AN: Note that I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or any of the characters from either Anime. This work is a fanfiction written out of my love for the series and not in any attempt to make a profit.

Proofread by: Author

And so, here we go. The chapter where we dive into the concept of shadow clones, how they work, and everything it entails… Well, at least part of it. Make sure to bash me in a review if I mess something up. It tried, but I'm not perfect, so I can't guarantee that I made it perfectly understandable or anything.

(This chapter was previously known as "From the shadows into childhood". The title has since been changed, due to a change impacting the original naming of this chapter, as well as the content of the chapter itself. The edits to this chapter have also, unfortunately, made the chapter a little bit shorter than the standard 2000 word minimum I try to stick to.)

Chapter 121: Half of a half, not quite there


The first step in forming a shadow clone was the hand seals. Oddly enough, despite the technique being complicated and requiring enough chakra to possibly kill someone below Jōnin levels in chakra, it only required a single hand seal. The clone seal. This made the entire process of mastering the shadow clones both easier, and harder, as the hand seals in any technique aided in shaping the chakra molded for the technique. The fewer hand seals there were, the more of the control and actual work was left to the user. Thankfully, Sakura and Heikō had Tsunade to guide them through each step. Something they doubted Naruto would have been able to do half as clearly as Tsunade could. Details were important when teaching someone medicine, and that particular trait seemed to extend to all other forms of teaching for Tsunade as well. The Haruno sisters were thankful for that while shuddering at how vague Kakashi's directions would have ended up being.

The second step was to understand what the technique roughly did. It had always baffled Sakura how the technique required Jōnin levels of chakra, while the technique was only supposed to use half of your chakra, and very little of it actually going towards creating the clone, as the clone would keep the remaining chakra as its own reserves. Naruto had never been able to explain it, and Kakashi had refused to get into the mechanics of a forbidden technique with them. Fortunately, Tsunade was able to finally explain it.

The Shadow Clone technique required an initial burst of chakra, equal to what a Jōnin would have as a way to provide the technique with a strong enough template. Unlike an academy clone which was nothing but an illusion or the transformation technique, outward appearances, and basic anatomical knowledge wasn't enough to keep in mind in order to create a shadow clone. The technique required a complete overview of the entire individual, down to even the microscopic level, and possibly even more. The particular burst of chakra was akin to a three-dimensional x-ray flash, with part of the chakra recording the results revealed by the "flash". As the entire process was internal, all the chakra used to produce the "flash" returned to the chakra network, mostly undetectable to others, even sensors. Once one had a record, or template to use, they were ready for the third step.

The third step was creating the clone itself. A human being required a surprisingly small amount of chakra to live, and a transformation technique could substitute differences at the cost of chakra. Very similar to how a transformation technique worked, the chakra was used to create things that weren't there, forming a clone from nothing, using the template to create internal organs, microorganisms, and chemical reactions that would normally occur in a living being. The fact that it was even possible to go that far, using so little chakra had astounded Sakura and Heikō. Of course, the most baffling was the fact that it could even replicate the mind, and the thoughts at the time the technique was used.

Of course, the clone created, while physical and fully functional down to a microscopic level at the very least, was still made entirely of chakra, not actual matter. Interestingly enough, once the clone was formed, the very same principles that kept any other living being alive, did the same for the clone. The chakra forming the clone was kept stable by itself, and Heikō had to knock Sakura out of the paradoxical train of thought that revelation had led to.

Once the clone had formed, the remaining chakra of both the clone and the user was split equally, leaving them both with an equal amount of chakra. The entire process was almost entirely automatic, once one understood roughly what one was supposed to do and how much chakra to use. It took Sakura three tries before she managed to produce an actual Shadow clone.

The first attempt had allowed Sakura and Heikō to feel their chakra go through the entire process up to the moment the clone should have been formed. Something had gone wrong with the template, and the clone never ended up forming, leaving them with a small loss in chakra, but nothing else too troublesome. Their second attempt resulted in the clone being formed, only to immediately dispel before half of their chakra could be given to it, making their head swim and their body feel ill as the chakra inside of them seemed to lurch in place, as if it had tried to leap, only to be stopped by their body mid-leap. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, and Tsunade had taken a moment to make sure they were alright, before their third attempt. From their third attempt, they finally managed to perform the technique and a second Sakura appeared next to them, forming the clone seal, just like Sakura was.

Sakura and Heikō could both feel the half-formed consciousness within, which they were surprised could actually produce Mental energy. However, no physical or Natural energy seemed to originate from the clone, besides what the clone already had. They realized that it hadn't been just their chakra, but also their physical, mental, and Natural energy that had been distributed between them and the clone.

"Okay, this is weird." The clone spoke, looking over at Sakura for a moment, before flipping her braid over to the left shoulder.

"It really is. I can tell we're the clone, but I don't feel any different than normal." She observed while looking down at her hands, inspecting them for any possible flaws or signs that would give them away as the clone, unable to find them while the original Sakura allowed herself to smile.

"I did it!" Sakura cheered, immensely pleased with herself, making Tsunade chuckle as Sakura threw both arms into the air, hands closed into fists while cheering.

"You did. Although, you seem to forget that this is only part of learning this technique. Now, it's time to get used to the feedback a shadow clone produces when it dispels." Tsunade reminded them, before gesturing towards the clone. "If you would." She told it and with a nod, the clone burst into a small cloud of smoke, while Sakura shook from the sudden onslaught of memories that appeared in her mind, the memories of the clone overlapping with her own perspective of the time the clone had been there.

"Oh, that's… a bit unnerving," Sakura muttered, as she tried to process the new memories. It had been an unfortunate reminder of the time Danzo had attempted to brainwash them, only that it had been more of a nightmare scenario where the memories they got actually ended up in the proper place. Thankfully, they didn't overwrite the already existing memories, and could easily be told apart, as clone Sakura and clone Heikō had been perfectly aware of their clone status.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade inquired, with a raised eyebrow.

"The memories of the clone felt a lot like when we were almost brainwashed," Sakura explained, making Tsunade grimace at the information, before nodding in acceptance of her explanation.

"I see. That's unfortunate, but I hope it's something that you two can overcome and live with. While similar, I doubt it's traumatic enough that you won't use clones, judging by your reaction. Is that correct?" Tsunade asked them, receiving a nod from Sakura.

"We're fine. It was just an uncomfortable reminder. Now that we're aware of the similarities, they won't bother us again." Sakura assured Tsunade who nodded in acceptance.

"Alright. In that case, how about you form another clone then? You should have gotten nearly all of your chakra back, considering the fact that your clone barely did anything." Tsunade pointed out, and Sakura nodded, as she once again formed the clone seal, making another shadow clone appear, only to frown.

"Okay, knowing you're a clone is definitely annoying. It's like a constant reminder." The clone complained, before relaxing and sighing before shaking its head and sighing. "I guess it's tolerable, but we should look into possibly getting rid of that feature." The clone told them, before dropping it and instead smiling before looking at Tsunade. "I want to try making another clone as a shadow clone. There shouldn't be any dangers to the original, right?" The clone asked, and Tsunade nodded, frowning at the odd revelation the clone had shared.

The clone sighed when it got permission, and the original Sakura and Heikō focused their senses on the clone to feel what was about to happen. As soon as the clone formed the clone seal and executed the technique, it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Surprisingly, however, another clone appeared in its place, while Sakura's and Heikō's chakra reserves refilled themselves with about a quarter of their chakra capacity. The new clone, however, wasn't what they had expected. Instead of a perfect replica of Sakura, the clone was a much shorter child, that reminded Sakura and Heikō of their four-year-old self, wearing a dress that Sakura remembered her mother had given away long ago. The memories of the dispelled shadow clone provided Sakura and Heikō with an answer to the unexpected situation, revealing that their clone had decided to modify the shadow clone technique, leaving a few options if a complete clone couldn't be created.

The four-year-old clone looked around with wide eyes, looking startled, before calming down as her eyes landed on the original Sakura before it suddenly rushed over to Sakura with its arms outstretched for a hug and a huge grin on her face, before exclaiming "Mommy!" Bewildering Sakura and Heikō, who froze up, letting themselves be caught in the clone's hug while trying to figure out what it meant.

The worst possible scenario they could imagine was that something had gone so incredibly wrong, that the mind now in control of the clone had been limited. The clone, from what they understood, shouldn't have formed successfully, at all, considering the significantly smaller amount of chakra their clone had. Yet it had, only at a smaller size. If the mind in the clone had been reduced as well, the child clone might have been just as mentally developed as a four-year-old considering its appearance, which would imply it was missing a significant amount of memories as well. In dawning horror, Sakura looked down at the beaming little kid and wondered about the ethical implications of dispelling the clone and be done with it or keeping it around to study and understand it. Tsunade on the other hand had fallen over, laughing.


AN: Hah, I bet no one expected a little chibi to be the result of this chapter, were you? Well, don't worry. There is a perfectly logical explanation for this in the next chapter, I promise.

Now, the explained mechanics behind the shadow clones and how they work, was it too hard to follow, and did it make sense? I wish to ensure all of us are on the same page, so if you wonder about anything, or have questions about it, feel free to either DM me or ask about it in a review. Oh, and a reminder to all of you, I can't actually respond to guest reviews. I allow them because I feel everyone should have a voice, but someone had been leaving a few guest reviews lately, concerning things they don't agree with or can't understand why I did as I did. It's honestly a little disheartening, being unable to explain, refute, or deny things people say about what I've written.