My Techniques are a bit off

Taking the Clone Technique as an Example

When Link first learned the Clone Technique, the chakra allocated to it could only separate his limbs into basic parts—arms, head, legs, and torso. Hands and fingers were treated as a single unit with the arm. After extending the duration of the Clone Technique to one minute, he managed to separate individual fingers.

Even when he pushed the technique to its limits, consuming over 80% of his chakra in a single use, he still couldn't break apart flesh and muscle.

What he could do, however, was detach fingernails, hair, eyeballs, ears, and even his nose. While horrifying, this didn't seem particularly useful in combat.

The sheer shock factor, however, was definitely on another level.

During testing, Link once thought he could run the most terrifying haunted house back in his original world. Watching himself in the mirror without a face, hair, eyes, or ears was an experience that filled even him with deep unease.

When his body parts separated, there were no gory wounds left behind. Instead, the areas where his body split were smooth and seamless. Holding his detached eyeball to inspect himself in the mirror was downright unsettling.

Outside combat, these abilities had their perks. For instance, throwing an ear to eavesdrop or using an eyeball to spy was incredibly practical.

But consuming 80% of his chakra for such actions was far from feasible. He'd be left drained, a sitting duck if any combat occurred afterward.

And no, soldier pills weren't some miraculous remedy. Their chakra restoration effects didn't stack, couldn't fully replenish his reserves, and certainly couldn't push his chakra beyond its natural limit.

Soldier pills, according to the Book of Soldiers, are surprisingly simple in composition:

1 tablespoon of vegetable juice

6 bean snacks

8 small biscuits

10 mixed nuts

2 teaspoons of sesame seeds

A pinch of shichimi spice

25 raisins

Link didn't fully understand how such basic ingredients could restore chakra, but they were affordable enough to include in his routine.

However, consuming them regularly still added up to a significant expense over time.

Interestingly, according to Chōji in the manga, there was a "secret" variety of soldier pills rumored to enable three days and nights of tireless combat, with stimulant and sedative effects. Link hadn't been able to find or verify the existence of such pills.

Because of its random nature, Link's Substitution Technique lacked a clear development path. He still couldn't control what type of substitution he'd summon, limiting its strategic applications.

The Binding Technique was another challenge. It relied on money, and Link wasn't willing to spend on experimental uses. Fake money, or "currency" that he didn't recognize as legitimate, couldn't serve as a target for the technique. And items like spiritual currency didn't exist in the world of Naruto.

The Earth Release: Headhunter Technique was an energy hog, consuming too much chakra for what essentially amounted to a hazy genjutsu effect. Without cooperation from an opponent, developing this technique further seemed futile.

Initially, Link had high hopes for the Transformation Technique.

Unlike the original version, which created mere illusions, his variant produced tangible transformations. Theoretically, this opened a vast range of possibilities.

Unfortunately, it came with severe limitations. He could only transform into objects or forms he thoroughly understood.

For example, he could perfectly recreate his father's sword because he had an intimate understanding of its texture, sharpness, length, material, and construction. Without such knowledge, transformations were impossible.

This realization hit him hard when trying to replicate objects from his previous life. Things he thought he knew well, like gadgets or tools, turned out to be blank spaces in his memory. What materials were they made of? What were their internal structures? What principles governed their operation?

So far, the most combat-effective item he could transform into was an explosive tag.

But explosive tags were single-use items. What was he supposed to do, rush at an opponent, transform into a tag, and self-detonate?

Even imagining it felt absurd. And if the explosion damaged his body beyond the recovery capabilities of the Clone Technique?

An expendable tool? More like an expendable self.

As for transforming into mythical beasts or Saiyans—those were even further from reality. Did he know how the Uzumaki bloodline worked by dissecting a body? Could he understand a tailed beast's mechanics just by examining it?

Pure nonsense.

In early experiments, Link considered transforming into water, mud, or other substances. He envisioned a form of elementalization, borrowing ideas from other universes.

But the problems were immediate and obvious. His Transformation Technique didn't grant immunity to damage, nor could it adjust his size or mass. He would remain his original form, just "coated" with the appearance of another substance.

For instance, if he turned into a "mud man," he would be just as vulnerable—if not more so. A single attack could scatter his body, or a bit of fire could reduce him to ash.

Unlike true elementalization, which allowed control over the corresponding element, his transformations were merely cosmetic. For damage mitigation, the Clone Technique was a much better alternative.

Even with increased chakra investment, all he could achieve was scaling the size of his transformations—not improving their effectiveness or versatility. This left the Transformation Technique in a frustratingly awkward state.

With no clear development paths for his five jutsu, Link shifted his focus to becoming a chunin. He hoped the promotion would grant access to new techniques that might offer breakthroughs.

However, his limited chakra meant that many ninjutsu options, especially large-scale elemental techniques, were impractical. The high energy costs made them unsuitable for real combat.

Instead, Link aimed for techniques with promising names or concepts.

Kirin (not yet invented)

Lightning Blade (S-rank, prohibitively expensive chakra cost)

Flying Thunder God (S-rank, extremely high learning difficulty)

Mystical Palm (A-rank, impractical chakra consumption)

Adamantine Sealing Chains (likely a bloodline limit)

Dead Soul Technique (only seen in the manga)

Super Beast Imitating Drawing (extremely rare specialty jutsu)

While these techniques held great potential, their acquisition and mastery were far beyond his current reach.

For now, Link could only dream of becoming a powerful, god-like figure with abilities like Flying Thunder God. Instead, he focused on incremental progress and tested new ideas with his existing jutsu.

But mostly, he stuck to the basics—training his body.

Because at the end of the day, foundations matter most.