It had been a day since Kaoru and the rest of the Takimura delegation returned. The entire village already knew what had happened during the Chunin Exams, and the kids were welcomed home as heroes. Especially Mizuki and Kaoru, who had stood out the most.
Takimura was lively, filled with celebration and excitement, but beneath the surface, things weren't looking great.
Kirigakure was slowly increasing the number of shinobi deployed against them, a clear sign that the conflict was escalating. Meanwhile, Tenma, who had left nearly two weeks ago in an attempt to bring in the Noda Clan, still hadn't returned. While his absence didn't necessarily mean something had gone wrong, the already tense village was growing even more anxious.
Takimura was small, and secrecy was nearly impossible so everyone knew each other too well. Their precarious situation was common knowledge.
Still, the return of the delegation lifted spirits, even if only temporarily.
Despite having barely been back for a day, Kaoru had already received orders from Suiren that starting tomorrow, he would be attending clan meetings.
To everyone's surprise, he didn't object.
Kaoru had already accepted this responsibility, even if he wasn't particularly happy about it. He understood the reality, Takime Clan was still weak and they couldn't afford for both heirs to reject succession.
Maki had given up on the Suijingan to grow stronger, and according to Takime clan customs, Kaoru, who had fully awakened it, was named the primary heir in her place. Unlike Maki, who stepped down to pursue greater strength, Kaoru had no such justification. If he refused, it would be purely out of reluctance and that was unacceptable.
'If I'm going to lead the Takime, I might as well start shaping it the way I think is best.'
He already had a few ideas, and tomorrow, he would share them.
Ever since he awakened in this world, Kaoru had wondered why the Takime Clan was so lenient with the younger generation. He couldn't understand the reasoning behind it, and now, as heir, he intended to change that.
For a small clan like Takime, every member was precious, and they needed to be made as strong as possible.
Kaoru planned to attend the meeting after his morning training. He was going to follow Guy's training regimen and also work on new pathways for the chakra rotation technique. But today he was taking it easy as he had something else to take care of.
He walked through the streets, heading toward the remote area of the village where the Durinu Clan had settled.
Even though Kaoru had been gone for barely a month, Takimura had changed noticeably.
There were more shops, even restaurants. Civilians, who didn't belong to any clan, had started settling in. It was a good sign for the village's growth, but it also posed a risk.
Kaoru was almost certain that some of those civilians were spies. It wasn't even a question of if, he was confident that at least a few of them were gathering information for someone. Still, that was an issue for later. For now, he had reached the Durinu Clan's district and started looking for a forge.
He had already asked Akura whether he should commission a weapon from the forge near the village center or from the Durinu Clan directly, and Akura had told him that if he wanted the best blacksmith, he'd find him here.
Kaoru spotted a small forge beside a neat but modest house. He approached the forge and knocked softly on the door, waiting for a response. When none came, he tried again, this time louder, but still, there was silence. After several attempts with no answer, he turned toward the small but well-kept house beside the forge and knocked on that door instead.
"Come in," a deep voice called from inside.
Kaoru opened the door and stepped inside. He was met with the sight of a middle-aged man sitting behind a workbench. His hands were covered in soot and calluses, he had a long silvery beard and hair.
'I wonder how they can maintain such a long beard and hair when they constantly work near the fire' thought Kaoru involuntarily and continued looking at the man with curious gaze.
The man simply sat, waiting for Kaoru to finally speak.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for a blacksmith," Kaoru said with a polite smile, bowing slightly. He knew that artisans, especially blacksmiths, were proud of their craft, and respect often mattered as much as payment when it came to accepting commissions.
The man leaned back in his chair, his sharp eyes scanning Kaoru with mild curiosity. "You've found the best blacksmith in this village, but my services aren't cheap." A wry smile tugged at his lips, as if daring Kaoru to test him.
"That won't be a problem," Kaoru replied with quiet confidence. "I don't need anything extravagant, just a long steel rod."
He then went on to explain his idea. How the rod would act as the core, how he would use high-density water to manipulate the weapon's form, changing the tip into different shapes depending on the situation. With each word, the blacksmith's expression shifted from indifference to intrigue.
By the time Kaoru finished, the man's eyes gleamed with interest.
Here he had expected another request for a sword, a dagger, or maybe even a katana. Instead, this boy had brought him something different. Something new.
Now this… this was a commission worth taking.
"I'll need to see you train first to get a rough idea about your abilities, and how you fight. We also need to decide on the weapon's length. Since you're still growing, and probably rapidly, you'll have to adjust it often," the blacksmith said, leaning back in his chair. "Just let me know when and where to watch your training, and we'll talk about the rest."
He pulled open a drawer, retrieved a pipe, and started preparing his smoke.
"Alright then, I'll come back in a few days. Could you give me a price range? I need to budget for other things, so I'd like to know how much I can spend."
The blacksmith hummed in thought before answering. "If your abilities impress me, I'll do it for 100,000 ryo. If not, 500,000. But if it's 100,000, you'll only commission weapons from me." He tried to keep his voice gruff and cool, something like an unwritten rule among blacksmiths, but his excitement was hard to contain.
The moment Kaoru had mentioned high-density water and a weapon that could change shape, the man's mind had exploded with ideas. This high-density water sounded like an entirely new type of alloy, something completely outside the realm of ordinary craftsmanship.
And truth be told, even 500,000 wouldn't cover the cost of materials.
But Kaoru, who had even brighter cyan eyes than Maki, was clearly from the Takime Clan, and the Durinu Clan owed Takime a great debt. This was the blacksmith's way of repaying that debt.
"That's great, I expected it to cost much more," Kaoru said, placing a small pouch of 500,000 ryo on the table. "No need to reduce it, even if you like my skills. I'm more than happy to pay people who work hard."
Without waiting for a response, he turned toward the door.
"I'll be going then. I'll come back in a few days."
With that, Kaoru stepped out of the forge and headed home. It was finally time to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu.
<<<>>>
Kaoru sat cross-legged on his bed, the Shadow Clone Jutsu scroll once again open on his lap.
This time, it wasn't just theory, he was going to actually learn it.
His fingers traced the parchment lightly as he reread the same words he had studied days ago, back when he had promised Itachi he wouldn't learn it until he left Konoha.
He already understood the mechanics. Shadow Clones weren't simple chakra projections like basic clones. They were full duplicates, each taking an equal share of the user's chakra. The biggest risk was chakra exhaustion and memory overload. If he rushed things with Shadow Clone jutsu, the consequences could be devastating.
He inhaled deeply, grounding himself.
'Alright. No rushing. I've already prepared for this. Let's do it properly.'
Kaoru took a slow breath and pressed his hands together.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Chakra surged through his body, too fast, too uneven.
There was a sharp pull, like something inside him had been forcibly split apart, but instead of a perfect duplicate a mangled, flickering form appeared.
Kaoru barely had time to process it before the half-formed clone collapsed into nothing.
He winced.
'Yeah, that's exactly what I was afraid of.'
The chakra split had been uneven.
Too little chakra, and the clone wouldn't stabilize. Too much, and he'd just be wasting energy.
The balance was the key.
He closed his eyes, taking a moment to feel the way his chakra had moved. The sensation of splitting himself was unlike anything else, almost like tearing a thread from fabric.
'Alright. Let's try again.'
He formed the hand seal once more, this time focusing on even distribution.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
A puff of smoke and another failure.
This time, the clone had formed properly, but before it could even react, it dissolved into water.
Kaoru groaned.
"Great. I just invented the world's most advanced puddle technique."
He sat back, analyzing what had gone wrong.
'It didn't collapse instantly, which means the chakra division was better. But the moment it tried to move, it lost form. So I didn't give it enough chakra."
It was a fine balance.
Too much chakra, and he'd burn out faster. Too little, and the clone wouldn't even be usable.
Taking another deep breath, he pressed his hands together again.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
There was a surge of chakra - sharper, cleaner.
A puff of smoke erupted before him and when it cleared, a perfect duplicate stood in front of him.
Kaoru stared at his clone and his clone also stared back. For a moment, neither moved.
Then, the clone smirked. "Damn, I'm good-looking."
Kaoru rolled his eyes. "Fantastic. I'm annoying, too."
The clone chuckled but didn't disappear. This time, it was stable. Kaoru focused inward, trying to analyze the sensation.
The moment the clone had formed, it was as if part of his chakra had been cut away and placed into another body.
The chakra wasn't linked anymore, it had been divided.
But… there was something else.
Kaoru closed his eyes, reaching deeper into his chakra network. And then he found it. A faint, almost invisible thread. Not a direct connection, not like normal chakra flow, but an awareness. The clone was independent, but at the same time, Kaoru could feel it, almost like sensing his own limb at a distance.
'Fascinating…'
He turned to his clone. "Alright, let's test something."
The clone raised an eyebrow. "What, you don't trust your own jutsu?"
Kaoru ignored him.
"Go grab a book and read the first page."
The clone let out a dramatic sigh. "Great, I'm a glorified errand boy."
"Just do it."
Still grumbling, the clone walked to the nearby shelf, grabbed a random book, and flipped it open. Kaoru waited.
After a minute, he dispelled the clone. And then the memories flooded in. Words. Sentences. The texture of the page. The way the book had smelled slightly of ink and dust.
He remembered it perfectly. Kaoru exhaled slowly.
'That's… incredible. I didn't realize the clones could even smell stuff.'
If one clone could study while he trained, he could double his progress. If two clones studied different subjects at the same time, he could learn twice as fast.
His mind raced at the implications.
'Training, research, even missions… this is a straight-up cheat code.'
But he needed to be careful.
If one clone reading a book for a few moments felt normal, then what would happen if he had ten clones reading for a long time?
Would he get all of those memories dumped onto him at once?
The scroll had warned that excessive use can cause cognitive dissonance, chakra instability, or loss of self-awareness in extreme cases.
Playing games with mind was risky, too risky and Kaoru was not going to do that. He needed to test the limits slowly to find out the maximum number of clones he could use.
Kaoru leaned back against the wall, exhaling slowly.
'Alright. One step at a time. I'll start with one or two clones, see how much I can handle.'
Thanks to his Suijingan Kaoru was used to headaches, so he was not particularly worried about the pain itself.
'This is gonna be fun.'
**
A/N -
I'll have to do some research on smithing in the Naruto universe. I was never really interested in that before xD
By the way, just because Kaoru thinks he can easily create more than two clones doesn't mean it's actually true.
Remember, what Kaoru says isn't necessarily correct, any character can make mistakes. While you can trust him when he carefully analyzes something, he also has a habit of jumping to conclusions and making outrageous claims - like when he declared Maki a monster, even though she was just an average jonin.
Character Notes:
Blacksmith-san - Excited - "I'm gonna create even better weapon than those seven blades"
Kaoru's clone - Test Subject v1 - "What if I rebel?"
**