Naruto: Mixed Heritage(Rewrite)

Chapter 372: 371-Cheap Excuse



The clone flexed its marked hand experimentally, watching the glow intensify ever so slightly. Then, without warning, the glow shifted.

A strange transformation took place. The once vivid blue light dimmed, flickering as if uncertain. Then, in a slow, almost eerie transition, it dulled—the rich azure tones fading into something paler, colder.

Within seconds, the blue was gone, replaced by a silvery radiance, shimmering like moonlight on a still lake.

'This glow…'

Renjiro observed the change, a strange sense of familiarity creeping up his spine. The metallic silver gleam—

'Just like my chains and Susanoo.'

The thought formed naturally, instinctively.

'Just like my chains and Susanoo… are they connected?'

The idea echoed through his mind.

Renjiro's gaze sharpened, shifting instinctively toward his shadow clone.

The clone had stopped inspecting the mark on its hand. Instead, it was staring directly at him, its expression mirroring his own.

A silent beat passed.

Then—

'Huh?'

'Huh??'

Renjiro's entire body froze.

It wasn't just his own confusion that he registered—it was his clone's confusion too. And not through body language, not through facial expression.

Through... thoughts.

'No way.'

'No way.'

Again, two overlapping thoughts. Two identical voices, rang inside his head in perfect unison.

Renjiro's hands twitched. He took a step forward, and at the same time, his clone took a step backwards, mirroring his movement on reflex.

Then, simultaneously, they both blurted out:

'Wait, you can hear me!?'

A heavy silence followed.

Then—

'WHY CAN I HEAR YOU!?'

'WHY CAN I HEAR YOU!?'

The exact same words. Spoken at the exact same time.

Renjiro and his clone visibly recoiled.

"This is messed up," Renjiro muttered, rubbing his temple.

"This is messed up," the clone echoed, mirroring his frustration exactly.

They both stiffened again.

"Stop repeating me!"

"Stop repeating me!"

"STOP IT!"

"STOP IT!!"

A pause.

A longer pause.

And then—

"Alright, this is getting ridiculous," Renjiro finally said aloud, gritting his teeth.

"Yeah, tell me about it," the clone huffed.

Renjiro opened his mouth to reply—then froze again.

Wait…

That response wasn't simultaneous.

It was delayed.

That meant…

"This isn't just an echo," Renjiro said, eyes narrowing. "We're actually communicating."

The clone blinked, realization dawning. "Wait… you're right. I just thought of that before I said it, and you—"

"I heard it," Renjiro finished.

A slow, creeping dread began to settle in.

"This shouldn't be possible," he muttered, crossing his arms. "The Shadow Clone Jutsu doesn't work like this."

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock," the clone deadpanned.

Renjiro ignored the sarcastic undertone as his mind began racing.

Shadow clones weren't just simple duplicates—they were fully autonomous, capable of independent thought and action. When dispelled, their memories returned to the original, but that was a one-time transfer. There was no constant or real-time link between an original and its clones.

Right now, however… Renjiro wasn't just sharing memories with his clone—he was actively hearing its thoughts in real-time. That was insane.

"This shouldn't be possible," the clone thought.

"No, it really shouldn't," Renjiro thought back.

They both froze again.

"Damn it, this is freaky!"

"Stop thinking at me, you idiot!"

"You stop thinking at me!"

They both grabbed their heads in frustration.

"This is so stupid!"

"This is so stupid!"

A long sigh.

Then, finally—

"Okay, let's be rational about this."

"Agreed."

Their collective irritation simmered down as Renjiro exhaled, forcing himself to focus.

"What's causing this?" he asked.

The clone looked at its hand, then at Renjiro.

"The mark," it answered.

Renjiro nodded. "It has to be. My Dominion Mark was never supposed to allow telepathic communication—but maybe it's different because you're a clone."

They both fell silent, considering the idea.

"I mean, it makes sense," the clone said. "I am you, technically speaking. Maybe the mark recognizes that?"

Renjiro scratched his chin. "That would mean the connection is deeper than I thought… If it can bypass the usual limitations of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, then this is far more advanced than I figured."

They shared a glance.

A slow grin spread across Renjiro's face.

"If I can communicate with my clones like this, then I need to test the range."

The clone groaned, rolling its eyes. "Oh, great. Lemme guess—you're sending me outside."

"Of course," Renjiro said smoothly.

The clone crossed its arms. "Why me?"

Renjiro smirked. "Because I'm the original."

The clone's expression twisted into mild betrayal. "That is such a cheap excuse."

Renjiro just raised an eyebrow. "You gonna go or not?"

The clone grumbled. "Fine, fine," it muttered, trudging toward the door like a petulant child. "This is clone discrimination, I swear."

Renjiro watched it leave, his grin widening.

Once outside, the clone let out an exaggerated sigh as it stretched its limbs. "Alright, let's get this over with. Where do you want me to go?"

Renjiro smirked "Just start moving. I'll let you know if I lose connection."

The clone rolled his shoulders, then crouched low before launching into the air with a burst of chakra. The wind whistled against his ears as he landed on a rooftop, then immediately propelled himself forward again, sprinting across the tiled surfaces with fluid precision.

Renjiro, still standing in his dimly lit room, closed his eyes and focused entirely on the tether connecting him to the clone. The moment the clone moved beyond a few meters, he felt the pull—a presence not quite inside his mind, but rather alongside it.

It was like having an invisible thread linking them, stretching further and further with each leap the clone took. At first, their connection was crystal clear, as sharp as if they were standing next to each other.

"Still hearing me loud and clear?" the clone thought, amusement lacing his voice.

"Yep," Renjiro responded, adjusting his mental focus.

"Good. Would've sucked if I got all the way out here and you lost me immediately."

"That's what we're testing, genius."

The clone snickered as he continued moving. His path took him through the residential district, past the darker alleys where candlelight flickered dimly behind windows. The streets were mostly empty at this hour, save for the occasional shinobi on patrol.

"Think anyone's gonna notice me running around like this?"

"You're a Konoha ANBU. If anyone asks, just say you're on a mission."

Renjiro shook his head, keeping his attention on their connection. The clone was now moving towards the market district, weaving through vendor stalls that had already closed for the night.

That's when Renjiro felt it—the first signs of interference.

A faint static.

It wasn't loud or overpowering, but it was there—a barely perceptible distortion at the edge of their mental link.

"Hey, the connection's getting… fuzzy," Renjiro noted.

"I was just about to say that," the clone replied, pausing briefly on a rooftop. He turned his gaze toward the village walls in the distance. "I'm only, what, three kilometres away?"

Renjiro hummed in thought. That was already an impressive range, but they needed to push further.

"Keep going. Let's see how much farther we can stretch this."

"Yeah, yeah." The clone cracked his neck and took off again, increasing his speed.

As he passed the last few buildings and neared the outer limits of the market district, the static in their connection grew stronger. The once-clear mental link became grainy, like trying to hear a voice through a deteriorating radio signal.

"Can you still hear me?" the clone asked, his voice slightly distorted.

"Barely. It's breaking up."

The clone's vision flickered for a moment, but he caught sight of the final checkpoint—the five-kilometer mark. He landed on a tree branch just beyond the village walls and braced himself against the trunk.

"Okay, this is about as far as I can go without sneaking past the guards," the clone muttered.

The connection was barely holding on. Renjiro had to strain to hear, like listening through layers of interference.

"Yeah… This is definitely the limit," Renjiro confirmed.

And then—

"Poof!"

The clone dispelled itself, vanishing in a swirl of smoke.

Renjiro stumbled back slightly as the rush of memories hit him.

The experience was always disorienting—like watching a fast-forwarded replay of everything the clone had seen, done, and thought.

The sensation was fleeting, lasting only a few seconds, but it was enough to jolt his senses.

He saw the streets from his clone's eyes. The rooftops. The flickering streetlights. The final stretch.

And most importantly—

He felt the exact moment when their link broke down completely.

Renjiro exhaled slowly, processing the information.

"This is going to be useful."

Very useful.

With this, he could establish real-time communication with his clones at a ridiculously far range—an ability that no ordinary shinobi had. It was almost like having a telepathic network, an uninterrupted tactical relay that didn't require hand seals or chakra-consuming jutsu.

He smirked to himself.

"If I can use this on my clones… what happens if I put the mark on someone else?"

The idea sent a thrill through him.

=====

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