Chapter 10: Shadow Clone
The Next Day
Senju Miyuki came to pick up Yamamoto Ryusei early in the morning, taking the opportunity to freeload breakfast as well.
Ryusei watched her eating a fried dough stick and said, "Big Sister Miyuki, are we going to learn ninjutsu from Lord Tobirama today? Will it be at the Hokage's office?"
Miyuki took a sip of soy milk—the combination was truly delicious. "Nope. It'll be in the Senju clan's territory. And Lord Tobirama won't be the one teaching. I will."
"Oh... I see," Ryusei said, a little disappointed.
If Tobirama were teaching him, he could have used the opportunity to climb the ladder and establish a master-disciple relationship. Then, when Tobirama became Hokage, he would be the Hokage's disciple.
Miyuki was a bit displeased. Her gaze suddenly sharpened. "What are you disappointed about? Are you implying my teaching isn't good enough?"
Ryusei immediately put on a cute act, using the same tone Conan uses with Ran. "Of course not! Big Sister Miyuki's teaching is the best! I like Big Sister Miyuki the most!"
"Hmph..." After finishing her breakfast, Miyuki took Ryusei and his mother, Yamamoto Nami, to the Senju compound.
In the Senju Clan Compound
Hashirama, Madara, and Tobirama were not there; only Mito Uzumaki was present.
Upon seeing Ryusei enter, she handed him a scroll. "This is the Shadow Clone Jutsu from Tobirama. It's a technique he created that allows you to split off a physical, solid clone. However, the fatigue and memories from the clone will return to you when it disappears. So, don't create too many clones at once. Otherwise, you won't be able to handle the backlash when they disperse, and you could die. With your physical constitution, you should be able to make two. Alright, have Miyuki teach you how to practice it now."
She then led Yamamoto Nami to the kitchens in the back to instruct the Senju clan members there.
Miyuki first had Ryusei read and understand the scroll. She corrected his mistakes as he experimented, and after just a few tries, Ryusei was able to create a shadow clone. However...
"So cute!" Miyuki exclaimed, holding Ryusei's shadow clone, which was only the size of her thumb, in her hands and poking it incessantly. "Ryusei, you're so talented! To think you can even make a shadow clone this small. Hehe."
Mito Uzumaki came out from the kitchen and said, "That's because Ryusei put too little chakra into it. As long as he uses a bit more, he can create a normal-sized clone."
Poof!
The miniature Ryusei clone in Miyuki's hand dispersed. Ryusei didn't feel much fatigue, but the memory of being poked around by Miyuki felt very strange.
Ryusei formed the hand seal, preparing to make another clone. This jutsu was truly a godsend. As long as his body could handle it, he could increase his training speed by several times.
'With the Shadow Clone Jutsu, as long as I can persevere in my training, in just a few years I can be like my fellow transmigrator seniors: beating up Madara Uchiha and kicking Kaguya Otsutsuki. I'll marry a beautiful, rich woman and reach the pinnacle of the ninja world. Maybe I can even start a harem, hehehe.'
Poof!
Ryusei created a shadow clone, but its expression was completely different from his own. It was the kind of arrogant, "Long Aotian" expression that looked down on everyone else.
The shadow clone gave a wickedly charming smile. "Hahaha, I'm finally out! This ninja world is now mine to command! When the time comes, whether it's the Uchi..."
Ryusei threw a punch at the clone's face, sending it flying several meters before it dispersed with a poof.
"Hiss..." Ryusei clutched his own face and squatted down. He shouldn't have hit it so hard. The feeling of punching himself was both painful and incredibly weird.
"Hahaha!" Mito and Miyuki were laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight. "The personality of a shadow clone is related to the caster's state of mind at that moment. Whatever you're thinking, that's the kind of personality the clone will have."
Mito wiped a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye. "But I never expected you to have a heart that wants to conquer the ninja world, Ryusei. I always thought your dream was to become a chef."
Ryusei rubbed his jaw, stood up, and said with a serious, determined expression, "No! My dream is to become the strongest person in the ninja world!"
"Oh?" Mito teased. "Are you sure it's not to conquer the ninja world?"
Ryusei scratched his head, embarrassed. "That was just an accident. Watch, I'll make another one."
He got into position.
Since it's related to my thoughts, then I should just make a clone that likes to cook.
Poof! A cloud of smoke appeared. Ryusei's new shadow clone looked down at its clothes and muttered to itself, "I prefer that other look." The clone formed a hand seal. "Transform!"
The clone transformed into a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth with blue hair and a red headband. He wore a white top under a sleeveless red coat, white pants with red flame patterns on the cuffs, and a white cloth band tied around his arm.
The shadow clone clasped his fist in his hand in a formal greeting to Mito. "Special-Grade Chef Liu Maoxing pays his respects to Lady Uzumaki Mito."(ps : reference to the main character of the famous cooking manga/anime Chūka Ichiban!)
Ryusei's face darkened. His own shadow clone was dissatisfied with its appearance. However, since he could now create a proper clone, Ryusei went off to train his body, leaving "Liu Maoxing" to deal with Mito.
"Oh, a Special-Grade Chef," Mito said, glancing at the sullen-faced Ryusei walking away.
Still won't admit his dream is to be a chef. He's exposed himself now.
She turned back to the clone. "In that case, you must know how to cook everything. Then you'll be in charge of my family's Ryota's wedding banquet."
"Of course, Lady Mito. I will write up a list of ingredients now so we can purchase them."
"No problem. Miyuki, go get a pen and paper. Miyuki? Miyuki...?"
Miyuki was staring at Liu Maoxing, her eyes shining and her cheeks flushed. Her expression was identical to Sonoko Suzuki's whenever she saw the Kaito Kid.
Hearing her name being called, Miyuki snapped back to reality. Remembering her unseemly behavior, her face turned beet red, and she hurriedly turned to go get a pen and paper from inside.
'So embarrassing! I was just staring at him! Even though he's handsome, he's still that little kid's shadow clone! I must just be excited to eat his cooking. Yes, that must be it,' Miyuki thought, finding a reason to convince herself.
Miyuki brought back the pen and paper. Liu Maoxing quickly wrote down a list and handed it to Mito. "Lady Mito, these are the ingredients needed for one table of dishes."
"This many?" Mito passed the list to Miyuki. "Can you see how much this will cost?"
Miyuki managed logistics, so she knew the price of ingredients well.
After a short while, she finished her calculations. With a pained expression, she told Mito, "Lady Mito, the total is five hundred thousand ryo."
"What?" Mito snatched the list back. "How can it be so expensive?"
Her own wedding banquet had been a grand affair, but even then, one table hadn't exceeded one hundred and fifty thousand ryo. This was more than three times that amount. Furthermore, this time Ryota was marrying a princess. The Daimyo of the Land of Fire and other nobles would be attending, and with all the big and small ninja clans in the village, there would be at least a hundred tables. By that calculation, the banquet alone would cost at least fifty million ryo. Including other wedding expenses, the total would be at least one hundred million ryo.
Mito turned to the clone. "Ryusei, are there any other options? The war has just ended, and the clan doesn't have much money. It will be hard to justify spending so much on Ryota's wedding."
Liu Maoxing thought for a moment. "There is. This menu has thirty-six dishes, but apart from Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, the others aren't that expensive. We just need to replace it. Hmm... we can replace it with 'Cabbage in Boiled Water.' Also, please call me Liu Maoxing, Lady Mito."
Mito looked at the shadow clone that had even given itself a name. She had never encountered such an interesting clone before. "'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall' can be replaced, but isn't 'Cabbage in Boiled Water' a bit too simple?"
Liu Maoxing replied with a straight face, "Cabbage in Boiled Water does not mean literal boiled water and cabbage. It is a dish on par with Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. The 'boiled water' is a consommé, as clear as water, made by slowly simmering a rich broth of chicken, duck, pig trotters, and ham. While its aroma is not as potent as Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, their flavors are brilliant in their own different ways."
Mito was immediately interested. She grabbed Liu Maoxing's hand and headed straight for the kitchen. "Then let's try it out right now!"
Liu Maoxing was dragged into the kitchen, which was filled with young women from the Senju clan, all around fifteen or sixteen years old, youthful and beautiful. They were the ones with little talent for being a ninja and could only learn other skills to make a living.
Yamamoto Nami was teaching them how to make stir-fried dishes. The young women were all very diligent, taking notes on everything.