Chapter 9: A Gathering Storm
After returning to his room from the commander's tent, Uchiha Raizen collapsed onto his cot, his mind a whirlwind. He still had one pickup left for the day, but he had no immediate target. I'll figure it out later, he thought, exhaustion pulling him into a deep, dreamless sleep.
He awoke hours later, the room dark, his stomach growling with hunger. After a quick, solitary meal in the nearly empty mess hall, he went looking for his friends, finding Uchiha Natsume at his family's quarters.
"Uchiha Natsume, I need to learn the Shadow Clone Technique. Can you teach me?" Uchiha Raizen asked, getting straight to the point.
"The Shadow Clone? Don't you know the hand seals for it?" Uchiha Natsume replied, looking puzzled.
"I've tried them, but what I create is... wrong. Look. Shadow Clone Technique!" Uchiha Raizen performed the seals he'd seen in his memories. There was a puff of smoke, and a misshapen, grayish figure slumped to the ground before dissolving into nothing.
"Uh... haha," Uchiha Natsume chuckled, though not unkindly. "That's not just wrong hand seals. Your chakra control is the problem. You don't have enough chakra to sustain a proper clone, and you're not molding it correctly."
"I know that!" Uchiha Raizen said, frustration seeping into his voice. "But I can't seem to get it right. Is there any way to train my chakra control?"
His upbringing was the root of the issue. With his father dead and his mother and sisters possessing little combat skill, he had never received the systematic training other clan children took for granted.
"Well, you have that special ability, right?" Uchiha Natsume said, lowering his voice. "Why don't you copy the technique from me first, to feel how it's properly done? Then, you can have your clones—once you can make them—practice chakra accumulation and control. Doing both at once should speed things up. Watch. Shadow Clone Technique!"
With a clear, confident motion, Uchiha Natsume formed the seals. Poof! Poof! Poof! Three perfect, solid copies of himself appeared in a trio of smoke puffs.
System, pick up the Shadow Clone Technique, Uchiha Raizen commanded instantly.
[Pickup successful. Pickups remaining today: 0.]
"Shadow Clone Technique!" Uchiha Raizen declared, not with hand seals, but with sheer will. Three identical puffs of smoke appeared, and three stable, fully-formed shadow clones stood beside him.
"Perfect! I'm going back to train," Uchiha Raizen said, a genuine smile touching his lips for the first time that day. He had what he needed.
With his secret partially exposed, he knew he would soon become a target, not just for the Senju, but potentially for factions within his own clan. The only path to safety was raw, undeniable power.
Back in his room, he began his grueling regimen. Two of his clones sat in meditation, focusing solely on sensing and accumulating chakra. Uchiha Raizen and the third clone began a series of intense physical drills, pushing the enhanced body granted by the Senju fragments to its limits.
The night passed in a blur of sweat and concentration.
The next morning, he learned that Commander Uchiha Tamura had left the camp to attend a summit meeting with the Senju. The war's status was still uncertain, and the army remained on standby.
His new examiner was the deputy commander, Uchiha Tano. They stood on the edge of the camp, near a vast, open plain. As Uchiha Raizen surveyed the terrain, a shiver of recognition ran down his spine. This was the place. The scarred earth, the distant river… this would one day become the Valley of the End.
"Uchiha Raizen, pay attention!" Uchiha Tano's voice broke his reverie. "Lightning Release: False Darkness!"
Uchiha Tano's hands moved in a blindingly fast sequence. A bolt of pure, blinding white lightning erupted from his fingertips, spearing across the field and striking a towering tree. Instantly, the massive trunk was transformed into a smoldering pillar of charcoal.
"Now," Uchiha Tano said, turning with a challenging look. "Let's see if you can replicate an S-Rank ninjutsu."
"I can copy it," Uchiha Raizen stated confidently, having already issued the mental command to pick up the powerful technique. "But my current chakra reserves are insufficient to activate it. Based on my training rate, I estimate it will take me about a month to gather enough chakra to use a technique of that magnitude." It was a lie to cover the system's level restriction. By the time he reached Pickup Level 2, he could use it.
"I see. That is acceptable. I will note that in my report. You may sign here," Uchiha Tano said, presenting a scroll for him to acknowledge the test.
The formalities complete, Uchiha Raizen quickly excused himself. He made his way to the outskirts of the recent battlefield, hoping to find leftover items to pick up. But when he arrived, his heart sank. The field, which had been littered with glowing orbs just days before, was now barren. The items had vanished.
So, the pickups have a time limit, he realized, a new pressure settling on him. They don't last forever. I can't afford to be lazy. I have to gather what I can, when I can.
The path ahead was clear, but it was fraught with unknown dangers. The ceasefire was temporary, his abilities were now known to the clan leadership, and the window to harvest power was limited. A crisis was brewing, and he was at its center.