An easily overlooked but potentially awesome technique in the Ranma ½ manga is Konatsu's legendary body duplicating technique. It is easy to overlook since it is only shown briefly in a volume very close to the end of the manga. Here is what is known about it: It is legendary according to Ranma and Konatsu can create multiple duplicate bodies all of which can take separate poses.
This is a technique I would like to use were I to write a Ranma fan fic. A thing that I would not want but can't really think of a way to avoid is for people to think I copied it from Naruto since that is a series I dislike and it was in the Ranma manga. While there are other series in which people have the ability to make duplicate bodies (hell this series has multiple other ways in which to do so the anime has Cologne's Splitting cat hair technique, Happosai had an incense that could do so and Ranma acquired some magic that allowed his shadow to be independent of him; the manga has the mirror which made clones and the spring of the drowned twin water; if I remember correctly one or more of the games had this as an ability; etc.) I find it most likely that people would think I am taking the technique from Naruto (it is currently fairly popular and has a large number of fan fics).
It would be extremely likely for Ranma to learn this technique. Ranma has demonstrated the ability to learn techniques after only seeing them done once and it is likely that Ranma would hang around with and probably spar with Konatsu on occasion. While having multiple bodies would be very convenient for battle most of the ways I would use it would be outside of combat.
I think the technique should not be very easy, in fact fairly difficult, hence earning being called legendary. My usage of it would have each clone be fully independent but upon destruction or recall what they learned is dumped into Ranma's mind. Ranma at first would only be able to create one for a limited time (instability of the ki matrix or some other such explanation) with practice though the length of time they can exist and the number of them he could create would go up. The hard part is creating them, the more ki used the longer they last and more damage they can sustain. Ranma would figure out ways to do so quicker and easier such as making smaller ones like creating tiny ones like the Goddesses in Ah My Goddess do, I really like the Ah Mini Goddess manga and anime, (for many tasks he would prefer child size ones) and using an object as a battery such as a straw doll to contain the ki (it is shown in the manga that objects such as the principal's statue can hold ki).
Further variations of the technique would be shape changing them such as making a clone into a dog and for disguises. Instead of putting on a wig, dress, and make-up he could create a new body entirely or create an overlay over his own body.
Ways it would be used:
1. To do chores such as shopping or cleaning faster.
2. Training
3. Combat - mainly as a distraction though since Ranma would need time to create stronger longer lasting ones. Full size clone or clones very little damage taking ability last around thirty seconds takes seconds to make want one strong enough to take damage, last longer, and be able to actually fight takes time to create.
4. Plausible deniability i.e. be in a highly noticeable place while at the same time committing a crime such as searching someone's house (which he does a number of times in the manga).
5. Spying - again something he does multiple times in the manga.
6. Dealing with multiple things happening at once.
7. Catch up on his reading.
8. When he needs to be at more than one place at a time such as when he wanted to help Akane with the Dojo Destroyer and wanted to be on the date with Shampoo to get what he thought was a cure for his curse.
9. Manipulating people.
People who could tell the clone, at least this type of clone, from the real Ranma: Happosai, Genma, Konatsu, and Cologne and would be able to dispel them though they might use different means to do so. Hinako draining them would destroy them but she won't be able to tell them from the real one.
