CHAPTER 26: NEW SENSEI, NEW TRAINING

(Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I do own my OC's, however)

"Talking/Jutsu"

'Thinking'

'Flashback'

"Flashback talk"

"Demonic voice"

Letter

The third and final part of the Chunin Exams was a month away, and Shujinko needed to make the most of it if he wanted to succeed. His first opponent was going to be Kankuro, one of the Sand Siblings, meaning that he had to improve quickly in order to increase his chances of winning.

The bad thing about having Kankuro as an opponent right off the bat was that he knew next to nothing about his abilities and weaknesses. He was aware that Kankuro was a Puppet Master, or as most shinobis called them, a puppeteer. Puppetry was an art mostly practiced by ninjas from Sunagakure, and according to the stories, a skillful puppeteer could engage in a fight with multiple adversaries at once and still come out on top.

Kankuro was older than him, most likely had more experience than him, and he watched his fight with Kabuto, meaning that he already had an idea about his fortitudes. Shujinko, on the other hand, had never seen a puppeteer in action before. It was fair to say that Kankuro had the advantage.

And because of that, the Ozuma needed all the help he could get.

He spent the entire morning looking for Kakashi. If he wanted to train under his sensei's guidance, he needed to be the first to approach the silver-haired Jounin and convince him to lend him a hand. Shujinko was worried that Naruto had already asked Kakashi, so he constantly told himself that Naruto was pretty independent and that he probably took it upon himself to train from dusk till dawn without anyone's help. That's what he wanted to believe.

Finally, he spotted his sensei in the middle of the street that led to the hospital where Sasuke was resting. As usual, he was reading his beloved Icha Icha with one hand inside his pocket. One thing that surprised Shujinko about his sensei was that he always read the same novel over and over again. The book wasn't even that long, how could he still find it interesting? "Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi turned around, glancing at his student. "Good morning, Shujinko." he said with his lazy voice, as if he was itching to go back to his erotic literature. "Are you on your way to visit Sasuke?"

Shujinko shook his head. "Not really. Sakura told me he's still asleep, and it's not like the nurses will let me in. Anyways, I wanted to ask you if you could train me for my match against Kankuro. You saw how he fought, and I'm sure that I can beat him if you-"

"I'm sorry Shujinko, but I can't do that."

"Wh-What? But why not?" Shujinko stuttered, feeling utterly disappointed.

"I already have someone that I have to look after. We'll be leaving the village for a month, and I can't split my time and attention in favor of you two. That's just how things are."

The golden-eyed boy lowered his head in frustration, clearly frustrated. He knew that it was unreasonable and selfish, but he still felt as if he was entitled to receive training from Kakashi. The man was his sensei, after all. "Are you going to train Naruto?"

The Jounin shook his head. "Naruto already has someone to train him, and to be honest, the man is a better sensei than me when it comes to teaching. I chose him myself."

"So you're going to train Sasuke?" Now Shujinko was starting to get jealous. Why did Sasuke deserved to be trained by Kakashi and not him? Was it because he was an Uchiha?

Unbeknown to him, that was part of the reason why Kakashi was assigned to train Sasuke by the Elder Council. Not only was Sasuke the only survivor of the Uchiha clan, but he was also the prime target of Orochimaru, who already offered him power to achieve his vengeance and introduced him to the Curse Mark. The village couldn't afford to lose the last Uchiha.

Therefore, they ordered Kakashi to keep an eye on Sasuke. The Elder Council wanted to make sure that he was satisfied with how things were going for him in the village, and avoid giving him reasons to leave. A first-class shinobi like Kakashi, who also happened to have a Sharingan and years of experience under his belt, was the perfect choice.

But that wasn't all there was to it. Although Kakashi never allowed himself to be emotionally attached to his students, he could relate to Sasuke: They were two prodigies who lost everything and everyone they cared about at a very young age. The two of them shared the pain of having a dark past, and perhaps that would help Kakashi reach his student.

Of course, Shujinko ignored all of this. After an awkward pause, he finally got over his displeasure and raised his voice. "You don't have to explain anything, sensei. If you want to train Sasuke instead of me, that's your choice." Shujinko then crossed his arms and gave his sensei a defiant look. "But what about me? You can't hang me out to dry while Naruto and Sasuke have someone to help them, I'm your student too."

"Mah, mah, sensei would never do that." Kakashi said with a reassuring tone of voice as he eye-smiled at him. "I already spoke to someone who owes me one or two favors. He agreed to train you while I'm away. Don't worry, he's more than competent. You can learn a lot from him."

"... Oh." Shujinko said after a while, now feeling slightly stupid and embarrassed. "Well… Thank you, I guess. When am I supposed to meet him?"

"He'll be waiting for you at our training grounds at 15:00 P.M. Now, if you excuse me, I have things to do. Good luck, and see you in the next month. Ja ne!" With a lazy wave of his hand, Kakashi said his goodbyes and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

'I definitely need to learn how to do that.' Shujinko said to himself, smirking.

He certainly felt better now that he knew he had someone to help him. Sure, he still would've liked to have Kakashi on his side, but his sensei seemed to vouch for the man that was going to train him, and Shujinko trusted Kakashi's judgment. He still had some time left before his meeting with his new sensei, so he decided to head to the training grounds and do some light warm-ups to be in shape.

(Training Grounds, 15:00 P.M.)

Shujinko spent an hour and a half doing some exercise and target practice. To his relief, his aim was just as good as ever, he only seemed to miss whenever he placed himself way too far from the wooden dummy, but he supposed it was something that would come naturally in due time.

As he retrieved the last of his shurikens, he sensed a presence behind him. A man with glasses and brown hair was smiling at him. He wore the usual Jounin attire. "Not too bad. If you bend your arm a little more, you might just get the angle right."

"Thanks. Are you the person who Kakashi-sensei told me about? The one that's going to train me?"

"That's right. I'm Yamashiro Aoba, your sensei for the next month. Nice to meet you, Shujinko."

Shujinko bowed in return. "Nice to meet you, too. And thank you for arriving on time. Kakashi-sensei is not nearly as punctual as you are." Somewhere far away, the last member of the Hatake clan sneezed.

Aoba chuckled. "That sounds like Kakashi alright. He would probably arrive late to his own funeral. Well, now that we're done with the introductions, how about we get down to business?" he asked as he gestured Shujinko to follow him.

The brown-haired boy smiled brightly, eager to start with his training. He wondered what Aoba was going to teach him. Maybe a powerful jutsu? A cool technique, perhaps?

'Great, now I'm starting to think like Naruto.'

…

"Soooooo, what are we going to do here, Aoba-sensei?" Shujinko asked with his hands behind his head. After twenty minutes of walking, they reached a river in the middle of the training grounds. Were they going to take a bath or something?

"This is where we'll start your training." Aoba replied. "Before you begin, I need to know something. How good is your chakra control?"

Shujinko shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it's pretty decent. I already dominate the tree-climbing exercise. But I don't know any other kind of exercise that could help me improve my chakra control. Otherwise, I already would've tried it out."

"Good, good. What I'm about to show you is one of the most important techniques all shinobi must learn. Well, it's not really a technique, but an ability. Watch closely..." Aoba bent his knees and jumped towards the river, doing a summersault while in mid-air. But instead of being swallowed by the river, the Tokubetsu Jounin landed on the water, his body perfectly still. Shujinko's eyes widened in shock. "This is known as the water-walking exercise. It's fairly similar to the tree-climbing exercise, but with a slight difference. Here, try it out."

Now that Shujinko thought about it, Kakashi also stood on water when he first fought Zabuza. Back then, he was too busy keeping himself alive to realize what was going on. Excited by the idea of learning such a useful thing, Shujinko tightened his headband and ran towards the river. "Alright, here I go!" he shouted as he focused the same amount of chakra that allowed him to walk on trees in his feet...

SPLASH

Shujinko immediately fell down the river, and the stream took him away. The water wasn't just cold, it was freezing! The Ozuma fought his way out of the river, eventually reaching the edge and burying a kunai into the ground to stop. Shaking like a leaf in the wind, Shujinko finally got out of the river, with Aoba laughing his butt off.

"Kid, you should've thought of taking your clothes off before jumping into a river. You know, because they might get wet."

Now Shujinko wasn't just feeling cold, but also stupid. How could he have forgotten about taking his clothes off first? What was he expecting, to get it right the first time? "I'm s-s-such a b-b-b-baka." he managed to mumble, much to Aoba's amusement

"Don't sweat it. Nobody gets it right during their first attempt." the Tokubetsu Jounin said as he handed Shujinko a towel he had inside his backpack. "Now, I'm sure you already realized you can't walk on water the same way you walk on trees, and the difference is very easy to understand. During the tree-climbing exercise, you accumulate a certain amount of chakra in your feet and use it to stick to the tree's bark. This works because you're dealing with a solid surface. However, water is a liquid substance, meaning that it's in constant movement, or in other words, in constant change. Therefore, you have to be constantly altering your chakra to match the flow of the water's shifting surface. Otherwise, you'll slip again, and we don't want that to happen, ne?"

"R-Right..." Shujinko said as he took of his jacket, t-shirt, pants and boots, leaving only his boxers in place. Aoba then grabbed a long rope and tied it around Shujinko's waist. The other end was tied to a kunai, which Aoba thrusted into the ground with enough strength so that if (and when) Shujinko slipped, the current wouldn't take him away.

Taking a deep breath, Shujinko prepared himself and decided to do the same thing he did back when he was doing the tree-climbing exercise: Instead of running in a straight direction in hopes of guessing the correct amount of chakra, he would carefully place his feet on the water and take several small steps in order to adjust his chakra until it became second nature.

Of course, it was always easier said than done.

The first attempts were a failure, to say the least. He couldn't last twenty seconds before he slipped, and every time he had to face the unforgiving cold of the water that made his body numb. He asked Aoba for help, but the Tokubetsu Jounin said that there really wasn't anything he could do to help and that he just had to keep going if he wanted to get the hang of it. Annoyed by his lack of success, Shujinko put more effort into his attempts and his body slowly got used to the cold.

A few hours passed, and little by little, he noticed he could now stand on the water a little longer than before. He couldn't run, or even walk normally, but it was a start. The water didn't even felt that cold now. The only thing that bothered him was that he couldn't move without breaking his concentration, meaning that he had to put attention to every single one of his moves whether they were intentional or not. Aoba merely sat on top of a tree branch reading a book, keeping an eye on his new student from a distance. It was true that there wasn't much he could do for him right now, but he would at least wait there until he decided it was time to stop.

And the time to stop was now. Shujinko had already wasted enough chakra trying to get the exercise down, and besides, there wasn't enough sunlight to keep reading. Aoba quickly made a bonfire to keep both the towel and the clothes warm. Once they were dry, he addressed Shujinko, who was standing completely still on the water. "Oi, Shujinko, I think we can call it a day. You've been going at it long enough."

"But sensei, I can keep going." Shujinko replied. "I just need a little mo-"

SPLASH

And once again, the Genin slipped. At this point, he didn't even care about the water. He had fallen so many times that he learned how to deal with it.

"That's true, but it's unlikely that you'll make an improvement if you get tired. And besides, it's getting dark. I don't want you to get sick."

"Come on, it's not that la... Aaahhh... Aaaaahhhchooo!" Shujinko sneezed.

The smirk on Aoba's face didn't go unnoticed by the Ozuma.

"Yup, you definitely have a fever." Masumi said as she retrieved her hand from her son's forehead. She and Nanami were giving Shujinko some company, who came home with a headache and covered in sweat. "Nanami, could you be a darling and bring some wet towels? Your brother could use some." she asked her daughter, who nodded and eagerly left the room. "What were you doing this late outside? I know you qualified to the third part of the Chunin Exams, but you shouldn't risk your health like that."

Shujinko sighed, trying to find the right words to appease his mother. In general, civilian mothers weren't quite aware of the sacrifice their shinobi son or daughter had to do in order to improve. Shujinko didn't blame her, though. It was only natural for a mother to care for her children. "It's not a big deal. I should be fine by tomorrow morning. And even if I'm not, I still have to train."

"Shujinko, you can't be always thinking about training. It's just not good for you." Masumi said, looking at her son with concern. "We've been worried about you, you know. You don't spend time with us, you come home late and leave early, and the few chances that we have to talk to you, you barely acknowledge us. What's going on with you?"

The brown-haired boy twitched his mouth in irritation. He hated discussing things with his mother, especially when he knew she had a valid point. "Kaa-san, you don't get it. I'm a ninja, I have to train. If everything goes alright, I might just become a Chunin by the end of the month. I can't afford to be lazy."

Masumi gave Shujinko a severe look as she placed her hands on her hips, an unmistakable sign of danger. "You and I both know that's not all there is to it. In case you forgot, I'm your mother, and I have the right to know what's troubling you."

"For the last time, there's nothing wrong with me." Shujinko replied, raising his voice considerably.

"Don't you dare use that tone on me, young man!" Masumi snapped. "You have no idea how it feels to wait for you to get back home, wondering if you're actually coming back at all! And now that you're home, the only thing you care about is your training and it's driving me nuts! It's always the same with you!"

Shujinko shouted even louder. "Well, maybe you should be grateful it's always the same with me! If I hadn't trained the way I have to this day, I could very well be dead right now! Is that what you want, huh!? You'd rather have a dead son instead of a busy one!?"

...

"... How can you say something like that?" Masumi whispered. It was only then when Shujinko realized his mother was crying, and he started to feel terrible.

He never intended to make his mother cry, even though the words he spoke had an ounce of truth. Hadeki tried to kill him, and he survived because he was the better shinobi at the end of the day. But if there was one thing Shujinko was sure of was that he was going to face much more dangerous enemies in the future, and he needed to be ready. The third exam had individuals like Neji and Gaara, and Shujinko refused to be any less of a threat to them as they were to him. But those two were currently at another level, a level that he had yet to reach.

Nonetheless, Masumi also had a point. He had no excuse for his selfishness. There he was, deliberately ignoring his parents for his own reasons when there were hundreds of kids who would literally do anything to have a mother and a father by their side, if only just for one day. Hell, his two male teammates were orphans. Naruto never had any parents or a sibling. In fact, Shujinko was willing to bet Iruka was the closest thing Naruto had to a relative (everybody knew that, despite being strict and having high expectations, Iruka had a soft spot for Naruto). Sasuke grew up in an ancient and proud clan, just to have everything taken away from him at a young age and in the bloodiest way imaginable.

"I'm sorry, kaa-san. I didn't mean it that way." Shujinko said as he lowered his gaze. He couldn't bear to look at his mother crying. "The last few days haven't been... easy to deal with at all. There are so many things going on right now, and I guess I'm just... afraid of screwing everything up. I swear I'll make it up to you and tou-san and Nanami, but please try to understand that-"

Masumi raised her hand, interrupting her son's speech. "It's alright, sweetie. I do understand. You don't have to apologize, I just... (sniff) I just never thought it would be like this. It's hard for a mother to see her son grow up like you have. While I'm here working as a secretary, you're out there risking your life for the sake of this village every day. It doesn't feel right."

Maybe Masumi was unaware of it, but there were hundreds of mothers in the village who shared her feelings, kunoichis and civilians alike. The bond between a mother and her child was stronger than any Kekkei Genkai in existence, and more powerful than any jutsu ever conceived. Women would travel any distance and sacrifice everything they cared about for the sake of their off springs.

After a long and rather awkward minute of silence, the heir of the Ozuma clan spoke up. "If it's any consolation, you can be sure that I would never do anything to hurt you, tou-san or Nanami." Shujinko said. He really had no idea what else to say, so he decided to play it safe and hope for the best.

"I know, I know." Masumi replied, using the sleeve of her dress to wipe out her tears. "I'm sorry you have to deal with such a sappy mom."

Shujinko cracked a small smile, feeling happy for finally patching things up with his mom. In that moment, Nanami entered the scene with a couple of wet towels on her hands and apologizing for her delay. She seemed oblivious towards the discussion that had just taken place between Shujinko and Masumi, which was probably for the best. The towels slowly started to reduce the fever, and it wasn't long before Shujinko was sleeping like a baby.

After a week and a half of gruesome training and burning fevers, Shujinko finally dominated the water-walking exercise to the point of near perfection.

Aoba proved to be quite a good teacher. He often gave good advice and always had a supportive attitude that encouraged Shujinko to push his limits. Not only did he taught his student how to walk on water, but also how to run, jump and move around while maintaining an adequate amount of chakra concentrated in his feet. His final test was a mock fight against Aoba in which he was not allowed to stand on solid ground. Needless to say, Aoba won, but the Tokubetsu Jounin was nonetheless impressed by Shujinko's ability to adapt to the circumstances. With some more practice, Shujinko would eventually be able to fight just like he did on the ground.

"Congratulations, Shujinko. We can finally begin the second part of our training." Aoba said. Both student and sensei were enjoying a home-made meal of rice balls and dumplings, courtesy of Masumi, who insisted (more like ordered) Shujinko to give some food to the Tokubetsu Jounin as a way of expressing his gratitude.

"Are you sure about that, Aoba-sensei?" Shujinko asked as he greedily took the biggest dumpling and ate it. His mother's cooking was simply magnificent. "Don't get me wrong. I'm very happy for how things are going with my training, but I still feel like I need to improve. I've yet to figure out how to perform jutsus while moving on top of the water' surface."

Aoba shrugged his shoulders. "True, but you can work on that later on. Besides, I didn't teach you how to walk on water just for fun. I wanted you to develop a solid chakra control, which you'll definitely need if you want to learn the jutsu I'm about to show you."

Shujinko's ears perked up almost instantly. A new jutsu? Awesome! He couldn't remember the last time Kakashi had taught him a jutsu... In fact, now that he thought about it, Kakashi had never taught him anything besides the tree-walking exercise and the importance of teamwork. The man had copied a thousand jutsus with his Sharingan, surely he could've taken the time to teach his students at least one of them. But to be fair, Shujinko never asked him.

Once the meal was over, Aoba stretched his back and waited for Shujinko to pick up the leftovers. When he was finished, the Tokubetsu Jounin addressed the Ozuma with a strangely authoritarian tone of voice. "Listen very carefully, Shujinko. This jutsu can be dangerous to use, and something very bad can happen to you if you mess around. This is not some flashy technique that you can execute whenever you feel like it. In fact, you may only use it during a dire situation and when you're confident you can pull it out. I'm only teaching you this jutsu because I believe you're reasonable enough to use it wisely and because this might get you the edge you need to win. In case I'm not being clear enough, let me rephrase my warning: This technique belongs to the Kinjutsu category, which I'm assuming it speaks for itself. However, if you don't feel like you're ready, tell me right away and we'll resume our training. What do you say?"

Shujinko looked down as he hesitated to respond. Learning a new technique was one thing, but a Kinjutsu was something entirely different. Regardless of the danger that came with the proposal, Shujinko had to admit he was tempted. Aoba was right, he needed to have an ace under his sleeve if he was to confront Kankuro on equal terms. "I thought it was illegal to use Kinjutsu." he commented, trying to buy some time for himself.

"That's not entirely true. Some jutsus fall under this category because of their effects on the user. Exhaustion, internal and external damage, mental strain, psychological harm, those are the most common consequences that come with the use of these techniques. But don't be confused. The term 'forbidden' is not absolute when it comes to Kinjutsu. As long as you know your limits and acknowledge the danger behind these jutsus, you may execute some of them with no legal repercussion whatsoever."

Instead of helping him with his decision, the information he received from Aoba only increased Shujinko's uncertainty. He hated not knowing what to do, especially during times when he needed to be assertive towards the odds. He remembered Lee's destroyed body after using the Ura Renge, and for a brief moment, he imagined himself crawling away from Gaara's sand after using the forbidden jutsu that Aoba was offering to teach him.

But then, he also remembered the Genin who were going to participate in the final exam. Gaara was as powerful as he was ruthless, and definitely the most dangerous opponent out there. His control over sand gave him both a terrific offense and defense.

Neji's natural talent and developed Byakugan was a fearsome combination. A close-distance combat against him was destined to failure, and if Neji showed no hesitation when he tried to kill Hinata, a member of his own clan, then it was safe to assume that he would show no mercy against Naruto or whoever he had in front of him.

Sasuke was training under the guidance of Kakashi. Shujinko didn't want to think how much someone as prodigious as Sasuke could improve after spending a month with the infamous Copy Ninja, working day and night. With the abilities that the Sharingan provided, the heir to the Uchiha clan could learn a huge number of techniques and add them to his arsenal. If that wasn't enough, Kakashi would most likely device a genius strategy for Sasuke to use against Gaara.

Shujinko already knew how to move on water, which was definitely a useful skill to have, but it simply wasn't enough to succeed. And now that he was being offered a chance to become stronger on a silver platter, he was actually doubting himself? Eyes gleaming with determination, Shujinko looked at his sensei and gave him his answer. "Let's do it. I don't care what it takes, I'm going to learn this jutsu before the third exam."

"That's quite a bold statement, but I think you have what it takes." Aoba replied. "So be it. This technique is called Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?" the Ozuma repeated, clearly taken by surprise. "I know that technique. Well, I don't really know how it works, but I've seen it in action before. It's like an advanced version of the regular Bunshin no Jutsu, am I right?"

"You could say that, yes, but it's a lot more complicated than that. You see, a shadow clone is a lot more complex than an intangible copy of yourself. They can interact with their surroundings and actually have a mind of their own, at least to a degree. Their most precious ability is their usefulness: Whatever you want them to do, they'll do it." Aoba cleared his throat before continuing with his explanation. "Of course, this technique is not branded a Kinjutsu without a good reason. Can you imagine why?"

The golden-eyed boy nodded. "Because it takes more chakra to make them."

"That's correct. When you use this jutsu, you split your chakra evenly between you and your clones. If you produce one clone, you'll be left with half your chakra. If you produce two clones, you'll be left with one third of your chakra. If you produce three clones, you'll be left with one quarter of your chakra. The list goes on and on."

'That means... All of those times when Naruto created his clones... His chakra was divided in equal parts.' Shujinko went pale as he tried to conceive the preposterous amount of chakra that his teammate possessed. Naruto could create thirty shadow clones without even breaking a sweat. 'The Kyuubi must have something to do with it. It's impossible to be born with chakra levels that big.'

"This is where your water-walking training takes place. You have to make sure you don't waste your chakra when attempting to use this jutsu. If you try to create a clone with less than half your chakra, you can be sure that the jutsu will fail and your energy will be thrown down the toilet. On the other hand, if you use way too much chakra, your stamina and your strength will be drastically reduced, and there's no guarantee that your clone will actually be of use. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Excellent. Now take a step back and watch closely." Shujinko did as told and gave Aoba some space. The Tokubetsu Jounin inhaled deeply and crossed his fingers. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

POOF

An exact replica of Aoba appeared by his side. While other Genins would surely be impressed by the demonstration, the brown-haired boy was used to seeing Naruto create multiple clones at once. But now that he understood the implications of mastering such a high-level technique, he found a whole new level of appreciation.

"Before you start practicing, remember that one good hit will dispel the clone." Aoba said. With a swift move of his hand, he grabbed a kunai and slashed the clone, who immediately disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "That's why you have to make sure to keep your clone out of danger if the situation allows it. Otherwise you'll have to replace it with another clone, which means more waste of chakra."

Nodding in understanding, the brown-haired boy took a deep breath and closed his eyes in deep concentration before crossing his fingers. Measuring chakra was mostly a matter of instinct more than anything. It was easier for some people like Sakura, who had an adequate chakra reserve and a superb chakra control. Thanks to the water-walking exercise, it became less difficult for him to accurately calculate the amount of chakra he had and how much he needed to use.

However, there was something that troubled Shujinko. Knowing that one miserable drop of chakra could be the difference between success and failure was extremely irritating, almost discouraging. Every time he tried to create a shadow clone, he hesitated and ended up doing nothing except looking like a fool.

'For Kami's sake, stop being such a chicken and just try the damn jutsu already!' Shujinko shouted inside his head. His fear for failure, combined with the anxiety and the paranoia, ultimately got the better of Shujinko and made him loose his concentration. "Ka-Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

POOF

Shujinko was so nervous he accidentally slipped and fell on his behind while a cloud of smoke appeared right next to him. With his heart beating dangerously fast, he waited for the smoke to dissipate. Once it was completely gone, the smoke revealed what had to be, without a doubt… the most pathetic excuse of a clone to ever exist.

It honestly looked just as bad as Naruto's clones back in the Academy, and that was being generous. Shujinko's clone had extremely pale skin, grayish hair, and judging by the look on its face, it probably had an advanced case of mental retardation. The damn thing was even drooling, for crying out loud! It made him feel sick just by looking at it.

"Just as I expected. You didn't pour the correct amount of chakra into the jutsu." Aoba said, fighting back the urge to snicker at Shujinko's failed attempt. "This is why it's so important to measure your chakra. But don't worry about it. Just like the water-walking exercise, it'll come naturally over time."

POOF

The clone was so weak that it dispelled itself. Shujinko huffed in frustration and stood up, but as soon as he was back up on his feet, a sudden wave of exhaustion took over by surprise and his legs couldn't support him no more. Before he could do something about it, the golden-eyed boy was on his knees, sweating and gasping for breath. A considerable portion of his chakra was drained in just one attempt, and while he was used to being low on chakra, he didn't expect the aftermath to happen so quickly.

Aoba quickly came to his aid and helped him stand up. "Take it easy and breath slowly. You're not used to this kind of training. Here, have some water."

Shujinko slowly shook his head. "I'm okay." he said between short gasps. "I messed up at the end. I couldn't stop thinking about my chakra, and I got so nervous that I lost my concentration." The Ozuma took a deep breath and met his sensei's eyes. "I'm sorry, I promise I won't screw up again. With more time, I'm sure I can at least- "

"You're afraid of failure, aren't you?" Aoba interrupted him. The Ozuma swallowed his pride and nodded after a minute of silence. "I don't blame you. You have the skill and the mindset to achieve what you want, but you don't allow yourself any room for lack of success. Get rid of that. One loss can teach you more than ten victories put together."

The golden-eyed boy thought about it for a minute, and came to the conclusion that Aoba was right. While his talent and his desire for perfection often worked as a blessing, it also worked as a hindrance when he didn't achieve what he wanted. He was no quitter, that was for sure, but every failed attempt not only damaged his pride, but also made him more frustrated. Taking a deep breath, Shujinko calmed down and promised he would be more lenient with himself from now on. "Thanks, Aoba-sensei. I'll try again."

"No. You've already wasted enough chakra. Take a break and try again once you're feeling better."

"But sensei, I-"

"No."

"Bu-"

"I said no."

"… Fine."

(22:00 P.M.)

Shujinko groaned as the warmth of his bedsheets slowly healed his cold and exhausted body. In terms of physical condition, he wasn't exactly tired, but the amount of chakra he used that day while trying to learn the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu made him feel extremely fragile. It was like having an endless pit inside his stomach.

He made no significant progress with the jutsu whatsoever. The rest of his clones were just as pathetic as the first one. None of them would last longer than a minute before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, and they still looked like the result of a failed genetic experiment. By the end of the day, his chakra was so low Aoba had to end the training earlier than usual and helped Shujinko get back home safely. He even suspended tomorrow's training session so his student could rest properly and gain most of his strength back.

The Shujinko of the past would think this day was a complete waste of time. However, Shujinko didn't feel that way, not anymore. What Aoba said really struck Shujinko: His fear of failure was keeping him down. If he wanted to exploit all of his potential, he needed to get rid of his obsession for perfection and embrace the fact that he was no genius, that he had to work hard like everyone else, learn from his mistakes and be more open-minded.

"… One loss can teach you more than ten victories put together."

'As long as I protect my teammates and those I care for; I'll gladly lose a hundred times. I will become strong…'

As promised, here is chapter 26.

Maybe some of you are wondering why I chose Aoba to be Shujinko's temporary sensei. In my opinion, he's a very competent guy. After all, he's a Tokubetsu Jounin with experience and knowledge, but not overpowered. And besides, his personality is somewhat similar to Shujinko's, so they get along pretty well.

As for Shujinko learning the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, I understand if you're feeling skeptical about it. While it's definitely uncommon, it's not impossible for a Genin to make a shadow clone with proper training. I'm not talking about Kakashi or Itachi, who were prodigies from a very young age. Naruto and Gaara are exceptions due to their status as Jinchurikis, meaning that they can rely on their large chakra reserves. But if someone like Konohamaru can do it at age 12-13, I don't see why Shujinko shouldn't be able to pull it off. Don't worry, he won't be creating dozens of shadow clones anytime soon.

Anyways, I hope you're all satisfied with the outcome. Shujinko is now able to walk/run on water and he's on his way to learn the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Next chapter, Shujinko will be introduced to a very special character whom we all love.

If you like way things are going, feel free to review, favorite and/or follow this story.

Ja ne!