Chapter 18 - First Year 09.

[Chapter Size: 1400 Words.]

Third Person POV

Ninja Academy, Konoha, Year 32.

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On the following day, Minato was already seated in his place, with Mikoto by his side, discussing something intensely. "What was that technique?" Mikoto looked curiously at Minato. "Something I've been training for many months, over half a year," Minato calmly replied.

"Does it have to do with that strange training you've been doing after class, isn't it? Dodging trees blindfolded helps that much in improving your reflexes?" Mikoto asked curiously. "More or less, I managed to develop a technique in the midst of that..." Minato calmly responded.

"Well, everyone is quite curious about it, they're still figuring out how you managed to defeat that Senju..." Mikoto said, pointing towards the classroom. All the students were looking at Minato while murmuring something about him among their groups. 'Great... I hope I don't attract too much attention... I just won a fight... Minato murmured, looking at his classmates with a raised eyebrow.' Minato thought a bit frustrated.

The conversation between the two was interrupted with Tsuna entering the room and going to her usual place next to Minato. The girl was carrying an almost palpable excitement as she approached. "Good morning, Minato, Good morning, Uchiha!" Even Tsuna didn't make her usual grimace when she spoke to Mikoto. 

"Someone seems happy..." Mikoto murmured, and Minato looked at the Senju girl curiously. "Let me tell you, it was hard... But my great-grandmother gave me the scroll!" Tsuna spoke, barely containing her enthusiasm. She knew how important it was to get that scroll.

"Really? That's great! Where is it?" Minato replied, equally excited. The possibility of learning the Shadow Clone Jutsu made him eager to start. "I'm not just going to give you the scroll like that!" Tsuna said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. She couldn't help but have a little fun with the situation.

"What? Why?" Minato asked, his expression becoming a mix of surprise and suspicion. "Because we're going to train together!" Tsuna revealed with a small smile. She knew that training together would benefit not just Minato but also help her improve her own skills, and she didn't want to fall behind Minato after yesterday's fight.

"Hm... okay... I'm fine with that then..." Minato replied, he had nothing against training with this girl. "Hahaha! You don't think I'll let you surpass me that easily! Besides, I want you to show me that training of yours; I still can't believe you beat me like that, we need to have a rematch!" Tsuna grumbled. Minato nodded in agreement. "Sure, we can train together. It will be good to have someone to practice with," he said with a small smile.

"HEY, what are you mumbling over there..." Mikoto spoke from the other side of Minato, interrupting the conversation and showing her usual curiosity. "Just training, Uchiha!" Tsuna replied in a slightly displeased tone.

"Oh? After Minato defeated you, you finally stopped being lazy?" Mikoto teased, a mocking smile on her lips. "When was I lazy? If you want to provoke me, at least speak the truth, I'm going to do training that will knock you down!" Tsuna retorted.

"I want to see that!" Mikoto challenged, clearly amused by the exchange of barbs. She then turned her attention back to Minato, quickly changing the subject. "Speaking of training, I have something for you." "For me?" Minato raised an eyebrow, surprised by the sudden change of focus.

"Yes, take this!" Mikoto extended a box to Minato. Curious, he opened it and was surprised to see a dozen real kunais inside. "This!" Minato couldn't hide his surprise and gratitude. The wooden kunais he had been using were limited and didn't reflect the reality of a ninja combat.

"You keep complaining about using wooden kunais, here's a set for you to train with!" Mikoto said with a wink, clearly pleased to be able to help her friend. "How suspicious, you giving a gift to him... You're not interested in Minato, are you?" Tsuna tried to provoke.

"Unlike you, I don't need to make a bet to give a friend a present!" Mikoto retorted arrogantly. "What did you say!" Tsuna didn't like that comment and was ready to respond in kind.

"Hey, calm down... Thank you, Mikoto, this will help me a lot!" Minato intervened before the discussion between the two escalated further.

After a day full of theoretical and practical lessons, the bell finally rang, announcing the end of the activities at the academy. Minato and Tsuna bid farewell to Mikoto and the other classmates. As they left the room, they went directly to the training site to study the scroll Tsuna had obtained from Mito with the jutsu created by the second Hokage.

As soon as they arrived at the training field, a familiar and isolated area surrounded by trees and dense vegetation, both prepared to begin. Tsuna took out the scroll and carefully unrolled it. The instructions for the Shadow Clone Jutsu were there, written with detail and precision.

"Are you ready?" Tsuna asked, looking at Minato with a serious expression. She knew that mastering this technique would not be easy and would require impeccable concentration and chakra control. "Always, let's start..." Minato responded.

Tsuna began by explaining the fundamentals of the jutsu, the way the chakra should be shaped and divided. Minato listened attentively, absorbing every word. After the explanation, they began to practice, trying repeatedly to shape their chakra correctly to create a clone with the crossed finger seal.

In the beginning, their attempts were frustrating. Creating a clone that was more than a mere illusion was more difficult than they had imagined. But Minato didn't give up. With each attempt, he adjusted his technique, learning from his mistakes, and striving to better understand the jutsu's complexity.

Tsuna, in turn, also tried focusing her chakra with her seal, but she still had as much difficulty as Minato; she was learning while correcting Minato when necessary and encouraging him to keep trying. The sun began to set, casting long shadows over the training field, but the two children still persisted, driven by determination and the desire to master the Jutsu.

As night fell and the stars began to appear in the sky, Minato finally made a breakthrough. With a concentrated effort, he shaped his chakra more successfully and, to his surprise, a clone collapsed on the ground appeared beside him. "What is this?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Tsunade began to laugh at Minato's small clone; it was a copy of the clone Naruto created in the first episode, if that could even be called a clone. "That was terrible..." Minato had to admit, looking at his clone.

They tried for a while longer, but they reached their limits, exhausted but not discouraged; they finally agreed to end the training for that day. "Let's try again tomorrow. It's our day off from the academy, so we'll have the whole day to practice," Tsuna suggested.

Minato nodded in agreement, seeing that it was pointless to continue and everything was dark. "Tomorrow, without a doubt, we'll make more progress," he said, confidence in his voice bringing a smile to Tsuna's face.

The next day, with a break from the academy, both met at the same training field in the morning. The sun was still low in the sky, casting a soft light over the forest. They began immediately, picking up where they had left off and striving even harder to master the technique.

"I did it!" Tsuna was the first to make a clone.

Finally, as the afternoon progressed, Minato made a new attempt to form a clone. He shaped his chakra with precision, and this time, a stable and solid clone appeared beside him. The clone stood firm, an almost perfect mirror of Minato, before dissipating calmly.

"You did it, Minato! I knew you could!" she exclaimed, running to hug him in a spontaneous gesture of celebration.

Minato, surprised by the hug, hesitated for a moment before reciprocating, a genuine smile forming on his face. "Thank you, Tsuna. I think we finally managed to master it!" he said.

"Shall we start sending clones to school now?" Tsuna asked curiously.

"I don't think that's a good choice; we might have only been able to create these clones because we have more chakra than the other children, but it's still risky for a newly learned technique. Maybe at the beginning of the year, what do you think? Our chakra will be more stable to leave the clone in class while we train somewhere else." Minato suggested and Tsuna nodded, understanding the situation.

"I think you're right, but I want to see the face of that Uchiha when she finds out that who's beside her are just clones. Hahahaha!" Tsuna had a devilish face at that moment.

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