Chapter 6

"Koshino, are you kidding me?"

"Wait a minute! Is this… Shadow Imitation Jutsu?"

Koshino's excited voice rang out just as Shikaku was about to question him—

But before he could say a word, a dark shadow surged from beneath his feet, making him instantly shut up.

Because that shadow—

Was the undeniable mark of being caught in the Shadow Imitation Jutsu!

Even Chōza, standing nearby, looked completely stunned—

He had no idea how Koshino had managed to trap Shikaku.

However, Shikaku, being familiar with the technique, closed his eyes slightly, focusing his senses.

When he reopened them—

His gaze landed not on Koshino, but on a shuriken lying nearby.

Turning toward Chōza with a wry smile, he said,

"Chōza, look at this little brat—he planned everything from the start."

"Koshino's Shadow Imitation Jutsu had three layers of setup. Your shadow—was just one piece of his calculation!"

"That impressive?"

Hearing Shikaku's explanation, Chōza felt like he was living in a dream—

He stared at Koshino in utter disbelief.

Koshino, however, remained humble in front of his elders.

After flashing a small smile, he explained,

"Uncle Chōza, my first Shadow Imitation Jutsu was just to force Uncle Shikaku to move closer to you."

"You see, Shadow Imitation Jutsu has a limited range—but if I first connected to your shadow, and then extended it to Uncle Shikaku's shadow, I could force him to jump toward those shuriken."

As he spoke, Koshino pointed to the shuriken behind Shikaku.

Realization dawned on Chōza's face.

Those shuriken—

They were the same ones Koshino had thrown earlier.

At the time, against an elite jonin like Shikaku, they posed zero threat.

But who would have thought—

Koshino had already calculated their landing spots from the beginning?

Not only that—

He even anticipated that Shikaku would instinctively dodge toward them!

Now fully understanding how Shikaku lost, Chōza's expression shifted.

Just like Shikaku before—

He now looked at Koshino like he was some kind of genius monster.

"Shikaku… The Nara Clan's rise isn't far off."

A mix of admiration and envy flashed across Chōza's face as he let out a bitter laugh.

"Why doesn't the Akimichi Clan have a genius like Koshino?"

Shikaku, on the other hand, looked quite pleased.

With a smug smile, he pulled out a scroll from his robe, giving Koshino a look of approval.

"Well, Koshino, let's say you got lucky this time."

"The scroll is yours."

"Make sure to train hard, understood?"

"Yes!"

Taking the scroll, Koshino's face lit up with joy as he carefully stored it in his ninja pouch.

But just as he was eagerly preparing to go home and start training the Nara Clan's secret techniques—

Shikaku's stern voice suddenly rang out.

"But remember, Koshino—"

"This victory was just a fluke."

"You must train harder in the future."

"And while our Nara Clan's Shadow Imitation Jutsu is indeed powerful…"

"If you ever get careless while using it—"

"Hmph!"

"You'll be the one to lose."

"Snap!"

Out of nowhere, the connection between their shadows suddenly broke.

A cold sweat formed on Koshino's back.

At that moment, he fully understood why Shikaku had said what he did.

Shikaku was right.

The Shadow Imitation Jutsu was powerful—

But it would be a huge mistake to underestimate the powerful shinobi of this world just because of that.

After all—

Even in the original story, how many times did Shikamaru nearly die because he relied too much on the jutsu?

Shikaku's harsh words were actually a warning—

And Koshino felt nothing but gratitude for his lesson.

"Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Shikaku!"

"I'll work even harder—"

"And strive to become a great ninja like you!"

Flattery always worked—

And Shikaku was no exception.

Sure enough, hearing Koshino's earnest words, Shikaku smiled, stepped forward, and patted his shoulder firmly.

"Alright, Koshino—"

"You've been training for a long time. You should go home and rest."

"Yes, Uncle Shikaku!"

Stretching his sore wrist, Koshino couldn't help but marvel at the strength of a jonin while also silently lamenting his own weakness.

Truthfully, even if Shikaku hadn't warned him not to get complacent, Koshino had already planned to train diligently once he got home.

His goal?

To one day stand before a jonin as an equal.

Through this sparring session with Shikaku, Koshino had fully realized his own shortcomings—and just how powerful a jonin truly was.

Before this, in the original storyline, jonin often felt like background characters, so Koshino had subconsciously underestimated them.

But now?

Seeing Shikaku—a ninja famous for his intelligence—effortlessly overpower him using only taijutsu, without even relying on chakra...

Even though he had his golden finger (cheat ability), Koshino couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.

Becoming a jonin as soon as possible—

Had now become his short-term goal.

However, just as Koshino bid farewell to Shikaku and Chōza and was about to head home—

Chōza's voice suddenly called out, making him stop in his tracks.

"Uncle Chōza, do you need something?"

"Nothing much, just something small I wanted to give you."

Chōza chuckled and casually tossed a scroll to Koshino.

With a smile, he said,

"I don't have anything fancy to offer, and our Akimichi Clan mainly focuses on our clan's secret techniques."

"So, consider this scroll a gift."

"Remember to train your family's secret techniques first before moving on to what's in this scroll, got it?"

"Yes!"

Koshino nodded enthusiastically—he hadn't expected such an unexpected surprise!

But the real shock came when he unrolled the scroll and skimmed through it.

Hidden within the contents—

Was none other than the training method for the Shadow Clone Jutsu!

Realizing this, Koshino immediately expressed his deep gratitude to Chōza—

Then, without wasting another second—

He dashed home at full speed, eager to master what was essentially a game-breaking technique.

Meanwhile, as Koshino's figure disappeared into the distance—

Shikaku let out a sigh.

"Chōza, are you preparing for that plan?"

"Hmm. Our Akimichi Clan doesn't have a genius like Koshino, so we have to start preparing early."

Chōza sighed, then chuckled as he recalled Koshino's performance.

Half joking, half serious, he said,

"Shikaku, make sure to train Koshino well!"

"We owe too much to Roku as it is—"

"Besides, Koshino's talent is exceptional."

"If the Nara Clan doesn't plan on nurturing him properly… don't blame the Akimichi Clan for stepping in!"

"Hahahaha! As if that would happen!"

"Starting tomorrow, the Nara Clan's resources will be focused on Koshino!"

"Chōza, instead of worrying about my clan, you should go figure out if the Akimichi Clan has any geniuses of their own!"

As soon as Shikaku finished speaking

Chōza's face immediately fell into a troubled frown, making Shikaku chuckle again.

Meanwhile, back home

While the leaders of the Nara and Akimichi Clans were still discussing his future—

Koshino had already shut himself in his room, eagerly unrolling both of the precious scrolls he had just obtained.