Nara Saku had grown up surrounded by a clan famous for its intelligence.
He copied the way the adults around him thought and spoke, so naturally, he considered himself pretty damn clever too.
Until now, life had been easy for him.
Other children respected his intelligence, and he was always the one making plans and manipulating everyone else.
No one had ever outsmarted him so thoroughly, much less tricked his best friend into slapping him across the face.
The humiliation shattered his composure almost immediately.
[Nara Saku has suffered severe emotional damage.
Extracting abilities associated with Nara Saku.
The host may select one of the following three rewards.] [Option One: Kunai-throwing techniques.] [Option Two: Body Replacement Technique proficiency.] [Option Three: Secret Technique: Shadow Imitation Jutsu.] The first option was hardly worth considering.
Ren already knew how to throw kunai, and he could improve through ordinary practice.
The second surprised him a little.
Apparently, Saku had already taught himself the Body Replacement Technique, despite it normally being covered in the upper grades.
The third option made Ren’s eyes light up.
‘The Shadow Imitation Jutsu?’ A secret technique was not a kekkei genkai.
It was simply an unusual method of using chakra, carefully guarded and passed down within a clan.
Ren suddenly thought of Jiraiya.
In the original story, Jiraiya knew a technique called the Toad Flatness—Shadow Manipulation Technique.
It allowed him to hide inside an enemy’s shadow and control their movements, supposedly making it even more advanced than the Nara clan’s Shadow Imitation Jutsu.
It involved shadows.
It involved controlling people.
Ren strongly suspected that Jiraiya had once copied the Nara clan’s techniques, modified them a little, slapped a new name on the result, and tossed it into his enormous collection of jutsu.
Then another possibility occurred to him.
‘Did Jiraiya secretly study some Nara kunoichi a little too closely?’ Maybe he had started out spying for his usual disgusting reasons, only to pull himself together afterward, achieve sudden post-nut clarity, and decide that studying the mysteries of shadow ninjutsu was far more rewarding.
If Jiraiya could steal inspiration from the Nara clan, why couldn’t Uchiha Ren?
He would simply use the technique discreetly and make sure the Nara never found out.
Once he became strong enough that their opinion no longer mattered, he could use it openly, just like Jiraiya.
And if anyone asked questions, the answer was simple: he was a genius who had independently developed the exact same idea as their ancestors.
Ren selected the third option without hesitation.
A flood of knowledge entered his mind.
The Nara clan’s shadow techniques were secret arts based on shape transformation using Yin Release chakra.
By channeling Yin chakra into one’s shadow and altering its properties, the user could produce a variety of strange effects.
Ren walked down the aisle, completely ignoring Saku’s furious glare, and returned to his seat in the back row.
Thanks to his terrible reputation, every desk around him was empty.
A pen lay on his desk.
Ren pressed one finger against its tip, causing his shadow to overlap with the pen’s.
Following the knowledge he had received, he sent Yin Release chakra through his shadow and into the pen’s shadow.
The darkness beneath the pen suddenly deepened.
Ren pushed the pen with his other hand and felt an unusual resistance.
There were countless ways to build surprise attacks around shadow techniques.
Ren was an Uchiha.
Who would ever expect him to possess one of the Nara clan’s secret arts?
He had no intention of fighting like an ordinary Nara, stretching his shadow across the battlefield for everyone to see.
The best use for this technique would be something subtle, hidden, and deeply unfair.
An idea came to him.
During close combat, he could step on an opponent’s shadow.
He would not need to control their entire body.
Even freezing them for a fraction of a second could decide the fight.
He named the technique Shadow Pinning.
Simple and appropriately sneaky.
An enemy would suddenly feel something yank them to a stop, with no idea what had happened.
…
That evening, Ren formed a hand seal and created a shadow clone.
The two stood in the backyard beneath the moonlight.
Ren tilted his head toward the sky.
“The moon looks beautiful tonight.” The clone gagged theatrically.
“Save that line for Kurenai.
What do you want me to say—’And the breeze feels wonderful too’?” “I’m saying the moon is bright enough to cast a clear shadow!” Ren formed the Rat seal.
Like a member of the Nara clan, he filled the shadow beneath his feet with Yin chakra.
It darkened before shooting forward across the ground.
The clone stepped backward and avoided it with ease.
“Come on, Original!
Put some effort into it!
Have you spent so much time thinking about Kurenai that your legs stopped working?” Ren nearly laughed from sheer irritation.
It was not as though he was deliberately holding back.
This was his first time using the Shadow Imitation Jutsu.
Getting his shadow to move in roughly the right direction was already a respectable achievement.
After more than a dozen attempts, Ren dropped onto the ground from exhaustion.
Fighting exactly like the Nara clan clearly was not going to work.
It would expose the technique immediately, and he had little natural talent for controlling his shadow at long range.
The Nara had refined these techniques for generations.
After countless years of inheritance and training, their bodies and chakra were naturally better suited for them.
After resting for a while, Ren stood again.
“All right, forget that.
Let’s move on to tonight’s real training.” The clone had existed for quite some time and was still staring up at the moon.
Ren suddenly became wary.
What was with that expression?
A little melancholy, a little frustration, a little quiet contemplation…
‘Wait.
Does a shadow clone develop its own thoughts if it survives long enough?’ “You can keep looking for a while,” Ren offered.
The clone turned toward him in disbelief.
“You’ve been spending way too much time with Kurenai.
Has all your blood abandoned your brain?
Did you seriously think I was standing here contemplating the tragic beauty of life?” “I can’t believe I wasted sympathy on you.” Ren charged.
He formed the Rat seal and tried to stomp on the clone’s shadow.
The clone used a retreating step to evade him.
“Original, can’t you form the seal and step down at the same time?
I’ve seen corpses with better coordination.” On the next attempt, Ren performed both movements simultaneously.
Unfortunately, he had to form a seal, gather chakra, and aim his foot, while the clone only needed to dodge.
It escaped again.
“You really believe everything I tell you?
You’re embarrassingly gullible.” Ren paused.
The insult gave him an idea.
In real combat, he should first step on an enemy’s shadow naturally, without drawing attention.
Only then would he form the hand seal and activate the technique.
On his next attempt, Ren stepped onto the clone’s shadow first.
Then he quietly formed the Rat seal.
This time, the clone froze.
“Well done.
You’re finally replacing the mindset of a shut-in from your previous life with the instincts of a real shinobi.
Keep adapting, Original.” Poof!
Ren dispelled it in a cloud of white smoke.
Shadow Pinning had officially earned a place in his growing arsenal of surprise attacks.
The Emotional Damage System allowed Ren to extract abilities from others.
As his collection expanded, he might eventually become the same kind of versatile shinobi as Jiraiya, Kakashi, or Hiruzen Sarutobi—someone with a technique for nearly every situation.
…
The two-week intensive unit on the Transformation Technique soon ended, and the class resumed its usual afternoon sparring lessons.
Ren had finally returned to his natural habitat.
He looked slowly across the classroom, searching for someone who needed a little pressure.
There were quite a few familiar names in his year: Obito, Asuma Sarutobi, Rin Nohara, Kurenai Yūhi, Might Guy, Ebisu, Aoba Yamashiro, Raidō Namiashi, Iwashi Tatami, Hayate Gekkō, Genma Shiranui, Ibiki Morino, Anko Mitarashi, Shizune…
While Ren considered his next victim, Saku was desperately hoping he would not start another conflict with Asuma.
Asuma’s mood had been terrible ever since he noticed Ren and Kurenai training together after school.
Beside Saku, Akimichi Takashi raised his hand.
“Instructor!
I challenge Uchiha Ren!”