"Another day of training over," Shorai sighed, walking alone to the Academy. "Chakra control improved. Movement's fluid. Shaping it to my will—progress. But my reserves… still leave much to be desired."
He missed Naruto's usual morning chaos.
Shorai arrived ten minutes early—only to find Sasuke already at the entrance.
A simple nod. They walked in silence.
Sasuke's gloomy and sad expression couldn't escape Shorai.
Inside, the class erupted—cheerleader voices, squeals. Sasuke ignored them. Shorai waved with a half-smile.
Then, a rare sight: Naruto, nose in a book.
Both boys raised an eyebrow.
"What's the change?" Shorai asked. "Thought you said theory was boring."
"Heh. Still an idiot," Sasuke muttered, giving him a disdainful look.
Naruto looked up, sheepish grin. "It is boring. But Mr. Tetsuo and Iruka-sensei say this'll help me reach my dream faster." His eyes flicked to the Hokage Monument—sharp, determined.
"Only took you three years, eh?" Shorai slumped into his seat, palm on cheek. "Not so slow anymore, just slightly, eh?"
Sasuke smirked.
Naruto ignored them, flipping a page.
Lessons began.
Lunch break.
Sakura and Ino approached, hands behind their backs, hesitation in their steps. The class quieted.
"Girls…" Shorai said, half-smiling. "What are you up to?"
They exchanged glances—then in unison:
"Happy birthday, Shorai-kun!"
Each held out a small wrapped gift.
Shorai froze. "Y-you didn't have to… Thank you. Truly." His voice softened, warmth spreading through his chest.
They squealed, bounced, and exchanged glares.
The gesture stirred others—girls unaware of the date, boys watching with quiet respect.
Sasuke? Declined. Ignored.
Naruto stared, a flicker of sadness—gone in a blink.
"Open it! Open it!" Sakura and Ino urged.
Shorai unwrapped them—Sakura's, a hand-stitched headband with turquoise and white threads. Ino's, a sketch of him in his new outfit—detailed, lifelike, pulsing with an aura.
"I...I love them," he said, voice low. "Thank you."
They squealed again, retreating in giggles.
Lessons resumed.
After class, Sasuke, Sakura, Ino, and a trail of girls walked with Shorai—buzzing, laughing. At the split, they waved goodbye.
Shorai noticed Naruto pulled aside by Iruka.
Using the Reality Stone, he listened.
Friendship. Training. Ichiraku Ramen.
Shorai smiled. He'd join them.
He washed, trained briefly, then created notes—timing his arrival with theirs.
At Ichiraku, the surprise was mutual.
"You remembered?" Naruto blinked.
"Of course," Shorai said. "But Iruka-sensei—this one's on me."
"No," Iruka said. "Today, it's on me."
Naruto slurped ramen, laughing, talking—about books, training, dreams.
Iruka nodded, joked, lectured gently.
Shorai listened, praised Naruto, returned gratitude. He cherished these moments—carefree, warm.
That night, Shorai scanned the area.
ANBU—bored, distant. No Root.
"Good," he murmured. "Let's experiment. No need to hide."
He went openly to his private place.
"Huh? No followers? Are they watching only Naruto now?" He sighed in relief.
Shorai continued to train—chakra control, flow, Shunshin bursts. Then, after substitution practice, he stopped on Clone Jutsu.
He dissected it.
"Yin shapes the thought. Yang pushes it out. Chakra leaves the body, arrives at a point… stays as long as focus remains."
He paused.
"There's a thread. An invisible connection—sender to clone. I suppose that's why sensors, Hyūga, Uchiha can track it. But… what if it could be something more?"
His mind raced.
"What if… the clone carries more than form? What if it carries intent? A genjutsu field? A trap?"
He activated the Reality Stone, scanned for watchers, then conjured a sentry and an assistant for his experiments.
Then, under its watch, a Bunshin formed—and flickered, almost vanishing.
Layered beneath: a genjutsu woven into the clone's chakra.
"Well... I now know that it's possible," he muttered. "But if I can make the clone project genjutsu… even for a second… it could break an opponent's rhythm. Create an opening."
Hours went by.
"Can I make the clone appear just before an opponent in a fight?" Shorai mused. "Like Shisui's speed—use Shunshin to close in, then launch a clone forward at the last moment? Make it look like I accelerated. The real me strikes after. And if they touch the clone… layer a genjutsu into it. Catch them off guard."
He paused. "But Shunshin must be near-perfect. Even a Jonin should struggle to track it. And how do they move so fast without burning out?"
He frowned. "Friction, heat—coating with chakra constantly would drain mental stamina faster than chakra. In a real fight, you'd collapse before running dry. The Raikage's Lightning Release Armor makes sense—electrically stimulating nerves, reducing fatigue. Less strain. More speed."
He checked his watch: 00:45 AM.
"Break's over."
For two more hours, he refined the idea—embedding genjutsu into the clone's chakra signature, testing activation on contact. The Reality Stone helped simulate combat, but control was fragile.
At nearly 03:00, he deactivated the Stone, the warps dissolved.
He walked home with a smug.