Naruto: Red Lightning

After I returned to my room, I was alone because the others were still training. I finally had some space to breathe. I sat down and remembered something from the show: Some jutsu need special hand signs to function. And the most popular jutsu of them all was... I immediately crossed my fingers and thought to myself, ( Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!). I pushed 20% of my chakra into it, and with a puff, 25 shadow clones appeared. They were too much for my poor room, so with a single thought, I dispelled some of them.

When only five of them remained, I walked up to them. "So, tangible clones, cool," I said. I continued, "Do you have any qualms about training in my place?" One of them replied, "No, our only purpose is to do what is asked of us. We don't get tired or become unwilling to do something."

I thought, *No rebellious clones, great.*

"BUT !! ," the clone added, "if we each train for two hours to learn a jutsu, along with the memories and experience, you'll also get the mental strain of training."

"So there are repercussions to this jutsu."

The same clone as before said, "Yep, so don't overdo it."

Another said in a condescending tone, "You realize you're speaking to yourself, right?"

I turned to him and replied, "Yes, but it feels more organic this way. More over if I use shadow clones in Kumo they'd think I'm a spy and execute me sow I'll keep it's use limited"

''Now, your first task is this: Each of you grab a scroll about history and read it. I want to know where I am, what time period we're in, who the current major political figures are Kage, Daimyo, etc. the shinobi ranking system in Kumo, and who Kumo's allies and enemies are in this war. You have until you sense anyone approaching the room. When you do, return the scroll to its original place and dispel yourselves. If you finish your scroll, grab another one from the shelf, preferably one about hand signs and their effects on jutsu. Now, I'm going to take a nap so I can clear my head for the coming memories. Get to your jobs."

They all nodded, and I went to sleep.

Approximately 3 hours later I was woken up by the influx of memories. I got a mild headache but I managed to contain it. The benefits of shadow clone learning were immense. I got all the information I needed and even more.

For starters, regarding time. I was in the fourth year of the Second Shinobi War. Tensions were still high but after the death of almost every major village's Kage things most likely headed to a peace treaty.

Tobirama Senju (2nd Hokage) was killed by Gold and Silver Brothers and their squad, Mu (2nd Tsuchikage) and Gengetsu Hozuki (2nd Mizukage) killed each other and finally Ā (2nd Raikage) was killed by the Gold and Silver Brothers. (In the Second Shinobi World War died the most Kage out of any other war).

Now the most prominent figures in politics are Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage, Ā the Third Raikage, Onoki the Third Tsuchikage and Hanzo the leader of Amegakure. The battles at this stage of the war were to see who was hit hardest by the war.

The one whose situation was the best was Konoha. Their only serious loss was the Second Hokage and the Uzumaki clan, a close ally of Konoha. Although the Uzumaki clan was a strong clan capable of rivaling a village on their own. They stood no chance against the combined force of Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village), Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village), and Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village). There are still some Uzumaki around the world, for example Kushina Uzumaki the jinchūriki of Nine Tails.

In addition they lost some land from their peninsula, which in turn became the Lands of Tea in the south and Noodles to the north. Along with those lands they also lost the Island of Wave. All those territories became allies of Kiri and the Wave Island was annexed by them becoming a part of their country. But in turn every minor nation except from Frost, Iron, Waterfall, Rain and River leaned towards Konohagakure and gave them more favorable terms for trade.

The shinobi system in Kumo was very similar to that of Konoha. But there were some differences. For starters there were the standard positions Genin, Chūnin, Jōnin and Kage. The first major difference was ANBU. Kumo instead of ANBU (Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai) had the B.O.L.T (Black Ops Lightning Team ). Elite teams of five promising chūnin or jōnin, one Captain and four subordinates. The information about the B.O.L.T provided by the village was very limited so I didn't know anything more. Their job was probably to spy on other villages, assassinate village targets and protect the village without revealing their identity. The commander of the B.O.L.T was probably an elite jōnin with a lot of experience in leadership and tactics.

Kumo was allied with the Land of Frost in the Second Shinobi World War. Also Kumo briefly allied with Kiri and Iwa in order to take down the Uzumaki clan without having to face Konoha alone. But that alliance quickly collapsed after the fight between Gengetsu and Mu.

Then Kumo briefly allied with Konoha in order to take down the Gold and Silver Brothers and their force. After Tobirama and Ā died in the conflict the alliance dissolved but the two nations hadn't fought since.

Suna was pretty inconsequential in the war. They weren't allied with anyone, their forces were weak and low in number. They did have three S-rank ninjas. Chiyo, Ebizō and the jinchūriki of One-Tailed Beast but in comparison with the other great nations they were pathetic. In the second year of the war they tried to attack Iwagakure but Mu quickly destroyed them.

Lastly the first shadow clone that finished reading his scroll went over to the shelf and picked a scroll named: Basic Hand Signs for Beginners. The scroll contained information about hand signs and how to form them.

Seals are used to perform many ninjutsu, genjutsu, and other secret arts other than taijutsu. They are designed to aid people in properly summoning and molding chakra necessary to perform a technique. There are different sequences of hand seals for every technique, requiring memorization.

While techniques may require a number of hand seals to work, a skilled ninja can use less or even one to perform the same technique. An example of this is the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique, which requires a total of 44 hand seals to activate. Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, only needed to use one hand seal to complete the technique, a testament to his skill. Although rare, it is possible for a shinobi to be able to do hand seals with just one hand.

It is also possible for shinobi to form hand seals with one of their hands while using the hand of another person as a substitute for the opposite one. Even rarer than one-handed hand seals, are shinobi who have abandoned this traditional practice altogether, usually because their fighting style revolves around speed and quick reflexes and have developed techniques that require no hand seals to complement this fighting style, for example the Lightning Armor of the Third Raikage.

Certain elemental releases often end in the hand seals they are affiliated with. For example, Fire Release often ends with Tiger, Earth and Wood Releases often end with the Snake hand seals.

• There are twelve different seals:

1) Rat: This hand seal is commonly affiliated with the special Shadow Techniques of the Nara clan.

2) Ox

3) Tiger: This hand seal is commonly affiliated with Fire and Earth Release.

4) Hare

5) Dragon

6) Snake: This hand seal is commonly affiliated with Earth, Lightning and Wood Release.

7) Horse

8) Ram

9) Monkey

10) Bird: This hand seal is commonly affiliated with Wind Release.

11) Dog: This hand seal is commonly affiliated with Water Release

12) Boar

• Besides the twelve basic hand seals, there are unique hand seals used for certain techniques. These hand seals are rarely seen, and can be considered unique to specific techniques.

• Elemental Hand Seals:

Fire Release: A flat hand with all fingers extended.

Water Release: A flat hand with all fingers extended except the index finger, which is put under the thumb.

Wind Release: Thumb and pinky are extended, the other fingers lie on the palm.

Earth Release: Index and middle finger are extended, the other fingers are curled into the palm. Known as Seal of Confrontation.

Lightning Release: Index and little finger are extended, the middle and ring finger are held down with the thumb.

• Lastly there is the clap of the hands this is more of an initiation of a technique rather than a hand seal where the user simply claps their hands together. For example to summon chakra or to break out of a genjutsu.

That's all I managed to learn before my roommates returned. When they entered the room they were exhausted. They didn't speak a word to me they just fell on their beds and drifted into sleep. I was pretty tired after dealing with all the information so I followed their example.