Chapter 07: Lovely morning

Up in the trees surrounding training ground 11, Hiruzen observed with fascination his target. It didn’t take long for one of his most trusted Anbu to find out their schedules and habits. Up with the sun around 6:00 am, present at the training ground at 6:30 am. Thirty minutes of stretching and light physical activity which included the taijutsu katas of the Academy. At 7:00, the target pulled out a black book from his back pouch, summoned from a storage seal, fuinjutsu tools, a small coffee table and began to draw seals. The Hokage had to admit, his target had a very neat handwriting, perfect for the art. After a few tags were created, he used his book to summon shurikens and began to carve them meticulously. At first he recognized the seal, one of the few used interchangeably for explosive tags but then the next ones, he had absolutely no clue.  When the time approached 8:00am, Hiruzen signaled his presence. He had wanted at first to test the knowledge Izumo had given him about the timing of a genjutsu and fuinjutsu but decided otherwise. That wasn’t a good approach to get acquainted with someone you wanted to build ties with. Instead, Hiruzen acted like a normal person and not a shinobi. He dropped off the tree and simply walked towards his target to greet him.

“Hello, Riku.”

The simple but out of nowhere greeting had made Riku tense on the spot, Hiruzen didn’t miss that, especially Riku’s hand tightening around the brush he was using and ready to be thrown like a senbon.

“Good morning, Hoka…”

“Stay seated, stay seated.” the sandaime said, waving his hand to dismiss Riku, standing up to give him the proper respect for his rank. Riku obeyed and opened his book which was lying on the side of the coffee table. In a matter of seconds, a pillow to sit on instead of the ground was summoned and given to Hiruzen who gladly accepted it.

“What can I do for you, Hokage-sama?”

“Many things. Mostly satisfy my curiosity.”

“Your… I’m just a genin, Hokage-sama. I’m confused as to why you came yourself instead of sending someone to ask your questions. I’m sure there are more important matters for you to take care of… Not like you can’t do what you want or anything…” The last part was said in such a panic and rush that Hiruzen almost laughed.

“I’m not technically here though. I’m just a kage bunshin, a shadow clone. The real Hiruzen is unfortunately behind his desk doing paperwork.” The look of shock and Riku’s face was priceless for the old man. That was a new facial expression that didn’t fit what he knew and saw of the young man so far. He liked it. “That’s a kinjutsu created by my sensei for recon usage. Very useful.”

“...”

Hiruzen began to worry a bit when Riku was still frozen in shock, his mouth gaping. When a few seconds passed without change, he was ready to poke the young man to bring him back to reality but it proved to be unnecessary.

“He created the greatest cheat in shinobi history and he only used it for recon?! Recon?! Was he insane?! Konoha would have probably completely dominated in each shinobi war with that jutsu!”

That reaction took Hiruzen back for a moment. Senju Tobirama, Niidaime Hokage, Hiruzen's own sensei and greatest jutsu inventor of the history of the village had just been called insane. Hiruzen could have chastised the genin but he was a prodigy so maybe he had thought of something that nobody else did. He decided to let the insult slide for now.

“How so?”

“That’s because…” Riku began but stopped. A calculating look passed in his eyes for a moment. “How about you teach me that jutsu and I demonstrate to you how completely overpowered it is?”

“...No.” replied a baffled Hiruzen after a moment.

“Even when that information is in Konoha’s best interest?”

“If it was, you’d tell me without trying to make any kind of deal.”

“Hokage-sama. I’m an orphan badly looked upon by most people in his village. The knowledge I have access to, not counting the fact that I am a genin, is greatly limited. I’ll get what I can get.”

The sandaime thought about it for a moment. On one hand, the shadow clone was a kinjutsu because it needed good chakra reserves to use. And while Riku had enough to make at least one without dying from what Hiruzen could tell, it was still dangerous. On the other hand the information may really be relevant no matter how unlikely it was but then again…

‘Geniuses see things that normal people miss.’ “...Alright. However, you must know that…”

“It’s probably really chakra intensive.” Riku interrupted.

“That… yes. It is.” replied Hiruzen, a bit shocked at the discovery.

“You’re using it so it must not be that dangerous for you to use. Yet it’s a kinjutsu, the only explanation I have is the amount of chakra needed, which also explains why… Well.. It’s part of the answer you want so I’ll keep quiet for now.”

“... The kage bunshin also divides your chakra equally between you and your clone.” continued Hiruzen and didn’t stop when he heard a ‘perfect’ whispered by the young boy. “The hand seal is a half rat seal modified to make a cross, like this.” he explained further with a demonstration of said seal without molding the chakra.

“Okay…”

Riku immediately imitated the seal and felt his chakra molded in a way that he hadn't known was possible. Filling this information for later. He still took a long moment to feel how his chakra behaved. When he felt like it was enough he actually used the jutsu. A sudden exhaustion fell on him for using that much chakra in one go but it was fine and so was the clone who had popped right next to him. Poking the close with his finger to check if it was a success, Riku was very satisfied when it was proven correct.

“Go pick a leaf and practice wind manipulation for two hours then dispel.” the dirty blonde said nonchalantly to his clone and looked at Hiruzen with an amused smile.

Hiruzen for his part was not amused. He was shocked from hell and back.

‘Holy fucking shit, Sensei! You were a dumbass!’

The old Hokage had understood from Riku’s display the implication of the real use of the shadow clone and was now begining to think how he could use it properly and most importantly how it could strenghen the village. People with enough chakra would be able to train faster than anyone. The more chakra they had, the better.

‘Naruto must never know about this! Not until he is mature enough! He’s too naive and childish to responsibly handle the power that would result in a massive use of this. It would be a disaster more than anything. Kami helps us if our enemies ever think about it in case they know how to use the Kage Bunshin. I should probably share that information with Jira… no, he’s going to train Naruto and he may tell him. Kakashi maybe? No, too lazy. That’s a thought for later.’

“Riku what you just thought of… It could be a game changer for the village. However, it’s a kinjutsu for a reason and should our enemies learn of this, we would lose a considerable advantage. Keep that knowledge to yourself and do not teach the jutsu to anyone. That’s an order and a S-rank secret.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.” replied the genin with his usual respectful but short bow.

“Good.”

“Er? If I may ask…”

“Yes?”

“That type of clone is… a complete cheat but would it be possible to… apply it on objects? In theory it would be simpler since an object doesn’t have chakra nor memories to deal with.”

‘I like where this is going’ thought Hiruzen. “What are you thinking of?”

Riku wryly smiled and picked up a few of the shurikens he had been working on from the table and showed them to Hiruzen.

“Ah! I see. There is in fact such a jutsu. I created it myself based on the Kage Bunshin. It is also extensive in chakra use, but not nearly as much. However it is more difficult to do because the target cloned is an inanimate object. The chakra control needed is tremendous.”

“Hokage-sama, I suppose I can’t swindle that jutsu out of you to test if the seals are duplicated too, huh?” Riku stated rather than asked, already knowing the answer. That made Hiruzen snort.

“No, no. You can’t but nice try. If you provide me with some of those shurikens however, I will test that myself and report the results.”

“Here!”

In a flash, Riku pulled shurikens from his book and handed them to Hiruzen. The latter noticed that each one of them had a different seal.

“I’m going to need information on each of those seals. And If you don’t mind, could you tell me about… this ‘book of seals’ of yours?”

“Of course!” the genin replied with enthusiasm. “I’m using a book because… well, for one the scrolls are expensive… Especially for me.” he added the last part in a mutter. “Second, scrolls are cumbersome, a book isn’t. Third, if you want to use a specific seal in your scroll you have to unroll it and know exactly where it is. During combat it’s impractical. A book of seals answers all those problems but the drawback is two fold. One for a really big seal, one needs to learn how to write really really small or give up on those kinds. Two, the number of pages you can write is rather limited compared to a scroll. To overcome those cons I’m thinking of…”

~~~~~

In the Hokage office, the real Hiruzen was doing paperwork. Stamping and signing document after document with no end in sight. His monotonous torture took a break when he received the memory of the shadow clone he had created in the morning to make contact with a potential flight risk that Konoha couldn’t afford to lose. Reviewing the memories, his jaw slacked down so low that his pipe fell out of his mouth on the table, spilling its content on the papers right under it. With the window opened to let a small breeze cool down the office and push away the smoke of his pipe, it was enough for the burning ember of his tobacco to be fanned. The papers began to burn and a small fire started that spread quickly to the multiple stack of documents on his desk.

Hiruzen would have noticed if not for his mind focused on the absurd knowledge that he had just received. Thankfully, his Anbu guard sprung into action and got him out of his desk. One of them began to stamp out the fire but Hiruzen who had come back to his senses with his sudden deplacement ordered his subordinate to not bother.

‘I just learned perhaps the best thing ever for the village and my paperwork is burning to ash. Granted, I dreamed of doing it myself for years but it won’t diminish my satisfaction in any way. It might be the best morning I ever had since I took back the hat.’

“Thank you, Boar, Neko.”

“Is everything alright Hokage-sama?” asked the latter. She was the one that pulled him out of his chair.

“Yes, Neko. I just… Received some outrageous information from a shadow clone I made this morning.”

“Should we investigate?”

“There is no need, it’s no threat to the village, quite the contrary. Still, I have a short mission for you. I want you to go to training ground 11, find genin Warudo Riku and ask him for the shurikens.”

“Hokage-sma?” she asked, confused.

“He’ll understand. Oh! And Neko, please be less… ruthless and professional Anbu and more… nice when you ask for them.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama.”

After a bow, Neko disappeared in a swirl of leaves to do the tasks she’s been assigned. Hiruzen was looking at the ashes and what was left of his paperwork when his secretary entered the office with a new stack in hand. She stopped in her tracks when confronted with the scene.

“I’m afraid a small accident happened. I’m going to need a copy of all the documents that were lost.”

“Of course Hokage-sama. Though is it really necessary? Most of them were demands from the civilian representatives that you probably turned down. Aren’t they unimportant?”

Hiruzen looked at her and blinked.

‘That is true.’ he realized “And that’s why you’re my secretary Hisho-san. Good work.” he praised the woman who smiled.

“Should we prepare for other accidents of this kind, Hokage-sama?” Boar asked. “I mean it’s still summer, small fires starting is not rare during this time.”

Now, anyone else would have thought that Boar was talking about preventing other accidents from happening but Hiruzen knew the man well after years of service. He knew that what Boar meant was ‘should we make preparations so that kind of incident happens again?’ That was tempting for Hiruzen.

“Hmm… Do so.”

“Hokage-sama!” Hisho protested having known Boar for years too (she was married to him after all) and the old Hokage quickly defended his words.

“Only for the worst of days!”

“... I suppose…  accidents do happen from time to time. That’s why they are accidents.” she relented which drew a smile on the Hokage’s lips.

Neko chose that moment to come back, kneeling in front of her superior and looking down. Her hands were raised above her head in offering and were holding a small bag that Hiruzen took and opened. He noticed the Shurikens but also a paper with them. Pulling it out he saw that it was the instructions and details for each seals.

“Good job, Neko. Now since my desk was damaged and the paperwork lost, I suppose I can change my schedule a bit and go to the training ground. Hisho-san…”

“Short of the elders, you’re unavailable, Hokage-sama.”

“Thank you.”

In a swirl of leaves identical to the one Neko produced when she left and came back, Hiruzen shushined out of his office through the open window, in the direction of the Hokages’ training ground. He had some testing to do.

~~~~~

Back at training ground eleven, Riku dismissed his kage bunshin. Sparring a thought to the purple hair Anbu that visited him for his special Shurikens (that he was tempted to call Shurifuin), the memories and knowledge and experience of his doppleganger filled his mind. It seems that he could now cut half a leaf ten out of ten tries. It still took too much time in his opinion but there had been progress in that regard.

Picking as many leaves as he could, he stored them in his book and went home. He wanted to practice with his clone but with people coming to the training ground that became impossible without revealing the trick of the kage bunshin. Home was a safer place to train. On his way, he wondered at the sudden visit and interest the Hokage had in him. It didn’t take long for him to understand that after his dismissal the other day, the sandaime had interrogated Kotetsu and Izumo about his skills. After all, Chunins taking a genin from the corps for a C-tank was unheard of when said genin became one three months prior.

‘He worries that I might be a flight risk  and become missing nin or worse … follow in mom’s footsteps.’

Nobody needed to spell it out to him as to why Hiruzen was worried.

‘Joke’s on him! I have no intention of doing either. Besides, I’m not friendless. Izumo and Kotetsu are… friendly acquaintances but that’s because we’ve known each other for a short time. They’re my tickets to meet other people. I’m going to need to thank Iruka big time for his help.’