The Treacherous Shadow Clone Jutsu!

Hibari entered the room and, sure enough, his casually placed money box had been opened, emptied, and left on the floor.

"How rampant, how arrogant, how utterly lawless! Is there no justice? Is there no natural law?!" Hibari cursed, fuming.

He then walked over, tidied the wooden box, and busied himself cleaning the room, which Tsunade had dirtied with her footprints.

Although Hibari knew that the two 'culprits,' Hashirama and Tsunade, were most likely enjoying themselves at the gambling den they frequented in the village, Hibari didn't furiously go to confront them.

Firstly, Mito had already promised Hibari that she'd make Hashirama pay when he returned. Secondly, Tobirama had explicitly stated that Hibari's money would be deducted from the Hokage's salary this month and reimbursed to him.

So, Hibari hadn't really suffered any loss. If he were to cause a scene at the gambling den, it would inevitably lead to rumors and could easily undermine the Hokage's authority.

Therefore, Hibari felt that such matters were best kept within the family; there was no need to cause a village-wide stir, which would also harm the Senju clan's reputation.

And as for being angry, Hibari wasn't actually that angry. Although Hashirama always took Tsunade to do inappropriate things, which was annoying, Hibari also clearly knew how much Hashirama cared for him.

After tidying his room, Hibari took out the scroll related to the "Shadow Clone Jutsu" and "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu" that Tobirama had given him.

He then went to his small courtyard, sat under the shade of a tree, opened the scroll, and began to study it carefully.

The Shadow Clone Jutsu, while far more powerful than a regular Clone Jutsu, was ultimately a branch of cloning jutsu. Hibari already knew the Clone Jutsu, so now, looking at the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he found it incredibly simple.

"It's nothing more than adding elements of chakra and materialization to the basic Clone Jutsu. The created shadow clones can have independent consciousness and a certain level of resistance to damage... Hmm, and anything the clones experience will be transmitted back to the original body after they dissipate..." Hibari murmured softly.

These details were consistent with his previous impression of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Looking closely, he also saw some precautions written later, such as the original body receiving the accumulated fatigue from the clones after they dissipate.

No wonder Tobirama wanted to classify the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu as a Kinjutsu. If one were to suddenly accumulate a large amount of fatigue, it was entirely possible to drop dead on the spot, caught off guard.

After reviewing the details regarding hand signs and chakra manipulation, Hibari confidently prepared to try the ninjutsu.

Actually, hand signs are primarily used to assist a shinobi in releasing ninjutsu. Through the sequence of 'signs,' they create a linkage with the chakra within the body, thereby manipulating chakra to be released in a special way, completing the ninjutsu the user wishes to perform.

In essence, it has no fundamental connection to ninjutsu itself. After all, there are infinitely many ninjutsu, but only twelve 'signs.' It's like an equation, a method used to 'interpret' the 'problem' that is ninjutsu in detail.

Just as many math experts can provide correct answers without excessive steps, if a user is extremely familiar with the ninjutsu they wish to perform, then simplifying the 'signs' is standard practice. Sometimes, a single sign is enough to release very powerful and complex ninjutsu.

Of course, if you're even more impressive, you don't even need signs; as long as your chakra obeys, you can still release the ninjutsu you desire.

Like Hashirama, who stole his money—don't let his casual demeanor fool you; when he gets serious, his power is extraordinary. For many powerful ninjutsu, he doesn't need to make hand signs at all. Most of the time, he just claps his hands together in front of his chest, striking that pose, and it feels like he can release any jutsu!

However, Hibari was still learning and using the Shadow Clone Jutsu for the first time, so he wasn't overly arrogant. He diligently formed the hand signs.

Then, the chakra in his body followed the sequence of the signs. When the hand signs were complete, Hibari shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

But just as he felt his internal chakra being evenly split into two to create a clone, he suddenly felt his entire being become somewhat sluggish. Then, the chakra within him abruptly became agitated.

With a soft 'bang!', Hibari's Shadow Clone Jutsu didn't activate. Not only that, the sudden failure of the ninjutsu also made Hibari feel a slight discomfort; his chest felt heavy.

"Impossible! This jutsu is only a B-rank ninjutsu, and it's considered relatively simple among B-rank ninjutsu. I made no mistakes at all in chakra manipulation... How could it fail?" Hibari, who had been full of confidence, muttered in confusion, rubbing his somewhat aching chest.

"Could it be that Tobirama-jiisan gave me a fake scroll? No, that can't be right. Why would he play such a trick on me when he has nothing better to do? And the theory of this jutsu seems perfectly normal; it doesn't look like a fake at all..." Hibari adjusted his state slightly, then once again assumed the hand sign posture, preparing to try again.

This time, Hibari was even more careful, calmly shouting again, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Immediately, the same problem as before resurfaced. Just as the Shadow Clone Jutsu was about to complete, Hibari once again felt the chakra become sluggish. Then, with a soft 'bang!', Hibari's Shadow Clone Jutsu failed again.

"What the hell! This can't be happening!" Hibari cursed in disbelief, clutching his aching chest.

To think that in the future, Uzumaki Naruto, the protagonist, would glimpse the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu and immediately create dozens, even hundreds, of shadow clones, while he, after carefully studying it, failed twice in a row just trying to create a single shadow clone?!

This instantly shook Hibari's previously confident mindset. More critically, he believed that all his procedures were perfectly standard, and the chakra he evenly distributed was neither too much nor too little!

The first failure could be attributed to overlooking details or bad luck, but after the second failure, Hibari no longer doubted those possibilities. He was certain that either Tobirama had given him a 'fake,' or something unusual was happening with this jutsu specifically when he tried to use it.

Frowning slightly, the first thing Hibari suspected was his own problematic 'Human-Human Fruit' ability. Thinking about it, there might indeed be some connection between this ability and the Shadow Clone Jutsu... After all, one is a Devil Fruit ability that affects 'people,' and the other is a ninjutsu that creates a 'person'...

"This time, I won't rush to release the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I need to properly sense the anomaly this jutsu causes in my body..." Hibari murmured softly.

He then performed the hand signs for the Shadow Clone Jutsu again. However, this time, he didn't immediately manipulate his chakra to release the ninjutsu as before. Instead, he slowed down the flow of chakra within his body to the lowest speed, slowly releasing this simple 'Shadow Clone Jutsu.'

Everything seemed fine. Just as Hibari felt his internal chakra split in two and was about to materialize as a shadow clone, that sluggish feeling reappeared.

But this time, because he had significantly slowed down, Hibari's Shadow Clone Jutsu didn't immediately fail. This allowed Hibari to instantly detect what was wrong.

'Damn it, not enough chakra? How is that possible?! A single Shadow Clone Jutsu isn't enough with half my chakra?!' Hibari thought to himself, utterly astonished.

But despite his disbelief, Hibari, determined to figure out where the ninjutsu was going wrong and how to fix it, hardened his resolve. He completely disregarded Tobirama's words about 'evenly distributing' chakra from the scroll.

'Since you want more chakra, I'll give it to you!' Hibari thought fiercely.

The next second, he no longer forcibly distributed the chakra in his body. He let the Shadow Clone Jutsu draw chakra from him freely. Once Hibari opened the floodgates, the chakra in his body began to be frantically absorbed by the ninjutsu.

In just an instant, Hibari's massive chakra, far exceeding that of an ordinary person, was completely drained, hitting rock bottom. This sudden change even made Hibari's legs buckle involuntarily.

However, although his internal chakra was completely drained, Hibari didn't feel any sluggishness this time.

With a soft 'bang!', a figure identical to Hibari appeared beside him, supporting the somewhat exhausted Hibari.

'A B-rank Shadow Clone Jutsu... Is it this difficult for me? It drained all my chakra just to create one shadow clone? If I were to use the 'Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu,' wouldn't I just die on the spot?' Hibari thought helplessly, looking at the shadow clone supporting him.

He then quickly examined the shadow clone in front of him. It looked no different from himself, but Hibari still felt that something wasn't quite right...

"How do you feel?" Hibari asked the shadow clone.

The shadow clone replied normally, "There's no special feeling, just that I feel like I've come alive, and my chakra is extremely plentiful."

Hibari was fuming upon hearing this. 'Damn it, how can you not feel plentiful? All my chakra went into your belly!'

However, the shadow clone saying it felt like it had 'come alive' caught Hibari's attention. He then stroked his chin, staring at the shadow clone, a hint of 'malice' occasionally flashing in his eyes.

"Hey, what are you trying to do? I'm telling you now, we're the same person. Whatever bad things you do to me, you'll experience them too when the jutsu dispels!" the shadow clone said warily, seeing Hibari's ill-intentioned gaze.

"Hahahaha, look at what you're saying. We're the same person. Would I make things difficult for myself? Come on, don't be so tense..." Hibari grinned and said with a laugh.

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