Starring:
Date: January 2, 2015
Summary:
Naruko begins to teach Hiei the Shadow Clone technique
"Rise of the Shadow Part 1"
Dry River Bed-Land of Lightning
Naruko had assigned a meeting with the Raikage himself, this time for some training to help him out rather than the other way around. Naruko had asked for him to meet at a secluded location in the mountain river beds, hopefully clear of any silence invasion in case they decided to invade early. Along the river bed Naruko had set out a few mats and a single giant scroll. Naruko sat there, looking over the scroll as she thumbed a finger through her hair. "Hmm… I think this might be the best way to teach it…" Naruko whispers quietly under her breath, making a few final touches, for now she merely waited patiently for the Raikage to show up.
Hiei had come out to the dry river bed, it was one of the places that he trained at himself. He preferred to train his jutsu away from the village for several reasons. Among them, he doesn't want any stray stuff hurting the others, and he doesn't like people knowing exactly what he's capable of. He arrives on time for his meeting with Naruko. As he walks up, he reaches behind his head to secure his ponytail. Flashing the chuunin a smile, he says, "Thank you for coming out, Naruko. I really appreciate what you're doing for me. From this point, I am your humble student and I will follow all of your commands. Please, teach me." He offers her a respectful bow. This isn't the first time he's taken instruction from a shinobi of lower rank. It was Michiko that taught him fire jutsu afterall back when she was a genin.
"You know? That last time I taught anyone anything was when there was a few problem students when I was in the academy. If someone was going to tell me I'd be teaching our Raikage at that point I would probably just laugh at them," Naruko mentioned honestly with a wide grin, her cheeks flushed briefly at the mention of him being the student new. "All of my commands? Really?" She grinned at the thought and merely patted down at the mat next to her. "How about we go ahead and get started then… With current events we can't waste much time…." She muses lightly and begins to unravel the scroll so it could be read, a few things could be read, but the title at the top was in bold. 'Kinjutsu'. "Hiei-kun…if I may?" Naruko smiles and looks over towards him. "Tell me, what do you know about the Shadow Clone Technique?"
Hiei settles down into the lotus position next to Naruko. He nods faintly. "All of your commands." He meant it too. Michiko had him so exhausted at the end of their training that a few times someone had to come carry him home. "I agree, we don't have a lot of idle time. So I will be as studious as possible." He relaxes his body, exhaling softly as he does so. When asked about Shadow Clones, he replies. "I know the rudimentary knowledge of how to make a clone. I learned that in the academy as a boy. Though I've never used it much, to be honest. I've seen the shadow clone technique performed multiple times, though I've never really given any thought on how it actually works. I think you'd probably better start at the beginning with me."
Naruko nods lightly as Hiei mentions his inexperience, which actually worked well in Naruko's favor. The smiles and then pointed towards her scroll, hopeful that he would begin to read along with her as she began to unravel it, bit by bit as she continued to explain the concept. "The Shadow clone technique is… different from other clones. Fire clones, lightning clones, normal clones. Those kind of clones are merely act as shells for chakra you put into them. The make up of those types of clones are only useful as an extension of said elements. They can't do anything else beyond what you can do with your traditional element, and they also can't be used for communication… At least the more general types of clones," Naruko pauses as she begins to consider her clones a bit more.
"You should know me by my usage of the fire clone technique. While I'm very skilled with them, summoning so many of the only helps with my offensive and defensive techniques… They also don't last very long. A few hits and they explode into a burst of flames. I also can't say…send a fire clone a head to report back to me if I wanted to investigate something from afar… Shadow clones are very different. Instead of putting chakra into a shell it makes a direct copy of you. A clone shares your personality and ALL of your jutsu. These clones can last as long as you wish, assuming you put in enough chakra for them to operate." Naruko finally shuts herself up, tracing over a few words and then peeks at Hiei, "Any questions thus far?"
Hiei read along with Naruko while listening to her explanation of how the clones work versus normal clones. "fascinating…" He murmurs. When she finishes, he nods faintly. "The concept seems fairly simple. My previous training grants me an impeccable control of my chakra. So, once you show me what to do, I think I'll be able to put enough chakra into them without too much trouble. At least, that's my thinking on it." A direct copy of him. The possibilities for such a technique are endless. For example, he can leave a clone in his office when he goes to duck out to do something else. That way Michiko won't get so mad at him.
"The concept is easy to understand, but there is a big difference between just molding chakra into… say a fire clone and then molding chakra to form a shadow clone. For in all actuality, you are molding yourself, and not just chakra in general," Naruko then rubs a finger along her cheek, going back to the top of the scroll. "There is a reason why only a few people know of this technique, and it isn't to be given to out so openly. Shadow Clone Technique is officially labeled as a Kinjutsu. This technique /will/ kill you if you don't master it properly or use it too frequently. As I said before, a true shadow clone takes a significant amount of chakra, for best results you want to give up at least half of it. For a true resilient and reactionary shadow clone. Even with Matatabi I need to be very careful in how many I create. I can easily do around 20 fire clones in one attack, even more if I feel like it… But Shadow clones need to be used sparingly, making too many clones will wear you thin and eventually kill you," Naruko explains further, she goes over the notes, further down to see if anything was missed out in regards to danger.
Hiei nods. "I understand. It's a little like my clan's hidden jutsu. Before I was allowed to learn it, I had to build up my stamina to levels beyond that of a normal shinobi. The technique is also only taught to certain individuals. I wasn't allowed to learn it until I became Clan Head. So I get that it's dangerous to use. I may not have a bijuu to draw chakra from, but my reserves are by no means small. Just ask any sensor nin." It was true. His chakra level was classified in the high level range, rivaling that even of the previous Raikage. "But I will heed your warning. Just tell me what to do next. I'm excited to try it out."
"Well you know what they say! Most of the time the body needs to be as strong as the chakra that comes from it. You can't have one and not the other, well unless your like me," Naruko grins, poking a finger along her arms, she was pretty athletic though not at all built up and as tone as the Raikage. "It's good though, this just means you have more chakra to practice with… More chances to learn how to master this technique before the storm," she huffs quietly and then begins to unravel the rest of the scroll, it was pretty lengthy. " So how this training will go will be pretty simple. I just went over the key concepts with you. I will tell you more about what they are used for…and then we will practice actually creating a clone. After you've learned how to create a clone we will go over fighting with them in unison…. and then we will go over the uses of Shadow clone in utility,"
Hiei nods. "Sounds like I have a lot to learn, Naruko. Very well, I am yours to mold." He flashes her a smile before reaching up to move a lock of hair out of his face. "I suppose that there are hand seals that I have to learn to go along with this, too, right? I'm not sure. I was in the process of learning lightning clones, but I decided to forgo the training and focus on shadow clones instead. I feel like they would serve me better. Though my Mom was a little upset that I didn't want to continue my lesson with her. Even if you just teach me the basics, I'll continue to practice on my own until I master it."
"That's another thing that makes this technique difficult…" Naruko mentions with a slight grin. "You only have the help of a traditional clone seal, or a tiger seal. Everything else has to be molded by feeling alone, without the aid of hand seals. Naruko then begins to rise to a stand, shifting an eye to another mat next to her, she inhales briefly before exhaling a soft sigh, her fingers clutched into that of a clone seal. "You hold this position, and begin to mold your chakra into that of a clone, but you don't just focus on the clone…You extend your complete essence into what you are trying to build. It's easier said than done, but the aim is to extend your entire being from out of you, and mold that essence into a full being. In this scroll I did detail some tips on thoughts, and ways to portion your chakra for the proper results. Just remember for this excerise we want a true shadow clone, and not something that will pop or is temporary. I'll go over that more, but we need the right foundation if you want to learn this technique quickly…. Sometimes you can be…. a bit ambitious. But a technique like this requires the upmost patience.
Hiei listens to her in silence. She was right. He wasn't the most patient man. He had a problem with excess nervous energy that if he didn't put to use it almost drove him mad. It was why he trained as much as he did. A lot of the times he didn't know what to do with himself. Especially lately since Sachiko and he have been fighting. He stands up when she does, rolling his shoulders as he does so to stretch a little. He mimics her stance and her hands and then he nods. He closes his eyes and channels his chakra, he attempts to follow her intstructions but what pops into existence is a very pale comparison of a clone. In fact, it looks more than a little sickly before it pops out of existence. He frowns deeply. Patience..he needed to figure out how to harness that.
Naruko couldn't help but to hold in some laughter after watching the sickly creation of a Hiei clone. Hiei, literally the embodiment of fortitude and valor…. It was hard not to note such a sickly version of him. "This juts starts here," Naruko reminds, gesturing a pointing finger to her own head. "Before you use chakra to make these clones, you will need to practice visualizing the whole process in your head. That is what I would like for you to work on before we meet up again." Naruko lightly begins to approach him, placing both hands along his shoulders or at least as high as she could, he was pretty tall after all. "All I want you to do for now is visualize creating your clone, mold your chakra but don't complete the juts. You will only waste a lot of precious chakra… especial since w are pressed for time. Once you paint this picture in your mind with much mental clarity we can begin procuring it into an actual clone,"
Hiei sighs and nods. "As you wish, Naruko." He hated failing at anything. There was a time when he was a kid that he didn't even want to be a shinobi. Then as he got older, he became an overachiever. Now he was faced with a technique that he couldn't just brute his way through. It would take a massive undertaking on his part. He flashes a smile. "Thank you again for teaching me. I'll keep practicing just like you ask. Visualize it but don't complete it. When would you like to meet up again?"
"You and i will wait here and proceed on the next part once the sun lingers on the horizon," Naruko states as she began to rise to a stand. "You didn't think I was going to give you a full day to just thinking about a juts did you? She smirks lightly and rubs her fingers together. "Hopefully by nightfall you will be able to visualize this technique. Meanwhile I'm going to finish up on some errands, and make sure we have a nice camp fire and food for the night. I may be an Uzumaki but I love living my life out here in the wilderness," Naruko smiles at Hiei, suddenly she explodes into a puff of smoke… A shadow clone all along.
