Putting away his wandering thoughts, Jokichi chose to forge.
As the thought fell, the Shadow Guard in his hand and the Twin Stars in the system space instantly disappeared, replaced by an ink-like crystal appearing in his hand.
Although it was pitch black, it was crystal clear, like black agate.
"Shadow Warrior: A shadow crystal that can endow a shadow with life, making the shadow a lifeform that can constantly transform between the intangible and tangible. The Shadow Warrior possesses the exact same appearance, physique, temperament, wisdom, and strength as the main body, but does not possess independent consciousness and requires the master to issue commands to direct it. (Note: The Shadow Warrior's position cannot exceed one hundred meters from the master.)"
"This thing..."
Jokichi's gaze narrowed slightly, and the hand holding the crystal could not help but increase its grip strength, his finger joints turning white.
This item was very strong and could double a person's strength.
No, more than double.
The coordination of two people would definitely unleash power that was not as simple as merely doubling.
To some people, this item was absolutely no worse than the Sage Crystal forged from Naruto and Sasuke.
Without hesitation, Jokichi directly threw the crystal at his own shadow.
The black crystal seemed to have an immense attraction to the shadow. Before it even hit the ground, the shadow that could originally only follow its master's movements actually broke free from the ground's restraint like a viscous liquid and stood up.
"Wa!"
The shadow opened its large mouth, caught the crystal in one bite, and swallowed it.
Instantly, the body that was as pitch black as ink tumbled and changed like surging liquid. Gradually, its color, physique, and appearance actually became exactly the same as Jokichi's.
Even the aura changes brought about by its strength were completely identical, just like a person reflected in a mirror.
Looking at the Shadow Warrior that was exactly the same as himself, a wondrous feeling rose in Jokichi's heart.
It was as if the guy in front of him, who was exactly the same as himself, was not a person, but a certain body part of his own that could be controlled and directed...
Just like his hands and feet.
"Walk two steps to the left."
Jokichi willed it, chanting silently in his mind.
The Shadow Warrior really walked two steps to the left, and it did not turn around to walk two steps, but shifted horizontally according to his conception.
"Walk two steps to the left."
"Do push-ups."
"Frog jumps."
Jokichi experimented for a while and familiarized himself with the Shadow Warrior's characteristics.
It possessed wisdom and could understand exactly what to do through simple commands without needing specific instructions.
For example, when Jokichi ordered it to do push-ups, it understood that this was just Jokichi's intention to test its reaction, so it did a few and got up, and did not stubbornly keep doing them endlessly.
For another example, if he asked it to cook, he only needed to command "go cook", and did not need to specifically point out what dishes to make and the like.
The Shadow Warrior, possessing the same personality, could understand Jokichi's mood to judge what he wanted to eat and subsequently make it.
However, the Shadow Warrior did not possess independent consciousness. Without commands, it would turn back into a normal shadow lurking at Jokichi's feet.
If it sensed the master was in danger, it would proactively appear to clear it or block it.
What made Jokichi regret the most was that the Shadow Warrior could not replace him in training.
No matter how the Shadow Warrior changed, it was essentially still Jokichi's shadow. Only when Jokichi became stronger could it become stronger, and if Jokichi became weaker, it would also become weaker.
If Jokichi died, it would also vanish into thin air.
However, even so, it was enough.
This was undoubtedly a major killing weapon, not losing to Madara's Limbo: Border Jail.
Although Limbo: Border Jail could project four shadows, and could only be perceived by the Rinnegan or Six Paths Sage Mode, the Shadow Warrior had no activity time limit, nor did it require a certain amount of time to be recalled.
It could also transform between tangible and intangible, making it even more badass than the main body.
...
Harvesting the Shadow Warrior was considered an unexpected pleasant surprise, and Jokichi did not stop his training because of it.
On the second day, he threw himself back into training.
He integrated and fully mastered the ninjutsu he had learned through training, striving to use the most effective ninjutsu in different situations to achieve effects such as suppressing the enemy and rationally utilizing the environment.
To achieve this was very difficult, because Jokichi knew too many ninjutsu. Wanting to become proficient with every ninjutsu by heart would cost him more time than others.
Even having absorbed the Soul of a Genius, this was not an easy task; it required a massive amount of actual combat to achieve.
With just training, the effect was extremely slow.
It would take at least over a year's time.
However, what overjoyed Jokichi at unexpected good news was that a dozen or so days after refusing to teach him the summoning jutsu for Monkey King Enma, the Third Hokage came bringing the summoning scroll for the Baku.
That was Danzo's summoning beast, which could greatly strengthen air flow and amplify the power of Wind Release.
Although it was repelled by a single fireball, it was genuinely the strongest summoning beast second only to Monkey King Enma.
"For certain reasons, I cannot hand the contract for Monkey King Enma over to you, so I prepared this."
Hiruzen Sarutobi handed over the Baku scroll, his cloudy eyes flashing with reminiscence. "This is the relic of my friend and comrade. I believe you will definitely be able to inherit his will and bring glory to this summoning contract."
Danzo's will...
Everything for Konoha?
Or just self-righteousness?
Or perhaps bearing all the blame in this world?
Jokichi really wanted to complain.
However, looking at the wrinkled yet solemnly serious face of the Third Hokage in front of him, Jokichi's heart turned solemn, and he gravely accepted the scroll.
"I will definitely inherit that lord's will well. Whoever schemes against my friends or hometown, I will make them disappear." Jokichi clenched his fist and pledged solemnly.
Hiruzen choked on Jokichi's words.
Although Jokichi's answer made him very satisfied, wasn't this a bit too gangster!
He patted his chest to smooth out his breathing, feeling somewhat caught between laughter and tears.
Thinking left and right, Hiruzen did not know how to lecture him, and finally just left an instruction before heading back.
On August 21st, Konoha Year 58, Jokichi signed the summoning contract with the Baku, and simultaneously used the Baku's hair to forge the "Hurricane Vacuum Cleaner" and the "Ocean Wave Hair Dryer."
The functions were also very simple: one inhaled air, and the other blew air. It was just that their power was a bit strong.
To the extent that they could suck away or blow away the Ninja Academy in one go.
Putting the items away properly, Jokichi continued his training, striving to master the various ninjutsu by heart at an early date.
On June 2nd, Konoha Year 59, Jokichi finally obtained a strand of Shino's hair again and forged the special item "Bug Flute."
The effect was that the flute's sound could control bugs within a one-hundred-meter radius.
Another Anti-Aburame Noble Phantasm. Jokichi was speechless.
Is it truly that only an Aburame can defeat an Aburame?
On June 7th, Jokichi used Hinata's hair to forge a pair of "Silk Weaving Gloves." The effect was to make the fingers softer and more flexible.
This...
Hmm, it is useful for hand seal speed.
Jokichi forcefully made up a use for it himself, although even he did not really believe it.
On July 26th, Jokichi became increasingly proficient in the use of various ninjutsu, able to rapidly select the optimal ninjutsu to respond in different situations.
His training direction shifted towards the application of combination ninjutsu.
However, the difficulty of training in ninjutsu combinations was somewhat beyond imagination, and the progress was extremely slow.
On September 10th, Jokichi successfully mastered a combination ninjutsu.