As evening settled over Konoha, Shinra walked down the streets with a dejected expression. Earlier that day, he had visited a small shinobi supply shop and asked the owner if he had any chakra paper.
The answer was yes.
The problem? The price was a staggering 50,000 ryō. It would take him years of saving his academy allowance without spending a single Ryo.
In six months, he'd only managed to save 5,000 ryō—not even enough to scratch the surface.
Chakra Paper is made from a rare tree that has the capacity to store chakra, it is also one of the reason why many villages wanted to conquer Konoha.
'I need a way to make money,' Shinra thought, frustration bubbling in his chest. 'But what can a six-year-old even do to earn that much?'
Sighing, he turned down a side street and began his evening training routine.
'Knowing my affinity would really help shape my path. Sure, you can train in any of the five elements, but progressing without a natural affinity is much harder.'
But there was no use worrying about it now.
For the moment, it was time to begin ninjutsu training—starting with the E-rank Clone Technique, one of the three foundational jutsu required to graduate from the academy.
Back in his room, Shinra stood silently on the floor. He had long since memorized the hand signs, so he focused instead on molding chakra—carefully mixing his physical and spiritual energy.
Hand signs existed to guide chakra, to help use it efficiently. With jutsu mastery, a shinobi could reduce the number of signs required, or even eliminate them entirely.
Ram → Snake → Tiger
A puff of smoke filled the room, followed by a sad-looking clone that lay deflated on the floor.
'As expected. The control isn't the problem. The amount of chakra is.'
Too much chakra, and he would waste energy. Too little, and the clone would appear malformed. The key was finding the exact threshold required.
So, he did what made the most sense.
He deliberately overloaded the next attempt with chakra.
Another puff of smoke—and a perfect-looking clone appeared, but he did waste a portion of the chakra refined.
'Alright. Now, decrease the chakra by small intervals until the clone fails. That threshold will be the baseline for the perfect balance.'
The clone technique is used to distract enemies, unlike the shadow clone it doesn't have a substance which means it is incapable of doing damage.
It was simple theory but took hours to execute.
He repeated the jutsu again and again into the night—until he finally collapsed from exhaustion. By the end, he had narrowed the required chakra input within a three percent margin of error.
…
The next day, at the academy training grounds, Shinra stood before a row of neatly arranged targets.
Behind him stood Reigen and the rest of the class.
His stance relaxed. Then—swish—his hands moved in a blur. The sound of shuriken hitting dead-center rang out across the field.
"Shinra—10 out of 10," Reigen called out, smiling as he recorded the results. "Well done."
"Next: Hashimoto Kenta."
Kenta stepped forward confidently, hands in his pockets. His trademark metal helmet glinted in the sun.
He grinned, pulled out his shuriken, and hurled them just like he'd practiced.
Only… there was no sound of impact.
He turned toward the target. Nothing.
Then he turned around—and found all ten shuriken embedded in the dirt near the students behind him. One had almost struck Ren, who glared at Kenta like he wanted to murder him on the spot.
Thankfully, Reigen had intervened fast enough.
THWACK.
Reigen's fist struck the top of Kenta's helmet with a loud metallic clang. The shockwave traveled straight through his bones.
"Ten laps around the playground during lunch break," Reigen said flatly. "0 out of 10. Practice harder after school."
Kenta scratched the back of his head. "Yes, Sensei…"
Reigen sighed. His expression softened slightly.
"If you manage to get 10 out of 10 before the exam in two weeks… I'll teach you a jutsu of your choice."
Kenta's head shot up. "Really?!"
The class instantly erupted into noise.
"Favouritism!"
"Why just him?"
"He nearly took my head off!"
Reigen ignored them. His thoughts drifted quietly.
'If that kid even manages a 4 or 5, I'd be happy… he's one of the reasons this class average is so damn low.'
What Reigen didn't expect—what he couldn't expect—was the blonde-haired boy standing a few steps behind.
Shinra narrowed his eyes. 'Kenta… you really are my best friend after all.'
A faint smirk curled his lips.
'I've been wondering how to get my hands on the Shadow Clone Jutsu. And now you're going to hand it to me on a silver platter.'
Of course, even if Reigen offered "any jutsu," Shinra wouldn't be foolish enough to request something ridiculous like an S-rank technique. That was a fast-track to getting thrown into a dark room by the higher-ups.
But a B-rank jutsu?
Now that was within reach.
…
After class, Shinra approached Kenta with a relaxed smile. "Yo, Kenta. You heading to train now?"
Kenta lit up. "Oh, my right-hand man! You came at the perfect time. We're missing one person for hide and seek—can you be the seeker?"
Shinra's smile didn't change, but his eyes darkened slightly.
In his mind, the Shadow Clone scroll floated just out of reach behind a thick wall of glass.
He placed a friendly arm around Kenta's shoulder and whispered, "No. I came to tell you that I found a shortcut to becoming Hokage."
Kenta's jaw dropped. "Really?!"
"Shhh! You want everyone to hear?" Shinra whispered, glancing around. "Follow me."
He led him toward the forest path behind the academy.
When they reached a clearing beneath the Hokage Monument, Shinra stopped and pointed at the mountain faces.
"You know what all the Hokage have in common?"
Kenta frowned. "Uh… they're all really strong?"
"That too," Shinra said. "But did you know every single one of them used the same jutsu?"
Kenta's eyes widened. "For real?"
Shinra leaned closer, voice low. "It's called the Shadow Clone Jutsu. A B-rank technique."
"Shadow Clone Jutsu…" Kenta repeated, eyes sparkling.
"If you pass Reigen-sensei's challenge—get 10 out of 10 before the exam—you can ask for that jutsu as your reward. He did say any jutsu, right?"
Kenta clenched his fists. "As expected of my right-hand man! Just you wait—I'll pass that test and become Hokage right after!"
He turned to walk off triumphantly.
But before he got far, he felt a cold tap on his neck.
"Kenta," Shinra said quietly. "As your right-hand man, shouldn't I help you train for it?"
Kenta blinked. "Train?"
"For the next four hours," Shinra said, eyes sharp. "We're staying right here. Shurikenjutsu only."
There was no room for argument.
Shinra drilled him relentlessly, correcting his footwork, elbow angles, grip pressure—every detail. It was grueling, but Kenta gave it his all.
By the end of four hours, he finally hit one target.
"Good enough for now," Shinra muttered, glancing at the darkening sky.
He walked Kenta home afterward. The boy lived with a friend of his late father—both his parents had died in the war before he was old enough to remember them.
"You didn't have to walk me back," Kenta said, rubbing his arm. "I'm not gonna get lost or anything."
Shinra smiled and patted his shoulder. "We're friends, right?"
Kenta's eyes welled up with tears. He looked like he wanted to say something heartfelt.
Then Shinra added, "Sleep early tonight. I'll see you in a few hours."
Kenta froze. "…Wait, what?"
But Shinra was already gone.