Naruto Shadow Mage

"Should I finish mastering the Nara clan's secret techniques first, or should I start with the Shadow Clone Technique?"

Having hurriedly said goodbye to Shikaku and Choza, Koshino returned home without even eating dinner. He quickly took out the two scrolls from his ninja tool pouch and pondered deeply.

However, he couldn't help but chuckle at himself for pondering this question for even a second.

"Hah, with the APP's help, mastering the Nara clan's secret techniques should be a breeze. Why am I even stressing about which one to train in first? It's like I don't know how to use my cheat code properly after living through tough times!"

"Alright! I've decided! I'll start with the Nara clan's secret techniques!"

Forming a secret hand seal of the Nara clan, Koshino recalled the unsealing method and placed his hand on the scroll Shikaku had given him. With a "puff," he unsealed the scroll.

Skipping over the chakra training methods and the Shadow Imitation Technique instructions, Koshino's goal was clear: to thoroughly study the scroll left by his parents, see how many Nara clan secret techniques it recorded, and then proceed with training.

However, after reading through the entire scroll and noting down most of its contents, Koshino was stunned!

He wasn't shocked because there were too many Nara clan secret techniques recorded.

Rather, he was taken aback by how few techniques were recorded and how much seemingly useless information there was!

"Are you kidding me?"

"Besides the Shadow Imitation Technique, the Nara clan's secret techniques recorded here are only the Shadow Strangulation Technique (Shadow Neck Binding) and the Shadow Sewing Technique?"

"And the rest is just some healing recipes and explanations about herbs? Uncle Shikaku, are you sure you didn't give me the wrong scroll? Is this really the one my parents left me?"

Koshino couldn't help but doubt Shikaku had given him the correct scroll, as it contained very few secret techniques.

The scroll recorded only two secret techniques, including the Shadow Imitation Technique. The only other useful thing was the chakra training method. Everything else, such as the herbal recipes and explanations, seemed completely useless to Koshino. Was he supposed to defeat enemies using herbs and recipes he remembered during a fight?

That sounded like a joke!

However, Koshino was underestimating the value of these herbal recipes. In the ninja world, these records would be highly sought after.

The reason is that these herbal recipes contain the real wisdom of the Nara clan.

The Nara clan's work in Konoha includes raising deer, developing medical recipes, and providing herbs for medical ninjas.

In the original story, Tsunade, one of the Sannin, was a top-notch medical ninja, but the Nara clan were elite pharmacists. Each generation of Nara clan members, besides being able to use deer antlers and various herbs to create powerful secret medicines, also provided numerous recipes that medical ninjas of Tsunade's caliber needed to reference.

For instance, there was a scene in the story where Naruto's team went to retrieve Sasuke, and everyone was severely injured. Neji and Choji were in critical condition. If Shikaku hadn't provided the Nara clan's medical recipes, even a high-level medical ninja-like Tsunade would have been helpless, and Neji and Choji might have died.

So, upon recalling these aspects of the original story, Koshino realized the value of those herbal recipes and took a deep breath. He then placed the scroll in a hidden compartment at home for future use.

Next, after mastering the training methods for the Shadow Strangulation Technique and Shadow Sewing Technique, Koshino quickly added these two Nara clan secret techniques to his training progress bar, thanks to his excellent chakra control, and communicated with the APP:

"APP, modify the training progress of the Shadow Strangulation Technique and Shadow Sewing Technique to 100/100!"

Ding!

"Player, Shadow Strangulation Technique and Shadow Sewing Technique training progress are now 100/100. Congratulations on mastering the Shadow Strangulation Technique and Shadow Sewing Technique."

"Phew, thank goodness you didn't disappoint me, APP. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have the appetite for dinner."

Upon mastering the Shadow Strangulation Technique and Shadow Sewing Technique, the APP seemed to directly transfer the insights of the training into Koshino's mind. Without needing to test it out, Koshino knew he had mastered the two Nara clan secret techniques.

However, after the app's prompt, Koshino first used the Shadow Imitation Technique on a vase in front of him. Then, he used the newly mastered Shadow Strangulation Technique, and the black shadow formed a hand that gripped the vase tightly, shattering it with a "crack" under Koshino's control.

"The Shadow Strangulation Technique, an advanced version of the Shadow Imitation Technique, has quite impressive power. It uses the shadow to strangle the enemy by the throat. A Nara clan member who masters this technique can be considered combat-ready."

"Good, now for the Shadow Sewing Technique!"

With this thought, Koshino, still having chakra left, used the Shadow Sewing Technique.

As he used the Shadow Sewing Technique, Koshino had a new insight. While using the technique on another vase, he thought, "The Shadow Sewing Technique is a more advanced secret technique of the Nara clan. It has two different effects: one for support and one for offense."

First, Koshino used the supportive aspect of the Shadow Sewing Technique, dividing his extended shadow into numerous thin strands that connected to the vase and the surrounding furniture.

"For support, it's like an advanced version of the Shadow Imitation Technique but uses less chakra and has a slightly weaker binding effect. However, its advantage is that it can bind multiple targets, compensating for the Shadow Imitation Technique's limitation in group battles. As for the offensive aspect…"

"Boom!"

In the next second, retracting the supportive aspect of the Shadow Sewing Technique, Koshino focused entirely on the vase. His shadow turned into a streak of light and merged with the vase's shadow, causing it to shatter instantly.

"The offensive aspect directly inflicts damage by sending the shadow into the enemy's body."

"Hmm, the power is much greater than the Shadow Strangulation Technique. It was definitely worth mastering!"

While Koshino might have been somewhat disappointed in the quantity of techniques he mastered, he was pleased with their quality.

Especially after mastering the Shadow Strangulation Technique and Shadow Sewing Technique, Koshino felt that even if his chakra reserves didn't match those of a Genin, his combat ability, with the completion of tree climbing and water walking training and mastery of three Nara clan secret techniques, was more than enough to handle a typical Genin.

Having finished training in the two Nara clan secret techniques, Koshino was about to open the other scroll to train in the so-called "cheat" Shadow Clone Technique. But before starting the Shadow Clone Technique, Koshino suddenly had an idea to integrate the Shadow Sewing Technique with shuriken, using them to confuse the enemy and secretly unleash the power of the Shadow Sewing Technique, achieving a surprise attack.

As soon as Koshino had this thought, the APP suddenly prompted him, leaving him stunned!

Ding!

"Player, research function is now binding. Please wait..."