8 8 First Jutsu

Mei surveys the three kids - Bunrakuken's unyielding spirit, Chojuro's pale face, and Zitsukani's cool eyes. Despite being only one to two years old, they are already on the path of shinobi.

She takes a deep breath and opens her mouth, "We are at war and need to train more ninja faster to replace the ones we've lost." Mei shakes her head and looks at them, unsure if they even comprehend.

She sits on the ground and motions for the kids to follow. "Do what I do." Mei clasps her hands together, interlocking her fingers. She raises her index and middle fingers on both hands and presses them against each other.

"This is a hand seal, and doing this will allow you to control your chakra. Can you feel it?"

All three kids mimic her hand seal, and Mei looks at them with hope. If they can meditate and grow their chakra, then 30% of her job will be done.

Zitsukani goes through the motions, but his attention is mostly on the other two. Suddenly, Chojuro's eyes widen, "I can feel it! I can feel it!" He begins bouncing around.

Mei pats Chojuro's head, causing him to calm down. Seeing this, Zitsukani's brows shoot up. It all makes sense now. How could someone not a genius become a kage? Why did he overlook who he was just because he was young? His eyes turn serious as he stands up.

"I feel it too." Zitsukani looks Mei in the eye.

Mei's eyes turn into crescent moons as her smile deepens. "Two geniuses? How lucky can I get! It seems like this will be a good year for me." She lightly pinches her chin. "Will I also meet my destined man?"

Mei removes her hand and looks at Bunrakuken. "Do you feel anything?" She raises her eyebrows in anticipation.

Bunrakuken's hands begin to shake as he applies more pressure. He bites his teeth and squints his eyes.

Zitsu observed Cho's still-smiling face and then Mei's grin. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen to the other kids. He knew that Cho would become Mei's guard, along with Ao. But what about the rest of them?

Bunrakuken suddenly yelled out in frustration, hammering his fist into the ground. "I can't do it!"

"Don't be upset," Mei said as she rose to her feet. "Follow me. I have a mission to attend to, so I'll show you guys to your rooms."

She led the way to a door labeled "Dorms". The door opened to reveal a long hallway with six doors on each side.

"Since we're first, we get the first pick of the rooms," Mei said, looking into the eyes of the three kids. "You guys have to stay in here until I get back, which should take about a week. During that time, you'll have to train and stay in your rooms."

Hearing her words, Cho began to panic. "By myself?"

Mei patted him on the head reassuringly. "You'll be okay."

Bunrakuken snorted as he walked into a room, and the door closed behind him.

Mei shook her head slightly and suddenly performed a series of hand seals before slapping the door. As she did, a series of words appeared on the door.

Zitsu smiled at the sight, recognizing the jutsu used as the Barrier: Reclose Technique. He watched as Cho entered a room with a reassuring smile and Mei sealed the door behind him.

As Mei began to lead him to his own room, Zitsu felt a sudden wave of curiosity. Was he really only one year old? Performing the same hand seals as Mei, he sealed the door of his room behind him.

Upon entering, Zitsu was greeted with a room made entirely of stone, just like the apartment. Besides a bed, the room contained a tray full of fruit and a refrigerator.

A smile forms on his face as he checks the room for any cameras or strange seals. Seeing nothing with his naked eye, he shrugs his shoulders.

"Finally alone," he begins, wiggling his fingers and taking a deep breath.

"Hitsuji Mi Tora." His hands move to make the seals, and he can feel the chakra in his body wanting to flow in certain directions as he makes the seals. All he has to do is push chakra in the direction it wants to go. As he makes the last seal, he can feel the chakra wanting to rush out of his body, but he does his best to guide it.

"Clone Jutsu!" He feels the chakra rush out into space next to him, creating a cloud of smoke.

[Chakra 125/135]

As the smoke clears, he can see a purple-eyed child with messy auburn hair looking at him. His entire body begins to tremble, and the clone does the same. His eyes get bigger and bigger, his face turning a deep red.

"YES!" He jumps high into the air. "Hhahahah!" He begins to laugh hysterically.

"Look at me now! Where are the haters?! Who said jutsu wasn't real?! How else did I get here?!" As he goes on his tirade, his concentration fails and the clone disappears.

Taking a deep breath, he calms down, his face still flush red. "Right, my levels!" Closing his eyes, he focuses on his level.

Looking at the Ninjutsu perk tree, he sees that it's still at level 0. Looking at that, it hits him. In Skyrim, to level combat skills, you have to use them on people.

"No, I refuse to believe I can't level." His eyes narrow as he focuses.

Raising both hands into the seal of confrontation, he crosses his fingers. He can feel the chakra in him moving again, this time far more vigorously. Concentrating, he divides his chakra into two parts and expels them from his body.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Zitsukani exclaims as two puffs of white smoke appear next to him.

[Chakra 42/135]

As the smoke clears, two more kids materialize in the room. Seeing each other, all three break out into a broad grin.

"Nicely done, me x2!" they say in unison.

"It was a team effort, we did it together," Zitsukani adds.

All three look at each other before throwing their heads back in laughter.

"If Naruto can do it, why can't we?" one of the clones jokes.

"Maybe we are the chosen ones now?" another one adds with a chuckle.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, we have a long way to go," Zitsukani reminds them with a smirk.

"Right, we need to stay humble," the other clone agrees.

"But we can celebrate a little, right?" the first clone suggests.

"No! Our chakra is limited. How can we compare to a jinchuuriki?" Zitsukani retorts.

"You're right, as always," the second clone admits.

"But now that you mention it, isn't the three tails without a host right now?" the first clone whispers, causing the room to go quiet as all three look at each other, then steal glances at the door.

"NONONO, what are you guys crazy? If we seal the three tails inside of us, how can Kakashi kill Rin?" Zitsukani exclaims, breaking the tension.

"Right, if Rin doesn't die, the entire series changes way beyond our control," the second clone adds.

"Yea, that's too big a change for now," the first clone agrees.

"Anyway," Zitsukani looks at his clones with a smile, "that was the first real conversation I've had in over two years, so I got carried away."

"We don't know why they waited for over three years to train Naruto with this method, but we won't waste it. This jutsu causes a lot of mental stress, but I was basically crazy already, so we're ok," Zitsukani explains. All three nod their heads.

"There's nothing like a little bit of madness to bring people together," Zitsukani adds with a chuckle.

With a confident turn, Zitsu faces one of the clones and addresses him directly, "Clone one, it's time for a test of our Taijutsu skills. In Skyrim, one can level up by fighting conjured monsters. I propose we do the same, and if we both train together, we can expedite the process."

As he raises his finger, he points to the other clone and says, "Clone two, your task is to practice wall walking. This will not only help us acquire the skill but also enhance our chakra and chakra control."

All three nod in agreement, chanting "Break!" thrice.

One clone rushes towards the wall, concentrates chakra into his foot, and attempts to stick to the surface.

Meanwhile, Zitsu and the remaining clone engage in a Taijutsu battle. They both throw out their chubby fists in perfect unison, but the impact causes their faces to flush red.

"What's wrong? Why does it hurt so much?" they both exclaim in unison.

"Perhaps we did it wrong, or maybe we're just too powerful!" one suggests.

"My little body is too tender," the other complains.

Zitsu said, "Can't we see our stats or inventory? Did we level up?"

The clone respond, "I can't see any stats, but let me check the inventory." Suddenly, his clothes disappear, leaving him naked.

Zitsu looks at him with disdain, "Why are you still nude? Don't be so shallow-minded, focus on the task at hand!"

The clone retorts, "You should know better than to judge a book by its cover. Did you find anything in the inventory?"

Zitsu shakes his head, "No, there was nothing. Looks like the clone inventory won't carry over to me."

"But did we level up?" The clone asked

Realizing he forgot to check, Zitsu closes his eyes and examines his perk tree. He notices that his Taijutsu skill had increased slightly.

Opening his eyes, he looks at the clone and declares, "It seems we'll have to go through some pain to level up further."

The clone grins, "Do you know pain?"

As the two of them share a moment of camaraderie, the second clone interrupts excitedly, "Guys, I did it! I got my foot to stick!"

With renewed enthusiasm, they throw another fist and continue their training.