"A forbidden jutsu?"
Hearing that, Uchiha Sasuke's eyes lit up slightly—but Itachi saw through him immediately.
"Sasuke, are you thinking that if you master forbidden jutsu, you'll become stronger?"
"Isn't that right?" Sasuke answered with the straightforward certainty of a boy his age. "If it's called a forbidden jutsu, it must be because it's too powerful—too dangerous to let people learn casually."
Itachi let out a soft sigh, his gaze sweeping across the four in front of him. "Looks like I need to explain ninjutsu rankings first."
"Ninjutsu is usually divided into six grades: E, D, C, B, A, and S. But the grade isn't determined by the power of the technique—it's based on difficulty. For example, E-rank is the most basic techniques; the Three Basic Techniques fall into this category. D-rank is a bit more complex, covering some simple elemental techniques and taijutsu. Once you get to C-rank and above, you need better chakra control and a deeper chakra reserve. It's also the starting line for most genjutsu."
Sasuke asked eagerly, "Then what about forbidden jutsu? What rank are forbidden jutsu?"
"Forbidden jutsu isn't a rank." Itachi looked at Sasuke, his tone turning serious. "Forbidden jutsu refers to techniques that cause severe harm to the user, or violate ethics. Some consume the user's life force. Some require sacrificing someone else's life. Some cause irreversible damage to the user's body. Multiple Shadow Clone is one of those."
"Forbidden techniques are forbidden not because they're too powerful, but because the price of using them is too heavy. Some forbidden jutsu are terrifyingly strong—but using them once might cost you your life. That kind of power isn't worth chasing."
Sasuke lowered his head, falling into thought.
In other words… as long as I can pay the price, forbidden jutsu can still be used by me?
Itachi watched his brother's thoughtful expression and assumed he'd understood the intended lesson.
"So, Sasuke—don't blindly chase 'strong' techniques. A true strong person isn't measured by how many forbidden jutsu he knows, but by how far he can push even ordinary techniques. Great Fireball is only C-rank by classification, but it's famous because the one using it is Uchiha."
Sasuke thought it over. Uchiha excelled at Fire Style and the Sharingan anyway, so he let go of the forbidden-technique idea.
"I understand."
Itachi nodded, then looked to Kiyonari. "Kiyonari-kun, Shadow Clone is a B-rank technique. I need to confirm your chakra control. Let's do this—try tree climbing first."
"I can do that."
Kiyonari walked to a tree and concentrated chakra into the soles of his feet, forming a thin layer of adhesion.
Then he stepped onto the trunk and sprinted up in just a few strides—so fast it was shocking. In no time, he was at the top. Standing on the treetop, he looked down and heard a chorus of "Whoa!"
"Is this okay?" he called down.
"You were too fast just now," Itachi motioned for him to come down. "I need you to go up slowly, one step at a time. Don't rush. Precisely control how much chakra you put into your soles so the adhesion remains stable."
"I understand."
Kiyonari jumped down and tried again.
First step—success.
Second step—he stuck firmly to the trunk, his body nearly parallel to the ground.
Third step—still easy.
He kept going. But when he reached about halfway up, he suddenly felt the adhesion weaken. His body wobbled, and he fell.
Right as he was about to hit the ground, Itachi rushed in and caught him steadily.
Sasuke watched the scene—especially how Kiyonari ended up safely in his brother's arms—and a sour, indescribable feeling surged in his chest.
I… I was here first! If I go to the clan training grounds, I have to watch out for Shisui. If I come here, I still have to watch out for Kiyonari!
Seriously… why are they like this?!
Itachi set Kiyonari down. "For practicing Shadow Clone, this is already enough. Try it once. I'll watch."
Kiyonari took a deep breath and formed the hand seals.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
With a poof, two identical Hyuga Kiyonari appeared in the smoke.
Itachi used his Sharingan to observe the chakra flow inside him, then said, "You're distributing too much chakra—wasting it. If you can control it more precisely, it'll be better. Now try again."
"Okay."
Kiyonari nodded, dispelled the clone, and formed seals again.
"Still too much. Try reducing your chakra by another half-percent."
"Now that's good. Remember this amount. Next, try making two shadow clones?"
…
After that, under Itachi's guidance, Kiyonari practiced Shadow Clone over and over. The number increased from one to three—that was his current limit.
And because a shadow clone's memories return to the original when it dispels, in real combat it was best to make at most two clones. Of course, this limit could be raised gradually with repeated training.
Maybe Senju Tobirama had done it on purpose: shadow clones weren't especially durable. It was likely to prevent a clone from taking too much damage and affecting the original. Even so, the memories that returned when each clone was destroyed still left the original dizzy and nauseated.
It was only because Uzumaki Naruto was so thick-skinned—plus he had Uzumaki vitality and Nine-Tails chakra stacked on top of each other—that he could spam clones however he liked. On his first use, he could summon over a thousand clones and fight with them. If anyone else tried that, they'd drop dead on the spot.
"Very good." Itachi checked the sky. "Alright, we'll stop training for today. I'll treat everyone to dango so we can rest."
"Yay!" Ino immediately cheered—she'd been worried she wouldn't have a reason to stay. As for Sakura, she naturally followed her friend, and besides, she'd get to spend a bit more time around Sasuke.
But Sasuke showed no happiness at all. Even after they left the training ground, he still stood there, a hint of displeasure in his eyes.
He tugged on Itachi's clothes. "Nii-san—why are we bringing them along?"
Itachi looked at him, helplessness flickering in his eyes. "Sasuke, you should make more friends too. They're both excellent—no worse than you. Besides… I can't always stay home with you."
Sasuke looked unwilling. "But… it's already hard enough for me to get you out with me even once. Tomorrow you'll be busy again."
Itachi went quiet for a moment. Then he raised two fingers and gently tapped Sasuke's forehead.
"Forgive me, Sasuke. Next time."
He looked at Hyuga Kiyonari's back, remembering last night's quiet conversation with his father.
"Maybe… in the future, my work won't be so busy."