The frozen grass crunched underfoot as I made my way to the Training Grounds. Morning had broken over the peaks not long ago, but a stillness had settled over the Village Hidden in The Clouds; people were reluctant to leave the warmth of their beds. The cold stung my face as soon as I'd left my house and it had taken more than a few minutes of sprinting to warm up-- the cold air burning my lungs as I'd moved across the rooftops.
So here I stood on this empty, quiet morning, wrapped in my cloak with an entire training field to myself. I yawned, and swept my gaze over the crater-marked fields. Numerous scorch marks, and furrows had torn the ground apart, turning it from training ground to firing range. The silence was perfect. I knew exactly which zone to visit. The boulders and spikes had faded, but their form was nonetheless preserved; remnants of Tsuki's ruthless bombardment.
"Alright..." I breathed, "Its different this time...."
From my pouch I pulled a slender scroll emblazoned with Kumogakure's insignia, and unclasped it before gently unrolling it. The wind lightly buffeted the laminated material, but its subject was clear: The Shadow Clone jutsu. Unlike a holographic clone produced by the Academy technique, this one generated a corporeal doppelganger, mimicking flesh, clothing, even speech and jutsu.
I set the scroll down, and mimicked the crossed-handseal with my fingers a few times. Handseals dictated the flow of chakra through the body, like a conductor with a symphony. Yin and Yang were ratioed, substance given to image, while chakra materialized and would be transfigured into a mirror-image of myself. Breathing deeply, I stepped away from the scroll and placed my hands together in the Shadow Clone seal.
Breathe.
"Feel the chakra moving through me...." I murmured, "Feed Yang into Yin....."
The air cracked to my left, chakra vaporized instantly into smoke and coalesced immediately into a familiar figure. He stood quietly, blank faced with eyes staring off into the distance.
So here I stood on this empty, quiet morning, wrapped in my cloak with an entire training field to myself. I yawned, and swept my gaze over the crater-marked fields. Numerous scorch marks, and furrows had torn the ground apart, turning it from training ground to firing range. The silence was perfect. I knew exactly which zone to visit. The boulders and spikes had faded, but their form was nonetheless preserved; remnants of Tsuki's ruthless bombardment.
"Alright..." I breathed, "Its different this time...."
From my pouch I pulled a slender scroll emblazoned with Kumogakure's insignia, and unclasped it before gently unrolling it. The wind lightly buffeted the laminated material, but its subject was clear: The Shadow Clone jutsu. Unlike a holographic clone produced by the Academy technique, this one generated a corporeal doppelganger, mimicking flesh, clothing, even speech and jutsu.
I set the scroll down, and mimicked the crossed-handseal with my fingers a few times. Handseals dictated the flow of chakra through the body, like a conductor with a symphony. Yin and Yang were ratioed, substance given to image, while chakra materialized and would be transfigured into a mirror-image of myself. Breathing deeply, I stepped away from the scroll and placed my hands together in the Shadow Clone seal.
Breathe.
"Feel the chakra moving through me...." I murmured, "Feed Yang into Yin....."
The air cracked to my left, chakra vaporized instantly into smoke and coalesced immediately into a familiar figure. He stood quietly, blank faced with eyes staring off into the distance.
