Chapter 207: Leaving Again...

One month later, at Training Ground Seven.

[Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!]

Not far away, a rabbit-like shadow split into many copies, quickly filling up the ground.

"Huff…"

Link exhaled, swallowed a soldier pill, and then wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Once you've learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu, learning the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu isn't that difficult, and he soon grasped it. Compared to regular Shadow Clones, it doesn't differ much in how it separates the shadow from the main body. The main difference is simply that Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu can produce many clones from the same source.

There isn't a huge difference in how effectively it drains an opponent's chakra. More importantly, multiple enemy shadows working together make hand-to-hand combat exponentially more troublesome.

But for Link at his current level, it's only so-so. He can already deploy dozens of shadows equal to jōnin strength to gang up on the enemy. Even if the foe can summon many more shadows, it doesn't raise the upper limit of what a single shadow can do.

Plus, the chakra cost is too high.

Link sighed quietly. A normal Shadow Clone splits half of your chakra, but Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu automatically divides your chakra into as many portions as possible, leaving you with only one portion for yourself. It doesn't matter who uses it—they'd end up gasping for breath just the same.

It's more suited to someone like Naruto, who has massive chakra reserves and the Eight Trigrams Seal to break down Kurama's chakra, ensuring practically limitless stamina. For Link, its practicality is low. It's likely going to be shelved alongside other jutsu he rarely uses.

He looked over at Sasuke, who was sparring with Uchiha Fugaku. Since the two members of Team 7 (besides Sasuke) had been promoted to chūnin, they'd moved on. Naruto was training outside the village, so basically Team 7 only existed in name. Kakashi had begun taking solo missions.

After Haruno Sakura's promotion to chūnin, she was studying advanced genjutsu with Kurenai. Meanwhile, Sasuke spent his days near Link.

[I wonder what Tsunade's up to... she's been gone for so long. Could she have left the village again?]

Link was a bit puzzled. With Nawaki around, Tsunade was gradually overcoming her hemophobia and had already taken on important duties in the village. By her personality, she shouldn't be sneaking off anymore. Her sudden, mysterious disappearance felt off to him.

He'd hoped Tsunade would develop more potent medicines for him. He was just about ready to go cause trouble for Orochimaru, strike at the terror group Akatsuki, gather more jinchūriki, and open a new chapter of this story. But now his "healer" had gone missing.

[Oh well, I'll check in with Shizune again today. If Tsunade still isn't back, I'll just leave the village and pay Orochimaru a visit.]

Link did feel a slight sense of urgency.

It wasn't about the Ōtsutsuki or Shippūden events; with his abilities and jutsu, he could likely ambush and kill any jinchūriki if he really wanted to. The Chakra Scalpel was a perfect counter for Tailed Beasts, whose bodies were formed of solid chakra. The only reason he hadn't tried to just extract the Six-Tails' beast and keep it for himself was because he worried that the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique might not be able to save the host after losing its Tailed Beast—and he wanted them alive for further use.

What did pressure him was the "outdated" villain Orochimaru. The idea of him researching some "prototype" using the Five Elements Seal, harnessing natural energy—just the sound of it was intimidating. If Orochimaru ended up creating some overly powerful monster, that would be trouble.

He didn't want to behave like some clueless villain who lets a threat mature unchecked. He planned to nip this in the bud.

Pondering that, Link rested a moment. After greeting the Uchiha father and son, he headed to the Medical Corps building.

Inside, Shizune, Hanpō, and several other medical specialists were busy with Hidan, conducting medical experiments. When Link arrived, they all greeted him briefly, then returned to their work. Even Hidan spat at him in "welcome," which led to a burst of buzzing from the shock collars, leaving him cross-eyed.

The Medical Corps' restraint for "Mr. D" was a series of rings fitted around his neck, wrists, and upper legs. They measured things like blood pressure, heartbeat, and blood flow; getting even slightly agitated triggered electric shocks, preventing him from making reckless moves. The shock intensity increased with emotional agitation. There were also buzzer alarms that sounded upon reaching a certain threshold, prompting an internal injector to deliver a super-concentrated anesthetic.

In the beginning, Mr. D had tried hurting himself in hopes of leveraging his immortality. But eventually, he gave up resisting. Now, under normal circumstances, he showed almost no rebellious impulses.

Yet whenever Link appeared, Mr. D still got riled up.

"Hmph." Shizune rolled her eyes at Link's feigned friendly greeting to Hidan, which made the subject "shut down" yet again. She removed her gloves and asked, "Need something?"

"If it's about Lady Tsunade, she isn't back yet."

She was starting to worry herself. Knowing some inside details, she realized those special natural energies were extremely destructive. A single mistake could be fatal, and even with summons helping, the risk was high. She'd tried to talk Tsunade out of training in such a method, but it was pointless. Tsunade had decided.

"I see." Link nodded. Not a surprise that Tsunade was still gone. "Could you prepare some more medicine for me, and also post another mission to find rare herbs?"

"No problem." Shizune led him along as she answered, then asked, "You're leaving the village again, aren't you?"

"Mm. I'll be entrusting Sasuke to you," Link said as he followed behind.

They arrived at the pharmacy room. Shizune paused at the door and glanced back. "My treatment results aren't nearly as good as your jutsu. You should let him know not to push himself too hard—"

Before long, she finished packing the medicine. Usually, it was measured out in small bundles, but large amounts were sealed in scrolls. Ever since Link became a frequent visitor, they'd stocked up on extra sacks and bags for takeout.

Shizune handed him a burlap sack full of medicine. Looking at the child who didn't seem any different from a couple of months ago, she quietly sighed.

[Too bad I haven't learned the Yin Seal to stay forever young… sigh.]

But for this little brat in front of her, would eternal youth be a blessing or a curse?

She said nothing more. Returning to her office, she filled out a mission form for the Medical Corps, stamped it with Lady Tsunade's seal, collected the payment for the medicine, and watched Link leave. Gazing at the empty desk and chair, she looked both nostalgic and lonely.

[Lady Tsunade, please come back safe and sound.]

…

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, partner, nya!"

Ninja cat Hina crouched confidently on a shadow's shoulder, trying her best to suck in the pudge on her belly. Her clothes, which had been slightly baggy, were now stretched tight.

Link felt like he wasn't raising a cat so much as a pig. After a moment's silence, he said:

"I think I'd better buy you a new outfit."

"?!"

Hina's fur puffed up. "I'm not fat, nya!"

"These clothes just shrank, nya!"

Link patted her head. "Sure, sure. By the way, as a reward for your loyalty this past month, I've decided to get you a new outfit, plus new toys and, from what I hear, a brand-new batch of special cat treats."

"I hear they're matatabi-flavored."

"Thank you, partner, nya~." Hina beamed, then quietly arched her back, pulling in her belly.

[Maybe I really have indulged too much lately. I'd better start working out more.]

She tapped the shadow's arm, hinting for it to block the view of her bulge, her expression a bit worried.

[I can't let Tenka laugh at me the next time we meet… Ugh, such a headache.]

Link took Hina to a pet store, bought new clothes, cat treats, and drinks. Since ninja cats can use the summoning technique, they'd just seal the extra goods in a scroll. Hina could retrieve them as needed, saving Link a lot of hassle. Truly convenient to keep a ninja cat around.

Oh, right. During this past month—aside from daily training and learning how to steadily cast Multiple Shadow Clones—he'd also attempted Reverse Summoning training, which ended in failure.

He couldn't establish a contract with the ninja cat clan that would allow Hina to Reverse Summon him. When he tried it on his own, it simply turned into an ordinary summoning, connecting only to the Pure Land. That's not what he wanted—he wanted to teleport himself, not link to the afterlife again.

Well, if he ever did manage to create some kind of "Pure Land telecommunications network," maybe his "Pure Land Dream Company" really would shine. But anyway…

Having handled the ninja cat's needs, Link slung his scroll over his back, left the village once more, and headed south. The closest of Orochimaru's bases to Konoha was the Southern Hideout—a small island surrounded by ocean, not far from the Land of Waves.

That meant he could also conveniently swing by and pick up Utakata.

With the Earth Dragon as transport, Link and Hina soon arrived near his base in the Land of Waves.

"You're back."

Having been gone for over a month, Link found Utakata more or less unchanged, still dressed in identical robes. He must have bought a dozen duplicates—once, Link saw them all hanging out to dry, all the same style.

"You've adopted her?" Utakata asked, eyeing Hina with interest.

"Mya~…"

The poor cat, under the pressure of a jinchūriki, didn't dare puff up or show any emotion, so she just clung to the shadow's arms with a pitiful whimper.

"We've got new action to take," Link said. The plan was for Utakata to accompany him. No sense in wasting the ally he'd spent so much time recruiting. Link was still the same as ever: if he could avoid fighting himself, he would, unless the enemy was tough enough—like Kakuzu, strong in both close and long-range, able to escape underground with his black threads. In that scenario, three elite jōnin plus Link's shadows might not suffice, so Link would take matters into his own hands.

But for facing Orochimaru, an old acquaintance, there was no need for that.

"All right." Utakata put away his bubble-blower, ready to head out anytime. He asked no questions—why or what they were going to do.

~~~

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