Transformation! Saul quickly unfurls the scroll. After around 10 to 30 minutes, he pulls back with a sigh. The information present in the scroll, combined with his own knowledge of the series, painted a rudimentary picture of chakra.
Chakra was an energy deeply connected to one's will. This was the reason why manipulating someone else's chakra through Genjutsu could result in effects such as visual illusions, emotional imbalances, and even full on mind control! By manipulating the chakra you also manipulated the will contained there, within.
The reverse is also true. One may command their chakra simply by willing in the way you desire. However Chakra in general is fairly benign in it's base form, unrefined, without shape, solely beneficial to the one who carries it. If the chakra is weaponized into a more refined form, it must first be released outside through the Tenketsu. Otherwise the user would destroy themselves first before ever even touching their enemy.
Saul examines his hands, flickers of blue light dancing at his fingertips. They lingered briefly before dissipating into the surrounding atmosphere. This is what he was lacking earlier today. The will to move his chakra, the understanding of the Tenketsu to use for the technique. He presses his hands into the single seal of the transformation jutsu.
Of the 361 Tenketsu present within the body, more than half of them were present on the hands. They worked now, specific points within his hands expelling chakra at his design. Chakra quickly coalesced into a sphere around Saul's body. And now the critical moment.
He reversed the flow of chakra at certain Tenketsu. The chakra was pulled back into a coating around his body. It kind of felt like putting silk. The exposed areas of his skin still felt the air around - yet its flow was muted. Well everywhere except the chest area.
"I kind of wish I had some way to see how I look..."
For the transformation jutsu, what mattered most was the visual image one had in mind. If one's visualization was not clear, areas of the transformation would appear hazy at best. Yet Saul had a specific image in mind when he transformed. What kind of image would a degenerate in his early twenties be able to visualize and craft on the fly without any practice or preparations? A woman of course!
Experimentally feeling at his chest area, Saul made a "tch" sound when he felt nothing but air. He quickly released the transformation out of boredom.
"Two more jutsu, what's next?"
The second scroll he opened was the Substitution Jutsu. Saul was interested in this one. The way it was depicted in the series, the jutsu could be activated while in critical danger to replace oneself with a nearby object, usually some random stick or log.
Used properly, it could seemingly make its user functionally immortal as long as they had the chakra to spare. However when Saul looked at the scroll, he scoffed.
"What is this nonsense?"
Rather than depicting an actual Jutsu like the transformation jutsu, most of the scroll was dedicated to methods of applying aspects of the transformation jutsu along with the clone jutsu to trick your opponent. You would use the transformation jutsu to turn into the object you were copying, and the clone jutsu over the object in question to take your place. Once the object was hit, the chakra cloak you placed on it would be scattered. The object would revert to its original form.
Although the insights the substitution jutsu gave into the transformation jutsu were inspiring, the actual jutsu was simply sleight of hand.
"No wonder Ninja really didn't use this jutsu in the series. This is way too much effort! Its just dodging with extra steps!"
Saul stuffed the substitution scroll back into the bag. The jutsu most suitable for showing off and / or taunting your opponent. He didn't care for such things. He only had one pair of hands. Should Saul use this jutsu to show off or use an actual jutsu to assist in the fight?
Bringing out the final scroll, Saul unfurled it to find the clone jutsu. He memorized the Tenketsu points needed and began practicing the technique. Blue light swirled again first from his hands, then taking shape around his entire body. The technique was more complex than the transformation technique, requiring multiple seals rather than just one.
The light twisted and scattered, flowing through his veins, along his skin, expelled, condensed, shifted.
The chakra, carrying his will, scattered off to his right and swirled in the air. Colors shifted, lights flashed, then nothing. The jutsu failed.
It was no wonder Naruto had so much trouble with this technique. Each hand seal had to be formed near perfectly. Furthermore, the timing of each seal had to be in line with the one prior, and the Tenketsu that chakra was emitted from changed for every seal. Deviate even slightly on any of these steps, and the chakra would lose balance. Regardless of the will within its only fate would be to spin out of control before the jutsu took shape.
"Fascinating..." Saul muttered.
He sat there for hours, repeating the motions of his hands. There was something exhilarating about bringing this mystical energy to his will - subduing what was once free for his pleasure. At this point it was no longer studying for the sake of avoiding depression - Saul genuinely enjoyed the process of improvement.
Hand seals he once struggled to form quickly became second nature. There was no room to think about other things; the slightest stray thought would pollute his chakra. Dilute his will. Saul was enjoying himself too much to let this happen.
Blue light once again swirled around his hands and flooded over his body, this time more smooth, more controlled. It caressed his skin as a gentle breeze, taking in every shape and contour. There was no smoke formed from the activation - all of the chakra was subdued to his will - nothing was wasted.
Ram, Snake, Tiger, the seals were formed fluidly without delay. The blue light coalesced into a human-like shape in front of him.
The mirror image of Saul's new body takes shape before his very eyes. Brown hair, hazel eyes. A scrawny build, clearly whoever this Saul was before didn't eat enough. 'I did it!' Saul smiled. The clone smiled back.
A mental command brought the clone to its feet. As it basked in the light of the moon, its hair swayed with the nightly wind. Where its sandals met the ground, there was no indentation; the clone was light as air. Yet there it defiantly stood, the crystallization of Saul's efforts. Perfection.