opened her eyes, it was to find herself leaning against a stranger.
"Are you alright?" The voice was monotone and almost cold, completely out of tune with the question. Ino blinked, her bluish-green eyes meeting a pair of deep, bright green ones.
The blonde girl nodded awkwardly as she felt her cheeks warm up without knowing why, but before she could speak, she saw the boy stretch his hand to the side, catching the bouquet of flowers she had dropped without even needing to look.
"Be more careful." Then he placed the bouquet back in her hands, and Ino felt her heart skip a beat.
"My, you've got quite a skilled boy, Mebuki-san." Ume's words made Sukuna turn to look at her, only to notice the woman giving him an amused look, with Inoichi beside her, frowning with a cold expression.
'Huh? What's with that? I just saved your daughter, bastard—why do you look like you hate me?' If he had known it would be like this, he would have let her trip.
"Uh- th-thanks." Hearing the murmur, Sukuna raised an eyebrow and looked over at the girl, only to notice her face was now completely red.
Well, this could be a problem...
.
.
.
At the same time, elsewhere in Konoha, in a discreet training field...
Sukuna suddenly felt an urge to hit himself for no apparent reason.
'Has something happened?' He didn't know why, but he suddenly sensed that something troublesome awaited him. Even so, he couldn't dwell too much on that thought, as the sound of a body rolling across the ground pulled him back to reality.
In front of him, Hinata, who had taken a direct hit from Naruko, writhed on the ground, clutching her stomach and starting to cough hard.
"Are you alright!?" Naruko asked in alarm upon seeing her condition, but before she could approach, Sukuna raised his hand and shook his head.
The message he conveyed with a simple look was clear to the blonde: 'Let her get up on her own.'
Naruko frowned but eventually stayed in place, watching Hinata, who was clumsily trying to stand up.
The girl was trembling all over; clearly, the hit had done serious damage. Sukuna wasn't surprised—Naruko had more strength than she appeared to have at first glance. He didn't know if it was because of the Kyubi inside her or her Uzumaki heritage, but underestimating her attack power would only lead to pain, as Hinata had just learned.
Hinata, for her part, felt like she was going to vomit everything in her stomach. It had been several days since she started training with Naruko and Sukuna, but this was the first time she and the blonde had had a true direct match, and the first time she'd taken one of her punches fully.
'It... it hurts more than Neji-nii-san's hits.' Realizing this was a huge shock and surprise for her, because, in her limited worldview, her cousin Neji had always been the "strongest."
'She's... amazing.' At the same time her admiration for Naruko grew even more, and, as a result, so did her admiration for Sukuna, whom she had seen take the blonde's hits by the dozens casually and without flinching whenever they practiced together.
"Can you still continue?" Sukuna's question made her shudder. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand fully once more and, with some difficulty, resumed the Hyuga clan's taijutsu stance.
"Y-yes!" She couldn't stop now; she had said she wanted this, that she wanted to be strong. If she gave up now, what would Naruko or Sukuna think? She didn't want to see the same look of disappointment her father gave her on their faces.
She didn't want to fail again.
Seeing her determined gaze, Naruko smiled. Although she hadn't thought too highly of the Hyuga girl at first, these days of practicing together had slowly but surely changed her opinion of her.
Sure, she was still weak, clumsy, and excessively shy, but she knew how to work hard and never give up, and in Naruko's book, that was all it took to earn her respect.
And most of all, to earn her friendship.
"in that case, continue," Sukuna waited a few moments more to let Hinata catch her breath but finally gave the order for the fight to resume.
And upon hearing him, Hinata, who had been passive until now, finally took a step forward first. Seeing this, Naruko raised an eyebrow in surprise and decided to wait for her to come closer; so far, Hinata had only been defending herself and not attacking. She was curious to see what Hyuga taijutsu was like and if it was as dangerous as Sukuna had told her when he talked about the clans that make up the village.
Soon, both of them were face-to-face and began an exchange. Although Hinata wasn't as skilled in Jūken as her cousin was, she was still the heiress of the Hyuga clan, and her level was still above other members of the clan of a similar age.
Naruko was quickly forced onto the defensive.
'She's very agile,' was the girl's thought as she watched how Hinata flowed like water with each movement she made. This time, she seemed determined and had stopped hesitating as she had at the beginning of their encounter.
'Still, her strikes don't seem strong.' Hinata attacked with her fingertips, her palms open; Naruko had never seen this style of striking before, so she couldn't help but underestimate it—after all, in her perception, a true strike was done with a closed fist.
Because of that, she didn't put her full effort into dodging as she should have and paid for it when Hinata reached her left shoulder and a stab of pain shot through her entire body in an instant, causing her movement to stop for a second.
'Now!' Knowing that this might be the only opportunity she would have, Hinata decided to press forward, and in an instant, her palms rained down on the blonde girl's body by the dozens.
Although her Byakugan wasn't activated, Jūken had been designed to attack the pressure points in the human body—maybe not with millimeter precision as it would be with the dojutsu active, but close enough that each of her attacks was extremely damaging.
'Damn! This hurts!' Naruko cursed herself for being so careless; she shouldn't have let her get that close! Even so, she wasn't going to lose just from feeling some pain. Thinking quickly, she concentrated a large amount of chakra in her feet and then released it suddenly, causing the ground she was standing on to explode and her body to be thrown backward, successfully distancing herself from the Hyuga.
'What!?' Hinata stumbled, surprised by the sudden movement.
"Wow, you really surprised me there, Hinata, but I won't underestimate you again," Naruko said with a fierce smile as she wiped a red line of blood dripping from the corner of her mouth.
Hinata blinked upon hearing her. She didn't know why, but her words sent a warm current through her body, a feeling she hadn't experienced before in her short life.
She didn't know it yet, but what she was feeling was a flourishing pride.
Pride in herself.
"Alright, I-I won't either." After speaking, Hinata couldn't help but blush. That… why did she say that?!
Naruko laughed heartily when she heard her; even if it was almost nonexistent, the slight tone of defiance in the girl's voice made her quite happy.
"If you two have talked enough, then I suggest you start fighting, or I'll enter the field and make you both fight against me." Upon hearing Sukuna's "threat," both girls suddenly shivered and, with decision, charged at each other once more.
Sukuna observed their fight with a critical eye. It seemed that his decision to take Hinata had been the right one; it not only helped Naruko gain more combat experience, but it also improved her mood during practice. And perhaps, just perhaps, it would also make her social skills and manners a little better.
Although that was probably too much to ask, as even he had had difficulties instilling such things in her.
'Maybe the opposite will happen, and Hinata will be led astray by her.' No, that was stupid; Hinata was too different from Naruko for that to happen.
Although it was probably best for him to keep an eye on them, just in case.
'Well, actually, it's not really my problem, right? I'm just a clone.' Yes, the Sukuna in this place was also a clone.
The real Sukuna was quite far away on the village's borders, training with Izumi as he had been doing for several days now.
The original plan had been to train with the girl for a few hours and then return personally to supervise Naruko and Hinata's training, but that plan had to be changed due to a last-minute deal he made with Izumi. Since he was not only going to teach her one but two of his abilities, he had to dedicate more time to her, so he finally decided to resort to shadow clones.
Normally, making only one shadow clone was his current "limit" due to his still-low chakra amount. However, that limit could be overcome by absorbing enough negative emotions and converting them into chakra. With Naruko, Hinata, and Izumi nearby, obtaining such negative emotions was actually easy for him, so he decided to go with that option.
So far, it hadn't resulted in anything problematic, so the shadow clone jutsu started to become one of his favorites. Of course, it had some odd things, like his clones acting a bit differently from his usual self. He didn't know if this was something inherent to the jutsu or if it was a side effect of using chakra created from negative emotions, but in essence, they were still "him," and they all worked toward his goals, so it wasn't something that bothered him.
Sukuna didn't know that this thought would soon change.
.
.
.
Note: Important to read!
And here's another chapter!
I know you have questions, and I'm going to answer them now to avoid misunderstandings.
I know that the shadow clone jutsu creates exact copies of the original, so the clones shouldn't act differently, or at least not so differently from the original.
But Sukuna isn't creating shadow clones in a natural way. In case you haven't understood until now, his ability to absorb negative emotions and convert them into chakra actually cleans those negative emotions/purifies them before transforming them, resulting in chakra that is completely pure and immaculate.
In Naruto, the user's chakra is affected by their own emotions/feelings, causing it to adopt characteristics unique to the user, like "being sinister," "being warm," or "being cold." In short, it's "impure" chakra, infected with emotions.
As an example, there's the Kyūbi, which was born as a "pure" being, but over time its chakra became "corrupted" into a miasma of negativity that can, literally, burn on contact.
For that reason, for now, Sukuna's clones are somewhat different from him, as he's not using his natural chakra to create them in order to keep his reserves at maximum for training with Izumi. Instead, he's creating them from "pure" chakra generated by absorbing negative emotions, causing them to develop their own "inner feelings and unique personality traits" the longer they exist and based on what they do during that existence, like running a shop and developing a taste for making money and doing business.
Of course, this only happens for now. Once Sukuna has all his hidden reserves in his inner domain, he won't need to do this trick unless he wants to create thousands of clones like the original Naruto or make clones without having to divide his natural chakra reserves (which could be quite useful in various situations).
Anyway, I didn't originally plan to do this, but as I was detailing Sukuna's abilities for myself, I realized that theoretically, this should happen, and I finally decided to let it happen. Let's see how it turns out. I hope the explanation was clear. Leave your opinions and comments.
I know the plot has been slow so far, but as I always say, I like to go in-depth and give things time to create a solid foundation for the story, so I appreciate your patience.
For now this story is still one of slow updates, I've been a little sick but I'm on the way to recovery, I don't know if I can release another chapter this month but I'll try!
If you want to support me you can do it through my Patreon ( patreon.com/EmmaCruzader ) ;D