After dinner, Hiroshi sat on the living room sofa and let out a burp.
Shin-chan lay sprawled on the tatami, looking at who knew what.
Hiroshi's gaze swept around the living room and landed on the scroll beside the coffee table.
"Shin-chan."
"Mm?"
"What is this?"
Shin-chan followed Hiroshi's gaze.
"Grandpa Third gave it to me." He crawled up, picked up the scroll, and handed it to Hiroshi. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Hiroshi's brows moved slightly as he spread the scroll open in his hands.
The writing on it was densely packed, with some diagrams of chakra circulation interspersed between the lines.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu..." Hiroshi's eyes moved downward from the very first character. "This is a forbidden jutsu."
"Grandpa Third said that too." Shin-chan looked up at him. "He said ordinary people can't learn it."
Hiroshi continued reading. The more he read, the tighter his brows furrowed.
"Shin-chan."
"Mm?"
"Listen carefully to Dad. This jutsu requires an extremely large amount of chakra." Hiroshi's finger stopped on a sentence marked in red. "If someone without enough chakra forces themselves to use it, it may cause chakra exhaustion and endanger their life."
He raised his head and looked at Shin-chan.
"Did you understand that part? Forcing yourself to use it is very dangerous."
Shin-chan blinked. "Oh."
Hiroshi waited for him to continue.
Shin-chan looked back at him.
The two stared at each other for about three seconds.
"That's it?" Hiroshi asked.
"Mm."
"All you have to say is 'oh'?"
Shin-chan scratched his head. "But Grandpa Third said this jutsu isn't hard for me."
Hiroshi opened his mouth.
If Lord Hokage had given this jutsu to Shin-chan, he must have had his reasons.
Objectively speaking, Shin-chan's chakra reserves and talent were indeed absurd.
But the four words on the scroll would not leave his mind no matter what.
Endanger their life.
What if?
What if Shin-chan was that "what if"?
Hiroshi took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
But he also understood.
Shin-chan was already a ninja.
In the world of ninja, the stronger you were, the greater your chances of coming back alive.
He didn't want his son to come into contact with forbidden jutsu so early, but he wanted even less for his son to one day face danger without enough cards in his hand.
Hiroshi was silent for a long while before finally sighing.
"Shin-chan."
"Mm?"
"Come here. Dad will read it to you once."
Shin-chan sat cross-legged in front of Hiroshi.
"Listen carefully." Hiroshi spread the scroll between them.
"Mm."
Hiroshi's finger landed on the first line of the scroll, pointing downward character by character.
"The Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu is an A-rank forbidden technique that uses a massive amount of chakra to increase the number of shadow clones, allowing the user to create up to thousands of physical clones at once."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up. "Thousands?"
"Don't interrupt." Hiroshi's finger continued moving down. "This technique evenly distributes the user's chakra among each physical clone. Each clone possesses independent consciousness, memory, and the ability to act."
"What does independent mean?"
"It means every clone is just like you. They can talk by themselves, walk by themselves, and eat by themselves."
Shin-chan's mouth fell open.
"Then can I make my clones help me eat green peppers?"
Hiroshi was silent for a second. "In theory, yes."
Shin-chan's eyes shone as if he had discovered something incredible.
Hiroshi tapped the scroll with his finger. "There's more."
His finger moved to the line marked in red, and his pace slowed.
"Using this technique requires an extremely large amount of chakra." His voice sank. "If someone without sufficient chakra forces themselves to use it, it may cause chakra exhaustion and endanger their life."
After reading that line, Hiroshi raised his head and looked at Shin-chan.
"Repeat that sentence for Dad."
Shin-chan tilted his head and thought about it. "If you don't have enough chakra, it's very dangerous."
"Right." Hiroshi nodded. "So if you feel like you don't have enough chakra, you absolutely cannot use this jutsu. Understand?"
"I understand."
Hiroshi looked at him again, then continued moving his finger down.
"After the clones are dispelled, their experience, memories, and fatigue will all return to the original body..."
He finished reading everything on the scroll, then looked up at Shin-chan.
"Did you understand?"
Shin-chan scratched his head. "Not really."
"But that's fine." Shin-chan stood up. "I'll know once I try it."
Before Hiroshi could say anything, Shin-chan had already crossed his hands together and formed a cross seal.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Wait—"
Before his words could fall, a series of poof, poof, poof sounds rang through the living room.
White smoke exploded from the floor all the way to the ceiling, filling the entire living room.
When the smoke cleared, Hiroshi froze completely.
The living room was full of Shin-chans.
"Wow!!!"
"So many me!"
"Are you me?"
"I'm you!"
"Then who are you?"
"I'm Shin-chan!"
All the Shin-chans began talking at the same time, and the living room exploded into chaos.
Hiroshi turned his head left and right, a layer of sweat appearing on his forehead.
"Shin-chan... all of you... quiet down first..."
Not a single Shin-chan listened to him.
The Shin-chans on the sofa were squeezed together, and the one in the middle had his face squashed out of shape.
"It's so crowded."
"Move over a little."
"I can't move."
"Then I'll move."
"You can't move either."
Some of the Shin-chans poked each other's cheeks.
"Your face is so soft."
"Your face is soft too."
"No, my face is the soft one."
"Then both our faces are soft."
Hiroshi felt like he had been drowned in Shin-chans.
"Shin-chan."
No one answered him.
Because all the Shin-chans were talking at the same time and squeezing each other at the same time.
Hiroshi shouted again, "Shin-chan, release the jutsu."
The Shin-chan closest to him looked up. "How do I release it?"
"The method to release it is... to withdraw your chakra, or for the caster to actively—"
All the Shin-chans closed their eyes at the same time.
Then another series of poof, poof, poof sounds rang out, and white smoke once again filled the living room.
When the smoke dispersed, only one Shin-chan remained.
The living room was a complete mess. Sofa cushions had fallen to the floor, the coffee table was crooked, and even half the curtain had been pulled down.
After Shin-chan recovered, he looked around.
"Wow."
Hiroshi also looked around, and an ominous feeling rose in his heart.
Just then, Misae walked to the living room doorway. Her gaze moved from the messy living room to the one big and one small person sitting on the floor.
The vein on her forehead twitched.
"You two!!!"
Hiroshi and Shin-chan both shrank their necks.
"You made the living room like this!!!"
Misae squeezed the words out through her teeth one by one.
"Clean it up right now!"
Shin-chan climbed up from the floor and picked up a sofa cushion near his feet.
Hiroshi also got up and straightened the coffee table.
Misae stood at the doorway, watching the two of them bend over to pick things up, and took a deep breath.
"Next time, no using ninjutsu in the living room."
"Okay."
Shin-chan answered very readily.
Hiroshi looked at the back of Shin-chan's head.
This kid's chakra reserves really were ridiculous.