But just a small change in how the technique was used could give Bunshin no Jutsu some real combat value.
For instance, what if the clone and the real body moved as one during close combat?
Normally, once the opponent figures out which is the clone, they can just ignore the illusions. But if the clone overlaps perfectly with the real body, it becomes impossible to disregard.
Let's say I throw a punch—how would the opponent know if it's a real hit or just a clone's illusion?
If they don't block or dodge and it turns out to be real, they get hit. But if they do dodge or block and it turns out to be a fake, they've wasted time—and opened themselves up.
It's not a particularly sophisticated move, but it could be quite effective early on… especially against rookies.
Natsuki even gave it a name: Bunshin Gattai no Jutsu – Clone Integration Technique.
He summoned a few wooden puppets again, formed hand seals, and layered a clone perfectly on top of himself. Then he began sparring with the puppets.
Naturally, he got distracted—and once again got smacked in the head by a puppet.
"Tch! Dammit—get outta here, get outta here!" Natsuki scowled. "Ugh, I really must be losing it. Puppets can't react to illusions. I need an actual person to test this on."
He realized he'd gotten too absorbed in his research again. Two whacks to the head from his own puppets in one night.
Still, this second project was more or less complete. He could test it later on a real opponent, maybe even during the next combat training class. It shouldn't raise too many eyebrows.
Next up was the third project: Chakra Shape Transformation and Chakra Threads.
Natsuki's expression grew serious. He had already trained himself to create a Rasengan, meaning he had already mastered chakra shape transformation once.
But this time, it was a bit different. What he wanted now was to create chakra threads.
Chakra threads were mainly used for puppet control—and they were actually quite practical.
But if he could combine chakra nature transformation with them, they could become truly deadly.
For example, if infused with wind-natured chakra, could the threads gain razor-sharp cutting power? If infused with water, especially sticky water, could they act like webs with high adhesion?
What if he infused them with lightning?
Or fire?
There was a lot to explore. But for now, since he hadn't mastered chakra nature transformation yet, he could only focus on creating the threads—making them as thin and durable as possible.
He started by concentrating chakra into his palm, then began to stretch it out like noodle dough. Soon it elongated into a chakra strand—but one wrong move, and snap!—it broke apart.
All that effort wasted.
But Natsuki wasn't discouraged. He tried again and again—like playing with dough. Thanks to his refined chakra control, once he focused completely, he managed to pull the chakra thinner and thinner. Half an hour later, he finally created a strand of chakra as fine as a strand of hair.
That was very thin. Any thinner would probably be meaningless.
However, when he gave it a light tug, it snapped immediately.
So yeah… thin, but not durable. He needed to keep improving.
Two hours later, Natsuki raised his left hand and flicked his fingers—five chakra threads shot out from his fingertips and neatly wrapped around one of the wooden puppets. With a small tug, he yanked the puppet over without the threads snapping.
Finally—durability secured.
Creating the threads wasn't too difficult. The hard part would be using them effectively.
Wrapping things up was just a basic technique. Controlling a puppet? That was the real deal.
But puppet mastery wasn't easy. It required precise technique. Sunagakure was the expert in this field. If Natsuki wanted to develop puppet skills himself, it'd take a lot of time.
Luckily, Natsuki didn't care much for puppet jutsu.
Puppets were flashy in the early arcs, but in the later stages, they barely saw use. Too much work for too little payoff.
Instead, he preferred the idea of infusing chakra threads with elemental properties—giving them qualities like cutting, adhesion, etc. If he could pull that off, they'd be way more useful in real combat.
With that, the third project was done. And he still had over six hours left.
Now came the final project: Chakra Nature Transformation + Water-Nature Chakra + Rasengan Fusion.
Natsuki stared blankly into space.
He had no clue where to start. He didn't have any actual knowledge in this area. No one was teaching him either. He couldn't just wish it into existence.
"…Screw it. Let's at least try."
He summoned a sheet of paper in his palm and began to visualize soaking it with water-nature chakra.
He was copying Naruto's original method. Naruto had wind-nature chakra and trained by imagining cutting a leaf in half—focusing on the sharp, slicing nature of wind.
Natsuki had water, earth, and lightning. He decided to start with water, and focused on its wet and flowing properties.
If he could soak the paper using chakra, that would count as success.
The next moment, he felt a cool sensation in his palm. The paper became damp—completely soaked.
But instead of being excited, Natsuki just looked weirded out.
He summoned another sheet of paper. Again, he imagined it soaking up water. Fssh, it got wet immediately.
Natsuki's mouth twitched. "…Yeah, no. This isn't success. It's just this lab screwing me over."
Everything in this lab bent to his will. If he thought of paper, it would appear. If he willed it to be wet, it would be wet. The lab's unique environment was interfering with his research.
Just great.
He sighed. Chakra nature transformation… it'd have to be done outside the lab. Preferably in the gravity training room or somewhere real.
For now, there was nothing more he could research.
It felt like such a waste of time.
"Research needs a foundation. Aside from chakra and the three basic techniques, I've got nothing. Even with all the knowledge I've gathered from books and lectures, it's still not enough. I need more. Like… ninjutsu. If only I'd learned a water release jutsu earlier, I wouldn't be fumbling around in the dark like this."
Looks like… he'd have to talk to Shino again.
But what could he trade this time?
Natsuki mulled over it for a long while, then sighed. Still no idea.
But he couldn't let the rest of his lab time go to waste. So he moved on to something else.
He summoned a shuriken using thought, and started brainstorming ninja tool concepts.
"What if… what if this shuriken wasn't just a normal shuriken?"
"Say it's made from brittle material—filled with knockout gas or poison. Coated black to look like the real deal. The moment an enemy blocks it—boom! The whole thing shatters, poison in their face. Even if they dodge, I could tag it with an explosive seal. Totally unavoidable!"
"Or, maybe it's a hollow-core shuriken with steel wire packed inside. The moment it hits the ground, a mechanism fires—launching the wires and wrapping around the enemy's clothes or skin. Instant immobilization!"
"Hmmm. Not bad. These ideas could be really useful in early-stage fights against rookies. Problem is, I don't have the cash to custom-make stuff like this. And besides, these kinds of weapons require excellent throwing skills."
"Thinking is fine and all… but in this lab, it doesn't mean anything unless I can actually make them work. I'd need someone in real life to help build this kind of stuff."
(End of Chapter)
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