"Draw a sword to cut the water, and the water only flows faster."
If there is anything in nature that provides a visceral demonstration of how something broken can instantly restore itself, water is the undeniable answer.
Previously, Hatani's " Husky-style" demolition spree at home was mostly about experiencing the sensation of fracturing. After reducing his front door to dozens of splinters, he felt he had a solid grasp on the concept of breaking. After all, destruction is a common sight in this world.
But the real challenge lay in how to restore something to its original state after it had shattered—especially without leaving a single trace or scar.
As the saying goes: A broken mirror is hard to mend.
Even if you pick up every shard of a shattered mirror and piece them back together with the most exquisite craftsmanship, the hairline fractures and missing microscopic debris will always remain. The same applies to cloth, wood, or almost any physical object.
This realization had left Hatani mired in frustration.
It wasn't until Nawaki dragged him to the river for recovery exercises that a spark of inspiration finally struck. That spark led directly to the "bizarre" behavior Nawaki had been witnessing for the past several days.
Today, as Nawaki watched Hatani staring blankly at the flowing river and muttering to himself again, his curiosity finally reached a breaking point. He decided that today was the day he would demand to know exactly what Hatani was up to.
"Hahahaha!"
But just as Nawaki steeled his resolve, a burst of unrestrained laughter erupted right next to him.
"I get it! I finally understand!"
"Understand what? Hatani, what did you figure out?!" Nawaki hurried over, his eyes wide and his face practically screaming with curiosity.
"I finally understand the Phantom—"
Hatani, his mind completely submerged in the joy of his epiphany, almost let the truth slip. Fortunately, his brain caught up with his mouth just in time. He slammed on the mental brakes and pivoted instantly.
"—I finally understand how to use the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"You mean the one Lord Third taught you?" Nawaki asked, suspecting nothing. He just figured Hatani was so excited that he'd jumbled his words.
"Yes, exactly! The Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Hatani nodded frantically, relieved that Nawaki was so quick to provide a cover story.
"Whoa! That's an A-rank jutsu developed by the Sandaime himself! You learned it that quickly? As expected of you, Hatani!"
Nawaki didn't catch the dismissive tone in Hatani's voice; he was too busy feeling a mix of genuine pride and a tiny bit of envy. "Quick, Hatani! Show me! Let me see how powerful it is!"
Before Hatani could even let out a sigh of relief, he found himself backed into a corner.
What he had actually "understood" was the Phantom Lancer's trait of fracturing without truly breaking. He hadn't spent a single second actually practicing the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. How was he supposed to demonstrate it?
But looking at Nawaki's face—glowing with excitement and anticipation—he couldn't find a way to say no. For a moment, he felt like he was sitting on a bed of nails.
Then, remembering the essence of the trait he'd just realized, he gritted his teeth and decided to gamble.
"Phew..."
Exhaling a long breath, he reached into his tool pouch and pulled out three shuriken. Recalling the theoretical points Hiruzen had explained and focusing on the concept of a "fracturing" existence, he flung the shuriken forward with everything he had.
Ram – Rat – Rooster – Boar – Tiger!
In less than three seconds, Hatani completed the five seals. Feeling the flow of chakra, he let out a sharp cry.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
For a heartbeat, the spinning shuriken showed no reaction. The anticipation on Nawaki's face began to shift toward confusion. But just as Nawaki opened his mouth to ask what went wrong, the shuriken in the distance suddenly blurred.
Three became six. Six became twelve.
That was the limit. When the jutsu tried to multiply again, it sputtered like an engine out of fuel and died out.
Nevertheless, for Hatani, this was enough to trigger a surge of euphoria.
Going from zero to one is infinitely harder than going from one to ten.
"Hatani, you actually did it!"
Nawaki, who understood the difficulty of the feat, replaced his confusion with pure, unadulterated joy. He clapped Hatani on the shoulder, his voice thick with excitement.
"Yeah. I have to thank you, Nawaki. You're the one who's been accompanying me to the river to 'research' every day."
Having the mental maturity of an adult, Hatani managed to keep his external reaction dignified. He offered a reserved smile rather than grinning like an idiot.
"You're being too modest, Hatani! You're the one who's been helping me with my recovery training."
As the initial excitement faded, a look of envy and urgency flickered across Nawaki's face. He had always felt his learning speed couldn't keep up with Hatani's, but now the gap felt wider than ever. While he was still stuck doing the simplest recovery drills, his friend had already mastered an A-rank jutsu.
"Nawaki, don't lose heart. You have to believe in yourself!"
Hatani noticed the subtle slump in Nawaki's shoulders and the hint of frustration in his eyes. He knew exactly what the boy was thinking. Unfortunately, talent in ninjutsu is a harsh reality; all he could do was offer a few words of encouragement—a fresh bowl of "Chicken Soup for the Shinobi Soul."
"You're the grandson of the First Hokage. I believe that once your injuries are healed, you'll be able to catch up—maybe even surpass me."
Seeing that Nawaki was still a bit listless, Hatani decided to go for the ultimate motivator.
"Don't forget your dream is to become the Hokage. If you give up now, what happens to that dream?"
"Right! I'm the man who's going to be Hokage! How can I let a little setback get me down?"
Sure enough, for a "Chuunibyou" youth like Nawaki who was obsessed with the title, the word Hokage acted like a shot of pure adrenaline. His fighting spirit was instantly reignited.
"As soon as I'm recovered, I'll work twice as hard! I'll definitely catch up, and I will definitely become the Hokage!"
With Nawaki fired up and back to his training, Hatani finally let out a sigh of relief. He sat back down and began to quietly meditate on his new understanding of the Phantom Lancer.
To reach a state of fracturing without actually breaking, Hatani believed the best way was to become like water—a substance in a state of constant, flowing existence.
However, he wasn't a member of the Hozuki clan; he didn't possess the Hydrification Technique to literally turn his body into liquid. After mulling it over for days, he had finally arrived at his solution:
He would use Chakra as the substitute for the physical properties of water.
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