"What are the qualities that allow a memory to serve as an anchor for identity? Why do most people only have one identity if there is no hard limit? These issues and more are critical to understanding not only our own nature and potential, but those of humanity itself. Yet even the Nara, world experts on Yin chakra and its applications, have inexplicably failed to recognise them, much less investigate."
Hazō's mind boggled. He'd been happy enough to treat the Shadow Clone Technique as the world's most amazing multitasking tool and leave it at that. The idea that it had all these layers of depth was both unexpected and, frankly, unnerving. He'd spent time, in his early days with the technique, agonising over whether he was killing a sapient being every time he dispelled a clone. Eventually, his teacher had laughed his concerns away, pointing out that shadow clones themselves were cavalier about their existences, with no sense of self-preservation beyond that needed to protect the original and follow his commands. Besides, their memories were still within him. Nothing of value was lost.
Hazō badly didn't want to find out that his shadow clones were metaphorical infants being murdered before they could grow into people.
Time to move on quickly.
"Say," he said, "why have you started talking like Keiko? Is that part of your experiments too?"
A little of the light drained from Snowflake's eyes.
"I deemed it for the best," she said quietly.
"To return to my original request, would you consider training with me today? Any type of training would be acceptable, except, of course, that my chakra supply will be limited, and this is hardly worth troubling Noburi for."
