Legion of Naruto

by DarkWolfy

So his clones were solid, and he could learn faster with them too, but a simple idea would lead to a child's idea of what a badass really could be. Cause if you can spam suicide clones, why not make it fun?

9. Chapter 9

-AN-

I deviated a little from my outline for this chapter, cause I just didn't like the pacing. I wanna start getting to where the story more fully diverges from canon. And that's gonna start coming full steam. Plus, we gotta get to thruple drama.

-Story Start-

Jiraiya was not ready for the energy that a teenage boy could exude on a daily basis and he had no problem admitting that. That said, it was truly fascinating watching the young Uzumaki work through problems in his own chaotic way. Sure he was no genius, but show the kid how to do something and he would practice it over and over again until he got it. And his ideas about anything involving explosions and seals? Yeah even Jiraiya was rethinking some things. He'd never had to think about what would happen if one turned a storage seal inside out before, but that had been one of the first questions Naruto had asked. From there it was collapsing matrices, multilayered explosion seals, ninja tool recall seals. And the hordes of clones that the kid could throw at any problem. Jiraiya could tell him that a seal took him years to figure out and learn, and with clones the kid shortened it down to days if not hours. And wasn't that a kick in the gonads, such a cheat skill. He did have to correct a few things with the kid about the clones though. He had been assuming that because the clones had no mass that it was harder to see them. The truth was that the clones pretty much blanketed an area with chakra and with them using shunshin at the same time it was like trying to locate a specific drop of water in a river. Considering he was using the tactic of suicide bombing clones, this was something he was going to start doing often and with extreme prejudice. Not that the old sage would stop him, or could really. But that was the point Jiraiya was learning with the boy, even if he was doing something wrong for a long time, it seemed all he needed was someone to correct him with genuine effort and he'd be doing things right from then on. It was exhausting to deal with really. And there was the other thing.

"Hey Pervy Sage, the Hokage said I could keep this book of seals, isn't that awesome!" Cheering for himself the boy sat down to quickly get to seal practice, some new idea in his head. Jiraiya couldn't figure out how the kid kept seeming to find left over scrolls and books from his mother, but he shouldn't have been at all. Everything from the Uzumaki clan was supposed to be in a vault, specifically for him when he got older. Sensei had said that they must have been lost before the vault was sealed, but Jiraiya wasn't buying it. He had watched Kushina write the one Naruto currently had, and it had been around the later months of her pregnancy. No time to get lost before her death. Shaking the thought free and trusting the hokage, Jiraiya walked forward and ignored the lines of clones balancing on kunai.

"Don't forget your summoning practice."

"Oh right!" Naruto Idly made the necessary seals and slammed a hand down. A much smaller poof of smoke later and a small toad just slightly bigger than his hand was there giving a salute to the boy who was already bring out a decent bag of candy.

"Yo bro! What crazy stuff are we doing today?" Gamakichi, son of Bunta the toad boss, was summoned a few days ago as Naruto got a feel for the toads and how he could work with them. These two had become fast friends over a general love of life and flashy things.

Naruto sat the bag in front of his small friend and pointed at his book, "Nothing crazy today. Trying to figure out this seal idea I have. I wanna seal an explosion in a storage seal, and then compress it." He really wasn't even sure if such a thing would work. But his idea was to seal way more than the normal amount of explosives in a seal, then seal that first seal within a complex matrix of compression seals. The idea was to ignite all of the explosives inside the first seal, then rupture it. The compression seals would fight it, attempting to crush the explosion in the size of a chickpea, and hopefully by the time they failed, the explosion would be beyond a critical point and would be way larger than it should be since it had the extra time to ignite all of it's material. He had learned in earlier experiments that when his normal explosives ignited, not everything went off at once. That was lost material and was not efficient and if he was exploding stuff he was going to make sure he exploded everything. Of course that would only happen if he got this to work.

The rest of the day was spent like that, Jiraiya looking over Naruto's shoulder and giving him tips and advice, but mostly allowing the boy to work through the problem on his own. As per Naruto's normal routine Ino eventually came to visit with lunch in hand. Jiraiya liked the spunky girl and approved of her methods. The way Naruto had described her at first he was ready to meet a fangirl or some vapid body chaser. But watching the girl occasionally train alongside the boy as well as put away the food just like him, he had a better opinion now. Though he could tell this was a recent change in her, her body still on the skinny side but she was beginning to put on some healthy weight in muscle. Now he just had to meet the little Hyuuga girl to get a better idea of Naruto's tastes.

Watching the sun begin to fall while Naruto was laying out a large sheet of paper, the toad sage sighed, "Please tell me this isn't another explosion experiment?"

Unsealing a small pot of toad oil graciously given by one of the many toads he had summoned up till now, Naruto nodded without even looking. "Explosions are pure beauty given form."

Jiraiya knew society had done the boy wrong at some point, "You mean women, not explosions."

Naruto began packing explosive notes all around the pot, before adding lines of seals from the pot to connect with the paper and the storage seal he had modified. "Well, sure yeah, but I'm to young for that, so explosions over women."

Sighing and sitting down, Jiraiya shook his head, "I'm so going to have to take you away from this village and fix you if they have your brain scrambled that badly." Maybe it would give him time to figure out how to tell the kid he was his godfather.

Naruto grinned as he finished his work. He had connected and modified everything as per his and Kushina's own notes, so now was just to test it. Applying chakra to the seal, it first sealed away the pot and explosive notes leaving behind a large sheet of chakra with excessive seals inscribed on it, then at the second point and another poof a sheet of chakra paper not much larger than a normal explosive note. Grinning in excitement Naruto tied the seal to a kunai and pocketed it for later. Now with the more known value explosive experiment out of the way. It was time to move on to the unknown one. Drawing forth a second storage scroll and unsealing it's contents, it was Jiraiya that again piped up.

"What's that all about kid?" Seeing a bedsheet sized seal matrix that was half finished along with several baskets worth of rocks, the old sage could only wonder at what the kid was thinking.

Moving the basket of heavy metal to the center of the array and already working on seals around it, Naruto was nervous as he explained this one. "Have you ever thought about what happens when you put something in a storage seal?"

Shrugging as something so basic wasn't on his radar Jiraiya shook his head, "Can't say that I have."

Naruto nodded, "I never did either. Sure yeah anything you put in a seal is kinda set in stasis and that's it. But I was always curious, could you make the storage seal do other things? Like say turn something inside out or liquefy it? Or like I wanna do, break something down to it's base pieces."

"And why would you wanna do that? It's just going to be in storage."

"Not when I destabilize the seal and turn it inside out." Missing the Jiraiya's horrified look, Naruto pressed on with his experimental seal. It was a silent 10 minutes that passed before Naruto activated this seal. Watching as first it scrolled together and miniaturized itself before rolling into a normal looking storage scroll. The three black bands that held it closed were a nice touch and made sure he wouldn't mistake it for another scroll. Again into a pouch this one went and it was saved for another day. Today wasn't the day to test this out after all. Granted, there might not be any day to test that out any time soon. Maybe after the finals he and his team could take a mission out of the village. Beginning to dispel his clones in groups so he could make sure he didn't run into an mental strain, Naruto turned to his current sensei, "I'm pretty much done for the day." Thinking about it, he should probably up his weights tomorrow since it was getting pretty easy to move about again.

Jiraiya looked the boy over before walking forward and laying a hand on his shoulder, "You've worked hard this month kid. I'm proud of ya."

While Naruto wasn't completely warmed up to the pervert, he could admit that the man had not only done a lot for him, but had also treated him as a real ninja. He didn't automatically assume Naruto was joking around or looking to play a prank. He took him seriously like a sensei should and Naruto appreciated that. Plus he had helped him take one more step closer towards being Hokage. Now if he just didn't have to peep so often.

"The finals are in a few days, so that means training time is done. Spend a few days relaxing and resting. Let your body heal. At most you can practice your seals at home, while being safe, and that's it. No explosions." Jiraiya had to get some things ready as well. He was on duty for the exams after all.

Nodding and figuring the man would say something like that, Naruto turned to leave, Gamakichi in his hair, "Alright pervy sage! I'll see ya later!" And like that he was off, bouncing through the trees. The Kyuubi jailer was in a good mood today. His training had been going well and his experiment seemed to work out just as he had hoped. Now maybe to round out a good day he could go and visit Hinata-chan before heading home. Besides hanging out with Gamakichi there wasn't much to do after all.

"Hey bro, I actually need to get back, I'll see ya later!" And like that the oyabun's son was gone and Naruto was on his own.

Shrugging and wishing the little toad well in his mind Naruto now reduced his evening to yet another dinner alone. Bursting out into the outer areas of the village, Naruto made a beeline for the hospital. Hopefully Hinata wasn't asleep this time as the last time he tried to visit she had been and the nurses had looked at him funny when he had decided to watch over her instead of go home. It's not like he had anything else to do. Shaking that thought from his head and hopping over rooftops towards his goal he decided he was going to keep his good mood!

-b-

The village was alive with visitors and had gained a festive feel that even the civilians had been swept up into. The day of the finals was here and people from all walks of life were ready to see the conclusion. Naruto however was checking the last of his equipment and making preparations with his various seals and weapons. He had made sure to deactivate his weight seals and have moved anything experimental into a special pouch he now kept on his lower back. Didn't want that stuff to be in easy reach after all. Pretty sure he'd not be promoted if he blew up the stadium. However that was a hour ago and now he was making his way to the competitor entrance of the arena. Or he would be if he hadn't spied Hinata-chan and Ino-hime waiting for him. Running up to the girls with a smile Naruto was full of cheer that was infectious.

"Good to see you out of the hospital Hinata-chan!"

Hinata nodded, "I was told to take it easy. But I'm cleared for light duty from now on." Kurenai-sensei was waiting for her in the stands, ready to cheer their friends on or in her case, just this one. The girl shivered slightly but tried not to draw attention to it. She had forgotten her jacket at home, but knowing she was meeting with Naruto had prevented her from going back and getting it.

Ino had bounced forward and slugged the boy in the shoulder, "You better knock em dead, and give that lazy Shikamaru a reason to actually do something!" While she would happily root for both her teammate and her crush, she knew who she wanted to see take it all.

Naruto however had focused on the pale girl next to them, and driving his sword into the ground for a moment he removed his jacket. Before either girl could say a word, Naruto had draped it over Hinata's shoulders. Stepping back and admiring his work, the girl looked good in black, "Keep it safe for me would ya? Things are gonna get dicey and I've gotten kind of attached to it." Sure making up a reason to keep the girl warm was a little underhanded, but seeing the color return to her cheeks meant it was a job well done.

Knowing the near meltdown Hinata wouldn't be able to answer anytime soon, Ino turned to the bare armed boy, "New look? I approve."

Naruto had decided that the black had looked decent on him. Plus it hid the carbon from his explosions pretty well. So he now wore black combat boots with mainly black cargo pants. They did have orange highlights around the ankles, knees, and the waist however. Black weapons pouches adorned each hip and the small of his back now, while pockets lined with storage seals took care of kunai and shuriken. His other addition was a black mesh shirt and orange muscle shirt. Normally his jacket would break it up, but he didn't need it today. Returning his sword to his back, Naruto chuckled, "Someone keeps harping on me about fashion and function, so I decided to listen."

Happy in a way she couldn't fully describe, Ino nodded and stepped away from Naruto, "We'll be cheering for you, so you better knock em dead." Leaning closer in a mock whisper the girl held a hand to her face, "Just don't blow up Shika, kay?"

Nodding Naruto turned to go, "Don't worry, I'll take it easy on him if we have to fight. But I plan on winning this thing." Turning and running through the entrance, he missed the slightly jealous look Ino shot Hinata.

"Bet you're real warm in there aren't you?"

"Like you wouldn't believe you harpy." A more bold Hinata pulled the jacket tighter around her shoulders.

Rolling her eyes and walking the girl inside, Ino couldn't let that slide, friend or not, "Says the cow who only has one thing going for her."

"Some girls just flower later, it's okay Ino-chan."

"You win today, but I'll make up for it, just you wait."

Snuggling deeper into the jacket with a smile Hinata shrugged, "You never know." She had gotten closer to the truth over the last few weeks. And her idea and plan might just have some merit.

Naruto however was no longer having thoughts about cute girls with soft curves. No today was the day of the finals! Today he'd get a stage to show off his skill, his art! Then his eyes landed on the other competitors, and he was reminded that today was the day he got to wipe the floor with a certain stuck up Hyuuga. So as he came into the line up and waited for instructions, Naruto's mind was already moving along with battle plans.

For another 10 minutes the group waited while the proctor, a different man Naruto didn't recognize, stood watching them. An Anbu member jumped down to whisper something into his ear which had him scoffing but turning his full attention to them all. "Sasuke Uchiha is late, but is being given a buy at the moment till his match. Remember you are all fighting for the glory and status of your villages along with your own advancement. These matches are to the death or submission. Unless I step in at any point. If I say a match is over, that means it's over. Anyone stepping out of line will be disqualified and disciplined, understood?" At everyone's nods, Genma motioned to a stairwell. "Everyone not Naruto Uzumaki or Neji Hyuuga are to wait in the competitors box." As everyone else left, Naruto and Neji paced away from each other.

Neji was already bored and ready to be done, "What is some nameless loser supposed to do with me? You're weak and a failure, just quit and save yourself the shame." Naruto however was ignoring him, searching the stands for Ino-hime and Hinata-chan. He wanted to make sure they were safely seated. Belatedly he remembered that several disguised clones were on that jacket and hoped they would behave. That also meant he'd have to make some new one's for himself eventually. Turning and spotting the seething boy once he had seen them among some of their other rookies, Naruto shrugged,

"Sorry, you say something?"

"SO HIP AND COOL! KAKASHI TAUGHT YOU WELL!"

Neji didn't however let him break his calm, "I said you might as well quit. You failures never know when to give up and accept life isn't fair. You can't work past your fate."

Naruto shrugged, hands on his hips, "I guess we'll see in minute huh?"

"Are you ladies done or would you like to sit down for some tea?" Genma was already over the teenage melodrama. But seeing the boys nod he amplified his voice, "Round 1 between Neji Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki! Begin!" And he was gone in a shunshin, ready to step in if needed.

Neji was already closing the distance, palm already outstretched, "I'll make this quick!" Feeling his hand make contact, he already knew something was wrong.

"Yeah, you will. Tata asshole!" The clone only had a split second before it exploded, sending the pale Hyuuga spiraling through the air on an uncontrolled course. Hidden away in the trees by a kawarimi, Naruto made a dozen clones with specific instructions and waited while they set upon the boy. No sense getting close to a Hyuuga. Hinata had taught him that.

Neji hit the ground and rolled, coming to his feet as fast as he could. Byakugan activating he noticed with some frustration that he couldn't tell the clones from the real Naruto, each having a chakra network. Spinning in place and connecting a foot with the chest of one, he felt a hand slap his calf.

"Ooooh, so close!" As the clone poofed away, the tag it left behind sizzled before again exploding. Though this one was more of the training variety, it still sent Neji for a tumble. Which was stopped by another clone first kicking him into the air and then smashing a fist into his face, "Com'on I thought you Hyuuga were good at taijutsu!" Sent off in a new direction like a pinball, Neji wasn't given time to make a plan or dodge properly.

Upset that his trump card was already coming out, Neji frowned as he might have underestimated the boy. As three clones were jumping towards him at once, he began to spin, "Kaiten!" Pouring chakra from his pores and rotating like a buzzsaw, the dome of chakra exploded into existence. The three engaging clones all met their end, while the remaining 7 held back and waited. Once the Hyuga finished his spin, they were on him again. Though now more alert though damaged and bleeding, Neji was able to defend himself a bit better, dispelling several clones before he caught sight of something appearing behind him just outside his blind spot. It'd eat up chakra but he was already starting another Kaiten.

Still in the trees and making another dozen clones the blonde Uzumaki frowned. So the Byakugan really did give him the ability to see 360 degrees around himself. His reaction time was also pretty good. No Orochimaru or Jiraiya, but still decent. That meant it was time for operation ankle biter. Mentally sending the order and watching things unfold, Naruto had to wonder if this might be a little over kill.

Neji frowned as even more clones began appearing from the trees, another dozen it looked like. Tightening his stance, he was able to finally pick out what he thought was the real one, the chakra network more complex that the others. Dodging and rolling between the attacking clones while showing off why the Hyuuga could be considered so dangerous, he finally got within range. "You're within range of my divination! Eight Trigrams, 64 palms!" Pusling chakra coursing through his hands, he lunged forward at the surprised Naruto. "Two palms!" Two hits and an explosions much larger than the others later, Neji's bleeding form was ejected from the plume of smoke in the opposite direction. Landing in a heap and barely conscious, Neji could only look up as several Naruto's all surrounded him. "You gave me what I wanted to see."

One of the Naruto's nodded, "You're pretty easy to figure out you know. Life was shitty to you, probably to young to do anything about it, and now you lash out at everyone else. I'd say I was like that once too before turning to pranking but that wouldn't do it justice really." Squatting next to the downed Hyuuga, the clone grinned blue and purple eye shining, "I promised Hinata not to kill you. And I honored that because I think she deserves a real apology from you. She's stronger than you or me after all. Maybe you should re-evaluate what that means yourself?" Then all of the clones dispelled as the proctor dropped down into the field. Genma saw that Neji was unable to continue and raised his hand.

"Winner of the first round, Naruto Uzumaki!" The crowd roared with approval and it brought a small smile to Naruto's face. As he looked up and found Hinata and Ino cheering just loud enough for him to hear though, his smile brightened even more. He would definitely be making this an explosion of a debut for the new him.

Above him and in the stands, Ino shook Kiba hard enough to send his eyes swirling, "Did you see that! He wiped the floor with Neji! He never even got hit once! That's some real skill."

Hinata nodded, "He's trained so hard. He was already something of a powerhouse at the preliminaries. How much do you think he's improved since then?"

Kurenai was watching the boy curiously as he left the arena. She had been happy with the changes in her charge lately and had figured that the girl had finally worked up the courage to talk to him. Seeing him now in battle, she was starting to get an idea of why Hinata herself was beginning to push herself. "If I had to say, just on tactics alone he's chunin ready."

Kiba looked up to his sensei, "That knucklehead? How so? He just spams clones and loves blowing things up!"

Kurenai nodded. "But from another perspective, he kept himself out of harms reach, knowing the Hyuuga penchant for close range battle. He used his clones to ascertain his opponents skill and come up with a plan. That shows an ability to at least lead a small squad. Yes, if this was a match to the death he could have ended it sooner by blowing Neji apart with that first clone, but he didn't. That shows thought and restraint. And last, after finding the Hyuuga's hidden techniques he devised a way to counter them in the simplest way that worked with his skills." Kurenai nodded to herself. Battle coordination, basic planning, and skill level. The boy was chunin material in her mind. But her's wasn't the only one that got to decide that after all.

Slightly behind her, the sensei of team 10 Asuma spoke up, "Gotta admit, I wasn't really expecting Kakashi's explosive happy student to get so far. He's got some talent." That he might be losing some ryo by the end of this was a sore spot though and he just knew the masked ninja was going to be smug about it.

Leaning back now and grabbing an embarrassed Choji by the neck, Ino was laughing away, "Hear that! Naruto might be the first of us to hit chunin! How's that for academy dead last." Which was really a weird thing. What had happened after leaving the academy to change Naruto so much? Or was this who he always was and he just hadn't gotten the correct teachers to bring it out of him? Mysteries and questions.

Down below and inside the competitors box was a happy Naruto leaning against the viewing window. He got to trounce Neji and make Hinata smile, that was a good day in his book. Though the glare he could feel burning into the back of his head was a different matter.

'The red head boy is like you. Don't disappoint me.' The Kyuubi had decided to speak up. Odd that.

'You mean a container? Well why didn't you tell me sooner?' Naruto was only slightly upset that he heard nothing else from the Fox, but that should have been expected. The Kyuubi was willing to act like a battery when needed and not a moment before. The fact that he warned him at all probably meant that he wanted to make sure Naruto didn't embarrass him as a container. Not that he would since he still had some flashy stuff to show off today.

Shikamaru however sidled up next to the blonde, bored and ready to be home, "Did a pretty good job there explody boy. Any chance you could take it easy on me later?"

Naruto shrugged, "I did promise Ino-hime not to blow you to pieces. But that does give me other options." Looking over at the pineapple haired boy, Naruto nodded only slightly to Gaara, "Be careful with that one if you have to fight him. Don't fight him at all if you can."

Surprised that Naruto had caught on to that the tactical boy nodded while dropping his voice to a whisper, "Yeah I was actually going to warn you myself. Glad we're on the same page." Hearing the proctor announce that the match between Shino and Kankuro went to Shino by forfeit, Shikamaru frowned, "Guess that was a pretty shitty match up. Shino's bugs would tear threw his puppets."

Naruto nodded as the next match was announced, "You're up lazy bones."

"You spend way to much time with Ino." However Shikamaru headed down to the stands without further prompting, mind nagging at him.

Naruto however was trying to get in touch with the fox. 'Hey you furry asshole, I got a question for you.'

'Speak it then, I was enjoying a nap.'

Wondering just why a thousand year old fox would want to nap at all when stuck inside a cage, Naruto shook it off, 'how worried should I be about Gaara?'

There was a growl in response before Naruto felt the demon consider the question, 'the demon within him, Shukaku, is absolutely a nutter. Based on what I'm feeling, their seal is much weaker than ours. So I will offer this one bit of advice. Do not let that boy go to sleep. If he does, you will be fighting the demon, not him.'

Naruto nodded to himself and watched an irritated Shikamaru battling it out against Temari. Apparently his original opponent Dosu was a no show. 'I'll keep that in mind.' Naruto was trying to follow Shikamaru's match, but it was slow going. The boy had figured out that he couldn't get close to Temari no matter what he tried, so he seemed to be trying to wait her out. Temari was marking lines in the dirt and staying behind them, already having figured out Shikamaru's range with his shadow tendril. And she knew better than to try to take to the shadowed treeline. That was an instant loss for her. Which mean as the morning turned into the afternoon and even a little further, Naruto was ready to toss a clone or two to speed things up, and from the sounds of it so were the rest of the crowd. It was in the end thanks to several craters left before from his explosions that allowed Shikamaru to catch the fan wielding girl. Though Naruto and everyone else was frustrated when after all that the tactical boy surrendered anyway on some excuse about using to much chakra. Possibly true, but doubtful. More likely the boy was just ready to be done with the exams. Somewhere out there Naruto could hear Ino screaming. This however meant Gaara was soon down in the field alone and waiting for his own opponent. One Sasuke Uchiha who was still late.

It was Shino who snuck up on the Uzumaki, "Did your teammate decide to back out?" Voice quiet, the Aburame was not normally one to reach out.

Naruto shook his head, "He's with Kakashi sensei, so more likely their either being fashionably late or drama queens." Seeing the swirl of leaves and the appearance of his missing team members, Naruto pointed and nodded, "Yup, drama queens." Naruto had wished Sasuke had been there earlier so that Naruto could warn him, but all he could do now is wait and hope his rival could hold his own. Naruto fingered his sword however, ready to leap in and interfere regardless on the exam. He had felt that bloodlust from the sand ninja briefly, and he wasn't going to give him the chance to kill a friend.

-AN-

And we're into the finals! Neji gets to live with all of his parts intact, and for the most parts things stayed canon. But now the real fun begins. Cause Naruto might just have a reason to test out what happens when atomized matter gets released from a scroll soon. And well, physics are a bitch. Live your lives well everyone.

- OMAKE -

Hiruzen could say a lot about his hobbies, few that they were in his old age. The tobacco that his physician told him again and again to quit. Which he always ignored. To his little orange books that always showed up when a new issue was available, signed and sealed. Such a joy students could be. To finally his scrying ball, which was always worth using to check in on some of his most notable ninja. From Kakashi and his latest excuse to his students, to Gai on his daily challenges to his smaller clone. Everyone had something they did to brighten this old ninja's day stuck behind this desk.

There was one ninja however that was beginning to really worry him however. And worse was that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

More than Gai expanding his followers of youth and green spandex, it was a certain blonde surprise that had taken his attention more than normal recently. Because while everyone else had their usual quirks with dealing with the stresses of ninja life, Naruto had decided blowing things up would be his. And he was good at it! Becoming extremely good. Already he had been getting complaints from other sensei's and some civilians about the tremors and outright earthquakes that were set off when one of Naruto's experiments succeeded. And when they failed?

Well no one had used training ground 3 in a long time so the lake that now was forming in it's place, the crater filling in from the river nearby, was probably a welcome change. But today as the Hokage tuned into the boy and immediately began to pale, he wondered if he could convince Jiraiya to take the hat with enough porn. Maybe he could let the man make an official Kunoichi uniform standard to sweeten the deal.

Because there was no way he was dealing with the boy who had just figured out how to destabilize a compressed but sealed sealing matrix. It was bad enough he had figured out how to break matter down to it's most basic components. But to then inverse all of that and release all that rendered energy into the real world? Nope, there'd be no village left. Maybe half of the land of fire would be gone. He'd have to talk to the boy about that. Impress that certain things were best left to imagination, and not real world. Why had he felt pity and let the boy have his mother's notes? That had only led to worry and ruin. Why couldn't the boy be more like his father?